Tonight we get the beginning of the competition! But it's not as happy an occasion as usual due to two major disappointments: Billy Bell is out for the season with mono, and Noelle might be out with a knee injury. Billy's replacement is Brandon, from the Top 38 from the past 2 seasons, while the choreographer replaced Noelle in the pinch. Well, let's get into the dances!
Couple: Channing & Phillip
Choreographer: Jason Gilkenson
Dance: Jive
Song: Rockin' Robin The Jackson 5
Cute, but Channing didn't look light on her feet and didn't have enough retraction in her leg kicks. They made the lift look hard, you could definitely tell they were thinking and worrying about it before it happened.
Couple: Ashleigh & Jakob
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Dance: Broadway
Song: Hit Me with a hot note (and watch me bounce)
Wow, Ashleigh was out for 4.5 year with an illness? I wonder what she had. That was an impressive jump by Jakob. He's so good! He was born to "spread the gospel of dance."
Couple: Ariana & Peter
Choreographer: Nappy Tabs
Dance: Hip Hop
Song: Black & Gold by Sam Sparro
Ariana's cute with her country roots and backstory. I like the story of emotionless robots who can't resist each other. The head glide was impressive and unexpected. It had a cute ending with the robot kiss. I disagreed with the judges, who weren't that impressed. I thought the middle was the best, where the beat picked up.
Couple: Russell
Dance: Foxtrot
Song: Vagabond Shoes, Vic Damone.
Noelle & Russell would be a cute pairing if she can stay on the show. He's smooth, but the choreographer is distracting. I liked the ending with the rejected kiss. I thought it was a solid dance, but definitely not the best. Adam thinks he "defies explanation".
Couple: Bianca & Victor
Choreographer: Travis Wall
Dance: Contemporary
Song: Wasted Time, Me'Shell
Bianca had a cool roll on the floor. Wow, that slow lowering to the floor and roll over each other was impressive. I loved the image of her standing on his back. This may have been my favorite routine of the night.
Couple: Karen & Kevin
Dance: Cha Cha
Song: Push it, GLEE!
I would not have pegged Kevin for a model. He's just more masculine than I picture them. There was that cool threading lift at the end, but otherwise I wasn't too impressed. I loved Shankman's comment about "This was her world and you [Kevin] were just visiting" Karen's on the Hot Tamale Train in the first week! I have to disagree with the judges here, this was one of my least favorites of the night.
Couple: Elenore & Ryan
Choreographer: Sonya
Dance: Contemporary
Song: Arcadia, Apparat.
Interesting story within the dance of a dark creature taking over an angelic creature, it's just so Sonya. Beautiful lift and split. The dance was very quirky. I loved the last image, where the dark creature takes over. It was a great great dance, but overhyping it in the intro video hurt it a bit.
Couple: Brandon & Pauline
Choreographer: Jason Gilkenson
Dance: Smooth Waltz
Song: You Light Up My Life, Whitney Houston.
It was such a cute, romantic dance and they had great chemistry. It's even more impressive that he was able to do all that after just a day and a half!
Couple: Kathryn & Legacy
Choreographer: Dave Scott
Dance: Hip Hop
Song: On & On Missy Elliott.
I loved the evolution to standing. Legacy had a sweet one hand side stand. I like how "luckily" Legacy got hip hop. Seems pretty convenient to me. I mean, I think he's great at what he does, but if he had gotten any other style he would likely have gone home tonight. This was one of my favorites of the night.
Couple: Molly & Nathan
Choreographer: Doriana Sanchez
Dance: Disco
Song: Turn the Beat Around, Gloria Estaban
Interesting that it was inspired by Mexican wrestling, but I really didn't see that in the dance. There were some great stunts in this dance, including a crazy double split and then the flip. Also, that crazy spin with her legs around his head. They must be the youngest couple on the show, they looked like babies! Nathan looked very 70s with his shaggy hair and that outfit.
Solos:
Ariana - Darkest Hour, Charlotte martine.
Russel - Give the Drummer Sum, Black Milk. Crazy leg move inthe beginning. How does he move his body like that?!
Pauline - Magelenha, Sergio Mendes.
Brandon - Slow Dancing in a Buring Room, John Mayer.
Goodbye Ariana and Brandon. Hopefully Nigel can get the rules bent so he can try out again next season.
Tonight's Playlist:
Channing/Phillip - Jason Gilkenson's Jive to Rockin' Robin by The Jackson 5
Ashleigh/Jakob - Tyce Diorio's Broadway to Hit Me with a Hot Note (and Watch Me Bounce)
Ariana/Peter - Nappy Tabs' Hip Hop to Black & Gold by Sam Sparro
Russell - Foxtrot to Vagabond Shoes by Vic Damone
Bianca/Victor - Travis Wall's Contemporary to Wasted Time by Me'Shell
Karen/Kevin - Cha Cha to Push it from GLEE!
Elenore/Ryan - Sonya's Contemporary to Arcadia by Apparat
Brandon/Pauline - Jason Gilkenson's Smooth Waltz to You Light Up My Life by Whitney Houston
Kathryn/Legacy - Dave Scott's Hip Hop to On & On Missy Elliott
Molly/Nathan - Doriana Sanchez's Disco to Turn the Beat Around by Gloria Estaban
Ariana - Contemporary Solo to Darkest Hour by Charlotte Martin
Russel - Krump Solo to Give the Drummer Sum by Black Milk
Pauline - Jazz Solo to Magelenha by Sergio Mendes
Brandon - Contemp-hop to Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer.
