Let me get right into this, because I feel like we kinda dived RIGHT into the show from the very beginning (i.e. why aren’t we getting to see video packages about the new partnerships??)…
-Judging by our poll earlier today, everybody underestimated Noelle and Ryan (including me). They only got one vote for the couple that would fare the best this week. And yeah, it’s early in the show, but that Nappytabs routine was HOT! And yes, they did have terrific chemistry. I feel like we saw an entirely different side of both of them and I’m with Mary – super excited to see their next routine together tonight.
-No offense to Gary Stuart, but that was contemporary? It looked waaay more like hip hop. Which is probably why Nigel had to explain his style. While I admired many parts of that routine, it kinda bored me. It seemed more about tricks rather than substance. And it seemed like Ashleigh was lifting Legacy rather than him ever lifting her. Oddly, despite all those negative comments, I was pretty proud of both of them. They “just attack[ed],” as Adam said (sorta). But I feel like this was another instance of the judges trying to “fix” a weird/hard to understand/boring routine with their comments.
-Of course Mollee has to talk about being in HSM. I mean, how do you not? But I was somehow a bit disappointed… Her brother was really cute talking about his awesome sister.
-I loved seeing Russell’s parents talk about his dancing and watching him on t.v. So cute. And Russell killed his solo! He had so much attitude and confidence out there. Awesome.
-Just as I hoped, Kathryn made a man out of that mancub! She grew him up! She’s only a year older, but she dances with so much more maturity than he’s shown so far. I loved watching them in this Spencer Liff Broadway routine. It was so fun and cute and ON. But I kept thinking, “Heavenly” about Kathryn. She is a dream. She kept reminding me of Rose McGowan in this routine, for some reason.
-Noelle’s solo was great and I loved her interview, finding out about her trying out for Season 5 and what it took to audition again and graduate school. Love her.
-That was a BIG scream for Ryan right before the commercial. 🙂
-Elleanore and Jakob’s quickstep was cute and entertaining, but I’m glad this routine was first so they can kill it with something a bit more charismatic at the end. 🙂 I think they did admirably and quickstep is just hard to enjoy sometimes. But I thought Tony & Melanie had a funny concept staging it like a ballroom competition.
-Hmmm. Ryan’s solo was one thin shirt away from a cheesy Chippendale’s act. Love him, but that was really…not the best use of his skills. But maybe this illustrates the difficulty ballroom dancers have with the solos.
-Kathryn’s solo was a lot of fun. Loved the song. She’s from Georgia like me! 🙂
-Mandy Moore loves her 80s music. I thought both Mollee and Russell were dancing well, but I disagreed with the judges about there chemistry. I think they have it and they’ll be able to show it more later. BUT, I didn’t feel it so much in this routine because it seemed like they were kinda performing separately. Maybe you disagree with me. But I did love that crazy, unexpected lift near the end that Nigel mentioned.
-Adam cracks me up. Loose quote – “I need medical attention after that. Please don’t dance so well in the future.” 🙂
-Wow, Nathan was really close to tears after his solo (pretty solid), which was strange since Cat was talking about someone being eliminated tomorrow while holding onto him and he looked so upset you’d almost think he just got cut. But I could totally see where he was coming from.
-I love the Noelle/Ryan partnership as much as the judges do (Adam called them a “power partnership”) and that was certainly gorgeous. It was really dreamy… It didn’t have as much pizazz their hip hop. I thought Nigel actually described it very well when he said they were like the prince and princess at the end of a Disney movie falling in love.
-Elleanore’s sole was kick ass!!! She is always quirky and interesting and strong.
-Man, I disagreed with the judges on this Ashleigh & Legacy routine as well. I actually liked this one better than the Gary Stuart and felt that if one of these two choreographers should have been called to task, it should’ve been Gary Stuart rather than Dave Scott. I think the routine would have been amazing with different dancers. I liked them okay in it – they had a lot of character and personality where they might not have been in sync. I felt like two things really hurt this routine – and it’s going to sound like I’m contradicting myself here. First, the more major production on the larger stage (flames in the background, etc.) was distracting and second, I would’ve liked to have seen the idea behind this routine (vampire?) and the two discovering their partnership. This is the weakest new partnership to me by far.
-I could see the weaknesses of Kathryn & Nathan’s rumba, but I still somehow enjoyed it. I think Kathryn was a huge part of that cause she was all in. But Nathan was strong and I think he not only supporter her, but showed that he’s building his repertoire and learning with every dance. I think this was a pretty successful new couple, but I did prefer their other routine. Hope to see them dance together again.
-Wow, was that a standing ovation (or something close?) after Legacy’s solo. It was pretty cool, but I actually enjoyed Russell and Elleanore’s solos much better. His dad and Cat were pretty funny. “Are you busting a move?”
-The moment I’ve been waiting for! THIS was why I was glad the quickstep was first, so that we could be left with this memory of Ellenore & Jakob. This combined some of my favorite things: Oona & Dave, Sonya, Jakob and Elleanore. Amazing!!!! Now that sounded like a standing ovation and yes, yes it was. I loved that this is now the 3rd Sonya routine that Nigel has claimed as his favorite this season. Loved that Adam mentioned “The Garden” routine from Courtney and Mark. And then the judges standing and clapping for them together. Brilliant! Who else thinks these two are gonna be in the Top 4?
-Ashleigh finally came to play with her solo! That was pretty awesome and had a lot of personality. Not to mention, speed. But…was the harsh lipstick back? And I would’ve liked to have heard about something else rather than her illness growing up, since we’ve heard about it before. But it was good to see her mom talk about it and I guess she can’t talk about Ryan. But, there’s got to be something else we can learn about her? Great solo, though.
-This Anya & Pasha jive was perfect for Mollee & Russell and I agree with Nigel that it must’ve sucked to follow Elleanore & Jakob and they did a great job doing it. It had a couple awkward “setting up” instances, I think, but was really fun and high-energy and I’m loving this new partnership, too. I agree that Mollee’s grown up a lot in the last week or so. At least, her dancing has. And Russell rocks. They had another interesting arm lift/twirl/whatever at the end of this one, too, which was kinda strange and cool.
-Jakob’s solo was good, but not the strongest of the night. 🙂 But that’s okay.
Overall, I really missed the “packages” where we got to see the new partnerships develop, but I imagine there was just too much to do in this one episode, especially considering they were preceded by President Obama’s Address to the Nation. I hope we get to see a little of them tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing Quest Crew and what happens tomorrow.
from last week.
Top Four Couples:
