It's the final cut of the season! And quite possibly the final cut ever, considering how low this year's ratings went!
Aaron and Amy (Jazz by Ray Leeper)
There was nothing impressive about this choreography, except for maybe the one lift Aaron did on his knees. It was repetitive and not particularly technically good or showy. They didn't really have characters to play or much to work with.
Jasmine and Fik-Shun (Contemporary by Travis Wall)
Very elegant and understated. This was really Jasmine's piece; Fik-Shun had some nice moments, but he was really there to just be there for his partner, and he T. He had some wonky moments, but overall it was wonderful. I would like to see the choreographers doing different things with Jasmine than just kicks and extensions (we all know she has great legs, show us what else she can do). Also, from the first moments I thought the wind machine was going to be ridiculous, but it actually worked well.
Aaron and Melinda (Tap by Anthony Morigerato)
This music choice was super awkward and incongruous with tap dance. I wasn't too impressed with the choreography either. The beats were mostly good, even if they were at odds with the slow ballad playing over them, but I didn't get the emotion played out through the taps. It was strange. And Melinda's horrible costume was distracting me; this is tap, so I'm looking at her feet, and she was wearing hideous frilly socks. I love tap, and I wanted to be more taken with this routine than I was. It was underwhelming.
Jasmine and Comfort (Hip Hop by Tabitha & Napoleon D'umo)
Jasmine looked really tired during this routine. I don't know if it was too fast for her so she was just lagging or if she expended all her energy on the Travis routine, but she was seriously dwarfed next to Comfort. I liked the attitude and character, but the movement wasn't great and the choreography was fast but kind of simplistic.
Amy and Fik-Shun (Tango by Miriam Larici & Leonardo Barrionuevo)
Amy had some really nice, tight moments, but I just didn’t care. I hardly watched this piece. The few moments that stuck out to me highlighted Fik-Shun’s weaknesses (namely, his arms) and Amy’s compensating for that.
Jasmine and Aaron (Samba by Dmitry Chaplin)
Holy crap. Horrible. Jasmine is really showing some fatigue; work those hips a little harder, girl. Aaron's feet were awful, his lines were... well, nonexistent. Add in the wardrobe malfunction and this was a big old fail.
Fik-Shun and Twitch (Hip Hop by Luther Brown)
Sick. This is the level of awesome to expect from a finale. I love a Luther Brown routine, and this was his strongest yet on the show. The choreography was dirty and had so much attitude, and Fik-Shun brought it to life perfectly. He out-danced Twitch (fuck that "Twitch Junior" comment, Fik-Shun owned him) and out-performed him as well. This was so much fun.
Amy and Robert (Contemporary by Stacey Tookey)
I need to start with a stylistic comment: all of Stacey's routines look the same. The lighting is always a dim blue with darkness on the edges of the stage, the costumes are always in the same muted pastels and whites, and the music is always an aching piano ballad. The choreography was nice but felt fairly standard (except that beautiful moment where Amy went to fall off the stage and was caught, and the one-armed lift, to a lesser extent), but it was elevated by a pitch-perfect and very emotional performance from Amy.
Fik-Shun and Aaron (Broadway by Tyce Diorio)
Ugh, what gimmicky bullshit. That conveyor belt was totally unnecessary and just made this routine feel cheap. This is the stupid kind of cheese people think of when they think of Broadway, and Spencer Liff has spent the entire season showing that that isn't necessarily what Broadway choreography is. It didn't feel fresh, but it was entertaining for the most part once I got over my annoyance with the props. Both guys have the personalities for musical theatre, but it wasn't danced very well; it was adequate, but not great.
Amy and Jasmine (Jazz by Mark Kanemura)
I just love Mark so much, especially for making a RuPaul's Drag Race reference during the pre-dance interview and for using this ridiculous, awesome song from The Fifth Element. And I'm so glad he came back for another routine this season, because his choreography is so weird and unique and cool and fun and wonderful. Both girls lost themselves in the cookiness of their characters and just had a good time. So quirky, so entertaining.
Predicted Winners: Amy and Fik-Shun
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