(S05E07) Shane Sparks, you sly devil. Somehow he managed to choreograph two routines and allow his face to be shown. That's great because Shane has provided some of the best hip-hop choreography this show has seen. Unfortunately, this episode didn't show any of it.Cat Deeley starts off the show on an odd note. I didn't know that wrapping my living room drapery over one shoulder is fashionable. The order of the show threw me off, because they put the best performances in the middle and the bad ones on the ends.
Upper Echelon
Jonathan & Karla - (Stacy Tookey - Contemporary) "Falling Slowly" – I think I found my team. The dancing was beautiful and I got the story even if Stacey didn't explain it. Stacey is the poster child for why we need a wider range of choreographers. I love that the two progressed from last week's weak Cha-cha, and I hope to see Karla do a really hard hip-hop routine now that we know she was a Boogie Bot.
Max & Kayla - (Brian Friedman - Pop Jazz) "Hot Like Wow" – I thought maybe last week was a fluke; Max did get a Latin dance. Boy did these two continue to deliver. The piece was so colorful and intriguing that I forgave the MC Hammer pants that Max had on.
Vitolio & Asuka - (Louis Van Amstel - Waltz) "Dreams Are More Precious"- I've been fan of "Oscar" but until this week she was flat-lining. Luckily she got a beautiful piece about Vitolio's hardship. She relented the desire to lead and both looked emotional. I was honestly moved. I didn't notice the flaws in Vitolio's frame, rather the ease of his lifts and passion took over the TV. The two also lucked out being at the top of the second hour and started the ball rolling for an increase in quality.
Middle Ground
Ade & Melissa - (Sonya Tayeh - Jazz) "24 Hours" – Sonya's head is crazy and I need to visit. I think the show order is probably the biggest hit for Melissa and Ade. Being second in a two hour show is hard. The two were synchronized and matched each other in intensity. If this dance didn't scream "naughty ballerina," I don't know what would.
Brandon & Janette - (Doriana Sanchez - Disco) "Loving is Really My Game" – I don't get the love that the judges gave the dance. Doriana's choreography makes me cringe because I love disco, but her dances all fail. Dear show: Find a new Disco choreographer. I don't care if the disco was fast and hard; the two weren't synchronized and were too slow at points. Apparently I needed cocaine to understand the dance.
Evan & Randi - (Louis Van Amstel - Jive) "Shake Your Tailfeather" - The two luckily went first and set the bar low. I forgot about the two of them by the end, but I doubt that Evan's fans would let him down. The dancing was slippery and the kicks were weak; kicks being important in a Jive.
Quickly Forgotten
Jason & Caitlin - (Shane Sparks - Hip-Hop) - "Missin' You" The dance was like watching naughty Sandy from Grease flirt with a Michael Jackson impersonator. If I were Shane Sparks, I'd be really nervous about getting fired. If the performance was called a "pop" routine, it might have worked. I like the two, but this one is a miss.
Kupono & Ashley - (Shane Sparks - Hip-Hop) - "Imma Bee" – The whole performance should have been three minutes to extend the story; the performance fell apart because of it. Kupono looked like a pop dancer, never hitting the moves hard enough and then falling behind in tempo. I'm not sure if Ashley's performance was any better because there were clear points when she missed a kick move when the tempo increased.
Phillip & Jeanine - (Tony Meredith - Tango) - "Violento (Up Mix)" Oh how quickly you disappoint me, Phillip. The tango bar was set high, both from last week's professionals and last years' Argentine Tango performance. It was just painful watching the two, even Philip couldn't make a serious face. When you can't get into the right attitude, you fail automatically.
This week was definitely a flip from last week, showing that everyone has the potential to win and the luck of the choreography draw makes a big difference. I can't imagine Philip, Evan, and Brandon in the bottom three so I'm predicting a bottom three of Kupono/Ashley, Evan/Randi and Jason/Caitlin.
Who do you think is going home? Leave comments below.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-18-2009 @ 12:18PM
Nornny said...
Tough call on the bottom three tonight, because the worst performing were generally the favorites. I'm really rooting for the underdogs like Karla/Jonathan and Ade/Melissa to triumph over the fanbases.
I'm praying Ade/Melissa don't fall victim to being one of the firsts and lack of airtime this week like Jonathan and Karla did last week, but I have a feeling they might.
I find Max and Kayla also to be a bit forgettable personality wise as well. Asuka/Vitolio might also get thrown in again because a waltz doesn't generally appeal to the voting audience.
I don't think anyone is safe tonight, but my personal bottom three for the night are Brandon/Janette, Phillip/Jeanine, Kupono/Ashley.
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6-18-2009 @ 8:56AM
Brent Todd said...
I still don't get all the praise for Jonathan and Karla. Maybe he was choreographed this way, but the entire time his upper torso looked heavy and like he was still a ballroom dancer. Look at the other contemporary dancers and you will see what I mean. His torso was so straight through out most of it, it wasn't funny. Karla definitely upstaged him in this dance. I had this dance near the bottom of my list, but then again, the judges had nothing but praise for it.
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6-18-2009 @ 9:13AM
Drex said...
I've watched this show with my wife since season two and I still don't know much about dance, but IMO Shane Sparks is WAAAAAAAY overrated..
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6-18-2009 @ 9:39AM
laura said...
I agree with the bottom three here, I think that Jason and Caitlin were the worst, Neither looked polished or practiced.
I cant stand Lil C. He is one of those people who uses big words to cover up the fact that he is a blabbering idiot, and i loved when Mary called him out about bended knees!!
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6-18-2009 @ 12:19PM
nisesmith said...
I agree with most of your points. I thought Ashley looked really strong in the hip hop and hit the moves more sharply than Kupono but I do think it was more Shane Sparks fault as Nigel said he was just getting into it and then it ended. And I definitely wasn't impressed with Sparks's other routine at all. Yeah, Lil C doesn't know crap about dance and I'm guessing he's only specialized in a few forms of dance and doesn't know enough about the others to sound legitimate. I haven't looked up his credentials though so maybe I'm wrong.
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6-18-2009 @ 11:06AM
Netra said...
Shane cant help if the dancers cannot perform a hip hop routine properly. I would like to see the Boogie Bots girl do a Shane piece and then we will see if he is overrated. Those dancers sucked yesterday with their hip hop routines....
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6-18-2009 @ 11:06AM
justelise said...
I have to agree. Shane is not overrated, but the dancers he's gotten so far have not been able to master his routines. You might want to think back to Season 2's "Too Much Booty" routine with Donyelle and Benji. Benji had no hip-hop training, but he still managed to give a great performance. Not every dancer grasps hip-hop as quickly, though, and that's what we saw last night.
6-18-2009 @ 12:01PM
Netra said...
This reply is for justelise: I loved that routine with Benji and Danielle i think they put in the work and practice needed..it seemed the couples yesterday did not practice very much at all.
6-18-2009 @ 11:06AM
Ryan said...
All I know is I pretty much disagreed with everything the judges said. The performances I liked they spat on and the meh performances they praised to high heaven.
What was most upsetting was how much they bent over backwards for their favorites such as Phillip who did a horrendous job. Yes, they critiqued him, but they kept excusing him even telling America to vote for him and disregard his performance since this is a "learning show." BS! They like him and want him to stay. That is all. It was not about the dancing.
Rant over. Moving on. Jonathan/Karla are great dancers and they did good, but I just sense NO CHEMISTRY between the pair of them. I also feel this way about Brandon/Janette. The judges though can't get enough of them. Oh well.
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6-18-2009 @ 11:09AM
Netra said...
I completely agree they made lots of excuses for Philip but in past seasons they have been extremely hard on some dancers for their lack of skills...i was really disappointed to hear them critique him like that. Especially when he was grimacing while picking up his partner even I caught that.
6-18-2009 @ 11:06AM
Allison said...
I was surprised that by the end of last night's show my favorites were the Waltz and the Disco. I usually can't stand those styles. I'm usually a sucker for contemporary (due to the emotions) but this week's by Stacy just didn't grab me. It wasn't bad though.
As for the worst, I'd vote for Caitlin & Jason (first SS hip-hop) or Philip & Jeanine (Tango). Jeanine was OK in the Tango, but Philip brought it down so far that it was horrible. Not her fault really, she couldn't have saved it. I really didn't like the hip-hop. The choreography was boring and the execution was lifeless. The second SS hip-hop was much better choreography and Ashley did very well with it. I'll give them a pass this week.
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6-18-2009 @ 11:07AM
Bas said...
Ade & Melissa - by far my favorite choreography of the night, and I just am so impressed with both of them as dancers. I think Melissa might be the best female dancer they've ever had on the show.
I love Shane Sparks, but neither couple did justice to his routines.
Phillip was terrible in the tango.
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6-18-2009 @ 5:41PM
MarcDom7 said...
The show does have another disco choreographer: Maria Torres. Unfortunately, she is sadly underused.
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6-18-2009 @ 5:41PM
Allison J. said...
Oh! Other people who weren't as impressed by Jonathan and Karla's dance! I guess I saw what the judges meant by Jonathan's good "center of gravity," but I (like others) didn't feel the chemistry even thought the choreography was decent (not terribly imaginative, though).
Brandon and Jeannine's disco wasn't at all perfect, but it ws the best disco I've seen on the show--maybe I was just thrilled with how fast it was and the lifts. I thought they did well enough with what they had.
And finally, other people who liked Max and Kayla's routine! The judges may not have been feeling the love, but I thought it was great and that they were in synch and had chemistry. Unfortunately, I'm not sure America will agree. Since I don't see Phillip and Jeannine in the bottom three, I pick the two atrocious hip-hop routines and Max and Kayla. Hope I'm wrong on the last! Maybe Jason and Caitlin for the send home.
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6-18-2009 @ 10:42PM
AMP said...
I can't stand Lil' C and his comments. Thank Goodness for DVR and fast forwarding through his stupidity.
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6-22-2009 @ 4:37PM
xxpeytonleighxx said...
I usually love Shane and his choreography because I like how his ruitines are usually fast and hard hitting, whereas tabitha and napolean's are usually slower. I mean I like their work but I think we need faster hip-hop dances. I was disappointed that he went more t and n's route this week. But I do agree that it was the dancers' fault instead of his. I feel bad for him because this is his first time back after his absence and I was really hoping the dancers would show off his amazing talent.
I loved Jonathan and Karla's contemporary (maybe because they did it to one of my favorite songs.) I like the new choreographer, though I wish Mia choreographed this week.
I loved max and kayla's ruitine. It was just so fun and I loved the elaborate costumes. They are one of my favorite couples, and I think Kayla will go really far in the competition.
I have never been a fan of the waltz, but I liked how this weeks was really emotional. But I kept getting annoyed with Asuka's hands. They did some weird flicky flippy deal throughout the whole dance. I wish Vitolio could have a different partner because I just love him so much. However I do think this dance was kind of forgettable.
I thought that the judges praised Melissa and Ade too highly. I thought the dance was kind of slow for my liking. I do love Melissa though because she is probably the most technically advanced dancer.
I am soooo dissappointed in the ruitines that Brandon has gotten these two weeks. I hate Fox Trot period and I thought that the disco didn't really show off how talented he really is. Again, I wish I could see him with a different partner and a contemporary ruitine. I thought the disco was too fast and you couldn't really tell what they were doing, though the lifts were amazing.
I love Evan and Randi though I didn't really like their performance. I totally forgot about it by the end of the night.
both of the hip-hop ruitines were dissapointing. I want to see Karla and Phillip do a Shane Sparks ruitine together.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Phillip! he is my favorite. I do agree that he sucked at the Tango but I don't think it's time for him to go yet because he is just getting started. He has enough fans of last week's ruitine that he won't be in the bottom.
by the way... kat deeley needs to stop wearing hiddeous dresses.
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