8:05 PM
Salsa Circuit
Last week was a topsy-turvy week of performances. Sasha and Alexander performed a lethargic hip-hop routine but managed to avoid the Bottom Three for the fourth straight week. On the opposite side of the coin, Ryan and Ricky performed and absolutely brilliant jazz routine, and wound up dancing for their lives anyway. They were joined by Jordan and Tadd, who were just slightly less brilliant than they have been, as well as Ashley and Chris, whose salsa routine lacked any kind of pep whatsoever. Ashley and Chris were sent home, leaving twelve very capable dancers still in the competition.
This was a very important episode of the season for two reasons: first off, half the field will be in the “Bottom Three”, and secondly, this is the last week for the foreseeable future that the contestants will be dancing with each other. For next week, the All-Stars will be brought in, and the contestants from Season Seven will be dancing with them instead. I’m not sure whether they will continue to eliminated two contestants per week or just one, so stay tuned for that news.
Going in to this week, it seemed clear that Melanie/Marko and Sasha/Alexander would be safe regardless of whether they finished in the Bottom Three or not, since they had yet to be there. Caitlynn and Jess would also seem to be safe, though their partners Mitchell and Clarice are less so. That just leaves the Jordan/Tadd and Ryan/Ricky, both of whom have turned in brilliant performances but don’t seem to be getting the votes. (Why, America? WHY?!?)
Since this is a big week, the six remaining couples will be performing two routines instead of one (therefore, to save space, I will talk about one routine for one half of the duo and the other routine for the other). I like this idea, since the performance-show group routines seem to serve no function other than to fill time. Guest-judging this week is Sonya Tayeh, the mohawked jazz-contempo choreographer who is sitting in the judge’s chair for the first time, as well as Emmy-nominated actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson from Modern Family, who has a lot of experience on Broadway.
The Bottom 3 Couples
I was in a panic after performance night, because though Jordan/Tadd danced their first routine splendidly, they got negative comments on their second, and I had a terrible feeling that if they found the Bottom Three for the third time, the only way they might be reprieved is if Ryan/Ricky was also there. The only other couple that was less than terrific both times was Caitlynn/Mitchell. I had a thought that, since this was the couples’ last week together, the judges might decide to send home two contestants from different teams for the first time this season. I was banking on those two being Ryan and Mitchell.
However, the voting public must have heard my pleas, and Jordan/Tadd were spared the Bottom Three this time. The “going first” bug bit Sasha/Alexander, however, and the other two couples joining them were Caitlynn/Mitchell and Ryan/Ricky. With Sasha getting high marks on both routines, and with Caitlynn having done considerably better than Ryan thus far, it was fairly obvious that Ryan would go home, and she did. For the guys, however, things went a little differently. I assumed that Ricky would join Ryan in the audience next week, but the judges seemed to feel that he has shown enough improvement to warrant a spot in the Top Ten. And it was Alexander, who Nigel commented had been carried on Sasha’s back until now, who went home.
So, after five weeks of competition, here are my rankings:
BEST OF THE BEST
1. Melanie Moore (Marko) – performed a contemporary routine choreographed by Dee Caspary. There was a third character in this piece… a light bulb, and Melanie and Marko used the piece as a metaphor for finding the light inside ourselves. Do I need to elaborate how she did? Oh, I do? Okay, then, she was perfect. Seriously, this girl seems to be incapable of doing a bad routine. I want to buy stock in Melanie. At this rate, the only way she doesn’t win the season is if a huge block of voters decides that she’s so awesome, she doesn’t need their votes (and that’s happened before).
2. Jordan Casanova (Tadd) – performed a contemporary routine choreographed by Travis Wall. In this routine, Jordan got to play a vulture, trying to feast on the soon-to-be-dead carcass of luckless wanderer Tadd. And for the seventh time, I will comment on just how freakin’ amazing Jordan’s legs are. Her pirouettes are poetic, sculpturesque and gorgeous. Plus, she put on her scary face for this routine, which was awesome.
3. Tadd Gadduang (Jordan) – performed a Broadway routine choreographed by Spencer Liff. It’s the ninety-second (and modernized) version of Sleeping Beauty, with Tadd waking Jordan up from a long sleep (I’m guessing it was about 25 years, since Jordan was dressed like Toni Basil) with a kiss, before they, you know, dance and stuff. It wasn’t my favorite routine they’ve ever done, and the judges agreed with me.
4. Marko Germar (Melanie) – performed a tango routine choreographed by Louis Van Amstel. It may not look it, but tango is a tough dance to learn if you’ve never done it before. The precision it takes is off the charts. Marko and Melanie rocked it, of course, and now that they’re going to be separated from now on, it’ll be interesting to see if Marko can get votes on his own.
5. Sasha Mallory (Alexander) – performed a paso doble routine choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin. I normally love the paso, because it’s very dramatic and forceful and fun to watch. This was just okay, but I blame the music choice (which was mostly just percussion instruments) than the actual dancing. Sasha was terrific, for her part, and once again totally outshined her partner. Now that Sash is free of Alexander’s lesser skills, I have a feeling she’ll be one of the front-runners again.
DANCERS WHO HAVE THEIR WORK CUT OUT FOR THEM
6. Jess LeProtto (Clarice) – performed a lyrical hip-hop routine choreographed by Christopher Scott. In this routine, Jess played a guy trying to convince his girl to see herself as beautiful as he sees her, to a toned-down version of Boyce Avenue’s “Just the Way You Are”. It was very cute and sweet, and it’s good to see that the arrogance that Jess was cautioned about seems to have disappeared. He’s been on a hot streak for the last four weeks, and it will be interesting to see if he can keep that up.
7. Caitlynn Lawson (Mitchell) – performed a jazz routine choreographed by Travis Wall. Travis cast her in the role of a 70’s rock star who finds out that her loverboy is, in fact, married. (Men.) So the piece starts with her slapping Mitchell across the face – hard – and then it went from there. Having the routine choreographed to Janis Joplin was a nice touch, and it was miles better than their other routine. I really like Caitlynn, but I still have to believe that Melanie, Jordan and Sasha have better shots at winning than she does.
8. Clarice Ordaz (Jess) – performed a jive routine choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin. This was the final dance of the night, and, like a true jive, there was a lot of energy and high leg-kicks. Jess’s short stature made a couple of the lifts less-than-perfect, but Clarice has done admirably to claw her way to the Top Ten. I’m quite proud of her. I’m just not sure she has Top 5 stuff in her.
9. Mitchell Kelly (Caitlynn) – performed a hip-hop routine choreographed by Christopher Scott. Heavy symbolism abounded in this routine, which had the dancers playing African kids who had been abducted and forced to become child soldiers. I’m starting to love Scott’s routines, and in between the overwrought facial expressions there was some fine dancing. The problem was, the upbeat-ness of the music kind of cancelled out the emotion of the routine, and the judges called them on it. Mitchell is a very good dancer, but he just doesn’t seem to have the on-stage personality that Tadd and Marko do.
10. Ricky Jaime (Ryan) – performed a Broadway routine choreographed by Spencer Liff. Right away, I was worried for both of them, because they danced a brilliant jazz routine last week and came a hair’s-breadth from elimination anyway. Broadway is a tough sell to many viewers, even if it is done to Sinatra (“All I Need Is the Girl”). It was elegant and cool, but it lacked the drama and pop that is needed to be remembered when America starts picking up their phones. The judges, against all odds, did not call him out after three strikes, but you better believe that if he faces elimination again, his luck will finally run out.
ELIMINATED THIS WEEK
Ryan Ramirez (Ricky) – performed a cha-cha-cha routine choreographed by Louis Van Amstel. This was easily the better of their two routines. It was flirtatious and fun, and it was obvious that they were doing their damndest to connect to America, something they’ve failed to do in the past month. Nigel even dinged her for trying TOO hard. This was her third time in the Bottom Three in the last four weeks, and that was enough reason to cut her from the competition.
Alexander Fost (Sasha) – performed a jazz routine choreographed by Tyce Diorio, to the music of “That’s Life” (the Aretha version). I was actually quite impressed by Alex in this dance, much more so than in his paso. But it wasn’t enough. Though this was Alex’s first time in the Bottom Three, it was also his last. I’m a little surprised, but I’m also glad.
Next week: Bring in the All-Stars, folks, this competition is being ratcheted up to the next level!
Souce Patrick Hodges
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