Well...!

Much better show than I feared, and I am crossing my fingers that Billy adequately redeemed himself with the other voters, because he certainly did with me. Here's the rundown, blow by blow, 'cause it's my blog and I can do it if I wanna.

Kent (cha-cha w/ Anya): Mia, Mia, Mia! That is Kent’s face! I think she is dead wrong – I think he has absolutely taken the note about his face, and I think the “face” he had during this dance was appropriate for the number, the style, and the moment. As he was dancing, I was marveling at how much he’d grown up on this show, and I was absolutely annoyed when Mia criticized his face again. Lettigo, Mia, lettigo.

Robert (contemporary with Kathryn): Way to go, Stacey Tookey! What a marvelous routine, with a twist that literally took my breath away. I caught my breath when I saw the ending, and it was then that I teared up. But, oh, right, this is about the dancers. I’m with Adam – I know this was about Rob, but Kathryn is unreal. And Rob was pretty good too, I have to admit. Now can we talk about Nigel’s comments? Um, so, let me get this straight: now, exactly one performance later, he thinks Robert has grown a lot this season? Wasn’t it just last week that he told Robert he wasn’t growing? Hello? Is Nigel suffering from amnesia or is that me?

Jose’s solo: not bad. Didn’t really hang together especially well, but at least he “tricked it up” a bit this week.

Adechike (jazz, with Courtney): Had a hard time figuring out what I thought, so I was a little relieved to have the Judges’ opinion (for a change). I think Adam had it right – this was just dancing – for better or worse. I kept trying to put the routine into a box, and you can’t, really. There was no real story, it was just dancing, and I think it was that freewheeling-ness that was what I really loved about it, because it let Adechike just dance. I understand Mia’s critique about his need to polish his athleticism a bit with style; and I think that Adam and Nigel are probably right that he was a bit restrained for the music. But on the whole, I think he did it really well…but it probably won’t end up in the top performances of the night.

Lauren’s solo: THAT was dancing with abandon, Adechike! She perfectly married the song, the style, the costume, and her personality. I hated that it had to end so soon.

Jose (hip-hop, Comfort): ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? HE GOT HIP-HOP?? Someone, please convince me this show is not rigged. That is ALL I have to say on the subject. How he danced is entirely irrelevant for me at this point. (But for the record, I didn’t think he danced it all that well – for once, I wholeheartedly agreed with Mia. Not that the routine was all that good - Napytabs look even more brilliant to me now.)

SIDE NOTE: He pulled his groin and that’s why he wasn’t in the group dance? BUT HE COULD DANCE HIS SOLO WITHOUT DIFFICULTY??? Yeah, right.

Billy’s solo: YES, YES, YESSS!!! THIS is the Billy Bell we have been MISSING! THAT was the routine he should’ve done the last two weeks for his solo. It was well thought out, it was danced with ENERGY, and it had soul. He had expression. He had heart. Welcome back, Billy!!!

Kent’s solo: HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT FACE, MIA?! I loved it, and I thought he was in it. Now if he could just keep his eyes out of the audience when his dance is done…

Lauren (Broadway with Allison): SIDE NOTE: I love Allison. Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way: WOW. Is Tyce having some kind of Damn Yankees fantasy this season? If so, I LOVE IT! If I could see a show with that routine and the Kent/Neil routine together in it, I WOULD BUY TICKETS EVERY NIGHT. Awesome. Absolutely awesome.

Robert’s solo: pretty, but nothing spectacular. But maybe that just reflects my overall feeling about Robert…

Billy (contemporary, Ade): OUTSTANDING. That was one of the most moving routines on this show, moreso than almost all of the romantic-themed contemporary dances. Adam has it absolutely right: it was evident in his solo, and then this dance that Billy has just finally arrived – welcome to the show, Billy.

Adechike’s solo – what a beautiful show of strength.

Kent and Jose (Broadway): Well, if that didn’t demonstrate the difference between the two, I don’t know what could. First two segments of the dance: Kent – 25 moves; Jose – 2. Seriously? Now, once the choreographer actually gave him some moves to do, he wasn’t bad, but…he wasn’t Kent either. Once again, the routine was dumbed down for him – and once again, the judges didn’t seem to notice (except for Toni, and she was mighty diplomatic about it). Meanwhile: I desperately hope that Kent will go to Broadway and have a career there. I will be so disappointed if he gets sidetracked to Hollywood or a dance company somewhere. If ever there was a man born to dance on a Broadway stage, it’s Kent.

Lauren and Adechike (Foxtrot): Sleek and slick, and not bad. Not sure it gave me fever, exactly, but it was enjoyable. I think Nigel had some good points, most on the mark of which was that up against some of the other routines of the night, it was just kinda…good.

Billy and Robert (Bollywood): I think Billy won that. I honestly think Billy’s slightly smaller frame lent itself to him having the more delicate and refined looked of a female Bollywood dancer (and I mean that in a good way, not to feminize Billy); it made Robert look a little big and bulky by comparison, and his smile was just a tad too goofy for me. I diverge from the judges on this one – Billy was the clear winner of that role, of that dance, and of my vote.

What did YOU think?