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RYAN & KATHRYN - Disco - What is so good about Kathryn is that every time she does a different style, one could easily believe that style is her specialty. What is not-so-good about Ryan is that every time he does a different style, he's still… Ryan. I agree with Nigel completely that Ryan did not take on a disco vibe at all, and he did NOT (as Mary said) let himself go. He was just as precise and in his head as every week. It's hard to evaluate Kathryn, because as much as I believe there was a great performance in there, her partner brought her down and dulled her shine.

JAKOB & MOLLEE - Viennese Waltz - Mollee spent way too much time [particularly at the beginning] looking down. Mollee had big problems [particularly at the beginning] with truncated lines and un-pointed hands and feet. This MAY have been part of the "story" of the girl who has lost her mojo - I'm just not sure. However, whether intentional or not, it made her look like a bad dancer, particularly next to Jakob, whose goal seemed to be to show her up rather than to elevate her. I don't think I've ever seen a waltz on this show with so little time spent in closed hold, and I missed it. In fact, the only thing I really liked about this dance was the stunning impressionist backdrop.

LEGACY & ELLENORE - Contemporary - I had heard spoilers about this dance being incredible, and I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed. It started about 20 seconds in when Legacy attempted a sideways barrel flip over Ellenore. They showed that move from rehearsal and he NAILED it, but in performance, he only got to about 45 degrees instead of horizontal, and he seemed to leap UPSTAGE of her, rather than over her. It wasn't a huge mistake, but it just set a sour tone for me. I don't have a problem with how Travis used Legacy's "strengths", here, as although there was a lot of acrobatic action, there were not huge sequences that were pure breakdancing. In fact, though, I don't think that acrobatic leaps really are one of Legacy's strengths. He doesn't get the height or show the grace that either Jakob or even Russell can. I do admire the commitment both dancers showed, and their "acting" in these characters was very believable. I also was very impressed with the percussive musicality both dancers showed. However, whereas several of Travis' other pieces have hit me hard in the gut with emotion, this one left me thinking, "Oh, wasn't that clever…"

JAKOB - Solo - Jakob's outfit, particularly the cowl-necked hoodie, was SOOOO distracting! Worse, it ratcheted up his femininity to a degree that it didn't even feel like I was watching a man dance. His moves seemed impressive, but the angsty emotion didn't come across. I didn't like it.

RUSSELL & NOT-ASHLEIGH - Hip-Hop - In light of all that has happened, I'm really pulling for Russell and want him to do well and sail into next week. However, this piece didn't make the case for me. Did he execute the choreography? Yeah. Did he hit it hard? Yeah. However, the smiling performance he brought made the whole thing feel cartoonish - almost like a minstrel show version of street hip hop. I wanted to see Russell come out like a m-f'ing THUG! The choreography, with its fight elements, would have supported that wholeheartedly. I just don't know if he did it this way because that is what the choreographer wanted (I doubt it), because he simply doesn't HAVE an "inner thug" (possibly), or because he feared that if he acted like a scary black man, white America would be turned off and wouldn't vote for him (likely). Sad…

MOLLEE - Solo - Mollee seemed to be less of a cheerleader and more of a dancer in this solo. I applaud that. Instead of pure acrobatic razzle-dazzle, she seemed to be aiming to show artistry and personality. I just wish she had more of either one to show…

KATHRYN & RYAN - Cha Cha - I didn't like this quite as much as the cha cha that Ashleigh and Jakob did a couple of weeks ago, but I thought it was strong. Kathryn is so great with the laser focus, and Ryan is MUCH better in his own style. I don't necessarily see the hot chemistry that the judges brought up, but what I saw instead was a flirty feigned indifference that also worked in the piece. One thing that bugs me is how they're talking about Kathryn's remarkable growth. She has been this good from week one - they just had their heads too far up Legacy's ass to notice… The only slight complaint I had about Kathryn, here, is that she kicks so much higher with her right leg than with her left. She should have toned down the right leg kicks so they matched up better.

LEGACY - Solo - Unimpressive. And I didn't really see the point of the phone.

ELLENORE - Solo - Unimpressive. I thought this solo was sloppy and amateurish.

RUSSELL - Solo - Cute. Pandering, but cute.

MOLLEE & JAKOB - Broadway - For the first time all season, I thought that Mollee owned a dance more than her partner. Part of that may have been that for the first half, Jakob's body was hidden by a trench coat while Mollee still had her legs to express herself with. Still, Joey did a great job finding a character that Mollee could really embody and shine with. Jakob wasn't quite as oily as I'd have liked him to be, but he definitely brought it in terms of technique.

KATHRYN - Solo - A bit robotic, for me, but still lovely.

ELLENORE & LEGACY - Hip Hop - I'm not normally one to defend NappyTabs, but in this case, I think the blame belongs more with the dancers than with the choreography. The execution just wasn't there because nothing they did was clean enough. Hip hop is all about the stops between moves. They never stopped, but rather just blurred from one movement into another. No wonder it looked SO unsynchronized, as it's the moments of stillness that punctuate that the two dancers are in synch.

RYAN - Solo - This was slightly better than his previous solos, but the pity-party-for-wife-y speech took away any slight positive effect the dancing had on me... I guess he had to do it for the sake of his marriage, but it was really manipulative and annoying.

NOT-ASHLEIGH & RUSSELL - Bollywood - I think this was pretty equal to Russell's earlier pairs number, but in this style, the ginormous smile added to rather than detracted from the dance. I thought he was very solid with an extremely difficult style. I don't think he was as good as Joshua's Bollywood, but he was probably on par with Jason and Nathan in terms of execution, and probably better than them in terms of performance.


Routine Rankings:

1. KATHRYN & RYAN - Cha Cha
2. LEGACY & ELLENORE - Contemporary (but I still don't think it was all that)
3. NOT-ASHLEIGH & RUSSELL - Bollywood
4. MOLLEE & JAKOB - Broadway
5. RUSSELL & NOT-ASHLEIGH - Hip Hop
6. RYAN & KATHRYN - Disco
7. JAKOB & MOLLEE - Viennese Waltz
8. ELLENORE & LEGACY - Hip Hop



Solo Rankings:

1. KATHRYN
2. RUSSELL
3-7. All the rest were total crap


This was the second worst night of the season, IMO, and the most disappointing performance show EVER for this series. I didn't love a single dance. This group is far too talented for that, and at least four or five performances in each of the past two weeks were better than EVERY SINGLE routine tonight.

I think that Ashleigh should definitely be the woman to go (both based on her overall performance throughout the season and the fact that she didn't dance tonight). However, as long as Kathryn remains, I really wouldn't care that much if Mollee or Ellenore went instead. Of the guys, I'd like Ryan to go based on the season as a whole, but based on tonight, any one of them deserves to go pretty equally.

The choreography may, in fact, have been horrible, but until I see it danced at least well enough to see what the choreography could have been, I can't place all the blame on them. If Ellenore and Legacy had executed it decently and it still sucked, then NappyTabs deserve the blame. They didn't.