SYTYCD - Top 16 - Commentary

Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel tonight is Adam Shankman. I really like him, and I think he usually gives constructive and enthusiastic criticism, so I'm glad to see him there tonight.

Kherington and Twitch - Hip Hop (Tabitha and Napoleon) - I have high hopes for Twitch in this one. They are apparently going on a prison break, according to the choreographers. This is a different type of routine from what we saw from Tabitha and Napoleon the first week...not as lyrical, but still, it tells a story. I would have liked to see them both give a little bit more with it, push a little bit harder. But honestly, I really thought they did a good job with it overall. They were well synchronized, and Kherington upped her game quite a bit I thought. They hit it! Should be, I hope, enough to get them through tomorrow night, even though they went first.

Courtney and Gev - Rumba (Tony and Melanie) - Gev cleans up good! LOL. She looks amazing too. Really great opening, and Courtney recovered really well from her shoe getting stuck on her dress. Nice hip action from them both throughout, and I think they managed to play the part nicely. They were definitely both in the character of the dance the entire time, and they had a great connection with each other. I think they handled the choreography that Tony and Melanie threw at them quite nicely. And Gev is so cute with his little crush on her. The comparison that Nigel made between Gev and Dominic from last season is right on the money. And Nigel needs to leave Adam alone! He gives great, constructive advice! Ugh.

Comfort and Chris - Jazz (Tyce Diorio) - Tyce designed an African jazz piece for them, so no jazz hands tonight. And they're dancing to Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson...definitely interesting. I really do love Tyce's choreography here, but I'm not so sure they did it like I would have wanted to see it. They just didn't give it as much as there should have been. Like Nigel said, with the drumbeats from the music, it should have been more - punchy, I guess. Their energy just wasn't quite right for this piece. They should have been larger than life in this one, and they were completely average.

Jessica and Will - Disco (Doriana Sanchez) - Ugh. Do we really need another disco routine on this show? I am so over disco, and I am so over Doriana's choreography that is only about tricks and lifts. Disco was over in 1980...28 years ago. They did fine. Will's a star. Jessica is okay. Great lifts. Great tricks. No real dance in between the lifts and tricks, as expected with the choreography that Doriana always gives. Nothing spectacular. Moving on.

Kourtni and Matt - Contemporary (Sonya Tayeh) - I've never seen anything choreographed by Sonya, but I've heard she's really interesting. It's about comic book characters, so I'm already drawn in. It could be really playful and fun. I really like that at some points in this routine, we really get a feel for just how tall and long Matt is. He's got great extension. And I really think I kinda like Sonya's choreography! Very interesting, very different, and very quirky. Lots of fun. And I really enjoyed it. Oh yeah, and they danced it fabulously.

Chelsea and Thayne - Quickstep (Heather Smith) - Thayne's personality is really starting to grate on my last nerve. He just needs to tone it down some. He's trying too freaking hard. Is Chelsea trying to lead him? Sometimes it looks like she's trying to take over a bit. And she still looks incredibly uncomfortable in heels. Thayne needs to lose permagrin, and focus more on getting all of his steps right. This could have been a fabulous quickstep, but it is really falling flat for me. The energy just felt awkward for it. They are in trouble again this week, I'm fairly positive.

Chelsie and Mark - Hip Hop (Tabitha and Napoleon) - Okay, I've got to say...I'm dying to see Mark do hip hop. Why? Because he will probably bring his quirky energy to this in a way that we have never seen in hip hop. I have very high expectations for this routine. I hope they don't disappoint me. I really love that Tabitha and Napoleon give the dancers characters to play, and that they try to really put the emotion of the music and lyrics into the choreography. Hip hop danced in a suit seems odd...but they are doing a fabulous job with it. Not only are they really getting the moves down, but they are seriously delivering on the emotion of the piece. Fantastic. And Chelsie? Who saw this coming from her? Not me. I had huge expectations for him, and I expected her to do well...but she did really amazingly well. Oh yeah...and I LOVE Adam Shankman.

Katee and Joshua - Samba (Tony and Melanie) - Joshua looked scared when they got the samba. He was still scared when he got to rehearsal. LOL. Wow. Joshua!!! Who saw this coming from him???? (Did you all SEE his ass and thighs??? Holy shit, that's hot.) He is such a good dancer. And Katee is seriously playing the sexy seductress part so well that she ws worried about. Crazy routine, and performed crazy well. I am in love with them. I could watch them dance all day.

So...my top 3? Katee and Joshua, Mark and Chelsie, and a tie between Kherington and Twitch and Courtney and Gev.

My bottom 3? Chelsea and Thayne, Comfort and Chris...and ??? I guess Jessica and Will, but really only because I'm not a fan of disco. Their performance isn't one that stood out to me as either really good, or as really bad.

I'll post video as soon as I find it.