Top 14 Performance Show - Sue B's Recap

Wednesday night's So You Think You Can Dance: Two (dances) for the price of one! Since each couple performs two dances (that's 14 dances in two hours for those keeping score), let's do it differently this time. I will give you reviews by couple, though each couple does two dances, but not consecutively. That'll make it easier for you to read, easier for me to type, and Ted won't have a heart attack posting this. :)

Cat wears a black and white: um, something kind of dress. Flapper? Candy striper? Penguin? Maybe she is a penguin with a curly bob from the 20s or 50s, since there are a lot of Broadway-themed dances? Don't ask me.

Tabitha and Napoleon are the guest judges, tastefully dressed. Mary wears a silvery dress that does not make her look like a shiny disco ball. Nigel wears a nice suit. Apparently, the biker leather jacket and jeans was not a turn-on for, well, anyone.

More after the jump...
Will and Jessica.

Dance one: The Jive by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin (we sort of find this out later; few of the judges are announced/shown in the abridged package, and even then are sort of giving half shout outs).

Summary:

The judges feel they do a pretty good job. Mary says they are not on the train but it is a good performance. Nigel says that Will is strong, but Jessica is in trouble when they switch partners (okay, Nigel, we get it, you don't like her). I don't think she is going to make it to the Top 10, so she probably won't need to change partners.

Dance two: Lyrical by Mandy Moore.

Summary: Tabitha and Mary love Will shirt-less. The judges like this routine a lot better. Mary screams that the two of them are on the train and she didn't think Jessica had it in her. Nigel asks who in the audience wants to dance with Will. (Everyone raises their hands.) He reminds Jessica that when she stops worrying, she is absolutely brilliant. He also notes that they had a melt down during the week (interesting) but that it didn't impact their performance and everyone will be picking up the telephone for that. We'll see.

Comfort and Thayne.

Dance one: Broadway by Andy Blankenbuehler (good thing someone wrote this down in advance). He's cute. Comfort does not want to be in the bottom three again (no kidding).

Summary: TabNap and Mary love their partnership, the choreography, their flirtiness. Nigel is disappointed. He says that Andy is a real legit Broadway choreographer and they did not exhibit the passionate aggression the piece needed and they would have been booted off Broadway. Harsh, Nigel.

Dance two: Smooth Waltz by Edward Simon, a new choreographer. Comfort has on a flowing dress.

Summary: All of the judges thought Comfort looked angelic and Thayne was still hanging tough but wasn't as strong as Comfort.

Kourtni and Matt.

Dance one: Lyrical Hip Hop with Cecily and Olisa. I like Matt's hat.

Summary:

TabNap agree it was not good enough for a hip hop competition. Mary says the dance has to be entertaining and it was not. Nigel asks if he can talk after the booing! (Yes, there was a lot of booing throughout, especially for Nigel.) He say he doesn't know if it was the choreography (ouch) or the dancers (double ouch) but that it didn't sit well for him. Oh, oh.

Dance two: Mambo by Alex DiSilva. Matt notes that he doesn’t know the Mambo, but the Mambo hates him. Hee hee.

Summary: TabNap and Mary were underwhelmed. Nigel notes that it was two small people (Alex and his partner) choreographing for two tall people (remember: 12 feet tall?), so while it had to be shaper, overall it was a good routine. He also got angry and said to the audience that he was trying to improve the couple's dancing, and if they don't like it, don't bother coming. Whoa.

Chelsie and Mark.

Dance one: Contemporary by Mandy Moore. At the end, Cat blows kisses to Mark, he blows kisses to Cat, Tabitha blows kisses to everyone.

Summary: The judges LOVE LOVE LOVE their dancing and their chemistry and everything.
They are Nigel's favorite couple (yay, Marksie!).

Dance two: The Foxtrot by Alex DiSilva.

Summary: TabNap and Mary love their elegance. Nigel thinks Mary ignored their technique (what?). He then proceeds to diss Mary, saying he wished her opinion was three decibels lower. Is this the FIRST time in four seasons he noticed how loud she is?

Twitchington (Twitch and Kherington).

Dance one: Pasa Doble by Tony and Meredith (we only find that they are the choreographers after the dance). Twitch has on an open shirt and looks hot.

Summary: The judges thought Kherington was strong but Twitch wasn't enough of the Matador. Nigel was entertained, however.

Dance two: Dance of the Beds (contemporary) by Mia Michaels. They danced to John Mayer's "Dreaming with a Broken Heart," and I swooned. Twitch is shirt-less this time.

Summary: The judges loved their strength and vulnerability. Napoleon noted that with a good looking guy, beautiful girl, bed, flowers, what else could you need? Nigel praised Mia and said that they were in his top three couples. Impressive.

Katee and Joshua.

Dance one: Contemporary with Mia Michaels. Wow. Just wow.

Summary:

The judges LOVED this piece and the dancers. Mary noted that this week she was looking at Katee more than at Joshua (a compliment for Katee). Cat notes that the piece didn't have fancy staging or costumes, but didn't need them. Nigel said that this proves that they are two of the three or four couples who will make the season outstanding when history is written (wow, I say).

Dance two: West Coast Swing with Benjy (and Lacey) Schwimmer.

Summary:

The judges are not overwhelmed, but seem to be giving the couple a pass by stating things like they had a different style than in the other piece (so what?) and how good Benjy's choreography was and how well he would have executed it. (Remember Sara and Pasha's West Coast Swing last season? This was not that.)

Courtney and Gev (final couple).

Dance one: Hip Hop by Cecily and Olisa (Note: I like TabNap's and Shane Sparks's hip hop routines a lot more.) They are dressed in matching Number 10 football shirts, like Eli Manning's, and I am sad that the Patriots lost to the Giants in the FINAL MINUTE OF THE SUPERBOWL. I may never get over this. Moving on...

Summary: Gev didn't hit it hard enough (maybe b/c he was nervous, since this was a different type of hip hop than he was accustomed to). Courtney hit it hard. The judges thought it was too funky to be a strong hip hop routine. Nigel dissed them with a Cinderella crack, but was funny when he said it was like the O'Jay's Backstabbers song (yep, I'm old).

Dance two: Broadway by Andy Blankenbuehler. This was set to New York, New York by Bernstein, etal, and was very 50s style.

Summary:

The judges loved their chemistry but thought it could have been more expressive. Mary thought they could be headed toward the finals. (Me: yay!) Nigel feels they are flying under the radar (me: like Sabra last year), and the dance was good but not good enough.

Predicted bottom three:

Comfort and Thayne
Jessica and Will
Kourtni and Matt
Possible: Courtney and Gev

Going home:
Jessica or Comfort and Matt or Thayne.