Fabulous Melanie and Tadd

Legion of Extraordinary Dancers - Phenomenal

Jess & Jordan Eliminated on July 28

As predictably as Jordan and Caitlynn were in the bottom, Melanie and Sasha were safe for another week. With the boys, it was obvious that Marko would be safe, which sent Jess to the bottom. Now, Jess in the B4 might have been a surprise on any other night, but faced off against Marko? Forget it. The most surprising development of the night came when Tadd and Ricky were pitted against one another. Was anybody thinking Tadd wouldn't advance? Certainly not Nigel (quote: "You will not be biting the dust this week, young man"). Certainly not Mary (quote: "You're gonna land yourself in the finale, I just know it"). Especially when compared to Ricky's (literally) weak performance last night, it seemed certain that Ricky would be sent packing. And yet! Tadd was relegated to the B4, and Ricky was left with a gaping mouth at the shock of being declared safe. Best of all was how Tadd seemed so supportive of Ricky

SOLOS
 Jordan continued to embrace the sexed-up caricature she was saddled with from day one, dancing to Rihanna's "S&M." How many ways can we say "We get it, you're bendy, and you can gyrate your hips" to make it get through to her? Worse, she nearly fell over at one point. Caitlynn, dancing to "What Turns You On" by Katie Simpson, was likewise unsteady on her feet and stumbled out a series of turns. It was better than Jordan's routine, though only marginally
 Jess stayed firmly in his comfort zone, dancing to "Mack the Knife" by Kevin Spacey from Beyond the City..... completing a dizzying series of turns -- a fan kick leap into eight straight-legged fouettés, with at least four pirouettes in between, followed by another eight pirouettes in a row, then a piqué to grow on.
Tadd brought crazy amounts of personality where Jess brought technical excellence.  Dancing to the jubilant end of Beetlejuice (a.k.a. "Jump in the Line" by Harry Belafonte), he strutted out onto the stage, latched onto a piece of set and hung there horizontally for a good five or 10 seconds, gymnast-style. It was a lot more fun than dancing, in a way, but I would argue that Tadd has proved time and again that he can do the technical stuff. And I certainly didn't miss it for one second of his performance, not least of which when he did a flying aerial off the stage and then rand a victory lap around the audience. The finale needs Tadd.

The Final Verdict

Results Part 1: Mitchell, Tadd, and Melanie - Mitchell had a lackluster Broadway routine and was obviously part of the bottom four. Mitchell marks his fourth appearance in the bottom, though the first was because of injuries. Melanie managed to overcome some of the stigmas of a slow Viennese Waltz and losing Marko. According to Nigel, Tadd out danced Comfort, this is enough to argue that we need a new hip-hop female. Both Tadd and Melanie were safe.

Results Part 2: Marko, Sasha, Clarice - Marko opened the show with a sexy samba and benefited from having Chelsie Hightower for increased exposure; Marko was also last to perform his solo last night. He was easily safe. Sasha had one of the best Lyrical Hip-Hop routines, topping her last Lyrical Hip-Hop "Coming Home.” As much as Clarice was last and had an explosive Bollywood routine, Neil mentioned that he never connected with her. Clarice was in the bottom and Sasha was safe.

Results Part 3: Jess, Jordan, Ricky, Caitlynn - Jess was criticized for mugging for the camera, and the performance was all about how beautifully Kathryn moved. Ricky had another nightmare routine after following his zombie "Fashion" routine, on the second look; Ricky was very supportive of Allison. Jess was safe and Ricky was in the bottom four. Ricky now was also in his fourth appearance in the bottom showing that both Ricky and Mitchell should be eliminated soon. Caitlynn had the first Argentine Tango of the season and it marvelous to watch. Jordan had a very strong contemporary performance and was fighting. She had the disadvantage of performing second and having her solo in the middle. Jordan was in the bottom and Caitlynn was safe.

Musical Performance: Daniil Simkin (Ballet) - There was something adorkable about the whole routine where it looked almost too easy. The "drunken Frenchman" storyline was easy to grasp and his leaps were insane.

Solos

Clarice - The performance lacked a bit of something outside of the "Look at me, I'm pretty." I couldn't stop looking at the bow on her butt, there was no reason for it to be there and it looked like one you would put on a present.

Mitchell -A really cool routine involving a piece of fabric and proved his athleticism. Even though he fell out of his turn a bit, he had the same physicality he always does.

Jordan - Another slow routine which displayed her powerful extensions. The song was one of the most fitting songs as well where the lyrics kept saying "don't you let me go, let me go tonight" almost as a plea to the judges. The judges already emphasized how much they loved her.

Ricky - A performance where he was battling for a win. While the judges don't respond positively on back flips it was great visual for the audience. Ricky and Mitchell are a bit interchangeable so either elimination wouldn't faze me.

Musical Guest: Blush ft. Snoop Dogg - Does Snoop Dogg get paid to just say hello these days? Blush seemed like one of those attempts for an Asian group to succeed.

The final verdict

After the commercial break, Nigel announced that the votes were unanimous, so the background conversation was probably just Neil talking about his involvement with The Smurfs.

Nigel emphasized that contestants have been in the bottom before, including the apparently untouchable Twitch. Have we all forgotten that Twitch lost? The point was that Nigel cut Mitchell and Clarice in one quick swoop.

 

 

Good-by, Robert and Miranda

So here's my view:  I think Ashley should have gone home...Miranda far outdanced her in the solos and i would bet this is the reason for the not unanimous vote by the judges.  And I think Chris should have been sent home, but maybe that's because I think Robert's personality is so huge.  My husband thinks Chris is a better dancer...so...

After a performance show that had judges kissing one another and Kristin Chenoweth telling everyone to shut the front, back, side and garage doors, "So You Think You Can Dance" sent two more finalists home on Thursday night's results show.

So, which finalists had to dance for their lives, and which two were ultimately sent packing? (Spoiler Alert)



After the dancers opened the show with a jazz number to music from "The Incredibles," host Cat Deeley brought the couples on stage to learn their fates. And the bottom three pairs were Miranda and Robert, Ashley and Chris and Caitlynn and Mitchell.

The results weren't surprising. Miranda and Robert's Broadway number by Tyce Diorio was polished but nowhere near as exciting (or moving) as some of the other routines. Same goes for Caitlynn and Mitchell's Jean-Marc Genereux-choreographed samba - it was good, considering neither of them are ballroom dancers, but didn't compare to the other numbers. And all of the judges criticized Ashley and Chris' Sonya Tayeh-choreographed, zombie-inspired jazz routine.  [Is this the first time the judges have ever been less than over the top about Sonya?]

The bottom six danced for their lives, and the results show also featured a beautiful duet from the AXIS Dance Company, which integrates dancers with and without physical disabilities, and a gravity-defying ballroom number from Eric Luna and Georgia Ambarian.

Then, it was time for the judges' decision. Nigel Lythgoe didn't make the three girls suffer long - he called Miranda forward first, and told her that while she was improving as the show went on, it wasn't enough. [Not unanimous among the judges.  I bet the runner-up was Ashley.  Oh well, she'll go home next week.]
Lythgoe then called each of the boys forward. He told Chris and Robert that they weren't improving fast enough, and noted that while Mitchell's solos are impressive, he keeps finding himself in danger of elimination. Ultimately, Robert was the one sent packing.

Lythgoe noted that the judges' were not unanimous in their decision to send Miranda home, but all agreed on eliminating Robert.)

Crazy kissin' judges

It was another night of superb dancing as the Top 16 took to the stage
on 'So You Think You Can Dance'. But as Cat Deeley noted, there was also a theme on the night: A battle of the sexes, of sort.


That battle got a little steamy after a Nappytabs routine featuring Melanie Moore and Marko Germar. The story of the dance was that Marko was stood up at the altar on his wedding day. As his best friend Melanie tries to console him, he realizes she's the one he truly loves. More dramatically, he sealed that realization with a kiss.


That inspired a veritable kissapalooza on the judging panel as first Nigel Lythgoe kissed Mary Murphy, then guest judge Kristin Chenoweth laid one on Lil C, and finally Nigel came across the dais to kiss Lil C as well. It was all Deeley could do to keep control of the proceedings.


As for the dance, it was a definite highlight in an evening of stand-out performances. Clarice Ordaz and Jess Leprotto stole Chenoweth's heart with their Foxtrot, while Jordan Casanova and Tadd Gadduang wrapped the night with a naughty hip-hop number.


The only misfire for us, and the judges, was Sonya Tayeh's jazz routine for Ashley Rich and Chris Koehl. She needed them to get much deeper into her half-skeleton/zombie characters than either of them seemed able to, leaving the routine a little flat.

Debbie Reynolds gives advice to eliminated contestants