Top 18 results show - Aaaaaah!

Aaaaahhhhh!

The horror! The anguish!...... Jimmy is gone!
(He was in my top four so now I am screwed as far as points go.)

Here’s a short recap.

To open the show, all 18 dancers did a group dance to “It Was All In Your Mind” by Wade Robson. This confused me because I thought that meant that Wade had choreographed it, but found out that Shane Sparks was the master of this one. I loved it! Very fun to watch! But, I didn’t know that Wade composed music as well. Jeez, he really needs to set some goals for himself, he’s such a slacker. Also, Shane choreographs to a Wade song. How incestuous IS this dance world? Next Wade will choreograph to a Mia ballad. Then Mia will choreograph to a Nigel polka song. Then Mary will choreograph a ballroom routine to a Shane Sparks song and everyone will wear heels and glitter.

Then, Cat Deeley, dressed in yellow (who can wear yellow and look that good?) called in Lauren Gottlieb & Neil Haskell, Jessi Peralta & Pasha Kovalev, and Jaimie Goodwin & Hok Konishi. Cat revealed that Lauren & Neil and Jaimie & Hok were safe, but Jessi & Pasha were in the bottom three. What the heck? The birds? The feather munchers? How many feathers does one have to swallow to stay in this competition? Why, I never! No, really, I was surprised.

The second group was Lacey Schwimmer & Kameron Bink, Anya Garnis & Danny Tidwell, and Sabra Johnson & Dominic Sandoval. Cat tricked us, you trickster Cat, and told us that all three couples were safe. Sabra and Dominic were so happy, it was actually very cool to see. They did some groping and rolling around on the floor, and then proceeded to invade Cat’s personal space to hug her. Cat actually seemed emotionally moved, as was I. See, it’s the underdog story in play here.

The third group was Sara Von Gillern & Jesús Solorio, Shauna Noland & Jimmy Arguello, and Faina Savich & Cedric Gardner. Cat revealed that Sara & Jesús were safe, but Shauna & Jimmy and Faina & Cedric were in the bottom three.

Then, the 6 bottom dancers had to “dance for their lives.” Also known as “dance for the judges.” Jessi Peralta danced to “Hurts So Bad” by Kina. The judges didn’t like it. What was she doing, anyway? Pasha Kovalev danced to “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That” by Robert Randolph & The Family Band. He was like a mellowed down version of Benji Schwimmer, but didn’t show us a lot. Come on, Pasha, I’m counting on you to stay in this for a while! Shauna Noland danced to “Everything” by Lifehouse. She was INCREDIBLE. Really! Jimmy Arguello danced to “Veins” by Charlotte Martin. I just love Jimmy. Good dancer and seems to be a nice guy. Faina Savich danced to “Do You Love Me” by The Contours. I was trying to like it, and it wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t great. Then, Cedric Gardner danced to “Hide And Seek” by Imogen Heap.

While the judges deliberated, special guest Daddy Yankee performed “Impacto” from his new album “El Cartel: The Big Boss.” What the heck is going on? Now I’m really going to have to speak Spanish to be cool, I guess.

On the girls’ side, the judges selected Faina Savich for elimination. Faina said “I would like to say that this experience has been truly, truly by far the most like amazing I’ve ever had in my life.” On the boys’ side, the judges selected Jimmy Arguello for elimination.

No, really, I felt like Jimmy was great. Like Mia said, he fully commits to every dance that he does. He has great energy and a great attitude. Not to mention great skills. So, the judges chose to cut him in favor of Cedric. Not fair, in my opinion. Cedric IS amazing, and unique. Tonight during his solo he looked like a rubber band, and not a human. He needs to be in a movie where he can be applauded and spotlighted. He is amazing at what he does best- his own style of dance. But, what he is not is versatile. Isn’t this a dance competition that shows lots of different kinds of dance, and aren’t you supposed to be great at everything? Jimmy, I feel your pain. You were one of my favorites. Cedric, I love your style, too, but dog, don’t take out Jimmy!

But, huge relief that Pasha was not taken out. I think that all the ladies need to see him dance some more. The judges didn’t cut him any slack on his solo, so hopefully he will take their advice and “wow” us all in the future solos. (Pasha, just no Russian flag underwear, please.)

Okay, so Faina is gone. I have to blame this on two things: the hip hop “draw” in the first round and her partner in this second round. I think that if she had Pasha or Danny as a partner, and had drawn other types of dances, she would still be here. I was just thinking how beautiful she was during her “exit video” and how blue her eyes looked as she stood there teary eyed. She is incredible: incredible skills, incredibly beautiful. I wish her many wonderful things in the future. I felt she was very gracious in her exit seconds of tv time as well. Love to you, Faina.

I have to agree with the judges on the other bottom two girls. Jessi’s solo was kind of blah, and Shauna’s was amazing. Really, after Shauna danced, I thought, “okay, they can’t send her home now.” So, she was saved. Jessi-girl, you have to fight for it!

So……what do you all think?

Top 18 perform

What a great night on the show! There were some great performances tonight! I'm going to jump right into the show and get started here!

First off, Cat Deeley comes out in a halter dress that looks like someone threw up cranberry juice and blue playdough on it. She looked fabulous as usual. Then, we got to see all the dancers one by one, with of course, more rolling on the floor by Dominic.

The judges tonight are Mia, wearing a brooding black and gray shirt, Mary, wearing a spider web shirt with white, green, and orange, and Nigel, wearing all the same color matching his hair, and looking very tan. Probably from some exotic vacation house, rather than being sprayed by the girls from Sunset Tan. Mia said she was "gagging" about last week, and that America got it wrong.

Lauren and Neil danced first to a Dave Scott hip hop routine. I loved the choreography here! Fabulous. Neil is so darn cute and he and Lauren said they need to work on their chemistry. The judges liked them, much better than last week, and that they set the bar. They were good.

Then came Jessi and Pasha. They did Afro-Jazz. Fabulous. Are those feathers on Pasha's shoulder? Oh yes, and feathers in Jessi's mouth at the end for a nice touch. I really liked this piece. So different. Pasha is hot. He really is. Mia, Mary, and Nigel all thought it was great.

Next were Jaimie and Hok. Hok really surprised me in this one. It was a great performance, according to Nigel, but Mary pointed out that it wasn't technically correct in many parts. But, really, that Hok did well in partnering was pretty surprising and amazing. Okay, I was cracking up at Hok's pants and open shirt. He actually looked sleek and svelt. Jaimie was all sparkly.

Dominic and Sabra were next with a contemporary routine. Bird theme tonight. Sabra was a bird, and Dominic was a creature. ??? Actually, I thought this was great. I actually got chills because I thought that they did such a great job, when I wasn't really expecting it. Mia was teary-eyed, the judges were so proud of them. That was touching. Sort of like rooting for the underdog, and the underdog pulls through.

Faina and Cedric were next. They got the Fox Trot. Cedric, I'm so sorry. He was sort of a prop for Faina that didn't move very much. Faina was beautiful, but could not show how fabulous she is at this style with a partner who is an "insecure Michael Jackson." Hmm.... has Michael Jackson ever been insecure? Well, I guess changing your appearance so much that you don't look anything like you used to could be caused from insecurity. Or craziness. But, Cedric WAS insecure. I'm worried about him this week.

Lacey and Kameron brought out the sparkles for a broadway routine. Kameron said that "Lacey and I are working wll together....our relationship is 'growing.' It will 'show' in the dance." Good thing he wasn't wearing ballet tights. Hmmmm...... maybe they are "practicing" a lot together. Really, though, they are smoking. It was a great routine. The judges loved it. Nigel thought he was funny, I think, when he was kidding Kameron about asking Lacey's dad for her hand in marriage, etc. Ha ha ha. You are scaring the kids, Nigel.

Anya and Danny danced the Viennese Waltz to "You and Me," which was absolutely beautiful. I love these two and the judges do also. I got chills again to this one. It was so graceful. It blows me away that neither of them had done this kind of dance before. Nigel called it the routine of the night.

Jimmy and Shauna were next. Another Dave Scott routine. The judges liked it, and Mia said that Jimmy always fully commits to his dances. I love Jimmy. Shauna is good, too, but I think Jimmy outshines her.

Next was Sara and Jesus, dancing the Paso Doble to Queen???? Okay, I love Queen. And I love the Paso Doble. (sp?) I just can't spell it, I don't think. The Paso Doble from Paso Robles. Okay, my opinion is that most of the viewers haven't seen this kind of dance, so it might be nice to do it with the music that is usually goes with. Some Spanish mateador music. Jesus looked great, and Sara looked good, too. I was a little distracted that she is bigger than he is, and this is a macho kind of dance. I think she might be able to kick his a*s if she had to. (I told you to get that bull the **** away from me! You call yourself a bullfighter? HA! Don't make me kick your a*s again!) But, they were great, especially Jesus. It was kind of wierd though, with the music they were given.

Okay, what do you think? I think Faina and Cedric are in trouble, but it's hard for me to pick the other bottom two. Maybe Jaimie and Hok? Or Shauna and Jimmy? Or Sara and Jesus? Thoughts?