Join me here tonight for the return of DANCE after a two week hiatus! Post in the comments! Who goes home tonight?
Top 6 And All Stars- What The World Needs Now- Choreographed by Travis Wall
Beautiful contemporary piece. What a way to start the show and remind us how great the dancers all are. I can’t wait for tonight! – Watch Performance Video
Our judges are Nigel, Paul, Maddie, and Jason. No guest judges tonight. Everyone’s schedules worked out. I don’t like Jason’s man bun. Let the man bun die.
Next week is the 250th show! Wow!
1) Kida and Fik-Shun- Hip Hop by Luther- Blow A Cheek
Kida comes out for an interview. Cat presses him that he has a crush on someone. He says its a secret. He calls everyone “so sweet”, except Tate who has “long legs”. LOL. Is Tate not sweet either? Kida has grown a lot as a performer, and come out of his shell. Fik-Shun really is doing a great job rubbing off on him. This dance shows off how much swag Kida has gotten, and how much better he’s gotten. He’s not quite on Fik-Shun’s level yet, but he’s really close. Maybe by the finale. His personality definitely is there. I liked this. Didn’t blow my mind, but it was a fun dance. Nigel notes the growth in Kida’s personality. Paula says he delivers each week. Maddie says they have swag. Jason explains that hip hop is all about the vibe now, and Kida did that. – Watch Performance Video with Solo
2) Tate and Katherine- Contemporary by Mandy Moore- Rise Up
Later she’s doing a paso doble with Kida. The piece is about sisterhood this week. I was wondering how long it would take for someone to use rise Up this season. It’s a pretty dance, but if I hadn’t been told the story, I don’t think I would have gotten it from the choreography, which is unusual. I usually love Mandy Moore’s choreo. Not my favorite Tate piece. A little bit of a waste of Rise Up for the season. She did OK, but not my favorite. Paula calls it a beautiful partnership. Maddie says she’s becoming a beautiful performer. Jason says it was another stunning performance. Nigel needs Tate to keep digging down to find the emotion that Katherine seems to find. – Watch Performance Video with Solo
Ruby has a bit where she made a little movie while she was gone. She’s eating the the Bertie Bots jelly beans. It’s silly. whatever.
3) Ruby’s Solo
After that, Ruby comes out fierce and ready to prove that ballroom isn’t dead. She looks great. Lots of great footwork. Good solo.
4) Emma and JT- Contemporary by Travis
Travis says this is the smallest duo he’s ever worked with. Adorable costumes, really pretty use of grayscale. Cute dance. It’s like out of a Disney movie. These two have more connection than Tate and Katherine did. Maddie thought they danced very mature, and had good fluidity. Jason calls it an unbelievable concept. Nigel says it didn’t work for him, and showed their shortcomings as dancers. He preferred Tate’s routine. He says it was too sweet for him. Paula says they got better since dress rehearsal, and tells Emma to watch her feet from sickling. – Watch Performance Video
Tahani teaches everyone how to make bows.
5) Tahani’s Solo- Bring Em Out
She hits hard, and comes out cute in the end. I liked it. Not crazy about the hat, which hid her face a bit too much.
6) Ruby and Paul- Jive with Mark Ballas- Rip It Up
Ruby is working with Mark Ballas this week. Last ballroom dancer standing. Ruby ad Paul both look great. I wanted more from that lift kick. Otherwise, I loved this dance, and I don’t always love jives. That was stupid fun. My favorite dance of the night so far. Jason says that dance was like off ESPN. Jason says he thinks we’re seeing a new dancer starting today. Nigel says the song was great and gave them energy. Nigel thinks Ruby is the happiest person he’s ever met. Paula agrees with Jason, that Ruby feels like a different dancer. The girl probably enjoyed her break. – Watch Performance Video with Solo
Tate is a singer/songwriter sometimes. Not bad.
7) Tate’s Solo- Take A Break
Tate’s decided to go more jazzy for her solo this week. Trying to bring out some personality. I like the choice.
8) Gaby, Jenna, Katherine, Sasha- Contemporary by Mandy Moore
That was pretty. I’m not sure why we got that dance, but it was better than the duet she choreographed earlier. – Watch Performance Video
9) Tate and Kida – Paso Doble – By Mark Ballas
So this is Tate’s last dance. She’s already done, and JT has only danced once. Emma has only danced once. Why is Tate getting shafted with all her performances in the first hour? Kida looks like he fell out of the Broadwway cast of Hair. Not my favorite routine. The turns feel slow. I’m impressed that Kida was able to even kinda pull this off. Kida shocked Nigel. Nigel says his dad would be proud. Paula thought it was a brilliant routine, and they executed a difficult style beautifully. On point. Beautiful. Maddie loved it. Jason says they executed with ease. It’s funny that Tate is getting shafted by having all three performances in the first hour, yet the judges praise her for her OK dances. – Watch Performance Video
JT jumps o a pogo stick for apparently 505 jumps.
10) JT’s Solo- Feeling Good
WOW. SLAY. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSS. JT’s best solo, ever.
Emma plays the trombone.
11) Emma’s Solo- Foc
FOC! That was some good tapping. See what I did there? Y’all need to calm down, Foc was the name of the song. Get your minds out of the gutter. :)
12) Ruby and Tahani- Broadway with Al Blackstone -Stand by Me
Loved this dance. I think Tahani maybe had a little edge over Ruby, but it was a ton of fun, and both girls killed it. Paula thought it was joyful, and it looked like they got it down. Maddie says she loved it. She offers very little feedback. Such a pointless judge. Jason thought it was enjoyable, but not one of the standouts of the night. Nigel agrees with Jason, and says it won’t be memorable. He thinks Al could have pushed them harder. I don’t think the choreography is their fault. I think they killed what they were given. – Watch Performance Video
13) The Other Six All Stars- Hip Hop with Luther Brown
Marko, Paul, Comfort, Robert, Jonathan, and Fik-Shun. Comfort is just unreal. They should do a Step Up movie just around her. I liked that more than I did the contemporary routine. – Watch Performance Video
14) Emma an Gaby- Tap with Nick- We Will Rock You
Emma’s been gluten free all day. Real question. Why? Does she have Celiac disease? What an odd son to tap to. There’s such a study well-known beat, to tap over that is kinda odd. I kinda like it though. Standing O from the judges. Maddie thought Emma was right up there with Gaby. Jason agrees, and says it was all about the tap and the rhythm, He thinks they nailed it. Nigel thinks he did a good job getting more out of Emma. Nigel loves having tap every week. Paula calls it “spectapular”. – Watch Performance Video with Solo
Kida has a deaf brother, so he knows sign language. He teaches some sign language to his buddies.
15) Kida’s Solo- Boogie Brother
Kida’s even getting better at his solos. Fik-Shun is clearly a great mentor. The proof is in Kida’s growth over the season. Much more personality in his solos than when the season began.
16) JT and Robert- Broadway with Al- Mr Bojangles
One day Comfort went in JT’s tent and Instagrammed it. JT got even, and raps a little bit. JT calls Robert his Mr Bojangles. AWWWW. No one gets that reference, but its adorable for those of us who do. What I love about JT is that he always dances bigger than he is. I love this dance. He’s a really great performer. Standing O from the judges. Jason says it was brilliantly choreographed. Jason says it was astonishing to see his maturity in that dance. Most consistent pair on the show. Nigel says it will live on in his memory after the show is over. Nigel says his mentor was Sammy Davis Jr. Nigel says they’re the most fantastic couple. Paula says that they are a gift to each other. Maddie says the dance was the perfect story for them. – Watch Performance Video with Solo
17) Tahani and Comfort- Hip Hop with Jamal Sims- Banji
Jamal calls it girl scouts go bad. BANJI. Be Authentic. Never Jeopardize your Individuality. They’re using baseball bats in this routine. Should be dangerously interesting. Tahani has really improved on her ability to do serious, hard hip hop. I like how she’s grown over the course of the show. I hope her journey doesn’t end tonight. Nigel says Tahani inspires. Paula calls them fierce, and loves the outfits. Maddie says they “dealed” with their props so well. Don’t drop out of school yet, Maddie. Jason loved it too. – Watch Performance Video with Solo
Next week, Maddie dances with Travis. The contestants will be choreographing their own routines next week. Wow.
Based on what I’ve seen tonight, I’d send Tate home. I think she’s plateaued, and is riding on the strength of her All-Star. I don’t want to stop seeing the growth that the other next gen’s have been showing. I could maybe be OK with Emma going home, but I don’t want to lose JT, Kida, Ruby, or Tahani right now.
Nigel gives a pep talk before the elimination. He must not agree with the elimination.
Ruby is eliminated. Damn. Really? She was SO FIERCE this week. She’s trying not to cry. I wonder if ballroom can ever win this show. – Watch Elimination VIDEO
The top 5 compete next week. JT, Kida, Tahani, Emma, and Tate.
I stand by what I said pre-elimination. I’d send home Tate, especially based on this week. Join me again next week for the Top Five!
