So you think you can dance 7/11-2

[scotandrsn]

Great show tonight, with some nice surprises.

All of our fears of the partnership between Sara and Pasha were apparently unfounded. Which says a hell of a lot about both of them as dancers. I wouldn't mind it one little bit if Sara walked away with the whole thing.

Sabra and Dominic's hip hop was cool.

Neil and Lauren were a fantastic finale. THAT was jazz!

It says a lot about the quality of the cast when the bottom three are likely to be Cedric & Shauna, Hok & Jamie, and Anya and Danny.

And Anya needs to go back to blond. Now.

[Liberal]

I thought the choreography was weaker than usual. None of the routines left me particularly emotional.

[Lady Venom]

I was shocked by Sara and Pasha's routine. I had no idea she had that in her. I think it's great Benji got to choreograph them.

I watched Lauren and Neil's routine twice. Wow, she's amazing.

I didn't see what the judges saw in Shawna and Cedric. Especially during the heel-to-toe part at the end of the routine. Cedric looked like a gangly legged puppet trying to keep up with her.

I'm really liking Sabra and Dominic more and more.

[The Controvert]

I enjoyed the comedic aspects of the show. (Did they hire a comedy writer?)

[Liberal]

Was everyone satisfied by Nigel's explanation regarding Jessie?

[eenerms]

Was everyone satisfied by Nigel's explanation regarding Jessie?

Will someone fill me in? Please.

[Liberal]

He said that 1,000 people had signed a petition to have her reinstated, complaining that she had not been voted into the bottom three. But he said that if they reinstated her in this instance, they would have to deal with the same thing every time a contestant complained of an ache or pain and claimed they couldn't dance. He likened her to an Olympic athlete who breaks a leg the day before a competition. Too bad, but life isn't fair.

[Judith Prietht]

I'm fine with Nigel's explanation of Jessi's departure. I never really cared for her in the first place, so I wasn't all that broken up when she was sent home.

Sara and Pasha and Sabra and Dominic had my favorite dances of the night.

[corkboard]

I missed the last show- what happened that caused Jessi to be unable to perform?

[Liberal]

She had dehydration and a heart palpitation from which she fainted. She was taken to the hospital for treatment and missed the performance. Her partner (Pasha) danced with his choreographer's assistant. I wasn't all that fond of her either, but I'd hate to base such a decision on that. It could just as well happen to my favorite.

[scotandrsn]

...I didn't see what the judges saw in Shawna and Cedric. Especially during the heel-to-toe part at the end of the routine. Cedric looked like a gangly legged puppet trying to keep up with her. ...

I thought he was terrible too, and I thought the judges would call him on it. I think they either realized their harsh treatment of him last week kept him on the show, or simply watched the tapes and felt bad about how they came off.

In either case, the dance was praised, and will have to stand on its own merits. Which means Cedric si probably going home, and Shauna will probably be able to save herself again for a new partner.

Re: Jessi

I was satisfied with Nigel's explanation. This is a high-stakes competition, and if you miss the boat for whatever reason, you should probably be SOL, but they didn't want to be that heartless. Allowing her to stay unconditionally, however, would have been a slap in the face to the other dancers who had to risk elimination. It was a fair middle path.

Of course they didn't try to justify why they thought she had the worst dance for her life, which was what was REALLY confusing about the whole thing, but they're the experts. Mybe they weren't willing to cut her any slack at all. Professional dancers routinely perform immediately after, and sometimes during, illness and injury, and are expected to be in top form regardless. I guess they felt she didn't cut it.

[EhhMon]

The judges were to kind to Cedric, only because they didn't want a backlash like lastweek. They were adamant that he should be eliminated last week, which was harsh, but so true. the public sympathized with Cedric after his emotional plea for prayers (yeah right) and voted to keep him in.

Jesus came back a second time, yet they sacrificed him again.

[Draelin]

I'm ready for Cedric to be gone. I like the kid, but it wouldn't be fair to lose Danny or Dominic or anybody else to him. The way last night went, I agree with scotandrsn about the probable bottom three, and I doubt that the judges would ditch Danny in favor of Cedric. Hok is a little more on the edge, but I think he's proven himself more worthy--if not this week, then certainly last.

I don't really miss Jessi, though I have to say I'm getting a little sick of Anya. It's not that I think she's bad, or that I dislike her dancing in any way. I think it's her damn hair. Can she have one performance without her hair stuck to her face all over the place? What are the hairstylists thinking? Updo, for the love of Og. Updo!!!

[Liberal]

Can she have one performance without her hair stuck to her face all over the place?[...making vampire sign of cross...] Step back slowly. Do NOT mess with Anya's ... mmmmm ... sticky hair. :p

[Orual]

Does anyone think that was TOTAL BULLSHIT??

Not Cedric, obviously, but Shauna.

[Draelin]

Does anyone think that was TOTAL BULLSHIT??

Not Cedric, obviously, but Shauna.
I'd agree with you, but Liberal already has it out for me today.

[Orual]

Aw hell, I'm not (very) scared of Liberal.

Compared to Shauna, Anya's dancing skills seem quite limited to me. Her solos have all been pretty rotten. Therefore I am annoyed.

That being said, Anya is blisteringly hot. I'm a totally straight woman, and I was all: "Damn!" when she came out in that leopard-print unitard. But she has no idea what to do with herself without a partner.

[The Controvert]

They got rid of Cedric to preserve Cat's altitude superiority over contestants.

[Liberal]

Yeah, I'll admit that Anya is a one-dimensional dancer (like most of them, really). But she's three feet tall and has a flat head, and that's what matters. :D

[scotandrsn]

If, as they said, they were considering their entire track record (which is kind of inconsistent with how they seem to judge it at other times, but that's what you get to do when you produce the show), then I actually think they made the right decision.

Anya has done some amazing work on the show, mediocre solos notwithstanding, whereas Shauna has been involved in some so-so routines, as became clear to me when they showed her goodbye reel (before that, I thought it was bullshit too).

Of course it's all going to suck from here on in

We've got:

Anya
Danny
Dominic
Jamie
Hok
Lacey
Lauren
Kameron
Sabra
Neil
Sara
and Pasha

One gets a quarter million bucks, the other eleven get whatever they can scrape together from the publicity this show has given them.

Every elimination is going to feel like bullshit now.

[Boggette]

I completely agreed with the judge's comment that Danny dances as if he's already won the competition and that it needs to stop. He's an incredible dancer and I love his body lines. But his attitude while on stage doesn't lend itself to what he's supposed to be portraying (the 'acting' part of each dance) He always comes across as "I'm a great dancer" instead of whatever character matches the choreography. Unlike Neil, who's technique might not be as perfect as Danny's but his character was spot on! I loved that one, and like someone else said, I watched it a couple of times.

And I agree that the judges went easier on Cedric to keep him from getting another audience "sympathy vote". I'm glad they did because he needed to go. Badly.

Sara is becoming one of my favorites. Amazing. I thought she'd be eliminated early, but she keeps rising to the top.

[Orual]

Every elimination is going to feel like bullshit now.

Except Danny's, of course. Man, I can't wait for that smug jerk to get smacked down.

[Rhiannon8404]

Except Danny's, of course. Man, I can't wait for that smug jerk to get smacked down.
I agree! I'm looking forward to his elimination. I don't care much for Anya. She grates on my nerves. I'd like to see her off next.

[Viridiana]

Did anyone else feel like this week's choreography was kind of a cop-out? I noticed many dances where things got really slow, and a lot of long pauses, and these things were more jarring than dramatic or emotionally involving for me (you guys might disagree, but Sabre/Dominic's hip hop dance was a big WTF, for instance). The most exciting dance for me was the hustle (even though I find both Lacey and Kameron annoying). I just think dancers have potential that reaches much further than simply pretending the partners love each other - or that they can express great emotion AND be technically awesome at the same time; it's not just So You Think You Can Act and the dances are only a couple of minutes long. How can one spare 15 seconds for hugging your love interest or sitting in the back crying?? I guess that's not the dancers' fault. But I do sometimes feel like the judges are making excuses for the dancers they want to stay, since sometimes it's "it's so refreshing to see that a dance in this style doesn't have to have (X thing that pretty much defines that style) and other times it's "I just didn't see enough". But whatever.
I figured either Shauna or Anya would go, and agreed with the verdict in the end, watching Shauna's departure reel and feeling pretty bored. Cedric was a lock for losing, and boy am I glad it was this week :) (I don't wanna see Hok go!)

[MovieMogul]

This was the first time I really liked Neil, but that was largely due to the terrific choreography--certainly the most fun number of the night. Second goes to Pasha & Sara; he certainly didn't surprise me (partnering is his expertise) but she was terrific with him and could go very far indeed.

The right two people definitely went, though Anya (whom I like) is going to have to step up; I think she suffers a bit from being partnered with Danny, who doesn't exude the same emotion and charisma that she does, striking most of their numbers as well-executed but cold (it does take 2 to tange, so to speak).

And as much as I like Hok, I've gotta admit that he's shown his shortcomings several times this series so far, and has fewer non-solo standout moments than just about any other remaining male. It'll definitely be interesting to see how he stands when things become more cutthroat.

As for who I'm personally rooting for, I'd break it down like this:

Top Tier: Pasha, Sabra & Dominic
2nd Tier: Sara, Kameron, Lauren
3rd Tier: Lacey, Anya, Hok
Last Tier: Danny, Neil, Jamie