Well, it's getting tougher to let people go, but I'll cop to being relieved that tonight's outcome was what it was. In one case, it was definitively the right call; in the other, it was the least of three terrible evils. Let's break it down:
Opening routine – Bollywood, Nakul Dev Mahajan
Bollywood! My husband is completely enamored of Bollywood dances, so he was in heaven. Other than questioning the rather American facial expressions (I just don’t see the same kinds of “Yeah, baby!” faces on actual Indian Bollywood dancers), I really enjoyed it as well.
By the way: Hmm…no return appearance from Carmen Electra? And no explanation? Huh…SHOCKER.
The Bottom Three couples:
I was more than a little nervous when the first two couples called onstage were Caitlynn & Mitchell and Melanie & Marko. Surely they were just teasing us, right? YES, thank God, but that’s just SO not funny!!! <*angry face*> But even though those two couples were definitely the reigning favorites to get through, it doesn’t exactly leave a boatload of good choices for who WOULD be in the bottom.
Now, Ashley & Chris were no surprise. Unfortunately, their dance just wasn’t near the caliber of the others. Again. And there you go - not much else to say.
I was not happy though to realize that either Jordan & Tadd or Clarice & Jess would have to be there with them (otherwise the remaining two couples would necessarily have been, and then there would’ve been no point in talking to them…). Neither deserved it, but again, somebody had to be there. I admit I was a little surprised it was Jordan & Tadd, but maybe people felt Clarice & Jess needed their support more...? Or, for all we know, they were separated by a minimal number of votes. In any case, it sucked to find them there, and all I could do was hope their solos would save them.
Then it came to the last two couples – Sasha & Alexander and Ryan & Ricky. Based on the judges’ comments last night, Sasha & Alexander were the no-brainer to be in the bottom, right? Yeah, well, that’s what I thought until I saw the outpouring of support for them, just in the Twitterverse alone. I really went into tonight not sure at all, and sure enough, people came out for the underdogs. At least I wasn’t completely dumbfounded when it turned out to be Ryan & Ricky in the bottom. Horrified, yes, but not surprised.
Solos:
Ashley - she needed to bring it tonight. I’m still not sure how she survived over Miranda last week, but it would've had to have been exceptional tonight to beat Jordan & Ryan. Did she do it? Not in my opinion. Too much voguing, not enough strength or emotion.
Chris – I think he was incredible in his style. Was it enough to beat Ricky and Tadd? Yes - if solos were the only determinant.
Jordan – Um yeah, can I have those leg extensions of hers? Just for like, 5 minutes, so I can know how it feels? *sigh*
Tadd – a lot of impressive tricks, and good musicality, but was it enough? Tough call between him and Chris. It’s possible that Chris’ solo could beat Tadd’s, but it’s also possible Chris’ partner dance last night could be the death knell.
Ryan – There may not have been a lot of difficult moves (at least until the last five seconds), but she danced with more passion than all of Ashley’s dances put together.
Ricky – Oh, the control, the flexibility, the spins! Is he my favorite guy dancer? Frankly, no. Did his solo outdo the other guys’? I don’t know that it did. But do I enjoy watching him dance? Heck yeah. Will that be enough for him to make it through? Tonight, I honestly don’t know.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Girls: Ashley - Absolutely the right call, and I think Ashley knew it. She's a great dancer, but she isn't the greatest among that particular lineup of strong women dancers. Meanwhile, I appreciated Nigel’s note to Jordan: while I could watch her do those (however you spell that French term for those vertical splits she does) all night long, it isn’t enough to just whip those out every time she finds herself dancing a solo. And she needs to keep in mind that she has had to dance a solo more than once so far – eventually, that’ll bite her on the butt, so her solos had better rock the house.
Guys: Chris - There was no right answer here, even tonight, in my opinion, but I can’t argue with the logic of why it was ultimately Chris. While I think his solo was arguably the best tonight, his duets have not always been – and you can’t really say that about Tadd and Ricky. I would’ve hated to see their seasons come down to a single solo, and so with that in mind, I think it was a good call – if totally sucky from the perspective that none of those guys really deserved to be there. (Alexander, I’m giving you the evil eye here: step up your game! You got an 11th hour reprieve tonight, and Sasha's dancing and her sister’s internet campaign cannot carry you forever. You better make us glad you stayed and not Chris!)
So, I breathe a sigh of relief that this week is over, and focus on THE TOP 12!
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