<p>This is only my second season watching, and I have no dance knowledge or experience. My favorites are Eliana and Chehon. I felt bad for Matthew a few weeks ago when a guest judge told him it was his to lose. That was a reckless and stupid remark, IMHO.</p>
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<p>Me, too! It made me happy to hear the Ballet Boys guy tell Chehon he could come dance with them.</p>
<p>I’ve got two dancers in my house (one boy, one girl) and we’ve been watching this show since season 1. I have to say that we all find this season pretty boring. Some of the boys are good ballet/contemporary but they all seem to be lacking in personality. I can’t even remember names. I didn’t mind re-dancing last night, but it just seemed kind of lazy - couldn’t they get any choreographers to work over the Olympic break. Hope things pick up when they add all stars.</p>
<p>Last night was disappointing. Ryan Gosling is gone! Ooops, I meant Matthew. Will should’ve been the one in his place instead. None of the dancers out-danced the original dancers of Mias various routines. To be objective, I watched the show again and I was a little less harsh.</p>
<p>Door routine: Twitch & Katie put so much character into that routine while Eliana and Cyrus paled in comparison. Eliana is an excellent dancer though. </p>
<p>Hometown Glory: Joshua & Katie had so much chemistry. I didnt see that with Tiffany & George but I like this couple.</p>
<p>Butt routine: Ugh. Amelia and Will do not even come close to Randi and Evans stage presence.</p>
<p>Bed routine: Im not particularly fond of the choreography but it clearly showed why Janelle should go. Dareian was actually good here. Twitch and Kherington made this ho-hum routine watchable.</p>
<p>Heaven(?) routine: Not also fond of the choreography here. Since Audrey and Matt are my fave couple Im biased and say they performed it just as well as Neil and Lacey with Audrey having an edge. But it looks like Matt was careful in dancing over all the flowers on the floors. I would too. One slip means injury. </p>
<p>Bench routine: Danced originally by Travis and Heidi. Chehon executed the dance well but not as good as Travis. Witney was at par with Heidis dancing. </p>
<p>Addiction: The original dancers, Kayla and Kupono, absolutely nailed this routine. While Lindsay has improved since she started at SYTYCD she ** cannot** hold a candle to Kayla. Not even a match. :)</p>
<p>I do applaud Cole deciding not to try to emulate Kuponos sinister interpretation because Kupono did an A++ job. Cole instead went for a creepy The Grudge-The Ring ghost interpretation, I think.</p>
<p>During the individual routines, Lindsay tried to do Laceys Hip Chin Chin but she doesnt have Laceys sultry moves. IMO, she still cannot ride Mary Murhpys hot tamale train.</p>
<p>For me, there is a standout piece this season. Travis Walls Titanic routine danced by Audrey and Matt. Bravo indeed!</p>
<p>[Audrey</a> & Matthew (Travis Wall -Titanic) - SYTYCD S9 (Top 20) - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
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<p>That’s my D’s favorite, too.</p>
<p>The Titanic dance was great.</p>
<p>I did not see the performance that threw Matt into the bottom group, but Matt was kind of dull yesterday.</p>
<p>I agree with Missypie a page back on the grilling Nigel did about Mia - how totally awkward! It was clear from the clip they showed that the dancers - especially Matthew- were totally in tune with the importance and meaning of this dance. </p>
<p>This is my first season truly watching and gotta say, NOT a Nigel fan! I wanted to tell HIM to put down his shoulders and relax - Mr. Unpositive! Criticism is fine and appropriate but geez, just no warm and fuzzies from him this week! And the two guest judges - strange that they had never watched the show…this season or any season it seemed!</p>
<p>I think letting go of Amelia was a big mistake. Personally, I’m over the blondes - just personal preference. And of all the guys, I thought George would be the first to go - apparently I have a lot to learn here!!!</p>
<p>Dstark, yes you are correct. Matt had a lackluster performance but I like him because he only started dancing five years ago. I actually criticized his performance (see post #124) but I blame the choreographer for picking awful salsa music.</p>
<p>Abasket, Nigel was the loser in that episode. Tsk, tsk. Harping on the kids about Mia’s personal stuff. Unbelievable.</p>
<p>I’m with megpmom: I find the season lackluster. it is probably because of the Olympics hiatus, but I’m not connecting at all with any of the contestants. I don’t remember names, and don’t see anything outstanding. </p>
<p>I’m thinking the format is part of the problem also. Wonder if show is on its way out, as it seems that they are trying to squeeze two nights into one.</p>
<p>I was saying exactly the same thing to my daughter yesterday. I just can’t get into this season at all - I find myself bored and playing on my laptop instead of watching the dances. I think it is the format where we have just not gotten to know the dancers at all.</p>
<p>As for Nigel and the harping on at those poor kids about Mia’s personal stuff - utterly cringe-making. I had to mute him, it was so awful.</p>
<p>I also don’t feel like I know any of the dancers, but I thought it was because I didn’t watch the auditions and Vegas week. I also missed half of this week’s show because I forgot all about it during the Olympics break. I did watch about 10 minutes of one of the audition shows, saw Audrey dance and said, “There’s your winner.” The judges seem to really love Witney and I don’t get that. I am looking forward to seeing Eliana dance with a real partner.</p>
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I am looking forward to seeing Eliana dance with a real partner. [/quote}</p>
<p>Yes! Can we please have Eliana + Chehon?</p>
<p>Without spoiling for the other time zones, I strongly disagree with the girl they saved.</p>
<p>I agree, musicmom.</p>
<p>No spoilers here:</p>
<p>Just want to say that ALL the dances tonight with the all stars were wonderful. And that I was, in fact, impressed with Cyrus. Bless his heart.</p>
<p>Edited to add that I was not surprised at the girl they saved. Though the girl who left clearly had the most dynamic solo, her piece tonight was not the best, IMO. I agreed with their decision, I think.</p>
<p>I like Witney and I can see why they saved her, but I had a soft spot for Audrey. I’m sorry to see her go.</p>
<p>How fabulous that Eliana had a real partner tonight and got to really show her stuff. She just might be the winner among the girls, with her combination of technique and stage presence.</p>
<p>Anyone remember Neil Haskell, who came in third in Season 3? (Blond, cute, very acrobatic dancer who did the duelling princes dance with Danny Tidwell.) I saw him Wed. night in the Broadway musical “Bring it On”, where he has what I’d call a small lead. Still adorable, very well-suited to the type of dance in the show, and he can sing decently enough–who knew? (Of course since I was at the show I missed the latest episode…ah well.) Ariana Debose, another SYTYCD alum (who I didn’t remember–she was eliminated early in Season 6) is also in the show in a small(er) lead. It makes me happy when I see any of these dancers having solid careers.</p>
<p>That is so cool, MommaJ! I saw “Bring It On” when it was here in Atlanta (last year?)—and was surprised at how great it was. I think it was being “workshopped” to some extent then, so I am not sure what changes were made. Certainly I don’t think Neil was in it—we would have remembered that! </p>
<p>And, yes, Eliana has been my pick to win this from day one. Literally—I think hers was the first audition they showed. Just like last year, I believe that Melanie’s audition was the first one featured. hmmmm…am I remembering that correctly??</p>
<p>When Cat previewed that Eliana was paired with Alex, my reaction was “Boy, they’re really making up for pairing her with Cyrus.” She is definitely my favorite girl too.</p>
<p>It was great seeing Alex again! So glad he and Eliana were paired.</p>
<p>I loved Cole last night and hated that Nigel felt the need to give him a lukewarm review. He really tries to influence the vote for his own chosen ones. :(</p>
<p>Twitch and Audrey were fantastic, too. I wish they’d kept her and dumped Witney.</p>