Simple Man Entertainment

Last night was Episode 8 - the top 18 - of So You Think You Can Dance. I had very mixed emotions about this show. Why? Well, let me give you an overview of the show first, and then I'll let you know what I really thought of the show as a whole last night.

To kick off the evening, Randi and Evan were doing the Jive to the music "Shake a Tail Feather" by Ray Charles. Great tune, I may add. It was a nice start to the night; however, after their "smoking" routine last week, I was a bit let down. Lil C (the guest judge this week) called Randi a "firecracker," which is definitely true. Mary states that the two were "built for the Jive" but she was a bit disappointed, as was I. I think Nigel summed it up best: "It just wasn't comfortable."

Next up - Ade and Melissa. They were performing a jazz piece choreographed by Sonya to the music "24 Hours" by Terry Parson. This was an excellent routine, although I definitely felt the hot pink pants that Melissa was wearing were a huge distraction from the piece. I've always liked Sonya's choreography, and I definitely felt this was danced beautifully. Lil C called it "buck" and actually said that Ade was "everybody's competition." Not sure I'd go that far, but he definitely is an incredible dancer.

With the first hip hop routine of the night, Jason and Caitlin took the stage. After last week's Bollywood routine, they had a lot to live up to, and dancing to "Missin You" by Trey Songz, I'm not sure they did it. The hip hop routine was lame at best. Lil C said it was a "nightmare" and "corny." Mary said it was like watching "Michael Jackson and Britney Spears" (and not in a good way). However, Nigel disagreed with the other two, saying they "Looked really good out there." Sorry Nigel, I didn't agree with you. I thought it was definitely not the best hip hop routine I've ever seen…not even close.

Thankfully Brandon and Janette came out next to dance a Disco that would save the day. Dancing to "Loving is Really My Game" by Brainstorm, they really lit the stage on fire with the fastest Disco routine ever danced on the show. There were a couple mistakes that happened, but they kept going, never losing their energy. A great performance. Lil C (who has never been a fan of Brandon) was won over and called it the "birth of progression" in Brandon. Mary thought they were really "gettin' down" and that they "nailed it." Nigel gave it high praise, saying it was "one of the best disco routines."

Asuka and Vitolio were next up with a Waltz. I wasn't excited to see them, since last week I really thought they sucked (no booing please). They are not two of my favorite dancers, although I think that independently they are very good dancers. As a couple, these two have not clicked, and Asuka even stated that the reason was that she didn't find Vitolio attractive. I found that this put me off a bit. While everyone is attracted to different people, I found this statement to be quite egotistical and perhaps a little on the "nasty" side from her. No wonder I don't see much passion in this girl's dancing. She seems to think she's better than the rest. Well honey, in my opinion, you'll never make it to the top 10. But…back to the dancing…lol. The dance was nice. I don't think it accomplished what the choreographer wanted it to. Love the song though ("Dreams are More Precious" by Enya). They did get some love from the judges, with Mary calling it "painfully beautiful" and Nigel saying there were like "a different couple this week." I guess we'll have to see. Could they be in the bottom three??? I kinda hope so.

A sigh of relief. Max and Kayla were up next. Now these two I love, especially Kayla. I was wowed last week. Could they do it again? They were dancing a pop jazz routine. It was choreographed by Brian Friedman, a choreographer we haven't seen on the show for a couple years. Glad to see him back. The two danced to the song "Hot Like Wow" by Nadia Oh. It was a different routine. I thought the two performed very well. Mary said they "nailed it" and Nigel called Kayla a "frontrunner" in the competition. Well duh. I already knew that. The girl can dance and I think she'll be in the top 4.

Next were Jonathan and Karla. These two were in the bottom three last week and they really needed to step it up a notch this week. They performed a Contemporary to the song "Falling Slowly" by The Frames (a song to check out). I found this routine beautiful and definitely much better than the routine they performed last week. The judges liked this routine too. Mary felt that Jonathan danced this genre "better than your own" and said it had her "spellbound." Lil C threw out the word "buck," a sure sign that he was impressed with the routine.

Phillip and Jeanine, two of my favorites from last week, were up to perform a Tango. I almost groaned. Phillip…the Tango??? Well, I must say it was better than it could have been, but still not what I'd call good. Mary did give it an "A+ for attitude" and said that Jeanine was a "hot mama" in this routine. Lil C gigged Phillip for dancing with "no confidence" and I thought he was right. Nigel summed it up well, calling it "great entertainment." I agreed. It was fun, but the technical side definitely wasn't there.

Last of all Ashley and Kupono took the stage. They danced a hip hop routine to "Imma Be" by The Black Eyed Peas. This was the second hip hop, and it wasn't any better than the first. Lil C said that Ashley "had some nice moments," which she did. Nigel said it made him feel "underwhelmed." Mary said it was "okay" and that she "didn't hate it but she didn't love it."

Now first a note on the hip hop routines. I didn't like either of them. This week it was Shane Sparks doing the choreography for these routines instead of Tabitha and Napoleon. I think that the choreography may have been some of the problem here. Shane is a wonderful and well known choreographer but I don't think he provided these dancers with great pieces. I really do think that his choreography didn't suit them and may have been at least part of the reason that both of the hip hop routines fell flat.

As for the entire show, I was left feeling a bit disappointed. I really thought last week was great. This week, there were a couple good performances, but nothing that really jumped off the screen and grabbed me. It's pretty much anyone's guess who could be in that bottom three this week. I'm definitely hoping that the dancers step it up for next week so I'm not disappointed again.

Here are a couple of the better routines from last night. Be sure to let us know what you thought of the dancing and the show. We'd love to hear. Do you think we called it wrong? Well leave a comment and tell us. Until next time, thanks for checking out Simple Man Entertainment again…see you tomorrow for the results show post.