SYTYCD
Cat Deely is a lovely woman, funny and it seems like the dancers genuinely take comfort from her. But she is proof that just about everybody looks like a wrapped potato in gold lamé.
Shame about Jessica, that must be awful for her, especially after all the criticism from the judges. At least she did earn her spot on the tour. I guess it's good to see Comfort back; she did seem to have some renewed vigor this week.
I never want to hear Mary Murphy say the word buck ever again.
So:
Courtney and Joshua: the Frankenstein (Spankenstein? Nigel, get laid already) hip hop piece was a good choreography but they didn't always have the chemistry for it. I think the choreographer went easy on Courtney, as she spent the first 40 seconds or so just leaning and twitching while Joshua really danced. I will say this is one routine where the defibrillation move seemed entirely appropriate. I liked their rhumba quite a bit. Joshua's hip action was very good--you can see even in his hip hop in some of his movements that his hips are very limber for a guy, like when he does that leap into the air and spin thing. And Courtney was sassy. I don't think she's winning material, but she is a very solid dancer and a hard worker. In their solos, it was great to see Joshua let loose and do his own thing. Courtney's solo was eh for me, but modern interpretive emoting to Celine Dion is just not going to do much for me pretty much ever.
Kherington and Mark: their two-step was very mechanical. I agree with the judges' comments about Kherington not trusting her partner to be there for her, when he always was (remarkably, considering the speed of the dance). Sometimes Mark got into the spirit of the dance, but for once, you could see him concentrating on steps more than being in character. Their jazz number to Jamiroquai was pretty lacklustre as well. Why don't the pretty blond girls want to dance with Mark? Both she and Chelsie seemed to have difficulty connecting. I'd dance with him. If he could belly dance. I was excited to see that Mark was going to reprise his Bohemian Rhapsody routine, which was one of his audition pieces, but honestly, I think it was better in the audition than it was last night. He's a remarkable dancer but I suspect he's out of his league now. Kherington's solo was a bit jarring for me. She's her best at smooth and elegant, which Rihanna's Breaking Dishes isn't. She almost seemed to be out of her style there. So I don't know; I saw a lot of movement but it seemed phony.
Comfort and Twitch: now that was some hip hop! Pretty awesome. I agree with the judges that Comfort was at her best ever, perhaps because she was most in her element, battling her dance partner rather than being led by him (and I wonder why I like her so much...) Costumes were outrageously wonderful too, they fit the description of Studio 54 in 2084. Their smooth waltz didn't have much going for it, though. I think each of them would have been better with a different partner, but obviously it's far out of their style. Also, how could anybody not be on the verge of hysterics trying to smooth waltz to Journey? I know M and I were cracking up watching. Solos, both hit it hard. I think Comfort feels how lucky she is and is working harder. I wish she would dance without a big hoodie once in a while though so we could see everything that she's doing. I know it's part of the look, but it's not helping. Twitch's solo was what you'd expect--an excellent demonstration of what he does best. Like Mark, though, I think he's at about the limit of how far he can go.
Katee and Will: oh, what a match. They were truly dancing *together* more than anyone else has done this season. Moreover, they looked happy in their dancing, there was real joy there not just in the characters but in the quality of their expression. In the Broadway routine, I was so impressed by their impeccable timing on those leg windmill jumps around the boat, not to mention how they were skipping all over that boat as though they were on a level floor. The pas de deux did have that one awkward moment, but otherwise it was breath-taking and I feel safe in saying no other couple on the show could have done it. In the solos, I thought Will kind of went for cheap emotionalism with that Luthor Vandross song, but it was still moving. Katee was just dreamy. She's really my favorite now.
Chelsie and Gev: first, yay, more Sonya Tayeh! They did her Otis Redding choreography a lot of justice. Contrary to the judges, I did think there were a few points where they lost sight of each other, but when they had it, they really had it with a lot of passion, and they really got the movement quality that the choreographer wanted them to have. The jive, my DVD-R lost some of it (time to replace the same DVD-RAM disc we've been using for far longer than it's supposed to have lasted, I think), but what I did see was a bit labored. They worked hard, but they looked like they were working hard. Solos, Chelsie was pretty smoking, especially in contrast to what she's done as part of a couple this season. It's almost as though her energy gets compressed by partnering, but let loose on her own, she explodes. Too bad there's not another ballroom or Latin guy on the show to partner with her. Gev did a good job in his solo, but his hip hop isn't as good as Joshua or Twitch's.
My guess would be Mark or Gev, more likely Mark, going home for the boys. For the girls, I don't know. I think all I can say for sure is not Katee or Chelsie and probably not Kherington (not because she doesn't deserve it more or less than the others, but because she is popular). So that leaves Courtney or Comfort. I guess it depends on how the people who vote feel about Comfort's coming back to the show. At the beginning of the show I would have expected she'd be leaving again right away, but she a) really stepped up and b) was handed a gift by being partnered with Twitch for hip hop.
Group Bollywood number tonight!