sytycd: top 8

Well, I’m at my Mom & Dad’s house in southwest Colorado, so I won’t be able to offer the in depth commentary that I usually do.  They don’t have a DVR and we’re likely to get interrupted with other family members arriving late.

What I can say is that there is a lot of changes this week.  First off, Alex didn’t dance.  He’s got a ruptured Achilles tendon.  That sucks.  Really sucks.  This automatically puts him in the Bottom 3 this week.  If he gets medical clearance to dance for his life this week, then he’s presumably back in.

The first dance was with All-Star Pasha & Lauren and it was hot! Hot! Hot!  They danced some kind of salsa-ish number to a Jean-Marc Genereaux and France spicy thing.  Lauren really raised the bar on her performance in that number.  Way to go girl!  I like her again.

Mandy Moore choreographed Jose and All-Star Lauren in one of my all time favorite INXS songs, “Never Tear Apart.”  Mandy is most excellent at choreographing dance to 80s music.  It was solid and well done.  It really showed Jose’s spirit and it was so clearly what Mia said, “when your soul dances, your body follows.”  Totally awesomeness.  He danced his heart beautifully.

Kent and Comfort were paired on a Dave Scott hip-hop number.  Kent had to get into a little JT groove and I’m surprised to say that he really pulled it off well.  He’s definitely growing and improving.

AdéChiké and Kourtney did a great jazzy seduction number choreographed by Mandy Moore.  However, I feel that AdéChiké has the moves, but is lacking some sort of depth.  It’s like he has it and then loses it during the performance.  The judges were split on if they liked it or not.  I think he’s going to be in the Bottom 3 this week.

Billy had an All-Star change when Allison had an injury and Katie from last season stepped in on the Spencer Liff jazz number to Cats’ “McCafferty.”  Billy’s performance was flawless and perfectly suited to his skill and personality.  Nigel thought it was his very best performance.  I loved it.

Ashley was paired with Dominic on a NappyTabs hip hop ninja assassin routine.  I thought it was creative, but kinda dorky.  Ashley had ridiculous Hammer pants on and she could hit it (harder than I thought she would).  It was good, but I didn’t love it.  Adam Shankman said that Ashley was a quiet contender.  I definitely don’t think so.  I suspect that she’ll go before Lauren, but I think she’s rise above the Bottom 3 this week.

Robert and Kathryn performed a high-concept jazz dance choreographed by Sean Cheesman.  They were supposed to be a Barbie and Ken coming out of the box.  I’m not sure if it was the music or the high-concept execution, but something was off for me.  The judges really went to bat for Robert.  Clearly, they don’t think he should be in the Bottom 3.  So they totally pumped him up.  I think they then overlooked the missed synchronicity of the dance.  I still think he’ll be in the Bottom 3 even though I REALLY like him.

So another one of the strange changes this week is that they paired the competitors for a performance.  So they are pulling back from last season’s format.  WTH.  Make up your mind, Nigel.

Alex and AdéChiké were supposed to dance a Nakul Bollywood number, but with Alex’s injury he sat out and AdéChiké performed with one of Nakul’s dancers.  He threw in his own groove, but it didn’t mesh well with the Bollywood style.  It was too loose and not precise enough.  The end was amazing.  It made him look like he was a leaping puppet on a string in repetitive split jumps.  So I feel for him and think he’s going to be the first guy to go home if it’s not Robert first.

Kent and Lauren were paired together on a Travis Wall contemporary routine.  It was amazing.  This was the best that either of them ever danced.  It was incredibly intimate and real (I so agree with you Adam!) and it was weird like we shouldn’t be watching it because it was just for them.  They even got a great real smooch and extended embrace in the end.  For me, the best performance of the night.

Robert and Ashley (weird pair) had the Quick Step put together by Jean Marc Genereux and France.  I agreed with Mia that the music over powered the dance.  It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t great.  So few people actually excel at this dance.

The last dance of the night was Billy and Jose in a Sean Cheesman African jazz performance.  Another strange high concept dance.  Okay, whatever, Billy looked cool in the weird positions that he had to sit in and the black emo hair bang.  Jose looked like he was amateurish and trying really hard.  It wasn’t for me.

The Bottom 3 I believe will be AdéChiké, Robert and of course Alex with the injury.  This may be the first week that that the ladies are safe.  We’ll see.  Cheers friends.