SYTYCD - Top 10 - Commentary

I'm getting started late tonight. I have to love the wonders of dvr on DirecTV! I don't know what we all did without Tivo and dvrs and the like.

This week, the Top 10 each drew a new partner from a hat, in addition to dancing two new dances and a solo. Supposedly, tomorrow night, we will get three group dances instead of the typical one: the whole Top 10, the Top 5 girls, and the Top 5 guys. Should be interesting.

Only 9 dancers come out, and Cat brings Jessica out to explain why she is leaving the competition. She looks gorgeous. She thought she had a cramp in her side, but it turns out she actually had a few ribs broken. Jessica will be back on tour, so we will get to see the fabulous Adam and Eve routine with Will on tour. Cat tells us that Comfort has been brought back to compete in Jessica's place. Also, the judges are no longer responsible for cutting a guy and a girl each week. Instead, that responsibility shifts to the voters. But guess who is on the judging panel this week? None other than Lil C! I'm excited to see how he is as a judge.

Courtney and Joshua - Hip Hop (Dave Scott) - I LOVE Dave Scott! I'm glad to see him back and choreographing a routine for Joshua. It's a Bride of Frankenstein themed piece, so it should be really cool. And as I expected, Joshua is KILLING it. Again, I feel like Courtney is a bit too bouncy for me, but not as bad as she was in the hip hop number she did with Gev a couple of weeks ago. Really cool concept for the routine, and overall, executed really well. I think Courtney has shown a lot of improvement in this style, and I think that the partnership is a good one for her.

Kherington and Mark - Two Step (Ronnie and Brandy) - I'm really excited to see Two Step on SYTYCD!!! I've been wanting to see some different styles, and it is really cool to see one that is from my part of the country being introduced. Their spins need to be faster and less forced. Mark looks GOOD in Wranglers and boots! But this two step feels slower and more labored than I can see in any country bar in Dallas or Fort Worth by untrained dancers. They're getting the steps in, but they were missing tons of connections, and it just didn't feel free. I'm kinda dissappointed.

Comfort and Twitch - Smooth Waltz (Smooth Waltz) - They've both done a waltz before, with varying levels of success. Watching the two of them trying to pull off a romantic couple in rehearsal is funny. For the short amount of time they had together to work on this, I'm actually really impressed. It definitely doesn't have the rise and fall that I would hope to see, and there wasn't the smoothness that I could have liked, but some of it is gorgeous. The lift at the end was breathtaking. Not as good as I would hope, but not as bad as it could have been. I would say that there was a decided improvement from Comfort, but maybe a step back from Twitch. (I have to say, Lil C is giving FABULOUS critiques. He really gets it. THANK YOU!!!)

Katee and Will - Broadway (Tyce Diorio) - They've got an actual boat on stage that works into the choreography. Interesting to see Will playing a part in a routine like this. It is very out of his normal character. He typically seems to be so serious and maybe a bit introverted, and he had to pull out every bit of extroversion he could muster. Great dancing, great choreography, great use of the boat prop. They completely embraced every aspect of what they were doing with this one. And it will never hurt for Will to rip his shirt open. I definitely had flashbacks of Dmitry.

Chelsie and Gev - Contemporary (Sonya Tayeh) - I'm really LOVING this choreography, and they are doing a fabulous job with it. Actually, I think I'm liking Gev in it more than Chelsie. He has totally embraced everything that Sonya gave him, and his movements are powerful and unique. Very interesting, and beautiful. They completely bought into the characters that they were given, and the choreography. That was fabulous. But he really blew me away tonight, and we're only halfway through.

Courtney and Joshua - Rumba (Jean-Marc Genereaux) - Joshua looks sexy as hell in this. The latin ballroom dances definitely suit him so much better than the smooth ballroom dances. The boy knows how to move his hips, and he knows how to work it. And Courtney??? WOW! Amazing extensions and lines in her movements, and she really bought into the character of the dance. That is definitely one of the better rumbas I've seen on this show. Fantastic footwork and sensuality throughout the routine, but a couple of the lifts were a tiny bit shaky. HEE!!!! Joshua is *threatening* to get nekkid like Twitch and Will always are. "Just wait till you see the rest of it" he says...I'm waiting.

Kherington and Mark - Jazz (Tyce Diorio) - They've both got a great quality of movement here, but I'm not sure that they are matching each other the way they really should be. She's got fabulous lines and extensions, and he has unique and interesting lines, but when they should be in unison, it doesn't quite line up. Lots of energy in it, but I don't know that they really had much chemistry on this piece. It wasn't bad at all, but there didn't seem to be a lot of passion involved in what they were doing together. I'm not sure I would agree with Mary that Mark is lost without having a character to play. I think if there had been more of a connection in the partnership, that he would have been fully believable.

Comfort and Twitch - Hip Hop (Dave Scott) - LOL...Twitch thinks the match-up will be "somewhat tremendous"...let's hope he is right. This definitely has the makings of being the best hip hop number ever on the show. Let's hope they don't dissappoint. The costumes are horrific, but once you get past that, these two are insanely good. They're hitting hard, they've got tons of personality, they really connect with each other on this one, and they completely showed that they absolutely know what they are doing in their own style. Outstanding. And thank you, Lil C, for explaining the meaning of buck: internal artistry meeting physical output. Definitely the best I have ever (and I do mean EVER) seen Comfort.

Katee and Will - Pas de Deux (Desmond Richardson) - Let's hope Katee can become like Gumby then. Will is nearly nekkid again. No complaints from me on that one. He is insanely strong, making these lifts look like they are completely effortless. There was a bit of a struggle on one move, but for the most part, I am seriously blown away by not only their technique, but also simply by the fact that they are doing this, and pulling it off! Katee exhibited some serious trust in him, throwing herself at him in some of these crazy moves and just knowing that he would be there to catch her. I am amazed.

Chelsie and Gev - Jive (Jean-Marc Genereaux) - I'm nervous for Gev on this one, I will admit. Chelsie will be fabulous, since it is her style. And she is! She is a little firecracker, that is for sure. And Gev isn't as bad in this as I would expect him to be. He's got the speed, but some of the moves seem to be all speed and no bounce, if that makes any sense. The jive should be really bouncy, and he's just a bit jerky. All in all though, not as bad as I expected from him. He didn't seem really comfortable with the jive, but he gave it his all.

Solos: Chelsie, Gev, Courtney, Mark, Comfort, Twitch, Katee, Will, Kherington, and Joshua.

Standout solos for me were Mark, Twitch, Katee, and Joshua. I hate that we are going to have to say goodbye to one of the guys this week...they are all amazing. I kinda expect that Gev will be the one to go though. Out of the girls, I fully expect Comfort to be eliminated again, even though she was FABULOUS in the hip hop with Twitch. I just don't think that will be enough to save her yet again.