SYTYCDCA Bloggin’

Your guest judges are Blake and Luther, which just feels less special somehow. Tonight we have one hour of show, because CTV sucks ass in ways I cannot begin to describe.

Melanie and Vincent: paso doble. This was extremely strong: Melanie is really good at just about everything and so is Vincent and predictably they nailed this absolutely mad-on. Natalli and Francis are show choreographers now! Woo for them. There is not much to say here because there is absolutely nothing to complain about at all.

Kim’s solo: Not her best; not bad, but not nearly so cool as previous ones.

Everett’s solo: The tap novelty wore off a long time ago and this felt self-congratulatory.

Amy and Cody: contemporary. This honestly wasn’t bad at all, but the judges were down on it, giving Cody the “you’re a hard worker” death-by-compliment and just telling Amy flat out she wasn’t good enough in it. Which, to be honest, I didn’t get: I thought their sync portions were dead on and I thought Cody’s partnering in particular was really impressive, but Amy’s character work was really heartfelt for me. But it’s not like I agree with the judges all the time or anything.

Jayme Rae’s solo: Hip-hop rather than contemporary, which would be a bold move if it weren’t for the fact that Jayme Rae is well proven as a sick, sick hip-hop dancer.

Austin’s solo: Probably the first solo he’s done where his tricks blended into the routine as a whole rather than just being showy stunts that hurt the flow, and thus his best one yet.

Tara-Jean and Emanuel: samba. Hey, a TonyNMelanie ™ routine that I actually liked for once! That sets their streak at one. Emanuel and Tara-Jean were both actually pretty strong in this, although neither one really worked the shoulder rolling necessary to make the samba really work at 100%. (Blake called Emanuel out on it a bit, but Tara-Jean was about as weak at it as he.) However, both worked the hip action necessary for the samba, and the hip movement is much more crucial to get that proper Latin feel than the shoulder rolls are: they both sat down a bit into their movements, not so much to become parodic but exactly the right amount. They also partnered each other well. This was much better than I expected.

Amy’s solo: Not up to her usual standard; she seemed a bit desperate, which is understandable given her recent panning. Seemed to be going to the Standard Contempo-Well O’ Tricks.

Cody’s solo: Probably the strongest one yet from him: fluid and funky, graceful without losing his gritty hardcore centre. Genuinely impressive.

Amy and Everett: jazz. The judges were raving and I don’t see it at all. I mean, the idea is fine, the choreo was fine, the dancing was fine (Amy much more than Everett, but he certainly wasn’t bad) – but this routine just left me cold and didn’t grab me at all. I just didn’t feel connected to it as a viewer: it felt forced to me in a way I have trouble describing. I’ll have to watch it again to see if I missed something (or a bunch of things); sometimes it takes a second viewing, but I dunno.

Melanie’s solo: Weak sauce.

Vincent’s solo: The same six moves he always does, which given that he’s a ballroom dancer is forgivable, but… yeah.

Jayme-Rae and Austin: hip-hop. Jayme-Rae killed this, but Austin was mostly ahead of the beat, and the unison was so important to the choreo that a lot of the spark got drained out because Austin was off-time (and looked cheerleaderish as a result). Could have been great; was mediocre, and that’s almost entirely on Austin.

Tara-Jean’s solo: Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Emanuel’s solo: Lots of jumping around and OH GOD IT IS LAST YEAR’S EMANUEL COME BACK TO DOUCHE IT UP SUDDENLY

Should go home: Amy and Austin.
Will go home: Amy and Cody.