July 1, 2009

SYTYCD | top 14

Is anyone actually interested in these recaps? Let me know... I'll keep writing 'em if you keep reading 'em!

Quick sidenote: last week while in Austin, TX, would you believe that I saw Ryan Kasprzak, brother of Evan who is currently in the competition? You remember him from Vegas, right?


We were standing outside of our hotel watching the bats (eww) and a group of people attending a wedding at the hotel had come outside to watch, as well. I looked over and who did I see standing maybe 3 feet away from me but Ryan, wearing a tux — I guess he was a groomsman. I did a double-take, and then I turned downright stalkerish and kept looking at him to make sure it was really him. I think he saw me and probably wondered why this crazy girl was staring at him, haha. I wimped out and didn't say anything to him, but it was most definitely him — I felt starstruck. I'm so excited that he'll be back on the show in Vegas next season and I hope he makes it to the top 20!

Now, let's get into the show, shall we? Why, hello, Cat Deeley! My favorite tv host in the history of ever. Looking splendid as always. While Mia Michaels drives me insane sometimes, I LOVE when she is a judge on the show. She is, perhaps, clinically insane herself, and she always has such melodramatic feedback. Now let's see what these dancers have in store for the evening.

Janette and Brandon | Cha Cha | "Hush Hush"
Okay Jean Marc and France — enough of your gross inuendos. Anyway... Janette and Brandon have a great energy and are always so in sync with their choreography. This number was incredibly fast-paced and they knocked it straight out of the park. I'm glad Mia finally lightened up and realized Brandon is a stunning dancer... I got a little verklempt when he started to cry.

Kayla and Kupono | Contemporary | "Eyes on Fire"
Loving these two as a couple. And SO glad they get to rock it with one of Sonya's routines — she never disappoints. Kayla's strength is ridiculous and the whole number felt so powerful; they never lost momentum or got out of sync with each other, and they really tell a story with their movement. (Sidenote: I am hearing that some people are being rubbed the wrong way with Kayla. How do you feel about her? I think she's amazing and not at all cocky.)

Randi and Evan | Broadway | "Rich Man's Frug"
Is Joey Dowling new? I can't seem to remember her from past seasons... Anywho, these two are just so cute on stage together, and I loved this choreography. Quite different from the usual dances on this show, but I loved the bit of Fosse thrown in there. I definitely watched Randi more and agree with Nigel that Evan's performance was lacking a tad bit, but I feel almost like it is because he's a small guy and he's wearing somewhat baggy costumes lately? Maybe that's just me, but his costume last week bugged me, too.

Caitlin and Jason | Pop Jazz | "Creator"
Happy to see Brian Friedman again, with an especially weird number. I'm still not entirely sure why Caitlin remains in the competition; in the past few weeks I haven't been impressed with her partnering and I think her timing has often been off, but I have to say I liked her a little more (or, rather, disliked her a little less) this week. Maybe it's because not all of the movements were meant to be matchy-matchy with her partner so that weakness didn't show as much. She and Jason did a decent job... kind of on the fence with the number overall, though.

Jeanine and Phillip | Hip Hop | "Love Lockdown"
Oh Nappy Tabs (aka Napoleon and Tabitha). They're hit or miss choreographers for me. I have to say, though, that this was one of their hits and I think it was executed amazingly well. Phillip definitely lucked out getting hip hop this week, but Jeanine is equally impressive. The concept was crazy but it worked because they did it so well. I disagree with Mia that there was anything sloppy about it — I think, considering they were chained together, the focus remained on the dancing. Oh, and Nigel, never, ever say TMI again. You're old.

Melissa and Ade | Pas de Deux | "Romeo and Juliet"
Alright, so it can't be a coincidence that the ballerina got the pas de deux... I thought the routines are "picked out of a hat," but what would they have done if a non-ballerina would have gotten it? They couldn't have put her in pointe shoes for the first time, and it wouldn't be a traditional pas de deux if the female weren't on pointe. But I digress. These two are definitely becoming a favorite couple of mine. I felt like I was at the ballet and Melissa was the stunning Juliet lead. Ade's performance wasn't perfect, yet it was well done and he stayed in character so well.

Karla and Vitolio | Quick Step | "Puttin' On The Ritz"
Can we talk for a second about that amazing costume change for Karla? I want the number for that seamstress! However, Karla's moves did not leave me with the same feeling of amazement. I think Vitolio held this number together more, and Karla looked very amateur to me. Particularly her arms when they did the Charleston. Very dance-recital-ish. I'm surprised that the judges didn't have more criticism for Karla and I'm guessing these two will be in the bottom three tomorrow night.

It's becoming a lot more difficult to predict who may be in the bottom three couples, because there are so many amazing performances, but it's gotta be someone.

Predictions for the bottom three couples:
Caitlin and Jason
Randi and Evan
Karla and Vitolio

Who I think should go home tomorrow night:
Karla and Vitolio

Tonight, the Dizzy Feet Foundation was also introduced — ten scholarships will be given to under-priveleged dancers to assist them in continuing to pursue their dreams and become better dancers. I'm glad that some young people will have the opportunity to get a dance education they might not have otherwise.

5 comments:

  1. I would have totally been too shy to say HI! to Ryan too. However, that's really cool! I hope he goes far too.

    You know how I feel about Kayla LOL...I feel like a serious hater though. I know all the dancers are working super hard, but she just doesn't seem to have that "I can't believe I'm on here!" attitude. It's just off-putting, IMO.

    Oh and keep up the SYTYCD posts. I like reading them...I'm not in the know with all things dance (I only danced a few years as a kid.) and this kind of educates me. :)

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  2. Glad you're liking the recaps, niftynewlywed!

    I definitely see a confidence in Kayla, but I kind of think it's warranted -- she is a great dancer and I'm sure she's worked hard to get where she is. I remember her being really emotional earlier in the audition process, so I saw a little bit of humility there. I guess everyone expresses their excitement and pride in a different way; and I guess we can all interpret it in different ways, too ;-) I'll make you a Kayla-convert, yet! Hehe.

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  3. i agree with so much. here's my two cents:

    janette + brandon - ditto to gross innuendos. i loved that brandon teared up on mia's comment. shows he's not cocky like she thought. love brandon. don't love janette, she's ok.

    kayla + kupono - loved. loved. i know he's not the strongest dancer of the bunch, but i really like him. loved last week's waltz. ugh, he's crazy tall and carried himself so well. back to tonight. kayla- love her lines. ugh. crazy awesome legs + feet.

    caitlin + jason - i thought she lost her steam in the end

    jeanine + philip - i thought she out danced him

    melissa + ade - LOVED. and totally planned, agreed [as was the broadway one]. i had chills watching it. i'm happy she can actually do pointe and it's not a front. reminded me of wendy + capt. hook more though.

    karla + vitolio - not good. she seemed to hate dancing with him. she had no energy and put next to nothing into the dance. loved he costume change.

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  4. I love your recaps!

    I love Kayla, but my best friend just told me tonight that she didn't like her...she thinks it is her makeup or something. I have no idea.

    I was a little disappointed with the Broadway routine...I thought they deserved a Tyce routine as I was not impressed with this new(?) choreographer. I like Fosse and all but it just wasn't good for me.

    I am SO READY for Caitlin to go away.

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  5. I love your recaps also!

    As far as Kayla goes, I didn't really like her until last night. I can't really explain why, but I guess I didn't take her seriously until she proved herself, which she did last night.

    I actually completely agreed with Mia Michaels' comment. The chain really hindered their footwork and I thought it was sloppy. Then again, I wasn't able to pay attention to anything but the chain, so maybe their upper bodies were strong and I just didn't notice.

    As soon as I heard there would be a pas on the show, I groaned because I thought Melissa was good but not good enough to make it in a company and Ade -- well, he's not a ballet dancer. But I love that pas and honestly it was a great choice for them, given the fact that there's so much acting and partnering and not so much dancing on the guy's part.

    I totally agree with you about the bottom 3, though Caitlin was so much better this week than in previous weeks. She's gotten worse and worse over the weeks and I'm so surprised she's still here. Last night's performance was her best (technique-wise) yet. Randi and Evan bother me, though they were fabulous last week, so that might save them. Karla and Vitolio have never impressed me, and I'm so ready for them to go! Honestly, I'd be okay if any of them went.

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