I’m not particularly gaga over Gaga as a general rule, but having heard the early buzz on her feedback as a guest judge, I found I was actually looking forward to her turn as a guest judge tonight. (Found myself wondering how she could see with one eye covered by that blue-green waterfall too, but whatever.) I was even more excited though when I realized her co-guest-judge this evening was Rob Marshall, who is a pretty stellar catch for the show himself, if not quite as well-known by the average viewer.
Well, the show didn't waste any time getting to it, so I won't either. Here's the rundown:
Sasha – Jonathan Roberts quickstep with Pasha: a very likable quick-step routine. I’d like to take a moment to say that I am increasingly impressed with Sasha. The judges clearly saw something in her way back in the auditions that I wasn’t sure I saw, but each week, I get a little more wowed by what she’s capable of doing on that dance floor. I don’t know that she nailed it technically, but I thought Jonathan did a brilliant job of giving her a showcase for her style and personality in an otherwise confining genre. I definitely see this woman in the finale, in a close race with Melanie to win it all.
Caitlynn - Marty Kudelka hip-hop with Ivan (YAY, Ivan! I’ve missed you!! And now that you have a few more years under your belt, that doesn’t feel so criminal…): I loved this one. Just an abundance of cute, from both dancers, and nothing but entertainment all around. I also echo everything Mary said about Ivan – and Caitlynn too, just in that it wasn’t a particularly brilliant routine or performance, but it was just impossible not to love it anyway. Did Caitlynn have Ivan’s swag? Maybe not, but she didn’t botch it either. Granted, at this point, every little move is going to have to be rock solid to stay in the game, but I loved it anyway. She’s just so doggone darling!
Jordan – Tyce Diorio jazz with Adé: Hm. This started off a little “meh” for me, but then definitely picked up as it went along. Still, while I was impressed with the strength and wow-factor of some of the moves, I wanted it to have some kind of string running through it to give it a little coherence. Nonetheless, between Adé’s incredible athleticism and Jordan’s legs-to-forever, I just kinda forget anything but the “wowness.” I’m not sure it’ll hold up to the overall caliber of other dances and keep Jordan out of the bottom, but it won’t be for lack of her killin’ it in this number.
Melanie – Mandy Moore contemporary with Neil: *Sigh* Really. Just... *sigh.* Um, Neil is just so… pretty, and Melanie, my GOD woman, but you can dance!! She just makes a face and I want to cry – forget the dancing. It was absolutely chilling. Mandy Moore said in the intro that they would have to make the transitions look flawless. Did she know who she was talking about? What transitions? They went from one thing to the next to the next as if they didn’t just fling themselves across the stage or land hard. There just are not words to adequately capture Melanie’s talent. We saw it in her first audition, and it hasn’t wavered one bit since then. I will be keeping this show in the DVR and watching it over and over and over again.
Ricky – Jason Gilkinson jive with Anya: WELL. Well, I didn’t love the song (and it wasn’t just my anti-Celine bias); I felt like it was a little awkward rhythmically at some points with the choreography, but the dance itself was pretty good, as jives go. I think Ricky’s only real flaw is that there just isn’t body weight there to get down into a dance with. He IS tall, and although he might’ve been able to sit down in it a little more, there’s kinda no getting around his height and lankiness. Still, he could probably do some things to mitigate that impression. I don’t think this number did him any favors, but I thought he gave it a pretty good effort. Pretty good isn’t really good enough at this point though, is it?
Jess – Nappytabs hip-hop with Lauren Gottlieb: Yyyyyyyyeeeeeeeesssssss. I thought Jess slaughtered that routine. I’m torn between this and the one he did with Clarice in terms of which hip-hop he rocked harder, but DAYUM, he does this stuff justice in a big way! I thought he absolutely kept up with Lauren, and like Mary, I felt like he was there more, in the moment, emotionally. I’ve always liked Jess but thought many of the criticisms were fair; tonight, I think he proved he’s paid attention to every one of them and made the most of it. I especially appreciated Rob Marshall vouching for Jess’s growth not just over this competition, but since his early days as a child showman. I hope that serves Jess well come voting time.
Tadd – Mandy Moore jazz with Lauren Froederman: Um, can jazz have swag? ‘cause that felt about as much like hip-hop swag as it could have without actually being hip-hop. And I was cursing that durn hat for falling off because I felt like it was an otherwise PERFECT routine! I loved the music (who doesn’t?), the dancers (STILL LOVE LO-FRO!!), and the choreography. This whole routine had a feel of ultimate cool, and it just oozed from every pore. Funnily enough, there was really nothing that special about it – it was a common classic song, the choreography was great but nothing spectacular - and yet it just rocked. Let’s hope Nigel and Mary didn’t curse poor Tadd with their predictions for his going through to the finale, but I sure am rooting for him after that routine!
Marko – Sonya Tayeh contemporary with Allison: I knew I was gonna love that one before they even moved. It’s almost unfair having Allison dance something like that, because she’s such a ringer - but Marko’s no slouch, especially in the genre. It was brilliant, Emmy-worthy, and almost physically painful with the power of its emotion. That Lady Gaga was moved to tears and was nearly speechless was just frosting on the cake. I wish I had more to say, but I’m sorry, I need to go get another Kleenex…*sniff*
Caitlynn & Tadd – Jonathan Roberts, foxtrot: I don’t know that either one of them did the style justice technically, but I really enjoyed the very classy, elegant, classically foxtrot-ness of it. It felt like a ballroom dance—which these don’t always anymore, with choreographers going out of their way to make their ballroom numbers likable by a broader audience—and it was luscious. So pretty, so smooth. Mary’s right that it wasn’t terribly memorable, but it was terribly sweet.
Marko & Ricky – Nappytabs hip-hop: How do they do it? How do Tabitha and Napoleon manage to make even the janitors look BUCC?? Now, I didn’t love the song until it picked up pace, but darn if they weren’t the coolest dancin’ janitors I’ve ever seen. To nitpick, I do think there were a few minutes when Marko looked a smidge tired or like he cut a few corners on a few snaps, but he got down in it well, and I thought Ricky did too (sorry, Nigel, I think you carried that bias over from the other dance!). In fact, I thought Ricky looked like he had more swag and swagger than I’ve seen from him just about all season. Another routine that maybe wasn’t total genius, but it was just perfectly entertaining.
Jordan & Jess – Jason Gilkinson rumba: YOWZA. That was a rumba?? Well damn, whatever it was, it was HOT. Nigel, you’re full of hooey. What routine were you watching? Seriously? There was PLENTY of chemistry. And who the dickens WAS that man on the dance floor? Because I didn’t see Jess at all (in a good way). I can see Gaga’s point about interpreting the music differently, but as she said, the dancers don’t pick the music or choreography. I can’t tell you whether Mary has a point technically or not, but I thought there was MUCH more chemistry than most of them were seeing. Thank goodness for Rob Marshall, who was apparently tuned in to the same dance I was. Unfortunately for the two of them, he was the only one (seeing as how my two cents don’t count for anything), because I thought they smoldered quite nicely.
Melanie & Sasha – Sonya Tayeh jazz: Sonya must’ve been in hog heaven getting to choreograph those two, because they are the very epitome of a Sonya Tayeh jazz number - strength, grace, courage, POWER. I’m not a fan of the style on the whole, but even I had to recognize the genius of that routine. The previous Sonya dance made me cry (bawl like a baby, actually), but this one just made me say, “Yeah! YEAH!!!” I felt empowered just sitting here on my couch. Terrific ending to the show.
Who’ll be in trouble tomorrow? Well, half the field doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room. I would guess Jordan, Ricky, and Caitlynn, and it’ll be a toss-up between Jess and Tadd. Because really, we’re not going to see Melanie, Marko, or Sasha there. Right? Tune in tomorrow…
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