O-Lympics 2012 Update: Early Tennis Edition

Medals are still far from being handed out in the tennis events, but I already wanted to give out a few anti-medals for poor performance and unsportsmanlike conduct in tennis at the 2012 Olympics. First, I would like to say that the commentary team assembled for the television coverage on Bravo is pretty painful. The morning match commentary was not so bad, but when Federer got on court they went on total auto-pilot. The 6-3 first set Fed won was actually much tighter than the score would have you expect. Falla was playing well, and played a few tight points down 4-3 to quickly let the set slip away. You would never know this from the commentary. All they wanted to do was read off a list of Federer's greatest hits. They seemed to be not watching the game at all. Falla's not the Greatest of All Time, but he's been around and has had success on grass. He's won two sets against Federer on Center Court at Wimbledon in the past. It's not out of the question that he could score an upset win in the 1st round. The commentators were not interested in Falla at all. They steadfastly assured the viewing audience Federer was going to win. And for a while, though it was close, his win looked very probable, but it certainly wasn't inevitable. Having match point is not the same as having a win. The commentators went on and on about all of Fed's stats. He's a champion! He's a humanitarian! He's an amazing father, husband and son! But they forgot one nagging thing about late career Roger Federer. Despite his amazing game, sometimes right when he should win, he loses his concentration and then loses a match that was his. There's a line from Evita that I apply to Federer in these moments, "he suddenly seemed to lose interest. He grew tired..." Honestly, there are times Roger seems kinda bored with finishing matches. He suddenly makes random errors, not out of nerves, he just takes his foot off the gas. That's almost what happened here. Up 5-4 in the second set on Falla's serve, Fall got down 0-40. Fed had three match points. But 5 points later, it was tied 5-5. Then Roger lost serve and was down 6-5. It was at this point the commentators declared there was no chance Federer would lose the match. Really? What's the point of saying that? It's not true! He COULD lose it. Anything can happen! This point was proven one game later when they were tied a set all, Falla winning it 7-5, with one set to go At that point they still wouldn't consider Falla as a player, they just turned the talk more to what wasn't Federer doing to win.

Look, I wanted Federer to win this match. I want him to have a good Olympics. I'd rather an American won the gold, but I don't need to see him lose early. But he's not a god. You don't have to frame each match like it's his destiny to win because he's awesome. Talk about the GAME. About strategy - from both players points of view. It's not a 5-set match where there are times you have to be heavy on filler to cover lulls in the action. A close tight match should be respected as such. Declaring a winner before the match is close to over is lazy and stupid. Please do better going forward. And congrats to Fed on his 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win.

Now I mentioned unsportsmanlike conduct. Ryan Harrison representing the United States lost to Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 7-5, 6-3 smashing rackets along the way. He slammed his racket in the grass after losing the next-to-last game, and then when he double-faulted on match point, he decided to break his racket by spiking it in the turf. Way to stay classy, Harrison. I do not appreciate Harrison's immature behavior. I don't like his attitude on court and was not pleased when he was named to the Olympic Squad. I'd much rather have a James Blake or Brian Baker who knows how to conduct themselves on an international stage. You were representing your country, Harrison. Who cares if you lost and you were upset? Try not having a hissy fit when representing your country. Take the loss with some dignity.

Elsewhere, it was nice to see Isner, Serena and the Bryan Brothers get through to the next round. Serena's game was especially strong and she looked great in her team uniform. The Bryan brothers faced stiffer competition and had shirts that seemed a little too casual for Olympic play, but they still advanced! Go Team USA!

SYTYCD Season 9 Recap: 16 to 14

(Even though the show won't last forever, know that we'll still have each other...)

And so we find ourselves together again, Dance Fans! Last week week 4 dancers went "unsaved" and tonight 2 more will not be thrown life preservers. They're all out there treading water in the ocean, see, and Nigel's only got so many floatation devices to hand out and it's mostly based on your votes to determine who is and who isn't going to drown. Because no one gets voted out on this show! Some just don't continue on...

Tonight we're down to 16. 6 contempos, 2 ballers, 2 ballerinos, 2 Jazz Hands, 1 Tokyo Popper, 1 Kung Fu Hustler, 1 Steppin' Timer and 1 Shake Shake Shakira are still fighting for your votes. Let's not delay any longer!

Opening Group Number. "The Here and After"—Jun Miyake (Contemporary; Choreographer: Tyce Diorio. Concept: An army of Charlie Chaplins get Travellers Insurance! There's a filter lens so it looks black and white except for one red umbrella. The umbrella action reminds me a little of the Step Up number we saw just last week.

Live Dancer Intro: Still in couples. New couple Brandon & Amber is looking happy to be together. I'm excited to see their routine! Some of the couples have realized their 2 seconds center stage as a pair isn't enough time to do anything with an advanced level of difficulty and instead choose to be charming by acting like total cheeseballs. Especially Will and Amelia who do a Brian Brothers-style Chest Bump and run off. Oh, Will! Gulls! Guys! They think they can Dance!

Cat comes out and is her lovely self. Congrats on the Emmy Nomination, Cat! I'm sorry you are up against Betty White, for that lady basically wins everything she's nominated for these days. Cat lets us know that the show is taking a TWO WEEK BREAK for the Olympics! Damn. I guess that makes sense, but that's a long hiatus. They already took a week off for 4th of July! When we come back those Top 14 routines better be KILLER. No excuses!

Guest Judge tonight is the always lovely Christina Applegate. As a super-fan of the show she is gonna know her stuff and not just tell everyone they are amazing. She WILL think things are amazing and be totally emotionally moved by them, but the stuff she thinks is "enh" she will let you know why. I think she's great as a judge!

This Saturday is National Dance Day! Don't forget to forget! Unless you are in LA. Then you should go to the Happy Feet event. Debbie Allen is giving classes, y'all. Debbie Allen!

Beyond just dancing, in the rehearsal packages the dancers will be revealing secrets about each other. Will we learn about DUI charges or connections to the Muslim Brotherhood? Or will we just learn that so-and-so still sleeps with a stuffed animal. I'm at the edge of my seat, let me tell you.

George and Tiffany: Hip-Hop with Tabitha and Napoleon, "Out of My Mind"—B.o.B feat. Nicki Minaj  SECRETS! George, as a young child ran track and wet his pants the first time he heard a starter pistol go off. Tiffany has beauty AND brains! George could've dig a little deeper through Tiffany's dirty laundry, I think. Dance Concept: Babysitters hate newborns crying! I actually thought they were supposed to be new parents at first, but they are dressed like something out of a Rugrats Live! show, so I'm going with babysitters. Napoleon actually says it's inspired by Adventures in Babysitting, so maybe initially I was just not paying attention, overly concerned that enormous Tabitha would go into labor AT ANY SECOND! You know Nigel wants it to happen live in the studio. George and Tiffany hit the choreography hard here. I think they both do very well staying together and you don't get the sense they are uncomfortable being so far out of their own genres. In judging, Nigel wants to see a return of  harder-hitting hip-hop routines, and I agree that I miss the tougher routines of earlier seasons, but that's on him hiring choreographers that DO that kind of stuff. He also says George got winded near the end, which I think is not true at all. He was acting exhausted in character! I saw no actual decline in stamina. Mary loved both of them, as did Christina, but she wanted parts of it to be "soupier." She immediately loses confidence in her critique, but the other judges and NappyTabs, all back her up that the idea behind what she's saying makes sense with the style. Believe in yourself, Christina! Speak your truth!

Amber and Brandon: Jazz  with Ray Leeper "Dr. Feelgood (Love is Serious Business)" —Aretha Franklin. SECRETS!: Amber is a hairstylist! What?? Her locks aren't natural? Brandon has a small part in  Step Up Revolution. He knows so many SYTYCD Alums! Concept: Misty Blue Redux.This is a hot and sexy routine. Lots of sizzle between Brandon and Amber. Their strength and chemistry really come through. Mary praises Brandon for having an "unforced masculinity," which is true. He has a very effortless and engaging "Dude" quality that was very right for this piece. Nigel makes note of his tense hunched shoulders, which are stretching out his suspenders and making them drop. I thought that was an amusing observation. Christina gets bleeped out for saying "Jesus Christ!" which is considered a swear word by S&P. The judges think Amber has FINALLY let her personality shine through in a routine, but I feel like she did that last week and and probably the week before too. Old partner Nick just wasn't a great match for her.

Dareian and Janelle: Cha-Cha with Pasha Kovalev "Call Me Maybe"—Carly Rae Jepsen. PASHA! My SYTYCD boyfriend! But where's my ANYA? Can't THEY just do a Cha-Cha for us? They should have All-Stars be able to pinch-dance for any couple once a season. Pasha has changed his hair and I don't know how I feel about it. I don't want Pasha to ever change! But I guess that's unreasonable. SECRETS! Dareian is a daredevil skateboarder! Janelle makes up raps! Dance Concept: Cha-Cha to Contempo Pop! The dance has a nice spirit, but its kind of a mess in terms of execution. The flow feels off. Dareian and Janelle seem oddly unaware of each other. When they're not looking at each other it's like the other doesn't exist. The tricks are a little labored. They are trying to sell it, but I'm not really buying. A shame! I love Pasha and I really like these two. Still I was left wanting. The judges were too. Mary doesn't hold back, dinging them for the choppy feeling, the poor transitions and the poor footwork. She thought Janelle would excel at Cha-Cha with her hip-action expertise, but instead thought the routine was a momentary set back on their journey. Christina criticizes Dareian's hands, and then freaks out again, but Nigel backs her up. He doesn't think Janelle was sexy enough tonight either, and it looks like she takes that criticism hard. Aww, I hope these two make it through!. 

Cole and Lindsay: Contemporary with Mandy Moore "Wild Horses"—Charlotte Martin. SECRETS!: Cole is a Serious Actor! Lindsay fears FEET! Well, dancers' feet tend to be gross and banged up. I can understand why she doesn't want them near her face. Dance Concept: Goodness and Evil in the world! Hopefully Cole doesn't turn seriously evil. The dance looks lovely and is executed well and has a lot of emotion to it, but I feel like we've explored this particular emotional territory many times before on this show and seen it done better, Nigel gives props to the stage lighting, specifically so he can acknowledge the Emmy nomination the show got last week for lighting. Fine. Give the techies their due! He also says Cole is "meticulously neat and tidy," which he warns could be boring and the audience starts booing, not realizing he's taking the long way around to a compliment. Sometimes the judges get the audience against them for no reason with these stupid fake-outs. Speaking of, Mary apologizes to Lindsay for faking her out on the Green Mile when she made Top 20 as Mary's comments there have become part of Lindsay's narrative in a way Mary never intended because they were actually BS. Why does Mary always get stuck with playing these cruel tricks on the contestants? She obviously doesn't like it. She's not gonna take it anymore! She's pulling back the curtain and showing us the man running the machine!

Amelia and Will: Jazz with Mandy Moore "You!"—The Creatures SECRETS!: Amelia lathers on the sunblock! Will thinks he's in a boy band! Can't someone on this show just have killed somebody long ago? Tell us THAT! Dance Concept Opposites Attract! They are wearing black-and-white suits because they are opposite people! They do a lot of jazzy things. This is their second jazzy routine in 3 weeks. I'd grade the actual choreo here only a B/B-, but Amelia and Will sell the hell out of it. They are great together! Such fun on stage! Christina loves the pair of them. Nigel, however, didn't like this routine so much. He thought they didn't connect and he didn't connect with them, but I think that's weak on his part. Maybe it played better on TV than it did on stage. That happens sometimes. Nigel points out that Will is awesome for trying to silently calm Amelia during his bad critique by rubbing her back. The attention causes Will to overload on giggles and smiles because he can't take that kind of unexpected attention to what he's doing. These two are awesome. I wish their feedback had been a little more enthusiastic from Nigel.

Audrey and Matthew: Salsa with Liz Lira "Cinco Salsa"—Sverre Indris Joner/HSC/Kork SECRETS! Matthew only started dancing at 16 and has a great golf swing! Audrey goes to bed looking like a nerd! Concept: Hot hot hot Salsa! In the rehearsal package, both dancers warn us this dance is going to be bad. They can't do the trick moves. They are dizzy from spinning. Oh dear. Is it a fake out? No. From the opening moments, you can tell this is not gonna work. They both look very nervous and stressed in their faces, Matthew more so, but Audrey can't compensate. Plus they are wearing horrible head-to-toe bright red outfits. Costume department: please no more of these bright red outfits! They are making gorgeous people look unappealing which seriously takes some doing.  These two never find the sweet spot in the routine. It's kinda painful. They were on such a roll the last two weeks! Mary goes first and she just rips that band aid off. They both looked uncomfortable in what they were doing and lacked the fire required for a salsa. Christina thought they looked lost, calling out the music as oddly distracting. This is where the one week voting delay is weird to me because the people who are weakest tonight, probably won't even be in the bottom at the end of the episode because last week they did so well. It's a little weird, no? I think they've found a good way to get everything covered in 2 hours, but the fact that the audience doesn't get to weigh in on a routine, before two people get cut feels strange.

Chehon and Witney: Contemporary with Stacey Tookey "I Will Always Love You"—Whitney Houston  SECRETS!:Chehon puts orange juice in his cereal. Whitney speaks a little German! But Chehon is Swiss and speaks BETTER German! Dance Concept: A love torn apart! This dance is very sensual and dramatic as befits the song they are dancing to. It's a little jarring that it goes from the soft a capella opening part straight into the belted "AND IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!" part, skipping the two minutes of build up in between, but they do a great lift/jump thingy in the moment, so all is forgiven. Standing O from the judges. Christina fights back tears as it is the best thing she has ever seen in her whole life. Or maybe the best she's seen tonight. Hard to tell. Mary cries for Whitney Houston (were they friends?) and gets so flustered that she calls Witney "Lindsay" (they are both blonde ballroom girls, so it's understandable in the moment. But generally I don't know how in even the least heated of moments they can tell brunette jazz dancers Ashley and Tiffany apart. I can't.) and Nigel is so moved by the routine he confuses Oscars with Emmys. Let's head to commercials. Everyone needs a moment to collect themselves.

Cyrus and Eliana: Hip-Hop with Tabitha and Napoleon "Toxic"—District 78 feat. Cheesa
SECRETS!: Cyrus has a power-button-shaped bellybutton. Eliana slept on her pet bird and killed it! FINALLY! A secret involving MURDER! Eliana, yo constantly amaze and impress. Dance Concept: The climactic moment from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. That's what it is! SuperPregoNappyTabs obviously have kids on the brain. Cyrus is the robot that brings Ballerina Eliana to hip hop life. The cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic" is pretty interesting. Not a song I'd think to cover. I think Eliana is the stand out here, killing it in what his not her typical dance genre, but I also think I have turned against Cyrus. Not as a person, or as a performer, but definitely as a contestant. He just doesn't have genre versatility in his partner dances which is what this competition is supposed to be about. I don't want him to win America's Favorite Guy Dancer, and I'm concerned he could do so on personality alone. Hmph. The judges give this routine their second standing ovation in a row. Mary loves both of them. She makes passing reference to both Eliana and Cyurs being on "the train" but it cannot possibly be the hot-tamale train, because this is not a tamale-train kind of routine. You hearing me, Mary? It's some other train. Christina calls Cyrus "one lucky dude" for getting hip-hop instead of contemporary, and heavily implies he's not ready to live up to this show's contempo standard. Christina has also turned against Cyrus, as a contestant! Nigel on the other hand, is pleased Cyrus got hip hop because he is determined Cyrus make the Top 10 and the tour. He also seems pleased that Eliana got to show off how awesome she is because last week Cyrus was dragging her down.

RESULTS!!!
Cat calls all the contestants back onstage. I can't get over how there's no big dramatic pause or fakeout in announcing the bottom 6. It's just bam-bam-bam! Safe or In Danger. And having said that, the bottom 3 girls are Amber, Lindsay, and Eliana. Nooo, Eliana! Bottom 3 guys are George, Brandon, and Dareian.George? That's crazy! His fox trot was SO GOOD. I can't believe Eliana is in danger for the jive, but Cyrus is safe. That's bogus. Nigel wants to see Amber, Eliana, Brandon, and Dareian dance solos to save their lives. I am intrigued by this wrinkle that they will not always ask all the at risk dancers to dance again. Obviously, it indicates that those not asked to dance are auto-saves, but wouldn't be hilarious if Nigel was like, "We were right. Amber and Eliana, you're amazing. Lindsay? You GONE!!"

Solos: Amber dances to Lana Del Rey's "This Is What Makes Us Girls" powerful and well executed, but she's up against Eliana! Brandon dances to  "I Want It All Back"—Tye Tribbett & G.A.Brandon is giving it high energy, but I think the thing I'm most invested in during this solo is the song. A bad sign..Eliana dances to "Near Light"—Ólafur Arnalds. More Olafur Arnalds? Two weeks in a row and I don't know who this person is! Is that shameful? Should I? Regardless, Eliana is amazing. And lastly Dareian dances to "Ordinary People"—John Legend. He takes off his shirt and does every trick in the book. Based on dancing for your life it should be Brandon and Amber who go home, but we'll see.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater comes in for a routine ("Jungle Jam"—Les Tambours Du Bronx) and then we get down to it. Remember no one is voted out, they just go unsaved. They don't have to go home, but they can't stay here. Of the girls, Nigel saves Lindsay and Eliana. Tough break for Amber. I thought she did well last week and was only getting stronger and more comfortable out there. Still the best choice of the three, I think. Of the guys, Nigel saves George and... Dareian! That's the logical choice given their solos, but I wasn't 100%. Brandon seems cool with it. I'm sure he's got Step Up Revolution party plans for Friday!

So we'll see the results of tonight's dances after TWO weeks off. That's a long time to fret, especially for the pairs that got their first bad reviews tonight.

ROUTINE RUNDOWN! (as always, in order of my preference Though honestly this week I thought was very even among the top 6 listed below.)
Chehon and Witney's contemporary
Amber and Brandon's jazz ("not saved")
Cyrus and Eliana's hip-hop
Amelia and Will's Jazz
Cole and Lindsay's contemporary
George and Tiffany's hip-hop
Dareian and Janelle's cha-cha
Audrey and Matthew's salsa

We're almost at Top 3/Bottom 3 so when we reconvene after the Olympics we'll see if Audrey and Matthew's hot routines from the first two weeks made them popular enough to avoid the bottom next time. We can quibble over preferences for who's routine was best this week, but their salsa was clearly the worst and even if you adamantly think it wasn't, I don't think you could name three other routines that were inferior to the salsa. I'm not saying that the judges won't save them if they wind up in danger, but if they're not even in danger that's saying a lot about the competition right now. See you post-Olympics!

SYTYCD 9 Recap: Top 20 to Sweet 16

(it's scary facing a quadruple elimination!)

Welcome Back Dance Fans! Tonight is our first LIVE elimination show of the season. Four Dancers are getting the axe. It should be an interesting night. The exact sequence of when the bottom six are announced, all the new routines and the eliminations has yet to be revealed, so we'll see how they cram it all into two hours. 8 contempos, 3 ballers, 3 ballerinos, 2 Jazz Hands, 1 Tokyo Popper, 1 Kung Fu Hustler, 1 Steppin' Timer and 1 Shake Shake Shakira are still battling it out. Let's get to it!

Cat's got her hair done up and is looking very very tan and tells us to get hunkered down on our couches quickly, as we have a lot to get to and almost no time to pause and take a breath! Adam Shankman is the guest judge. You can be sure of numerous plugs for Step Up Revolution, in theaters this weekend! Will it out-gross The Dark Knight Rises? Only time will tell. First up, another pre-recorded group number! So it looks like these will be standard practice for the rest of the season.

Top 20 Routine, Take 3 - The Beautiful People (District 78 Remix) , Marilyn Manson. by Tabitha and Napoleon. I actually really like this. It's not standard fare for NappyTabs. It's kind like if a Wade Robson group number and A Sonya Tayeh group number had a love child with ADHD. There are crazy headpieces on the girls and slicked up hair for the guys and they are thrashing and running about in different formations. There's a dude with brown hair I can't identify at all. Who is that?  Although, I do have to say, I'm over Cyrus being front and center. He looks good here in his half-skull make-up, but when he does his animator thing now, it just reminds me how he's great at what he does and not really great at anything else. If his personality carries him to top 10 I'll be kinda disappointed.The other guys are stronger dancers.

Time to introduce the dancers. Time is tight so they come out as couples. This means that all the quick tricks are kinda lame and flubbed. Oh, the brown haired guy is Ballroom Boy Nick. His hair is slicked back tonight and I think he looks totally different. So much older. He should've done that last week! He wouldn't have looked so odd with These are the gulls! Here are your guys!

Lindsay and Cole - Hip Hop with Christopher Scott - "Teeth" (Lady Gaga). Concept: A sexy trip to the dentist. Lindsay is the dental hygienist, and Cole is a nerd patient. The routine isn't bad, but it's a little lacking in chemistry. Lindsay and Cole seem to be in slightly different universes. The dancing is in sync and they are... aware of each other. But their costumes don't go together and the dentist chair looks odd sitting there in the middle of the stage, and Lindsay seems a little more focused on the audience than she does on pursuing Cole. So this routine wasn't bad, but it wasn't as sharp as it could've been. It falls way short of there paso doble last week. In judging, Cole has decided to go all method and still be in nerd character the entire time. The judges are a little weirded outt but roll with it. Lindsay has a huge fake smile plastered on her face to let us know she's totally over his weirdness. It makes me think they had trouble connecting because Cole decided to lock himself up in his own world and Lindsay couldn't get in. The judges don't rave for this routine, but they don't rip it apart either. I think they're safe this week, but I wonder if people will find Cole's decision to not drop character off-putting, like I did. As they leave Cat takes the lollipop Cole was sucking on and puts it in her mouth. Cat Deely is many things, but a germophobe is certainly not one of them.

  

Amelia and Will - Contemporary with Sonya Tayeh -  "3326" (Olufar Arnalds). Concept: Two Contempos, Doing Contempo things while looking for the Light at the End of the Tunnel .It's very good, but this is in both their wheelhouses so you'd expect - no, demand! - that it would be. Will, as a Jolly Gay Giant, is a great partner for Amelia, because he's strong enough to support her doing the most difficult tricks. They really are in it. There's no coasting for these two. They are showing the extent of their expertise. The judges love it. Adam of course is overly dramatic about it, makes a Step Up movie plug, praises Sonya like she just discovered the cure for cancer, yet somehow he manages not to cry. Such restraint, Adam!

Amber and Nick - Argentine Tango with Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo - "Tanguera" (Sexteto Mayor). The music sounds like Roxanne. I don't understand how it's not Roxanne. Is Roxanne a rip off of this song, or the other way around? Anyway, the dance is very hot. There's a lot of technical stuff going on, very complicated footwork, very good frame with the arms. They sell it all. They don't look preoccupied with the steps at all. Very good chemistry between them. This was very strong. Good work! The judges like it. Adam and Mary think Nick might not have done himself any favors by being SUCH a good partner because all the focus went to Amber. Nigel, thinking ahead, tells Amber that her character was very tough and hard this week, so next week she should try to play up her vulnerability for the voting audience. Hmm...

Audrey and Matthew - Jazz with Sonya Tayeh - "Hear Me Now" (Dri, Lind, & Lukka Mix). Concept: Robotic Power Struggle Between Man and Woman... Robots? Sonya wants them both to be really aggressive. Matthew says in the clip package that Audrey is incapable of being aggressive. Don't throw her under the bus, Matthew! But he's right. She's not really a BEAST, you know? But the pair of them together really really works. This isn't a routine with a lot of signature tricks, but the movement is very interesting. It's a compelling routine with good momentum. Is it gonna wind up in like the top 5 Sonya routines? No. But I have a sinking suspicion it will be one of the top routines of the night. I'm sensing some Week 2/ First Elimination jitters amongst the dancers and choreographers. The judges rave for Audrey and Matthew and of course for Sonya. Adam even says he's afraid that the night really belongs to Sonya, and I have to agree. Adam thinks Matthew is the front runner. I'm not completely sure. He's a contender though! I'll definitely give him that.

Dareian and Janelle - Lyrical Hip-Hop with Christopher Scott - "My Girl" (The Temptations)
Concept: A proposal and a reversible jacket! This routine is pleasant and sweet, but VERY safe. The most complicated part is taking off the jacket, and putting it back on. Seriously! Dareian and Janelle are smiley but not really fully into it. It's just not that deep. They kiss at the end, as if that somehow makes it all a big deal. Really, not a lot coming from Chris Scott this week. Sorry! Nothing personal. The judges side with me and are not into it. Nigel breaks his own rule about not blaming the choreographer and tells Christopher in the audience that what he came up with was too simple for them. He thinks the audience won't be moved to call for something like this. Adam wants a little more character from Janelle.Mary is just relieved that their kiss didn't inspire Nigel to maul her again like he did last year. Janelle could definitely be in danger next week. She just didn't have anything here that would make an impact, frankly.

Brandon and Janaya: Broadway with Sean Cheeseman - "Bring on the Men" (Linda Eder, Jekyll and Hyde)
Concept: Janaya wants to bring on the men, specifically Brandon, who does not wish to be brought on. No touchy touchy, for Brandon - guys OR girls, apparently! How did he get this reputation? Ahh, yes. By his own words. Anyway, this dance is a big improvement over last week for them. There are some really unique moves and a double somersault roll thingy that looks like it could be painful, but they both emerge unscathed. Janaya is giving great character work here. I thought this was gonna be bad from their kinda non-matching outfits, but I applaud them. Really, a delight! Would that this was the routine they got last week, when people voted! The judges note the improvement from last week and seem happy for Janaya that she's going out on a high note since they will obviously be sending her home when she falls into the bottom 3 at around the 90 minute mark tonight.

Cyrus and Eliana: Jive with Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin - "I'm Shakin'" (Jack White)
Concept: Pretend that Cyrus can jive! Listen, guys. This was a poor performance. I could've done the jive better than Cyrus this week. This was super weak. I don't expect him to go home tonight or even be in danger given his personality and presence on the show, but he needs to land in the bottom week next week for real.  Eliana is left to basically sell the whole routine on her own. She's pretty successful at it, but it's obvious that she's got no help from Cyrus. Mary is first to critique and she's like "haha................ um...... Cyrus, you were there for her in the lifts and the partnering! WOOO!" Nigel's like, "you got through it!" He sympathizes with Eliana's situation having two weeks in a row of being held back by choreography and partnering when he knows on her own she'd really be able to soar. Eliana needs to make it to Top 10. It's gonna be a hard road ahead, I think.
 

Alexa and Daniel: Contemporary with Dee Casparay - "So Long My Friend" (Yanni)
Concept: Don't slip getting out of the bathtub. There is a giant tub on stage. They are in the tub. They are out of the tub. They are wearing very little in terms of clothing. Oof, is the song choice an indication of what fate has in store for these two? I get the impression they don't like each other in real life. There's no chemistry. No sense of even camaraderie. They know they have to connect emotionally in order to succeed but there is no electricity here. On paper they made such a good pair, but in practice they can't connect to each other's strengths. It's too bad. I think they're going home tonight.  The judges agree the execution is flawless, but they are missing something crucial between them that would save them from elimination.They both wear expressions of worry chiseled out of stone.

George and Tiffany: Foxtrot with Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin) -"I Want to Be Loved by You" (Sinéad O'Connor)
Concept: Be foxy and trot! These two are once again a great pair.  What can sometimes be a less than exciting and forgettable style of dance on this show, is actually a fun and engaging routine. They are very elegant and have all the chemistry that Alexa and Daniel were lacking. Mary loves it and loves the two of them. Nigel and Adam are all positive too.The contempo boys with the jazz hands girls pairings are really nailing it so far this season.

Chehon and Witney: Bollywood with Nakul Dev Mahajan - "Tandav Music" (Aatish Kapadia)
Concept: hit the hand poses and spin round and round! Bollywood is usually very successful on this show. Partly because it is exciting to watch, the costumes are pretty and the dancers smile through it pretty effortlessly. Chehon and Witney really take to it. This is a much better showing than last week's Samba. Witney looks like she gets caught in her veil right at the end, but it's not a big deal. Chehon actually looks happy to be dancing! When was the last time we saw that? His final solo in Vegas? Judges give them high praise all around. Witney says watching youtube videos helped in their prep. This shows's not just a physical challenge, people. Doing research helps too!

Cat calls everybody back to the stage. Time to reveal the Bottom 6. Cat just rips it off like a band-aid. Janaya, Alexa, and Witney and Nick, Daniel, and Chehon. No, Project Runway Style fake-outs. These are the lowest vote-getters. Four are going home. I'm sure Whitney is safe. Alexa and Janaya are too. I'm less sure about which Ballet Boy is heading home. I think Chehon's Bollywood performance sealed the deal in his favor though.

Cat asks if Nigel and the judges need to see any solos, and Nigel's like "Nah, thanks we got this." I think dancing for your life will come back as there are less routines and more time for solos in the 2-hour block of time. 

Instead right now it's time for an in-show commercial for Step Up: Revolution. The movie stars a lot of SYTYCD alums including Twitch, Tony Bellisimo, Philip Chbeeb, and Kathryn McCormick, who is the lead female in the movie. This movie focuses on community-minded flash mobs. The number they do on stage is pretty fun. I honestly have a hard time focusing on it. Maybe it's just so much dance crammed into a short amount of time. Cat is thrilled to see all her former babies on stage though and if she's excited, I'm excited.

No more stalling, it's execution time.  The six dancers, four of whom are facing certain death, are lined up. Nick and Janaya know they're done for. Alexa is barely holding on. Daniel is hiding his emotions like he is a graduate of the Vulcan Science & Dance Academy. Chehon is hopeful, I think. Nigel tries to explain how no dancer is voted off, they're just "not saved" by neither the public vote, nor the judges. That will make them feel better! So first saved is Witney, as we knew it would be. The other girls are like "we appreciated being here." and then they are swept off to the side to hug and cry together. At least someone else knows what they are going through.Then Chehon is saved as well and the other boys don't get to say ANYTHING as we quickly recap everyone's numbers and then quickly close out the show on time! Damn. Hopefully now with 16 dancers left we'll have a second to breath in next week's show.

Tonight's routines in order of my preference:
Amelia and Will's contemporary
Audrey and Matthew's jazz
Chehon and Witney's Bollywood
Brandon and Janaya's Broadway (Janaya "not saved")
George and Tiffany's foxtrot
Amber and Nick's tango (Nick "not saved")
Dareian and Janelle's hip-hop
Cole and Lindsay's hip-hop
Alexa and Daniel's contemporary ( both "not saved")
Cyrus and Eliana's jive

(Your Top 16, America!)

Bottom 6? Hmm... Cyrus, Cole and I don't know... Brandon... for the guys? Tough call on number three. For the girls I think it's Janelle, Lindsay and... Amber. But that's a tough one to call too. I'm excited to see what Amber and Brandon can do as a couple. It will be weird if they face elimination before America can vote on them as a couple.That's the new format for you!

Until next time, Dance Fans!

SYTYCD 9 Recap - Top 20 Competition Begins!

(If Eight is Enough, then Twenty is More Than Plenty!)

Welcome Back, Dance Fans! Wasn't the two week wait because of 4th of July nearly unbearable? As if to make up for missing out on all the Independence Day celebrations, almost everyone will be mentioning fireworks and firecrackers when referring to the dancers tonight. Just to review the field, we have 8 contempos, 3 ballers, 3 ballerinos, 2 Jazz Hands, 1 Tokyo Popper, 1 Kung Fu Hustler, 1 Steppin' Timer and 1 Shake Shake Shakira. Such a wide open field, and we're still not even losing anyone this week! All these kids are fighting for one of two gender-specific titles. Favorite Guy! Favorite Girl! Time to leave some blood on the dance floor.

Cat pops up on the screen and suddenly life is so much better than it was just moments before. The screen tells us they are LIVE, but I wonder aloud how much of the show won't actually be pre-taped. Case in point: we cut to a group number that is definitely not happening live. It's another Top 20 routine (will we get a THIRD one to open next week's show? That seems like a lot for one season!) with choreo chores going to Christopher Scott. All 20 are actually dancing! No one is injured. Janelle didn't manage to get a concussion falling off a diving board or having her arm caught in a snack vending machine or something. Hooray! The routine is a little Mad Men style , a little Office Space monotony and a ton of great staging and movement. They are dancing to "Architect of the Mind" by Kerry Muzzey. Lots of quick movements. Lots of great synchronicity. While there is some musical chairs action going on with the dancers to give them all a chance for decent camera positioning, but still it seems like some of them get stuck further back in the crowd than others for longer periods of time. Overall, I liked this number! Good times!
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Now it's time for the actual show intro. This part I believe is LIVE. Since there are 20 dancers to get through, this part seems to last a solid 30 minutes, but I don't mind as this part is actually one of my favorite bits of the show. I bet most super-fans feel the same. The biggest Studio-Audience cheers are for Daniel, Dareian, Janelle, Lindsay, Matthew and Witney. These are the gulls! And here are your guys! Everybody pose! The announcer messes up and cuts out before introducing Cat to the stage. You can see the dancers have an "oh shit" moment behind their eyes when he goes silent. They aren't allowed to break the pose until the guy introduces Cat! If he never introduces her, will they have to stay there until the first commercial break comes along? Luckily it doesn't come to that. Cat comes out on stage laughing off the little mess up. Such a pro! Then she basically calls Mary Murphy "Mia Michaels." So I guess the show is not so sharp jumping out of the gate tonight.  The guest judge tonight is Kenny Ortega, who seems to really like this show. He's always around! Shouldn't he be off making movies? Well, he won't be for the next two hours at least!

Tonight, along with Dance reviews I will be rating the initial pairings of the contestants on a scale of 1 to 5: 5 being a Power Couple, 3 being an Odd Couple and 1 being Irreconcilable Differences. Usually, the show tries to pair one contestant who has had a lot of previous screen time with one who has had less in an effort to have the lesser known survive on the other's popularity for a few weeks. But we are not voting for couples this year! Only individuals! There are all new numbers and you can text a person's name in to vote for them as well. If people text "Whitney" instead of Witney will those votes be discounted?? There is no more time for questions! It's time to DANCE!

Witney and Chehon: Couple Rating 5. These two have gotten lots of screen time, are truly excellent in their own genres and are totally gorgeous physical specimens. Witney would do fine on her own with any partner, but I'm hoping she can loosen up Chehon, who sometimes seems tight when he's not soloing.

Their Dance: Samba (Louis Van Amstel)  "Jump" — The Cube Guys & Lucinana
Cheon cannot move his hips. He tries, but you can tell it goes against all his training. Witney's all "no sweat. baby. Get me going and I'll be all they can see!" This is a mostly successful strategy. A few times Cheon just seems like he's thinking too much. He's not alive enough in his face, which brings even more attention to his non-moving hips. It's not a bad first performance for them, but it also hasn't set the bar incredibly high for the night.  Nigel loves Witney, but rightly points out some flaws in Chehon's movement. Mary also mentions the foot problems for Cheon but notes that he's gorgeous and amazing and he'll get better. Kenny loves Whitney and encourages Cheon to let go more into the dance. We'll have to see how these two stack up against the others, but Witney in bottom 3 girls seems like an absurdity.

George and Tiffany: Couple Rating 4. You may recall George from his Atlanta audition when Debbie Allen said "This child is fierce!" So much like Witney, his partner was kinda insequential. It's more of a coup for Tiffany that she's with him, because George will be awesome and if she brings it their routines will really stand out and she could win a lot of fans very quickly. Which will be good because she didn't get a lot of attention in the audition rounds and has a virtual Jazz Hands twin lurking elsewhere in the competition.

Their Dance: Contemporary (Sonya Tayeh)  "Turning Page"— Sleeping At Last
This routine is about a love affair. It's very very good. Both dancers just completely give over to the movement. There's a lot of great physical control and partnering. There's just a great connection going on between them already. Well done! Nigel LOVES George. Mary appreciated how the both surrendered to Sonya's choreography. Sonya, in the audience is of course thrilled with them both. Kenny loves it too. Nigel notes Sonya softer side is coming through and insinuates she might have found love in a hopeless place since we saw her last season. Hmmm! 

Brandon and Janaya: Couple Rating 1. Wow. Someone wants these two gone. Not only did the show not bother to showcase either of them during the audition rounds, they have very different energies and he's so much bigger than her. This is a weird pair. Considering that they are actually getting rid of 4 contestants next week from the bottom 6 instead of 2, if these two don't have a remarkable first dance I think their fate is sealed.

Their Dance: Hip-Hop (Tabitha and Napoleon)  "Take Care"—Drake featuring Rihanna
Concept: Battling Alcoholism. Oof. Really, NappyTabs? First off, let me say congrats to a HUGELY pregnant Tabitha. Let's see what that kid can do on SYTYCD Season 28! But back to the choreo and the music. It's very literal storytelling and the music is too... peppy? bouncy? There's no weight to it, and a fight over drinking too much might require a little more heft to the music to make it work, you know? The hip hop is very fluid and I think Brandon and Janaya are in sync and hitting it well, but they have an almost impossible task in front of them. Virtual Unknowns, doing a so-so routine to a poorly matched song. Nigel is like, "You are lovely, but packing your bags would not be unwise." Mary wanted it grittier from Janaya. Kenny says something about how NappyTabs is turnin hip-hop into a storytelling medium. Someone remind him he's been on the show many times and has seen there work and it's not new. Overall, despite doing an adequate job with no real mistakes, it's not good news for these two.

Alexa and Daniel: Couple Rating 5. Both had a lot of screen time and are incredible likable. Physically they match up well. Should be great for them!

Their Dance: Jazz (Sean Cheesman)  "Hey Hey"— (DF's Attention Vocal Mix) - Dennis Ferrer
Concept: Every trick in the book, plus scaffolding! They are both dressed in these BRIGHT red costumes, head to toe shiny red fabric. It looks very slippery too, which is terrible for all the body contact choreo they have to perform. I don't like this routine at all. It's a lot of moves, but no motivation. They both look concerned with just getting through it. There are some neat moments, but overall this is a missed opportunity to have two well-liked contestants get a good start. Nigel tries to do damage control. He doesn't like throwing choreographers under the bus like the guest judges often do, but he basically says to the viewing audience that if you didn't like it, the reason was because you didn't understand how technically difficult it was and you should vote for them anyway. Kenny was impressed with the exercise of it, but wasn't really taken with the actual performance, and I think that's pretty spot on. Alexa an Daniel both are like "Damn, I was hoping for better than that." Me too, kids. Me too.

Amber and Nick: Couple Rating 2. I just don't like them together. He looks way to young for her. She's not even old! I just think she has a maturity to her that he lacks, so I don't really see their connection or chemistry. Maybe the rest of America will disagree.

Their Dance: Viennese Waltz (Jason Gilkison)  "Nights in White Satin"—Tina Arena
Concept: Spin around the stage like all Viennese Waltzes must do! Before we get to the dance, in rehearsal Jason turns into the version of himself from the Darkest of Timelines and is really not nice to Nick. He's trying to push him to excel in his own genre, but it comes off really menacing. The dance itself is very lovely and does what it needs to do.They spin and spin and spin, at one point when Nick puts her down, it seems like she's gonna spin right off to the ground, but it might just be the camera angle in the moment. They both did a good job with a not-incredibly-exciting dance style. Mary thought it was dreamy. She notes Amber is wearing super-uncomfortable shoes. Nigel tells Nick to not look so anxious on camera, because in HD your nerves really shine through to us folks at home. He also tells Amber not to collapse too much and rely on her core. The judges are giving some good constructive advice this week, I think.

Amelia and Will: Couple Rating 4. Amelia has been all over the show from the beginning and Will not so much, but he is a GIANT and a weirdo and so you notice him in this crowded field. Will they have strong chemistry together? I'm not sure, but I think this pairing makes sense and could have really good results.

Their Dance: Hip-Hop (but it's really Jazz) (Tabitha and Napoleon)  "The Lovecats"—The Cure
Concept: Lady and the Tramp with Cats! Tabitha and Napoleon call it "character-pop" in the package, but I swear to you that it's Jazz. The routine is actually a lot of fun and has a lot of personality and they are really in sync with each other hitting some very quick moves throughout. The signature move of the piece is when Will grabs Amelia's leg from down on the floor and flips her up to over his shoulder. WHAT? How did that happen?. Kenny loves Amelia. Nigel loves this partnership, and the high levels of personality on display.

Dareian and Janelle: Couple Rating 5. The show LOVES Dareian and is fascinated by accident-prone Janelle, so they should be a very fun couple to watch... as long as Janelle can stay injury-free which is super definitely NOT a given.

Their Dance: African Jazz (Sean Cheesman)  "Jungle" — HILKiHT Tribe
This performance seems to go just as fast as Cheesman's earlier Scaffolding Piece, but it's much more satisfying.  Dareian and Janelle have great energy and skill, there's juuust enough breathing room for some personality to shine through and it's fun and exciting and impressive. Nigel loves them. Mary loves them. Kenny loved how there seemed to be so many different cultural influences throughout the routine and thought they were like fire dancing across the stage. These two are gonna go far.

Eliana and Cyrus: Couple Rating 3.5 I like both of them individually and they should be easy vote-getters but as a pair, will they really bring out each others strengths? What will they be like in ballroom? Will the producers have them dodge that category until we get all the way to the All-Star Partners at Top 10? I wonder...

Their Dance: Broadway (Tyce Diorio)  "Run and Tell That"—Hairspray (Original Broadway Cast)
Concept: Take the detention setting from the original show's staging, none of the meaning behind the song and smile! I don't like the choreo here at all. It has no real connection to wi the song. And I really like this song. I thought it was one of the best parts of the movie and the stage show. But this is just kinda stupid. Eliana and Cyrus are both like "forget this lame routine, you like us!" while they are dancing. And they are mostly successful. The judges go out of their way to praise Tyce and Tyce goes out of his way to bask in the glory. The routine wasn't one of his worst, but it wasn't one of his best either. Nigel admits that Cyrus still has a long way to go to be a Capital D Dancer like some of the other guys in the competition, but that he has the right attitude and facility to get there. Eliana, apparently,  is already at the top of the heap of the girls.

Audrey and Matthew: Couple Rating 4. So the show gave the two Jazz Hands girls two of the most dreamy Contempo Boys as partners. Interesting. I think Matthew and Audrey could be a very successful couple. They have a very good chemistry between them and both seem fun and fearless. Bring it!

Their Dance: Contemporary (Travis Wall)  "Unchained Melody"—The Righteous Brothers
Concept: Titanic meets Ghost! I don't know why you'd take one instantly known story and match it with an equally recognizable song from a totally different pop culture property, but that's what Travis does, and somehow it really works. It could be in part because Matthew and Audrey are INCREDIBLE together. 
DAMN. They have so much power and sensuality and speed. There are lifts! There are jumps! There are mid-air leg kicks that could decapitate a person. Holy damn. Well done, kids. Well done.The judges all fawn over Travis, but I wish they'd remember his season was actually 7 SEASONS AGO and so people can't vote for him. Just show the commercial for his Oxygen show once every commercial break and we'll know you think he's the best. He is the best! But don't forget about loving the dancers who do need the votes right now.

Cole and Lindsay: Couple Ranking 4.5. Lindsay has gotten screentime, but has been a little bit in Witney's shadow. Cole has been around, but what will he be like when he's not acting like a ninja? This is an interesting pairing, with a couple loose variables and intangibles between them. If they connect the right way they could really help each other towards dominating the competition.

Their Dance: Paso Doble (Jason Gilkison)  "Unstoppable"—E.S. Posthumus
Concept: Lindsay is Poison and Cole is fighting for his life! Cole is great here. Really really strong in his paso stance and footwork. Lots of grand battle poses. But the thing I really love here is what's going on in Lindsay's eyes. Over the arc of the routine there is so much going on. There's desire, temptation, fear, anger, lust - Linsday is selling the hell out of this dance. I love it. They get a standing ovation. Mary is looking around all "Where the eff did this come from?" She says it was Jason's best paso choreo ever for the show, and Nigelis super impressed with Cole and makes him confess he's been trained in more than martial arts because, COME ON. Dude can dance.

So the routines in my order of preference:
Cole and Lindsay's paso doble
Audrey and Matthew's contemporary
Dareian and Janelle's African jazz
George and Tiffany's contemporary
Amelia and Will's "jazz-hop"
Chehon and Witney's samba
Amber and Nick's Viennese waltz
Brandon and Janaya's hip-hop
Alexa and Daniel's jazz
Cyrus and Eliana' Broadway

With everyone having individual phone numbers, I have no idea who will be bottom three. Maybe some individuals in great routines aren't as popular as some folks who kinda stumbled this week. The big question for me will be where Alexa and Daniel fall, because the show invested a lot of time in their stories but their routine wasn't very inspiring.

We have to wait a week to find out! Next week could feature ANOTHER Top 20 Routine, The Standard Intro, 10 Partner Routines, a Bottom 3 Guys and Girls Reveal and eliminations for 4 contestants - all in 2 hours time!  I think in an effort to cram it all in we won't see anybody dancing for their life, but this show is all about shaking up the format this year, so don't be surprised if Nigel still has a few dramatic cards hidden up his sleeves!

Until next time, Dance Fans!