Only two more weeks until we find out who is America’s Favorite Dancer! I know, I know, the anticipation is killing me too… On to tonight’s show! The format is the same as last week’s show. Four couples are picked at random, each couple dances two routines, and each dancer performs a solo. America votes and the girl and guy with the lowest number of votes gets booted off. Cat introduces the judges, Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and singer, dancer, choreographer, and director, Toni Basil! Of course, I know her best from her song, “MICKEY.” (Which, by the way, was stuck in my head through the entire show.)
Courtney Galiano and Will Wingfield
Courtney and Will started off the show with a Samba choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereux. They danced to I Fell In Love With The DJ by Che’Nelle. This was a good way to start off the show. It was a little slow, and not too sexy, but good nonetheless. Their next dance was a Hip-Hop routine by Tabitha and Napoleon Duma. Another slow dance to Like You’ll Never See Me Again by Alicia Keys. This was a sad story about a woman who misses her husband, boyfriend, lover, and the yearning for one more moment with him.
Katee Shean and Twitch
Twitch and Katee’s two styles were Contemporary and Broadway. You can tell these two to dance in potato sacks and it would still be awesome. Mia Michaels choreographed the first routine to Duffy’s Mercy. This dance had everything. Even a front door. Katee played a psycho exgirlfriend VERY well, and Twich was very cool. Was it me or did she look like Amy Winehouse? Their Broadway routine was choreographed by Tyce DiOrio to Sweet Georgia Brown. It was cute and had a lot of energy. I agreed with Toni “Hey Mickey, you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind!” Basil when she said that the woman in the story needed to more sultry to match the woman’s voice in the song.
Comfort Fedoke and Mark Kanemura
Mark and Comfort danced the Foxtrot and Hip-Hop. Their first routine was choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon to Party People by Fergie featuring Nelly. They both did pretty well in this routine. The second was choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereux to Lady Luck by The Brian Setzer Orchestra. I don’t have much to say about this dance besides the fact that I was a little bored with it.
Chelsie Hightower and Joshua Allen
Chelsie and Joshua had the Argentinian Tango and Disco. Dmitri Chaplin, finalist from Season Two, choreographed the Tango to A Los Amigos Forever Tango, and Dorianna Sanchez choreographed the Disco to Gloria Estefan’s Everlasting Love. These two dancers can dance to anything and have it be entertaining. However, I thought that it seemed like there were so many lifts in the Disco number to compensate for the lack of training on Joshua’s part. Dorianna knew he was very strong (Runningback strong in my opinion) so he’d be able to do lots of lifts. Overall, good dancing.
Here is my ranking for the FINAL 8:
8. Comfort – She’s a good dancer and all, in fact, she’s a great Hip-Hop Dancer, but I think that is where her talent is limited to. In all the other dances she’s done, she simply seems out of place. She’s lucky she had another hip-hop routine this week. Maybe that will save her like it did last week because she out shined Mark in hip-hop.
7. Mark – Even though Comfort was better in the hip-hop routine, Mark was better in the Foxtrot. I’m putting him ahead of her because I believe he is a better overall dancer. His talent isn’t limited to one style of dance. However, as I was taking notes about the show tonight the only thing I could put down while he was performing his solo was, “Weird.” His little intro was weird, the music was weird, and his dancing was weird. That’s it.
6. Joshua – This man can move his big hiney all over the place! His solo was great. He is awesome at hip-hop, but I did find his couples dances a little lacking though. He was a great partner for Chelsie in the Argentinian tango, but there wasn’t much too his part other than being her partner. Plus, he seemed a little off during the disco number when it came to the turns. I’m guessing that’s because he was concentrating on the many lifts in the number.
5. Chelsie – She has shown us what a good ballroom dancer should be like. Her moves are smooth and she seems fearless when it comes to the lifts. The reason why she is number five is not because she’s lacking talent. It’s because the top four are just that fabulous! Chelsie’s got some great legs, and as ZZ Top would put it, she knows how to use them. However, during her solo I was remembering Heidi from two seasons ago and I believe Heidi did a better job. I think Heidi even made it to the top 4…but I digress. On to number four!
4. Will – Will has moved down slightly in my opinion. He has great technique, and his emotions seem to flow through him while he’s dancing. I just don’t see the passion in him that I see in some of the other dancers. Even some that I’ve ranked lower than him. I know that he wouldn’t be on that stage if he didn’t have passion in his heart for dance, I just don’t see it oozing out of him. I’d like more of that please. Plus, the hand circles he did during his solo were odd.
3. Katee – I think it’s funny that Katee’s parents noticed her on her toes all the time so they put her in tap class. Wouldn’t you want to put her in ballet if she’s always on her toes?? Anyway, I can’t really say anything bad about Katee. She’s exactly what you’d want in a dancer. She’s in third place right now because even though her choreographed numbers were wonderful, I felt that her solo was lacking. There was a lot of jumps and twirls, but that was about it. I know, I know, there’s only a limited amount of time, but I still felt it needed more.
2. Courtney – This girl is a great dancer, has great personality and is beautiful. She kept up with “Technical Will” during their samba and hip-hop routines which speaks volumes about her skills. Plus, her solo was simply wonderful.
1. Twitch – This Dude Rocks! To learn that he started training years after everyone else in the competition and is this good makes me realize exactly how great a dancer he is. He brings so much energy into each dance. I believe I would buy a ticket to the tour just to see him dance. The kiss at the beginning of the Mia Michaels’ routine didn’t hurt either.
So there you have it America. If you haven’t already guessed, my prediction is that Comfort and Mark will be going home Thursday night. Do you agree with my ranking of the Top Eight? I’d like to hear your thoughts.
AnaDVR is an aspiring human television recording machine who enjoys watching good looking people dance on reality television programs while slowly being eliminated and never heard from again. She is also one of Pop Critic’s top commentors and can be found lurking on pages all over the site, leaving brief comments like little nuggets of information everywhere she goes.
Okay, I'm not a huge Mia Michaels fan, but the routine she did with Twitch and Katee was probably the second best one on the show – EVER. It was pretty awesome.
CLEARLY…..Courtney is going to win as she is the most marketable…and best all arounder! Right?
I will be the first to admit that I don't know much about the technical side of dance (especially seeing as this is my first season of watching SYTYCD), so I've relied on the judges to guide me in their critiques from episode to episode… even though they are a pervy grandfather type, a screamy, screechy lady who wears nothing that isn't bedazzled, and (insert random guest judge who ranges from the Mickey cheerleader of the 80s to many, many others who articulate their feelings on dance with lyrical metaphors sometimes so complex my head spins and I ache for the screamy, screechy lady in the middle again).
[breathe out, jina]
All of that to say, I recognize that the judges have favorites, but this week seemed to exploit that reality to a level only otherwise seen on the Big Brother series (another rant later in life as to why that show is still on… sorry Tyler). They seriously had seemed to pledge to one another backstage before the show that even though THEY no longer chose who would go home, they were bound and determined to not-so-subtly convince America who SHOULD go home.
My humble, but now quite lengthy opinion is that these top 8 are closer in skill and overall presentation ability to be critiqued fairly …and closely. Comfort indeed should go home; she's been hanging on through circumstances and the lucky hat draw of hip-hop for several weeks. Mark, while quirky, has great technical skill and provides a diversity that is still needed in the short remainder of this season. However, I think that is exactly who WILL go home this week, based on the over-the-top praise some of the other contestants were treated to, and the lack of appreciation Mark received while, frankly, more-than-holding-his-own on that hip-hop routine last night.
Wow, that is the most you've said in weeks!
My comment shall be slightly shorter than Jina's…
I think Mark is good, but when you compare him to the three other guys, who should go home before him?
Comfort is, unfortunately, the bottom of the ladder.
I'm pulling for Courtney as I have been since day one (from the girls' side), but no way does she win. It'll be a guy.
Mark is interesting, but has not proved to be the best or most versatile dancer when you consider the whole season. He did much better this week, but those ridiculous faces he pulled during the hip-hop detracted from the fairly decent job he was doing on the moves. He uses that same face for almost everything. I guess it's supposed to be intense or even “buck”, but it came off as silly. Comfort, on the other hand, surprised me in the hiphop. I think Nigel was right when he said she has trouble choreographing her own routines.
and… silence….
I agree with Jason. Mark is good, but not better than the other three guys that are there and will therefore go home tonight. Comfort, who is a great hip-hopper, may very well be great in the other styles if given a chance. She doesn't have the technique down in the few days they have and because of that will be going home as well. They're both great dancers, but not as great as the rest.
I agree with Kathleen Mark is inceresting but is defiently not the best dancer on the show. I was very upset Kherrington and Will went home that was a very bad decision on americas part.Comfort is not good at choreographing her solos but does well in hip hop. But she's not good at anything else so?? I cannot wait for the season finale tomorrow night to see who will win! I hope its either Twitch, or Katey!