Last performance show before the Finale. And yet somehow, I'm still remarkably underwhelmed. Lil C was the guest judge tonight (ugh) and the routines on the whole were mediocre. There were a couple solid routines (particularly the disco one; more on that in a second), but I'm getting less and less invested in this competition. The crop of dancers this year have the best technique of any season so far, but the least star power. Even S1 was more entertaining (and that season practically put me to sleep).
Anyways, the final 3 guys kicked off the show with a Sonya jazz piece, which she described as "Willy Wonka-esque". I was pumped for it since I'm a big fan of the original movie (the Johnny Depp remake, not so much) and it didn't disappoint. The routine, set to "True Romance" by She Wants Revenge, had lots of great quirky, sharp movements. I love it when they put the guys together in routines because they can be rougher with each other — at one point Evan and Ade launched (and I mean LAUNCHED) Brandon into the air and at another point, they did simultaneous standing back tucks. Awesome. Lil C started spewing his bullshit saying he wanted to see Ade & Brandon dance together since the beginning. He then continued to shit all over Evan, "commending" him for not getting swallowed by the "dominating excellence" of Ade and Brandon. Evan's performances the last few weeks haven't been the strongest (he probably should have gotten the boot two or three weeks ago), but he did some great stuff in that routine. Lil C's comments were nothing more than a veiled attack on him. I don't mind the judges critiquing the dancers (that's why they're there), but all I ask is that they critique all the dancers equally. Mary and Nigel gave ALL the boys good critiques and Nigel stood up for Evan, saying he stood out in the routine for him and that they all danced it brilliantly.
Jeanine & Ade got a samba by Louis Van Amstel to "LoveGame" by Lady Gaga. Hated the song, lukewarm about the routine. Jeanine was very clearly the star of the number. She threw her be-feathered butt (bad costuming) into the routine — her hip swivels were sexy as hell and her fast footwork was genius. But Ade's poor, lofty technique and ridiculously goofy grin held the routine back. The judges' remarks mostly focused on Ade's lackluster performance, and rightly so, but poor Jeanine got left in the dust. After their next routine though (more on that in a minute), Mary gave Jeanine high praise for the samba and even put her on the train (I think).
First solo performance was Kayla. A lot of her movements lacked the usual grace we see in her performances. It wasn't bad, but it still wasn't as great as most of her other work. I love her — as far as I'm concerned, she hasn't taken a wrong step in the competition — but I am worried for her. America hasn't latched on to her, which I don't get, and I think she could be in serious trouble come tomorrow night.
Melissa & Evan (Broadway by Tyce DiOrio) to "Get Me to the Church on Time" from "My Far Lady". Evan was the groom who overslept and Melissa was frantically trying to get him ready. It was silly and campy and just a lot of fun. A thoroughly enjoyable performance. Evan owned the routine, but Melissa might as well have not been there. I barely noticed her. It wasn't very technically demanding, but it had loads of personality and goofy faces — something Evan excels at. Not my favorite routine of the night, but certainly decent. Lil C slammed Evan again, saying he danced it well, but that he wasn't "shooting for excellence." Will someone call out Lil C for his obvious beef against Evan? Nigel stepped up and defended the poor kid again, saying it wasn't technically brilliant (eh, it was a typical crappy Tyce B'way number), but that it required a lot of energy and Evan did well.
Next solo was Ade. He's got good height on his jumps and did a few pirouettes, but most of his movements feel super-spastic to me. I mean there's such thing as sharp choreography and even popping, but he just looks like he's having a seizure on stage. I hate him (and his stupid pick). I hope he goes home tomorrow.
Kayla & Brandon (contemporary by Stacey Tookey) to "All I Want' by Ahn Trio. I was SO excited for this partnership — these two are probably my favorite dancers left in the competition at this point. It was about a married man (Brandon) and his mistress (Kayla). For the story line they were given, it was surprisingly classy. It was still passionate and sexy as hell, but absolutely beautiful to watch. Kayla's lines and extension have always been brilliant, but this time she had a partner (Brandon) who could match it. I got chills. On top of that, there were some magnificent lifts that Brandon made look effortless. Genius. The judges loved it and Mary said both of them were still on the Hot Tamale Train. She even said Kayla was perfection. Wow.
Next to perform a solo was Melissa. It was probably the weakest solo I've ever seen her do (and her solos, let's be honest, haven't been the strongest or the most memorable). She spent the first 10 of her 30 second solo just standing their and (unconvincingly) flirting with the camera. The rest of the routine consisted of 1 leap, a few half-hearted twirls and some more camera-mugging time. Extremely disappointing, especially from such a typically talented and beautiful dancer.
Jeanine & Ade got hip-hip with TabNap to "Move" by MIMS for their second routine. It was about two friends that were getting evicted from their apartment. I don't know where they get all their ideas, but I'm glad they do. They came out with their stank faces on and did an okay job of hitting it (at least in the beginning). The routine included some tricky, but fun choreography — at one point Jeanine had to do some double-dutch like jumping in between Ade's legs, which he was moving in and out — and the ending was adorable (they both put some of the boxes they had been maneuvering on their heads, this time with sad faces drawn on them). But I still felt it was lacking. I felt like Jeanine was, once again, really trying and throwing herself into the routine, but Ade was just along for the ride. The two of them even fell noticeably out of sync towards the end of the routine. The judges were practically salivating over the routine (sometimes I swear we've been watching different performances), and said Ade was great. NO! No, no, no, no! Blech!
Solo time again: for Brandon this time. This guy knows what it means to dance for his life. He did the same routine he initially auditioned with, which was so good it put Mary in hysterics. The music was dynamic ("O Fortuna"), he had quite a few spectacular tricks, including one that was pretty much a belly flop (with a much more graceful, controlled landing), and just great musicality. He got a standing ovation from the judges and Nigel even called it one of the best solos in the show's history. The black spanky pants aside, I would pretty much agree.
Melissa & Evan got the dreaded quickstep with Louis again to "As Long as I'm Singin'" by the Brian Setzer Orchestra. Evan was more alive in this routine than he's been in weeks. Again, Melissa was kind of just there. When I actually did notice her, it was because her technique seemed off for the quickstep. The routine had lots of energy at the start, kind of lost it in the middle, and kinda-sorta-not-really picked up again towards the end. Once again, Lil C picked on Evan and made a snide comment about his height ("you didn't dance as big as I wanted you to"). What a piece of shit. Mary said it started strong, but fizzled after that and I can see that. Nigel said it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't one of the stronger routines of the night. It wasn't the best of the night, but I thought it was at least fun and definitely more than adequate from the pair of them.
Jeanine's solo was good, as usual. And that's my problem with her. She certainly has the technique of a competition dancer, lovely extension and decent musicality, but I feel like it's a "Groundhog's Day" moment whenever she does her solos. It's always the same kind of stuff. So uninspiring. I want more from these dancers!
Evan's solo was filled with all his usual fun B'way stuff, but he added a buttload of flips at the beginning (I had no idea he could do that!) and some beautiful pirouettes. It wasn't the best solo we've ever seen, but it's certainly stronger than the rest of his solos and most of the other dancers' solos this season.
Kayla & Brandon did a disco by Doriana Sanchez to "Dance" by Sylvester for their second routine. All I can say is Da-hamn! They had flips, they had lifts, they had personality up the wazoo. It was just amazing to watch. The pair of them had lots of fun with it and made it look effortless, even though I'm sure it wasn't. Kayla was shaking it all over the place and showed off her flexibility when she did a split and Brandon picked her up, flipped her upside-down and lifted her over his head. At another point, Brandon threw Kayla into a death drop, then she got up and threw him into a death drop. AMAZING. There were a ton of great moments in that piece; definitely my favorite number of the night. Lil C started blathering on again, but it was worse than usual this time. Some crap about seeing music with your ears, finding the darkness in the pockets of the music. Kill me. Kill me now! Such utter crap. How the hell is this guy still on the show at this point?! He's such a joke. He's killing the show's credibility. Although, luckily, he hasn't choreographed a single routine this year, which hopefully means Nigel & the team already had a contract with him for this season and were stuck with him, but might get rid of him for S6 (*fingers crossed!*)
The last number of the evening was also choreographed by Sonya and it was all about girl power — super girl power that is. I'm all for superheroes and I wanted to love the routine, but ended up just liking it. It was alright, but not stellar. Between the costumes and the movements, the whole thing had a very 80s vibe to it. The boys' number was better tonight. Lil C offered another piece of dookie advice: "I thought you danced it amazingly, but I wanted you to dance more amazingly". To quote Hermione in the first HP movie: "What. An. Idiot." Mary said Kayla stood out (and she did, along with Jeanine. Melissa might as well have been the invisible superhero). Nigel tried to pull a Mary, starting off with a sort of somber tone, then jumping up, shrieking and frolicking like a little girl. I nearly died of laughter. Then he gave a shout out to Jeanine's boobs ("You can't tie down talent") because her costume included a laced up/semi-open bodice. I didn't even notice that about her outfit until he said it. I actually felt embarrassed for Jeanine. That comment was totally uncalled for and unnecessary. I usually love Nigel's comments (they're pretty spot-on), but that crossed the line.
My ideal final four: Brandon, Evan, Kayla and Jeanine. I'd like to see Melissa and Ade go home tonight. Let me explain.
Brandon and Kayla should be obvious: they've got arguably the strongest technique of any of the dancers left and have done some of the best performances of the season. They should be shoe-ins, although I am worried for Kayla. I love her to death and she's probably the only one I'd really like to see win the show at this point, but America doesn't seem to have latched on to her.
Now, I love Evan. I think he's a great dancer and adorable as hell. BUT he shouldn't still be in the competition. I've wanted to defend him all summer, but he has been one note the whole time: comic, fun, Broadway guy. Granted, he's very good at it, but in this competition, that's just not enough.
That being said, plus the fact that Evan is still here, I'd much rather see him in the F4 over Ade. The fact that Ade's still here is such a joke to me. He's a clumsy dancer with a weighty style, a dopey grin and a redonkulous-looking pick. Can't. Stand. Him. The only reason he made it to the Top 10 was because of Melissa. She carried his ass the whole way through. I'm completely baffled as to why he's still here.
Although the Top 10 guys on the whole were some of the weakest we've seen in this competition ever. Oh how I long for the days of S3 & S4 ... times when I was actually sad to see the dancers go, even some of the early eliminations (Hok, Jesus, Anya in S3; Rayven, Chelsea T. and Kourtni L in S4). I couldn't any be less invested in this competition right now.
At this point, I've almost given up on the entire season. Let's just toast to S6 and pray that it's better than this one.
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