I hope everyone is enjoying their summers so far. I went to Texas for the 1st time and it was hot and windy. Like 88 degrees at midnight hot. I didn’t get to sightsee (boo work) but had a good time. So are we ready to see how the adult All Stars will dance with their tiny tots? We’re in Hollywood with our jidges, plus Maddie Ziegler from Dance Moms. Our beloved Cat reminds us that we are live as we get our 1st group dance: a hip hop routine choreographed by Christopher Scott. Rarely do all 20 dancers share the stage but each genre group and partnership are highlighted in a unique way. Tahani was a standout for me and I noticed Paul struggling to lift Ruby at one point.
What’s this – Marko will be subbing in for Joshua. Por que? For this 2 hour extravaganza we will see the tots in group routines, being interviewed by Cat, performing solos, and conversing for 30 secs and dancing with their All Star partners. That’s 23 routines folks. Viewers vote. I’m not recapping the solos or interviews: the tots are goofy and cute and the solos were pretty reflective of what we have seen from them in the past (except Jordan, whose solo was tremendous).
Kida & Fik-Shun get a hip hop routine, also choreographed by Chris Scott. There is no story, he just wants the 2 guys “getting down together” in their loud suits. The routine was funny, I LOL’d. Uncle Nigel wants to see more smiling from Kida, who did a great job keeping up with his partner. They receive a standing O (spoiler alert: everyone gets one).
All around adorbs
Tate & Kathryn’s contemporary routine was concocted by Tyce Diorio (aka Tasty Oreo). Tate is a butterfly whose wings have been touched by Kathryn, so she can no longer fly. The performance itself is very intertwined and beautiful, and really showcases how freaking unbelievable Tate is. Nigel is humbled by her talent and Little Lisa is perplexed by her odd pancake makeup.
Simply the best
42lb. Jake & Jenna have quite a noticeable height difference. They are performing a cha cha choreographed by Jean Marc Genereux and I’m sorry but it is screaming mother-and-son to me. It’s as if they are performing in a local talent show and “isn’t my kid cute dancing like an adult?” He can dance, and the routine was catered to his size, but the come-hither finger gestures and supposed-to-be-sexy moves felt creeptastic:
Amiright?
Nigel tells him to run for office this year because America is fucked, haha.
Sheaden & Marko get a creative hip hop piece choreographed by Phoenix and Pharside. The theme is Boogie Man and Sheaden, dressed like a monster, comes out of hiding from under Marko’s bed. Sheaden can do all of the cool flips and twists but there were a few minor stumbles and Jason wants him to work on his punctuation and lines. (BTW: Marko was a contemporary dancer who finished 3rd on season 8. Interesting they chose him for a hip hop partnership but he’s awesome in everything so I’m psyched.)
What is this floral/plant/pumpkin pantsuit on Cat?
Brian Friedman choreographed a stunning contemporary piece for Jordan & Sasha, revolving around support and how great it is to have someone to lean on. It’s better than Tate & Kathryn’s and their styling is on-point. As mentioned above, Jordan is really blossoming and they complement each other beautifully. Maddie points out the special connection as Jordan jetés to the top of my list (just under Tate).
Mind blown
The talented and seemingly very nice Mandy Moore choreographs a cool routine for the All-Stars, which ends with Sasha freaking out and everyone gathering around to lift her up. Click here to see the performance.
Team Tap (Emma & Gaby) are up with a kind of boring routine by Anthony Morigerato that utilizes the old standby bridge slide thingy /—\ Gaby’s mic pack falls off and starts swinging around, but she keeps dancing like a pro and grabs it to successfully finish the routine. She seems much more mature than last season, I like her a lot. I noticed Emma had a mic wire on her ankle so they could pick up the sound of her tap shoes. The judges liked how Emma kept “sitting in the pocket” and not rushing her tap steps. She is good but I don’t see her lasting until the end.
Nothing’s gonna trip her up
Jean Marc and the cha cha are back, this time with Ruby & Paul, who look more like a couple since they are closer in height. She’s the Jr. Latin American Ballroom Champ and he was the SYTYCD Armenia winner and they dance like the pros that they are. The routine itself is ok, nothing special, until this awesome ankle grab, fling around the head into a split on the floor move happens:
The move of the night
Tahani and Comfort get a hip hop number by Luther Brown. This girl is a star: she has mad facials and can breakdance, do gymnastics, and from what we saw at the Academy she appears to be good at other genres. No story here either, just some good dancing and synchronization. I did not like the repetitiveness of the song (“Cut It” by O.T. Genasis feat. Young Dolph) nor the shredded jeans they had on, but I can get past that for these 2. Oh, I guess there was a story: Tahani wanted to cut Comfort’s braids so at the end of the routine she pulls one out of her pocket (dumb). During the critiques they mostly mention the Paula puking incident but Maddie notes she has grown from “cute” to “raw” under Comfort’s tutelage.
She should attach that to her own crazy hair
Daniela & Jonathan will be choreographed by his wife Oksana Platero. The spitfire tot, who doesn’t know where Jonathan’s homeland of El Salvador is, nor what a VCR or the letter Z is, does not weigh a lot but hubby is quick to tell wifey that she is light too (ha ha women are sensitive about their weight). I dunno, this routine, done to drum-heavy music, also felt like a talent show performance. He didn’t seem to be giving it his all. And her solo was also a bore: who hasn’t seen someone in a fringed dress shimming to “Proud Mary”?
Oh mighty SYTYCD Gods, don’t vote us off first
Finally, with Cat’s voice almost gone, Mandy Moore delivers the pimp spot routine: a contemporary piece with Bowtie Baby JT and Robert, the youngest and best looking in the competition, respectably. It starts with Robert sitting on the ground, facing the audience with BBJT sitting on his upper back facing the opposite direction. Robert slowly does a half turn and rises as BBJT lowers himself to the floor. It almost gave the effect he had been a part of Robert. The routine had lifts, split leap jumps, a pirouette and lots of reaching and leg extensions. It did feel a bit father-and-son-ish to me, probably due to the significant height difference, but the music was slow and pretty and the dancing was quite good. That tot is going to be really amazing when he gets a bit older. Yes, he is amazing for 10 but he could be even better.
Papa look, a shooting star
Nigel found it emotional and apologizes to BBJT for being upset Robert chose him over Sage. (And ok, maybe yours truly feels a wee bit badly for trashing him as well.) Jason thought it felt like life, rather than a dance routine. Paula is crying (shocker) then BBJT starts crying because it’s way past his bedtime.
The show ends with a hip hop number performed by the Top 10 tots, I think it was choreographed by Willdabeast Adams & Janelle Ginestra. It’s cute and pretty tight, synchronization-wise. Sheaden gets a great little moment about 30 seconds in. There were a ton of routines for the tots to learn for this live show so all in all they done good.
Is anyone participating in National Dance Day on July 30? What happened to Joshua? Were Cat’s interviews with the tots really live, because it seemed like her voice was hoarse then it would be fine. And how did they chat with Cat then get changed so quickly? What will happen to the All Stars once their tots are voted off? Does anyone care that Nigel is in England’s version of AARP? Or that Kida farts? Sound of in the comments below and thanks for reading!
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