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rabid1stWell, that was a pretty good show! Let's see how I ranked those dancer...and what I thought of the new elimination policy.
First things first, the new elimination policy sort of sucks, because there was no chance to look back at a favorite. On the other hand, it is awesome not to have to watch those long filler shows full of performances by people I don't care to hear or see. On the other, other hand, it is a sad day when we no longer have filler episodes to fill with the awesome dancers that need more exposure on TV, specialists who we loved from the auditions for example...and ballet troupes that can be showcased. Finally, on my last hand, I ponder the format staying at 2 hours so that we have a decent chance for dance offs and clip shows as we move forward...because honestly the dancers did have a long intro this time and were pretty lucky to get it.
Okay...to the performances...
Cole & Lindsey -- 7/10 - I loved Cole in this piece, but Lindsey let the side down a little. I was happy to see the judges pick up on what I said last week about Cole...that he's a poser. It could be that he's actually an actor, but I think Adam hit it spot on when he said Cole had trouble letting go of the characters he creates. Some people like that actually lack a real personality and so they slip into fake ones. This is the vibe I get from Cole as I asked myself if I was supposed to believe his Ninja BS from the auditions and last week.
Amelia & Will -- 6/10 - Sorry judges I was not as impressed as you were. And I love Amelia. Also, yes, I suppose objectively speaking those were some phenomenal extensions, but I was turned off by the concept and wasn't called back into the light by the performance. It all seemed soulless to me. Still, I do like these two and hope they stay on with us.
Amber & Nick -- Hard to score this one. I loved Amber and didn't see Nick. Again, I agree with the judges, this is what is supposed to happen to a male partner in some cases. But I don't agree that it should happen to him in the Tango. Amber just smoked his ass. She was so good, perhaps the best I've ever seen a non-ballroom person dance a tango on this show. So...8/10 for Amber...and a vote for her, too.
Audrey & Matthew -- 8/10 - I am not loving Sonja as much as the judges are tonight. Though I do like that she is growing as a choreographer. The moves are interesting and challenging and not tired and boring the way some *cough*Mia*cough* routines get. I do wonder if Audrey simply failed to deliver the aggression that I was expecting in this. It looked to me as if she was an abused woman fighting off an aggressive male. But it was bold and big and took strength. So, I'm giving it a high technical score, but no vote.
Darian & Janelle - 5/10 - WTH? A slow jive? Or what that supposed to be lyrical hip-hop? I stepped out of the room for a minute and didn't catch the style and I truly couldn't figure it out from the choreography either. I am relatively sure it wasn't contemporary! :grin: For once, Nigel criticizes his choreographer and rightly so. Though the dancers were flat as well. I don't think that Darian did well. I was put off a lot by that kiss, as it didn't work well with the piece and seemed too much for the moment.
Jennae & Brandon -- 6/10 - Thought this was amusing and a good job from both dancers selling the concept of the characters. Fun and light!
Eliana & Cyrus -- 4/10 - Jive? Honestly? Just NO! Poor Cyrus. Buddy, I want to support you, but I can't support that. I do think that he tried. And as I've said before, the thing I like about Cyrus is he doesn't lose his temper when he's being beaten down by something. So many street dancers cop abrasive attitudes and it is hard to support them when they not only fail to dance well, but are pissed off that they were expected to dance well. Cyrus keeps smiling through the torture. And he did get there for Eliana, which had to make her big job of carrying him a little easier on her. I am tossing her a vote, because we can't tell how she's doing on something like this.
Daniel & Alexa -- Contemporary. In a tub (them, not me). It might as well have been me. I don't know what to say. No feelings about this at all. It was uninspired.
George & Tiffany -- Sadly,I wandered off when the judges were talking to Daniel and Alexa and I missed this routine. But it seemed lovely in the recap. I do love this pairing. All night long I was hoping to see them again...and then I missed them. Still, it was a Foxtrot, so probably I didn't miss much.
Witney & Chehon -- 7/10 - Bollywood. Maybe it is me, but I didn't love this routine. Maybe it was being told that there was no meaning behind the routine, I don't know. The crowd seemed to eat it up and the judged piled praise on these two. Again, I could see that Witney did some lovely sharp movements, so I could support her technically. But I didn't feel that Chehon lit up the room this time. I think the judges are full of it about that.
And, I see Witney and Chehon are in the bottom six. And only one dancer from each side is going to be safe? I hope that is because they gave them an extra week to gain fans. I don't like this rush to eliminate, it throws me. And, just like on the Voice, I am angered that I wasn't allowed to vote on them this week, after performances that I might have LOVED! Certainly Witney and Chehon did better this week than last time, even if I didn't feel that Chehon was "on fire."
And they are safe, too. Nick going home suits me fine. I found him forgettable. I also didn't care for Alexa that much. I didn't hate her, I thought she was scrappy and stuff in the auditions, being berated on national TV. But she hasn't impressed me very much as a dancer. I find her average for this show...forgettable. Also going home are Jannae (whose name I constantly spell wrong, I think) and Daniel. I suppose it says something that I can't remember what I thought of Daniel* last week. I should go read my review again. Meanwhile, I do hope, as I said, that we have more time to spend with the dancers facing elimination from now on...and that we slow it down to one guy and one girl leaving every week.
EDIT TO SAY*Turns out I didn't care for Daniel last week. Nor was I impressed with him this week. So, that was a cut I could get behind. Also wondering if we will have Brandon and Amber paired together next week. I suppose that is a given, but they are always changing things up on this show. My votes are going to Amber, Brandon, Cole, George and Elaina this week.
First things first, the new elimination policy sort of sucks, because there was no chance to look back at a favorite. On the other hand, it is awesome not to have to watch those long filler shows full of performances by people I don't care to hear or see. On the other, other hand, it is a sad day when we no longer have filler episodes to fill with the awesome dancers that need more exposure on TV, specialists who we loved from the auditions for example...and ballet troupes that can be showcased. Finally, on my last hand, I ponder the format staying at 2 hours so that we have a decent chance for dance offs and clip shows as we move forward...because honestly the dancers did have a long intro this time and were pretty lucky to get it.
Okay...to the performances...
Cole & Lindsey -- 7/10 - I loved Cole in this piece, but Lindsey let the side down a little. I was happy to see the judges pick up on what I said last week about Cole...that he's a poser. It could be that he's actually an actor, but I think Adam hit it spot on when he said Cole had trouble letting go of the characters he creates. Some people like that actually lack a real personality and so they slip into fake ones. This is the vibe I get from Cole as I asked myself if I was supposed to believe his Ninja BS from the auditions and last week.
Amelia & Will -- 6/10 - Sorry judges I was not as impressed as you were. And I love Amelia. Also, yes, I suppose objectively speaking those were some phenomenal extensions, but I was turned off by the concept and wasn't called back into the light by the performance. It all seemed soulless to me. Still, I do like these two and hope they stay on with us.
Amber & Nick -- Hard to score this one. I loved Amber and didn't see Nick. Again, I agree with the judges, this is what is supposed to happen to a male partner in some cases. But I don't agree that it should happen to him in the Tango. Amber just smoked his ass. She was so good, perhaps the best I've ever seen a non-ballroom person dance a tango on this show. So...8/10 for Amber...and a vote for her, too.
Audrey & Matthew -- 8/10 - I am not loving Sonja as much as the judges are tonight. Though I do like that she is growing as a choreographer. The moves are interesting and challenging and not tired and boring the way some *cough*Mia*cough* routines get. I do wonder if Audrey simply failed to deliver the aggression that I was expecting in this. It looked to me as if she was an abused woman fighting off an aggressive male. But it was bold and big and took strength. So, I'm giving it a high technical score, but no vote.
Darian & Janelle - 5/10 - WTH? A slow jive? Or what that supposed to be lyrical hip-hop? I stepped out of the room for a minute and didn't catch the style and I truly couldn't figure it out from the choreography either. I am relatively sure it wasn't contemporary! :grin: For once, Nigel criticizes his choreographer and rightly so. Though the dancers were flat as well. I don't think that Darian did well. I was put off a lot by that kiss, as it didn't work well with the piece and seemed too much for the moment.
Jennae & Brandon -- 6/10 - Thought this was amusing and a good job from both dancers selling the concept of the characters. Fun and light!
Eliana & Cyrus -- 4/10 - Jive? Honestly? Just NO! Poor Cyrus. Buddy, I want to support you, but I can't support that. I do think that he tried. And as I've said before, the thing I like about Cyrus is he doesn't lose his temper when he's being beaten down by something. So many street dancers cop abrasive attitudes and it is hard to support them when they not only fail to dance well, but are pissed off that they were expected to dance well. Cyrus keeps smiling through the torture. And he did get there for Eliana, which had to make her big job of carrying him a little easier on her. I am tossing her a vote, because we can't tell how she's doing on something like this.
Daniel & Alexa -- Contemporary. In a tub (them, not me). It might as well have been me. I don't know what to say. No feelings about this at all. It was uninspired.
George & Tiffany -- Sadly,I wandered off when the judges were talking to Daniel and Alexa and I missed this routine. But it seemed lovely in the recap. I do love this pairing. All night long I was hoping to see them again...and then I missed them. Still, it was a Foxtrot, so probably I didn't miss much.
Witney & Chehon -- 7/10 - Bollywood. Maybe it is me, but I didn't love this routine. Maybe it was being told that there was no meaning behind the routine, I don't know. The crowd seemed to eat it up and the judged piled praise on these two. Again, I could see that Witney did some lovely sharp movements, so I could support her technically. But I didn't feel that Chehon lit up the room this time. I think the judges are full of it about that.
And, I see Witney and Chehon are in the bottom six. And only one dancer from each side is going to be safe? I hope that is because they gave them an extra week to gain fans. I don't like this rush to eliminate, it throws me. And, just like on the Voice, I am angered that I wasn't allowed to vote on them this week, after performances that I might have LOVED! Certainly Witney and Chehon did better this week than last time, even if I didn't feel that Chehon was "on fire."
And they are safe, too. Nick going home suits me fine. I found him forgettable. I also didn't care for Alexa that much. I didn't hate her, I thought she was scrappy and stuff in the auditions, being berated on national TV. But she hasn't impressed me very much as a dancer. I find her average for this show...forgettable. Also going home are Jannae (whose name I constantly spell wrong, I think) and Daniel. I suppose it says something that I can't remember what I thought of Daniel* last week. I should go read my review again. Meanwhile, I do hope, as I said, that we have more time to spend with the dancers facing elimination from now on...and that we slow it down to one guy and one girl leaving every week.
EDIT TO SAY*Turns out I didn't care for Daniel last week. Nor was I impressed with him this week. So, that was a cut I could get behind. Also wondering if we will have Brandon and Amber paired together next week. I suppose that is a given, but they are always changing things up on this show. My votes are going to Amber, Brandon, Cole, George and Elaina this week.