SYTYCD Top 16: Performance & Elimination Recap

Performance Show

I always notice Cat's dress first thing. And guess what? I actually liked it! It was cute and the color looked good on her. Guest judge this week? Toni Basil. Hey Mickey! Interesting.

Karla & Jonathan
Style: Hip Hop
Choreographer: Dave Scott
Song: "By My Side" by Jadakiss feat. Ne-Yo
Karla looked good in rehearsals, but Jonathan looked like he was struggling. "The one thing I think they should work on the most is everything" said Dave. Ha. Watching them dance, I felt like Karla was totally believable, but Jonathan just looked almost like a parody of Hip Hop. He did the moves, but it just didn't work, his angles weren't enough and he was too... soft? Flexible? I don't know. But it wasn't good.

Asuka & Vitolio
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Mandy Moore
Song: "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benetar
Thrash Rocker Jazz? Upon hearing this, I wonder if I will get it at all. I love Asuka & Vitolio as a couple. I loved seeing how much they support each other. This was the second dance of the evening and there was something about both this one and the Dave Scott Hip Hop where while I was watching them perform it almost seemed slow motion. To me, it made it look like it was something choreographed for beginners, like how it would look if people at a dance camp were performing it. I felt like the moves weren't fast enough for the music or something. It was all right, but I wasn't impressed. Nigel really seemed to like it. But I agreed with Mary, it wasn't really together always.

Ade & Melissa
Style: Rhumba
Choreographer: Tony Meredith
Song: "Emotion" by Destiny's Child
"Melissa and Ade need to work on... everything." Another rehearsal that looked interesting. I didn't like her dress. Oh well. I expected it to be a faster dance. I thought Ade's form was great. I think these two have a connection, I feltl ike they played the roles well. I couldn't really tell if they were technically good or not, which is not an uncommon problem I have when people dance ballroom, so I sort of wait to see what Mary has to say. Nigel agreed with me, saying Ade was "absolutely incredible." Finally something actually impressive!

Jeanette & Brandon
Style: Hip Hop
Choreographer: Dave Scott
Song: "What a World" by Common
Last week, they were amazing, so let's see how they do this week. Rock and Roll meets Hip Hop sounds pretty good to me. I had high hopes going into it. I loved when Dave Scott said Brandon was learning the moves quickly, and then he was trying to compete by making him do harder moves. Hilarious. LOVED IT! They were awesome! It was entertaining, it was impressive, it was great.

Kupono & Kayla
Style: Viennese Waltz
Choreographer: Jean-Marc Généreux
Song: "Sweet Dreams for You" by Jewel
Uh-oh. I am totally scared of the Viennese Waltz for the dancers. Ha. I feel like Kayla could be beautiful but I am worried about Kupono. I knew before they started that no matter how the dance went, Kayla would be absolutely gorgeous. And she was. She looked like an angel. Again, it's hard for me to say much about the technique, but I thought it was absolutely beautiful. I don't agree with Nigel that it "wouldn't make anyone stand up and cheer." I think to the average eye, it was wonderful. Mary disagreed with Nigel and put them on the Hot Tamale Train! Great job from this new couple.

Evan & Randi
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Mia Michaels
Song: "Koop Island Blues" by Koop feat. Ane Brun
Randi as an elementary ed teacher? Not at all a surprise! Evan as a gearhead? A little more surprising. A booty dance? Hm... I thought it was pretty good. I didn't like how baggy Evan's costume was because I felt like I couldn't see his movements as well. Nigel said it was beautifully danced, and I thought that was true, but I'm not sure that enough people will get it to keep them safe.

Jason & Kaitlin
Style: Pasa Doble
Choreographer: Jean-Marc Généreux
Song: "O'Fortuna (from Carmina Burana)" by Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg & Kurt Prestel
I loved Jean-Marc throwing Jason's shoes. So funny. When it started, my first thought? I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Carmina Burana. So, that was a good start in my book. Ha. The music and their costumes fit together so well. It's hard for me to tell technically, yes, again. I thought it was good, but I felt like I wanted something a little more, that music is so powerful I sort of almost felt like they didn't quite meet it. Maybe part of what was missing was the chemistry between the two dancers, like Nigel said. Maybe it was that Jason wasn't staying strongly enough in his character, like Mary said.

Philip & Jeanine
Style: Broadway
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Song: "Moses" from Singin' in the Rain
I love musicals. Singin' in the Rain is one of my favorites, and this happens to be one of my favorite songs from it, so I was excited when I heard the music. I liked the dance, but I felt like Jeanine was much more believable than Philip. Frankly, at this point I'm not sure that I'm that impressed with him.

Predictions for bottom 3: Karla & Jonathan, Asuka & Vitolio and Evan & Randi

Elimination Show

Opening Choreography by: Tabitha & Napoleon
Song: "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) by Pitbull

HAWT! I really liked it! Wet dancing? Dude, awesome. Cat's outfit? Weird. Halter top pants suit? But somehow I couldn't totally hate it because it kind of looked good on her. Then Nigel talked about Farrah Fawcett & Michael Jackson and I was sad. Talking about Fred Astaire calling Michael Jackson after he first did the moonwalk and telling him how amazing he was? Just another example of how truly amazing he was. I LOVED that they showed the Thriller video as a tribute! Wonderful.

So, the bottom three? Asuka & Vitolio, Karla & Jonathan, and Jason & Kaitlin. So, I got 2 out of 3. The special guests were The Rage Boys Group. CUTE!!! And good! I bet Cat's right, some of them will show up on SYTYCD in a few years.

Asuka danced her solo to "Don't Trust Me" by 3OH!3. I thought she looked great.

Vitolio danced to "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay and was wonderful. He is one of my favorites, and I really hoped that it would not be his last dance.

Karla danced to "15 Step" by Radiohead. It was unique and I felt like she'd put a lot into it. She was very good, and I felt like she really was dancing for her place on the show.

Jonathan danced to "The Hunted" by Kodo. He danced well, but I felt like there were too many tricks in his routine.

Kaitlin danced to "Que Sera Sera" by Jennifer Terran. She danced very well. She's not one of my favorites, but that flip she did at the end? Truly impressive!

Jason danced to "New American Classic" by Taking Back Sunday. I thought it was impressive.

After solos, I was thinking Asuka and Jonathan were going to go. The judges came back, and Asuka was eliminated. I was sad, because I really liked her, but neither of her performances this week were good enough. Sad. On the boys side, Jonathan was sent home.

This means next week, we'll see another new couple with Karla & Vitolio.