Here we go again, Dance Fans! 10 Contestants battling it out for the title of America's Favorite Dancer. At the end of the hour, only 8 will remain. Who got the fewest votes? Who will the judges save? Who will dance their last dance tonight? Let's get into it.
TOP 10 Group Number - Contemporary by Travis Wall to Harry Styles‘s “Sign of the Times”
Travis created this dance in response to America’s gun violence epidemic. It's quite lovely. There are a lot of unique formations and shapes the dancers create together. You can tell how meaningful this routine is to them. Sometimes they fill the space in a way that makes you think there must be at least 20 of them. The old person in me thinks all the jolting back bends look painful, but then I remember that these dancers are very young and their spines are still sufficiently bendy. A great sense of connection between the dancers can be felt throughout. They reveal shirts that spell out "ENOUGH" on the back of them at the end. Indeed.
Cat comes out in a fantastic hot pink dress by Alessandra Rich and shoes by Gianvito Rossi with her hair up in a top bun. Flawless. She introduces the judges, explains the rules about how she'll reveal the results as they go through the night as to which 2 guys and which 2 girls got the least votes, and then the judges will get to save one guy and one girl who'll continue on in the competition. We also get clips of all of the contestants from their first recorded dance performances. They're all cute. Some are really into it. Some of them just kinda stand there and sway. All of their parents knew they were destined for SYTYCD greatness.
Gino and Stephanie - Jive choreographed by Sasha Farber and Emma Slater to "Long Tall Sally (The Thing)" by Little Richard.
My favorite jive is Anya (ANYA!) and Danny's jive to "Girlfriend" in Season 3. No jive routine since then has really lived up to that in terms of execution and excitement (I've rewatched it several times over the past couple days and I find it thrilling every time.) I gotta tell ya though, this one by Gino and Stephanie comes pretty close to that. It's technically strong and Gino has appropriately dialed up the personality to 11 following last week's critique. This is fun and fast and feels like a substantial routine to tackle. They left it all on the floor. Standing O from the judges. Mary hires Gino as the conductor of the Hot Tamale Train. D-Trix thinks Gino and Stephanie were stars. Laurieann smells greatness (which I can only assume smells like a Peanut Butter Cup Sundae with mint chocolate chip ice cream from Friendly's) and Nigel thought Gino had the sharpest jive moves since Benji Schwimmer in Season 2. This comparison is much sharper than the, "best-ever-hip-hop-girl-doing-ballroom-in-Week-1" praise he gave Anna last week.
Cat has the results! Gino is safe, but Stephanie is in danger? QUE QUE?? How did that happen? She looks surprised and sad! What were you thinking, America?? If the judges send her home, that's nuts. Now, I feel like anything can happen with tonight's results. I had thought Stephanie was solidly among the Top 3 girls heading into this week.
Sophie and Eddie - Contemporary choreographed by Travis Wall to Billie Eilish's “When the Party’s Over.”
Eddie needs some redemption, after last week's Jazz Funk routine left Nigel feeling "uncomfortable." Travis hopes they can have a MOMENT tonight, but Eddie is having trouble with the partnering in rehearsal, so I am skeptical this is gonna work out. It turns out it's mostly fine. The Travis Routine that everyone is going to remember from tonight is definitely the opening number. This performance is solid, but mostly unremarkable, which is not what they needed this week. On stage, they are dancing on and around a plain mattress that looks too much like a rehearsal prop. It just doesn't pop, and there have been plenty of mattress-based routines Sophie is giving great energy, but the partnership between them is not taking things to the next level. The judges are more enthusiastic for the routine than I was. D-Trix thought it was emotional. Laurieann thought Eddie had a commitment to the truth of the routine, but said it in a way that was like, "so stop faking it elsewhere!" Nigel thought they were both great. Mary thinks Sophie is a mutant with liquid gold that runs through her body, which sounds cool, but how would that help make you a better dancer? Really, wouldn't that just... weigh you down?
Eddie needs some redemption, after last week's Jazz Funk routine left Nigel feeling "uncomfortable." Travis hopes they can have a MOMENT tonight, but Eddie is having trouble with the partnering in rehearsal, so I am skeptical this is gonna work out. It turns out it's mostly fine. The Travis Routine that everyone is going to remember from tonight is definitely the opening number. This performance is solid, but mostly unremarkable, which is not what they needed this week. On stage, they are dancing on and around a plain mattress that looks too much like a rehearsal prop. It just doesn't pop, and there have been plenty of mattress-based routines Sophie is giving great energy, but the partnership between them is not taking things to the next level. The judges are more enthusiastic for the routine than I was. D-Trix thought it was emotional. Laurieann thought Eddie had a commitment to the truth of the routine, but said it in a way that was like, "so stop faking it elsewhere!" Nigel thought they were both great. Mary thinks Sophie is a mutant with liquid gold that runs through her body, which sounds cool, but how would that help make you a better dancer? Really, wouldn't that just... weigh you down?
Cat has the results! Eddie is in danger, but Sophie is safe. That makes sense. I'm assuming the last spot for the girls is between Anna and Mariah because Madison was so strong last week. We don't yet know the other guy in danger, but the writing seems to be on the wall for Eddie's exit unless someone really messes up their routine this week.
Anna and Benjamin - Hip hop choreographed by Randi and Hef to K-CAMP's "Lottery."
The concept is that they are a young couple that just won the lottery and they are grabbing all the bling they can find. They keep putting on more necklaces from display cases as they go along. It's a solid routine and I like the look of it, but it doesn't wow me. Afterwards, Cat commiserates with them about how hard life is when you can't carry all your diamonds. Love her. Laurieann says dancing is Benjamin’s calling. Then she turns her focus to Anna, and straight up says, “I missed you this week.” Laurieann has knives out for Anna! This is the kind of critique I'm hoping for. Not because it's mean - it's not. It's also not cruise control praise. D-Trix and Laurieann will really tell you when they're not feeling it. Nigel and Mary will too, but they have over a decade of experience sliding into it delicately. Don and Laurieann are like, "Nope. This wasn't it." But Laurieann is in the minority on this one, as Nigel, Mary and Dom all really dug the routine and thought they both did great. Hmm.
Cat has the results! Benjamin is safe but Anna is in danger. That means Madison and Mariah are safe. My vote for elimination here would be Anna. Stephanie has had the stronger routines. The other male dancer in danger is either Ezra or Bailey? America, I do NOT agree with these results!
Madison and Ezra - Jazz choreographed by Ray Leeper to Joe Cocker's “You Can Leave Your Hat On.”
This routine is supposed to be Sexy AF and in rehearsals it's difficult for Ezra and Madison to find the right chemistry together. It definitely seems to be pushing Ezra out of his comfort zone. I actually think the choreography here is pretty great. Sexy and fun with surprising spins, embraces and transitions. Madison seems to feel more free in the movement than Ezra. He's dancing well, but I'm not buying the heat from him. There's a point where Ezra sits in a chair and Madison pulls his head back by his hair and caresses his naked torso and she is giving me serious Fosse vibes. Nigel and Mary jump to their feet at the end, but Dom and Laurieann are fine to stay seated, thanks! Nigel brings up how Bob Fosse would love Madison and thinks they both were magnificent. Mary loved the routine, but also clearly really likes the song. Sometimes, I find that the depth of my connection to the music really helps how I feel about how a routine goes. D-Trix admired the moment I mentioned with Ezra’s “shiny and beautiful” chest. Nigel tries to be like "whoa!" And D-Trix is like, "What? That's my feelings, man!" He's fun. Laurieann was so excited, she shouted the title of my blogpost. Thanks for that, Laurieann!
Cat has the results! Ezra is in danger. Madison is safe. America apparently has it in for the Sosa siblings. The judges should save them both, in my opinion. Don't they want to see them dance together in the finale?
Bailey and Mariah - Hip Hop choreographed by Luther Brown to Lizzo's "Tempo."
Oh, remember last week when I was saying you have to get the vibe of Luther Brown piece for it to be successful? Well, from the first rehearsal Mariah is like, "Yeah, I got this." And does she ever! She knows exactly what she's doing. Luther is calling security on her!
Oh, remember last week when I was saying you have to get the vibe of Luther Brown piece for it to be successful? Well, from the first rehearsal Mariah is like, "Yeah, I got this." And does she ever! She knows exactly what she's doing. Luther is calling security on her!
Y'all, they KILLED this routine. Everything is working for them. The staging, the lighting, the costumes, hair and makeup, plus an amazing track. At the foundation of all that other stuff is expert dancing from the two of them. Their attitude and connection were right on point. At the end, Mariah even accidentally fell off the vehicle they were riding in the most charming way possible. Standing O from the judges. Mary calls them the couple to beat. (Which I get, but people vote for them individually) D-Trix thinks Mariah is a star and that Bailey brought the soy sauce. Laurieann loves it. Nigel agrees with Mary that they’re the couple to beat. I definitely think they're pulling away from the pack. Having a strong routine last week and now a real stand out moment in week 2 gives them an edge that should take them to top 6 and then Top 4 is right there! Methinks we'll definitely be seeing this routine again in the finale.
Cat has the results! And throws the card away because we know they are safe because the Bottom 4 were already revealed. Now the judges get to talk things over and see which two dancers' dreams are about to be crushed.
RESULTS: Eddie and Stephanie are eliminated!
WHAAAT. Nigel says they took both nights' performances into account and blah blah's that it's tough only having two routines to judge them on. Suuure. Cutting Eddie‘s feels like a no brainer. I don't get cutting Stephanie though. Nigel says it was a split decision on the girls, so I guess Laurieann held strong to her critique of Anna tonight. Bro and Sis Sosa seem shocked and saddened by her getting the chop. She nailed both her routines! What else did the judges want her to do? Ezra and Stephanie have a little moment of sibling love and then Ezra leaves the stage so Stephanie and Eddie can have their moment. They both give shout outs to family and friends and the judges for all their support. Nothing left to do but dance it out to the credits. I hope you went online and voted this week, people!
My personal ranking of tonight's routines:
1. Bailey and Mariah's hip hop
2. Gino and Stephanie's jive
3. Madison and Ezra's jazz
4. Anna and Benjamin's hip hop
5. Eddy and Sophie's contemporary
Next week: We're down to 5 contempos, 2 Hoppers, and 1 Baller! Gino and Sophie form a new partnership! Top 8 gets cut to Top 6! My guesses for Bottom 4 are Anna and Sophie and Ezra and Benjamin. But who knows after this week? Good luck, y'all!
