SYTYCD – The Top 9 Perform

Last week we lost Cristina and I think that it was a bad call by the judges. Melinda should have gotten the boot. Hopefully the girls will bring it tonight or else it is going to be a long, boy-filled show!

Tonight – it seems that we get a solo as well as a paired dance and we find out who inspired them to dance! Bring it on!

Cat described the judges as erudite…not to discount the intelligence level of the audience, but I am wondering what percentage of the home viewers knew what that meant.

Adéchiké and Lauren – Hip Hop (Hot-N-Fun – N.E.R.D f/Nelly Furtado) – Desmond Richardson inspired Adéchiké. Desmond has choreographed on the show before, he did the pas de deux that was so beautiful last season. Anyway – back to this couple, let’s see some personality. I like Dave Scott’s choreography – he is fun. Adéchiké looks as if he is having a good time as well. It is good to see him loosening up. It wasn’t a explosive dance, but it was super fun.

Ashley and Ade – Contemporary (Cosmic Love – Florence + the Machine) – she is inspired by her dance teacher, Rebecca. We have a new choreographer Dee Caspary – this sounds like an interesting dance…she can’t stand on her own so Ade is her backbone. The up and over his head lift that he did was spectacular – I was shocked that it got such a small reaction from the crowd. This was a very cool performance. I really liked the athleticism of the piece – though Ade out-shined Ashley in my opinion.

Billy Bell – Jazz (Something Bigger, Something Better – Amanda Blank) – I think I saw Amanda Blank in concert last year opening for Santigold – curious. This is his first solo on the big stage and he really uses the whole thing as his palette. He is extraordinarily good!

Robert and Courtney – Jazz (XXXO – M.I.A.) – his biggest inspiration is his mother…she is a tough cookie and has been through lots of stuff in her life. Sonya is choreographing this piece. What a captivating piece! I could not take my eyes off of the screen. I like these two paired together and their chemistry is just getting stronger. Not sure what I saw there – but that is the genius of Sonya – I bet I will still be thinking about it tomorrow.

Jose Ruiz – B-Boy (Super Bad – James Brown) – this is the perfect song for him to solo to. It is a throwback, similar to his throwback style.

Melinda and Pasha – Salsa (Magdalena, Mi Amor – D.L.G.) – she inspired by Dr.Harold Cromer…we met him in her audition piece. Melinda states that she is Columbian in the packet so she should be able to do something with this dance. I come in a little skeptical, she is not a favorite for me. Fabian Sanchez is the choreographer – I believe he is a newbie. She handled her wardrobe malfunction rather well – though it was an unfortunate way to start the dance. She was sloppy at times, but I will say that she was much better than I anticipated. ** wow Mia echoed my thoughts – Melinda should not be here **

Kent Boyd – Contemporary (Down – Candlelight Remix – Jay Sean) – sometimes he is so down home, I forget just how well he can dance. Super talented.

Alex Wong – Ballet (Rule The Planet from Planet of the Apes) – he embodies the music so thoroughly – it is so hard to take your eyes off of him. I really think that this young man may win the whole thing…I said it!

Lauren and Neil – Broadway (Let Me Entertain You – Debbie Gibson) – I forget that we have other people that choreograph in the Broadway category. Joey Dowling choreographed Mollee and Jakob’s dance to “Easy Street” last season. That was a fun dance. This is one of Lauren’s better performances. Another wardrobe malfunction happened that would have had the FCC losing their minds! PS – did Debbie Gibson do the stage version of Gypsy – I need to research.

Ashley Galvan – Jazz (Royal T – Crookers f/Róisín Murphy) – this was a better dance when the group used this music last week. There was nothing particularly compelling about that solo.

Billy and Kathryn – Contemporary (Jar of Hearts – Christina Perri) – Legacy from last season was Billy’s inspiration? Nice! Stacey Tookey is back – yay! I like her pieces! He really has a strength that is not always apparent, but some of the lifts and balance moves that he performs are so spot on – they instantly remind you what a strong young man he is.

Robert Roldan – Contemporary (Hold You In My Arms – Ray LaMontagne) – he dances with such joy! He is lovely to watch.

Jose and Anya – Samba (Long Time – Shakira) – I really hope that he is better this week that he was last week! Bruce Lee is his inspiration – that is cool, the Bruce Lee voice over was a bit creepy though. Dmitry is the choreographer – I LOVE him! He brought the sexy, I think. He used that Latin machismo to the dance floor and he looked mostly in control. Anya is such a strong dancer – it is hard not to be over shadowed.

Melinda Sullivan – Tap (Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down – Alicia Keys) – she is good at what she does, but off she goes! Time for her to go home.

Kent and Allison – Jazz (Heartburn – Alicia Keys) – Mandy Moore is the choreographer…they are teaching Kent to be a man (two ladies, btw)! That drop from his shoulder to the floor was crazy, insane!! He was a little more manly – but maybe he needs to have Billy or Adéchiké help him out. Not a fabulous dance for me.

Ad̩chik̩ Torbert РContemporary (Ruthless Gravity РCraig Armstrong) Рhow can you not be drawn in to his world when he dances?

Lauren Froderman – Contemporary (Unchained Melody – Cyndi Lauper) – what a lovely cover of this song…Lauren is exciting to watch when she does a solo, less so when she is in a partner situation.

Alex and Twitch – Hip Hop (Outta Your Mind – Lil Jon and LMFAO) – full disclosure, I have been forewarned about this dance and I fought the urge to fast forward so that I could watch it first. My mother, my editor and some Facebook friends were very, very excited about this dance. OMG – I am speechless! Is there nothing that he cannot do?? I mean – the cheekiness of the ballet steps, the hard hitting moves. They shut it down. NappyTabs will be getting an Emmy!

Top 3
Alex and Twitch
Ashley and Ade
Adéchiké and Lauren

Bottom 3
Melinda and Pasha
Jose and Anya
Billy and Kathryn