(S05E09) Oh my god, a group number? Who knew?Group Number - "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)," Pitbull
(Hip-Hop, Dmitry Chaplan and Napoleon & Tabitha) Cat got a more dramatic entrance after this busy little number. I found myself enjoying the piece as we got into the middle of it. The beginning seemed overly long with the close-ups of the dancers undulating around in the dark. It was more posturing than dancing at that point. But when we got into it there were some nice moments, though no particular breakout stars.
Which actually sums up some of the problems with this season so far. Brandon is a force to be reckoned with, and I like Ade but I think by this point last season I was already seeing a lot of fun personality from Twitch, Joshua, Katee, Chelsea, Courtney, Gev and so many more. Where are those strong dynamic and unique performers this year? We have a lot of great dancers, but a real dearth of stars.
Nigel opened the show with a nice tribute to not only Michael Jackson, but also Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett. I fully expected that he'd address the loss of Jackson, considering his importance to the world of dance, but was touched that he reached out to the other two losses, now largely overshadowed by the death of Jackson.
BOTTOM THREE
Alas, the show must go on and for three couples, it was to be a long night. Cat started us off with Asuka &Vitolio, and of a staggering five couples on the stage, they were surprisingly shunted into the bottom. I know I predicted them there (if Phillip's fans kept him), but that was because there's just something about them that I don't think America is connecting with. Are they too ethnically diverse/exotic? I don't know what it is.
Janette & Brandon and Randi & Evan seemed obvious for safety, as they are two of the stronger pairings. Phillip brought Jeanine to safety because of his built-in fan-base, though she's deserving on her own. Melissa & Ade are a couple that surprises me, but they're both incredibly strong dancers. Another strong couple that deserved safety.
Karla & Jonathan were terrible, so there was no surprise seeing them in the bottom. The paso doble that wasn't didn't serve Caitlin & Jason well enough, which meant that America agreed with me instead of the judges. It also meant good news for new partners Kayla & Kupono. In fact, other than my tepid prediction that Phillip might slip to the bottom three, I nailed this one (if we count my Phillip fill-in pick ... which I'm going to).
GUEST DANCERS
The Rage Boys Crew - "Feel It," Colby O'Donis
Let's be honest, these guys get through more on the cuteness of the young boys in the crew than on any particular talent. Even the oldest dancers are but a pale shadow compared to some of the breakers we've seen here and on MTV's America's Best Dance Crew. Still, it was a feel good performance, so I'll give them that.
MUSICAL GUEST
The Veronicas - "Take Me on the Floor"
I was pleasantly surprised in the quality of this live performance. The vocals sounded great, even if the "dah-dah-dah" mic was needlessly louder than the main vocals during the choruses. I was also glad to see some intricate choreography from their dancers. After all, this is a dance show.
SOLOS
Asuka Kondoh - "Don't Trust Me," 3OH!3
Limited by ballroom, I though Asuka still showed some nice footwork, and as expected lots of sultry seduction.
Vitolio Jeune - "Viva La Vida," Coldplay
He's definitely strong, but I didn't see as much dance between his feats of strength as I think I needed to for this to be seen as a true dance solo. Plus, he stumbled a bit right out of the gate.
Karla Garcia - "15 Step," Radiohead
Now that was something truly unique, with a very tribal feel to it. I was glad to see something that stood out from the pack a bit, even if she seemed a bit wobbly in places.
Jonathan Platero - "The Hunted," Kodo
From that solo, I'm hard-pressed to say what Jonathan's perferred style is. Maybe a kind of ballroom or contemporary or ... gymnastics? There was a serious lack of musicality in that for me.
Caitlin Kinney - "Que Sera Sera," Jennifer Terran
Easily the best female solo of the night, Caitlin was elegant and beautiful, showing amazing flexibility. There was grace and a true sense of dance.
Jason Glover - "New American Sunday," Taking Back Sunday
A herky-jerky contemporary performance, there were some nice things in there somewhere. It was a real contrast to the flow of Caitlin's piece.
ELIMINATED
I'm a little disappointed that it's Asuka going on the girls' side, but I guess I can't argue with Nigel's logic. That said, Karla has shown real potential, and that potential needs to really grow to prove that she deseves to be here over Asuka. Jonathan's solo was such a mess that I'm not too surprised to see him gone.
If people were turned off by the diversity of Asuka &Vitolio, I'm not sure they'll be much more pleased with the quirky pairing of Karla & Vitolio. I can't wait to see what style they get and see if they can pull themselves out of the bottom the way Kayla & Kupono did.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-26-2009 @ 7:34AM
Nornny said...
I really liked the group number. You could clearly make out Dimitry's parts over Nap/Tab, but at the same time, it flowed really well. I wish it went on longer and they used less time on the beginning as well. Nice to be able to distinguish the dancers rather than putting them in weird makeup or costumes.
I agree with Asuka and Jonathan (a little more pained to see Jonathan go), but still very sad over it because they both seemed very close to really breaking out last week and seemed to have found the magic connection in their partnerships.
Vitolio and Karla pairing on paper looks like a trainwreck. But I love Karla especially. Hard to see her making it in the Top 10, but I really hope the strength of her solos and performances carries her as far as possible. They seem like a good workhorse couple. Both are doomed if they land in the Bottom 3 again even if they pull out stellar solos.
I hope the judges continue to be fair in their judging and we don't lose anyone based on producer's favorites or something.
Reply
6-26-2009 @ 1:05PM
Dan said...
Asuka and Vitolio were in the bottom again because they SUCK. They were not entertaining to watch in any of their performances (even last week's) and seeing her go was exactly what we wanted. Vitolio is pretty good, but did you see her solo? Why would we like someone who can't do a single thing in her solo that is even remotely interesting?
Say what you will about Philip, his partner and him have amazing chemistry, he's clearly talented at what he does and he puts everything into his performances.
As for Jonathan, all that little kid could do was flip. I called it before he did his solo, "bet you he does a flip". The two right people left this week after last week's retarded elimination of Maks (I think it was spelled that way and not Max).
6-26-2009 @ 7:38AM
ctoan said...
I don't know if it's that people were turned off by the diversity of Vitolio and Asuka (maybe I'm naive, but people didn't have a problem with Joshua and Katee last year). I just think they didn't connect as partners on stage and didn't perform as well as expected. I loved Asuka from the auditions and thought she really popped and stood out, but she did nothing for me in any of the routines they did.
Reply
6-26-2009 @ 7:48AM
laura said...
Asuka had no personality and eventually people voting got that, and Jonathan had no style just gymnastics which he fell back on for the WOW factor.
The Rage Boys Crew? what a mess, terrible dancers who are relying on the "awwwww" factor by having teeny people in the group, teeny people who also cannot dance well. I felt like I was watching some YMCA afterschool dance off.
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6-26-2009 @ 8:08AM
Charry said...
I was glad to see Jonathan go. I would have liked to see Kupono go this week and Jonathan next week but hopefully Kupono will go next week.
The guys this year appears to be more memorable and they are way more talented than the girls. There are no girls this way that you can say wow she's awesome. They're all so mediocre. If this wasn't a couple's competition where a guy and a girl get's elimated each week, then we would have a sausage fest where all the girls get elimated first and we're left with all guys. Kinda like what happened on Idol.
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6-26-2009 @ 8:26AM
Robin said...
I disagree---I think Kayla is a very strong dancer. She has danced everything she's been given beautifully. Same for Melissa---her training is ballet, but she has risen to the occasion with each dance style given.
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6-26-2009 @ 8:47AM
Kristi said...
I don't think it's the 'ethnicity' that was the problem for Asuka & Vitolio, I think it was their lack of connection. I know they tried to show that they were connected, with the whole Asuka melt-down, but for me when I watched them dance together, it was like they were forced too. Asuka never looked comfortable out there for me. I'm thinking the Karla & Vitolio will be a much better pairing, they're more on the same level I think.
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6-26-2009 @ 8:57AM
Lisa said...
Asuka ticked me off from her first audition with her over-the-top flirty posturing...I like Vitolio. I think others had a similar reaction to her and think it had nothing to do with diversity. Katie and Joshua, hello... Good riddance to her.
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6-26-2009 @ 10:16AM
Sarah said...
my second chance for Karla to be ejected were dashed.
i didn't want to get on the bandwagon and say this, but it has to be said that this season is seriously lacking. i really have no attachment to any couples at this point. Randi and Evan are my fav couple at this point, but its not at the level of my fav couples (Donyelle & Benji, Sabra & Dominic, Joshua & Katee... all of which had the season winner) in past seasons.
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6-26-2009 @ 11:18AM
Ryan said...
While Asuka was no threat to actually win the whole thing, I would've voted Karla off before her. She had ZERO chemistry with Jonathan (not saying that's only her fault of course) and when she dances for her life she's just SO BLAND.
I am glad Jonathan left. Again with the lack of chemistry with his partner, but also he just hasn't wowed me.
And I'll agree with Sarah. This season I have had no connections to any individual dancers. I was obsessed with Donyelle, Benji, Pasha, and even Gev from last season. This season is seriously lacking. I mean yes, Evan/Randi and to a lesser extent Melissa/Ade, but still.
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6-26-2009 @ 11:33AM
Robert said...
It makes me kinda think that they didn't put a lot of the best dancers through this year that they could have, and are saving them for the fall season. I love this show, but I am not getting into this season for some reason. I think they're saving the best for a couple months from now. (I'm looking at you Natalie!)
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6-26-2009 @ 2:06PM
Xina said...
Melissa endured herself ot me when she said she was the grandma of the bunch. At 29, I am six years older than she is...but I still work out at my barre in my basement, etc. And I love Ade...but I agree that this season doesn't have much for me. I LOVED twitch last year, and this year...nothing.
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6-30-2009 @ 8:37PM
Tara said...
I thought she was 29 as well