It wasn't the rhumba she was expecting

[jlh]

First, a mini Star Jones update: She spoke to the Daily News yesterday and was apparently going to be on Larry King. Didn't watch that but Mo Rocca pointed out on his blog that the good thing about all this is that we won't have to watch some 2-hour tribute to Star.

Anyway, fans of So You Think You Can Dance, I encourage you to check out _sytycd_ for icons and discussion. Membership seems to be mostly young dancers which makes the posts/comments a little more interesting than your average fangirl squee.

This week's opener on the results show wasn't as good as last week, though still good. I love BBD's "Poison" and how Shane Sparks had them doing a real New Jack Swing routine, but the wardrobe was kind of wrong, and he was limited by the dancers' own limitations. So, good but not awesome.
I am also prepared this week to talk about each of the dances, since there was so much less that was just "who cares":

1. Ashlee and Ben did a hip hop routine that they weren't really able to sell, despite attacking the thing. They seem lazy, really, especially compared to (nearly) everyone else. Iffy.
   
2. Heidi and Ryan did an afro-cuban rhumba that was more like an African dance than anything ballroom-esqe and they were OMG, amazing. Ryan might finally have connected with the audience (and his partner) and Heidi gets the gold star this week for going out of her comfort zone. (That said, I would have loved to see Donyelle do that dance, not because she's black but because she has that body.) Amazing!
   
3. Dmitry and Aleksandra did a waltz to a truly horrid Kenny Rogers song. Aleksandra clearly did not take her second chance from last week and show them what she's made of; she was a bit drippy and lifeless. I just don't know where her passion is and poor Dmitry doesn't have passion for two. This wasn't about Dmitry helping her when her technique faltered, but her making me want to like her, which she really doesn't. Iffy.
   
4. Allison and Ivan did an Argentine Tango that ruled! It's lovely when they give someone another chance, like Ivan, and he really pulls through. He completely stepped up and gets a star for going outside his comfort zone! And you could tell that Allison really trusted him, because she didn't have to vamp all that much around him. Amazing!
   
5. Donyelle and Benji did a pop jazz (think music video) that was so performative and sexy, so unlike them and yet so great! Fun to see Donyelle getting her diva on. The two of them are really bonding. Amazing!
   
6. Natalie and Musa did a quick step that you know, they sold it? But the footwork was kind of a mess. That said, it's amazing to see Musa week after week (because he hasn't had a hip hop routine yet) just plunge right into these new styles, just go for it without hesitation or ego or macho bullshit. That willingness to learn, as well as his chemistry with Natalie, is what makes us love him. Oh, and he's OMG hot, as is she. So dance, iffy but performance? Good!
   
7. Jessica and Jaymz did a contemporary routine about breaking down walls or something. Given Brian's irritation with Jaymz and his bad arms, and their being in the bottom three in the first week despite a great disco routine, I figured they were bound for the bottom three again this week. Good to iffy.
   
8. Martha and Travis did another sort of boring hip hop routine. As the judges said, they never quite seemed to be doing the same dance and I think they knew it was a routine that never really came together. Iffy.

So Ashlee/Ben, Aleksandra/Dmitry, and Jessica/Jason were in the bottom three. I think everyone knew Aleksandra was leaving, even though she did a good solo. As for the Ben-Jason choice, I loved that Nigel yelled at everyone to make their solos good, and I even thought that as much as I've never thought much of Ben, that Jessica would have benefited from being paired with Dmitry more than Ashlee. Next week Ashlee and Dmitry will dance, Ashlee will suck, they'll be back in the bottom three, and poor Dmitry will get yet another new partner, probably Jessica unless someone fucks up next week.

Comments

[toastoos.livejournal.com]

Allison and Ivan were hot hot hot!

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I can just ditto everything you said. I felt like Aleksandre was just a lame duck from last week. She looked miserable when Jason was cut and I felt like she probably not only felt guilty but knew he was better than she was in the dances they did, and the only reason she was still there was because Joy was worse.

Benji and Donyelle so crack me up. They love dancing and dancing together--like has been said, they seem at first glance an odd pair but when they come on it's like you know you're getting the top level. Even Benji is such a goof in rehearsals but when it comes time to dance he throws himself into it as much as he can.

Sort of like Musa, as you said. I thought that even though the footwork in the quickstep was pretty awful the fact that he sold it as well as he did deserved praise. There's a point where you just know that you're going to perform technically at a certain level and give that level all you've got since you can't get any higher technically.

Ivan was so wonderful, especially because of how happy he was that he did so well. Good call on how you could tell how well he was doing by the way his partner didn't have to dance around him.

I shall now join that community...

wha?

[theoblack.livejournal.com]

I have no idea who you are talking about. Oh wait, American Idol?

Re: wha?

[jlh.livejournal.com]

So You Think You Can Dance (http://www.fox.com/dance/), which is the dancer version of American Idol in the same way that Top Chef is the cooking version of Project Runway: produced by the same company, very similar overall structure. If you like dance, it's pretty fun. It's on Fox on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Project Runway starts in two weeks! Are you guys going to be watching?

[jlh.livejournal.com]

They were so surprisingly good! And like the judges said it's awesome when the dancers show real growth, like Ivan and Musa.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Natalie/Musa and Heidi/Ryan might give Benji/Donyelle and Martha/Travis a run for their money, and you can't count out Allison and Ivan. I really hope next week that Ashlee and Jaymz go, because I think Jessica would make an interesting partner for Dmitry. After that I will start feeling really sad about the eliminations!

I am like now all about people who make icons. They're just so talented!

[didi75.livejournal.com]

But OMG Dmitry's solo was so hot! I wouldn't mind watching him dance for his life again next week. I had to watch it twice; I think my hub got jealous. ;)

Allison and Ivan so damn cute! I think they are my favorite partnership. I loved that they pulled the tango off so nicely, and they looked totally smokin' hot.

I sincerely hope that Musa gets a hip hop routine next week. He really deserves it after these past few weeks of contemporary dance, ballroom, and quick step. And you're so right, the Kenny song was just wrong!

Nigel rules.

Re: wha?

[theoblack.livejournal.com]

Holly is more into those shows than I am. I might see a few. Did not know there was a dance contest show. I used to watch one in the 80's called dance fever.