The contestants are:

Pamela Anderson/Damian Whitewood
Chad Ochocinco/Cheryl Burke
Aiden Turner/Edyta Sliwinska
Erin Andrews/Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Shannen Doherty/Mark Ballas
Buzz Aldrin/Ashly Costa
Niecy Nash/Louis Van Amstel
Nicole Scherzinger/Derek Hough
Evan Lysacek/Anna Trebunskaya
Kate Gosselin/Tony Dovolani
Jake Pavelka/Chelsie Hightower

My thoughts:

Buzz Aldrin — wow! Evan Lysacek – wow!

I wonder when Julianne Hough is returning?

Above photo taken from EW.com.

Okay, okay I know it was Donny Osmond, but in my mind it was Kelly Osbourne! Or Mya. I thought Mya was by far the best dancer on the show this season, but Kelly was the most improved and that’s what this show should ultimately be about, imo. And there was something so relatable about Kelly; even though her father is a hugely famous pop star, she was still so human, and somehow so normal. Which is where she got her fan base, I’m sure. And of course Louis is my favorite dancer on the show, so there’s that for me.

I thought Donny was fine though, and I’m glad someone over 50 won that ball. I do wonder what the demographic was like this season — whether it was different from the rest? Good lord, has Marie lost weight since she was on the show or what?!

Anyway, how cool was it that Paloma Herrera (above image from here) was on SYTYCD tonight? I loved her — loved the beautiful tip-toes en pointe. Unfortunately my upstairs neighbor, Godzilla, was making such a heinous racket (the girl / beast has ruined just about every holiday for me for the past two years) that I didn’t get the full effect, and didn’t hear her announcement or her reception, but I wonder how well that classical Don Quixote solo fared with this audience? I guess we’ll see.

I admit I didn’t see last night’s show (I was out at NYCB and taped DWTS; can only record one thing on my recorder), but intend to watch vids if they’re up on YouTube yet. I’d love to see how Victor and Karen fared as a partnership. I mean, obviously those two were kicked off tonight but that doesn’t mean they did badly, just that the audience for whatever reason doesn’t care much for them and perhaps the judges felt like for political reasons they had to go with the audience a bit. I mean, how many weeks can you keep the same dancer on when the audience isn’t voting for them? And how much is that going to hurt ticket sales to the live shows if you actually advance them into the top ten?

Anyway, I liked Karen and thought she brought her own thing to the show and I’m sorry to see her go, and I’m really sorry to see Victor go since he was one of my favorite males. Oh well. I guess I’ll watch for Jakob and Russell from here on out.

Sorry I’ve been so out of it again with blogging, you guys — I can’t believe how many little errors there are in my book to correct… So stressful!

Anyway, I managed to watch DWTS last night. Thing is, I’m really so not into it; even if I wasn’t busy with my book, I’m so not into blogging about the show this season. I think Mya is overall the best contestant on the show right now, and so she probably deserves to win. But she just doesn’t do that much for me. I liked both her Quickstep and 70s Samba last night — I thought her Quickstep was actually pretty basic and technique-focused so I’m not sure why Len didn’t like it, and the Samba was fun — a lot of people dance Samba to disco music since it’s so hard to find good authentic Samba music around here.

I think overall I like Aaron the most though, even though he’s not as good as Mya. Still, he’s getting less and less fun, for some reason, as the season goes on. His over-the-top-ness is not enough to compel me to watch the show anymore. I liked but didn’t love his 90s Latin routine last night — wait, was it  Jive? I don’t even remember? But I was annoyed with Karina that she didn’t let him do his fun boy-band moves. Why did she cut him off like that — I think it would have been hilarious. And what is with everyone getting sick? (Both Karina and Aaron had the flu at various points this week apparently…)

I thought all the Standard routines were pretty bland last night. I thought Donny’s Viennese Waltz was the best, mainly because Kym was so beautifully fluid. But during the Latin round, his 80s Paso wasn’t all that interesting. The costumes and music (I used to love Spin Me ‘Round) were far more fun and flashy than the actual dancing.

And I feel the same way about Kelly as I do Aaron. I liked watching her learn and grow early on but now it seems she’s stagnating and it’s not that interesting anymore. I thought her 60s Jive was cute and I love that Louis, unlike Karina, let her put her own Monkees-esque moves in.

I feel like Joanna really dances like a paper doll. She has no grounding, no weight, no strength or firmness in her body. You need that for ballroom, even for the Standard dances. You need that for any kind of dance. You need that to do fouettes and pirouettes in ballet. Not that I don’t dance exactly like that — that was always my problem: I looked emaciated and completely substanceless. I used to think it was just about being thin, but it’s not. There are very thin dancers who are very rooted and have a great deal of strength in their bodies. She’s a really really pretty paper doll, but a paper doll nonetheless and I can’t for the life of me understand why the judges fawn over her so.

I know, as Katrina had commented earlier, that seasons may collide, but I still so want Yankees to be on the show.  Come on, A-Rod can dance with Smirnoff and Derek with … Lacey maybe. The World Series was the most exciting thing to happen since Roberto Bolle (look look, new pic from Weber book!) came to town. I’ve been a bit bored and depressed since it ended…

One more thing about the Yankees: they had a little dance segment at the City Hall celebration — did anyone watch it? The dancers were teenaged schoolgirls, apparently, from Staten Island, called the LA Dancers — something like that. They were okay, but you know… Why don’t they have a real dancer, like Ashley Bouder? I think she’d be perfect — she’s cute and extremely athletic and would be very attractive to the average baseball fan. And she’s a NYCBallet dancer… Come on! Next year…

Photo of Bouder by Gene Schiavone, taken from Bailarinas; photos of A-Rod and Jeter taken from here and here respectively.

It could have been because I’ve had a crazy last few days — computer crashing, iphone dropping calls like mad, internet access intermittent, possessed cursor on computer I’m momentarily using, and now serious fights with upstairs Godzilla and her monster mother — we’ll call her Grendel or Mother Grendel rather – it ALL happens at once! Anyway, I watched DWTS last night but I honestly can’t remember much — just too much on my mind. 

Generally, I just can’t stand the Paso Dobles done on these group shows. I love the Spanish dance elements — the flamenco taps and the matador posturing and the cape and all — but I can’t stand it “modernized” and danced to pop music. People just go too crazy with it and it doesn’t make any sense.

Still, my two favorite moments of last night’s show (besides the costumes and wigs used in the group Hustle) were Kelly and Louis’s Paso to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” and Michael and Anna’s more traditional version of the dance (thank you Anna Demidova!) What I liked about Kelly and Louis though was mainly Louis’s eyes. They were done up to look like Ozzy (of the y 80s of course, not now) along with the hair. He was once so serious (Louis that is) and he looks like he’s having a lot of fun with dance these days, so good for him. He really makes me laugh. The dance though — she tried hard and he of course is excellent at everything he does, but you could tell she kept wanting to jump up and down and pound her fist into the air, mosh-pit-like. And who wouldn’t — “Crazy Train” is not Paso music! I understood why Louis chose it — and Ozzy in the audience looked like he was about to burst into tears of pride (what is happening to the world?)- but still. 

And I loved Michael’s attempts to attain correct Paso posture by placing a nickel between his butt cheeks (at Anna’s suggestion). And I agree with Len that it worked! It is a really odd posture — pushing your hips so forward like that and standing up so straight from the waist down but then with kind of rounded shoulders. It seems so unnatural — like you’re ultra aware of your shaping – unlike with the other Latin dances. And it ended up being Michael’s best dance.

I wasn’t that impressed with much else. I thought Mark’s Paso was strong and his movements sharp but something didn’t look quite right, and I’m not sure what it was. He looked too dainty or delicate or something even though he was trying hard not to. And did Lacey blow out of a cannon or something? What was that entrance about?

Oh — I also really liked Karina and Aaron’s Argentine  Tango. Really nice choreography and really intricate hooks with those legs. And complicated lifts with her legs wrapped every which way around his.

I thought it was rather funny when Joanna tripped in her A.T. I honestly thought it was Maks’s fault (who she danced with since Derek’s sick with flu, as is Mark Ballas — what’s up with those two?) Anyway, they recoverd nicely (Joanna and Maks that is) and seemed to score okay. In fact, I actually thought she did better after the flub. Her legs straightened and she had nicer lines and a really gorgeous ronde en l’air — whereas the first one was bent-kneed and rather blah.

Louie and Chelsie had some cute lifts but I think someone else needs to choreograph for them. Judges loved it but I think she’s not giving him  enough to do and he ends up being more like her escort around the dance floor than a dancing partner.

And Mya’s A.T. was really gorgeous, expectedly. I honestly can’t remember the other two blondes or much of Donny’s though I remember thinking Donny’s was decent. 

I’m sorry I’m so out of it you guys! No sleep in quite some time! What did you guys think?

Judges seemed to like everyone; I have no idea who’s going home tonight.

No, I shouldn’t say that. Not after tonight, when Bruno actually behaved for once! Baz was sweet. And young! He must have been 20 when Strictly Ballroom came out?… I’m glad that movie’s mention received the most cheers by the audience. Makes me feel like viewers really do respect ballroom; like this show’s not all about celebrity.

Anyway, I thought all of the dancers did a little better tonight than last week; some — like Melissa — were greatly improved. I think my favorites overall were still Donny Osmond and Kym — he’s just too much fun and so cute! He had all that fast footwork in the Jive so down, from the tricks, the flicks, the kicks, the slides, the character — all of it.

Other favorites were Mark and Lacey’s Quickstep — wow, he can really dance: that high jete in sync, that leapfrog over her head, the runs, the footwork. Very polished, and very athletic. I didn’t expect that from a chef…

I also liked Mya and Dmitry’s Jive. I think she is a natural. She did those turns like a pro

Continue reading ‘BAZ LUHRMANN SHOULD REPLACE BRUNO ON DWTS’

Very excited to see Baz Luhrmann guest judge next week!

My favorites last night were Kelly Osbourne (and loved that her dad was on and that he became genuinely emotional over her splendid Viennese waltz! — as did her mum), Mya, and Macy Gray. What I really found endearing about Kelly was how blasted hard she obviously worked. She did not look so hot in practice sessions. And she was pretty down on herself. And then she came out there and did that gorgeous waltz with all that poise and polish and grace and watery fluidity. I almost cried for her — and I never watched her show!

I know, I know — overall, young swimsuit model Joanna Krupa was the best — her salsa alone showed that she’s rhythmic and used to moving her hips and, surprisingly her foxtrot showed she could be graceful and even delicate as well — but, I don’t know, I personally don’t find her as endearing as, say Macy. And Joanna’s full of confidence, which may not go down that well with the largely female voting public. I think she’ll be on for a while, but she may be the Sabrina Bryan of this season rather than the Brooke Burke.

I can’t help but love Macy’s ‘this is gonna be fun and I’m gonna work hard but I’m not getting caught up in all the competitive bullshit’ attitude. Love those facial expressions too! The judges were right on when they said she won the audience over with her magnetism. Not so good (I can’t bring myself to say ‘bad’!) as she was, I couldn’t take my eyes off her during that Viennese waltz. And I didn’t realize she was so tall — she’s got several inches on Jonathan Roberts!

I thought Mya was just so fluid in the Viennese waltz, and so killer in the cha cha. I disagree with whatever judge criticized the kick — I thought that kick was mad!

I like Debi Mazur a lot and she obviously isn’t a natural and doesn’t have training, but I want to see her improve. That’s what the show is about — working hard toward a goal and being able to do something you couldn’t before. I think she has the ability to improve. And she’s someone I can relate to and think others probably can too. So I really really hope she’s not the woman to go tonight. Bruno tells her she can’t dance but it doesn’t matter because she has great boobs. These kinds of comments are really not funny but clearly he’s not keen enough to realize that. Interesting how Maks covered Debi’s ears when he said that — I thought he was doing that to be funny but judging by the look on her face, it looked more that she was truly annoyed at Bruno and may haul off and sock him one.

I have to say Melissa Joan Hart didn’t leave much of an impression on me. I can’t really even remember her Viennese waltz to be honest. And I didn’t see her cha cha. Mark was kind of the star of that little routine Oh Mark — you’re a hopeless show-off and we will always love you for it…

Kathy Ireland (whom I would never have recognized!) was like Paulina Porizkova all over again. Same problem with the lack of groundedness in the salsa, the bouncing around. Bruno told her there was no “sex,” and without sex there is no salsa. So, according to him, since she didn’t get down on the ground and practically perform a sex act with Tony Dovolani, she didn’t actually salsa. She did much better with the foxtrot I thought, though the judges thought she did only marginally better.

I feel like I shouldn’t be too angry at Bruno or Len for their comments though. It seems the producers have told one to lust all over the women and make as many sex-laced comments as possible and the other to spend the season doing his best impersonation of Dana Carvey’s old SNL character, Grumpy Old Man (or whatever that character was called) and piss on and on about the way no one is adhering to basic ballroom.

I personally thought Dmitry’s Viennese waltz for Mya was choreographically the most engaging routine of the night. Louis van Amstel is a master choreographer too and he’s largely the reason Kelly shined as she did.

Who did I leave out?… Oh, Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin. Wow, beautiful arms — particularly in practice. The judges seemed to like her salsa, but I thought it had the same problem as most of the others — not grounded enough and too hop-py. I knew she was going to nail the Standard though — with those feathery arms! — and she did with the foxtrot.

I’m looking forward to tonight — particularly the Patrick Swayze tribute.

Photo of Louis van Amstel and Kelly Osbourne taken from Louis’s DWTS thread.

Photo from fanpop.

I’m happy for her — she definitely had her moments of brilliance, and I do think overall she did the best, most original solos of the season.

The rest of the So You Think You Can Dance results were: 4th Kayla, 3rd Evan, and 2nd Brandon.

Seeing Janette dance that Doriana Sanchez disco with Brandon made me want to see her again. I do hope we see some of these dancers again, and not just on the show but out in the world. As Jonathan commented on my Pasha & Anya Burn the Floor post, it seems like season three contestants have done well on Broadway, happily. I really liked Janette and Evan, so I hope I will see the latter on Broadway as well, and perhaps the former in a travelling ballroom show?… I will try to find out what’s going on with Sabra and Cedar Lake.

I think the other star of tonight was Louis van Amstel (above image from here), with all of those routines he choreographed throughout the season — the waltz, the samba, the paso — being chosen by the judges for encore perfs. And yeah, they were all really memorable, now that I see them again. Let’s see him do a Broadway / travelling ballroom show in the near future! C’mon Louis.

I really wish they would have had other dancers / dance companies perform tonight rather than have so many encore performances. How about some Alvin Ailey, ABT or San Fran Ballet, and maybe some fun small modern dance companies like Keigwin + Company? And maybe some top ballroom dancers as well, or some more America’s Best Dance Crew winners? I loved seeing Desmond Richardson perform earlier in the season and then, bam, that was it — no more outside dance. I would think audiences would really want the chance to see what else is out there rather than see so many repeat routines, flashbacks to the dancers’ auditions and interviews, and previews of next season, right?

I know this will come as a surprise to everyone (not!), but I really agree with Mary when she commended Evan for having introduced young audiences to a dance style that was in danger of dying: good old fashion Broadway / classic MGM — Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and all that. To me that has been the highlight of the season. To me, none of the dancers really had the sort of overall star power that Danny Tidwell, for example, had a couple of seasons ago, but Evan shone for what he excelled at. And I really believe audiences went for that — not for his cute face, as Nigel put it, or his good guy-ness, but for the way he brought that classic Broadway / Hollywood style of the ’40s and ’50s charmingly to life with character and intelligence — and with very good technique.

I don’t understand why all the judges kept harping on him. I actually thought he outshone Brandon in the Laurieann Gibson routine (at the beginning, they both jumped and his was sky high, with better lines than Brandon’s). I thought both he and Brandon did well at the more hip hop-y parts, but Evan outshone Brandon with the jumps and turns. But people will probably disagree with me on that…

And I thought he was technically better than Kayla in Tony and Melanie’s Jive. I thought her arms were way too busy. In jive your arms aren’t supposed to be swinging about wildly; your legs and mid-section are supposed to be doing the work. I feel that if you use your arms too much, it’s like your center and legs are weak — it’s like using your arms to haul your body up during sit ups or something. Outwardly you’re doing the movement pattern, but you’re not using the proper muscles. Anyway, I thought his legs were fantastic — those jive kicks had so much strength. And the lifts were spectacular — I love how they slowed them down mid-air to keep in time with the music. They almost looked like they were in slow motion. Difficult! I honestly thought that jive — and Evan’s performance in particular — was one of the best I’ve seen on the show. And how much do I love the audience chanting for him when the judges were being harsh

I do think overall, though, my favorite dance of the night was Jeanine and Brandon’s Paso Doble. What a triumph for Louis van Amstel — holy cow! Normally I don’t like non-traditional Paso music, but this (from The Matrix) worked well — can you say intense?! Great razor sharp movement for both of them, he had some gorgeous turning jumps, and what a beautiful jete into an assisted slide for her. I totally agree with Adam Shankman’s comment that the reason this worked so well is because they focused on the transitions  — the movement between the tricks — and not only the flashy things. As my former teacher, Luis, always used to say to me, the actual dancing takes place between the tricks. Nowhere was that better demonstrated than with this Paso. Kudos to everyone involved.

My other favorite moment of the night was Jeanine’s solo — by far the best of the night, I thought. That modern-y tango was so original — part Latin, part American Modern with the staccato, angular movement, the sharp stops, the isolations. And, contrary to Adam, I loved the rose stem held between her teeth. I thought it gave the dance character, and was a bit humorous to boot. And those pirouettes — totally agree with Adam there — WTF! Those were incredible! She began with a group of fouettes to give herself speed, then wound down into a combination of pirouettes that she somehow slowed to a perfect stop at the end, holding her balance after the last one ended, in perfect form. Astonishing — that was like something you’d see from Gillian Murphy and it made me think she’s been holding back all season…

But then … when she danced the Mia Michaels routine side-by-side with Kayla, I thought Kayla outshone her. I thought Kayla had greater height on her kicks and jumps, and overall more precision in her body. I think Kayla has the best modern dance technique of anyone on the show, and it really shows in the way she is able to dance with so much expansiveness, so much breadth, yet still keep such a tight form. In the group routine I found her to be the most expressive, to have the greatest range of movement in her head, neck and torso. And she’s got such stunning leg extensions. That Tyce DiOrio routine she did with Brandon — she really blew me away when she swung her right leg up, held it nearly to her ear, and then he threw her over his head in a split.

I wasn’t as in love with Brandon’s solo this week as I was last (and as the judges were), but I did love how he ended in that sudden straddle split. That is kind of his thing — making these sudden and intense lines. And his solo last week was to die for — so he’s definitely had his moments on the show.

Again, I have no idea who will win tonight. I feel that everyone has something: Kayla’s a great mover, Brandon has strength and intensity and can really blow you away at times, Jeanine excels with original solos and really brought it on this week and did something astounding, and Evan I love for bringing back Gene Kelly. Maybe Evan’s popularity on the show will lead to increased appreciation of Jerome Robbins?… Okay, I can dream

Is it really the semis already?!

At the top of the program Mary Murphy expresses shock about Janette getting kicked off last week since she “didn’t miss a single step throughout the show,” then urges the audience to vote based on the whole season, not just their favorite performer or performance of the week. Don’t remember hearing a judge say something like that before. Wow, they all really liked Janette (as did I, as everyone knows!).

Then Nigel says he thinks no one is really standing out as a star this season, unlike in seasons past; that’s why people are voting for the choreography and not the dancers. I agree with him to an extent. Generally, there haven’t been any standouts, which is actually making this season kind of boring to me. I do think Evan has stood out a bit, but mainly with his solos, where he kind of takes on a character like Charlie Chaplin, Gene Kelly, etc. But he hasn’t delivered with the duets.

The group routine for the men is choreographed by Sonya Tayeh. I thought, from seeing the three guys in distinction to each other — Ade, Brandon, and Evan, that Ade’s lines and form were much better than the other two. His jumps were higher, his extensions longer, and overall his movement more powerful and precise.

And all of what I just said above: ditto for Kayla on the women’s routine, also choreographed by Sonya.

My favorite solos of the night were by Brandon, Ade and Melissa.

Continue reading ‘SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, SEASON FIVE SEMI-FINAL’

Wow, hip hopper Phillip got a lot of applause during the opening solos. Did you guys notice that too?

Guest judge tonight is hip hop choreographer Lil C.

We get to know the dancers more. Evan says his partner Randi has a dog who she treats as a human, talking to him on the phone, etc. Brandi says Evan is an amateur mechanic who built his own car. They’re doing Jive this week, Louis van Amstel choreographing. So, wait, is this a “fun” routine you guys?! How many times did they say that word! It WAS fun. That leap frog he did over her! Those continuous pivot turns (those are hard, they’re hard to do without looking stiff and awkward since you’re so close to your partner but are trying to look free), the jive kicks, that fun lift at the end. They were really having fun out there. And she has a great Latin body. They didn’t really look like a polished pro Latin couple, but, they still did damn good, especially considering they are a Broadway and contemporary dancer. Nigel and Mary are disappointed; I disagree with them.

Ade says Melissa has a sister who’s married to her brother’s something or rather — complicated, slightly incestuous-sounding family situation; Melissa tries to pronounce Ade’s full African name — four words long, the first about 12 letters. He pronounces it in full, then says, see, that’s why I go by Ade. They’re dancing a contemporary routine by Sonya. Well, that was interesting choreographically — it was kind of sexually aggressive, a bit robotic, impish as Cat Deeley said. It had a lot of intricate lifts, a lot of angular movement. What I actually liked about it was how differently they did on some of the side by side moves. There was one point where they both did a simultaneous jump, unconnected, and another where they lay down on their backs and lifted their legs in the air, making interesting shapes, and on both his feet were flexed and hers pointed. I just thought that was so interesting — his movements were more African-looking and hers ballet. It was really a beautiful distinction, I thought.

Caitlin says Jason has an obsession with Michael Jackson, and we see videos of him as a child doing Moonwalks — adorable! Jason says Caitlin does baby voices and has a scream like nails on a chalkboard. They have a hip hop routine

Continue reading ‘SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, SEASON 5, WEEK 2′

I was at NYCBallet last night and then absolutely needed to go out to O’Neals afterward with my friend to discuss Tiler Peck’s brilliant performance in Mercurial Manouevres (and yes, Ashley Bouder in Lifecasting, whom my friend has an enormous crush on   — we got kicked out of O’Neals at 12:15 a.m. – -ridiculous that they close that early; that’s why ballet isn’t attracting young audiences — there are no bars open late in the Lincoln Ctr area…argh!) Anyway, I’m watching the recording this morning. Here’s my recap:

First on, popper Phillip and contemporary dancer Jeanine dancing to a Tabitha and Napolean hip hop routine. The first dance of the season. It was pretty good. I thought she did really well, especially for a contemporary dancer. I think she even kind of outdanced him! It wasn’t tremendously memorable to me, but was good.

Next, Asuka and Vitolio, in a Tyce DiOrio Broadway routine. She has ballet training and he grew up in an orphanage, so interesting combo. Cute. His opening jump didn’t have much height but other than that everything went well — great solo, side-by-side movement, good lifts — she has great lines. And he had a good multiple pirouette in there. I really enjoyed Vitolio — I thought he stood out much more than she. Mary’s nuts. They didn’t just “do their steps, do the right thing.” They gave it a lot of umph. I think the character was totally there. Nigel’s critical too — what are the judges on?

Third, Karla and Jonathan’s Cha Cha choreographed by Tony Meredith. So, Karla has danced on Broadway, toured with Wicked, and Jonathan’s a Salsa dancer who started dancing after seeing this show. (I like how we’re learning a bit about these couples now). Eh. It was okay. But her legs were too bent, she didn’t straighten enough, and it looked like it was lacking in precision and leg lines. He was pretty good. It didn’t look anything like a professional Latin routine though. She looked like a Broadway dancer doing Latin. Judges are all going wild though. Judges sure like sexy.

Fourth is Randi and Evan’s Tyce DiOrio Broadway routine. Randi’s from a small town and big family and not used to flash. Evan’s the Broadway dancer, from Michigan, who most stood out to me during auditions. He kind of reminds me of Craig Salstein — which means, I really really like him! So, she says she’s married and doesn’t like doing sexy, romantic things with Evan — because dance is real of course, it’s not an act. It took them a bit to get into the mood of it, but when they did, Wow! That really blew me away — so passionate. He did a very nice tour jete in the middle, she had very lovely leg lines, beautiful lifts, and some excellent staccato movement (are they called isolations in contemporary?) in the middle, emphasizing every body part, and, as Nigel says, exhibiting excellent control. Really fabulous movement. I’m so glad the judges like them. If they didn’t I was going to be beyond annoyed.

Fifth, Paris, a contemporary dancer, was in a car accident and has no sensation below her knee on one leg. Wow. She’s paired with Tony, a hip hop dancer. He chose dance over sports in high school. Good for him They’re dancing to a Tabitha and Napolean hip hop routine. Oh, I remember him from auditions — the comical guy who kept flashing the photos of Nigel during his routines. I liked him, personality-wise, though I didn’t think his dancing was anything to write home about. Well, I thought the choreography here was a little bland, but I do think they did as well as they could. Or, maybe it’s as Adam says, that they didn’t have enough attack. They were fine, but there needs to be more. They were a little too soft and bouncy.

Sixth are contemporary dancers Caitlin and Jason. She has a gymnastic background (I remember liking her in audition; I was really rooting for her, when it seemed her sister’d be the one to make it). They’re doing a Bollywood routine by Nicole (I didn’t get the choreographer’s exact name). Whoa, that was excellent! My favorite dance so far! Everything was so excellent — he is just oozing with charisma, and a really natural dance ability. And she has gorgeous lines. Beautiful lift up front, loved the low-to-the-ground deep knee bounces, excellent plastique — beautiful lines with the wrists and hands and feet. Whoa. He’s my favorite so far. Nice to go with the Slumdog Millionaire song as well.

Janette and Brandon. She’s a Latin dancer from a Cuban family and learned to dance at home. Brandon is that contemporary dancer who during auditions some of the judges wanted to die for and two couldn’t at all understand the fuss. It was something that annoyed me during auditions, because we didn’t get to see a whole lot of him and so couldn’t take a side and participate in the debate. So, now we’ll see. They’re doing a Foxtrot. Wow, that was really pretty, ended up being a nice Foxtrot once they got into it — it did take them a little bit though, but once they loosened up and swayed their upper bodies, it had some real spice. Not at all one of those stiff Standard dances you sometimes see when both partners are too nervous. That ending lift sequence was gorgeous. He did have charisma but I’m still with Mia — he’s okay but I’m still waiting to see what Mary and Nigel were going on so about during auditions.

Ashley and Kupono are doing a Jazz routine by Wade Robson. So they’re crash test dummies. Wade Robson is so weird! I thought it was more rubbery than robotic, but I guess that’s right — right? Crash test dummies are rubber so they can bounce all about. It was good. I thought he outshone her. I like how he made those nervous little flutters ripple throughout his body. That looked hard and he did it well. She was a little too fluid, which normally would be proper for contemporary dance, but here it wasn’t quite right. Mary likes her though.

Melissa, the ballet dancer (“I’m strictly a ballerina, also called a buff ballerina and naughty ballerina”) is partnered with contemporary dancer Ade. They’re doing contemporary with Mandy Moore. Whoa, tied with the Bollywood for my favorite of the night! She was gorgeous — like a bird, she just flew! Adam Shankman is crying! She’s 29, the oldest dancer on the show, and he tells her she’s living proof that we get better with age. He says her power is profound. He’s right! Mary screams! She keeps saying the quality of the movement, the quality of the movement, you can’t deny training, you can’t deny training. Yes, you can see all the ballet training — she lifted herself in those lifts. And did you see how high she danced on releve! Oh, for all the people who aren’t watching because of Alex Wong, she is so worth watching the show for this season! Poor Ade — I didn’t even notice him — though I did notice one jete where he made a perfect split, which was marvelous. And he’s a good, strong partner.

Finally, Kayla and Max are doing a WOO HOO, Louis van Amstel samba! Welcome to SYTYCD, Louis   Max is Russian, a ballroom dancer. Kayla’s contemporary, from a single-headed household; it was a struggle for her to take dance lessons as a child, but they managed. Aw, Louis’s being so nice — telling her he can’t believe she hasn’t done ballroom before But, you know, I was disappointed. The music totally outshone them. He didn’t do much for me, unfortunately. He didn’t have the flash I’ve seen in most male Latin dancers. His hips weren’t that fluid and his movement range wasn’t that wide, and his rhythmic sensibilities just didn’t seem to be all there. Maybe he was nervous. Maybe he’ll get better. She was very good, although she didn’t looke like a proper Latin dancer. But how could she be expected to be at this point — she’s contemporary. That back kick was stunning. The judges are going nuts, though, and Mary did her crazed hot tamale train screams. I don’t know, I didn’t see what they did.

My favorites of the night: the lyrical Mandy Moore routine and the Bollywood number, and dancers Melissa, Jason, Evan, and Kupono. I can’t believe someone is going home already tonight.

Sorry, am compelled to call DWTS the Mark Ballas show now, because whenever he dances, it is so all about him. Mark! Can the man ever learn to be the frame? “Oh baby, what’s wrong?” he says to Shawn in practice, before hugging her. Oh Mark — just melt me. But it’s nice to see a pro not beating up on his amateur, unlike Cheryl, who gave Gilles more hard times this week… Anyway, I thought Mark and Shawn’s Quickstep was great fun, but again, was only watching him. The quintessential ham. Seriously, though, he’s an excellent performer, and an excellent dancer… which is rare I think. And I love that half-Texan half-British accent. Shawn seemed to do very well.

Chelsie’s taking over and making it all about her with Ty isn’t as bothersome, I guess, since the woman is supposed to be the picture.

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