S14.E09: Top 10 Perform Pt. 2

[Drogo]

After the Top 10 competed for the nation's vote, one dancer must head home.

[susannot]

Loved Mark and Comfort.  IMO, Comfort is by far the most improved dancer in the history of the show.  She looks like a different person and she can dance in every style!

 

Koine is a beautiful dancer.

 

Agree with Nigel that there is nothing better than dance to put across emotions that you cannot talk about.  A perfect way to express it.

 

Liked Lex's solo.

 

The Broadway routine with Judy's killer voice was fantastic!! Robert and Taylor, Bravo.

 

Marko  and Koine:  incredible.  Love you Guam..

 

Mark is cute. He looks like Bruno Mars.  Is he Hawaiian?

 

Jasmine is beautiful and I love her. Did not understand  the latest dance.

[LexieLily]

Vanessa is useless as a judge and she needs to put some clothes on. And stop giggling. 

And here we go with Nigel starting up with his weekly allotment of offensive comments. It's not his place to tell Robert (contestant, not All-Star) that he uses humor as a defense mechanism and needs to figure out his deep hurt. I thought his dance with Jasmine was just fine!

Kiki and Jenna's hip-hop was embarrassing. I don't know what the judges were on about. 

I want to very gently tell Logan that Allison is married with two children, not to mention ten years older than him.

Edited August 15, 2017 by LexieLily

[spanana]

At least I was reminded of how much I hate Nigel as a judge tonight.  I also didn't understand the praise heaped on almost everyone for in some cases very mediocre dances and then his decision to criticize Robert over his emotion.  Also IMO there is no way Robert should have been sent home over Sydney.

I love Dassy. She outdanced Fikshun. I love Koine/Marko together.  I enjoyed Robert.  Kaylee had some nice moments and cool tricks.

Kiki was obviously better than his horrendous hip hop in Vegas but it wasn't actually very good and yet the judges heaped praise on him like it was the second coming.   Jenna was even embarrassing in parts of it. Didn't think Sydney's routine was very good either, yet she got praise and Robert went home.

It's kind of like if the judges are up your all stars ass enough, they praise you no matter what.  So congrats Kiki.  The judges will just keep you forever I guess.

I don't have a problem with Vanessa Hudgens normally, but she offers nothing of use here.

Edited August 15, 2017 by spanana

[Mason]

24 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

 It's not his place to tell Robert (contestant, not All-Star) that he uses humor as a defense mechanism and needs to figure out his deep hurt.

Especially when he knew Robert would likely be the one going. At which point, Robert demonstrated to the world his ability to deal with deep hurt.

[Keekski]

Nigel is an asshole for many more reasons than just sending Robert home. Are the judges going to pick the person going home every week out of the bottom 3? Sydney totally should have gotten the boot. Robert was great! And now I am super sad we won't get to see Jasmine dance anymore this season. 

[Laurie4H]

They mention how many great dancers they have this season (which I know they have to say). But I don't feel like anyone stands out like in past years.  At least not yet.

Am I the only one that thought the step dance was bad?

A few people last week mentioned that Kaylee was a chunky.  I'm really confused what is considered chunky then because she looks all muscle to me.

It's so obvious but Nigel comments who is going to be voted off. 

[crowceilidh]

Kiki was dreadful in that HH.  Jenna wasn't a whole lot better.  I would LOVE to hear what LuBrown actually thought of their dance.  I mean how many seconds did he kill in there with various easy crap moves I could have done.

Edited August 15, 2017 by crowceilidh

[healthnut]

Just watched all the routines on twitter, Fox has posted them before they even air on the west coast. Strange but I'll take it. I thought everyone did well, no one stands out as really needing to go home. Not happy Robert is first out. My rankings for tonight:

1. Mark/Comfort - good chemistry, great energy, biggest surprise of the night

2. Kione/Marko - tough choreo and they nailed it

3. Lex/Gaby - I'm no ballroom expert, but they looked pretty convincing to me

4. Robert/Jasmine - beautiful, just beautiful, and of course they break up the all black pair

5. Taylor/Robert - cute piece, enough personality to make it work, nice tricks, technically strong

6. Dassy/Fikshun - fun piece, rarely does Bollywood go bad, I thought Dassy lost a little energy on the end, she seemed to be cutting her movements a little short, they are so ridiculously cute

7. (Tie) Kaylee/Cyrus - entertaining, but there is something missing from their pairing 

7. (Tie) Logan/Allison - didn't love the choreography, very Brian Friedman, they really committed though

9. Sophia/Paul - pretty, she did good work here, just not as memorable as the others

10. Kiki/Jenna - I thought Kiki did pretty good and Jenna definitely sold it but weakest of the night for me 

Edited August 15, 2017 by healthnut

[jewel21]

Mark and Comfort were great and I loved their dance.

I really liked Fik-Shun and Dazzy as well. They're great together.

And I enjoyed Kaylee and Cyrus as well.

Everyone else put me to sleep and I'm still annoyed Kiki wasn't in the bottom three.

[Drogo]

Nigel, you are a deep hurt. 

[crowceilidh]

Robert and Taylor's piece was gorgeous.  I teared up at the end when Taylor walked forward alone.  Then Taylor came to stand in front of the judges looking like the Joker from Batman.  What a shock.

[pivot]

I can't believe they seriously praised Kiki's hip hop. That entire routine was just cringeworthy. He needs to go. Can't decide if I want him to go before or after Logan. Both are devoid of personality and bring nothing to the table. Terrible picks by Allison and that other all-star dancer (can't remember her name for the life of me).

Best performances of the night were Gabby/Lex (I think they have the most charisma of any dancers on the show), Halee/Cyrus and the bollywood number. The rest were dull.

Edited August 15, 2017 by pivot

[sharifa70]

I thought Fik-shun and Dassy did a good job on their Bollywood dance, but I would like the show to find a new choreographer because all of the Bollywood routines pretty much look the same to me. Same costumes, same hands and feet...yawn. Bollywood has so much more to offer than deep squats, controlled flailing, and spinning on one's knees. I'm also bored with the "people will be offended by the wrong hands" stuff we've been fed since they first added Bollywood to the mix. No, they won't, Nakul. It's Bollywood, not Bharatanatyam. 

Edited August 15, 2017 by sharifa70

[crowceilidh]

It was really interesting how quickly they concealed Dassy's fall with the camera angle switch.  I'ma gonna have to go back and watch that one again.

Vanessa Hudgens appears to be an excitable moron.

I flove that Robert danced his way off camera.  Good for him.  So sad to lose Jasmine, but not surprised.  She seems to be profoundly uncomfortable reading the script.

Wow! segue.... Is it just me or does this show seem WAY more scripted than before?  It's like there is something very very fishy going on.

[hula-la]

2 hours ago, Laurie4H said:

Am I the only one that thought the step dance was bad?

I think it was brought down by having the All-Stars in there.  It's not like they're experienced in step, so I'm sure those girls would have had to alter what they normally do. I can't recall another time they've had guest dancers in, and then had some of the SYTYCD dancers become a part of the number. I find that a little disrespectful.

[crowceilidh]

In light of my comment re the current scriptiness of the show - that extends to Cat whom I have formerly adored, who appears to be reading a really really Cat-like script written for her by someone who almost-totally-gets- her, but not quite.

[crossover]

Of course, the routines were not as good as last week since some of the dancers were out of their comfort zone.  Nigel said he was surprised by the B3 and I was too.  I thought Logan and Robert had 2 of the better routines last week.  So they must not have a fanbase.  
I know Nigel and crew went on and on about Taylor/Travis. So I felt that if she fell to the b3 that TPTB would start forcing her down our throats.  I guess they want her to build up her fanbase because she got another contemporish routine with the "tongue-bath".  Thought it was a good broadway routine but not in the category of one of the best bwys.  But she should be able to ride the Travis-wave for a while.  Like when Mia was there.  If you got her the first week, you'll go far.
Lex is another one that you can feel TPTB are pulling for.  He must have a decent fanbase because I didn't see anything special about last week's routine.  And, Nigel can gloss over all he wants but that AT was not good.  The passion/feel nor the execution was good.  It looked sluggish.  But he'll probably get contemporary next week.  It will look even more impressive because the first two weeks have just been ok.
Kiki is another TPTB favorite.  Last week's routine was good but I paid more attention to Jenna.  This week's routine was so watered down that it would've been a shame if he couldn't do it.  The routine was also hidden by wardrobe and zany characters.  It was a fun routine.  At least he got hip hop out the way.
Mark is a TPTB favorite but I think both of his routines have been great.  Comfort has become a very versatile dancer.  They were even good in the disco.  And she's gotten more gorgeous with age.  I think they came out the gate with chemistry.  They're my favorite couple so something will go wrong.
I liked Kaylee and Sydney routines but they aren't favorites of mine.  I'd rather they go before Koine and Dassy.   I don't see TPTB letting them stay over Lex, Taylor, Kiki or Mark.  I really don't see TPTB letting them stay over Logan.  I like Logan too.  But if he doesn't have a fanbase, there's only a couple of times that Nigel will save him.
My favorites this week (w/o Robert) were Mark, Dassy, Logan, Koine, Taylor, Sydney, Kaylee, Kiki and Lex.

[Mertseger]

Sean's routine for Koine and Marko should be put up for an Emmy choreo nod next year. The lighting department is knocking it out of the park so far this year.

Vanessa is obviously gorgeous, but her outfit was Cat Season 2 and Season 3 levels of terrible styling. Cat should, on the other hand, have kept the headdress for the rest of the show - she looked great as a 14' disco amazon. Do they always swap the audience behind her on the Balcony of Power?

[crowceilidh]

I loved the disco.

Logan didn't have Alison's fanbase last week either.

That AT absolutely blew on Lex's side.  I felt there was something very wrong about the way he was dressed for it.  The suit wrinkled up a lot and made him look hunched.  I think it was supposed to be hiding flaws not exacerbating them, but I don't think it succeeded.

[methadonna]

Did I hear Nigel correctly that there was a documentary on theaters now about that step team? 

 

Not it that I've ever thought the initial [televised with judges] were even vaguely organic, but--if I didn't misunderstand him--it makes that entire initial audition and package extra icky, as they obviously then had already planned to have them on the show and just got that girl to come do a faux audition to provide the arc and a fake narrative (I'd also thought they were talking about her bringing on the young team that she now goes back to her old school to coach, not a bunch of mediocre grown-ass women. Who may still have a great story but so do the graduated step team members from probably half the schools in urban* America, and a fair percentage of them are actually probably good, not just shills for some documentary. I thought this was going to be the story of a young woman who felt "saved" (gag) by her school step experience and now was bringing up the next generation of young women there to do the same.

 

*Not to say they are exclusive to each other, but, in my former (pre-disability) life, between teaching and doing research, I've spent time in a lot of schools, and most urban schools I've been in that have any extra-curricular activities had/have a step team, albeit with most at a more casual or lower competitive level; no suburban ones I can think of, however, did (admittedly, I don't think I've actually ever spent time in a truly rural school). So, not trying to generalize TOO much from my own little sample set, but just speaking from my experience. And my disappointment with what was an even more fabricated narrative than the many "untrained" "street" dancer stories we've been fed throughout the years.

[GeminiDancer]

I thought the AT was horrible, and as I'm going deeper and deeper in AT world, I realize why I'm no longer a fan of the routines. It's because I don't find that the male partner to be believable as a leader (except Pasha, of course), and this was painfully obvious with Lex. The first Americana walk, his feet are slightly behind hers in timing. She's doing the ochos and ganchos by herself when he should be *telling* her to do the movements. The gancho sequence towards the end was cringe worthy: I don't mind open embrace, but there was a canyon between them. With the way they were so far apart, there's no way they could feel for the back of the knee and make the actual hooks.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Aww, Robert was my favorite personality. That's what this show is about right? Personality, not dancing? :P He seems like a sweet genuine person and I wish him all the best.

So, Kaylee & Cyrus weren't in the bottom 3 because of all of Cyrus's fangirls right?

I could do without Jenna & Allison. Kiki doesn't stand out to me and Logan, his dancing is great but he just looks soooo young (because well, he is). 

Koine's not my favorite, but that dance routine was my favorite. 

Edited August 15, 2017 by MVFrostsMyPie
because with and without are completely different :)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Performances from this week:

Group performances:

Spoiler

Top 10 & All Stars - disco (Mandy Moore & Val Chmerkovskiy)

All Stars & the Lethal Ladies - stepping

 

 

 

Top 10 & their All Star partners:

Spoiler

Koine & Marko - African jazz (Sean Cheesman)

Kaylee & Cyrus - hip hop (Phoenix & Pharside)

 

Taylor & Robert - Broadway (Al Blackstone)

 

Robert & Jasmine - contemporary (Stacey Tookey)

Logan & Allison - jazz (Brian Friedman)

Kiki & Jenna - hip hop (Luther Brown)

Dassy & Fik-Shun - Bollywood (Nakul Dev Mahajan)

Lex & Gaby - Argentine tango (Miriam Larici & Leonardo Barrionuevo)

Sydney & Paul - contemporary (Jaci Royal)

Mark & Comfort - jazz (Ray Leeper)

 

Solos:

Spoiler

Kiki

Mark

Lex

 

Dassy

Sydney

Taylor

Kaylee

Robert

Koine

Logan

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

You know what style never makes me say, "Hey, we haven't had a _________ routine for a while and I really miss it"? Disco.

Holy crap, that hip hop routine was embarrassing to watch. First of all, Luther Brown must have watered it down a lot to accommodate Kiki but even with easier choreography, it still looked pretty bad. There was no dancing for the last 20-30 seconds either. It was just Kiki aiming the money gun and Jenna standing there in a fur coat.

Gaby looked great in the Argentine tango but Lex just kind of faded into the background. To be fair, I think it's hard for most male contestants to do really well at AT because this dance really showcases the female dancer, but still. I agree that the suit he was wearing didn't help matters either.

I know lots of people love B-Free from his early seasons on the show, but his routine for Allison and Logan was a miss for me. Allow me to channel Len Goodman while I say that there was too much faffing about at the beginning. These routines should showcase whoever is competing, so having Logan sit in a chair for the first 30 seconds of the routine was a complete waste of time. And sorry, but if you're going to have a dance with a table then it better be as good as Sabre and Neil's table dance (which this was not).

Koine and Marko were amazing. This is one of the only partnerships where the All Star is helping to elevate the contestant. I didn't love the dance itself but I loved the performance.

Dassy started out strong in her Bollywood routine but she kind of petered out at the end. She lost the sharpness of her arms and it seemed like she was just losing steam.

6 hours ago, Laurie4H said:

A few people last week mentioned that Kaylee was a chunky.  I'm really confused what is considered chunky then because she looks all muscle to me.

In the dance world (and increasingly in the non-dance world as well), if you weigh more than 85 pounds then you're automatically a fatty fatty two by four. I don't think Kaylee is overweight or out of shape. She just doesn't have the traditionally stick thin body type that dancers are expected to have. I agree that she looks like she's all muscle so I have no problem with her shape or size.

3 hours ago, methadonna said:

Did I hear Nigel correctly that there was a documentary on theaters now about that step team?

The documentary is called Step and the official (non-festival) release date was August 4th. Trailer:

[Haleth]

8 hours ago, Laurie4H said:

A few people last week mentioned that Kaylee was a chunky.  I'm really confused what is considered chunky then because she looks all muscle to me.

It must have been her costume last week because last night she certainly did not look chunky.

I was shocked Robert was cut.  I really enjoyed his performance last week.  If that really was the bottom 3 Sydney is the one that should have gone, although I think there were others who deserved to be bottom 3 more than she did.  I missed 3 of the routines last night and will have to go back and watch, but the ones I saw were not that memorable.  I still like Lex (though he will have to try harder) and Dassy (who is cute as a button).

There were too many rolling around on the floor solos.

[Laurie4H]

Quote

Of course, the routines were not as good as last week since some of the dancers were out of their comfort zone.  Nigel said he was surprised by the B3 and I was too.  I thought Logan and Robert had 2 of the better routines last week.  So they must not have a fanbase.  

How many people actually vote for this show nowadays though?  The bottom 3 could be a difference of a couple votes.  I doubt any of them have huge fanbases.  I could be wrong though.  

 

I still wonder when they say the dancers are dancing "out of their style" if they really are trained in other styles but the sorry arc isn't doesn't want us to know that.

[WhineandCheez]

 Poor Robert--however, if they only allot 1 slot each year to the "untrained breaker/popper/locker/krumper", it should have gone to Konkrete, who was a more interesting dancer.

I LOATHED Jenna and Kiki's dance. Poor Logan being in B3, he is great, his solo was unbelievable, but I also LOATHED his dance with Allison, probably the costume/theme's fault.

Favorite dance was Koine and Marko, and Kaylee/Impavado was great.  She is so strong, such an interesting dancer.  Know who is not an interesting dancer--Sydney.  I think the Utah/Mormon voting bloc is keeping her here, because she is vanilla, and Paul (squee!) shouldn't have picked her over Kristina (I think that was her name??, who smoldered)

Lex is no longer a shoo-in.  He is rather too subdued in personality

[Keekski]

8 hours ago, crowceilidh said:

I flove that Robert danced his way off camera.  Good for him.  So sad to lose Jasmine, but not surprised.  She seems to be profoundly uncomfortable reading the script.

 

Yes! She does seem uncomfortable reading the script. Everybody else is somewhat convincing muggers. That is a really good way of putting it. Aaron /Jasmine may be my favorite SYTYCD couples ever.

[LadyMustang65]

1 hour ago, Keekski said:

Aaron /Jasmine may be my favorite SYTYCD couples ever.

Heck yes.  For me right up there with Joshua and Katee.  :)  I'll state upfront that I adore Fik-shun, but I still think Aaron/Jasmine should have won that season.  :(

I was really surprised that Kaylee was not in the bottom 3.  She was not good or memorable last week.  I agree that Lex's AT was not great, but he wasn't bad either.  It just lacked the 'passion' that you expect to see in it.  But his solo was out of this world, and he is still my early favorite to win (meaning I want him to win, not necessarily that I think he will).   I was sorry to see Jasmine's partner leave first.  I did not think he deserved that, and Jasmine is one of my favorite contestants ever, so I'm really sorry to see her go.  :(  Also, the African jazz piece was interesting to begin with, but by the time it ended we were so glad.  I don't know if it was the choreo or the music or what, but by about halfway through, we were over it and wanted it to end.  Something was bugging big time.  Just not really sure what, though.  Loved the Broadway piece as well. 

Edited August 15, 2017 by LadyMustang65

[spanana]

1 hour ago, LadyMustang65 said:

I was really surprised that Kaylee was not in the bottom 3.  She was not good or memorable last week.  I agree that Lex's AT was not great, but he wasn't bad either.  It just lacked the 'passion' that you expect to see in it.  But his solo was out of this world, and he is still my early favorite to win (meaning I want him to win, not necessarily that I think he will).   I was sorry to see Jasmine's partner leave first.  I did not think he deserved that, and Jasmine is one of my favorite contestants ever, so I'm really sorry to see her go.  :(

I think Kaylee has a lot more fan support than people think, and it's not all Cyrus.  I know reading youtube comments is hazardous, but I was reading the comments on their youtube vids last week.  First off Kaylee/Cyrus's video had one of the highest amounts of views (Taylor/Robert the highest, Sydney/Paul the lowest), but the negative comments under the video were more geared towards Nigel and TPTB. People liked Kaylee. They just hated the costume, the routine, trying to fit her into the stereotypical contemp box, etc.  People were more mad at TPTB on Kaylee's behalf.  I also think it might have benefitted Kaylee in week 1 that she was one of the more recognizable presences from auditions/Vegas week.  People remembered who she is.

Quote

Holy crap, that hip hop routine was embarrassing to watch. First of all, Luther Brown must have watered it down a lot to accommodate Kiki but even with easier choreography, it still looked pretty bad. There was no dancing for the last 20-30 seconds either. It was just Kiki aiming the money gun and Jenna standing there in a fur coat.

Not only that but there was a whole part in the middle that was just Kiki and Jenna standing in place doing nothing but synchronized arm movements.  That is what pros do on DWTS when they have to do synchronized group routines with celebs who can't dance and even they can usually manage to pull that off.  So they basically dumbed Kiki down to that level.

The money gun/fur coat part was the worst and of course the judges gushed over it.

Edited August 15, 2017 by spanana

[Andie1]

Kiki just no.  That was terrible. He and Jenna just shit the bed with that.  I watched everything back on ytube  since I didn't see it live but holy hell that was bad, I couldn't even watch it all the way through.   I get this sickening feeling that the fix is in to keep this trog around since Jenna and boyfriend Val who did a piss poor choreograph of a ho hum cha cha last week, but are playing up the "relationship" did kissy face all over social media and now that shipper fanbase wants  to keep Kiki. because he's "fam"  no threat to Val or the rest of the Russian mob.   Kevin could have rocked everyone's world, especially on a challenging Luther Brown hip hop  not this watered down dance by numbers for white guys who have no soul.   

I feel bad for a guy like Robert, who actually put something into that contemporary and is gone.   Mark was fun to watch and really strong with Comfort on that Jazz.  Lex kind of held his own, but it proves he's not the best dancer by a long shot,  that wasn't a great AT, Logan is sort of invisible to me, he's definitely dancing immature next to Allison.   

 

My faves aren't the boys this season.   I do think Dassy and Koine are adorable and have equally adorable partners  and are damn strong.  A great out of the box Afro Jazz, and finally an entertaining Bollywood, two styles that can be hit or miss., but they both did it justice, even with a small miss, I was entertained.,  I liked Taylor  very much, love her extension, but I see her limitations on this piece. body posture was awkward in parts,  Kaylee was in her element and owned it this week, very decidedly outdancing Cyrus. Sydney is still kind of there, but nothing that piques my interest. This week I though she looked clunky on the contemporary. 

[crowceilidh]

Big Cyrus fan, but agree that Kaylee outdanced him last night.

[Andie1]

Jasmine should come back with Kevin.  

Edited August 15, 2017 by Andie1

[luvthepros]

Anyone think Robert Roldan looked just like Gene Kelly in this routine? To me, there was a striking resemblance.

[StrictTime]

I can't believe they've never had a group disco number before now.  It works SO MUCH BETTER as a group style.  Loved it!  Comfort crushed it, of course.

The only dances I remember 30 min after watching are Comfort/Mark (glad he's toning it down), Kaylee's solo, Kaylee/Cyrus, Lex's solo, Logan's solo, Jenna/Kiki (for how unbelievably bad and subsequently overhyped it was), Mark/Dassy.  I thought the Broadway was so boringly bad, choreography-wise, and having Taylor dressed to match the background spoke volumes about how they felt about her being able to dance the style.  

The insect African Jazz piece had to be so difficult to learn, without having a beat to the music to follow. I bet that's why they had to stay connected so much--pull them apart and there's no beat to hit.  I'm liking Koine more each week.

Hoping Kiki goes next week.  Maybe he and his floppy hair wouldn't bug me so much if I didn't know the whole backstory on him. 

Edit to add:  I'm fine with Robert leaving.  He couldn't hit his opening spotlight pose solidly in the duet. Sucks, but, there it is.

Edited August 15, 2017 by StrictTime

[khyber]

4 hours ago, Haleth said:

There were too many rolling around on the floor solos.

Amen to that.

[Snow Fairy]

And I still hate the contemporary that includes some angst driven story. 

I'm glad Sydney stayed, I don't like when ballroom dancers go first. Kiki still bugs me, and I still can't like Kaylee.

[LadyMustang65]

55 minutes ago, luvthepros said:

Anyone think Robert Roldan looked just like Gene Kelly in this routine? To me, there was a striking resemblance.

Yes!  Is it my imagination or has Robert slimmed down since he was a contestant?  Not that he was fat or anything - not even remotely - but he seems much more slender to me now.  But both his silhouette and the way he moved invoked Gene Kelly.  Both my husband and I commented on how Robert seemed like he was plucked right out of one of the old musicals.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Huge, huge, huge mistake for the show to choose Kiki instead of Kevin.  Who cares about Kiki, seriously.  He has no chemistry with Jenna either so it is pointless.

I really liked Cyrus and Kaylee's dance.  I never knew that was her name until now.

I love the coupling of Marko and Koine.

Very sorry to see Robert go.

16 hours ago, susannot said:

Loved Mark and Comfort.  IMO, Comfort is by far the most improved dancer in the history of the show.  She looks like a different person and she can dance in every style!

Totally agree and I thought the exact same

[Xazeal]

I've liked Mark since his audition but never really expected him to do all that well. But they somehow struck gold with the Comfort/Mark pairing and now I really think he could win this. This week's routine was great and they managed to show more personality than all the other dancers combined - and unlike last week, it didn't veer into "too much" territory for me. 

I really, really, really did not like the Argentine tango. I thought Gaby was great - Lex looked awkward as hell. It's making me reconsider my predictions and now I'm leaning towards Mark, Koine and Taylor as the top 3.

Paul looked very sad during the critiques. I think he saw the writing on the wall and was resigned to leaving this week. He did seem very shocked when they kept Sydney. I want as much Paul as possible, so I hope they can squeak by a few more weeks.

[realdancemom]

Shocked that Kiki was not one of the bottom 3.  I wonder if the DWTS fam helped give votes to him and Jenna.  Of course, he improved in hip-hop because he was horrendous at the Academy.  However, Luther definitely watered down the routine.  Then the costumes and characters were distractions.   I bet Luther loved last week and hated having to dumb down so much this. week.

Surprised that Logan and Robert were in the bottom since they did well last week.  Based on Nigel's critiques, I had a feeling that Robert was at the bottom and that he was going home.  I didn't agree with Nigel's review and thought Robert was fine.  I don't want to see fake angsty faces during a routine.  Sad we won't get to see Jasmine in any more duets but I believe we'll still see her in the group dances.  That's what they did last year.  Jasmine was my favorite female during her season and I wanted her to win over Amy.

Didn't know that the All Stars would have to dance outside their specialty.  They didn't do that last year.  Kaylee is at a disadvantage then.   Kaylee and Cyrus did great but it was hip-hop.   As for comments on Kaylee being chunky, I think people including me were saying that last week's dress didn't suit her.   I don't think Kaylee is chunky. 

Marko and Koine did great with African Jazz and it looked so intricate and difficult.  Really like Mark and Comfort's routine but I thought it went on a little too long.  Both these couples have the best chemistry to me.   The difference is that Mark and Comfort have heat on and off the dance floor.  Marko and Koine have a synergistic quality to their dancing.

Edited August 15, 2017 by realdancemom

[Brookside]

I haven't watched this show in years, but thought I'd give it a go last night.  What a mistake.  I made it maybe through 30 minutes.

Kat, what dirt does someone have on you?

What happened to constructive criticism?  I know over-praising was a bit of a problem in the beginning, but it was beyond the Pale last night.

I could go on, but will finish by saying, what has happened to talent?

Edited August 15, 2017 by Brookside

[Lunula]

I can't even comment on the entire show because freaking ROBERT was eliminated FIRST. WTF?! My satellite blinked out because of a storm and came back on just as he was let go. I thought it was a joke.  

I can't even...

[CleverUserName975]

Aw, Kaylee and Cyrus were all kinds of adorable! I'm going to admit hip hop isn't really my jam but part of the appeal is they looked like they were enjoying themselves just dancing away.

I'll just reiterate my comment of last week: Kiki--I'm pretty sure he could take a big stinky poop on the stage and it would be praised to high heaven. I just haven't seen what all the fuss is about, even in his own style. As for Jenna, I never disliked her during her season, I just liked other dancers more. She can dance, I just find other dancers more watchable/entertaining. I'm still puzzled as to why she kept getting saved as we're voting for our favorite dancer.

I will say I loved the disco opening number but I was in high school during the 70s disco era. Those fashions were astoundingly accurate and given the devotion of designers to polyester fabrics I'm sure those costumes must be originals!

[saks10111]

So it seems like a mixed bag, even in terms of comments. If I think about it, there wasn't one routine that stuck out to me as incredible OR one that was terrible (though the hip hop was laughably watered down) and that might be the problem. I think a few of these dancers are so talented and cross-trained that they will perform well in multiple styles, leaving us confused on who is a front-runner for a while. 

On Lex, I still really like him and I don't agree that not hamming it up for the camera and making cutesy 'vote for me' faces equals a lack of personality. His personality is humble and sweet and I don't think there's anything wrong with that - could he come out of his shell more? Sure, but that will take a few more weeks, just as it would take someone with less technical ability a few more weeks to grow as a dancer. For someone as talented as him, I'm glad he seems humble as opposed to cocky.

13 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

You know what style never makes me say, "Hey, we haven't had a _________ routine for a while and I really miss it"? Disco.

Holy crap, that hip hop routine was embarrassing to watch. First of all, Luther Brown must have watered it down a lot to accommodate Kiki but even with easier choreography, it still looked pretty bad. There was no dancing for the last 20-30 seconds either. It was just Kiki aiming the money gun and Jenna standing there in a fur coat.

Gaby looked great in the Argentine tango but Lex just kind of faded into the background. To be fair, I think it's hard for most male contestants to do really well at AT because this dance really showcases the female dancer, but still. I agree that the suit he was wearing didn't help matters either.

I agree with you - the AT wasn't the best and he probably isn't the most convincing male ballroom lead lol, BUT if you re-watch it he literally does zero dancing and that's the choreography/style at fault. He just had to walk Gaby down the stage super slowly while she did all the fancy footwork. And yeah, the bulky suit made it look even more awkward - in the disco group number, you could see him clearly and he was doing the ballroom/disco style very well. As someone above pointed out, the point of these routines should be to showcase the competitor, not the all-star and even in Logan's number, Allison got to dance for a good 20 seconds before he even moved out of his chair. If the AT simply can't be choreographed to showcase the male, then give a male competitor a different ballroom style, such as salsa or cha-cha, so you can at least judge his actual dancing in the style.

The Bollywood was fun, but I don't agree with someone who said Dassy outdanced Fik Shun - she is adorable and I really like her, but she didn't get the sexy hips movement that you need in a Bollywood routine - for some reason, maybe because of her popping style, her hips seemed strangely static. I'm Indian and I was really surprised at how well Fik Shun danced that Bollywood haha - I know he did it well before in his season, but in this dance he really got the style and vibe of the routine down and seemed so comfortable in it! 

Hated the hip hop and I wasn't a fan of Kiki before buuut how come no one's mentioning his solo. I have to reluctantly admit that that was a great ballroom solo and actually made me sit up and notice him.

Robert wasn't my favourite contestant or anything, but yeah it was so obvious that Nigel inserted that random 'no emotion' comment just to justify sending him home over Sydney. I'm mainly sad we won't get to see Jasmine dance any more.

[Kira53]

18 hours ago, crowceilidh said:

In light of my comment re the current scriptiness of the show - that extends to Cat whom I have formerly adored, who appears to be reading a really really Cat-like script written for her by someone who almost-totally-gets- her, but not quite.

Maybe she has new writers and she always had writers, just different writers.

[Kira53]

17 hours ago, GeminiDancer said:

I thought the AT was horrible, and as I'm going deeper and deeper in AT world, I realize why I'm no longer a fan of the routines. It's because I don't find that the male partner to be believable as a leader (except Pasha, of course), and this was painfully obvious with Lex. The first Americana walk, his feet are slightly behind hers in timing. She's doing the ochos and ganchos by herself when he should be *telling* her to do the movements. The gancho sequence towards the end was cringe worthy: I don't mind open embrace, but there was a canyon between them. With the way they were so far apart, there's no way they could feel for the back of the knee and make the actual hooks.

 I hated the choreography for the Argentine tango. Not sure whether it was choreographed to hide and any abilities or disabilities that they felt that Lex would show.   It does seem clear that it was one of those things they wanted to get out of the way while there were multiple contestants and that if he somehow inexplicably was in the bottom they could save him. I felt the same way with regard to what's his name.  Kiki  and the so-called hip-hop. I did like it better way back when the choreographers didn't create the dances to hide the weaknesses of favored contestants. You  succeeded or you didn't depending upon your degree of mastery in the technique and also if you had previously trained in that technique even if you didn't master it. Back then, unfortunately, many of my favorite hip-hop dancers were always dancing for their life.  I must say though that the producers often put things in the hat that the Hiphop people would not be able to do well because dancing for their life was the best entertainment on the show in that the hip-hop dancers had a different creativity and uniqueness than the general Contemporary dancers.

 I was pleasantly surprised by Logan's performances. I did not watch the auditions so I don't know how much it was featured in them. I caught it kind of quickly skimmed some of the Academy and I don't remember him there. Someone earlier said he didn't have any personality. I'm not sure about personality I just liked his dancing and was surprised. Sometimes people we think don't have any personality we're not featured and we didn't develop our impressions anyway I hope for him to stick around a bit and I don't know if Allison has much of a fan base.

 I too would like to see a new Bollywood choreographer if nothing more than for a better narrative about the rehearsal. I know it's a short dance but someone else could bring something else to it. Why not make a big thing and bring somebody over from India? That would be a new narrative.   Not just somebody from India, but someone who does a lot of current Bollywood choreography for all of the movies that they make. I would even like somebody who wants to try to re-create the ending of that movie Where are the people who really didn't dance that much where in the train station dancing as part of their life story. Somebody else I'm sure I can remember the name of the movie.

[Terrafamilia]

Does it make me a horrible person that I ff'd through the step?

Don't know if it happened elsewhere but the beginning of Taylor's solo was cut off by a commercial on the station I was watching.

Brian Friedman still should not be allowed to dress himself.

Favorites of the night

Koine & Marko, Taylor & Robert, Sydney & Paul (that might be due to the strength of Paul)

Other thoughts -

Lex & Gaby: I had no idea what the judges were blathering about. Sure it had its moments but it was way too stiff and lacking in sensuality. (Leonardo can deliver more just sitting still)

Kiki & Jenna: I didn't think it was quite as bad as others here. He has come a long way from where he was Academy week.

Dassy & Fik-Shun: Very enjoyable though I was wondering if that was a missed dismount by Dassy that the camera angle was covering up.

Loved Logan's solo.

[Mason]

Compared to World of Dance, SYTYCD is a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed everyone, for the simple reason I was spared that ridiculous scoring system, where Fik-Shun could be praised to the skies yet be given an artifically low score. I am willing to suspend disbelief and go along on the journey, knowing that these kids are bringing everything they have and the All-Stars finally have skin in the game (i.e. they win or lose as well, they don't just get to walk off the stage at the end.)

If I hadn't watched WofD, perhaps I'd be more cynical :-)