Never been much of a fan of Sasha, but have to admit her number with Twitch was the single best routine all season by anyone, hands down. Truly awesome, original, and inspired.
Pascha makes everyone look better. Any female dancer would want to partner with him. He and Twitch may be very different in styles, but they both bring an incredible masculine energy that’s sorely missing from most male contestants.
Sorry to see Clarice go because she has the best legs, and liked her better than several other women. As long as Melanie is safe, I’m fine.
Also glad Mitchell is gone, and really hope Ricky’s next on the block. Tad & Marko are about even for me right now (didn’t like Tad’s number much this week, but thought he blew the overrated Komfort out of the water)
After all the fawning over Melanie and Marko (whose performances are pleasant enough but kind of overrated), Sasha is finally getting some love. Anyone could tell she stood out (esp in the context of this group) ever since Vegas, it’s just too bad she got saddled with Alexander. He was bringing her down.
I think the articulation of her movements make her excel at interpreting themes that almost contrast those that Melanie would. The thing is, I think she would have also danced well in the Desmond Richardson piece that Jordan and Brandon did. Does anyone remember Will and Katee a few seasons back doing a Desmond Richardson piece to “Imagine”? Will was perfect for it; he had classic Alvin Ailey lines and the right sense of dynamics for D.R.-type contemporary pieces. Despite her popularity, I never thought Katee looked right in it, in terms of her movement, the tension in her lines, her elevation, etc. I thought the same of Jordan, and I’d suspect that would be the case with Melanie. However, I think Sasha would look great in it.
Yeah, Sasha and Melanie were amazing. I like that they did some same gender pairings.
Melanie and her all-star were outstanding. As were Sasha and her all-star (Pascha?).
I definitely think Ricky is the weakest boy. As for girls, I wouldn’t care if either Jordan (so tired of hearing about her endless legs) or Caitlyn (who I find just boring) went home.
ETA: I really enjoyed Lady Gaga as the guest judge. She had a lot of good things to say. In general, they’ve done a pretty good job with guest judges this year.
It was fantastic to see Ivan again. He just does his style so… effortlessly, and with a “Yeah, I’m awesome!” grin on his face. I’d love to see some choreography from him.
I irrationally hate Lady Gaga so I’m automatically biased against anything she says. I didn’t care too much for Sasha and Mel’s piece. I was bored by it.
I’m sure Mel’s boyfriend must be seething now. First the kisses on stage, leaping into Neil’s arms a couple of times, some really sexy moves, etc. I understand it’s all part of the dance (except for that second kiss) but he’s probably not thinking rationally.
I don’t think the jealous type could be with a dancer like Melanie. She’s pretty much always going to be paired with other guys doing different things. I could see her winning SYTYCD, and even if she doesn’t she’s going to have tons of opportunities after this. I hope she doesn’t let some guy hold her back.
I’m ready for Jess and Jordan and her flexed friggin’ feet to go. Ricky might be slightly weaker a dancer, but everything else about him is better than Jess. I always feel a bit sorry for the girls that get paired with Jess, because he just isn’t a strong partner, IMO.
As a fan of traditional musicals, I had an eccentric fondness for Jess, but don’t necessarily think he was the wrong one to go. Wouldn’t’ve minded if he lasted one more week, but don’t think a male dancer who really can’t do lifts belongs in the final four. Hope Ricky goes next, as less deserving than Tadd for a spot in the final four. Marko seems a given for that.
And wish it had been Caitlyn instead of Jordan, but assume Caitlyn will be going home next week, leaving Sasha and Melanie for the final four.
It’s turned out to be a pretty good season overall – a lot of very strong dancers, and no seriously “WTF are you out of your freaking minds” eliminations.
As usual, Melanie was transcendent. Is she a ringer, maybe Mandy Moore’s niece? That leap gave me chills. Sasha’s damn good and she’s still no match for Melanie.
As for the guys, Marko is clearly the best, but even he’s far behind Sasha and Melanie. Tadd reminds me of Mark from Season 4, just so unique; he won’t win, but will be an all-star.
Melanie has to win it all. She’s above and beyond everyone else, and that’s really saying something. And to think I didn’t like her at first, wow was I wrong.
This is exactly what I was thinking last night. I can’t seem to remember anything from season to season, but I don’t think they’ve always done this “one boy and one girl” going home each week thing. I seem to remember there being two guys in the final two one season.
Final four is always two boys and two girls, but in the finale show those four are ranked without regard to gender, so two guys could be #1 and #2, and were … year before last?
Melanie is only in danger of losing if everyone assumes she’s far and away going to get the most votes, so they’ll vote for someone else. She’s clearly the best. But Sasha has really shone since they broke up the couples and she has had the opportunity to dance with other partners. She has impressed the hell out of me and I think she has grown more than anyone.
Tadd is entertaining and has been able to adopt the other styles with ease, but I don’t know if he has the general appeal of Mel. Ricky’s only still there because others have been voted off first, not because he has any chance of winning.
Melanie
Hip Hop with with Twitch was odd. It wasn’t very good, but the movements were just strange. Even Twitch didn’t seem to be grooving into it. We’ve seen Melanie do Lyrical Hip Hop with Marko and excel; the same choreographers let her down a bit.
Her solo was brilliant, especially the pose at the beginning where she’s looking out to the audience. It really set it up as a true performance. The dance showed she CAN stop hard and start again with style. It was nice to see Lil’C praise her after giving her a hard time about that earlier.
The Broadway piece with Tadd was great. She made the dancing seem too easy, and nailed the acting.
Shasha
The dance against the wall with Kent was fabulous, among the best of the night. It was better the closer they were to the wall. A nice leap onto Kent’s shoulder, and good use of the “gimmick.”
That and her solo really showed how skinny she is, but it’s all wiry muscle and she uses it well.
The Whacking number with Ricky was just bad, but she was certainly better at it than Ricky. She was let down by the style, the choreography, and her partner.
Tadd
Entertaining as always. His solo was fun, but lacking variety.He did a good job keeping up with Mel, and acted well.
The chandelier swinging was boring. Sonya must have fallen in love with the idea, and it didn’t work. Every time either dancer reached for the loop, it broke the flow, and not much of the swinging was visually interesting until Tadd’s fast spin. Another dancer let down by the choreographer.
Marko
He’s losing ground by not being memorable. Still, I really liked the “dark, controlling” piece. As Nigel said, not enought actual dancing in the period piece. Another whiff by Sonya this week.
Clarice
How could Pasha not make her look good in a ballroom routine? It was just bad. Forgetable solo, good work with Marko, though.
