SYTYCD4 - Top 18

Tonight's 3rd judge is Mia. In the video clips dancers will be telling us the best & worst things about their partners (now that they've been together 2 whole weeks and know each other sooo well!). And Mary's outfit is horrid - either the hair (curly), necklace (huuuuuge beads) or shirt (animal print) would've been a nice accent on their own, but combined it's way OTT and unattractive.

Chelsea & Thayne: Jazz, Mandy Moore. (The Veronicas' "Untouched") Does anyone really care what they like about each other at this point? The only semi-interesting thing these 2 said was that Thayne is superstitious (which C. does not like). This routine's story is of a king and his forbidden love. The funky music and costumes made more of an impression on me than the dance itself, but it was good. Mia said the execution was poor and Mary & Nigel didn't "believe" it and said the chemistry wasn't there.

Chelsie & Mark: Argentine Tango, Alex DeSilva. Mark is quirky (good) but quiet (bad), and Chelsie's hair smells good. Despite being a ballroom dancer Chelsie hasn't done Argentine Tango before (just regular tango). They say their relationship is very brother-sister and the dance is supposed to be sexy, and we see Mark goofing around in practice. Once they get on stage, though, it's a different story. This is very, very good - has the right feel and technique looks very good. The judges loved it, except Nigel wanted Chelsie to be a bit "sleazier" to fit his idea of the dance.

Jessica & Will: Hip-hop, Cicily & Olisa. ("Whatever U Like") Will is focused (good) but sometimes too serious; Jessica has a great personality. The routine has chairs and is very "soft" hip-hop IMO. They dance it fairly well including the unison parts, but overall Will is better. Mia loved the choreo and called it "dirty" and "raw" (really?); she loved Will but said Jessica paled next to him, and Mary agreed. Nigel liked both.

Kourtni & Matt: Foxtrot, Jean-Marc Genereux. ("A Foggy Day," Michael Buble) Matt likes Kourtni's eyes and she likes that he's always complimenting her. She doesn't like his singing, and he doesn't like that she doesn't like his singing. ;) (He has a great, dry sense of humor; his singing in the clip is obviously humorous but he says with a very straight face that she "doesn't have an ear for good singing.") They struggled w/the lifts in practice but were better on stage. Wow, this choreography fits Matt perfectly! It's very old-style, Fred Astaire type stuff, and Matt's suit helps convey that feel. But his dancing is just beautiful, light, right on... riveting. I will say the routine doesn't stay in hold as much as most Foxtrots IIRC. Mia loves Matt (yay!). Mary loved the choreo was mixed on execution (the holds should've been tighter, etc.). Nigel didn't like Matt's arms or their seemingly false grins, but enjoyed it overall.

Courtney & Gev: Contemporary, Mandy Moore ("Lost" by Anouk) Gev is strong and hard-working, but short (hee), and Courtney is pretty but has a boyfriend (ha!). The routine is a love story and has lots of partnering, which Gev says that he's struggling with. You can't tell later, though. And they do have great chemistry! Cat said she got chills. Mia loves the choreo; said Courtney "jazzified" it (bad) but said Gev did well at partnering and she "believed" his movement/emotions. Mary loved it and said "the breaker boy's gonna break some hearts." Nigel disagreed and said the emotion wasn't believable.

Katee & Joshua: Broadway, Tyce Diorio ("All for the Best," Godspell) Joshua is a very "caring" partner but nitpicks; Katee has a contagious smile but a dorky 'lighten up' dance. Tyce says the key to this routine is moving around the stage as fast as possible. Now, I must preface my comments by saying that I *LOVE* Godspell, have seen it multiple times, was in the band for a college-age production, and can sing along to most of the soundtrack. A Godspell snob, if you will. Ok. I HATED it. Just horrible. Totally killed the song... mostly Tyce's fault for choosing the choreography (now I get why so many people hate his B'Way choreo; I'm often not as familiar w/the original numbers to realize how much they're changed). The music edit was even cut so the lines didn't rhyme... just a travesty all around, lol! As for the execution... He was better than she was, but both were decent for what they were given. The crowd and judges loved it! Nigel said it was "great entertainment" vaudeville-style (I agree with that part I guess, but in this case that's not a good thing!). Mia said "amazing" and thought they had a great connection and that their "spirit" was "loud." Maybe, but Tyce should stick to contemporary, and everyone should go see a live production of Godspell next spring to see how this number is supposed to be done!

Susie & Marquis: Salsa, Alex deSilva. Susie is energetic but her hair hits him a lot; Marquis is goofy (good) but always eating (which makes his breath bad). Alex says the routine is Cuban/Puerto Rican as are the dancers (respectively), so it should be a good fit! But then he says Susie isn't really a Salsa dancer, she's a "Street Salsa" dancer. Which she overhears and upsets her. I get his point though, as she's not all that great in the routine. Marquis is so much lighter - which later some of the judges say is a bad thing - but I can tell from this for the first time that he's a really, really good dancer! I hope he gets to stick around and do contemporary!! Mia loved the choreo but not the performance, and all of the judges seem disappointed. Mary said they lacked chemistry and Nigel said it wasn't fiery and some of the turns were labored, as well as some other technical criticisms. I kind-of think they wanted Susie & Marquis in the bottom 3 last week so they could boot them, and are trying extra-hard to sink them this week. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing her go but I know we haven't seen his full potential yet.

Kherington & Twitch: Viennese Waltz, Jean-Marc & France. ("A New Day Has Come," Celine Dion) Kher. always has a pleasant outlook but has strong legs and her kicks hurt (hee); Twitch is strong but sometimes wears 'fake' (no lens) glasses. Evs. This routine is very personal for Jean-Marc and France. Their daughter has Rett Syndrome and has basically no motor function, but reacts positively to seeing movement of others. So this routine is for her and inspired by her. The costuming is all white and flowy and there is cool lighting on the stage. Some of the lifts seem heavy and several sections appear more contemporary than ballroom to me, as in lacking technique (I'll always remember Donyelle talking about how hard this dance is!). Mia of course appreciates the personal choreo, though she didn't like Kher's constant smile, wanting more "reality" (Nigel rudely interrupted to defend it, saying it was uplifting). Mia and Mary both complimented Twitch. Nigel agreed w/my thought that it wasn't pure Viennese Waltz but said it was beautiful.

Comfort & Chris: Krump, Lil C. (Timbaland something - and almost every other word was edited out so it sounded really strange!) Chris is humble & has a "good spirit," but sweats a lot; Comfort is a versatile, solid partner but talks too fast (hee). Lil C says Krumping combines pop/locking with b-boy and African moves. They also use the phrase "that's buck" a lot but never explain it. Compared to the krumping I've seen before (which is something like 3 routines ever), this is very sloooooow, almost like slo-mo krumping! And not quite as hard-hitting as I'd expect. Just ok overall. Mia said Chris "pulled it off," but Mary disagreed and said Comfort blew him away (though agreed she could have hit harder). Nigel actually criticized both of them but was very mean to Chris (worse than to Matt last week), saying his "granny's more gangsta" than Chris! He also said he didn't dance "macho" enough, specifically pointing out that Chris didn't do the crotch grab right and actually demonstrating (!) how it should be done while saying what Chris did was like a (have to go) "peepee dance" and that as a man he should especially "own that area" (of his body). Poor Chris!! Chris replied and said he didn't want to grab his crotch. Good for him, standing up for himself (I know it's a popular move in hip-hop and related styles, but this is also supposed to be a family show and I don't think it's appropriate, let alone necessary).

Overall I'd pick Susie/Marquis, Chelsea/Thayne, and Jessica/Will for the bottom 3, with Susie & Marquis being sent home. It's a hard call though since Jess/Will were B3 last week; fans will vote more this week so we could see Kourtni/Matt (hope not!) or maybe Comfort/Chris there instead.

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RESULTS:

Group number: Hip-hop by Shane ("Elevator"). It was fun, though hard to recognize people since they were dressed the same & wearing hats. Marquis was featured in the beginning, and at the end Gev did a headstand in the center and held it for a long time, until Cat came on & everyone else was leaving the stage.

Whew, Matt (& Kourtni) are safe! All 3 of my favorites managed to escape the bottom 3 this week. The bottom 6 are as follows:

Chelsea - good solo, 1st girl safe.
Susie - just ok solo; Nigel said she didn't use the stage enough.
Comfort - very good.

Susie is out.

Thayne (Gavin DeGraw "Belief") - good use of stage, good solo; Nigel said he has a lot of potential.

Marquis (OneRepublic "Stop and Stare" - eee!) - Awesome!! We finally get to see him dance contemporary, and he is as good as I'd heard. Unfortunately Nigel decided his solo was "all tricks" and "not dance." (And Neil did what in his solos last year, exactly?)

Chris (John Legend "Again") - meh. Easy choice here, Chris needs to go home. However... Nigel said he danced with passion and has been bringing the "personality" Nigel asked of him, so he will be safe!

And Marquis is out. I call foul, because I really think Nigel just didn't want to pair Comfort (or Chelsea) with Marquis. They rarely put 2 black contestants together, as that doesn't fit his ideal (perceived) viewer demographic, I guess. So we have a paired couple leaving for the 2nd week in a row (a first, I believe).