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.
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!)
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:
(I don’t wanna see Hok go!)