I’ll Be the Judge of That! – So You Think You Can Dance 6, November 17

It’s hard to believe that we’re only a couple weeks away from our top 10 dancers, isn’t it? I haven’t figured out what the overall attitude of this group should be. After Nigel’s tongue-lashing last week (AMEN!) and last season’s much-loved top 10 winding down their tour, where’s the love for Season 6? It’s definitely taken time for me to come around, and I still love last season’s group more, but I’m trying my best to maintain an open mind. Hopefully we’ll have some fabulous routines tonight! I’ve taken my deep breaths and have poured my hot cocoa. Surely you’ve read Jenn’s recap by now, so let’s get it on!

Did anyone roll their eyes at the we-are-Sparta-esque intro to the show? I know I did.

Ashleigh & Jakob – hip-hop

Raise your hand if you knew after three seconds that Jakob and friends were doing NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” video? Yeah, me too. Okay, I wasn’t sure how this was going to go, and yeah, it was a little stiff, but that was really good!! So far with these two, the choreographers have catered to each of their personal styles, but this is my first time seeing them do neither contemporary nor ballroom yet doing really well. I was an Ashleigh straight-up HATER at the beginning of this season, and while I still don’t love her, she bugs me a lot less than she has in the past. (I am not “eating my words” as Nigel may think. I haven’t forgiven her for last week’s red pants.) I thought Jakob was going to be really awkward, but those NSYNC days have paid off for him! Color me pleasantly surprised by these two! Extra credit goes to Cat: “And as I speak, fans across the nation are deleting messages from their phones.”

Karen & Kevin – Broadway

Ummmmm… yeah… I didn’t like it. I could tell that it was a struggle for them to get the material since they were just going through the motions. I side with the judges that these two really lacked the personality that this type of routine requires to look really good. The thing is, though, what set them up to fail in this routine is what makes these two who they are. Karen is a smoldering hottie. People who like Karen like her for that. Kevin is smooth and not super animated, and that’s probably something that people like in Kevin (I don’t like Kevin, so I’m not sure what other people see in him). This was one of those routines where I wanted it to end as soon as possible just to put these two out of their misery. The poor things. Overall, not good at all.

Noelle & Russell – foxtrot

I don’t know if I liked the routine as a whole, but I know I liked them doing it. For being such a rigid style of routine, they did a good job of showing their chemistry. I think most of my issues with the routine were in choreography, so you get to look forward to those later, but I agree with the judges that Russell looked much better than his earlier foxtrot (which may be because this time, he wasn’t being directly compared to a professional ballroom dancer, but I want to say he’s grown). Noelle was also really charming, too. Usually I think she’s pretty vapid, but she was really cute during this routine but not in a way that makes me hurl (looking at you Mollee). I say good job to these two!

Channing & Victor – jazz

These two have good chemistry. Most of my comments are with Tyce, but I want to commend these two on the elements they controlled. These two as a pair are really good (I think Channing is comfortable because she’s with a talented partner… sorry, Phillip), and they did a good job of playing up their characters, however silly they were. And as per usual with these two, they’re really great dancers. I don’t think anyone debates that, but this was a step in the right direction as far as showing their personalities and chemistry to everyone.

Kathryn & Legacy – paso doble

That was freakin’ hot! How good do these two look? What’s with waiting until after the commercial break to find results!? Boo! I loved it. I told myself I was going to try especially hard to watch Kathryn because the judges say she doesn’t stand out as much as Legacy does, but then I realized that I didn’t have to try too hard to find myself being drawn by here. Yeah, Legacy was the “matador,” with a fantastic body, no less, but Kathryn was sensual but tough and strong and she really sold her role. I liked this a lot, and I was actually curious how the “story” was going to end, which I usually don’t care about with paso dobles. Another great routine tonight from my favorite couple!

Ellenore & Ryan – contemporary

I liked it. It wasn’t amazing, but I liked it. I expected Ellenore to do as well as she did since this is her style and she seems really in touch with her emotions, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well Ryan did. I think I expected him to be stiff or wooden, but he really got into the routine, and I was pleased by how well he showed it in his face. Ellenore looked really pretty in yellow! I enjoyed this routine. It’s not my favorite of the night, but it’s definitely a job well done. These two needed this routine, I think to shake off the bad hip-hop funk. Good for them!

Mollee & Nathan – pop-jazz

I totally thought these two were closing the show again just so Nigel could yell at them again. They did fine. I wasn’t sure what the judges were going to say about them when this routine was over. The routine seemed really easy, but they executed everything well, but at this point aren’t they supposed to pull this type of routine? I’m surprised the producers would want to close with this… unless they were going to get yelled out again.

Choreographers

Tabitha & Napoleon – I loved the routine! I was going through narrative hip-hop withdrawal, so I was very happy to see one of your routines tonight. You two do a great job of making sure whoever you get as dancers can pull off these types of routines. You didn’t make this ballroomy/contemporary, it was definitely hip-hop, yet you made it work for a ballroom and a contemporary dancer. You two must be excellent teachers.