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(S03E06) Finally, the waiting is over. There are no more interruptions by bad dancers or mothers that want to yell at Nigel. Now we get to the real competition. And the really interesting part of that competition comes as we get to see what happens when the luck of the draw forces dancers out of their comfort zone. Being able to spin on your head is great, but not much use if you have to waltz. Much like the years of classical ballet don't mean quite as much when you land the hip-hop number. It's what makes the show so fun.

Dan Karatay joined Nigel and Mary at the judges table this week. They had a lot to get to as the final twenty paired off to do ten different numbers. There were some surprising moments, some great performances, and a couple that could have been better. More on each of the couples after the jump.

Jaimie and Hok - They had the honor of kicking off the competition. Jaimie is a contemporary dancer that we really haven't seen much of throughout the audition process. I can only guess that they were sure enough that she would be moving through that they wanted to spend time on the other contestants. On the other hand, we have seen a lot of Hok. They were assigned a hip-hop routine with Shane Sparks. That's right in Hok's wheelhouse, of course, but something of a wild card for Jaimie. Considering that it's not what she normally does, it was a pretty impressive debut, and a nice start to the competition. Dan appreciated the effort, but said he could tell it wasn't Jaimie's thing. Mary thought Hok was amazing and that Jaimie did well keeping up. Nigel agreed with them, adding that Hok was brilliant. He thought Jaimie did a great job given the change of style.

Anya and Danny - She's a ballroom dancer and he is trained in classical ballet. The two of them were given the jive, with Tony Meredith choreography. The practice video made it seem that their partnership got off to a rocky start. Fortunately for them, it looked like they managed to iron those differences out. It was another very good first go. I was most impressed with Danny here. He is amazingly precise in all of his movement. Dan said it looked effortless for them. Mary said that the hot tamale train just pulled up to drop Anya off and she called Danny very impressive. Nigel thought they looked great as partners and praised Danny for keeping up with Anya. He called them a couple to be reckoned with .

Lacey and Kameron - A swing/ballroom dancer matched up with a hip-hop/contemporary partner and sent off to learn a Mia Michaels number. I wasn't sure what to think about Lacey in the audition shows. She didn't come across that well, and I wondered whether or not she was riding on Benji's coattails a bit. It did make for a nice story, but I was very curious to see how it would work out when things really started to count. It was even better than I could have imagined. Fantastic choreography with a few wow moments. When Lacey ran across the stage and jumped on Kameron, and he just caught her without moving, that was the moment of the night. Dan thought Lacey did a fantastic job. He was unsure of Cameron's solo bits, but thought he was a great partner. Mary called the performance amazing. Nigel praised Lacey's commitment.

Sabra and Dominic - Sabra was another of the contestants that was somewhat new to viewers. She's very likable and I thought she came across well on the camera. We've seen plenty of Dominic though. Showing the clip of Mia calling him 'too cocky' was an odd choice. They were given disco, with Doriana Sanchez. This one wasn't one of my favorites. They had some really good moments in there, and it wasn't bad by any stretch, but it just didn't seem as polished as some of the other performances. Dan called it good, but not great. Mary thought Dominic had some technical problems but really enjoyed the performance. Nigel pointed out that Dominic has never worked with a partner, adding that they both did a great job.


Ashlee and Ricky - This is an interesting pairing because they both have similar dance backgrounds. I think that could work against them. When I heard that they were given the tango, with Alex Da Silva, I thought they had lucked out. The tango is such a passionate and powerful dance that it usually comes across really well. This one just didn't though. To start, they had the worst music of the night. There are thousands of songs out there that can go with the tango, and I think most of them are better than what they had. I don't think the dark lighting was doing them any favors either. They were also hurt by Ashlee's size, or the appearance of size anyway. There were parts of the dance where she almost loomed over Ricky. I was also surprised that they broke their hold in the middle of the dance. It was all just kind of odd. Dan didn't think it was very sexy. They weren't connecting. Mary agreed with him. She said that they looked sizzling, but the dancing wasn't sizzling. Nigel pointed out that Ashlee looked so much bigger.

Sara and Jesús - Sara presents herself as a b-girl, but has a much more extensive background, which should serve her well here. Jesús is a lyrical dancer, and one of the most likable guys on the show. They went to Wade Robson for what I would call a hobo-jazz routine. It was very original and the biggest strength of their performance was probably also the biggest weakness. There was so much synchronized dancing that the couple of times they were off, it really stood out, but when they were on, it was very impressive. Dan praised Wade's choreography. He thought they were out of sync a couple times, but it was great. Mary called it twisted, demented, and spectacular. Nigel praised Sarah for dancing outside of her style.

Jessi and Pasha - The hip-hop girl and the ballroom guy met with Tony Meredith to learn, of all things, the waltz. This found both of them outside their comfort zone. I wasn't crazy about the weird blue lighting, but liked everything else about their performance. From the costumes right on through the dancing. The waltz is so beautiful. They didn't do anything that was spectacularly flashy, but performed a very graceful waltz very well. A nice start for both of them. Dan said they looked great. He said that the waltz usually bores him, but they floated around the stage. Mary called it classy and elegant, impressed with both of them. Nigel praised Jessi's movement.

Faina and Cedric - I've been really curious to see how Faina deals with the different styles. The audition episodes called into question just how versatile she is going to be. Along those same lines, Cedric also seemed weak in other areas. He was lucky enough to draw a hip hop number with Shane Sparks. There were a couple moments where it stood out that Faina was out of her element, but overall, not bad. Dan didn't think they were dancing together. The number was more like two solo performances. He also questioned Faina's commitment, but said Cedric was really good. Mary praised Faina for hanging in there. Nigel pointed out that Cedric is very fluid and unique and thought that hurt Faina. His performance being so good highlighted that she was just going through the steps.

Lauren and Neil - I have high expectations for Lauren. There really isn't a lot to base that on yet, but it was my initial reaction to her audition. She has the stuff for this competition. We haven't seen much of Neil so far, but he does have a good personality, and that always helps. They were charged with a salsa routine by Alex Da Silva. I thought their dance came together pretty well. There were a couple stumbles getting into and out of the big tricks, but there were also a lot of those tricks. It was a difficult routine. They also had some very nice footwork. Dan thought they danced the routine really well, but they lacked chemistry. Mary compared Neil to a cheerleader, saying his dancing was all in his top half. She also said there was no chemistry. Nigel agreed with Mary, and then compared Lauren to Allison from season two, who was in the audience. That struck me as odd because I was thinking that Jaimie reminded me of Allison.

Shauna and Jimmy - If when these two popped up on screen you asked yourself, "Who?" then we are on the same page. I don't know if I just forgot them, or if they both managed to slip through the editors fingers when the audition episodes were made, but I had almost no recollection of either of them. The two contemporary dancers got to take on a Tyce Diorio Broadway number. It was a very fun performance and did a good job introducing the two of them to the audience. Dan was shocked, saying Jimmy outperformed Shauna. Mary thought it was fun and energetic and said the two of them were wonderful together. Nigel agreed they were a good partnership, but thought Shauna looked frumpy.

All things considered, I thought this was a great start to the competition. The level of performance was even higher than what I expected it to be on this first go round. That bodes well for the rest of the season. It should be quite a run. If I had to pick a favorite, this week it would be Lacey and Kameron. The performance was amazing. And at the back of the pack, Ashlee and Ricky. There were just too many things going wrong with that one.