Wow, I (kind of) think I would have cut Caitlin over Ashley last week.
I liked Ashley’s solo better, & neither of Caitlin’s dances showed me that I should vote for her.
And Ashley does that jazzy stuff (like the crash test dummies) really well.
Oh, well.
I think Mia wanted to lick that chunky butt.
Phillip might be in trouble if his fans don’t come through. I think Asuka / Vittolio and Jonathan / Karla are in trouble too.
Kayla is in trouble for the long run now that she is stuck with Kupono and his inferior lifting.
Brandon and Jeanette are very strong this season. Jeanette has always been amazing in the air, even from her first audition with the unique inverted lift move into the snap leg splits that she and her partner invented. She has the wow factor that makes the audience and judges go nuts.
However, the couple to beat is Melissa and “Lemon”. They have at their disposal a diverse range of spectacular moves from leaps to lifts. Their dance experience and technique showcase flexible and muscular bodies that the others cannot hope to match. I look forward to their performance each week and have not been disappointed thus far.
The Top Half
Melissa & Ade - a smokin’ hot routine, and they make everything look easy and effortless. She’s got a great set of legs and he’s probably the strongest of all the men in partnering skills.
Janette & Brandon - Exactly the energy level and the immersion in character that the other similar numbers (hip hop & rocker characters) were missing. An incredibly charismatic duo, though I’m not exactly sold on their chemistry.
Kayla & Kupono - Kapuno was the real surprise here, and the waltz was graceful and captured the dreamlike quality intended.
Randi & Evan - Wow. The performance of the evening, it was like a Fellini vignette set to dance. Marvelous, and full of personality and eccentricity, especially by Evan; I honestly can’t think of another male contestant who could’ve pulled off that character and style. Singularly unique, fun, and memorable.
The Bottom Half
Karla & Jonathan - Less Hip Hop than Broadway hip hop–chipper and cute and utterly benign. Jonathan is my least favorite of all the dancers; he just has a vapid look to him that he never can shake, so he’s never a character that I believe.
Asuka & Vitolio - Simply didn’t deliver the power that the music (which has peak after peak) required. Better than their first week, but they’re still a mixed bag.
Caitlin & Jason - Ditto with this powerhouse anthem. Felt like the were going from one stance to another, but never really connected with the intensity it needed.
Jeanine & Phillip - I think they’re safe, but Philip continues to get an A for effort and benefits from his partner’s verve and talent and his genuine, self-effacing demeanor.
Tough to say who’s most on the block. If I’m right about the bottom 3 couples, they’re all returning to Dance for Their Lives a second time, so we’ll see how much they’ve learned from their last solo round.
My favorite was Kayla & Kupono, closely followed by Melissa & Ade. I also liked Caitlyn & Jason and Asuka & Vitolio. I am surprised how much I liked Caitlyn in the “exotic” dances versus finding her rather forgettable in her solo and whatever that mess was last week.
For some reason I’m feeling less Randi & Evan love than most people. And I could have done without the whole “Ode to Randi’s Butt” choreography last night.
I also didn’t like the chororeography for Brandon and Janette. It didn’t work for me to try to watch two dance styles at a time. Also, the way they had Brandon costumed last night downplayed his appeal, really turning him into a nonentity.
Karla & Jonathan - yeah, that was bad. I think they could have done much better with the routine Phillip and Jeanine had, rather than trying to get in touch with some non-existent inner gangster.
I think bottom 3 will be Asuka & Vitolio, Karla & Jonathan, Philip & Jeanine. Then I’ll predict Asuka & Jonathan to go home. I’d almost rather see Philip go, but I bet he’s got at least one incredible solo lined up.
What is it with Randi’s butt being the subject of two dances in a row?
My favorite last night was Brandon’s electric hip-hop. He always comes off as somewhat like Bubba from Forrest Gump to me–well-natured and benign. I had NO IDEA he had that in him, and couldn’t take my eyes off of him.
I also love Melissa and Ade–their bodies are just incredible.
It may be too late to choreograph a tribute, but I’m sure Jacko’s death will merit some comment on tonight’s show. Wasn’t it Jason in particular who idolized the moonwalker?
Oscar and JonathanNot one surprise. Their solos were identical to their previous ones and I agree that after three weeks, they were the ones who were most treading water.
The new pairing will be interesting, and I think they may bring promising things out of each other that their former partners were ill-equipped to do.
Regardless of the bizarre British pronunciations, her name is “Asuka.”
I know–that was just a mild jab at Cat, who always pronounced it as in “…and Felix” or “…the Grouch”. 
For all we know, that’s how Asuka herself wants it pronounced. As a continuation of the process by which girls take traditionally boy names. i.e. Kelly, Chris, Sam, Joey, Alex, Jesse, James, Ashley, Lindsay, Randy, Mel, Addison, Hayden, Whitney, Stacy, Kendall, Madison, Taylor, Beverly, Courtney, Morgan, Riley, Connie, Elliot, Hunter, Avery, Reese…
Doubtful. AFAIK, Asuka is a fairly traditional Japanese name. When you say it in the Japanese fashion, it should sound like ah-ss-KAH.
That “r” sound at the end is entirely the result of Cat’s accent (and Nigel’s, for that matter). I cringed in pity every time I heard “Oscar” come out of Cat’s mouth.
(Funny, albeit tangential, story - many, many moons ago I had a British colleague who had a similar problem with adding “r” sounds to names ending in vowels… for a while, we referred to his then-GF as “The Barbarer of Serville”)
How about the weird thing where Cat randomly throws “it’s” in front of people’s names when introing them?
What I want to do though is smack whoever is dressing Cat. At least once a week I think her outfit is hideous. Wednesday night’s was cute, but Thursday’s was absolutely atrocious.
According to an interview in Entertainment Weekly, she picks her own outfits, and deliberately goes for the flamboyance in order to hold her own against the dancers’ costumes.
The verbal quirk that’s getting on my nerves is Mary’s “That’s a [whatever], yes it is!” or “You’re so [whatever], yes you are!”
I’ve never even noticed she’s did that, I’m just so focused on all of her other annoying traits.
Agree that it was memorable, and that Evan made it work – but I wasn’t thinking Fellini as much as I was R. Crumb – the moderately kinky R. Crumb, not the seriously fucking disturbed R. Crumb. (Those who have seen the documentary will know what I’m talking about.)
There are oodles of them, fer sher.
The good news is that now that I’ve pointed this out, it will begin to annoy you as much as some of the others. 
She does do that a LOT. Yes, she does.
God, Mia Michaels is such bitch. After Brandon destroyed the Cha Cha she went off on how people ate harder on those they know have a lot of talent. That’s bullshit! She wasn’t hard on him because she believed in him, she was just being a bitch and is now trying to cover up since she was proven wrong about Brandon.
She also spent a lot of time praising choreographers and how they were so important and made dancers look good. Hmm. What is her profession, now?
I feel sorry for Jason/Caitlyn. Bottom 3 two weeks in a row and then they get an extremely weird and now really appealing dance to do. 