Top 6 Dancers

Judges: Nigel Lithgoe, Mary Murphy, Adam Shankman

Cat Deeley is wearing an ugly shapeless dress. Apologies for posting this late, but I’m on vacation without access to my TiVo so things are a little spotty for me.

Courtney and Mark – Viennese Waltz, music: “The Time of My Life,” David Cook. Courtney’s dress is gorgeous—so flowy and graceful. The dance is pretty, though the music is cheesy (it’s the American Idol songwriting contest winner. Gag.) though there was one part where Courtney looked a little tangled up in a turn. The judges fawned over it, with Adam saying that Mark’s “rise and fall” was the best he’d seen on the show. Adam looks like he’s about to cry, for some reason. Mary is shouty and annoying but loves the routine. Nigel says that it is “beautifully romantic.”

Chelsie Solo – She is doing a very latin style dance in a flappy string-skirted dress. She does have amazing legs. This is a better solo than I usually see from the girls.

Twitch Solo – He does a very cute and cleverly choreographed solo to “Midas Touch” using props like some gold glasses and fake gold teeth. It’s well done. Afterward, Cat puts the glasses on, and then the gold teeth in, “spit and all” at the audience’s urging. She says she did it for art.

Katee and Joshua – Contemporary, music: “All By Myself,” Celine Dion. It’s good to see this couple reunited, since they’re two of my favorites on the show. This season is just so overtly sexual, and this routine is a perfect example. There are some impressive jumps and catches and overall, for a contemporary piece I like it. Adam really, really looks like he is going to cry now. Not sure what his deal is tonight. He points out that Paula Abdul is in the audience. He says that Katee and Joshua are two of the “most exciting dancers” ever to grace this stage. Mary says it was filled with passion. She predicts they will both be in the final (not exactly a risky bet). Nigel again expresses how amazing Joshua is with his level of training.

Chelsie and Twitch – Mambo, “Ahora Me Toca A Mi,” Victor Manuelle. They look the part, certainly, with him in black pants and a white shirt and her in a fluffy, slinky red dress. Girl can shake her hips, that’s for sure. There is a lot of fast footwork and to my untrained eyes it looks good. There is one missed hand thing where he reached for her and had to reach again, but other than that it looked sharp. Adam sings their praises and twice calls Chelsie an “animal.” Mary give “huge props” to Twitch for doing a hard routine that is so out of his element. She says that nobody can touch Chelsie in the latin styles. Nigel mildly points out a mistake that Twitch made. All three judges talked about the dress.

Katee Solo – blah. It was just another one of those contemporary female solos that is a bunch of jumping and spinning and flailing and utterly forgettable.

Joshua Solo – God he’s like a coiled spring. So much energy and those jumps are amazing! I liked it. He timed things well to the music.

Courtey and Mark – Jazz, “The Garden,” Mirah. They talk ahead of time about how it has “freeze frame” moments that give the audience a chance to appreciate a moment as a piece of art. The music is intriguing. The dance style is very bizarre. Parts of it I really like, but parts of it are just awkward and a little ugly. I’d say I like 90% of it though. Tons of personality, for sure. Adam says he is so glad he doesn’t have to vote on anything and says he loved it. My god I hate Mary’s laugh. Nigel gave it high praise and says that they made it work and that they were one of the highlights of the night.

Katee and Joshua – Paso Doble, “Filet,” Le Reve (Original Soundtrack). Well it’s certainly dramatic music. Not what you’d generally think of for a paso doble. Joshua pulls it off really well, I think. Halfway through the music changes from dramatic to sort of dance club and I didn’t like it as well, but then it changed back. Very strange music. Interesting dance. I think they did it well. Adam says that Joshua is making him believe in the impossible. Mary says they are true magic. Then she screams. Someone throttle her. She even screamed after Nigel’s critique, where he said that if Joshua kept dancing that way, he would steal the show.

Courtney Solo – Arg. It’s another female contemporary thing that I don’t get. There was a bit with some spinning and a jump that was nice but other than that, as with so many of these, I didn’t even feel like she was listening to the same music I was. :/

Mark Solo – Mark is so weird. In a good way. He does a strange dance that involves taking his shirt off and some almost belly-dance movements that were really cool.

Chelsie and Twitch – Hip Hop, “Control,” The Vitamin String Quartet. It’s a battle between two conductors for “the stick” and control. I think Chelsie perhaps overacts her character a little bit. The choreography is interesting though halfway through they lose the whole “fight for the stick” thing and I don’t understand why, so it lost something for me there. It either is what it’s about or it’s not. Adam says he likes the wit, intelligence, and humor that the choreographers bring to the show. Mary says that Twitch is stellar, and she says it’s unbelievable that Chelsie is amazing for keeping up with him.