S11.E07: Top 20 Perform, 2 Eliminated

[Bella]

Were the ballerinas hurt in the voting by being hard to tell apart? How did the ballroom dancers do? And who will be paired with whom? Watch and find out.

[Shades of Red]

Well once again props do someone in.  I agree that the phones were okay to start but they should have been put to rest early in the routine and not used for the entire routine.

 

Really liked the Argentine Tango ... full disclosure ... you have to mess up any kind of a tango horribly for me not to like/enjoy it.  One of my favourite styles of dance ever!

 

I enjoy watching Ricky dance, but seriously choreographers - enough with the leg extensions.  Let the poor kid do different things with his dancing and limit the leg extensions to one per routine.  On the shallow end, once again the kid has beautiful eyes!

 

The ballerina who judged tonight was interesting.  She certainly isn't afraid to voice her opinion and it's nice that she doesn't just spew back what's already been said.  I didn't always agree with her comments, but I have to respect the fact she voices them and is knowledgeable.

[CPP83]

The ballerina who judged tonight was interesting

 

 

That's Misty Copeland, she's the reason I actually tuned in, at least as much as I could between trying to avoid hearing Marry screech her head off and Nigel be, well, Nigel.

 

She's incredible in her own right, not just as a ballerina but as a dancer period, and it was nice to have a person with such a high dance pedigree actually give the kids constructive words to grow on. She was as classy and elegant with her judging, I thought, as her dancing, if only she had danced.

 

These kids have really just started blending together for me, I am having a hard time telling most of them apart. I still can't believe what number season it is compared to when the show first aired. I still think the biggest chunk of the best and brightest came along back then. Too many cookie cutters running around for me, I'm all leg extensioned out.

[Bdwyre]

What a bunch of BS. 

 

First, I hate routines with props.  I wanted to take those stupid phones and shove them up someone's backside.   I didn't think that routine was nearly as bad as Nigel made it out to be and if he had to criticize someone he should have criticized the idiot choreographer who thought it would be a good idea to have dancers perform while wrapped in 30 feet of phone cord. 

 

Can't believe Marlena was eliminated.  She was the best ballroom dancer (girl) on the show.

 

The only routine I really loved was the one with  Surge and whoever he danced with (Emily?).

 

Random thoughts: 

 

Zack needs some Crest white strips.  He has seriously nasty looking teeth.  Side note:   I did like the routine he did with Jackie.  Not bad. 

 

I think Stanley is amazing.  He reminds me of Danny with those jumps.

 

Casey gets on my nerves.  He's just cheesy.   I was hoping he would be out and Nick would stay.

 

Can't believe Nigel criticized Benji for "being mean".  C'mon,Nigel -   You said that the dancers have to rise to every challenge.  I remember when Pasha and Sara killed  a West Coast swing number that was a lot harder than the one tonight.  Guess Nigel had to make some kind of excuse for his girl, Jessica.

 

God, how I miss Wade, Dan, Brian and Shane choreographing.  I am so sick of Sonja and Travis and their flailing, angst-ridden comtemp mumbo-jumbo routines.

[callie lee 29]

I really liked the ballerina judge. She seemed to have an appreciation for multiple styles and her criticism was well articulated and succinct.

 

The only time I was in real disagreement with the judges was, and I can't remember her name, the woman in one of the early hip hop dances. I think she was wearing a blue top. She was horrible!!  And they seemed to think that she was great even if it wasn't her style.  Oh jeez she was bad.

 

EDIT:

 

I didn't think that routine was nearly as bad as Nigel made it out to be and if he had to criticize someone he should have criticized the idiot choreographer who thought it would be a good idea to have dancers perform while wrapped in 30 feet of phone cord.

I actually thought Nigel made it fairly clear that his issue was primarily with the choreography.  I would imagine it's rather difficult to criticize a choreographer, who is not in the competition, while still remaining somewhat diplomatic and not pissing them off (though they should be able to take criticism if they are in anyway mature). I mean he can't just straight up tell them "Hey the choreography blew and you did the best you could.) even if I may want them to say exactly that (particularly with NappyTabs).

Edited July 10, 2014 by callie lee 29

[Heather Lynn]

I thought most of this week's show was a snoozefest. There was only one number I may want to watch again and that was Sonya's second number. I don't even remember who danced it. Enjoyed having some valuable feedback from Misty Copeland.

Nigel, you ass...you just had to tell Malene that she was really only on the show because she skated through notVegas on her looks as you are giving her the boot. Whose fault was that? Just shut up!!!!

[NoNeinNyet]

Benji and Misty made the show for me tonight. Benji with his actual West Coast swing choreography and not some watered down contemporary version of it and his dig about how sometimes a dance can just be a dance without some ridiculous theme tacked on. Then there was Misty with her legitimately constructive criticism. I want them to be around all of the time.

Edited July 10, 2014 by NoNeinNyet

[kechara]

I didn't like Emily in her hip hop although I enjoyed Teddy.  I didn't mind the routine although I'm not sure why they dressed her like Lucy Ricardo.

I liked the 2nd Sonya number and not so much the first. But that may be my irrational thing about Tanisha. Sweaty Serge pulls through.

I liked the Tango.  Not a huge Casey fan but he did ok. Brooklyn was sharp I thought.

I felt bad for Nick. Poor kid was really trying hard to keep it together. I would have thought that Rudy would have been booted first. Just lucky.

Still not feeling the Jordan love, but the other ballerina , Jackie(?) was ok.

I blame Spencer Liff for the Broadway fiasco. They did really well I thought. I could see Stanley on a Broadway stage for real.

Not a stellar night but entertaining. Wonder why Mary didn't put the tango on her train. 

I do love Mary with Luther Brown.

[Thog]

Rudy and Nick were never among my favorites, but Rudy's face at the end just broke my heart.

[Lemons]

. The girls have all proven to be horrible at hip hop, either through the auditions or tonight. So disappointing. Nigel does love his white bread girls.

Travis walls choreography is tired.

[Kara]

Based on tonight's dancing, I think they made the right decision with Nick.  I would have preferred Jordan go over Malene, but it is not the worst judging decision ever.  That being said, I think the choreographers gave Nick and Malene no chance at staying.  The West Coast Swing was so hard for me to watch, and the reason for that was the music, which I am assuming Benji chose.  And I love Benji, I wanted that dance to be so awesome, but there was no connection between the dance and the music.  When that happens, especially with a dance like WCS, which really needs to play with the music, the whole performance is ruined, and I can't judge whether the actual dancing was bad, or the choreography was bad.  It just felt completely flat for me.  And Malene got screwed with the phone prop.  I agree there was no connection between her and stanley, but the were attached to two separate cords, so how could there be?  And Nigel is an ass. He basically said Malene did not deserve to be there based on her dancing abilities.  If that is the case, then it is his fault, and he needs to shut up.  She was absolutely gorgeous tonight, I wish she would have been given a dance that actually gave her a chance.  Jourdan was given a good dance tonight, but I wasn't all that impressed.  I didn't feel a connection between her and Marcquet either, and they didn't have anything physically keeping them apart.

 

I wasn't impressed by either of the hip hop numbers. I liked the second sonya dance.  I loved the tango and the african jazz.  I didn't really like the first travis wall routine, with the tapper and the anointed one.  There wasn't much dancing in it, it was all writhing and rolling around and I couldn't really tell if she could actually dance, and I really want to like her.  I don't even remember the second travis or first sonya dance, so I guess they go somewhere in the middle.

 

I love stanley, even in that crappy dance, he just looked gorgeous.  I think it is interesting that he and Jessica will be partners now.  I think he is the best male dancer, and she seems like Nigel's pet of the season.  I wonder if they knew who they were planning on sending home when they picked partners last week, and fixed it so they would end up together, which would seem less fishy than partnering them together from the beginning.  I am usually not one for conspiracy theories on this show, but I do find this to be quite a coincidence. 

[PreBabylonia]

I missed the first half of the show but based on what I did see, I think the ballerinas really lucked out with great choreography. Their routines were my favourites - Jourdan with Marcquet (??) I think, and Zack with Jacquie. I was surprised that Malene was let go - thought her routine last week with Marcquet was fantastic. Tanisha would probably have been my pick for departure.

[Miss chi chi]

Still upset with lack of diversity this season. Loved ballerina judge. Went back and watched Stanley three times. Don't understand the contempt from Nigel at all. What a hateful critique. He did look somewhat ungainly when he was wrapped in telephone cords. None of these kids even knew phones ever had cords....ha. Latch on was kind of literal at the end. Not a good choice for end of song. Other than that, all dancers looking the same to me.

[GraceTX]

I knew Rudy would be crying at the end and I still hurt for him at the end. I think Nigel got it right that people were going to love him even if he's not the best technical dancer. He's such a puppy dog.

Thought the right people went home. After such string performances by the others in the bottom 3, it seemed pretty clear who'd go home.

Not a big fan of Teddy. Don't think he's a very good hip hop dancer and he looks like he's made of plastic. It's kinda creepy.

[beeble]

Boo to Marlena being off the show. No dancing for their lives? I suppose we had to see Cat throwing a crappy pitch and some bizarre group tap number instead. Brooklyn was good tonight but she was awful last week. On the contrary, Marlena was wonderful last week and hampered by poor choreography this week. I thought she was very good in her performance. YMMV but she was a sexy 60's woman whereas any other female performer would have looked either really odd or a little girl playing dress up in that role. 

 

Enough with the strained soccer metaphors! Nick + Marlena = Brazil? Seriously? They didn't embarrass themselves and their country only to watch their most despised rival make it to the championship round. No Nigel. Their "failure" was actually the result of a rather arbitrary decision on the part of you and…who? Who made this decision?

 

I'm grouchy. 

[GraceTX]

Oh yeah, can we have Misty every week. I live how she actually gave critiques for the dancers to work on. Not everyone can be in the hit tamale train, Mary. Misty gives constructive criticism.

[Miss chi chi]

Oh forgot. Weird tap group reminded me of tapping fly girls. Hope you are old enough....

[Misslindsey]

 

I am so sick of Sonja and Travis and their flailing, angst-ridden comtemp mumbo-jumbo routines.

Me too. I would love to see more contemporary that is less angsty. Is that even possible on this show? All the contemporary dances ran together for me tonight.

 

The girls are pretty forgettable for me. None of them really stand out. I liked the second hip-hop. I just like the way Teddy moves, and I enjoyed the African dance as well. Though I do tend to perk up more when the style is anything but contemporary. This show has really killed my once love for contemporary dance.

 

The phone props. Sigh. At first I thought it could be a cool idea, maybe if they weaved in and out together more or something, but alas it wasn't. I kind of prefer Broadway to be less Fosse-like. There is so much different stuff dance wise on Broadway, but then I would have to hear Nigel say that it wasn't Broadway enough.

 

I wish we had more judges of the Misty Copeland caliber than a Jesse Tyler Ferguson. She gave well thought out constructive criticism without being harsh about it. I would have rather watched Misty dance than see Cat throw out the first pitch.

[beeble]

He did look somewhat ungainly when he was wrapped in telephone cords. None of these kids even knew phones ever had cords....ha.

 

Is there anyone out there of the pre-cell phone generation that used to actually dance with a phone cord (to a mounted phone, of course)? Just me? I don't believe it.

 

Harrumph. I'm still grouchy.

[Lemons]

Malene was terrible in the hip hop during auditions and showed her limitations tonight with poor flexibility. How can she work with Travis or Sonya if she can't fling her right leg in the air?

[Miss chi chi]

Ha. Beeble. I used to stretch the cord so it was as far away from my parents as it would get. Usually in the stairwell and then I would whisper to my friends. Never dancing.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Miss chi chi

[Toaster Strudel]

I love you Misty Copeland aka Best Jidge Eva.  Girl cannot tell a lie, and cannot be mean.

 

Emily/Teddy SLINKY HIP HOP - For a tall gangly one Teddy got the right combo of fluid/sharp moves and was great to watch.  Emily was super, too, a tiny notch below Teddy.  A great choreo, nice and 'dancey.'

 

Valerie/Ricky GENERIC CONTEMP - Cookie cutter contemporary, Ricky did all the work, Valerie did all the riding.  She was competent, but she weighs Ricky down.  She did almost break her back bending it backwards while standing on his lap, points for that.  Kudos to Misty Copeland slipping that tapping isn't dance, LOL.

 

Brooklyn/Casey BASIC TANGO - Well well well that little boy Casey sure danced this one like a man, his posture was excellent.  He didn't hold it perfectly towards the end but I was very impressed.  The gauchos were basic - disappointing, but props for getting the rest right. Brooklyn was competent but did not shine.

 

Jourdan/Marcquet CHEESEMAN PAST EXPIRATION DATE SPECIAL - What a horrible routine.  If I was given a poison that gave me random muscle spasms, I'd be writhing over the floor, chairs and kitchen table exactly like they did.  I kept waiting for the seizures to stop and the dance to start but then the music ended and I was puzzled.  Jourdan was criticized for smiling but to me they both looked like they suffered from tetanus.  And what with the praise?  Did the jidges see the same routine I did?  What a waste of the amazing Marcquet! 

 

Jacque/Zack AFRICAN ABSTRACTIONISM - Pretty cool but Zack did a better job than Jacque did.  I actually hated the costumes, ultimately I found them distracting in a bad way, not earthy enough, a little pretentious and a little Crayola all at once.

 

Carly/Serge SNOOZE - Yawn.  Wake me in 1.5 minutes when the deodorant product placement gets going.

 

Tanisha/Rudy SONYA STUFF - She got the rough Sonya feel alright, but Rudy danced like overcooked macaroni.  Rudy you can follow your boyfriend home now.

 

Jessica/Nick WASTE COAST SWOOSH - What was that??? A bunch of awkward lady tosses and wrestling moves on a musical selection from a frog in a blender.  Fox won't let me subtract votes for this grade school level 'performance.'

 

Bridget/Emilio HIP HOP - Emilio did his best but this Toaster senses that the routine was watered down because Bridget couldn't do it.

 

Malene/Stanley BELL TELEPHONE - Of course they couldn't 'connect' Malene and Stanley weren't dancing the same dance.  Malene had her feet planted on the ground and was voguing while on hold with the IRS, and Stanley was trying for a high-flying trapeze act.  Sadly they missed the wireless revolution big time.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Toaster Strudel

[TVSallyS]

I thought it was weird to slam Benji for making it too hard. Yes, you have to choreograph to your dancers to an extent, but in the past, in an effort to accommodate the dancers, choreographers have produced ballroom routines watered down to the point where they don't even resemble the original dance. Nigel has yelled at the ballroom choreographers for not giving them real stuff to dance. He has asked them to dish it out and let the dancers sink or swim. I understand it is still possible for the choreographers to go too difficult for first timers, but to me, that one didn't look harder than other WCS routines I have seen other people nail. I dunno.

I found Teddy amazing to watch in his routine. The geek turned sexy hip hop girl I thought was terrible.

It was terribly rude of Nigel to imply Malene had only made it through thus far on her looks. Way to leave a pretty girl permanently insecure about why people are really handing her things. And it sort of sounded like a dig at her, but he is the one that put her through the earlier rounds, so that's his fault if those were his reasons for doing so, not hers. What was she supposed to do, say "I have a gut feeling you are just putting me through for being cute, so I decline the offer to appear on the show?" How evil to put someone through for being pretty, and then when you decide she can't cut it, throw this back at her and embarrass her by implying she got there undeservedly. He is the judge. It's his job to put through deserving people. If he thought he made a mistake, that is his fault. He should have just said, "tonight was not strong enough", not embarrassed her about why she got this far. It was like he was trying to make her feel guilty for being some undeserving beauty riding on her looks. All she did was dance. He picked her. What a butt.

Edited July 10, 2014 by TVSallyS

[Lemons]

I thought it was weird to slam Benji for making it too hard.

. I understand it is still possible for the choreographers to go too difficult for first timers, but to me, that one didn't look harder than other WCS routines I have seen other people nail. I dunno.

I found Teddy amazing to watch in his routine. The geek turned sexy hip hop girl I thought was terrible.

Nigel was just upset that his favored bland girl, Jessica, couldn't handle the choreography. He's on record stating that Jessica can take the whole thing! No, she can't. She's not versatile. She can do competition style contemporary and rolling on the floor sex kitten. That's it so far.

[TVSallyS]

As soon as I had to watch Jessica's shoulder pop out (that made me so squeamish), there was no way I could enjoy any part of Benji's routine anyway. I was just on edge and flinching every time she moved her arm.

[90PercentGravity]

"This is a story of two people deeply in love who are fighting and there's a lot of pushing and pulling" said every contemp choreographer ever.

[Rick Kitchen]

Loved the opening number, can we get Josh to do all of the Broadway choreography?  But, um, Kat, the winner is going to be a member of the company, not "starring", but whatever.

 

So Josh Bergasse got his Emmy for "Smash".

 

Rudy reminds me of a puppy.  And did he learn mugging from Dominic/D-Trix?  Didn't particularly care for that piece, though.

 

Ugh, did Travis intentionally find the worst song possible to choreograph to?  That song was like cats screeching.  Didn't much care for that piece, either.

 

That hip hop choreography was *horrible*.  It was just sooo ... soft.  Nothing hard hitting about that at all.  Emilio had nothing to work with.

 

That was West Coast Swing?  Really?  I noticed this last week, and again tonight, Nick spends more time looking at the audience rather than at his partner.  It was interesting that Nigel wasn't booed after his critique.

 

There's a Carly?  Man, we saw a lot of her intimate anatomy, didn't we?  But that was a nice number with Serge.

 

Damn, Emily has hips!  Wow!  That was a soft hip hop too, but it held me more than the other one did.

 

I thought the criticisms of the telephone piece were wrong.  Don't blame the dancers for the choreo/concept, and I thought they were beautiful, both of them.  Stanley is still my favorite.

 

Jourdan and Marcquet were hot.  My favorite piece of the night.

 

Casey saved himself with that tango.  Good job.  But man, he looks like such a baby.

 

It bothers me when they talk about African jazz being "animalistic".  It has racial overtones that disturb me.  But Zack and Jacque were very good.  Though he did slip once, and it looked to me like he kept pulling up his pants, which was odd considering that costume, maybe it was his dance belt he kept pulling on.

 

I'm surprised they cut a ballroom dancer, but she was the oldest woman.  Typical.

[phoenix780]

"This is a story of two people deeply in love who are fighting and there's a lot of pushing and pulling" said every contemp choreographer ever.

 

Seriously.  I would pay to never see someone walk off the stage dramatically at the end of the routine again.  I felt like there was a freshness to the contemporary seen by the contestants during the auditions, yet here we are at the main show and for me the contemporary grinds this show to a halt.  There has to be something else to that style.  

 

Though I have to admit, I think the hip hop was worse this week.  I actually fast-forwarded after a point, those girls were awful.  Same with the interrogation routine, imho.  Just...bad.  I don't remember skipping routines in past seasons.  

 

Nigel, as noted, was an asshole for his comment to the girl who went home (is it Malene or Marlena?).  "Be proud of all you've accomplished here...by being really pretty."  That was some bullshit, and I think it was more directed towards viewers who complained last season about him carrying that one girl...MacKenzie, who was really pretty and wound up in the bottom three a few times, if I'm remembering the right person.  My inner conspiracy theorist actually wonders if Marlena's presence in the top 20 was primarily to get to this moment, where Nigel can "prove" he's not judging with his dick.

 

I thought the phone routine was done well.  Nobody tripped, not sure what else was expected.  

 

On the bright side- I loved the ballerina who judged.  I thought she was a little forced sometimes with the whole "you were fierce" kind of comment- it didn't seem like a thing she naturally says- but she was awesome in every way, like she was during the auditions.  I wish she'd stick around a bit...but not long enough to get tainted.  It's going to be harder to sit through the guy from Modern Family now, or Wayne Brady, knowing she's out there.

[chocolatine]

I wanted to take those stupid phones and shove them up someone's backside.

 

 

Not just someone's, Spencer's.

 

Has Nigel ever as blatantly thrown anyone under the bus as he did Malene? Poor girl. I hope DWTS or SCD snaps her up.

 

I hate that one of my favorite guys, Marcquet, was paired with Jourdan. I find her dancing to be very "in your face", no subtlety. I hated the way she danced the interrogator character. 

 

The WCS was painful to watch. I agreed with Nigel - gasp! - to an extent that the routine was very ambitious. Benji could have choreographed a fun and authentic WCS with fewer lifts and tricks. But Nick and Jessica carry their share of the responsibility for the execution, and I think Nick deserved to go home based on this performance and last week's.

 

How long can Sonja and Travis keep doing variations on the same theme? It's like the emperor has no clothes with those two.

 

Casey really surprised me with his performance in the Tango. Until that dance I kept forgetting he was on the show. Brooklyn was much better than last week, technique-wise, but I didn't really see the maturity Mary was talking about. 

 

The African Jazz routine was a lot of fun and I loved how Jacque threw herself into it. Huge improvement over last week's underwhelming pas de deux. 

[Gella]

I am in the minority but I hated Misty's judging. How many times can one person say "fabulous, fierce, sexy, strong!".  Are there no more adjectives? I didn't think it was very constructive. A lot about faces and expressions but not much about technique. 

I understand why they sent Malene home but I wish it were Jourdan. She was completely unimpressive and disconnected today. And once again off tempo. If we were going to lose a ballroomer I prefer to keep Serge.  

The show needs new contemporary choreographers. There are only so many Sonya/Travis routines one can watch. 

No one really stood out I'm afraid.  

[ramble]

I think the boys are still outshinjng the girls by a long shot. I still can't keep people straight other than Ricky, Serge & Marcquet. So with that being said:

I liked Serge tonight. While I didn't sob uncontrollably I did like it. I thought Ricky was hampered by his partner a great deal. She looked uncomfortable in some of those positions. Almost as if her body was about to go on strike & quit on her. I thought Marcquet was wasted in that stomp around the table, lay on the floor routine.

I enjoyed the Argentine Tango & hated the phone dance of dumb. I wanted to like the WCS more than I actually did. Everything else is already blended together in my mind. Except for Misty Copeland, she stood out. I liked that she had dance related comments. It wasn't just, "you look the part of the character" or "your legs are so long".

[ThirteenthJuror]

I hate that I'm going to end up sounding like Debbie Downer a second week in a row, but I just wasn't enthralled yet again. I'm just going to break it down by routine.

 

Opening number: Miles better than last week for sure. I could actually pinpoint certain dancers this time, whereas, last week they were all just one big blob to me. I thought Emilio and Nick stood out.

 

Tanisha/Rudy: I thought this was the best routine of the night. Other than the group routine that is. I wish Tanisha would just call herself a Jazz dancer that happens to dabble in ballroom. I think her Jazz is far better than what I've seen of what she's calling her specialty. Her technique is much sharper and precise in Jazz. I thought Rudy partnered her well.

 

Serge/Carly: It was ok for me. Carly is going to slide right under the radar and next thing you know she'll be in the finals. She's the female darkhorse that will escape the bottom. Surprised Serge was in the bottom with all of the internet support of fans and dwts pros I've seen. Never underestimate teens and their will to vote the "cute" boys. 

 

Malene/Stanley: Totally hosed. They got the one of you is in the bottom, so we're giving you crappy Broadway choreography to send you home. I usually love Spencer, but seriously wtf was that?

 

Jourdan/Marquet: Did nothing for me actually. Nothing

 

Jacque/Zack: See above. Rehashed Sean Cheesman theme and choreography. I mean it was just last season Sean. At least wait until next year to be so obvious.

 

Ricky/Valerie: I'm really bored with Travis' choreography and Nigel stroking his scrotum about how great his work is even when it's mediocre like this. There was a whole lot of stop, stop, pose, stretch and elongate going on. I need to see Ricky do something totally different next week. Valerie was nothing more than his prop in this routine.

 

Nick/Jessica: Well that flopped. Which is a shame because I really was happy to see Benji back. Everything looked labored; the lifts, the steps, their faces. Everything. I sensed no joy that comes with a WCS. Nigel saying the choreography was too hard is BS. Why dumb down the choreography when this is supposed to be the most talented group ever? Like I said last week. A lot of them aren't elevating the routines. They're just doing them.

 

Brooklyn/Casey: Better than I expected, but still not good enough to me. An AT can be easily faked with mood. Technique can sometimes be overlooked because it's such an entertaining dance. I would've liked to have seen a more mature pair like Malene and Serge do this.

 

Now onto the dreaded Hip Hops. The only person I liked out of these 4 was Emilio. Still not buying Teddy as a H/H dancer. I also need the makeup department to ease up on the makeup on Teddy. He's like 3 mascara coats away from appearing in "Cats" on Broadway. Both girls were horrible and were coddled in the critiques. I suspect H/H will not be good until the AS come on and elevate the dancers.

 

Not shocked Malene was sent home. This show has a bad rep when it comes to mature ballroom dancers. She was by far the best female in her specialty and if we were going by last week Brooklyn should have went home. Casey or Nick could've left.

 

 

[mertensia]

That West Coast Swing was just awkward and they never really did look at each other. I wish Marlene has whipped out her Emma Peel hidden weaponry and filleted Nigel at the end. He's one rude man.

It was so nice and refreshing to hear Benji aay that not all dances need a story.

[waving feather]

I wasn't impressed by Valerie in her tap routine last week and this was worse. The girl is so stiff and ungraceful. They probably wouldn't give her real criticism because she's paired with Ricky but honestly, Ricky was doing all the work (i.e. making it look good) in that piece while she was just like a block of wood. 

 

And how is it fair that Ricky, Teddy, and Emilio got their own styles once again?

Edited July 10, 2014 by waving feather

[eli]

After last week, I kept thinking that it would be fun if Ricky and Valerie were paired together, because they're possibly the most naturally joyous two out of the bunch. And the 20-second Q&A pretty much proved that. But I was also mostly hoping that they wouldn't be paired together, because of exactly what we saw.

 

Here's the thing, though -- how many times have we seen a non-contemporary guy paired with a contemporary girl, and they guy praised to the heavens for basically being the person who is doing their best to not mess up the lines of the girl who is dancing goregously around them? This is just the other way around. It was unfortunate that they pulled contemporary and Travis in the first week, because Travis can't help but show off Ricky. And no, Valerie can't be half of the pair who does that. It would have been better if they'd pulled any other style.

 

Beyond that, my overriding impressions are that I still love Stanley, I'm suprised at how much I dislike Rudy and Teddy, and I had to look up which ones Carly and Nick were.

[kechara]

And yet, with all these flaws and more, I would be sad if this show wasn't on my summer tv. Really there's nothing else I feel that I need to see.

[Haleth]

Last week I was delighted by everyone and every routine and other than the ballerinas I couldn't imagine who might possibly be going home.  This week?  Ugh.  There wasn't a single stand out.  I can't remember any of them with any specificity, even after reading all the comments above.  My favorites from last week weren't great, each was hampered in some way: Ricky by his partner, Stanley by the stupid phone, and Marcquette by a boring routine.  The guys continue to be better by far than the girls.  I know it's only the 2nd week but all the non blonde girls blend together.  

 

I've been nagging a friend about watching this show and for the first time I'm hoping she skipped last night since it was such a poor representation of what we usually get to see.

[PattyorSelma]

I stumbled across this show in Season Two and Benji was on the screen doing something silly in the rehearsals, and I was hooked.  I voted for him every dang week.  I adore Benji!  I was so happy to see him back but then mean ol' Nigel had to go and say the routine was too hard.  Always picking on Benji!  I really think Nigel has a problem with him and I don't know what it is, but he needs to get over it already.  Benji challenged the dancers and that's the whole point of the show!!  Also, I agree wholeheartedly with Benji that we don't have to cry after every routine.  Broken heart, sadness, eternal misery...yeah, I want to experience those emotions as often as possible. 

Edited July 10, 2014 by PattyorSelma

[OakGoblinFly]

I really enjoyed the opening number; it was well done and lots of fun to watch.  I can see that routine on Broadway.

 

On the whole, I wasn’t impressed with the dance routines; I felt that there were far more “misses” than “hits” and I thought the judges were totally off base with their comments (though I did appreciate Misty give solid notes for improvement for a lot of the dancers). 

 

 

I did not like the Sonya Tayeh jazz piece and I was gob-smacked that the judges liked it and praised Tanisha and Rudy.  To my eye, Rudy was incredibility hunched over for most of the routine and Tanisha was mugging for the camera; the lifts were extremely strained and interrupted the flow of the dance.  I did not like the judges glossing over the fact that “ballroom” Tanisha is in fact very well trained in jazz/contemporary.

 

 

Valerie is the cutest thing and I was surprised how much I enjoyed her partnership with Ricky.  I am over Travis Wall and the constant tongue baths that he seems to receive.  That being said the dance was perfectly lovely if a bit predictable.

 

Doesn’t Bridget have some hip-hop in her background?  I didn’t appreciate the edit monkeys making it seem like Bridget was set up to fail.  I’m not sure I’m feeling the partnership with Emilo; I didn’t feel any sort of connection between the two. 

 

Hi Benji, so lovely to see you again; why did you have to choreography a west coast swing to a piece of music that took so long to get to the rhythm?  I felt that dance was entirely too trick reliant; I would have much preferred to see a basic west coast swing with less lifts.  Nick and Jessica were all kinds off awful in that piece; hesitant, awkward, and clumsy-looking.  I could not stand Jessica’s camera mugging.

 

Why is it I can never remember Carly?  That being said, I did like her partnership with Serge and I felt that with the possible exception of Zach and Jacque they had the strongest chemistry.  I generally find Sonya’s contemporary pieces over worked, yet I found this quite beautiful.  I think that is because Serge and Carly performed the heck out of it.

 

Teddy is just so darn adorable, isn’t he?  Emily also suffers from “camera mugging” syndrome.  I don’t think she looked at Teddy once.  Does Teddy have any bones in his body?  He was so fluid, liquid-like in his movements it was enjoyable to watch.

 

That Malene and Stanley piece was a total train wreck.  The concept was fun, but I do agree with Mary when she said it went on too long.  I thought Malene was great in this number; she had the right look and vibe, it is just a shame that she was let down by less than stellar choreography.  I did not like Stanley in this piece at all; he seemed to in his head and was stymied by the stylized movement.

 

For all the harping the judges did on how disconnected Malene and Stanley were in their routine, I am surprised they did not mention that in the drek that was Jourdan and Marcquet’s routine.  I felt like I was watching armature hour where each person is performing a different routine; Marcquet all staccato while Jourdan was more fluid.  Marcquet looked very flaily and uncoordinated; I also thought his face looked like he was holding his breath the entire time.  Jourdan needs to work on connection to her partner and to the piece she’s performing.

 

At first I thought that Casey’s shoulders were creeping up during the Tango, then I realized it was the fit of his jacket.  I really wish they wouldn’t put the guys in buttoned jackets when they perform a dance like the Tango as it really deters from the lines.  Brooklyn looked lovely and her legs were amazing in this piece.  While the routine was well executed, I felt that there was something missing.

 

I really like the partnership of Zach and Jacque; they seem ideally suited for each other.  I would have liked to actually see more of the dance.  I don’t know how the dance looked/worked in person, but on television there was a significant portion where Zach and Jacque were not clearly visible.  What little I was a lot of fun to watch.

 

Bye Nick, bye Malene – while I am not saddened to see Nick go (I never thought he should have been in the top 20) I am sad to lose Malene as the rest of the girls are just that, little girls playing dress-up.

Edited July 10, 2014 by OakGoblinFly

[Thog]

My top four are still Ricky, Stanley, Zach, and Marcquet, not necessarily in that order.When Valerie was pulling a name I thought "anyone but Ricky!" I love watching Ricky dance, and I knew those two wouldn't partner well. I do like Valerie as a tapper, but I didn't believe she could pull off what he can, and she didn't prove me wrong. (On a shallow note, how does Ricky get his eyes to sparkle like that? If he could bottle it he'd be rich). Zach really surprised me tonight. He's more versatile than I'd realized, and I thought he was as fierce this week as well as he was fun last week. I wish Stanley and Marcquet had had more to work with, because they just disappeared among the others and they've both given me chills in other routines. I enjoy most of the women while I'm watching them, but can't remember much about them later. Hopefully as the numbers get smaller some of them will start to stand out more.

[Shades of Red]

I do love Mary with Luther Brown.

 

They were always super flirty whenever she was up here for our Canadian version of the show.  He makes her blush which I think is adorable.  Have to say I was a little disappointed in his routine though.  The routines he choreographed for our show were really well done, had lots of content and resembled hip hop as I know it.  I know there are different kinds, but honestly, some days what they show on here seems to have very little connection to anything that resembled hip hop.  He also waters it down considerably which I think is due to the censorship in the U.S.

 

I forgot about Nigel making his rude comments to the young woman who left.  Uncalled for and very disrespectful.  I must have blocked it out not believing I was hearing right.

 

I have no idea what WCS actually looks like so did wonder about the routine that was presented last night.  I'm with the person above who mentioned they were cringing the entire time the couple danced wondering about the female partner's shoulder.  I kept wondering if it would pop out again or if she was going to favour it. 

 

I only know a couple of these dancers' names and I agree they do seem to blend together.

[waving feather]

I really like the partnership of Zach and Jacque; they seem ideally suited for each other.

This surprised me too. I didn't want this at first because it seems like Fodder Couple with both of their auditions not being shown. But the partnership worked really well. They have similar tall slim physique. And Jacque seemed less like a blank check after pairing with Zack. Go Team Fodder?!? I'm still intrigued by Zack. He has some technique there but not the same as the contemporary dancers. More of a Broadway style (like Jess LeProtto). I love that he always completes his movements and is quite precise in them. The flail-y contemporary dancers on the show tend to not complete their movements.

 

The partnership that didn't work in terms of physique is Ricky and Valerie. Ricky is so tiny and lithe, while Valerie is broader.

 

Tanisha and Rudy were also well-partnered in terms of physique. Tanisha is a strong dancer. Rudy, for a contemporary, has terrible feet. He doesn't even point his toes?!

 

I'm still not a fan of Teddy's hip-hop dancing. He has the groove but doesn't hit hard enough when it's required. Just because you are groovy doesn't mean you don't need to be hard-hitting when necessary. Emily was terrible in the hip hop. Not sure what she was going for there.

 

Bridget and Emilio were cute. Bridget had the right attitude but her arms are SO weak. They literally looked like noodles at some moments.

 

I actually thought Malene was more in character in the routine than Stanley. Stanley lost the plot quickly and was just dancing through it. Stanley has gorgeous lines but that won't be enough for me to appreciate him as a dancer.

 

Jourdan and Marcquet were a mess! Worst routine of the night, for me. Both of them were not dancing with each other and I thought Marcquet looked outright ungraceful throughout the dance, while Jourdan danced heavy. It was hard to watch.

 

Brooklyn and Casey were good, I guess. They nailed the choreography but it's just like 2 kids playing dress up.

Edited July 10, 2014 by waving feather

[dusang]

As soon as I had to watch Jessica's shoulder pop out (that made me so squeamish), there was no way I could enjoy any part of Benji's routine anyway. I was just on edge and flinching every time she moved her arm.

 

Samesies -- I was cringing through the whole thing.

 

I didn't dislike anything but I was surprisingly bored through the majority of the episode.  The Top 20 is always hard for me -- 20 people is a lot to keep track of.  I can't really distinguish the dancers until the Top 10.

[JenMD]

Hi Benji, so lovely to see you again; why did you have to choreography a west coast swing to a piece of music that took so long to get to the rhythm?  I felt that dance was entirely too trick reliant; I would have much preferred to see a basic west coast swing with less lifts. 

Yeah, I thought it was pretty awful.  Way too many lifts and very little actual swing.  I was excited when I realized we were getting a WCS but by the end I was left wondering where it was.  Granted, most of my experience with WCS is in relation to country music I would think it should still look the same set to other genres of music.  It's not even about Benji's choreography being too hard, but too lift-heavy and not enough true dancing together on the floor.  I was so disappointed. 

[NextIteration]

Benji has been a kiss of death when choreographing for the most part hasn't he?  I know Pasha and Sara did fine with his stuff, but in Canada, didn't someone almost always head out the door after Benji's choreo?

 

And boy howdy, Nigel warmed up the bus and headed straight for Jessica and Malene, that was uncomfortable.

 

Not one piece wowed me this week except the opening number, was happy that Jourdan didn't go home.

 

Having Jourdan and Malene in the bottom announced at the beginning of the show really made it stressful to get through for me, since they are/were two of my favorite girls, I don't like the format done that way, at all.

[Primetimer]

It is a scientific fact that dance is better when performed by someone who is either nearly naked or wearing something ridiculous.

Read the story

[Whimsy]

I love, love, love Benji (also started watching in season 2) and I especially loved his “no story- just fun” dance.  The music really let that piece down, though.  It wasn’t fast enough.  Also, the lifts were painful to watch.  I don’t know if the dancers were being cautious of Jessica’s popped out shoulder or if they were just really that bad at it.  Made me want to watch his WCS dances from his season.  He has so much attitude and fun when he dances!

 

In contrast- Travis’ choreography about how the girl realizes she made a mistake and is trying to get the guy back didn’t work for me AT ALL.  I watched the dance thinking “huh?”  The choreography didn’t say that in any way.  They were always connected and he was always propping her up.  She had no reaching towards him or anything showing she wanted him back.  Not that I like all of that, it’s totally overused, but I just didn’t see the story and the music sucked too.

 

Is Misty from Minnesota?  If so, all the more reason for me to love her as that is my home-state.  I really hope those kids took notes.  She had some specific critiques that could actually HELP the dancers.  Even the ones about the faces because it’s about the full performance and believing the story the dancers are telling so it includes facials.  I remember when the other judges used to do that waaaaaaay back in the first few seasons.

 

As soon as I saw the table all I could think of was Sabra and Neil’s dance and couldn’t think of anything else for the rest of it. 

 

I got distracted for about 3 or 4 dances in the middle, but I really liked that African jazz routine.  Loved the costuming with the beginning- that was pretty cool.  Jacque really threw herself into the movements.  I enjoyed it.

[crimsongrl]

Would it be possible to post photos of the remaining dancers for each week with the episode description? I have no idea who most of these people are! I've been watching since season 1 and this is the first time I can remember a group being so forgettable. I had hoped what they lacked in personality they'd make up for in their ability to get into character...guess not. At this point I'm just hoping for some amazing group numbers but I'm 0/2 so far. My biggest issue with the show (I have many) is the music selection. None of the music makes me want to get up and dance or creates the story the choreographers are selling. I spend more time fast forwarding each season. This show makes me grumpy now and that's sad.

I like the new format if only to be done away with solos! Very few dancers could come up with something special and contemporary solos are the worst. I've never been a fan of adding the All Stars, but I have a feeling they'll be a welcome change this season.

 

*I hope Ricky isn't getting the Melanie treatment this season! He better get some real Hip-Hop next week.

Edited July 10, 2014 by crimsongrl

[Mertseger]

No leopards were harmed in the filming of this show.

 

 

Hi Benji, so lovely to see you again; why did you have to choreography a west coast swing to a piece of music that took so long to get to the rhythm?  I felt that dance was entirely too trick reliant; I would have much preferred to see a basic west coast swing with less lifts.

 

Yeah, I thought it was pretty awful.  Way too many lifts and very little actual swing.  I was excited when I realized we were getting a WCS but by the end I was left wondering where it was.  Granted, most of my experience with WCS is in relation to country music I would think it should still look the same set to other genres of music.  It's not even about Benji's choreography being too hard, but too lift-heavy and not enough true dancing together on the floor.  I was so disappointed. 

 

Pirouette, pirouette, lift and pose.

Pirouette, pirouette, lift and pose.

...

Yes, it would have been nice to see some basic swing steps. I want more Benji on my show, but that was not a good piece for that couple (at least).

 

I vote for Misty to permanently replace Nigel as jidge. Maybe we'd let him be part of the rotation when he has a show or something to promote (crosses fingers for a dark reboot of The Apple).

Edited July 10, 2014 by Mertseger

[CassAgain]

I like Benji a lot, but I think WCS is just one of those styles that is hard for non-experts to pull off, which makes Pasha and Sara all the more impressive.  It was really unlucky for Nick to pull that style when he was on the bottom.

 

I'm not very impressed with Teddy either week in his own style.

 

Serge and Carly were awesome.  So glad Serge gets another chance.

 

The ballet girls were really lucky in their partnerships.  Valerie, not as much. 

Edited July 10, 2014 by CassAgain