Yes the granny panties were just awful. I think it was actually spandex shorts or a bodysuit or something but it totally gave off the “granny panties” vibe. It was hideous. Black would have been better, if she couldn’t find ones to match the dress. Bleah.
Based on the couple dances, I wanted Dmitri & Ashlee to leave, from the 3 couples Dmitri/Joy, Ben/Ashlee, and Stas/Erin.
From the 3 unsafe couples, I thought it should have been Erin & Ivan. Stas’ solo was WAY better than Ivan’s nothing hip-hop. I had a semi-tough time picking between Erin & Jessica. Allison is freakin’ awesome, and I was very surprised Jessica/Jaymz didn’t get enough votes to be safe.
We didn’t see Aleksandra/Jason because heavy rain screwed our DTV signal.
Favs: Allison, Benji, Travis, Heidi, Musa/Natalie. Everyone else is pretty good, except for Ben/Ashlee. I was as surprised as they were that they were safe.
Ditto. But while we’re talking about costumes, let me just say that my favorite dress of the night was on the woman who danced the lyrical number. It had a Juliette like quality that was lovely.
Heh… the one I referred to as the “ugly nightgown”?
The program went past 9pm central time by a few minutes. That’s why your TIVO cut out. But I agree about dumping Stanislav, especially for the reason that was given. They said that Stanislav didn’t have a personality and that viewers didn’t like him. They said that Ivan would probably grow on the audience. It’s about the most stupid reasoning I’ve ever heard.
But if I’m not mistaken, both people who were eliminated were partners of each other. I’m wondering if that had anything to do with it.
And I am fascinated by Musa. His partner, not so much, but I think he’s got a personality that just flies off the screen. Yum!
I think Travis and Martha are the team to beat so far.
WHAT!? Stas has a great personality. Ivan is about the most irritating thing on the show, after Mary’s mouth!
I was astonished that Stas was sent home instead of annoying, uninspired Ivan. I’m not a dancer, so my opinions are strictly from the amateur section of the bleachers, but Ivan seems to have very little talent and Stanilav has plenty. Stas isn’t what I’d call good looking or sexy, but when he danced the PD, I wanted him! So masculine and powerful. Erin was probably the right choice among the women. . . but I really though Ben and Ashlee should have gone and they weren’t even in the bottom 3. Shows what I know.
Damn, Ben and Ashlee did significantly better than I would have expected.
I missed the first half hour – how’d Martha and Travis do?
I don’t have comments about ALL of the couples, but here is what I did notice:
Martha and Travis did a great job with the style… I’m not a huge fan of the style though.
Joy kept stumbling/fumbling her feet, and she made me nervous to watch.
Musa continues to impress the hell out of me. Natalie didn’t do as well as I expected given that it’s her dance style. I still thought the dance was ‘meh’. I think I’m just not a huge fan of the style.
Heidi’s face scares me, but she’s a kick ass dancer. The woman judge seemed to be critiquing the choreography more than the dance. Ryan is proving to be quite versatile.
Ashlee and Ben… what was on Ben’s chin? Why are people so hard on them? I like their dancing! I think they have the most fun chemistry on the show. Ben needs to do something about his hair.
Aleksandra and Jason…Aleksandra just didn’t have the energy and the edge she needed to pull it off. Jason looked great. I hated their wardrobe.
Benji and Donyelle nailed it. He’s so cute (not in the handsome sense, because I think he’s a little goofy looking–but cute in the sense of his personality and behavior)!
Ah, so we DO have Mia Michaels as a judge this year, not just a screener. I guess they decided that 4 judges at a time was too many. Good call, I think, the panel did seem a little overloaded. It’s nice to have some rotation, too. They should consider it for Idol, since it’s quite clear that Randy, Paula and Simon clearly have no earthly use for each other any more.
Neat performance by the SickStep crew. Collectively, they’re a lot better than last year. Still interestingly odd, but a lot smoother and tighter.
So they’re back to drawing styles from a hat. I like.
Martha/Travis (Krump): Perhaps a hair less convincing than the Broadway from last week, but still a lot better than I might have expected. Krumping, fer cryin’ out loud! They’re walking away with this competition so far.
Jamyz/Jessica (Foxtrot): I didn’t get any sense of synch with the music from their footwork, but Nigel would have called them on it, so maybe it’s just me. Very good projection of a persona, especially on his part. That’s their strong suit.
Ivan/Allison (Hip-Hop): I agree with Mia, that it didn’t blow me away. Some of it was them, some was that the choreography was a little lackluster for the music, IMO. Oh, and Ivan’s still a tool.
Joy/Dmitry (Samba): He’s very smooth, she didn’t even seem to be able to keep up at all. Lame on her part.
Natalie/Musa (Contemporary): A little clumsy in brief moments, but some great unison work. Musa is a natural dancer.
Ryan/Heidi (Pop): Ryan needed to work harder there to convince me of his masculinity in that dance. He came off almost too graceful for what I thought the dance was trying to portray. Other than that it was pretty good. I was distracted by noticing that Kelly Clarkson actually is a singer. I’ve barely heard her since she won Idol, and I’ve now heard two songs of hers today that sounded at least as good as anything else on the radio.
Ashlee/Ben (American Jive): These two are so damn immature in the rehearsal clip it’s embarassing. Eewww, I don’ get thiiiiis. Do I hafta doooo it? Ben’s got really sharp foot work on this one though. And she inhabited the style better than I though she could.
Aleksandra/Jason (Hip-Hop): He was great, she didn’t humiliate herself.
Benji/Donyelle (Cha Cha): They really are top notch, and again I’m particularly impressed by Donyelle’s versatility. This couple and Martha and Travis really have no serious competition so far.
It seems like they’re alternating people as judges and choreographers. Makes it interesting that the judges get to work with at least some of the couple pretty intensely.
Were we watching the same show?? I didn’t hear them complain about what they were doing ever, nor ask if they really had to do it. I saw them acknowledging that it was new to them and was going to be difficult and take a lot of work to get the hang of, but they weren’t whining about it, just being honest. I thought they showed dedication. And they weren’t being “immature” they were trying to keep a sense of humor about the learning process–Ben even said he was trying to “keep it light” so they didn’t get too frustrated.
Benji and Donyelle…I loved their dance, and she had all the moves, but I just can’t get past her non-dancer style body. I know the judges said she looked sexy and all, which I sort of agree with. But for me, in order to be a great dancer (not just technically good) I prefer a longer legged appearance, which she doesn’t have (at least not at her current weight). I also thought her costume, while beautiful, didn’t do her any favors with respect to where the hemline hit her. I hate to diss someone who has the moves, but she doesn’t have the whole package, in my opinion.
I loved the end of their dance, with Benji crawling away…
I’m amazed at the improvement in this show compared to last year. We actually have a field of really good dancers! I’m glad they’re not changing partners from week to week. It helps viewers get to know the dancers well.
I was very impressed with Travis & partner’s Crump dance. I think that’s a hard one for black dancers. . . and an impossible one for white dancers, but they pulled it off. Did anyone else see RISE? If you haven’t, go rent it. Wow!
I thought Benji & partner’s cha-cha was really good. Benji, especially.
I didn’t mind Ben & partner’s jive. (And he had some sort of bandage on his chin. You could see a cut on his chin during the rehearsal tape, so I guess they covered it up for the show. Or maybe it had gotten worse.)
But I still love Musa. He’s my guy. I don’t think he’ll win, but his personality and that beautiful face just fly off the screen!
And I have no idea who’s going home tonight, but I think maybe Ivan and Joy SHOULD go.
The jive dance. I thought they were very good, but is it just me or was that song dragging just enough to sap the energy out of the number? Me ‘n’ Mr. K both remember that tune being peppier. Anyone else notice that?
I’m stealing scotandrsn’s formatting. Sue me. 
Martha/Travis (Krump): I agree the style leaves something to be desired but they’re a great pair of dancers overall.
Jamyz/Jessica (Foxtrot): I thought this was a great performance. Combine this week and last week and they’re actually my favorite.
Ivan/Allison (Hip-Hop): I think Allison’s awesome and the teeny-bopper girls seem to adore Ivan (even though I don’t think he’s got what it takes). Their performance was lackluster. Allison should be able to solo her way through until Ivan gets kicked off and she can get a better partner.
Joy/Dmitry (Samba): I don’t see good things happening to this pair. I thought the dance was fun to watch but the reply really showed Joy’s lack of dance skill. Don’t really care for Dmitri compared to some of the other guys.
Natalie/Musa (Contemporary): Still a killer pair.
Ryan/Heidi (Pop): Good perf., I still like Heidi.
Ashlee/Ben (American Jive): Much improved, but I lump them in w/Ivan/Allison & Martha/Travis this week for bad dance styles.
Aleksandra/Jason (Hip-Hop): Not so good on Aleks’ part.
Benji/Donyelle (Cha Cha): Killer.
My 2 week overall favorite pairs:
- Jaymz/Jessica
- Benji/Donyelle
- Natalie/Musa
- Martha/Travis
& I like Heidi & Allison.
I agree w/annieclaus, Ivan & Joy should go.
If I had to guess, I’d say the bottom three couples are going to be:
Joy and Dmitry (because of Joy)
Aleksandra and Jason (because of Aleksandra, though I thought she did OK)
Ryan and Heidi (because they didn’t really sell it and I think the style won’t play with the younger audience likely to vote)
Out of Joy, Aleks and Heidi, I think Joy was the worst this week going into the solos, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she goes home, but you never know.
Out of Dmitry, Jason and Ryan, that’s a tough call, because some would be there through little or no fault of their own. Jason and Ryan might pull off some good hip-hop solos, and the judges seemed to think Joy’s poor showing could in large measure be placed on Dmitry’s lack of support for her, so maybe they’d send him packing too. And once again save themselves the trouble of re-partnering two other people.
I though Ben and Ashlee put on a good show for the actual performance, so I’d guess they’re safe.
Why are all the google ads for underpants?
Agree with the above on Ivan and Joy. Joy is gorgeous but she lets the pressure get to her, and Ivan just looks like a twerp to me. Both of them are talented dancers but not really ona par with most of the others, IMO. Also, I get the feeling that Joy and Dmitri are having personality clashes.
Ben and Ashlee get my award for most improved this week, but overall I’m not terribly impressed with them either. Both are talented but I can’t see them winning the competition.
The couples that I like are the ones that seem to have the most chemistry – Benji and Donyelle, Martha and Travis, and Natalie and Musa. In fact, Natalie and Musa’s dance last night was, in my husband’s words, “the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen where everybody kept all their clothes on. I think I need a cigarette.”