(Sorry so late, the site was down all morning and I couldn’t post this until just now….)
All your Dance MAC is right here. Looks to be an interesting night.
Six dancers left…three guys, three girls. Two pair dances and solos for each one.
Boy, the stage looks empty in that opening. Dang, lots of screaming teenyboppers by the stage. Ouch. My ears. Hello, Cat. An updo for her, quite lovely. Another cleavage revealing dress, not so lovely. Overall, very…Grecian tonight. Judges tonight are Nigel, Crack Mary and Mia isn’t MIA anymore, she’s back!!
Partners time. Ivan picks Natalie tonight. They get Contemporary and Jive. They start with Jive with Ron Montez, and seriously sleep deprived dancers. To Route 66 they come out strong and really go for it. Not huge chemistry, they played more to the audience than each other, but they are doing a great job. I’m impressed. Nice routine, too. Pretty good way to start the show.
Judges? Nigel cracks on Ivan and says no chemistry. I disagree on point 1, agree on point 2. Mary tends to agree with Nigel and says it wasn’t high octane enough. (I thought it was!) Mia says it felt like fake fun. Wow, they’re really trashing them and I totally didnt’ get that. Not the best chemistry, definitely playing to the crowd, but a nice routine for me. Boo judges! (And I picked these two to go home, so it’s not like I’m biased toward them!)
Travis does his solo. More of the typical Travis moves. Good, but nothing new. (What is UP with the crowd? Did they import screaming teens or what? It’s insane.) Oh - and Travis pulls up his shirt to reveal another underneath with his voting number on it. Good thing he’s so cute, it’s the only reason he gets away with it.
Partnering up next is Benji and WOOT! Donyelle! They get Hip Hop and Broadway. First up is Broadway with Tyce. (I like Tyce, but not keen on his Broadway routines thus far. I’m squinching my eyes shut here a little in fear.) The chemistry is still screaming, so that’s a plus.
To Le Jazz Hot they start at the front of the stage with Donyelle in a pink and white flapper dress (cute) and Benji all in white. Donyelle is all over the place, having fun, but not all that sharp and being totally, if inadvertantly shown up by Benji. They have great chemistry, and it was fun, but she’s lagging behind here. (I actually liked the first routine better. And I am a big Benji fan.)
Judges? Nigel agrees with me 100%. (Scary, I know.) Mary says she sees Nigel’s point, but really loved the performance. Mia agrees their chemistry carried them.
Next solo is from Natalie to Ooh La La. Very high energy, fun to watch, more sexy than emotional, but good I thought. (I gotta say, so far I’d put her above Donyelle tonight.)
Partnering up last, is, of course Travis and Heidi who get Pop & Smooth Waltz. Damn, Travis can NOT catch a break on the ballroom stuff. Poor guy. But it is Heidi’s background, and I think she looks the best with him of the remaining dancers, so it could go okay. They get Ron Montez whose routines I really like, for the smooth ballroom. He has his concerns, but the duo seems really confident.
Here we go, to Flying (very Enya) Heidi is beautifully elegant in a flowing blue gown under blue lighting. Travis looks good, too, and is a pretty good partner for her, though I think she’s definitely the strong one here. (Not surprising given this is her forte.) Their chemistry is okay as well. (And - I can tell you this from reading a note from someone who attended it live - they had to dance this a second time because of a camera malfunction - and though they had a few missteps on the version we see, apparently the first time was flawless.) A shame to have to repeat it - hard to focus like that two times in a row. The ending was really nice, the crowd goes wild.
Judges? Nigel gives them solid kudos. Mary gives Heidi deserved kudos, then tells Travis that after tearing him apart on the quickstep last week, she’s wonderfully impressed this week. Travis literally jumps for joy. Mia says Travis embraces charisma that can’t be taught. Loved Heidi. So all good stuff.
Solo next by Ivan with a really strong, quirky robotic hip hop routine that was pretty solid. (I tell ya, it’s going to be a tough one tonight!)
Round Two for the partner dances.
First up is Benji/Donyelle with a Shane Sparks hip hop routine. (Woot!) Shane feels the pressure to outdo their first routine, which opened the season two months ago.
And here we go, to Hotline they start on the stairs, cross the stage, doing classic Shane Sparks hip hop pair style, then end up sitting back on the steps for part, which is sharp. Again, side by side, Donyelle isn’t sharp tonight. Nigel is right, she’s not finishing her movements. It’s like she’s in a rush to get to the next move. Nerves? Maybe. Not sure. But in a style that should put her at the least on even ground with Benji, if not ahead, he is once again doing a better job with the routine. (For a seriously white boy.) I’d wonder if she’s injured again, but that wouldn’t keep her from finishing the arm movements, etc. She’s really soft tonight and I fear those who picked her to leave this week might be right. (The ending was fun.)
Judges? Nigel gives lukewarm praise, but says nothing negative. I think his previous criticism still holds and Donyelle knows it. I’m surprised he’s being soft though. Mary enjoyed it. Mia wants to form a big booty club with Donyelle (and agrees with me that Benji doing his “hood” opening was kinda funny.)
Next solo is Heidi who does more of what she’s very good at. Again, like Travis, nothing earth shaking or new, but nothing that will turn off any of her fans. And a hot little blue dress.
Now we have Ivan and Natalie taking on their Contemporary routine with Tyce. I think they’ll perform well in general, but this might put a spotlight on their lack of sizzle with one another.
Here we go to Everytime We Touch. It’s a really pretty routine, but Alison and Ivan would have nailed this. Natalie is too “older woman” to make this fly with a youngster like Ivan. But well performed. Just not as playful as it could be with a more believable partnership.
Judges? Nigel trashes their chemistry and says it shows Ivan’s limitations. (Now I’m thinking they might be in trouble after all.) He felt Natalie was distanced in a way, and I agree with this one, but not with that first one. I still really liked that one. Mary said it felt good, but not extraordinary. Mia says “where’s the magic” and says Natalie puts on too much of a “performance face” - which she does. I really miss Mia. She takes all this to heart and gives them very real critiques. What that does for them at this point, I’m not sure. But the thing is, if she gives you a compliment, you know you earned it.
Now, next solo is Benji who comes out to Jackie Wilson’s Reet Petite. In black pants and red tie on a red shirt, he does a kind of jive routine that is very fun, along with shaking his money-maker like there’s no tomorrow.
Last pair comes up and WHOA, Travis and Heidi get a routine by Wade Robson (choreo to Usher, Brit Spears, and that zombie opening routine they did two weeks ago…) He does a Pop routine for them, but gives them an African flavor, which surprises me. A lot. Very earthy routine. Not what I would have thought up for these two particular dancers, but if they pull this off, it would be tremendous for them. As yet, there really has been no “dance of the night.”
Here we go to W’happy Mama It’s really very contemporary, including the music. I’m not really “feeling” the Pop here, but whatever. They are doing a good job with very striking, visceral choreography, but as yet, not much dancing together. Which I know is common in pop, but still… Their timing is really good. I’d rate this top for the night, which isn’t to say it was a show stopper, but tonight it was the best.
Judges? Nigel said it was the best routine, they were the best couple. I agree. All complimentary. Mary felt they did an amazing job. Mia? She loves Wade’s routine. She praises Heidi and loves them both.
Final solo from Donyelle who better knock this out of the park as I feel it’s a dog fight between her and Natalie tonight. I’d have sent Natalie home, but I think, based on tonight, and to be honest the past few performances as well…I’d have to say Donyelle might deserve that trip home this week. Sob.
She comes out to a Dreamgirls tune and really gives her all - she is ALL over that stage. It’s the best performance by her I’ve seen and I think she knows she’s in trouble. She’s frowning as she stands next to Cat and I don’t know if it’s from the emotions of the performance or because she might have hurt herself. She almost looked like she was going to cry angry tears.
We get highlights of the dances…and now it’s time to vote. I still say Ivan goes….but the girls…I’m torn. I hate to say it, but I think it should be Donyelle.
As for final two? If it can be any of the final four, I say it should be Benji and Travis. Heidi would be my third pick.
Well….we’ll find out tonight who guessed right on the final four!
Tomorrow is Results MAC and maybe some Runway MAC if I can squeeze it in. Also! The winner of our Name That Puppy contest this week AND whatever winners we got from our little side Name Those Dancers contest.
Tune in!
Tags: Writing by Donna
5 Comments »
She loved on our three…but then I do agree. I wish the final four could be the three guys and Heidi. But ah well. Musical guest was surprisingly entertaining. I really enjoyed all the dancing. 
