SYTYCD Season 10 Top 14 Recap + Partner Rankings

Here we are again. The thing about having only one episode a week is that by this point in the competition, you feel like you should know the dancers pretty well, whereas now they're mostly still just defined by their routines unless people know them personally. In any case, I'm looking forward to Top 10 and beyond so we can get to know these dancers better and better.

I wasn't too crazy about the opening group number by Sonya Tayeh and Dmitry Chaplin, but I guess it was a cool pairing to have a sort of hipster-goth contemporary/jazz choreographer and a ballroom choreographer collab on a group number. It mostly seemed like just Sonya choreo though.

We learn our bottom six; Curtis, Alan, Nico, Jasmine, Alexis, and MAKENZIE. Seriously. What is with people? This is basically the only time when I'm sad to be from Canada, because I'm not able to vote whatsoever. Makenzie has been pretty much flawless in all of her performances so far, she's gorgeous and seems very likable. What's not to like? The bottom is getting kind of tiring so far, because for half of the dancers this is at least their 3rd time at the bottom of the totem pole. Makenzie's saved right away, and the guys are told they don't have to dance because they "know how they dance their individual routines already". This is either because Curtis was injured this week and couldn't perform (get this; he injured his shoulder) and they wanted to make the playing field even, or the more likely possibility that they just didn't have the time in the programming for 5 solos. So we see Jasmine's and Alexis's.

1. Jenna and Tucker - Luther Brown
HIP HOP

Another Luther Brown number. This man seems to think that tight, black leather is the only possible material for his costume numbers. They looked pretty ridiculous in all that leather, not to mention I can't imagine how difficult it would be to dance with LITERALLY a second, thick skin on underneath the stage lights and beneath stage makeup. It was a pretty forgettable routine, mostly because it was nothing we haven't seen before from Luther. Jenna and Tucker did the best they could. And what was with those enormous black speakers or amps or whatever some poor stage crew members had to haul on and off??

2. Alexis and Nico - Sonya Tayeh
CONTEMPORARY

This is actually one of my favourite Sonya pieces ever, along with the Tiffany/George Jr. and Cole/Allison Holker routines from last season. It was gorgeous, creative movement we haven't seen from Sonya before, and it was the first time that Alexis really stood out for me. Really stunning, although I wish Sonya would dip her toes in something with lighter material again for a change. It's been a while since we've seen a gorgeous contemp piece from anybody with a happy mood or story.

3. Hayley and Curtis (INJURED) - Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo
ARGENTINE TANGO

Because Curtis is injured, Leonardo stepped in with his enormous suit to partner Hayley instead. Again, one of my top all-time Argentine Tangos. (Others include Caitlynn/Pasha in S8 and Chehon/Anya in S9...). Hayley is just absolutely stunning, and for the first time I actually start to see her as a real contender. I always knew she was gorgeous in her own style, but she hit everything tonight with deliberation and sharpness and passion. Leonardo probably helped her a bit too, which I think is probably necessary in something as passionate as an Argentine Tango, to have at least one of the partners be a pro at it. The dress was stunning, the music was perfect, the lines were beautiful. And I'm no Argentine Tango expert, but this seemed like it had a lot of more traditional and technical steps to it, not just the fancy lifts that get votes. Guest judge Anna Kendrick basically nailed it when she noticed that Hayley was, thank heavens, not being portrayed as a vixen-sexy-dangerous character in another routine. SO beautiful.

4. Makenzie and Paul - Sonya Tayeh
JAZZ

Second jazz piece this couple have received, so far, and so far, it's 2 for 2. It was technically sharp and all-around entertaining and hot, and it shows that this couple are super super powerful. Unfortunately, the lack of storyline in this piece will probably make it more forgettable than their other ones to date, which makes me super nervous again next week for Makenzie, because I don't think the judges will be able to justify saving her again if she goes for a fourth round in the bottom. They already had to feed the audience a reason to save her again (WHICH MAKES NO SENSE BECAUSE WHAT REASON DO YOU NEED PEOPLE SHE'S PERFECT), saying that they had to save Eliana and Chehon numerous times and look, they won! Whatever.


5. Jasmine and Aaron - Justin Giles
CONTEMPORARY

This piece was based on the book "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein, which apparently warranted an entire recap by Nigel before he could actually start critiquing. This was such a creative premise for the routine, and everything visual from the costumes to the lightning to the apple prop were perfect. Nice to see these two have something in one of their own genres for a change. Stunning piece, and just showing how much more of a surprise contender Jasmine Harper has been for me this season. Honestly, and terribly, I kind of pegged her as someone who would leave in the first couple of weeks because of her terrible playing-up of the Cyrus's-ex story, which was probably pegged on her by the producers. I am pleasantly surprised at her success though, and I just hope she can continue this winning streak. Aaron is fantastic, I just find his faces are pulled sometimes just a little too much, and exaggerated a little to be entirely sincere or believable. Stunning piece though.

6. Amy and Fik-Shun - Christopher Scott
HIP HOP

I love that Chris Scott is returning to his cutes-y, sort of retro pieces, at least for this routine. Dunno why they decided real water in the pitcher prop was necessary, because Amy's chair slipped and fell and the "SYTYCD Café"menus were dripping with water. They were adorable in this routine though, where Amy played the waitress, and Fik-Shun played the customer with a crush on the waitress, and they definitely pulled it off again. Two things though; they always play the same goofy characters in almost every routine they've been given (exc. Sonya's contemporary and the Paso), and they haven't gotten anything super hard yet, like a Salsa or a Cha Cha or Quickstep or anything ballroom-challenging.

7. Malece and Alan - Season 5 Alumni Jonathan Flatero 
SALSA

Loved this salsa. It was actually the first salsa in recent memory that has had a ballroom pro as one of the two partners. Alan was super confident in this routine and it showed, where this is probably the first routine where Malece stumbled even a bit. Granted, she's gone through the wringer with all the styles she's been given, and she's been basically killing everything.

MINI GROUP NUMBERS

I thought this was a good idea to get rid of the awkward space in air-time between not having enough time for each couple to do 2 pieces, but too much time with every couple doing just 1 (Basically Top 14/Top 12, because they can fill the rest with promos etc. on weeks before). So seven of the Top 14 were in each number...

Broadway - Spencer Liff
Fun Broadway piece by my favourite Broadway choreographer. And I love when the choreographers step into their own routines, whether it be by necessity (i.e. tonight, in Curtis's place) or by intention (i.e. Chris Scott in the insane animation number he did with Comfort, tWitch and Cyrus last season). Not much else to say, although it was next to cruel to have Alan and Malece do that insane, high-octane salsa, then pop backstage, quick-change, and pop back out for this high-octane Broadway. Probably because they wanted to keep the emotional routine for last, though...

Contemporary - Bonnie Story
Moving piece about bullying and anti-bullying, and although I'm not sure about how effective it will be to "stop bullying", it's good to keep the message out there and kicking, especially during the summertime when all schools are out, as it's probably where 95% of all bullying starts (not exact statistics but whatever...). Beautiful piece, and I mostly kept my eyes on Jasmine, Nico and Amy, as it's their domain.

At the end, to no one's surprise, Curtis and Alexis are cut. Sucks to lose two tappers at once, but it was really time for both of them. Before they cut to the last commercial break, they had Alan, Curtis, and probably a couple other of the Bottom 6 on that mini-step they have to showcase who's coming up next etc., and Alan looked absolutely terrified, while Curtis was completely relaxed. Curtis probably put two and two together and probably just decided his own fate when he first got injured. Injured, and has had solid critiquing for at least the past three weeks.

Anna Kendrick was hilarious. Hopefully she'll be another "regular" guest judge, à la Christina Applegate or Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and come back some other time, instead of having Paula Abdul for three weeks into the Top 8, 6, and 4.

Partner Rankings; this was super hard this week so don't hate me.

1. Hayley / Curtis (ELIMINATED) *Replaced by Leonardo
2. Jasmine / Aaron
3. Alexis (ELIMINATED) / Nico
4. Makenzie / Paul
5. Malece / Alan
6. Amy / Fik-Shun (just because she fell- I hate myself as much as you do right now).
7. Jenna / Tucker - by a long shot.

People in danger next week;

GUYS
1. Tucker
2. Alan

GIRLS
1. Jenna
2. Malece

My favourite SYTYCD GIFs in honour of National Dance Day

So National Dance Day is tomorrow. If you're interested in more about the actual celebrations and roots, the website is http://dizzyfeetfoundation.org/national-dance-day . There's also a couple routines to learn, including the "Everybody Dance Routine" with Adam Shankman and the Big Kahuna of the entire shenanigan, Nigel Lythgoe, as well as a "Hip Hop Master Class" with NappyTabs, Baby NappyTabs and Comfort Fedoké.


(Note; Tuesday's guest judge is Anna Kendrick, who's from Pitch Perfect and is generally all-around hilarious. So excited).

But really, what better way to celebrate than to spend hours on Tumblr finding the best SYTYCD GIFs? Here's some of my favourites from this year and beyond;

All right that's probably enough... Happy National Dance Day, and see you on Tuesday  after the Top 14 perform :)

SYTYCD Top 16 Recap + Partner Rankings

Anyone else follow the official page on twitter? They actually re-tweet every identical single tweet twice for both the east and west coasts... Kind of unnecessary... And super annoying hashtags. But I guess they're informative so whatever...

We first learn the bottom 6 - Jenna, Mariah, Makenzie, Curtis, BluPrint and Alan. Everyone basically predicted the men because it was so blatant last week, but Makenzie again? Seriously? It'll look bad if she falls to the bottom again and they save her again, but honestly, she's one of the two or three top talented girls in this competition and this is getting super ridiculous. They all dance for their lives after a lengthy declaration from Nigel. Alan's was dramatically impressive, but not sure how much actual ballroom technique was in that. He just basically whipped around that silky cape for the last ten seconds, and Curtis's tap routine was nothing special. BluPrint actually had the best solo, I think. Jenna's immediately saved and does not have to dance for her life.

1. Alexis and Nico - Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin

JIVE

Why do they keep placing ballroom numbers as the openers? Forget about the quickstep being the kiss of death, it's pulling a ballroom that's not a paso or an argentine tango as the show opener. Despite everything, this is the first performance that I was actually super impressed with on Nico's part, who's showing himself to be a really versatile dancer. Alexis kept up, but even in her grey shimmery dress she couldn't outshine Nico.

2. Jenna and Tucker - Travis Wall

CONTEMPORARY

Travis is really pulling out the big guns this season with creative numbers, and this was no exception. Tucker has a way of making everything look so flawless and effortless, and Jenna was incredible as her puppet-y character. Both will probably go super far. A couple prop issues with the puppet elastics, but they are obviously very polished performers and just kept dancing it beautifully. 

3. Mariah and BluPrint - Brian Friedman

JAZZ

What a totally strange routine. The premise was sort of interesting, but Brian Friedman must have totally ran out of choreography ideas about halfway through. The first half was energizing with the music, and the two hit the moves correctly, but then I wondered if the two like last-minute decided to do the next half of the routine at half-time. Why would you choreograph such slow moves to such fast music with no transition in between? And poor Mariah probably couldn't even see with the 7 pounds of fake eyelashes they glued on her.

4. Malece and Alan - Dave Scott

HIP HOP

First of all, let's talk about what a strange pairing this is. Alan probably literally weighs like two and a half times Malece's weight. Just the physics of their partnering doesn't match, because Malece has already done half the choreography because she can basically fly she's so light and weightless, while Alan has to put in like three times the effort just to keep up with her. I know this was just a pairing made out of convenience after last week's eliminations, but I just feel bad for the both of them. The choreography was refreshing and I generally really liked this routine. Okay, sorry, one last snarky observation - I think they spent like 98% of the costume budget on Malece's outfit and then hobbled together Alan's out of bits and pieces from the back of the costume department. Honestly, Alan's top looked like it was sewed out of the sort of felt kids use for crafts, and they probably just hauled those dumb harlem pants out from some other routine. 

5. Hayley and Curtis - Dee Caspary

CONTEMPORARY

I absolutely adore Dee's work - his lightbulb piece for Melanie and Marko in season 8 was pure magic. Unfortunately, he didn't get as magical a couple this time. Hayley was gorgeous in this piece, as to be expected because of her background, but I just cannot even understand what Curtis is still doing there. He's exceptionally talented, but when you get mixed in with 15 other world-class dancers it's hard to stand out. His feet were garishly flexed (unless it was a part of the choreo, which could be), his shoulders were absolutely raised too high, and he just doesn't have the confidence or the charisma to pull off a strong partnering stunt. The sushi date thing was adorable, though. 

6. Amy and Fik-Shun - Tyce Diorio

JAZZ

One of my hands-down favourite Tyce pieces, along with his wall piece with Sasha Mallory and Kent Boyd. Amy and FikShun proved once again they can basically pull anything off, and that they're well on their way to the Top 4. Not much else to say. One of my favourites of the night. 

Oh, LOL, just an insert to Nigel's Most Irrelevant Remark of the Night; "Fik-Shun, I wouldn't be surprised if Will and Kate named their baby after you!" 

7. Makenzie and Paul - Dave Scott

HIP HOP

Holy ahsdjasldlashshdajdhj. Paul Karmiryan, your hips are absolute magic. I'm just please waiting for some godly person to make a GIF of some of those hip moves he did. I know everybody loves Amy and Fik-Shun, and I love them too, I promise, but Makenzie and Paul just have that extra dose of chemistry. For heaven's sake, it was flawless and tight from start to finish and the only thing that ruined this perfect moment was Nigel's dumb comment about how this was really 20s and not 30s, but who cares? This couple can basically do anything, and are fantastic at making each other look good while playing themselves up as well. Hands down best of the night. 

8. Jasmine and Aaron - Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin

QUICKSTEP

WILL THEY STOP WITH THE "KISS OF DEATH QUICKSTEP" GIG ALREADY? Honestly, we have all heard 1780347830243940 times how hard quickstep is, just show us the routine... Anyways, Jasmine and Aaron are definitely the most charismatic on the show, and although their routine was not technically perfect, they just looked like they were having a lot of fun, and voters love that. 

Oh, I should probably talk about Carly Rae Jepsen guest judging, but honestly, there's not much to say. I love Carly Rae because she was my favourite on Canadian Idol when she placed 3rd (her cover of "Georgia On My Mind" is so stunning), but they really have no place putting Carly Rae in charge of judging something she has no experience in (as far as we know). I suppose there's the aspect that these sort of media-stars (Erin Andrews etc.) can judge the entertainment factor and speak for the rest of the non-dancing audience, but there's only so much they can say when they don't have the background to properly critique the routines. 

I completely disagreed with their sending home of BluPrint - I think he has had way way more growth on the program than Curtis - but I suppose his time was coming in Nigel et al's eyes anyways. Mariah gets sent home to no one's surprise after Makenzie's routine tonight. 

My partner rankings tonight;

1. Makenzie and Paul (NO MORE COMMENT ALTHOUGH I REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS ONE MORE HOLY ASHDJSDJLJIP)

2. Amy and Fik-Shun

3. Jenna and Tucker

4. Jasmine and Aaron

5. Malece and Alan

6. Hayley and Curtis 

7. Mariah and BluPrint (BOTH ELIMINATED)

8. Alexis and Nico

Bottom predictions; I really hope they start with doing the Bottom 4 next week... But I added a third guy and girl just in case they don't...

GUYS

1. Curtis

2. Alan

POSSIBLE 3. Nico, if his fanbase doesn't hold strong enough for him through his jive tonight.

GIRLS

1. Alexis

2. Hayley

POSSIBLE 3. Jasmine 

Alright, I'm going to go watch the Paul/Makenzie routine again. 

EMMY Nominations for Outstanding Choreography 2013

As per usual, multiple SYTYCD choreographers were nominated in this year's EMMY awards. The nominations were announced this morning. Below are all the routines nominated by their respective choreographers; remember that all these nominations are for Season 9 choreography :)

Travis Wall

Where The Light Gets In
Dancers; Amelia Lowe, Alexa Anderson, Janaya French, Amber Jackson, Eliana Girard, Tiffany Maher, Janelle Issis, Lindsay Arnold, Witney Carson, Audrey Case

Unchained Melody

Dancers; Matthew Kazmierczak, Audrey Case

Without You

Dancers; Alex Wong, Eliana Girard

Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo

The Love Cats

Dancers; Amelia Lowe, Will Thomas

Circle of Life

Dancers; Comfort Fedoké, tWitch Boss, Marko Germar, Allison Holker, Alex Wong, Melanie Moore, Kathryn McCormick, Ade Obayomi, Eliana Girard, Chehon Wespi-Tschopp, Cyrus Spencer, Tiffany Maher, Witney Carson, Cole Horibe, Lindsay Arnold, George Lawrence II, Audrey Case

Beautiful People

Dancers; Eliana Girard, Chehon Wespi-Tschopp, Tiffany Maher, Cyrus Spencer, Cole Horibe, Witney Carson, Will Thomas, Lindsay Arnold, George Lawrence II, Audrey Case, Matt Kazmierczak, Amelia Lowe, Dareian Kujawa, Janelle Issis, Brandon Mitchell, Amber Jackson, Daniel Baker, Alexa Anderson, Nick Bloxom-Carter, Janaya French

Sonya Tayeh

Possibly Maybe

Dancers; Cole Horibe, Allison Holker

Turning Page

Dancers; Tiffany Maher, George Lawrence II

Sail

Dancers; Tiffany Maher, Audrey Case

Mandy Moore

Wild Horses

Dancers; Lindsay Arnold, Cole Horibe

The Power of Love

Dancers; Tiffany Maher, Ade Obayomi

Finally, Allison Holker was also nominated along with Derek Hough for a number she did with Dancing With the Stars;

Dancers; Allison Holker, Derek Hough, Melanie Moore, Kathryn McCormick, Jessica Lee Keller

Congratulations to all the choreographers for their outstanding work and for their nominations in such an enormous awards ceremony! I'm a little surprised that Christopher Scott wasn't nominated for anything, especially the "Architect of the Mind" Routine with the entire Top 20 - that was magical. Based on these routines, I would pick either Sonya or Travis to win; but honestly, these are all gorgeous performances. 

SYTYCD Top 17 Performance + Partner Rankings

Erin Andrews and Paula Abdul were the guest judges, and they were both knowledgeable enough to hold their own. Of course, Paula has veteran experience as a judge of any kind, so she did really well and gave some super fantastic advice and points. The group routine was choreographed by Chris Scott and Sonya Tayeh, who are pretty much magical together, although I saw more of Sonya's influence in this choreo than Chris'. And what was up with that enormous set piece that looked like a couple dozen 2x4s slapped together? In any case, it was beautiful and was a good opening to the show.

We have an entire package to explain Jade's injury and exit from the competition. It's a bit of a blessing in diguise for Curtis and BluPrint, who have both been heavily criticised for their lack of technique and personality in their routines, as they were both in the bottom along with Jade. I have no idea who would have been sent home between the three, if Jade wasn't injured - they've saved Jade probably one too many times, BluPrint has gotten constant intense criticism for his lack of personality, and Curtis has lately been extremely immature in his dancing. Jasmine M., Jenna and Alexis were in the bottom for the girls, and were all three asked to dance for their lives. Alexis had a fantastic solo, Jenna's was just simply great Latin Ballroom, and Jasmine's was pretty standard contemporary moves.

1. Amy and Fik-Shun - Jean-Marc Généreux
PASO DOBLE

Amy and Fik-Shun again proved they could do no wrong, and again added to their finale war chest, paving their way to the Top 4 once again. Fik-Shun's shoulders were obviously too high for a while in the routine, but it really didn't matter overall.

2. Jasmine H. and Aaron - Spencer Liff
BROADWAY

Again proving for me that Spencer Liff's broadway pieces way out-shine Tyce Diorio's. It was a creative idea for the routine, and Jasmine and Aaron complement each other fantastically. Jasmine's dress was especially gorgeous - it was made out of a silky-type material and it just floated over her mile-long legs gorgeously. No complaints, it was really fun and Aaron is again proving himself worthy of being on the show in Emilio's place. Just worried whether the routine was memorable enough and whether their placing in the show will hinder their vote count.

3. Makenzie and Paul - Lindsay Nelko
CONTEMPORARY

As much as I adore Mia Michaels, Stacey Tookey, Dee Caspary, Sonya Tayeh, etc., it's really nice to see some new blood in here for the contemporary pieces. I felt like Lindsay Nelko went really safe costume-wise here - put the girl in a floaty white dress, put the guy in a white shirt and simple pants - and I think that was probably a really smart decision for her debut. She's obviously super talented, and she used Makenzie's contemporary potential to the fullest. Makenzie and Paul are one of my favourite couples in the competition right now (the other being Amy and Fik-Shun), because they have incredible chemistry and this is the third routine in a row they've knocked out of the ballpark. Kind of surprising how well Paul is doing, not gonna lie, but I'm enjoying every bit of it.

4. Jasmine M. and Alan - Sean Cheesman
JAZZ

Fun concept, and I think Jasmine's personality really shone through here. Unfortunately, Alan's not made much of an impression personality-wise, but he's been able to keep himself standing because of his partnering work and strength. The beginning was especially neat, when they were drinking their tea and doing that kind of tutting-arm-locking thing with the cups, but it kind of got lost in the middle.

5. Jenna and Tucker - Keoni and Mari Madrid
HIP HOP? JAZZ? HIP-JAZZ?

Neat tribute to Michael Jackson by another pair of newbies. It was really creative choreography and nothing we've ever really seen before on the show, which I think kind of took Mary/Nigel aback in how to judge the routine. Tucker is probably the most adorable thing I've ever seen, and Jenna is a total femme-fatale-y type. When matched together, it's easy for Jenna to overshadow Tucker simply because of what seems to be her more extroverted personality, (last week's Cha Cha was all Jenna), but they were super evenly-matched and had no problem with hitting all the beats.

6. Malece and All-Star Marko Germar - Sonya Tayeh
CONTEMPORARY

Holy god. Honestly, this is the Malece moment we've been waiting for. Plus, it just showed me how I miss Marko so so much. He has the perfect amount of strength and fragility, and he's able to both showcase his own talent and make his partner look good simultaneously. Easily the best routine of the night, and Malece is padding her already very comfortable route to the Top 10 with this number. Malece has the extraordinary gift of having such a unique look and personality that it draws you to her and makes her stand out in the competition, and this just sealed the deal. Probably one of my favourite Sonya numbers. The timing with the couple's extensions were just gorgeous -  there was one part where Malece extended her leg as Marko froze in a position with both legs and an arm above the ground - stunning.

7. Haley and Curtis - Jean-Marc Généreux
SAMBA

Ouch. Yikes. Curtis. It was just awkward. And personally, I think Hayley's an extremely talented dancer, but I just don't get the same "vixen" vibe the judges do from her. I don't think she's a vixen at all, I think she's just good at playing the parts the choreographers ask her to. Maybe if she had a different partner she would stand out more in my mind, and with such weekly praise, she'll probably make it to the point where we do see her with a different partner. Actually, since I would find it extremely surprising if Curtis stays past next week, we might see her with a different partner earlier than we think. Honestly, I don't see how Curtis was originally picked over Aaron as a tapper. He's very talented but he doesn't have the extra wow-factor to make it far on a TV reality show. I do feel kind of bad for him with the skewering of this routine tonight by the judges, though.

8. Alexis and Nico - Spencer Liff
BROADWAY

Alexis actually surprised me on this one. I haven't held her in extroardinarily high regard, but she really held her own with Nico in their Broadway piece this week. Her jumps and pirouettes were exactly on point with Nico's. Fun routine, well danced. Not much else to say.

9. Mariah and BluPrint - Luther Brown
HIP HOP

What were with these costumes? Besides wearing the strangest white garments I've ever seen, I actually enjoyed this routine better than most of Luther's choreography. It basically just showcased Mariah's dominance in any routine she's given. The synchronization was not perfect, but as a whole, they pulled it off. The judges again criticized BluPrint's lack of emotion and face-pulling in his performances, and it looks like they're really getting fed up with his lack of growth performance-wise. If he makes it to the bottom again, which seems likely at this point, I'm not sure if Nigel et al will be too keen on keeping him.

We then learn that Jasmine Mason is eliminated, after Jenna's immediate trip to the Top 16. Between Alexis and Jasmine M., I knew Jasmine was kind of condemned after Alexis's high praise for her hypnotic routine. It's too bad, because Jasmine was one of my favourite girls this season, and the "look-back to her journey" package they put together really showed her as a fun person. But in all honesty, when you're faced with your one fantastic ballroom girl, your one fantastic tapper girl, and your one fantastic out of three or four contemporary girls, I suppose the choice isn't too hard to make.

Tonight's performance rankings (all my opinion, of course :)

1. Malece and All-Star, Lovely, Perfect Marko
2. Makenzie and Paul
3. Amy and Fik-Shun
4. Jenna and Tucker
5. Jasmine H. and Aaron
6. Alexis and Nico
7. Jasmine M. (ELIMINATED) and Alan
8. Mariah and BluPrint
9. Hayley and Curtis

Bottom 6 predictions... I'm assuming they'll still have a bottom six next week, although the numbers are getting a little ridiculous because the odds are getting better and better to land yourself a spot in the bottom...

GUYS
1. Curtis
2. BluPrint
3. Alan

GIRLS
1. Hayley
2. Alexis
3. Jasmine H.

Elimination Format Changes + Nigel's Twitter

First of all, due to the general huge outcry from fans last week re: the elimination format, Nigel apparently had a get-together with his producer buddies and they decided to go with the Season 9 format of eliminating people at the end of the show. I know I have a super unpopular take on the entire situation, but I actually liked that they cut people right away, because it makes way way more sense at the end of the show when they dole out numbers for voting and stuff. Obviously, the ideal situation would be to have an entire elimination show, but I guess FOX isn't having it.

Here's the tweet from Nigel that stated this;

There you have it... And apparently they'll only be a Bottom 4 this coming Tuesday, unless he tripped and pressed the 4 instead of the 6 or something. I just feel bad for Brittany and Carlos, who had to be the guinea pigs for the new format before it was absolutely skewered by the fans.

The guest judge is apparently some big surprise...

How is "He/She has a birthday some time this year?" any kind of a clue at all? Unless he was trying to be funny. According to The Futon Critic, Tuesday's guest judge will be Erin Andrews (http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2013/07/02/so-you-think-you-can-dance-voting-results-for-july-2-91100/20130702fox03/), who I had no idea who she was until I googled her. Apparently she's hosting FOX College Football for FOX sports, which would make a ton of sense for her to land a guest judging position, but she doesn't really line up with Nigel's cryptic tweet (especially because "Erin" doesn't start with a consonant). Erin Andrews re-tweeted this though, so it's not like it's some huge surprise anymore;

Not super happy about their choice of guest judge, but I suppose that it wasn't really their choice if she hosts some show for FOX. 

Today's last tweet comes from Dmitry after Nigel's murdering of his choreography last week;

I won't even go to how annoying it is that Dmitry said "2" instead of "too" (I suppose he could have been surpassing his 140 characters, but still). He was probably obligated to type out this tweet to save his buns if he wants to get another choreo gig with the show. I just feel so bad for Dmitry because it was so, so embarassing to have basically your boss call you out on national live TV like that. Whatevs. 

SYTYCD Top 18 Performance + Partner Rankings

Well, all our answers about the elimination process were answered last night... Personally, I prefer this elimination process better than last season's, because it's clearer who's already made it into the Top 18 without the entire Top 20 performing again... if that makes sense...

The fact that Makenzie Dustman was in the Bottom 6 is like not even possible. I think she's probably one of the most talented girls, definitely in the Top 4 girls AT LEAST, and I thought she had enough of a fanbase to keep her in. Anyways, Brittany and Carlos ended up getting sent home. I personally would have kept Brittany over Mariah, because Brittany seems to be able to do anything, and seems super super sweet, but I agree with the decision over Carlos. His solo seemed frantic and kind of all over the place, trying to pull out all the stops with his flipping and jumps and stuff. I actually liked Jade's solo the most, because it was refreshing to see some animation to some music other than dubstep. Mariah's solo was definitely the weakest in my opinion.

On to the recap/review of the performances now...

1. Hayley/Curtis - Ray Leeper
JAZZ

Ray Leeper was obviously going for dangerous and sexy in this routine, but the entire premise was kind of uncomfortable for me. There were way too many ass-grabs, and Hayley's outfit was so not family-friendly (the leather collar? The thigh-high, skin-tight, leather boots?) The premise was, to me, over-used and just super uncomfortable. Despite this, they danced it well, and it'll probably be able to keep them out of the bottom again next week.

2. Jasmine H./Aaron - NappyTabs
LYRICAL HIP HOP

Loved this routine. Jasmine especially is really shining on the program so far, and last night was no exception. All the popping and tutting was really well done, and the chemistry between the two was obvious. At this point in the competition, I feel like Jasmine is really blowing everyone's expectations out of the water.

3. Malece/Jade - Nakul Dev Mahajan
BOLLYWOOD

Bollywood is usually a tough sell to voters, and I hope that this week's routine will be enough for the two to stay out of the bottom. Malece especiallly pulled it off, and Jade tried his best. You could see them lose steam about halfway throughout and get tired, but really, unless you're Iron Man or some untiring superhuman, you're going to get exhausted doing Bollywood. Malece's costume was gorgeous, too - the costume department really hit it out of the park with this one.

4. Alexis/Nico - Stacey Tookey
CONTEMPORARY

Meh. I loved Stacey's ideal of a sequel to the stunning Kathryn McCormick/Robert Roldan piece she choreographed, but I think it was just too big of a legacy leap for Nico and Alexis to pull off. The entire time I was just comparing them to Kathryn and Robert, which was kind of unfair because Kathryn is probably one of the most talented contemp girls they've ever had, and Alexis is, of course, a tapper. Nico was definitely the shining star in this piece - he obviously does super well when it's in his genre. I just didn't feel the emotion from the two for this one. Nico will definitely be safe next week, but not sure with Alexis.

5. Brittany/BluPrint - Spencer Liff
BROADWAY

By the way, I'm really loving the variety of the routines that were performed last night... Anyways, Brittany was the first to be booted to have to perform again with BluPrint, and she definitely didn't back down from performing her last routine of the season. This routine was so, so, fun, and it solidified how much more I enjoy Spencer's choreography to Tyce's when it comes to Broadway. The library premise was fun, and Brittany and BluPrint pulled it off. BluPrint still has to work on his lines, but he seems to be growing more and more each week.

6. Jasmine M./Alan - Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo
ARGENTINE TANGO

Argentine Tango is definitely my favourite ballroom genre. The passion and the intensity are just stunning, and Jasmine and Alan definitely didn't disappoint. I think Jasmine's my favourite girl of the season, and if Alan can pick up more of a fanbase, I think he has the possibility to be the Dark Horse of the season and make it into at least the Top 10. This actually may be the first season with two ballroom guys in the Top 10, as Paul seems to be taking everything in strides as well. My only wish for this routine was that they let Jasmine's gorgeous hair down, and not pin it into an awkward puffy bun thing. In any case, hands down one of my favourite couples.

7. Makenzie/Paul - Sean Cheesman
JAZZ

Okay, favourite routine of the night. This is the second basically flawless performance for the pair, and they're, again, one of my favourite couples. Paul and Makenzie are both super strong and talented, and they both know how to work the camera to pull off a performance. Paul's side-corkscrew-through-the-air stunt was like, physically impossible, and he seems to have an adorable personality that voters seem to be really responding to. I hope that this week's Bottom 6 scare for Makenzie smartened up her fans to vote for her more, because she is knocking absolutely everything out of the ballpark so far. Awesome routine.

8. Mariah/Carlos - Stacey Tookey
CONTEMPORARY

This was a stunning piece of choreography by Stacey, and it by far surpassed the first contemp number of the night for me. Based on her solo, I would have sent Mariah home, but this routine really showed her versatility, so much so that I wonder what her dance background really is. Carlos was a wonderful partner in this, but Mariah really shone. It'll keep her safe for sure.

9. Amy/Fik-Shun - NappyTabs
HIP HOP

I found it kind of unfair how Amy and Fik-Shun got the last routine last week, and the before-last routine this week, but they'd be memorable even if they were first. This was such a fun routine, and they danced it perfectly. Expect to see them in the Top 10, at least. Fik-Shun definitely seems to have the ability to win it all - adorable personality, incredible versatility, and tons of talent. He just has to beat Amy to the title first.



10. Jenna/Tucker - Dmitry Chaplin
CHA CHA

I'm glad that Tucker got to show off a bit more of his personality this week, because I think he's so so cute and has a personality that voters seem to really respond to; "If I even went to a nightclub, I'd probably be the one who tripped on the doorframe in the way in". I thought that considering he's a contemporary guy, he really pulled this off. This was obviously right up Jenna's alley, but she comes off as a bit narcissistic to me. Maybe it's because it was just the character she was told to play... In any case, Nigel's skewering of Dmitry's choreography was totally not their fault, and I found Nigel's comments super low. If he has a bone to pick with Dmitry about this choreography, he should have gone to tell him off after the show, and not publicly embarrass him like that on national live TV. Whatevs. I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see Dmitry choreo anything for a couple weeks or more...

Here's my rankings of tonight's performance... I included the eliminated dancers with their partners.

1. Makenzie/Paul - Jazz
2. Amy/Fik-Shun - Hip Hop
3. Mariah/Carlos - Contemporary
4. Jasmine M./Alan - Argentine Tango
5. Jasmine H./Aaron - Lyrical Hip Hop
6. Malece/Jade - Bollywood
7. Brittany/BluPrint - Broadway
8. Hayley/Curtis - Jazz
9. Tucker/Jenna - Cha Cha
10. Alexis/Nico - Contemporary (as much as it pains me to put them at the bottom again this week, unfortunately all the other performances tonight were incredibly strong...)