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Courtney and Twitch - Hip Hop - This number seemed under-rehearsed and overacted to me. Especially from Twitch. If it's supposed to be about a crazy girlfriend and a normal guy, her larger-than-life performance supports that, but his over-the-top acting undermined it. It seemed more like we had TWO crazy people out there. I thought the big lift came across as labored, and when she fell off, it was a train wreck. How could any of the judges call that "perfect"?

Courtney - Solo - This was not my favorite Courtney solo. She was more technical and less sincere and heartfelt than usual. It was just okay.

Josh and Katee - Contemporary - I truly felt that, more than just dancing in synch, they were dancing TOGETHER. Whatever one did influenced and colored what the other did. I loved Joshua's abandon and force, and Katee's reactions matched perfectly. The only move that didn't work for me was when they hopped backwards towards each other. They were out of synch. It would have been impossible for them to see each other, as they were facing apart. They had to be perfectly in time to the music and they weren't. The precision of the hops made it obvious that they were out of step, but given the degree of difficulty, it was understandable.

Courtney and Katee - Broadway - Given that I have thought that Katee has been fair to abysmal in several of her Broadway routines with Will and then with Twitch, I was pleasantly surprised by her here. She was lighter and more effervescent than I am used to seeing her. Courtney was better than Katee, though. I don't think it was so much about the dancing - Courtney is just better-cast in a number that's all about being "cute"… I don't disagree with Nigel's comment about the way Katee finishes her moves, but I disagree about what it meant here in this one number. When Katee does that, you remark on the dancing. When Courtney DOESN'T do it, it comes across more as natural movement in character rather than self-conscious dancing. In this particular style (as opposed to contemporary or ballroom, for example), natural is better to me than contrived. I don't agree with the judges about the chemistry between them. I didn't sense a lot of interaction whatsoever. They were both doing their moves (more or less) in synch on the same stage - they weren't really dancing TOGETHER…

Twitch - Solo - Some of his individual movements were phenomenal - several of the chest isolations in particular. How he put them together, though, didn't add up to a particularly artful or exciting performance to me. This solo didn't have the character or humor or cohesiveness that some of his other solos have had.

Joshua and Twitch - Russian Trepak - I'm not sure exactly how to evaluate this style, and it isn't my favorite choreography. When I watch pairs dancing - in ANY style - I want to see the partners dancing together. I don't want to see them taking turns doing stunts while the other stands back and poses and claps. There wasn't enough dancing as a pair for me. As for the stunts, Joshua's impressed me more, but it's hard to say whether that was just because he got the more impressive stunts to do. In any case, the myth that Joshua has had no training is utterly laughable after watching this routine… One last thing - was Twitch's kip at the very end SUPPOSED to come way after the music ended? If so, I say it's bad choreography. If not and Twitch missed his cue, I say bad dancing…

Katee - Solo - I think this was her best solo yet (which in her case may not be saying much, but she at least deserves credit for raising her own personal bar). She presented a lot more emotion rather than just technique. I didn't feel the emotion was particularly authentic (particularly in light of how she instantly popped out of it), but I'll take faked emotion over no emotion at all…

Katee and Twitch - Foxtrot - I shouldn't be surprised, as they have been doing this for Twitch all season, but that was the easiest foxtrot I've ever seen on this show. It was so slow and there was almost no footwork required of them. Twitch was able to pull off the dumbed-down choreography okay. Technically, Katee pulled it off quite well. Neither one of them is any good at portraying romance. The lift that the judges praised WAS impressive, but I think they failed to credit Katee with what she brought to it. Her lines were impeccable.

Joshua - Solo - I thought that Joshua was great and extremely endearing, here. I only wish that he had managed to surprise me more. It's a tribute to how great he has been that I have such impossible expectations of him. It's not fair to presume that his bag of tricks is limitless…

Courtney and Joshua - Jive - I want Joshua to win and if not him, then Courtney. However, their jive was a hot mess. Awful! And good for Nigel for not sugarcoating it. Josh's knees barely came up on any of the kicks. We saw last week with the Paso Doble that he has no problem getting height on his knees. I'm not sure if it was that he was exhausted or if his jeans were constricting (who was the dumbass who put him in jeans?!), but it didn't work at all. They were both sloppy and out of synch, and the lifts (particularly the Around The World) were labored and unimpressive. VERY disappointing.

Group Number - Mia Michaels (I don't even know what to call the style) - I didn't get the choreography and I didn't like the execution. From ANY of the four dancers. The atrocious camera work didn't help, either.


My Rankings (pair dances only):
1. Joshua and Katee - Contemporary
2. Joshua and Twitch - Trepak
3. Courtney and Katee - Broadway
4. Katee and Twitch - Foxtrot
5. Courtney and Twitch - Hip Hop
6. Courtney and Joshua - Jive

I think that Joshua had the best solo and the two best pairs numbers. On the other hand, he was responsible for one of the worst train wrecks of the season with that jive. I'd say that he had the most good dancing, but Katee had the least BAD dancing. With Courtney, although none of her pairs dances were very good, I think that in ALL THREE of them, she came off better than her partner. I'm not sure if that reflects well on her or not. A great dancer would make her partner look good… In any case, Twitch is a nice guy and very talented, but I hope he doesn't win. That would be the most unjust outcome…