I’ll Be the Judge of That! – So You Think You Can Dance 5, July 1

After last week’s show, I am one happy camper. With Asuka and Jonathan gone, now only Karla and Vitolio remain as the clearly weakest dancers remaining. They’re a new couple tonight, so we’ll see how that works out for them. By now you’ve read Jenn’s RNO recap, so let’s get it on!

Janette & Brandon – cha-cha

What a great start to the show! With as much as they were doing, I also got a good look at their faces, and they got into that routine. They had the sultry, “do me” thing going, yet their execution was strong. They were smooth where they needed to be but their carriage and sharp movements stayed consistently on point and exactly how it needed to look throughout the whole routine. These two have insane stamina! They seem to have the most aerobic routines, yet their energy stays as high as it was at the beginning of the routine all the way up to the end. I’m happy these two got so much praise. They seem like really nice people, and they’re definitely two of the more versatile dancers we’ve seen on this show.

Oh, and this has been driving me nuts for four seasons now, is it called a cha-cha or a cha-cha-cha? Does it matter? Are they interchangeable? Help me, readers!

Kayla & Kupono – contemporary

When Cat said these two were doing a Sonya routine, my expectation shot through the roof. Kupono is kind of a weirdo, so he should connect to Sonya’s work well and they are both contemporary dancers. They were excellent, there’s no other word to use. They created characters that perfectly executed the story, they did all the Sonya mannerisms well (when the dancers hit a pose but then snap back a little bit), and their technique was beautiful (I said that before Nigel). I agree with Cat and Nigel that these two are really good together.

Randi & Evan – Broadway

Rehearsal footage made me scared that this wasn’t going to go well. I liked it, but I wasn’t blown away. It looked like they did everything they were supposed to do, but it didn’t seem significant. They made those stylistic elements look (like the wrist rolls) natural, which shows how well these two get into characters. I hope these two have built up a fan base so people will call for them even if they don’t have a great night like tonight. I know I’m not saying much, but most of my comments are for the choreographer, so you get to look forward to that.

Caitlin & Jason – pop-jazz

I feel the exact same way Mary did, so you’ll find more specific comments in the choreographers’ section. To comment on just the dancers, they definitely committed to the piece. Who expected that much theatrics from Caitlin!? I thought she did wonderful! They both did really well with the characters, but Caitlin’s was the most difficult to sell, and she definitely threw herself into it 100%. I don’t think this routine will be memorable for the right reasons, but they danced it really well, so I hope that works out in their favor.

Jeanine & Phillip – hip-hop

Okay, this was freaking awesome! I was really impressed with Jeanine because she really hit the hip-hop elements like an expert (I said that before Nigel!). I get that the idea behind the routine was that the couple idea can be a burden, but while portraying that idea, they showed off how great of a couple they really are. Phillip did a great job of melding what he already does with the choreographers’ style as well. I’m glad they didn’t trip over the chain either because that would have been all bad. After a couple bummer routines, this was wonderfully refreshing!

Quote of the night goes to Jeanine: “Phillip’s knees are all torn up, and we have chains all over the place in our apartment.”

Melissa & Ade – pas de deux

This routine could not have been in better hands. I thought that before the routine even started. With Melissa as Juliet, I had a feeling it was going to be breathtaking, and it really was. I knew the dancing itself would be great, but think about the character. Melissa, who is 29, married, and has a bit of a naughty side to her, had to portray Juliet, who is 14-16 years old and falling in love for the very first time and looking forward to everything that entails. She portrayed that character beautifully and I’m really happy for her that she got to live her dream of being Juliet on stage in front of a large audience. Ade did an excellent job of showcasing Melissa and with his individual choreography. The height he gets on his leaps is insane, but his feet were sloppy. That’s the only thing I didn’t think was absolutely amazing, so overall, this was a really stellar showing. I thought afterward that I wished this routine closed the show.

Karla & Vitolio – quickstep

Yeah, the universe is conspiring to get rid of these two. It’s far too much coincidence to pull “the dreaded quickstep,” be the weakest dancers, and then come after a beautiful pas de deux and a touching video package. I fast-forwarded through their little “this is how hard it is to be on the show” piece because I just don’t care about these two. Having said that, they really did do a good job. I expected this routine to TANK! It’s the quickstep with my two least favorite dancers, I was ready to hate this, but they did well. One thing I have to point out, though: Did you notice how tepid the audience’s response was when Nigel said that Vitolio “brought it”? People just don’t care. While this was a good routine, I have no idea if they’ll stay out of the bottom. We totally should have ended with Melissa & Ade

Choreographers

Jean-Marc Genereux (and France!) – I love when you two are sassy! That cha-cha was wonderful. It was fun and it was hot but it was full of technical aspects of cha-cha. I’m really bad with ballroom because I don’t know what moves have their own terms, but the routine looked really similar to what we see the professional dancers producing and performing on Dancing with the Stars (but later in the competition when the stars are really good). This routine was a textbook cha-cha with all the Jean-Marc and France twists that make a routine distinctly yours. Bravo!

I love that you know the quickstep is dreaded and then go from there to create something that becomes the exception and not the rule. I thought it was really cute. The thing with the dress was awesome! I like that you include other elements of side-by-side choreography to make routines interesting.