Numero Un

Hello everyone!
Well I'm very much completely new to the art of blogging, haha. (read: n00b) But hopefully I'll do alright.
For my first post, I thought I would review and comment on last night's dances from So You Think You Can Dance Season 5 - Top 14!
The top 14 dancers are:
Janette (Salsa)

Vitolio (Contemporary)

Caitin (Contemporary)

Evan (Broadway)

Randi (Jazz)

Brandon (Contemporary)

Melissa (Ballet)

Jason (Contemporary)

Karla (Jazz/Contemporary)

Ade (Contemporary)

Jeanine (Contemporary)

Phillip (Popping)

Kayla (Jazz/Contemporary)

Kupono (Contemporary)


(Yeah, I'm aware there's wayyy too many contemporary dancers.)

And the judges were:
Nigel Lythgoe
Mary Murphy
and guest judge Mia Michaels

So 1st dance of the night was a Cha-Cha choerographed by Jean Marc and France Genereux and danced by Janette and Brandon.



They did really well! I'm usually not a huge fan of these types of dances because generally there's not much of a story, it's just supposed to be sexy. This dance was definitely that (hell, they did earn two first class tickets on the Hot Tamale Train haha) but they also brought a lot of personality to the dance as well. I caught Brandon's little eyebrow raise when he moved Janette slowly! To me, they finally had some chemistry! I hadn't really seen it as much in their other dances but this one had some heat!! Haha :)
The judges loved this dance; Nigel even said that it was the best Cha Cha he'd seen on the show!

The 2nd dance of the night was a Contemporary dance choerographed by Sonya Tayeh and danced by Kupono and Kayla.



This dance's story was dark and deadly. The story has a vampire-esque quality about it; Kupono has come to terms with death, while Kayla is pulling away from it. I'm pretty sure this routine was at least somewhat inspired by the Twilight craze out there. The song they danced to was Eyes On Fire by The Blue Foundation (sidenote: great song) which was on the Twilight Movie's soundtrack and I'm pretty sure that wasn't coincidence.
Right as the dance began, I fell in love! Kupono dragging Kayla across the stage while she tries to get away... that's exactly how I think of a vampire/human relationship! Dangerous, dark, dominant. It started off really great! Kayla and Kupono were very much in character which is so necessary to pull off a dance like this!
All the movements with Kupono holding onto Kayla's wrists were perfect because it was so dominant and controlling! I loved it!
The only part I wasn't very fond of was the end. It just seemed sort of anti-climatic and I have to say I was basically waiting for a death scene.
The judges loved this dance also and they gave a lot of credit to Kupono (which I think he deserved).

The 3rd dance of the night was a Broadway routine chorographed by Joey Dowling and danced by Randi and Evan.



This is Evan's style, and so I knew the judges were going to be watching him like a hawk. The idea of the dance was that they had a toxic relationship. I was really disappointed by this dance. I didn't care for the choreography at all. The only part I remember liking was when Evan is lifting Randi and she continues a walking movement. All the wrist movements and the "punches" came off as weak and almost like a joke. I think that with a different choreography the couple could have done much better.
The judges weren't very impressed with the dance, and I definitely agreed with them. Though I don't believe it's because of the dancers, I honestly thought it was the choreography.

The 4th dance of the night was a Pop Jazz routine choreographed Brian Friedman and danced by Caitlin and Jason!



The story of this dance is Caitlin is an alien that blew up Earth and she's coming down to Earth to find the last living male to procreate with (Jason). It was definitely a very weird story and so I was a little bit worried.
First off, the dance was set to the song Creator by Santogold which is amazing and worked so well with the choreography!
From the moment the lights hit Caitlin and Jason, they were completely in character and I truely believed the story.
When Jason is crawling across the floor and Caitlin is dragging him from his mid-section and she pulls this type of roar, I fell in love! All of the movement, every time Caitlin would possess Jason and control him, it was so in character!
This dance was truely unique, and very much out there. I had goosebumps during the dance and this is definitely one of my favourite routines from this season!
Unfortunately, the judges didn't like it. Nigel commented on Caitlin's outfit, saying it looked like a condom. I didn't care much for her costume either but it didn't distract me from the dance. Mary said that it didn't sit right with her but she still loves this couple.

The 5th dance of the night was a Hip Hop choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon and danced by Phillip and Jeanine.



The idea of this routine was to physically represent the bond that the dancers have. They've paired together from day one and they are forced to work together throughout the competition. And this physical representation was... a chain. Oh, Tab/Nap, you guys are great.
Before I comment on this routine, I have to ask how the hell Phillip/Jeanine got ANOTHER hip hop routine? First week they had a hip hop routine, and now at week 4, another? This seems a little too convenient, especially after Phillip failed to impress the judges in week 2 and 3 with a tango and a broadway routine. Even though Phillip/Jeanine got mixed/bad reviews in week 2 and 3, they were never in the bottom 3 couples and I strongly believe that is because of Phillip's unique hip-hop talents. Although his style is amazing, and he does some things I've never seen before, he doesn't seem to be mastering any of the other styles of dance and this show is all about an all-around amazing dancer, a dancer who can do any style! And I just don't think Phillip is that dancer.
Onto the routine: great song choice! Love Lockdown by Kanye West fit this dance perfectly, with all the chest pops right at the beginning. The musicality of this routine was really great.
I have to say that I think Jeanine did so well here! Her attitude, the dancing, it was all just right. She's beginning to really impress me! Phillip was great as well, as he always is with hip hop.
I have to give props to the couple because dancing with a chain chained to your ankle and then chained to your partner has to be a new level of difficulty. I'm impressed that they did not slip or mess up during the routine, and there was several chances for them to.
The judges loved this dance, although Mia commented that the chain was distracting to her.

The 6th dance of the night was a Pas De Deux choreographed by Thordal Christensen and danced by Melissa and Ade.



Me thinks that it's convenient that the only ballet dancer picks out Pas De Deux, a very classical type of ballet, from the hat. Is the selection really that random?
The story behind this routine was Romeo and Juliet's first meeting alone. I have to say, I really liked that this Romeo and Juliet were black and white! It gave it a different taste then the typical white European idea of Romeo and Juliet.
This routine was danced very beautiful. It was so soft, so elegant and really well choreographed! Melissa is an amazing ballet dancer, and Ade is an extremely flexible dancer, excelling at every type of dance he's taken on on this program.
The judges loved this routine, and I agreed with them!

The 7th and final dance of the night was a Quickstep choreographed by and danced by Vitolio and Karla (the new couple, both of them having lost their previous partners the last elimination round).



First, I have to say that I was very mad that the judges eliminated Asuka (Vitolio's previous partner) because I really enjoyed her style and she really kept my attention. I've always felt sort of lukewarm about Karla, and I was really nervous about this new couple. However, the minute this dance began, they worked really very well together!
Karla's dress change was a big shocker and I think I shreiked a little, haha! I loved the dance, it had a lot of energy, plenty of personality, and they really did change the Quickstep from a "kiss of death" to a "kiss of joy" (Oh, Vitolio, you're so cute.).
The judges enjoyed the dance, saying that over all they mastered the technique of the Quickstep!

The night overall was GREAT! I was so pleased with the dances of this week, and I have to give props to all of the choreographers and all of the dancers. They are all so amazing! I wish I could dance anywhere near as great as these people!

My favourite routines of the night were the Pop Jazz by Caitlin and Jason, the Contemporary routine by Kayla and Kupono and the Quickstep by Vitolio and Karla!

Tonight is the elimination night (9pm on CTV), and I'm going to predict that Randi/Evan, Caitlin/Jason (because the idea was probably too weird for most people to appreciate) and Vitolio/Karla (generally the Quickstep doesn't really win over fans).

Let's see how right I am!

If you want to watch SYTYCD, it's on every Wednesday night from 8-10pm on CTV and every Thursday night from 9-10pm on CTV. It's a great show!