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Top 18 Dance: Let The Groove In-Justin Timberlake
Standouts: Obviously Virgil, due to placement. Edson. Yorelis. Alexia. I saw a little bit of Moises and Derek and wasn’t impressed by either. The dance is a little bit a mix of bollywood and hip hop. Pretty cool infusion. Definitely a Virgil dance. He must be polling well.
Click to Watch Top 18 Group Dance Performance VIDEO
Cat walks out with Twitch and Travis and Twitch. The team captains. Team Street pulled in 48% of the vote, and Team Stage pulled in 52% of the vote. I wonder if the top dancer is from Team Stage or Street though. It’s still possible that the most voted dancer is from Team Street.
Same judges this week. Jason Derulo is not the hottest name in pop, but OK Cat. We’ll let it slide this time.
1) Jaja, Derek, Alexia- Contemporary with Stacey Tookey- All Waters- Perfume Genius
Derek plays a Veteran in this. Twitch says the piece is about bravery. Stacey says she’s impressed with Jaja. Stacey says Alexia is starting to shine, and Travis wants to know who she is. LOL. Derek says his character is hard to relate to. No positive comments from Stacey about Derek? LOL. He’s in his own style. OK, so costumes and lighting are on point for once. I feel Jaja. She’s giving everything. Derek looks great, but there’s no emoition. Jaja’s performance is off the charts right now. Great job. Alexia looks fantastic. I need more emotion from Derek, but otherwise this was a great routine. Nigel calls Alexia a fireball, and says she did a tremendous job. Nigel thought Derek did a good job. Nigel wouldn’t have guessed that Jaja was a krumper. Nigel says she’s an all around beautiful dancer who blooms every week. Paula gives props to Stacey. To be fair, Derek and Alexia are in their style. Paula thought Derek had his best night. There have only been two weeks Paula. Paula says Alexia is being seen. Paula says Jaja is growing into an accomplished dancer. Jason Derulo says the piece was timed perfectly, and that our country needed to see that. He also thought it was Derek’s best. RESULTS! All three dancers are safe, after Cat fakes out Derek.
Click to Watch Jaja, Derek, Alexia Contemporary Performance VIDEO
Derek being safe worries me. Who did he knock into the bottom three?
2) Megz, Moises, and Jim – Hip Hop by Jaquel Knight
Jim has Hip Hop again and Megz is dancing in her style. I think Jaquel is a new choreographer. Megz is excited to be working with him. He choreographed Single Ladies. Moises talks about being in the bottom 3 for Team Stage. Travis thought Moises was doing well picking up choreo. Moises wants to show the judges he can do hip hop. They all have Hoodie jackets with their names on it for the routine. Another solid costuming. The weeks of awful costumes might be gone. Megz is killing it. SO MUCH SWAG. You know what? Jim’s got Swag too. Moises is trying so hard. He just doesn’t have the swag that the other two have. If Megz wasn’t dancing right now, I might be fooled into thinking that was enough… but she’s on stage. So Moises just looks like he’s doing a good, not great job. Sorry sports fans. Paula says they’re all accomplished dancers, and Paula says they had to commit to being in character and over the top. Paula felt that Megz could have given more, Moises needed to drop down into it, but that Jim was giving his all. Jason thought it was cool, and says Megz dropped off in the last 25%. He called the two boys her backup dancers. He says they’ll struggle getting votes. Nigel adds thought Megz gave it everything she could, he doesn’t think Moises can be mean. He didn’t think the boys did a good job. Wow. Really mixed feedback. RESULTS! Jim and Megz are SAFE. Moises is in danger again. He’s getting Rayvon’d. LOL. People feel like they’ve already voted for him once.
Click to Watch Megz, Moises, and Jim – Hip Hop Performance VIDEO
Edson, JJ, and Yorelis are up next. Team Street hasn’t put a single dancer in the bottom yet. Are these two girls in dancer?
3) Edson, JJ, Yorelis- Jazz with Tovaris Wilson- Restart by Sam Smith
JJ says there’s a street vibe. Twitch calls it sassy. He thinks his girls are holding their own against Edson. Travis wants Edson to own his sex appeal. Tovaris says they need to bring the joy, on top of the musicality. Interesting costume choices… They can’t all be winners. Edson looks like the winner here. There are some moves that Yorelis doesn’t seem to land. A lot of her arms aren’t great. JJ has the same problem sometimes. I’d give both girls a B+ for that. Jason thought it was good. He liked the spin, jump into the split. Jason thought he should flirt more with both girls and not look straight forward the whole time. Nigel says the girls are two of his favorites. Nigel thinks Edson needs to use his sexuality. Paula thought the girls were bright lights, but they need to watch their technique. Point toes. Arms. She thought Yorelis was more comfortable. RESULTS! Edson is in danger. Yorelis and JJ are safe. No one from Team Street is in danger yet.
Click to Watch Edson, JJ, Yorelis- Jazz Performance VIDEO
Asaf and Marissa- Chacha with Jean Marc– Oh lord. Asaf has to pick up Cha Cha? Travis says Marissa has a tough job doing Cha Cha with Asaf. Marissa has a VERY positive attitude about Asaf. No complaining. Good girl. That should get you votes. Twitch says Asaf is struggling, yet he’s proud of Asaf. Is this a redemption arc for Asaf? Marissa looks fantastic. Asaf needs more bounce in some sections. He’s really stiff, and a little slow on his turns. He’s relying on his sex appeal for this. He knows how to sell that. He does all the lifts, so props for that. He doesn’t have the technique, but he clearly tried this week. He’s come a long way. Marissa killed it though. Nigel said it didn’t feel like the cha cha. Obviously it was dumbed down for Asaf, Nigel. Nigel says it felt like “protection cha-cha”. LOL. Nigel thought Marissa did everything required of her. Nigel tells her to remember to look more at her partner. Nigel gives props to Asaf for working hard this week. Nigel thought it wasn’t good for Asaf. He says Asaf has to keep working hard. Paula says Asaf says he’s come a long way, and he gets an A for effort even though the dance didn’t work for him. Paula thought she looked sexy, but she looked like she was there for herself. Jason says they didn’t have a connection. He says Asaf has to flex his muscles to get some votes. RESULTS: Marissa is safe. Asaf is in danger.
Click to Watch Asaf and Marissa – Cha cha Performance VIDEO
Will you Twitter save Asaf? If you don’t twitter save Asaf, do you think there’s a world in which the judges keep Asaf around?
5) Ariana, Burim, and Gaby- African Jazz with Sean Cheeseman- Gorilla by Lord KraVen
Shaun says Gaby was bringing the sex appeal. Shaun says the girls are beasting it, and thinks this will be a breakthrough moment for Ariana. Twitch says this piece will show why they saved Ariana. Burim looks like he’s struggling. Sean says the girls are overshadowing him. Burim says he was getting frustrated. Really cool costumes again. Yes, Gaby and Ariana are killing it. Burim is trying, but these girls are fierce. Ariana needed this breakout moment, and for Gaby, it’s just another solid performance. Burim might be in danger. Shaun let him have some floor work. Again, it’s “protection” dancing for Burim. Burim gave character though, so, good for him on that. Paula says it was a strong routine by Shaun. Paula says she loves watching Burim’s package. LOL. That’s awesome. Everyone laughs, she didn’t get it at first. Paula says it’s about overcoming adversity, and he pulled through. Well done. Paula tells the ladies that they were fierce. She loves the costumes, the canes, the precision, and says well done. Jason tells Burim not to be afraid to look for her foot, and says it was conceptually one of the best dances for him tonight. Nigel thought Ariana looked great and was powerful. Nigel is proud of Gaby. Nigel thought Burim was terrific compared to where he came from, and has Burim work on his second position. RESULTS! Ariana and Burim are in danger. Gaby is safe.
Click to Watch Ariana, Burim, and Gaby – African Jazz Performance VIDEO
Asaf is toast unless you save him. #truth
National Dance Day hype.
6) Kate and Neptune- Contemporary with Justin Giles- Promise by Ben Howard
Neptune is already safe, as there are already three dancers in the bottom. Neptunes character is about to leave for a long period of time, and this is them saying goodbye. Justin is impressed with their connection so far. Lots of new choreographers this year. LOVE this song. Wow. Really impressed with Neptune. I didn’t think I’d say that. Kate is in her style, yet I feel like Neptune is outdancing her. That’s not a good sign. My eyes are drawn to him and not her. She doesn’t really connect with Neptune until the end, yet Neptune connected with her long before that. Jason says the piece was beautiful. He thought they had chilling chemistry, and it felt like they were an actual item. Grade A performance. He thought Kate came out of her shell, and it was his favorite performance of her. He thinks Neptune might be his favorite this week. Nigel says the routine was interesting. He talks about how people used to complain when black guys danced with white girls in the early stages of the show. He says we’ve come so far from that. Paula says Kate was just right, and Neptune is one of her favorites. RESULTS! Neptune is safe. Kate is in danger. That completes your bottom six.
Click to Watch Kate and Neptune – Contemporary Performance VIDEO
That means the next couple, Hailee and Virgil are both safe. That is a TOUGH bottom three for Team Stage.
7) Virgil and Hailee- Hip Hop by Pharside and Phoenix- Runnin’ Noahplause
They were surprised about Hailee. Hailee admits she’s studied hip hop before this. Again, strong costumes. They look like robots. Costumes are mostly on point tonight. Dance of the night? Possibly. Both dancers are killing it. I can’t tell that Hailee is out of her style. She hits it hard and brings a character to it. Virgil is a true performer. He’s had a great night also tonight. Standing O from the judges. They stay in character on the walk to judges comments. Nigel says they’re the best two characters this year. Hailee’s light is off, and she plays along, as Virgil turns her back on. Nigel thinks this show will still be going on for a 20th anniversary. Really? Paula is angry about the package jokes still happening. Paula says it was fantastic and crazy fun. Jason always knew Virgil was crazy, and says it’s a whole new Hailee. Jason didn’t know she was this good at street. Nigel gives props to Pharside and Phoenix. RESULTS! They’re already safe. It probably helps your performance to know you’re safe already.
Click to Watch Virgil and Hailee – Hip Hop Performance VIDEO
These two are definitely getting votes from me this week.
Twitter Vote is OPEN! Who will you save? Asaf, Burim, or Ariana? Edson, Moises, or Kate?
I voted to #SaveEdson and #SaveAriana
8) Team Stage Group Routine- Contemporary by Jaci Royal- For My Help by Hayden Calnin
Who will stand out? I’m drawn to Hailee, Edson, Kate (because of placement mostly), and Gaby. Kate had a lot of great placement there.
Click to Watch Team Stage Group Routine – Contemporary Performance VIDEO
After the break…
9) Team Street Group Routine- Hip Hop with Marty Kudelka- Break Ya Neck- Busta Rhymes
This choreographer is new and legendary apparently. Virgil says it feels like being in a Justin Timberlake video. Jaja gets featured immediately. Neptune is killing it. Virgil is killing it. I see JJ for once. Asaf is struggling. So is Burim. Asaf has more personality though. Yorelis gets a feature moment. Asaf has more swag than Burim. Sorry. I’ve seen harder choreo.
Click to Watch Team Street Group Routine – Hip Hop Performance VIDEO
RESULTS TIME!
SAFE SO FAR:
TEAM STAGE:
Derek
Alexia
Jim
Marissa
Gaby
Hailee
TEAM STREET
Jaja
Megz
Yorelis
JJ
Neptune
Virgil
IN DANGER OF BEING ELIMINATED:
TEAM STREET: Asaf, Burim, Ariana
TEAM STAGE: Moises, Edson, Kate
SAVED VIA TWITTER VOTE: Ariana and Kate
Nigel says both B Boys bring something special to the competition. Nigel says neither have reached their true potential. ASAF IS SAVED. Good lord.
SAVED BY THE JUDGES: Asaf and Edson
ELIMINATED: Burim and Moises
Click to Watch SYTYCD Top 18 Elimination VIDEO
Do you agree with the judges? Did Asaf deserve to outlive Burim? How do you feel about saying goodbye to Moises?
Who was your favorite tonight? Don’t forget to vote and comment below!
Join me next Monday for the Top 16!
