What I've been up to...

Misericordia Benefit and Silent Auction

This is our loot. I suppose if you look really hard you might be able to see the bracelet I got, but I don't think so. This would be Bill's second bar mirror in 2 years. Jessica got Sox/Twins tix, Kitty got a couple of baskets w/ baby things and grandma things, Katie got the chair, and Amanda got a painting.



Cubs game. I am currently 3-0 and one rain/tornado-out for Cubs games. I am good luck!!

Also, requisite cute pictures of my cat:

SYTYCD Results

So, bottom 3 are, as predicted, Caitlin & Jason, Vitolio & Asuka, and Jonathan & Karla. They're pretty harsh on Jonathan & Karla even in the results show. They don't usually re-skewer a dance like that.

Caitlin's solo was gorgeous - very musical and well choreographed.
I couldn't see Jason's solo - stupid antenna
Karla - I actually quite liked hers although I did see some stumbles.
Asuka - same ballroom solo that we always see, not terribly good.
Jonathan- gymnastics,+ ballroom, not great.
Vitolio - too many jumps, not very musical.

Going home?

Asuka. I completely agree with Nigel that she hasn't grown. She didn't inhabit her character at all in the last dance and I didn't see any potential that she might be able to ever overcome that.

Jonathan. I kind of thought Vitolio deserved to go home, but Jonathan has kind of sucked and I don't think they could dismiss that.

So our final 2 classically trained ballroom dancers are gone! The only one left (who is not classically trained, really) is Jeanette who is a salsa dancer, not a ballroom dancer.

So Genre Predictions for next week (i'm giving myself a choice of 2):
Kayla & Kupono: Uhhh, Foxtrot or Disco
Janine & Phillip: Quickstep or Contemporary
Caitlin & Jason: Contemporary or Jazz
Vitolio & Karla: Latin Ballroom
Melissa & Ade: Foxtrot or HIp-Hop
Evan & Randi: Waltz or Hip-Hop
Jeanette & Brandon: Contemporary or Latin Ballroom

SYTYCD Final 16

So I got home late and missed the first dance because the digital conversion bites. That's a not so nice way of saying the antenna wasn't set to the right angle or whatnot and all I got was a green screen on the tivo. The judges were in a bizarre mood tonight. The guest judge is Toni (Oh Mickey You're So Fine) Basil. Apparently she was a choreographer in another life, or really on another planet - there appears to be a small black UFO on her head. Also she took notes on saying obscure criticism and praise from Lil C because she really adds nothing to the judging panel beyond saying the word "street" a lot.

I didn't see Jonathan and Karla's dance. They have a hip-hop and I can predict how it'll be - Jonathan won't be hip-hop-y enough and be too white-boy, for lack of a better word, and Karla will be ok or great. Supposedly she's in some kind of hip-hop dance group. From the tiny clip at the end, I'd say I'm right. Let's look it up....the internet says the judges panned it. D?

Asuka and Vitolio do a jazz routine by Mandy Moore (living in the '80's, remember? I'm sure having Toni (You're so fine you blow my mind) Basil as a guest judge is her dream come true). Asuka cries during practice and Vitolio comforts her. Once again the emotion here feels so contrived. I think I've just taken a dislike to them since I don't ever agree w/ the judges. And guess what? I don't agree with the judges. I thought that although some movements were sharp, the overall routine (which had mediocre choreography, honestly) was boring. There were a lot of lulls in the routine which meant that they needed to put out some energy or do something with them and they really just stood there. There were also a lot of parts that were supposed to by synchronized and were not. And seriously, Asuka's outfit was streetwalker circa 1986. The judges kind of liked it, I hated it. Pat Benatar deserves better (they danced to Heartbreaker). C

Melissa and Ade get the Rumba. I HATE HATE HATE the Rumba. I really hate it. Usually people suck at it, but even when they don't, compared to what everyone else does it just doesn't look like dance or look challenging. Now MAYBE Ade and Melissa were just SO good that it looked effortless, but I have my doubts. It just seems like walking sexily around the stage and looking like you want to jump each other. Melissa's wearing like 1/3 of a dress, which you KNOW Nigel's gonna comment on later. Upon second viewing I noticed more than one awkward "connection" they seemed to have problems finding each others hands, in between Melissa sticking her lovely long legs in the air. Really it was Melissa that did that routine, I don't think Ade did a very good job. Nigel's praise was that he gave Melissa something to "undulate against". High praise indeed. Of course the judges loved it because they love Ade. It was a very good Rumba, but c'mon - this couple has picked all the easy routines! A Jazz, Contemporary, and the least challenging of the Latin Ballrooms - it's time for them to get Hip-hop or Broadway. But they did well. B+

Janette and Brandon got the other hip-hop routine of the night. I don't normally truly enjoy hip-hop. I might be able to appreciate that they've done a good job, but I rarely actually like it, especially not the harder hitting ones instead of the hip-hop lite that gets done a lot. I really really enjoyed this one. Who knew Brandon could pop and lock? And he does it really well! I think these two feed off each other because they're so in the moment and so, so energetic! The judges seem to attribute their success to the choreography, and the choreography was good, but considering that during most of it they were doing two slightly different styles of dance, they had amazing chemistry and they just danced the heck out of it! They hit it hard and crisp and had great personality. Janine also looked like an '80's streetwalker tonight. To be fair, they are my favorite couple, so take the praise with a grain of salt I suppose, but I just love them to itty bitty pieces. A

Kayla and Kupono do the Viennese Waltz (kiss of death genre). Fair Warning: I'm still pissed Max went home and kept thinking how gorgeous Kayla and Max ould've been on this one. Especially when Kupono said he was having trouble with the lifts. It's very pretty. Kayla in particular moves so dynamically it's hard not to watch her. Kupono's graceful enough, but I really think Kayla carries the dance. Every moment that she is dancing she pushes through every move so that every tiny movement has such momentum. That said, I didn't completely love this. It was rather short, and I think by letting them dance barefoot Jean-Marc was cheating a bit because that's what would make a waltz so difficult for 2 contemporary dancers. Also for the grand total of 4 measures (that's 12 beats, kids) of actual waltzing in position that they did, they looked awkward. Oh, and I totally called it - I said last week they would get a Waltz (or Broadway). B

Evan and Randi do a completely weird quirky but cute Mia Michael's contemporary routine. It revolves around Randi's butt. I mean, really, but not really. It's to very cute French music and Evan, in clothing 3 times too big for him, is essentially lusting after Randi, and her butt. I love them to death and every part that didn't include her butt I loved A LOT, but I don't think she quite got the movement that Mia was going for. On second viewing, Evan really knocked it out of the park. He was just so loose and relaxed and it fit the vibe of the dance perfectly. The judges loved it, even though Mia didn't looked thrilled w/ Nigel's way overdone puns, and I enjoyed it. B+

Caitlin & Jason are doing the Paso Doble. Seriously they cannot catch a break! They are 2 very sweet contemporary dancers and they've gotten Bollywood, Hip-Hop and now this. They desperately need a contemporary, a waltz, or even a broadway, something that lets their sweet side show because everything has been so far out of their element! Ok, I think maybe this one did not translate through the TV because the judges AND the audience seemed to love it and I thought it was lackluster and clumsy. First of all the music they were doing it to was very powerful but it wasn't very loud on the TV and it seemed a smidgen slower than normal. (O Fortuna from an Opera, Carmina Burana - you'd recognize it). Also, can they not dress Caitlin? She's gorgeous, but she looks like a mix of Princess Leia (Jabba the Hut scene) and Barbarella (Oy, the hair). Jason looked like He-Man. Yummy. The judges thought it was great (again, they undercriticize these two - maybe because of the unlucky genre choice) I was underwhelmed. C+

Jeanine and Phillip doing Broadway. I mostly don't care for Tyce Diorio, but I like this routine and Jeanine really nailed it. Phillip nailed about half of it. Mary told Janine she could be on any Broadway show right now and I'd have to agree, I really really liked her. To be fair to Phillip, I really enjoyed it. Nigel called him out on not being in the bottom 3 last week and essentially told him he did ok, but needed to rise farther faster because if it continued to happen where he did a subpar performance but the votes got him through, they weren't going to be happy. I'm not sure if that's an empty threat or not. I liked it and thought it looked pretty sharp. B

Overall, I thought the performances were just so-so. I only really loved one of them, and it just feels like no one is really progressing. Meh. My favorite performance of the night was, unsurprisingly, Janette and Brandon. They've just knocked it out of the park every time! I think that the judges now have their favorites that is starting to influence the critiques. I would say that Caitlin, Ade, Asuka & Vitolio, Kayla, and Kupono have all been "under-criticized" at some point, with the biggies being Asuka and Kupono. I think maybe they didn't want to criticize Kupono too much so it wouldn't look like they made the wrong decision last week. I think they love Evan & Randi, but it seems like the expectations fall correctly into the high/low range. I think that they've totally been giving Asuka and Vitolio a pass and overpraising. I think Ade and Kayla are both phenomenal and because there's so much to praise they aren't nitpicking, which would be fine, except the nitpick other equally good dancers that aren't their favorites. I also think that the judges are going to continue to be hard on Phillip because they are uncomfortable (as well they should be) on how the voting is going for him regardless of his performance. As for me, my individual favorites (emotionally - the ones I'm rooting for) are Janette, Jeanine, Evan and Randi, so take those critiques w/ a grain of salt maybe. I do also think Kayla, Brandon, Melissa, Ade, and Jason have performed very well, but so far, I'm neutral on them. Due to my rousing success predicting Kayla and Kupono's genre, I will try and predict genre's for each couple after the elimination round.

Oh, and bottom 3 - Karla & Jonathan, Asuka & Vitolio, and Caitlin & Jason.

Well Goodnight, and I hope you, like me, will have that freaking song (Hey Mickey!) in your head for the forseeable future.

SYTYCD results

So now that I know someone is actually reading these (Thanks Nikki!) I'll dissect the results. Also I spent an amazing amount of time adding pictures to the previous post, so check it out.

As predicted, the bottom 3 were a bit of a mess due to the fact that Phillip, while most deserving of being in the bottom 3 was left out of it due to his fan base. That left another couple vulnerable to being cut. So the bottom 3 were Caitlin & Jason (deservedly so), Kupono and Ashley (also deserving), and Kayla and Max (Gah! What?!). So Phillip (and Janine) got votes probably for 2 reasons - Phillip has a fan following, and the fanbase was moved to vote because he got bad reviews and they knew he was in danger. Along with that Kayla and Max (whose routine I loved) was a little weird and I think that all the gushing about Kayla backfired. I mean, most of the people voting are young girls and maybe not so young girls and they like to vote for the boys. So to put forward this blonde Barbie-doll looking girl without a ton of personality (to them, not to me) who gets these slightly over the top ravishing reviews is not going to endear her to the fanbase. However, as with Cedric a couple of years ago, the judges have to be careful not to eviscerate anyone because the fans will vote for them out of sympathy. Mia Michaels is particularly adept at pissing off the fans I think. I will wait until Mia is a judge to give you my thoughts on her. Here's a hint - mean girl.

So after the dancing, I thought Max actually did very well for a male ballroom dancer, it was very entertaining. Jason was actually phenomenal and Kupono didn't do a damn thing. AT. ALL! I really think Kupono should have gone home both for the body of work and for the solo. I can't really fathom why Max went home because he's a ballroom dancer and half the dances they do over the course of the competition are ballroom!! It helps to keep him around. AND he's a better ballroomer than Jonathan and more masculine. If you've watched this show for any length of time, you've realized that they are big on the men needing to be able to DANCE masculinely, especially in the latin ballroom. Of course this has given rise to some people calling Nigel homophobic, and I wonder if that contributed to Kupono staying. Kupono is not masculine at all, and I'm curious to watch him dance a ballroom. So now Kayle is paired with Kupono. Since they've both already done a contemporary, that's out, so I'm guessing something like the waltz or broadway for next week for them.

As for the girls, I think that I would've preferred to see Caitlin go home, but I understand why they sent Ashley home. Ashley didn't dance a solo, she walked around the stage and posed. It was unique, but when you're dancing for your life, you show off you skills woman! Caitlin, I felt was boring, and since I didn't like the Bollywood dance last week either I feel like she's a weak link. I think they didn't cut her because the pairings wouldn't work (Jason & Kayla - I think she's taller - also if they'd cut Kupono and Caitlin, it would've been Jason & Ashley) and because they've invested a lot in Caitlin. It's kind of annoying that in the hip-hop dance that got them sent to the bottom 3, it was Ashley who stood out and got some praise, but Kupono got to stay and Ashley had to go. During the dances and the solo I couldn't take my eyes off Ashley, so I think it's a shame she's gone, but I'm not overly upset about that one.

On the upside, Cat's outfit was super classy! Compare and contrast: Top is dance night, bottom is results:

SYTYCD results

You can infer from this (hopefully, otherwise I can't be friends with you anymore) what I think of the cuts (ok, really just the guy).

Ok, for the severely cinematically challenged - she's the Ancient Booer from the Princess Bride and she is, wait for it, booing.

SYTYCD

Hmmm, tricky, tricky. The show is down to 9 couples. Overall, I think the dancing was great again, although there were a few more negative comments from the judges, but that's expected as the show goes on. So the tricky part is that the the 3 couples with the most negative comments are also 3 couples that I see as fan favorites so that makes it harder to figure who'll be in the bottom.
Evan & Randi did the Jive. Choreography: Good, although there was nothing smashing about it, it was just solid, which might've contributed to the negative comments. I pretty much agreed w/the judges that it just wasn't quite as good as might be expected, but it was entertaining. I give it a B.

Ade & Melissa did a Jazz routine by crazy choregrapher Sonja. It was a bit disjointed, but it was meant to be and it was very, very sharp and crisp,
which I liked. As opposed to the judges I thought it was obvious that Melissa was a ballet dancer, but only because of her pointed toes and such. Very good, A.

Jason & Caitlin did a hip-hop routine by Shane Sparks. First off, I don't think that Shane Sparks' routines lend themselves to good reviews. Although he softens it a bit, his brand of hip-hop is much more authentic and more difficult to do and a couple like Caitlin & Jason, who are so sweet and nice are just going to have a problem with it. Jason had a few good moves, but on the whole I thought they were dreadful. Also, Caitlin's costume was terrible. D


Brandon & Janette did a disco routine. That would be the second week that they have gotten a kiss of death genre and also nailed it. To be fair, it was probably one of the best routines their disco choreographer has ever done, but it was also super fast and super hard and they still nailed it. They are just so cute! I noticed some minor moves that they did looked effortless, whereas I've seen them done in the past and it always looked klunky, so they did a good job of making a very hard routine look easy and fun. A

Vitolio & Asuka did a waltz. Oooh, ugly dress on Asuka, although they may have been trying to disguise how skinny she is :) Um, I really really hate it when they make a dance about something "personal", in this case Vitolio's difficulties growing up because then it makes it very difficult to critique. In this case, the judges did a good job of overlooking that "personal" aspect of the dance. Mary actually said it best when she said she didn't "feel his pain, but that it was painfully beautiful". I think that they would have dinged Vitolio for his lack of technique a bit more, but it was a very pretty waltz. B

Max & Kayla danced a contemporary/jazz routine. Once again, it was just sooo sharp and cool. It was an odd routine, but really enjoyable to watch, I think. I think Kayla gets so into her part and her dance and that's why she always looks so so good. I also really like Max, and thought that this was a good chance for him to shine. I think the judges are always going to be going on about Kayla and so Max is simply going to have to suck it up on the critiques and try as hard as he possibly can to keep up. I always feel a little sorry for the partner in situations like that, but he seems ok w/ it. Anyway, loved them. A

Jonathan & Karla did a contemporary piece by a new choreographer. I absolutely loved the music and the choreography. The choreography was seamless and gorgeous. I also thought that Karla shined quite a bit in her own style and I understand why she's here now. Jonathan did very well, although for some reason he looked a little too polished for me for a contemporary routine, but that's just me. A-

Phillip & Janine did a tango. Oy vey. Poor Phillip

- not only does he not know ballroom, neither does his partner AND they get the tango. Ugh. It was pretty bad. He did some things right, but it was just plodding and kind of terrible. Janine actually did really well, and I think really would've hit it out

of the park with someone like Max, but overall it was pretty bad. D

Kupono & Ashley did hip-hop by Shane Sparks. I actually thought, once again, that Ashley shined in this one, but overall it fell flat. They didn't synchronize very well and once again, Shane Sparks isn't my favorite choreographer. C












So there are 2 couples that got pretty miserable reviews - Caitlin & Jason, and Phillip & Janine, 1 couple that got a kind of mediocre review - Kupono & Ashley, and one couple that got a slightly bad review - Evan and Randi. So bottom 3 - Kupono & Ashley, Caitlin & Jason, and Phillip & Janine. Phillip is such a fan favorite (as is Jason & Caitlin, I think) that this could go way haywire. I think in the beginning of the season, though, the fans go with the judges for the most part.

Second week in a row that my favorite couples have been Max & Kayla and Brandon & Janette.

Oh, and Cat, God bless her, looked like she was wearing a dust ruffle for a dress. A bright red dust ruffle.

SYTYCD Results

Well. I nailed the bottom 3 thankyouverymuch. Bottom 3 was Asuka and Vitolio, Paris and Tony, and Jonathan and Karla. Paris and Tony went home. The solos, I thought that Paris and Karla were about even and they're both contemporary, so I didn't really care who went home. I kind of think that the girl that went home was based on which guy went home because they couldn't send Karla and Tony home because Paris is so tall and Jonathan is short. So I think they decided first to send Tony home because he wasn't really doing anything special, so that meant Paris had to go too. I don't know if they've ever not sent home a couple the first week. Ever since I've been watching, the first 2 people to go home have been dance partners. At least in the explanation this time Nigel actually confessed to taking into account what types of dancers were in the competition and who would be left instead of attributing it entirely to the individual dancers shortcomings. So, I'd have rather seen Karla and Jonathan go home, I thought Jonathan's solo was wretched, but I'm not overly broken up about it.

So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD)

Well, the blog is going to be hijacked by So You Think You Can Dance for the summer because I adore watching the show and love dissecting it. So instead of calling Mom right afterwards to debrief, I'm going to do it here.

So this was the first episode with the top 20 dancers. They dance as couples and the 3 couples with the least amount of votes have to then, individually, dance for their lives (hate that term) and the judges decide who to cut based on God only knows what. Consistency is not striven for. There are 2 permanent judges and one guest judge each week. The permanent ones are Mary Murphy, ballroom expert and screaming harridan, and Nigel Lithgoe, executive producer, lecherous old man, and I think an old jazz/ballroom/broadway dancer. For this week, the guest judge was one of my favorites, Adam Shankman, choreographer, director, and producer. He did the updated Hairspray and his critiques are generally well thought out, humorous, and spot on. I kind of love him. Also, the host, Cat Deeley, is so freaking adorable. She is gorgeous and tall and Australian, but somehow a little dorky and is such a mother hen to the dancers. She starts out by saying "I have new babies!" She's super sweet, and the only host of any show that doesn't annoy me nearly to death.

On the first top 20 episode, the pairs are partnered and then pick a genre of dance at random. I'm not sure if the pairing are random or not, but I don't think so. They were the first few years, but after a few tall girl with short guy pairings, they remedied that. The partners are kept through the first 5 cuts (so 10 people, 5 guys, 5 women). If one's partner is cut (because cuts are made individually, not as partners) the remaining man and woman are then partnered together. So it's best if your partner is not cut (assuming they're not weighing you down) because then you can develop more chemistry and get to know each others moves the longer you're together.

First couple, Jeanine and Phillip. Jeanine was nonexistent in the preliminary episodes, and Phillip is very well known, as he was prominent in the tryouts from last years season, but came down w/ pneumonia in the semifinals. Jeanine is a contemporary dancer trained in ballet and Phillip is a hip-hop dancer that does wild wild things with his body and taught himself in his bedroom. They picked hip-hop. The routine is one of Tabitha and Napoleon's typical "lite" hip-hop routines to like R&B music. Jeanine does 10 times better than I thought she would, and didn't just keep up with Phillip, who, of course was brilliant, but even looked like a natural from time to time. It wasn't always perfectly in sync, but for the first episode, it was very good. The first slot is the hardest one to get votes on though, because voting doesn't start until the episode is over and there are 9 more couples that you have to deal with. I agreed with the judges, who thought it was very good. (B+)

Second, Asuka & Vitolio. They both got a lot of coverage in the prelim episodes. The judges LOVE Asuka from what I can tell. Asuka is a latin ballroom dancer trained in ballet and Vitolio is a hip-hop dancer I think, maybe contemporary too. Tyce Diorio, resident Broadway choreographer does a very traditional broadway routine for them. I liked the choreography well enough. They did everything right, according to the judges, but honestly I was bored by it. It wasn't that the choreography was boring, it just had no personality or life. I barely even noticed that Vitolio was on the floor. I think they should be in the bottom 3. (C)

Karla & Jonathan. Neither of them were in the prelim episodes. Karla is contemporary who has actually danced for Broadway and on some tours, and Jonathan is a latin ballroom guy. They did a Cha-cha done by Tony Meredith, resident latin ballroom choreographer. At the time I liked it, but after watching more routines, I think it looked amateurish (which is not good, considering Jonathan was in his genre). That's partly because the later into the show, the better the routines got, but also because they didn't do much actual cha cha. She sat and shook her tush quite a bit and made faces at him trying to be sexy, but I didn't think they did much. It was set to Lady Gaga's Poker Face, which probably added to the illusion it was good. Also, bottom 3. (C-)

Randi & Evan. Randi is a contemporary dancer that liked to wear horrendous unitards all through auditions. Evan is a broadway/jazz dancer who went through the whole audition process with his brother. They were the last 2 guys and only one could be sent through to the top 20 and it was Evan. He got a ton of prelim coverage. Randi & Evan got a "jazz" routine, which is not what you think it is, done by Tyce Diorio. It was more of a contemporary routine that isn't too weird. They got lucky because it was one of the best that Tyce has ever done, and sometimes he can choreograph some really crappy routines. I didn't think I'd like it at first, but they just nailed it. Sometimes I don't like these routines because it's a bunch of running around and rolling around on the floor, but for some reason they just clicked and infused life into the routine. The lifts were a lot of fun to watch and they gelled really really well as a couple. (A)

Paris & Tony. Paris is contemporary (and partly ballet as well) and Tony is Hip Hop with very little formal training. Tony got a lot of coverage in the prelims and Paris got a little. They got hip hop. It was also done by Tabitha and Napoleon, but didn't have a story and was much more hard-hitting. I actually preferred the routine to the previous one a bit, only because it's much more actual hip-hop, whereas the first routine I would call "pop". It's like the first routine is Rihanna and the second is Chris Brown. Wow, that joke is in absolutely terrible taste, but I'm leaving it anyway. Anyhoodle. Paris does really well and of course so does Tony. It's not fantastic because it should have been harder hitting, and two white kids from the suburbs are probably not going to do it justice, but still they did a decent job. I agree with Adam that the costumes were distracting (shiny pleather should never go on a girls thighs). I wouldn't put them in the bottom 3 but I think that's where they'll be. (B-)

Caitlin & Jason. They are both contemporary dancers. Caitlin auditioned w/ her sister who got cut in the semifinals. They both got just a little coverage in the prelims. They get Bollywood. I don't like Bollywood. I like it fine when there's a whole bunch of people doing it, but just two people and it's a little boring. The problem is that it's about very precise angles for feet, elbows, knees, fingers, toes, everything, and a lot of the positioning of the hands is very important, but for an uneducated audience it's not obvious whether they are doing it right or wrong. At the same time it's important to the dance and the dancers concentrate on these very small movements and positions to the detriment of the overall dance. The judges loved it, but I think that's because they know how hard it is (and it was very fast), but on TV it didn't translate. Some of the moves did, but a lot of the moves (especially Caitlin's) looked sloppy. As with last year, I also feel that because they're trying to add Bollywood as a genre to the show they are overly effusive with the praise for the routines because they want it to look good. On the upside, they used the song Jai-ho from Slumdog Millionaire, which I love. That's the most contemporary Bollywood song you're going to get (and the only one Americans know) and I still didn't love the routine. If I love a song it's a lot easier for me to love the routine, so that doesn't say much for this one. However, Caitlin does do a crazy handstand thing in the middle that boggles the mind. Also, that kiss at the end was real maybe which seemed to surprise Caitlin! Ok, on second viewing Jason was really very good, but I still think it looked sloppy and didn't really have any interaction between them except for the last pose. (C)

Janette & Brandon. First off, you have to understand, Mary Murphy is crazy in love with Brandon and two other choreographers/guest judges, Mia Michaels and Lil' Chris (?), are not. At. All. So he's probably going to be contentious in the future. Janette is a salsa dancer, not formally trained, and Brandon is contemporary. They get the kiss of death, the foxtrot. It's choreographed by a new guy, Louis Van Amstel, who I might love, because not only did he take the kiss of death dance and gave it enough life for the couple to get some votes, his last name is also a great beer. (FYI the kiss of death genre's are, in order from worst up, the Quickstep, Foxtrot, Broadway, and sometimes the Waltz. They are the hardest dances to rev the audience up with and therefore hardest to get votes, no matter how well you do it). The music is Michael Buble singing Come Fly with Me which is very suave and cool and very Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire and all that doesn't hurt. But mostly the couple just plays it so charming and cool and smooth. I loved it so much. At first I thought Janette's dress was hideous, but it worked really well with the dance. They did an excellent job. (A)

Ashley & Kupono. They are both contemporary, I think. This was Ashley's 4th time trying out and I think I love her. Kupono is Hawaiian and I don't think is trained. They get contemporary and it is being choreographed by Wade Robson. Le Sigh. So Wade (and Mia too, though not as much) is considered to be the resident genius. And he knows it. Prior to this show he was choreographing Britney Spears tours, but now he's all artsy and he kind of annoys the hell out of me. At first his routines were my favorite and he could actually make me like contemporary routines. Starting last season, his routines have become increasingly odd (and repetitive) and I'm sure he thinks he's "pushing boundaries". His routines remind me of modern art. Sometimes they do speak to you and ARE brilliant, but mostly they are just weird and/or stupid and if you don't GET them, you are labeled unsophisticated. One review asks "Is the routine too cerebral for this early on?", which of course insinuates that if you don't like it, you are kind of dumb. Ok, mini-rant over. So he does some stupid freaking routine that no one's going to get, although I have to admit I couldn't take my eyes off Ashley - she is very fluid and graceful. And the judges of course thought it was brilliant, and of course, I didn't. I don't think that you could lose yourself in that routine. The music and choreography and costumes were so odd and contrived that it makes you aware that you are on the outside looking in, instead of enveloping you so that you don't even realize how absorbed you were until it's over and you finally take a breath. I will not say bottom 3 because I think the dancing was fine.(C+)

Melissa & Ade. Melissa is an actual Ballerina and Ade is contemporary. Melissa is 29! I honestly thought that it would come out in her dancing that she was so much more "seasoned" than her partner (I'm only partly joking about that) but dear lord she's beautiful! It's a pretty typical contemporary routine choreographed by Mandy Moore who I swear to you is living in the '80's. The music is Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx, which I love, but seriously. Anyway it was fluid and graceful and I could watch Melissa dance forever because she makes it look so effortless. I'm sure Ade was good too, but I don't care, I LOVED Melissa. (A)

Kayla & Max. Kayla is a contemporary dancer and Max is ballroom. Max is the foreign, hot, male ballroom dancer of this season. There's always one, and they generally like to clothe them in next to nothing. Previously there was Pasha and Dmitri. I think they're always Russian. Anyway, they pick Samba and Holy COW, from the first beat that girl is on freaking fire. She's never done ballroom in her life and she was amazing. First off, they actually salsa'ed in this one instead of just writhing around on the floor and doing pretty lifts. The footwork was wonderful, and I mean, she looked just as good as Chelsea or Lacey from previous years (both trained as Latin ballroom, and currently on Dancing W/ The Stars). Adam Shankman's reaction was kind of priceless. I generally fast forward through Mary Murphy after routines like that because I like my hearing as it is. (A+).

So I think bottom 3 will be Asuka and Vitolio, Paris & Tony, and Karla & Jonathan, assuming that voters take the judges word for it that the Wade Robson routine was "brilliant". I put up in the descriptions who I would have as bottom 3. There weren't any real controversial judging comments tonight really, except that after that last Samba, I think they should've been harder on Jonathan's Cha-cha. They criticized Max for a flawless routine, but not Jonathan for a boring one? But there are rarely highly critical in the first episode. As the series goes on they expect the choreography to get harder and the dancing to get better, so routines that got praise tonight wouldn't get any in a few weeks. It's pretty hard to screw up the first week.

I will try to add some screen shots of the dances tomorrow along w/ the update of who got booted.

Feel free to disagree, discuss, or add to the critique in the comments.

Tea Party

So yesterday I finally had the tea party that I've been meaning to have for a while now. I have quite a bit of tea sets and serving stuff for tea and wanted to use it. So I made scones, cucumber sandwiches, ham sandwiches, strawberries w/ cream cheese filling, pita w/ hummus and cucumber, and I had tea, raspberries, and caramel wafer cookies.
Here are the girls w/ their tea: Kitty, Amanda, and KatieMy pretty flowers that we didn't have room for on the table

A somewhat fuzzy picture of the sandwiches and the creamer and sugar

A very fuzzy picture of the strawberries and scones, but the only one I have

The cucumber sandwiches, crustless and all

Someone crashed the party - see if you can find her

As you can see, Empress Izzie was treated in the manner to which she's accustomed. :)

Abby's visit

2 weeks ago Michael, Christine, and Abby came to visit for Memorial Day. I have a ton of pictures, but I've just posted the best.

I remember when Abby was 5 or 6 months old Christine saying she wanted to get a good picture of Abby with the cute little baby tears on her face. Well, here ya go!

When we first got to Great Grandma Atkisson's house, Abby had an attack of shyness and wouldn't let go of me. It was really sweet. At least, to me, probably not as much to everyone else.

Here she's giving kisses

I love that she'll just sit in this squatting position to inspect things. Usually ants on the sidewalk.

We went to go visit Aunt Diane at work and Aunt Diane bribed her with a cookie, which she carried around for a while. I love this particular "cheese" face.

Best picture of Abby. She really likes cousin Josh.

A fantastic picture of Michael and Grandma A.

And an equally adorable picture of Abby giving her Great Grandma a kiss.

And the requisite Izzie pictures. Abby (and Nana) built a castle of Legos, so naturally Izzie had to take her throne, being Empress and all.

It kind of looks to me like she's licking her chops thinking, which one will I devour first, Brobie or the teddy bear?

Helping me with work.

Evil Izzie: