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So You Think You Can Dance — Top 20 Voting Begins

The evening started out well with a Mad-Men-ish dance, choreographed by Christopher Scott, to the song, “Architect of the Mind” by Kerry Muzzey. The judges for this evening were our resident judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy with the guest judge the fabulous Kenny Ortega. Many goosebump moments happened for me this evening.

What We Learned in 7 Seconds About Our Contestants

Witney Carson is 18, plays guitar and the drums, likes to golf, has over 100 relatives and is afraid of crickets. Chehon Wespi-Tschopp is 23. He was born in Chicago, but grew up in Switzerland. He is a ballet dancer, thinks in 2 languages and finds it hard to talk really fast. Tiffany Maher is 19. Her nickname is T-Maher-Starr, has “baby hands”, had a pet duck, and likes going to the beach. George Lawrence II is 19 and loves the color green. He loves collard greens, hates being outside, is camera shy and had a pet frog (want to bet he named it Kermit?). Janaya French is 20, wants to meet Shamu, loves fuzzy socks, hates orange candy and thinks Chucky is her worst nightmare. Brandon Mitchell is 27, from Kansas City, Kansas, is allergic to cats and dogs. His brother broke the world’s record for the long jump for 8 year olds. Alexa Anderson is 19, loves red lipstick, being outside, watermelon and puppies. She can eat frozen yogurt for every meal and her favorite topping is sprinkles. Daniel Baker humored things up by playing up America’s stereotypical idea of an Aussie. He is 24, puts shrimp on the barbie, throws boomerangs, has a pet kangaroo, is related to Crocodile Dundee and owns vegemite. Right. Amber Jackson is 21. She loves track, bunnies, and skating. She hates sausage and sleeps with stuffed animals. Nick Bloxson-Carter is 20, just took 23 credits and does not advise anyone else to be quite that insane. He loves movies, hanging out with friends, laughing, and the beach. His dad works at the Playboy mansion. Amelia Lowe is 18. Her dad is a tattoo artist. She was named after Amelia Earhart because her dad loves to fly planes. Her mom is a Pilates instructor.  Will Thomas is 19. Orange is his favorite color. He believes he is Simba. Janelle Issis is 24 and from Birmingham, Alabama. She likes the movie, “The Color Purple”. She can cook. She loves roller coasters. Dareian Kujawa is 20. He left home to join the circus. He used to play hockey. He hates spiders. He loves the color blue and can mimic Donald Duck. Eliana Girard is 21. She hates raisins, is addicted to “True Blood” and loves the word “Alfred.” Cyrus Spencer is also known as Glitch, is age 22, a Pisces (I knew I liked him for some reason!), has a dozen pair of gauges (earrings), is addicted to shoes and loves basketball. Audrey Case is 18 and is from Oklahoma. She reminded us that she can make fart noises with her neck. She collects elephants and loves Taylor Lautner. Matthew Kazmierczak is 21. He loves hiking, is definitely a cat person, is terrified of sharks, has 6 tattoos and is terrified of the mannequin that was in the room with him at the time of the interview. Cole Horibe is 26 and is a walking cliché. He is an Asian male who is a ninja martial artist. He liked math when he was “young” (oh please, like 26 is old?), and is part of the descendent line of the 47 Ronin Samurai. Lindsay Arnold is 18, likes food, hates spiders and tomatoes, cannot cook and gave someone stitches once.

Couples Dances

Dancers: Witney Carson and Chehon Wespi-Tschopp
Choreographer: Louis Van Amstel
Dance: Samba
Song: “Jump” by The Cube Guys and Lucinana

My opinion: I loved Witney’s pink dress. Chehon did well being a ballet dancer and worked the audience well during one of the moves, but he is too straight in his posture. Witney did a great job.

The Judges: Nigel thought Witney was a star. Chehon needed to relax more and enjoy the music. Mary pointed out Chehon’s foot work, but moved his body well across the floor. Witney got a 1st class ticket on the hot-tamale train. Kenny thought Witney was like Marilyn Munroe in “Some Like It Hot” but hotter. He told Chehon to surrender to the music and agrees pretty much with Nigel.

Dancers: Tiffany Maher and George Lawrence II
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh (Dance is about the stars being aligned for a couple and they realize each other and who they are.)
Dance: Contemporary
Song: “Turning Page” by Sleeping At Last

My opinion: Goosebumps. I had them when Sonya was just describing the dance, the emotion that the feel towards each other (I am a hopeful romantic at heart) and goosebumps while it was being performed. I have always rooted for George and hoped that his dad could see that he really is a fantastic dancer.

The Judges: Mary said it left her breathless. She said that George is one of the best dancers in the competition. She commented how connected the two of them were. Kenny said they both surrendered, and it reminded him of youth. “You spilled it.” Nigel thought it was superb and loved the arabesque in the lift.

Dancers: Janaya French and Brandon Mitchell
Choreographer: Napoleon and Tabitha Dumo (who looks radiant and like she is going to give birth at any moment). The story is about addiction and the choice between it and love.
Dance: Hip-Hop
Song: “Take Care” by Drake featuring Rihanna

My thoughts: It was average. Brandon got the feelings of anger across well but I did not feel the struggle. Not exactly sure why.

The Judges: Kenny believed the story and thought they did a great job. Nigel thought Nappytabs was very clever to hide some of their flaws through this dance. Mary believed Brandon but felt Janaya needed to be more gritty.

Dancers: Alexa Anderson and Daniel Baker
Choreographer: Sean Cheesman
Dance: Jazz (it is supposed to be sexy, quirky).
Song: “Hey, Hey (DF’s Attention Vocal Mix) by Dennis Ferrer

My opinion: I felt absolutely no chemistry between these two. It was intricate, but sexy and quirky? No. Their faces showed that there were really thinking about all the movements and not really feeling the dance. And they had that one face (smiling) the entire dance. I have had a problem with Alexa’s facial expressions in the past (smiling during a song whose lyrics were sad, for example). Is that the dancers’ issue or the choreographer by making the routine technically difficult? Not sure. Maybe a bit of both. It was my least favorite dance of the evening.

The judges: Nigel hopes the audience can appreciate the level of difficulty. He did not see the chemistry either. Mary said that Daniel looked like he was enjoying himself. Kenny thought it was a demanding piece. He thought they were invested in the exercise but not in the performance.

Dancers: Amber Jackson and Nick Bloxsom-Carter
Choreographer: Jason Gilkison
Dance: Viennese waltz
Song: “Nights in White Satin” by Tina Arena

My opinion: This dance is something you see on Dancing With The Stars. For the audience of So You Think You Can Dance, it usually is the dance of death or at least puts people in the bottom 3. I thought it was beautiful and flowed very well.

The judges: Mary said it was dreamy. Kenny thought it was fluid and flowing and loved it. Nigel told Nick to watch his facial movements.

Dancers: Amelia Lowe and Will Thomas
Choreographers: Napoleon and Tabitha Dumo
Dance: “Unconventional hip-hop” — Character pop. Sophisticated kitty meets alley cat (may explain why Will thinks he is Simba)
Song: “The Lovecats” by The Cure

My opinion: I liked this a great deal. It was upbeat and playful. It made me smile. One of my favorite dances of the evening.

The judges: Kenny thought it was fun and charming and loved it. Nigel thought they were “smitten kittens.” He thought it was terrific and memorable. Mary thought it was “purrrfect.” She commented that it made you happy.

Dancers: Janelle Issis and Dareian Kujawa
Choreographer: Sean Cheesman
Dance: African Jazz
Song: “Jungle” by Hilight Tribe

My opinion: They did a great job. I’d have a headache after dancing like that.

The judges: Nigel loved it. Mary said it was exciting. It was like a jungle dance-off and they both came out as winners. Kenny thought it was universal and was like watching 2 flames dancing across the stage.

Dancers: Eliana Girard and Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Dance: Broadway
Song: “Run And Tell That” by Hairspray (Original Broadway Cast)

My opinion: I am such a fan of Cyrus. Ballet meets the animator and it worked! It was fabulous and so much fun to watch. Tyce was so proud of them. Another one of my favorites this evening.

The judges: Mary said she had never seen Tyce worked up that much before in her life. This will be “googled up”, i.e., watched over and over again. She said, “Winners are ordinary people with extraordinary hearts” and Cyrus lays his heart out on that stage. Eliana was a ballerina who could get down. Kenny felt like it was watching a Broadway performance right on a New York stage. Their personalities were on fire. Nigel said Cyrus is not the best dancer but he always gives 100% of himself. Eliana is the benchmark for the other girls in this competition.

Dancers: Audrey Case and Matthew Kazmierczak
Choreographer: Travis Wall
Dance: Contemporary (story is on the Titanic after the sketch scene)
Song: “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers

My opinion: I did not think the song was going to work because we associate that song with “Ghost” and not the movie The Titanic, but it worked. I had goosebumps. For someone who was joking around during the interview and rehearsal, Matt turned on the hot factor. It looked like they were totally and completely in love with each other. It was on fire. I think my favorite dance of the evening.

The judges: On their feet! Kenny thought it was an exquisite choice and was brilliantly danced. Nigel thought it was his favorite of the night and it was a very special moment. Mary loved it.

Dancers: Lindsay Arnold and Cole Horibe
Choreographer: Jason Gilkison
Dance: Paso Doble (instead of a bull and matador, Lindsay’s character was going to be like poison to the warrior).
Song: “Unstoppable” by E. S. Posthumus

My opinion: I normally do not like these dances but they pulled it off. I figured they were going to do something big having the pimp spot of the evening. I had goosebumps. My goosebumps never lie. It was hot.

The judges: They were standing once again. Cat made a comment that Cole had the “blue steel” look (from Zoolander). Kenny thought it was electrifying, mesmerizing and the most fantastic dance he has seen on this show. Mary thought it was the best paso doble Jason has ever choreographed on the show. Lindsay was fabulous and fiery. Cole was “oh my God.” She said it was a beautiful paso doble. Nigel said it was the best paso doble ever done on this show.

After tonight, here is my list of favorites in some semblance of order. It is hard to rate them because they really are so good.

Guys: Cole, George, Matt, Cyrus, Will, Brandon, Nick, Dareian, Chehon, Daniel (sorry Daniel fans; it was this particular dance that put him in the bottom for me.

Girls: Audrey, Amelia, Lindsay, Eliana, Janelle, Amber, Tiffany, Witney, Janaya, Alexa (again, the dance was what put her on the bottom of this particular list).

Who are your favorites? Who is your top 3 and bottom 3?