In which I don't understand who is voting for Jessica.
Group Performance (Choreographed by Mandy Moore)
There was a lot of standing around and waiting your turn in this piece. The synchronized bits in the red lighting were really good, and some of the lifts looked cool, but there wasn't really much going on here. I knew it was Mandy from the song and movement, but I expect more from her; she's better at couples than groups.
Valerie and Ricky (Bollywood by Nakul Dev Mahajan)
So we know from their individual introductions that this was supposed to be sexy. It was not. It was cute, and it was fun, but that's all. It wasn't particularly good choreography, and the dancers weren't fantastic. They were good, and they had great energy, but I wish they both had gotten in touch with the sensuality that Nakul said should be there. Their chemistry was more fun than hot, which is fine (I mean, at least they have chemistry) but I want to see them outside their comfort zones doing the sexy thing.
Bridget and Emilio (Contemporary by Travis Wall)
Easily Travis's strongest piece of the season so far. There was so much breath and space between both Emilio and Bridget, so much dramatic pause that never faltered. Emilio was very nearly brilliant. I was glad to see him do something serious in tone and something that would challenge him, and he was so much better than I could have anticipated; his lines were good, his toes were pointed, his emotion was there... so good. And Bridget finally got to show us how she got here in the first place. Stunning performance.
Tanisha and Rudy (Hip Hop by Dave Scott)
Guys, how did Rudy get past auditions? There's not fluidity to his movement whatsoever; the issue is somewhere around his midsection, where either his hips or his core just don't move, giving him a constant wooden stature. He's not good, and I find him completely fucking obnoxious. Tanisha did really well, doing everything right that Rudy did wrong: writhing into those fluid movements, separating the individual motions with sharpness. Dave Scott also gave them a decent piece of choreography, his strongest yet this season.
Jessica and Marcquet (Foxtrot by Dmitry Chaplin)
Was Marcquet counting out loud at the beginning? It looked like it, and if he wasn't then it was just awkward. also, this wasn't a foxtrot. The hip-to-hip spin was about it. Everything else was very Latin, rather than English. They hardly ever held the frame, and when they did none of the standard foxtrot steps were there (weaves, telemarks, etc), all of which are necessary to create the flowing nature of the style. Otherwise, just add some swiveling hips and call this a rumba, which is closer to what it was.
Sorry, the foxtrot is the one ballroom style I know anything about. Marcquet was a little wild, Jessica was overacting once again to make up for the fact that she didn't know what she was doing, and (as I've already said) the choreography was a big let down.
Carly and Serge (Contemporary by Mandy Moore)
Serge is so deliberate in his movement that it's distracting. He looks belabored, like rather than just going into the motion naturally, you can see him thinking about it and making every little movement to get to the one that's in the choreography (for an example of what I mean, check out above where he puts his left hand down to the floor before turning over onto his back). It's the kind of thing you see young kids do quite often, but here's Serge on this really big dance show doing the same thing. Having said that, I liked this piece for Carly, who was very strong and supported herself in some of Serge's shortcomings, and for the music.
Emily and Teddy (Salsa by Jonathan Platero & Oksana Dmytrenko)
To understand what bothers me about Rudy's upper body, look at Teddy's: it's like he has no vertebrae. This is how you should be moving, Rudy. Teddy was really loose and fun, and he has the personality to sell this style, but his ankles tended to roll a lot while he was doing the fancy footwork. Emily had a little bit of a slip up, and it looked like it may have thrown her off because she looked really tame and even uncomfortable, which was in direct contrast to how much fun Teddy seemed to be having.
Jacque and Zack (Jazz by Sonya Tayeh)
I really love Zack, but I don't think this is a strong enough routine to keep him out of the bottom again next week. He was great, don't get me wrong, but he did fall out of one of his turns and the choreography itself was totally uninteresting. Also, Jacque's costume was hideous. But I just can't see anyone remembering this at the end of the night; there was no emotion, no humanity, just some decent dancing.
P.S. - I'm angry that this song exists. What a horrible cover of a gorgeous song... and to air it on the anniversary of Amy Winehouse's death without mentioning her was awful.
Brooklyn and Casey (Hip Hop by WilldaBeast)
LOL THOSE COSTUMES WTF. LOL THOSE PERFORMANCES WTF.
We're badass whiteys hustling hard at the YMCA.
NOPE.
Brooklyn, Casey, Emily, Emilio, Tanisha, Serge, Valerie, Zack (Contemporary by Sonya Tayeh)
Boring. Stupid post-apocalyptic, young-adult-trilogy styling and makeup. Only Tanisha and Emilio stood out to me, and I think that's because they were in the air the most. I'm sorry, but I just can't take anything with a soundtrack by Bjork seriously.
Bridget, Marcquet, Carly, Ricky, Jacque, Rudy, Jessica, Teddy (Contemporary by Travis Wall)
Though I could have done without the literal running motion during the lyric "I'll be running," this was a fierce piece of choreography. The only weak one I saw was Jessica, whose leg wasn't as high on the lift kick all the girls did. Otherwise, this was really freaking cool from top to bottom: choreography, styling, camera work, performance.
P.S. - I really hate how seriously Nigel takes the Emmys. Like... if you're here to get an award for lighting or camera editing, you're here for the wrong damn reasons.
Elimination
Bottom Three Guys: Marcquet, Serge, Zack
Bottom Three Girls: Bridget, Brooklyn, Tanisha
How the hell was Jessica not in the bottom again?! She's probably the most overrated female dancer on the show, with Serge as the most overrated male dancer... but at least the audience can see through the judges' favoritism toward him and put him back in the bottom six. But I'm not at all surprised to see Marcquet and Brooklyn going home. Brooklyn had a really weak performance last week following one that would be hard to top, and Marcquet (like Jessica) has not lived up to the promise of how well he danced in week one.
My Bottom Three Guys: Rudy, Serge, Casey
My Bottom Three Girls: Jessica, Emily, Jacque
P.S. - Four are going home next week! o.O
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