Trav's Thoughts

That's right babies! It was two for the price of one last night as each pair danced two routines.

Wooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

Judges were Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and the most outstanding team of Tabitha & Napoleon.

Round one...

Jessica and Will dance Jive choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melody Lapatin. Will is truly brilliant. His technique is quite strong, he is an excellent partner, and a tremendous solo performer. We enjoyed Jessica much more in this dance than we have in past efforts. We believed her a lot more and it looked like she was enjoying herself, although we weren't happy with her technique. We say 7 for her and 9 for him.

Comfort and Thayne dance Broadway choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler. They danced to Cool from West Side Story and sucked all the drama out of the piece. You'd think neither of them had seen the play or the film. There's nothing to smile about in that piece. It's all about drama, pain, tragic loss, and anger at life's circumstance. This is one of my all time favorite musicals and this interpretation did not work for me. For dance we say 5. For interpretation, say 0.

Kourtni and Matt dance hip hop choreographed by Cicely and Olisa. It was another wonderfully choreographed piece of hip hop. Unfortunately it was lacking the emotion and the connection to the audience. We didn't hate it, but it just wasn't good enough. We say 5.


Chelsie and Mark dance jazz choreographed by Mandy Moore. They improve by leaps every week. This dance was solid in nearly every element. They are dancing confidently and showing how versatile they are. They can handle any style and their partnership is completely genuine. These two are emerging as strong contenders. We say 10.

Kherington and Twitch dance Paso Doble choreographed by Tony & Melody. This dance is driven by technique and passion. He was able to utilize his size and power to great effect, masking any issues he had with technique (and there were quite a few). She was brilliant. Together, they were fantastic with the performance of that choreography. Their chemistry and versatility are so strong, and their personalities are so engaging, that they can't help but be entertaining. Say 10 for her and 9 for him.

Katee and Joshua dance contemporary choreographed by Mia Michaels. Oh my. That was so much more than two dancers on a stage. The movement was so good. Mia is brilliant, and when she has two dancers that are this accomplished, she doesn't miss. Strength, chemistry, emotion, technique, performance. The piece had all of that, enhanced by Katee's star quality. Wonderful moment. Say 10.

Courtney and Gev dance hip hop choreographed by Cecily & Olisa. They danced well but it wasn't special. They didn't bring anything to the performance and it's not a dance that will be remembered. It was actually kind of boring and suffered because it followed Katee & Joshua. And we did expect more from Gev because this is supposed to be his style. Say 7 for her and 6 for him.

Round two...

Jessica and Will dance lyrical jazz choreographed by Mandy Moore. We didn't care for the gimmick with the shirt. Will was certainly the star of that dance. There are times when we see flashes from Jessica, like her positions in lifts and some of her the lines she hits when she poses. Maybe it's that she gets lost because Will is so good. Say 8 for her and 10 for him.

Comfort and Thayne dance Smooth Waltz choreographed by Edward Simons. Better for them that this was the second piece they danced. This time we believed the performance. She hit some wonderful lines, and he showed his strength as a partner. It was a beautiful piece and they performed it well. It was very enjoyable. Say 7 for the pair.

Kourtni and Matt dance Mambo choreographed by Alex de Sliva. When I hear Mambo on this show, my mind immediately goes to Heidi & Benji from season 2. This dance unfortunately suffered by comparison. There were certain places where they seemed comfortable, but mostly it just looked awkward. They just weren't up to the difficulty in that choreography. It wasn't sexy at all. Say 7 for her and 6 for him.

Chelsie and Mark dance Fox Trot choreographed by Edward Simons. Dancers dance. It doesn't matter what the style is or what the steps are. Dancers dance. This was a wonderful performance. Say 10 for her and 9 for him.

Kherington and Twitch dance contemporary choreographed by Mia Michaels. Oh oh oh! Our two favorite dancers in another brilliant Mia Michaels dance. Stunning. The two Mia Michaels routines were the dances of the night. Say 10 for this one!

Katee and Joshua dance West Coast Swing choreographed by Benji Schwimmer. Yikes! They went from amazing to awful. Katee was pretty good, but Joshua was didn't cut it. He looked a bit silly. The style of dance was difficult, and Joshua wasn't up to it technically. They didn't seem on the same count together in some of the movement. Say 9 for her and 7 for him.

Courtney and Gev dance Broadway choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler. Maybe that was the wrong music...from On The Town...but we thought the dance was boring. We don't get what people like about this pair. Say 7.

We rank the dancers so...

Kherington & Twitch - maybe we're blind, but this is our choice for pair to beat
Chelsie & Mark - there's just something about them
Katee & Joshua - great first dance, but not so much on the second dance
Jessica & Will - he is tremendous, but she is getting lost
Courtney & Gev - the best of the rest
Comfort & Thayne - she improved a bit from last week, but he's in trouble
Kourtni & Matt - they were victims of style this week and didn't overcome it

I'll have videos of some of last night's dances for tomorrow's encore post, but I had to remind you of some great dancing from prior seasons. This is how you perform Benji's choreography...Sara & Pasha from season three.


And this is how you perform an Alex de Silva Mambo...Heidi & Benji from season two.


Check in tomorrow for some really outstanding encores!