Trav's Thoughts

And cue music...welcome to



Hmmmm...what did we think was good from Tuesday's performances? You know I'm gonna tell you.

I did not expect to like Legacy. While one of my early favorites was dismissed as being too one dimensional, I thought the same of this guy. But he has surprised me in a good way. I thought Legacy was outstanding in a Broadway routine choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler. I thought Kathryn was adequate. Click here to enjoy the dance.

The Afro Jazz from Noelle and Russell, choreographed by Sean Cheesman, could have been dance of the night. Russell was a favorite of mine through the auditions, but Noelle is sneaking up on me. I like what I've seen from this pair so far. Click here to enjoy the dance.

Dance of the night for me was the Jazz from Ashleigh and Jakob, choreographed by Mandy Moore. Jakob is only 19, but he is a very mature and complete dancer. Although Ashleigh only made Top 20 when another dancer did not accept the spot, she is proving that she belongs. Click here to enjoy the dance.

There are the lovely Cat Deeley legsses. But somebody needs to have a discussion with Cat's hair, make-up, and wardrobe team. Soon. Please. This is a beautiful woman...dress her and make her up beautifully.

It's interesting that I'm beginning to recognize signature styles from choreographers as the seasons go on. From the first movements, I knew that the group number for the Top 16 was by Dave Scott. Simply outstanding.

We get right down to business with results here.

Channing and Victor are safe. Kathryn and Legacy are safe. Ashleigh and Jakob are safe. Noelle and Russell are safe. Mollee and Nathan are safe.

Ellenore and Ryan are in the bottom three couples. Pauline and Peter are in the bottom three couples. Karen and Kevin are in the bottom three couples.

Well, the judges get another chance to drop the last tapper.

Oh my! Members of The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre performed, and they were wonderful.

Here come the solos to stay in the competition:

Ellenore - quirky
Ryan - vibrant
Pauline - scattered
Peter - outstanding
Karen - sultry
Kevin - dynamic

Nigel's general note to these six is that none of the solos were good enough and asks all the dancers to start proving that they have what it takes to go the distance in this competition. He says that since they follow so closely on the heals of season 5, that they must step up and go beyond what those dancers achieved. I beg to differ. Let's judge season 6 dancers based on what they dance each week, not against some past standard. I thought 4 out of the 6 solos demonstrated skill and personality in that dancer's home style.

We'll always make comparisons across the seasons with what we think was the best we saw. But that doesn't mean that the performances we're watching this year don't have value and should be dismissed.

First elimination for the gals. Nigel tells Karen that she is one of the most smoldering dancers and that she could intimidate voters because of her sensuality. I don't understand what that means. He tells Ellenore to be careful about trying to be too unique or quirky and lose her competitive edge. Don't understand that either - particularly if we are comparing across seasons and Kupono was praised for his quirkiness as helping his competitive edge. He does say that Ellenore's solo wasn't strong enough. Nigel tells Pauline that she has gotten by on personality rather than dance ability, and when in doubt she falls back on conventional or dance class technique.

Pauline is out.



Now the guys. Nigel tells Ryan that he needs to live up to the legacy of previous dancers, comparing his movement to some dancers from last season rather than judging the solo Ryan danced. He tells Peter that he hasn't shown off any star quality yet. He tells Kevin that the improvement he shows week after week is worth a further investment, again comparing the young man to prior hip hop dancers on the show.

Peter is out.



I had a whole editorial comment, but I hit the delete key. Why? Because I'm tired and it doesn't really matter anyway.