(Am waiting for Kat to tell me what to think about the dances...)

Yay, show! I may have been a little bit over-excited, so there will be lots of notes. Forewarned is forearmed.

It’s Top 20 night. What? And Cat has more flyaways than an LAX runway, so that means it’s on!

Top 20 Group Dance/Some type of Hip-Hop-Contempo Hybrid/Sonya/Stalker Ha/Kingdom – Just from the way the kids are dressed and the first few beats of the music, I can tell this is Sonya. She does have an aesthetic, does she not? Why are there so many of them? Why are they all in hats so you can’t tell who anyone is? I don’t remember skinny black kid at all. But I do remember Ricky. Ruling that center already. He’s so everything and then some. Fun choreo. Sonya seems to have expanded her movement vocabulary in interesting ways. It’s still her, but more varied. She was getting a little bit stale towards the end of last year. Love the weird stag leaps. Love the turn section from Ricky and his back up Rickys. The only girls I recognized were Tanisha and Jourdin who were both lovely here. Fun way to start the show. Not the best top 20 routine ever, but it gave some shine.

Dance Ins – Bridget is still boring. Casey is still a nobody. Brooklyn is still not very good. Emilo is still someone I don’t know well despite almost making the show last year. Carley is still a contempo Brooklyn. Marcquet is still adorable. Emily is still another indistinguishable contempo girl. Nick is still a little cheesy. Jacque is other ballet girl. Ricky is everything. Jessica is still annoying. Rudy needs to stop doing that one move. Jordin is yes. Serge is more acceptable with more hair. Marlene still looks like everyone’s mom. Stanley is a nice surprise. Tanisha is still a firecracker. Teddy is still not a very good hip hop dancer. Valerie is still cute as a button. Nick is no Aaron.

First impressions all done.

There’s a new production of On the Town hitting Broadway? Well, now I need to go to New York. Now first impressions all done.

Serge and Brooklyn/Cha Cha/Dmitry/Hell Yeah/Midnight Red – Dmitry’s choreo always brings the sexy. Brooklyn is very unsteady on her heels. It’s like she’s never danced in heels before which is strange for a ballroom specialist. She has a nice upper body, good arms and supple back. But the footwork is awful. Serge is amazing. Very strong and framing her very well. And he’s really having to work because homegirl is on the edge of falling all the time. And what is on her butt? Is it paper? Is it a bandage? It’s super distracting. I did not like it at all. Brooklyn is terrible. What is with Cat and the sweat? It’s so wrong. Poor Serge. I think she secretly hates him. I love that Mary brought it to Brooklyn like it should be broughten. Not grounded. Exactly. Ballroom Expert Mary is the best! Jason DeRulo did not have an auspicious start as a judge. The show is not about you and your concert tour. Boo. Nigel was also right that Brooklyn was not giving anything to Serge. All her energy out to the audience. I am definitely not a fan. She’s dismissed.

Emily and Casey/Contemporary/Travis/All of Me/John Legend – These two got Peanut so clearly somebody up there likes them, but honestly, could they be more generic? I think I remember liking Emily once, but Casey…it’s like every time I see him is the first time. I have no memory of him once he’s out of my direct line of sight. Also, this John Legend song is completely played out now. You can do better, Peanut. So, I hate choreo that maps directly to the words of the song. On mouth, grab her mouth. On kicking me out, kick him. Why? It’s so cliché. Also, she is all tipsy tumbles every time she picks her feet up off the floor which lets me know that she does not have a solid center. Nope. All over them and we’re maybe 10 seconds into the song. I did enjoy the move where he brought her leg up into an extension and then she hooked his neck. But of course she could brace against him so less need to hold her own weight. And why are they competition smiling through this entire routine? Casey has nice technique but he is completely forgettable. She was again shaky on that last hold where she was in plié and he laid his whole weight on her during his back bend. Yeah, no. Uninspired choreo from Peanut and so so dancing from the pair of them. And hot air from the judges. All over no.

Valerie and Zack/Tap/Anthony Marjorato/Sing/Ed Sheeran – Anthony Marjorato is such a baby face. He looks like he should be in an Our Gang short. These two are just as cute as a basket of kittens and puppies. And while I know very little about tap, the routine seems ridiculously difficult. Nick kind of transforms when he is tapping. He is all kinds of geeky goofy in normal life and then he becomes cool and almost sexy when he’s dancing. Crazy. And he seemed to be dealing with the stairs much better than Valerie. She kept looking down like she was afraid she was about to fall which I would have totally been doing, too, but it kinda defeated the purpose of making it look effortless! The paired work when they were both on the same side of the staircase looked really cool, but again, Valerie kept looking down. It was distracting. He just seemed much better than her. There was something labored about her performance here. She’s still cute as a button though. And I liked the performance. I just didn’t love it. It’s fun to hear Nigel talk about tap since he so clearly knows his shit. And Jason DeRulo was a tapper. Huh. Who knew?

Stanley and Bridget/Contemporary/Bonnie Storey/Doesn’t Mean Goodbye/Jon McLaughlin – New blood in the contempo choreographer pool is always welcome. But she’s given us a table to signal to us longtime fans that she knows what’s up on this show. Thanks, Bonnie Storey. This Stanley is a little piece of heaven. Those running stag leaps into the switch split leaps. Ugh. Yes, children! Also the double turns into arabesque? So solid. Bridget is giving me a little something something I didn’t really know she had. The technique on these two is solid. That said, they have no chemistry to speak of. I don’t at all buy that they are in love with each other. But the dancing is very pretty. And Stanley is maybe doing a little too much with the facial expressions, but these kids are on point with the movement quality. They dance down into the floor really well, which makes it all the more impressive when they pull those leaps or the turns like the ones in the second extended sequence. Clean quadruples? I will take it. Good debut from Ms. Storey. I would like to see more of her work. And more of these two. They were lovely. Good Mary has shown up to judge tonight. Nice. Jason DeRulo is a useless judge. Go home, and take your Mr. T chain with you.

Jacque and Jourdan/Ballet/Marat Dalkiev(?)/Pas de deux –Black Swan/Tchaikovsky - Russian balletomane? Yess! And did you check the hug at the beginning. Look at the feet on ballerina #1. God, y’all. I love turn out so, so much. Fouette turns, bitches! Eat it. I think I just died and went to ballet heaven. Oh, Jourdan totally fell off her center right after that, though. That was unfortunate. And both of them got behind the music. They were not hitting their marks right on the beats. Apparently, those fouettes took a lot out of them. And then, oh, my. The synchronization on those turning jetes was just…not what it should have been. Oh, ladies. And sadly, the one who was late and seemed the most off on timing was Jourdan, and she was my fave going into this, but she was outdanced here by Jacque. I secretly think that Jourdan’s technique is a little bit stronger than Jacque’s but Jourdan seriously lacked the stamina to get through this routine. It was tough. Marat did not take it easy on them, but she should have been able to push through more than she did. I am going to say that she got knocked off her game when she could only make it to demi-pointe on that one move and hope for a better showing from here on out. That was disappointing. I think Eliana was a better ballerina than both of them. Jason DeRulo didn’t even try to judge this. Worthless.

Snoop looked as disinterested in the Jason DeRulo performance as I felt. Enough said.

Malene and Marcquet/Samba/Louis Van Amstel/Morning Drums/Gregor Salto – I’m glad Louis is back. I’m confused about where the “R” sound is coming from in this girl’s name. And now to the dance. But first, the costume is amazing. I want to be wearing it right now. In fact, the costuming tonight on the kids has been very much not-cracktastic. Well done, wardrobe hos. Here’s hoping y’all can stay on the wagon this year. I thought their dance was overall pretty freaking fantastic. I got to that good place where I wasn’t even taking notes, just watching. His footwork was phenomenal. Hers was good, too, but she seemed to be slipping a little just like Brooklyn was at times (although she dealt with it better because she is a pro) so I’m wondering if the floor wasn’t just a little bit slippery for ballroom heels last night. They had much more chemistry and played to each other more than did the first ballroom pair (although I still would’ve liked seeing less playing to the camera from the pair of them). The samba rolls were lovely. I do think it kinda looked like Marcquet was out there dancing with his mom (or his dance teacher). Malene just looks a lot older than the rest of these kids. The close ups on her face were not kind. Crow’s feet at 26? Leave those tanning beds alone, kids. She’s got a case of sun old. Now we’ve got hot rolls instead of hot tamales from Mary? OK. That’s maybe better?

Rudy and Carly/Contemporary/Stacey Tookey/Take it Easy/Jetta – Rudy kind of wears me out, y’all. I think maybe I’m too much of a curmudgeon to enjoy that level of aw shucks. Thank the gods he’s not like that when he’s dancing. Loved the intentionality of this routine from the very fist pose with her arms up and his head on her shoulder. The push/pull of it was captivating. Loved his power matched against her fluidity. Loved how his movement was kind of raw and almost unfinished in the hands and feet (Point all the way through the baby toe, Rudy! You can do it) while she was all refinement and flow. And the lifts where she wrapped her legs around his waist and then he lifted her up into a pike position twice? So difficult from both of them and beautifully done. I think they have the best connection with each other that we’ve seen tonight. I believed them together. Rudy definitely needs to work on refinement and finish, especially those feet. Dead fish feet are never cute. But, I really enjoyed that performance. I felt it from both of them. Carly was lovely but forgettable. There are much better contempo girl dancers than her this season. I’d definitely put Bridget above her right now. Did DeRulo say 4 are going home next week? Brutal! Then Nigel said only 2. Who is right?

Emilio and Teddy/Hip Hop/Christopher Scott/Night Shift/The Commodores – So I tried not to pay attention to the intro packages but these two managed to be incredibly unlikeable in theirs to the point where I couldn’t ignore it. Teddy, especially was giving off Robin Thicke vibes and that is an all over hell to the naw. Don’t be that guy, Teddy. I will say that I think it was unfair that Teddy was made to dance in his secondary style (He’s primarily a tapper, no?) because he was really exposed here. His performance looked like what it was – a better than average attempt at hip hop from a non-hip hop specialist. But even then, he wasn’t even as good as Alex was in the Alex and Twitch hip hop or someone like Mark in the hip hop he did with Comfort, and so I was left severly underwhelmed. I thought Emilio was owning it, as he should have since this was actually in his style. And Chris Scott is the man. Night Shift? Genius. He’s always so clever with his choreo. I am grateful to SYTYCD for bringing this man into my life. On second or third watch back, I gotta say that Emilio was killing it. Killing it. He was so smooth when he needed to be, hard hitting when he needed to be. The judges went on and on about his tricks, but he nailed that choreo to the wall. And he got the laid back old school vibe of the piece. I could totally buy him as an old black (continued...)

( continues...) man who hears The Commodores come on and yells out “Aww, sookie sookie now!” before breaking it down in the hallway on his job. And that is everything. He made Teddy look like a lightweight out there even though Teddy dealt admirably with a tricky piece for a non-hip hop kid. His face was so unfortunate, though. Somebody in hair and make up hates Teddy. And both of them still seemed like tools in their after dance chit chat with Cat, so that’s unfortunate.

Cat’s dress looked “chip in a chip way” and towards the end of the night, I think her knickers were showing through the tacky side cut outs. Gurl. Go back to the wardrobe hos.

Ricky and Jessica/Contemporary/Sonya/Vow/Meredith Monk - I don’t even have the words. Ricky is my new break your heart boy who will come close but not win because the purest technical dancer never wins. He is all that and a bag of chips, y’all. If I had to pick a favorite part, it would be everything. From the very beginning where they slid down into splits in second with so much control and then Ricky did that insane slow, kinda side walkover and I don’t even know how the human body does that. I know the judges gushed and gushed but it didn’t even feel like hyperbole. I think it’s the best piece Sonya’s ever done and that is saying a lot. And Jessica? Jessica was a revelation. I have been a hater because she seemed just like a hair flinger and Nigel’s blonde toy of the moment, but she was spectacular here. Matching Ricky in strength, power, extension, and intensity. Girl is for real. I am here for the both of them. And the two of them were so gorgeous at the end. They were so deep into the piece and into each other and living their lives. Here for it all. Yes! Ricky screaming for Sonya was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

Nick and Tanisha/Cha Cha/Louis/I’m a Freak/Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull – These two were at a real disadvantage having to come after Ricky and Jessica’s piece. This could’ve been the best Cha Cha of all time and it stil would’ve felt like a let down. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t even the best Cha Cha of all time. From a technical standpoint, I think it was fine. Nick’s ass is a wonderous thing. The footwork was solid. Tanisha’s legs are also wonders. I loved the arm placement and the hands. Difficult choreo and all. But they may as well not have been dancing with each other. All their energy was out to the audience. I’m not sure that Nick ever even looked at Tanisha, including during the kiss. So much camera hogging and face pulling. I wasn’t able to enjoy the routine because they were so into performing and not being there with each other. I like both of them a lot so I hope they stay around, but they have got to stop the camera mugging right now.

Tops

Jessica and Ricky – by a wide, wide margin.

Rudy and Carly – not the best technical dancers, but they brought passion and connection.

Stanley and Bridget – best surprise of the night as I wasn’t expecting much from these two.

Malene and Marcquet – great in their own style.

Messy Middle

Emily and Casey – forgettably competent? Competently forgettable?

Nick and Tanisha – technique was solid but the performance grated.

Emilio and Teddy – sneak in here on the strength of great choreo from Chris Scott, a performance that gets better with multiple viewings from Emilio and a sold turn in a style not really his own from Teddy.

Bottom Three

Serge and Brooklyn – they went first and it wasn’t that great. I would like to see Serge stick around because he saved this from being a total debacle. Could easily lose Brooklyn.

Valerie and Zack – Valerie was just OK in her own style. It was a tough routine but in your style, you must knock it out of the park. Tap is also not known to get the fingers dialing. I’d like to see them both back actually.

Jacque and Jourdan – Another pair who were just OK in their own style. They got lost in the middle of the pack.

Going Home

If that were the real B3, I don’t know what would happen given that one of the pairs is girl/girl. I’m assuming the show will correct for that. If only two go home, I’m betting on one of the ballerinas for the girl boot and for the guys…hmm, that’s tough. Maybe Serge. Going first and not shining is a killer plus Cat implied he is gross and sweaty. If four actually do go home, all bets are off. Still Serge and then maybe also Teddy? Or Zack just because tap is not usually a big vote getter? For the girls, it could easily be both ballerinas, which would be a shame. Or maybe one of the ballerinas plus Malene? I can see her getting the Anya curse of being too much of a mature woman for this show’s voting demographic. Or maybe Brooklyn actually does go or Valerie? I thought the two of them were the only girls tonight who were actively not good at their own styles of dance. What I’m saying basically is that I have no idea who is going home and that is a very good thing.

Good show, show. So glad to have you back!

Yes, need to hear from Kat! (Ahh, I just glanced while I was typing/am watching and she posted! Will have to do another post in a minute once I've seen it all)

I liked the opening number, but NSM the costumes. WTF. Plus always curious how much of the choreography is "I only want 10 people on stage right now" vs "only 10 of these people can do the choreography in this part", etc...

Brooklyn and Serge--chacha--He's great, she is not impressing me at all. I can't articulate why, but at times she looks uncertain/wobbly/not grounded. There are some parts where she looks OK, but others...no. That said, she had to go FIRST. So it might some be nerves and she'll get better? (Yes, Mary agrees with me!)

Emily and Casey--contemp(Travis)--I feel like they're dancing the steps really well, but somehow...the emotion is not there? And maybe they're not really dancing WITH the music but just...at the same time as music is on, if that makes sense?

Valerie and Zack--tapping-- I can't understand a word she said but she's adorable. Also, they've really abandoned the "random choice of genre" idea, haven't they? It's not like they'd make random other folks tap dance. I would believe the confidence more if she weren't looking down at the stairs/her feet half the time (not that I want her to fall off! She just seems a lot more comfortable when...not on the stairs)

Bridget and Stanley--contemp--He has the same birthday as Michael Jackson? That means he has the same birthday as ME TOO! :) Their jumps are lovely. I dig him more than her.

Jacque and Jordan--pas de deux--wait, what? Two girls?? Will they switch partners next week? Will all of them? So puzzled. LOVE the fouettes!! But I don't remember which girl is which, so can't say which I like better--the flat-chested one? (Seems to be Jacque, I guess?) But it'll also depend on how they are in other styles.

I have to say, i'm kinda entertained by Jason Derulo as a judge, though the "big fat butt" song I do not especially enjoy.

Malene and Marcquet--if you're named after the university WHY IS IT SPELLED SO WRONG. --samba--(Lighting designer--why so much strobe????) She's fabulous, but can she do anything else? I don't have a feeling about him yet. (Oh Mary. So much crack you are on)

Carly and Rudy--contemp--I think some of what I'm not loving about this is choreography--I don't like the wide-spread-fingers/open hands look, and it keeps happening, but I think that's like the flexed feet/pointed feet thing, and it's supposed to be like that....

Emilio and Teddy--hiphop--Loving this. I think I like Emilio better. That was great.

...and the other two and reading what Kat had to say will have to wait, time for some drinks on the patio with coworker!

I am watching this ep now. I thought Brooklyn (first dance) was terrible. Just terrible. For that to be her dancing style, I was astonished at how bad she was. Her whole center was off, and I'm not a professional dancer.

I thought Ricky and Jessica were fantastic. What I really dig about Sonya is her reactions when dancers do a great job with her work. She was so pleased at their execution of her vision. She said "wow" at the end. I just love that shit.

Knock me over with a feather, there is a White woman named Tanisha!

Ha! le nubian, my irl SYTYCD friend said the same thing. We have taken to calling her White Tanisha because we still can't believe it.