AKA The Night of 1273829173 Standing Ovations
The opening number was a contemporary (??!!??) routine by Christopher Scott. It was an absolutely fabulous concept, which he excels in, but in my opinion he still needs to work out his contemporary muscle a bit to beef it up. Pretty, but not super exciting.
Bottom 4 this week; Makenzie Dustman, Jenna Johnson, Tucker Knox (because of his knee injury last week he was automatically bumped to the bottom for this week), and Nico Greetham. No solos, not sure why because there probably would have been plenty of airtime if they cut down the performance packages a bit.
Oh, and I thought an alternate title might be appropriate for this recap, because if you didn't tune in last night, I can't remember the last time I saw so many standing ovations. It actually got kind of annoying because I didn't think all of them deserved standing os, but whatever...
1. Amy and All-Star Brandon Bryant - Doriana Sanchez
DISCO
Besides the absolutely ATROCIOUS music choice (Whitney Houston music remixed to a terrible wanna-be fist-bumping rhythm?), this Disco was another high-energy Doriana Sanchez number. Disco is probably the most intensive genre of dance cardio-wise (second only to Bollywood), and Brandon Bryant seems to be the only All-Star they feel like putting through this. It was basically a carbon copy of last season's disco with Tiffany Maher and Brandon, and probably just as un-memorable. Amy danced the hell out of it, but it might land her in the bottom just because of the genre.
2. Aaron and All-Star Kathryn McCormick - Stacey Tookey
CONTEMPORARY
I love that Kathryn, now having starred in Hollywood blockbusters, is coming back to be an All-Star again this season. She is probably one of the best contemporary dancers to ever have graced that stage in LA (joined by such as Melanie Moore, Kherington Payne, Billy Bell, Travis Wall, Danny Tidwell), and I absolutely love her movement and pretty much all of her work. Needless to say, I kind of watched Kathryn more than I watched Aaron in this piece about unconditional love, but it was still so so stunning. The fluidity and strength that they both showed was gorgeous. I still can't get over how strong Aaron is, lifting Kathryn like she weighs nothing (even though she probably isn't shy of Malece Miller's 98 pounds or something). He's definitely proving to be a dark horse, and although I included him in my original Top 10 predictions, I never really expected him to succeed as much as he had.
STANDING OVATION FROM JUDGES
3. Fik-Shun and All-Star Melanie Moore - Mandy Moore
JAZZ
Melanie Moore is probably the most universally-loved contestant of all time. Who doesn't like her? And plus, who doesn't like Fik-Shun? They are probably the most adorable couple that was paired tonight, but surprisingly, this jazz number was super hot and incredibly-well danced. Fik-Shun's biggest strength is his performance ability, and he was able to tap into it last night without being the tiresome goofy character they have had him play up again and again. Loved it.
STANDING OVATION FROM JUDGES
4. Paul and All-Star Witney Carson - Jean-Marc Généreux
CHA CHA
FINALLY. Finally. Finally Paul gets his own genre for once, and the stakes were incredibly high. Besides Witney's outfit being at an all-time high for un-classiness, they obviously danced the hell out of it and Paul continues his winning streak. Not super memorable, but his leagues of female fans will probably keep him safe. If not, his versatility and all-around star quality will definitely keep him in.
STANDING OVATION FROM JUDGES
5. Hayley and All-Star tWitch Boss - Christopher Scott
HIP HOP
Meh. Is it me, or did Chris Scott water this Hip Hop down for Hayley a bit? Although I agree that she's incredibly talented, I just am not able to see what makes her unique from any other contemporary girl, and she hasn't really been able to solidify her personality on the show yet, nor has she been able to find her own niche to make her really stand out in the legacy on the show. She really reminds me of Tiffany Maher - someone who nails her routines enough to stay in the competition a long time, but never really really shines out from the competition. It was fun and fluffy and pulled off, but decidedly unmemorable in the scheme of things.
6. Jenna and All-Star Neil Haskell - Mandy Moore
CONTEMPORARY
A very pretty routine with everyone's favourite heartthrob (Neil Haskell) and again Jenna shows her all-around versatility and ability to pick up anything that gets thrown her way. Not much else to say, it was a pretty standard contemporary routine on this show, but it was nonetheless stunning and very flowy and it had impressive lifts. Must be really uninspiring for Jenna to keep ending up in the bottom, and I feel terrible that she has to go through the emotional rollercoaster of being in the Bottom 4/6 every week.
STANDING OVATION FROM JUDGES
7. Jasmine and All-Star Marko Germar - Ray Leeper
JAZZ
Fun routine, although I wish Jasmine had been given something different to wear than the same suit Marko was given to perform this in. They are so different appearance-wise that these costumes, probably designed to give them a homogeneous look for the piece, didn't really work. In any case, all eyes were on Jasmine, and as much as we all love Marko, he really faded in the face of Jasmine's incredible stage presence, even though he was probably doing his job as an All-Star. If Michael Jackson and Janelle Monàe had a baby, this is what he or she would choreograph.
STANDING OVATION FROM JUDGES
8. Makenzie and All-Star Jakob Karr - Spencer Liff
BROADWAY
Amazingly well-danced and synchronized between the two. Basically a tour-de-force Broadway number showcasing two of the show's most technically perfect dancers. Everyone knows Jakob Karr is perfection in a human dancer's body, and Makenzie just showed that she belongs to this league of dancers. Hard to keep your eyes off Makenzie, because she was basically clothed in this enormous piece of gorgeous red chiffon. Not much chemistry, but I'm not sure it was needed.
STANDING OVATION FROM JUDGES
9. Nico and All-Star Comfort Fedoké - NappyTabs
HIP HOP
Creative idea for a Hip Hop number, and Comfort is just an absolute beast and definitely the best Hip Hop girl ever on the show. Not much to say on this one as well, besides the music was kind of annoying and their costumes were beyond bizarre. Nico definitely has improved his "swagger" since his first Hip Hop ish-fiasco with Alexis way back in Top 20, and it was nice to see him in a different light.
10. Tucker and All-Star Robert Roldan - Travis Wall
CONTEMPORARY
This routine was about two brothers - one who has hit rock bottom and has been given a second chance, and of the other brother who supports him back up. Bit of backstory- Tucker and Robert have both been in life-altering (and almost life-robbing) car accidents, and Travis's adoptive brother Danny Tidwell had a terrible home life for the first decade or so of his life (while living with his biological family), so all three have had second chances personally impact them. Stunning piece with such raw emotion and talent and passion, and probably one of the most memorable this season. I was a bit shocked to see Robert, who was one of my favourites back in Season 7, because the last time we had seen him in S7 he was confident-looking and young, and it seems as though after his accident he's aged a lot mentally. The synchronization was not always spot-on, especially in the aerial stuff, but who cares?
Makenzie and Nico are sent home. So, so, sad, because in my Top 4 Makenzie would definitely be there. However, her emotional maturity and perfect technique (not to mention being absolutely beautiful) at such a young age will guarantee her a very long and successful career, as will Nico if he continues to grow in his confidence while dancing and growing his versatility in the different genres.
Sigh. Oh well.
Top 10 Partner Rankings (all my personal opinion :)
1. Tucker and AS Robert Roldan
2. Aaron and AS Kathryn McCormick
3. Fik-Shun and AS Melanie Moore
4.
Makenzie (ELIMINATED) and AS Jakob Karr
5. Jenna and AS Neil Haskell
6. Paul and AS Witney Carson
7. Jasmine and AS Marko Germar
8. Amy and AS Brandon Bryant
9.
NICO (ELIMINATED) and AS Comfort Fedoké
10. Hayley and AS tWitch Boss
Don't hate me for the rankings, it was absolutely terrible this week to decide which was better.
Predictions for people in danger next week;
GIRLS
1. Hayley
2. Amy
GUYS
1. Paul
2. Aaron
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