SYTYCD

View Date: 7/8/09

The top 12 are dancing tonight, and Cat just announced that each couple will be doing two dances tonight. Cat is wearing a lovely LBD tonight. With her picking her own outfits this year, I think her wardrobe has improved dramatically. She also looks adorable with the pinned-up hair. Tyce DiOrio is the guest judge this week, which should be enjoyable. He's a lot like Adam Shankman in that he tells it like it is, but he also sticks up for the dancers. His comments are very constructive, if he likes it or if he doesn't.


Melissa and Ade:

This couple's first dance was a Doriana Sanchez disco routine. He looks like he's straight out of the 70's with the way he moves. Those dance steps are executed perfectly. (Mom- They should have put her in tights. It looks weird for some reason.) While the lifts were stunning feats of strength for Ade and flexibility for Melissa, the transitions into the lifts looked somewhat awkward. It was a fun routine for the first dance of the night. I seem to be liking the disco routines this year much better than ever before.

This couple's second dance of the night was a Ron Montez waltz. She is such an amazing dancer, as he is, but she just seems to float across the floor. You can totally see the trust between the two with the way she just throws herself at him. It was a very beautiful number. It will be very sad to see this partnership separate next week, but it will be interesting to see them with different partners.


Kayla and Kupono:

This couple's first routine was a Mia Michaels contemporary routine with a backstory of addiction. Kayla is playing the addict, and Kupono is her drug. (Mom- This one gives me goosebumps.) I could actually really see the backstory come through in this routine. I thought that this was a lovely routine, and Kupono can portray an evil little smile/smirk. I really like Tyce's description that the best dancers are the best actors, because it really seems true on this show.

This couple's second dance of the night was a Joey Dowling broadway routine about love at first sight. Gotta love West Side Story any time or way it is performed. I thought is was lively, but it felt like it needed a bigger group. They danced the steps very well, but it didn't grab my attention like other routines did tonight.


Caitlin and Jason:

This couple's first dance was a Tony Meredith foxtrot number. I generally really like the foxtrot. I just think it is such a classy dance, and it usually reminds me of old Hollywood. I realize that I am biased against this couple because of Caitlin, but something just seemed a little off with the dance. (Mom- It was better than I thought it would be.)

This couple's second dance was a Mandy Moore lyrical jazz routine. The judges will be expecting a lot out of these two because this is very close to their own style. (Mom- He does good gloor work.) This was a very pretty routine. My biggest problem with is is that, for being a lyrical number, I didn't really see the story come across.


Jeanine and Phillip:

This couple's first dance of the night was a Russian folk dance. She did very well, but he almost looked like a dancing scarecrow or rag doll during his actual steps. Now, when he was doing the tricks, he seemed much more comfortable, but he probably shouldn't have smiled so much or had quite as much blush on. I agree with Nigel that it looked rather like a couple of kids dancing a very folky dance. I also agree with him that, compared with Josh and Twitch's number last year, it was no comparison. (Mom- I wonder if they had to tone down the choreography because the dancers couldn't get the steps, or if it was really meant to be that simple.)

This couple's second dance of the night was a Tony Meredith jive. The first dance that popped into my head when I heard that was "uh-oh". He looks really awkward when he smiles. (Mom- he has a Jerry Lewis smile.) I thought this was a lot of fun, but he does look awkward in some of these other dance styles, which is most likely due to his lack of training. I thought it started off really well, but he seemed to lose steam toward the end. However, this was the best review that Nigel has given him in a long time. All that said, I was impressed with the routine, Phillip in particular. (Mom- He was really kicking strong and high tonight, much better than before.) They reminded me of the dancers at the wedding in Steel Magnolias, or even a little of Benji.


Randi and Evan:

This couple's first dance was a Tabitha and Napoleon hip-hop number. The characters they were given was a young couple in love that just found out they were expecting a baby. I thought the story really came out through the dancing, and they were amazingly in sync. I thought they did really well, especially considering this is totally out of their style. I think they did a lot better this week than they did last week. I also actually agree with Mary in that I was kind of expecting a train wreck once I heard they were doing hip-hop, but I really liked the routine. I am liking Tabitha and Napoleon more and more every week as choreographers.

This couple's second dance of the night was a Pasha and Anya samba. She does embrace her tasks. I think this really does have a Pasha feel to it with the wrist flicks and arm movements in particular. I thought the choreography was very good. It did seem kind of funny seeing Evan try to be sexy in a ballroom dance kind of way. I thought they did a reasonable job, but I see Evan as more cute than sexy, and he needed to be sexy in this routine.


Brandon and Janette:

This couple's first dance of the night was an Argentine Tango. (Mom- She has the look.) Gorgeous. Stunning. And they got a standing ovation from the judges, and you really got to see how short Tyce is. The lifts were divine. Both of their kicks, but especially his around her waist, were phenomenal. Amazing. They juiced the whole orange, and got every bit out. (Mom- Well, the orange juice goes with the tamales.)

This couple's second dance of the night was a Wade Robson jazz routine about two thieves. This was a fun and bouncy (Mom- and weird) routine. These two are absolutely amazing, and Nigel is right that they showed it tonight. Totally synchronized, brilliantly choreographed, and fabulously danced. It is going to be very hard to see these guys split up as well.


Another night of great dancing, and I don't really know who might be in trouble. I think the safe couples should be Brandon/Janette and Ade/Melissa. That said, who really knows at this point. Next week should be very interesting, and hopefully they'll be able to bring back some of the people already eliminated for the tour.

10 words or less: Tomorrow will be a sad night with two going home.