<p>So…what did people think? I thought everyone was great tonight. Except Christina Perri (the singer). I think she is awful and my daughter and I always made fun of that cheesy “Jar of Hearts” song when it came on the radio in the car.</p>
<p>Glad Zach and Jacque made it through. I think they will both be cut soon, though. It’s too bad Emilio had to go tonight–I loved his routine.</p>
<p>Oh, man I LOVED tonight’s show. My favorite piece was the last Nappy Tabs hip hop with Twitch as the old guy and Jessica. I think it rivaled the one that Twitch and Alex Wong did a couple of years ago, right before he got hurt. It was just delightful. To me it all was wonderful, though. </p>
<p>I love twitch. Love love love. I was a bit disappointed with Ricky and Laurens choreography. They could have done more with that couple. </p>
<p>church, I have seen the Twitch/Alex duet on YouTube…amazing. </p>
<p>I kind of agree about Ricky and Lauren–although (of course) he looked better than she did. I thought his facial expressions were great. And from what the judges said, this thing is his to lose…</p>
<p>Maybe it is my eyes or my TV, but it seemed that the stage was so dark in the ballet number, I couldn’t see their feet or anything below their knees. The top half looked pretty. I dozed off and didn’t wake up for Emilio’s number but I woke just in time for the judges’ critique. Sounds like it was good. I am ready for Rudy to go. He is starting to get on my nerves. And either Valerie or Jackie should go, too. I thought Casey looked good in his Broadway piece. He is tall enough to play the leading man part well. I was pleasantly surprised by Twitch and Jessica! I love Twitch, but I didn’t think she could keep up with him in that style, but she did.</p>
<p>I pick Ricky, Casey, Tunisha, and Jessica for the top four. We already know that Ricky is the one to beat.</p>
<p>Rudy’s look bothers me. I do feel bad that he comes from the same studio as Ricky. They definitely don’t mention that on the show!</p>
<p>Jacque had a really hard, flat-footed landing in the ballet piece. I think they always treat ballet dancers like they are in some other category but the truth is many of them just do ballet because it’s part of their training. </p>
<p>As an aside, did anyone see the Misty Copeland commercial for Under Armour? Wow. </p>
<p>I didn’t realize there was only one winner this year instead of one male and one female. That makes it a lot less interesting, since it is so clearly going to be Ricky.</p>
<p>sally305, I saw Misty in the Under Armour commercial. Wow is right. She has more muscles that Tony Romo and would probably last longer on the football field than he will, too. 
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<p>Casey is peaking at the right time and Zach continues to surprise. Casey and TRUE all-star Kathryn were perfectly matched and had great choreography, unlike Ricky and Lauren. Jessica May not be the best dancer overall but she is a stunning beauty-- a blonde “equivalent” of Kathryn McCormick. Ricky lost some of his lead tonight, IMO.</p>
<p>I hope Valerie’s time is up next. Her immaturity is getting on my nerves.</p>
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<p>Love love love her, too!</p>
<p>I know Ricky is technically superior, but when it comes to contemporary dancers, I think a guy with longer limbs and torso brings so much more to the stage, so much more ability to convey meaning and emotion. But he seems like a sweetie, and I know that counts for a lot in the voting process. Have to keep reminding myself it’s America’s “favorite” dancer, not "“best”.</p>
<p>MommaJ, have you watched any of Ricky’s other videos (i.e., not from SYTYCD–I have linked a few in this thread and there are more on YouTube)? That is how I first “discovered” him and I actually thought he must be very tall due to his lines and extension. I also see more emotion in him than I do in a lot of other dancers, on the show and off. Of course, everything in dance is subjective. I do think he is unusually gifted, but his sweet personality is just icing on the cake–not the reason he should win the competition.</p>
<p>My son in law has just begun watching SYTYCD with our daughter (his wife). He calls Ricky “Harry Potter” —thinks he looks a lot like Daniel Radcliffe. 
Not sure I see it…</p>
<p>MommaJ, I tend to agree with you – I loved Tucker last season. But I do think Ricky dances taller than he actually is, if you know what I mean, because of his extension and lines.</p>
<p>I was thinking that perhaps they purposefully made the lighting dark for the ballet piece so we didn’t focus on her feet. She’s not really a strong ballet dancer and she even talked quite a bit about the concern on being en pointe. </p>
<p>My favorites are Jessica and Zack. Ricky’s really good, but I’d rather see Jessica or Zack win. </p>
<p>Some good performances tonight, including the bottom two men and women from last week. I thought top dances were the first (Ricky) and the last (Jessica). </p>
<p>I was so sorry to see Rudy go! I thought he was wonderful tonight, and watching both his and Ricky’s performances, I realized that Rudy (and the other male dancers) have something Ricky lacks–sex appeal. Ricky is a cute munchkin (looking especially so when standing next to Cat), but in my shallow way I guess I need that extra something in a male dancer, particularly when so many of the dances have romantic themes. And poor Tanisha, whose talent as a dancer could not outweigh the cuteness factor of the other female dancers. (Has there ever been a female winner who wasn’t cute?) I was hoping the stylists would cut the girl some bangs to disguise that ginormous forehead. (I say that as someone who has worn bangs all my life to cover a large, though not ginormous, forehead.) She’s a girl who needs all the help she can get from a hairstyle, but instead wears her hair in the most unflattering way. </p>
<p>One positive thing about this season is that we have no hip hopper/krumper who is inept at every other style but voted in over and over based on personality. In fact, I haven’t seen any performances that made me cringe. The judges aren’t offering much criticism, and at first I thought they were adopting Steven Tyler’s American Idol tongue-bath-for-everyone technique, but I really think they have little to carp about because all the dancers are so good.</p>
<p>I thought everyone did great except I felt underwhelmed by Casey’s hip hop (the “spider” piece with Comfort) and by Jacque’s hip hop with Twitch. The judges all said they thought Jacque did great, but I thought she looked like a ballet dancer trying to do hip hop. I LOVED the opening number, and it was great to see everyone’s solos. I am happy that Zach and Valerie finally get to show off their tap skills and still think it unfair that they are the ONLY dancers who never get to compete in their own style….</p>
<p>I don’t hate Rudy, but I would have been heartbroken to see him stay and Casey go. And all I can say is, wow, America must really love Valerie. She is cute and all, but clearly the least proficient girl left.</p>