Top 8 Perform

Sorry for the delay, folks!  Here's the breakdown of last night's stellar performances - and the good and bad news about who's left standing:

[Opening number by Peter Chu:  Cool.  And weird, in a Sonya Tayeh kind of way, but that's by no means a bad thing.  Also, a quick acknowledgement that I thought every last solo performance was wonderful - no duds in the bunch this time, not even by comparison with others.]

Witney & Twitch, Luther Brown "East Coast hip-hop":  I don't know what ratch-ed/ratchet/whatever is, but that number was AWESOME, with a capital "AWE"!  I have never seen Witney that down and dirty, and I kinda liked it.  (In a totally not creepy way, for the record.)  I commented to my husband that I pretty much failed to see Twitch in the number at all, because Witney had my full attention the entire time. (And after a second viewing, I paid explicit attention to Twitch, and I'm sorry but Witney outdanced his ass altogether.)  Quite impressive!

Cole & Allison, Sonya Tayeh contemporary:  I was a little dismayed to hear that Cole would be playing the soulless evilman again after he drew "Addiction" in the Mia tribute show, but he really did a great job with it (again), which helped redeem it some.  Personally though, I thought Allison overwhelmed and outshone him, and was a little surprised that the judges were so relatively lenient with him on that count.  Still, an overall moving routine, and I was glad Cole'd redeemed himself a bit from last week.


Eliana & Ryan, Jonathan Roberts quickstep: Hubby and I both groaned at the announcement that Eliana'd drawn The Death Dance, but really, that was a pretty terrific quickstep.  It had verve, it had a plot that gave it somewhere to go and some personality to see it through, and it was danced spectrifically (think "spectacularly" + "terrifically"; I've had to invent some new words so as to not keep repeating myself).  Beautifully done!


Lindsay & Alex, Sonya Tayeh jazz:  First of all, I am SO over that song.  Secondly:  I had to go back and watch this a second time today, and upon second viewing, I'm not so sure that the same thing didn't happen to Lindsay that happened to Will (but that's getting ahead of myself).  No, I don't think the chemistry was perfect - I got frustrated more than "sexual tension" - but after a second look, I don't think it was as entirely absent as the judges made it out to be.  Both were actually rather convincingly there, but again, it wasn't so much sexual longing as tension.  And how were they supposed to get sexier with that choreography and with the direction of "sexual tension, but chill."  In any case, I think Lindsay got a bit robbed there, but what're ya gonna do.

Will & Lauren, Christopher Scott hip-hop:  I thought this was an outstanding number, and I was a little baffled by the slightly dodgy comments by the judges.  Sure, the setup sort of negated the chemistry issue between partners, but there still had to be incredible coordination between them, and they definitely had that.  Plus, it was a whole different side of Will - I thought he did a terrific job of reining himself in and really doing justice to the character, as well as the style.  Yet the judges seemed to gloss over it with nothing more than generic "it was great" comments.  Hm...

Cyrus & Melanie, Mandy Moore jazz:  THRILLED to see Melanie back on the stage, and although I winced a little to see that she was paired with Cyrus - who she clearly outclasses as a dancer - I actually realized what a wonderful partnership they make because they both truly love what they do, put everything they have into every performance, and display it unmistakably.  About halfway through, my husband said, "I just don't even CARE about his dancing; he is just great to watch!"  That pretty well sums it up, and Nigel echoed as much in his comments.  I know some of you (cough*Sher*cough) hate it, but the competition is America's favorite dancer, not "best".  If Russell could win it over Jakob, then Cyrus has as much chance as anyone, and frankly, I think he's a lot more fun to watch.  Plus, as my husband was also quick to point out:  true, Cyrus can't do every style of dance well.  But give me one other dancer in this competition who could do what Cyrus does.   ....     What?  No one?  RIGHT.

Chehon & Anya, Miriam & Leonardo tango:  That was probably the most understated tango I've ever seen, but it was that much more powerful as a result.  What an incredible performance!  Anya looked like an entirely different dancer this week (thank goodness), and Chehon finally stepped it up in the chemistry department, connecting with everyone and everything - partner, music, and audience.  That was the first time I really felt Chehon had earned his place in the top 10 this season.  Amazing what you can do when Mom's in the audience.  ;)

Tiffany & Ade, Mandy Moore contemporary:  I could care less about Celine Dion songs or singing along with them, but that was absolutely lovely to witness.  And for the life of me, I couldn't tell you why - there was really nothing about it that stood out to me.  Sure, there were lifts, but that's been true in a lot of numbers.  Yes, they danced it flawlessly, but again... not unusual.  But when they talked about Tiffany's making it look effortless and flashed back to a clip of the assisted lift series, I realized that it's truly the way she just radiates happiness that made the dance exceptional, and for that I give her major props.  Positively enchanting.

THE BOTTOM FOUR:

Well, I can't say that I was terribly surprised about either girl (Lindsay & Witney) - they'd been there before, and I think the pretty ones always have a harder time with the young female demographic of the show's main audience.  But I was positively stunned that Will was in the bottom, because I really thought he had a shot at winning...

THE FAREWELLS:

...so imagine how hard my jaw hit the floor when Will was the one they sent home!  *CLANG* <--sound of jaw hitting floor    I think Cole was more than a little surprised too.  Now, in retrospect, I suddenly realized why neither of those guys' judges' critiques had entirely made sense to me; Nigel already knew the outcome, and I think he and Mary tailored their thoughts accordingly.  I can only guess that the choreographers prefer Cole's exceptional discipline to Will's class clownism, because nothing else quite explains this particular choice.  Cole's a terrific dancer, don't get me wrong, but up until now, Will has clearly be a fan favorite (by comparison), and so I'm still shakin' my head a bit at the outcome.

I was also a little surprised that it was Witney they kept, because I think Lindsay has a smidge broader potential.  Then again, last night's performances don't necessarily demonstrate that - Witney rocked the house in a genre I didn't think she'd really be able to grasp, and Lindsay was unable to convince us she and Alex had it goin' on (or, hm, could the judges also have tailored these comments....).  Either way, it would've been both disappointing and a relief, which is how it will be from here on out, 'cause there are no losers left in the bunch.  We'll just have to see who has the most staying power with the fan votes.  Any predictions, America???