Trav's Thoughts

Updated: For some reason the videos I selected are no longer available. The odd thing though is that you can still view them on youtube.com.

Double posts today gang...scroll on down for the Rockin' Boy Blogger post I promised.

I also promised to catch up on my blog reading...I'm still working on that one.

I promised my sweet friend Julie that I would share my comments on So You Think You Can Dance. Oh! Cruise by Julie's place and check out her post from yesterday about the incredible Harry Chapin.

So, dancing results tonight. As I begin this mini-review, there are three dances that stood out for Pam and I on Wednesday.

The one Pam and I think was the best of all was a brilliant piece choreographed by Wade Robson and performed by Jamie and Hok. I looked for the short clip but didn't see it. The dance is so worth waiting through the intro.



The second dance that stuck with us is Sabra and Dom's Rumba. Keep in mind that Dom is a break dancer with no formal training, and Sabra has only been training for four years. Again, couldn't find the short clip.



The last dance that stuck with us was the last dance of the evening. Pasha's partner Jesse had an unfortunate medical problem and was unable to dance. So a past ballroom champion partnered Pasha so that he could perform. Dancing within his ballroom comfort zone, he really showed what he can do. Long clip again.



We did vote last night...for Pasha. I suspect he got quite a few "sympathy" votes, but we voted for him because his Cha Cha Cha was quite simply outstanding, as you can see in the clip.

The Results:

Lauren and Neil are in the bottom three after a Tango that wasn't bad but wasn't sexy and fiery like a Tango should be. Neil is a tremendous technical dancer and it's actually good that he gets a chance to dance a solo in his own style. Lauren is kind of forgotten, and it'll be nice to see her in her specialty as well.

Sara and Jesus are in the bottom three after Krumping. This is not a style that either of us enjoys, but the dance they did was actually much more accessible than we would normally expect from Krump as a dance style. But, they did lead off the show and there were so many amazing performances that they may have gotten lost.

YAY! Jesse gets medical clearance to dance and she gets to perform the Cha Cha Cha routine with Pasha. It was hot and sexy and a textbook Cha Cha Cha. Nicely done. She'll have to dance her solo to stay in the competition because she was unable to dance Wednesday. She's one of our favorites so I hope it goes well for her. Pasha is safe.

Whoa. Anya and Danny are in the bottom three after dancing hip hop. Now that shocked us at first glance, but I have to go back to what I wrote last night about Anya and Danny. "I love the way Anya moves. They were both very smooth. But I don’t think this had the energy it needed. They are both excellent dancers, but in this particular style I think they suffered just a little. Are they in trouble?"

The interesting thing about this season is that every single dancer in the competition is outstanding. Looking at the dancers in danger - Lauren, Neil, Sara, Jesus, Anya, Danny, and Jesse - I suspect it will come down to who brings the passion and energy to the solo.

Lauren - That was not good.
Neil - Wonderfully athletic, excellent in the air, and perfect spins.
Sara - Didn't like the break dance; we think she's better in other styles.
Jesus - Also very good in the air, but it looked improvised and we didn't like it.
Jesse - Excellent movement; we liked that.
Danny - He's a pro, and he danced to Elliott Yamin!
Anya - We are impressed generally with the way she moves but hated her outfit.

Based only on the solo, we think it's Lauren and Jesus who are out.

The judges say none of the ladies was strong enough in their solo work. Cutting to the chase quickly, the judges decide to send Jesse home. We hate that decision and the curt way it was delivered. If it had to do with her medical issues that's one thing, but based on tonight's solo performances it sucks.

The judges had a harder time deciding the guys and ended up unanimous in praising Neil and Danny, and sending Jesus home. This was a case of three guys with similar skill, and Jesus was simply out-performed by the other two.

This is tough because every week, talented dancers are going home. There's no getting around it. This is a tough competition. They are all fantastic.

Don't forget to check out the Rockin' Boy Bloggers below!! Later babies!