SO CAN DANCE - TOP 8

You might have noticed that I didn't find a blog sitter to guest commentate on the past few weeks. Deal with it. But I'm back in action! Enjoy.

So Lady Gaga is a bit nuts, right? With that being fully acknowledged she was actually a decent judge. Aside from the crazy getup (what's so wrong with a nude lip and brown hair?) and the extra cahrazy shoes (that she almost killed Sasha with) she seemed genuine and thoughtful.

These are my overall thoughts on the evening:

- The other guest judge (a hollywoodite who's directed a bunch of musicals) was all about spreading the love. He spent most of his time praising Gaga, the audience, the choreographers, and occasionally the contenstants. I liked him, but it seemed like he was running for office.

- I'm sad that Jess left before Ricky. I didn't think I'd be sad to see Jess go, but as annoying as he is, you have to admit that he's awesome.

- I'm not, however, sad to see Stripper McGee go. It was her time. It was her time three weeks ago. I just didn't get her at all and I'm still not sure what charm the judges saw. There's one of them every season so I should just learn to accept these things. But I can't.

Here are the numbers in order of awesomeness:

MARKO & ALLISON - CONTEMPORARY

I wasn't crying at the end of it like Gaga but this was my favorite of the night. Plus Alison is sooo good, right? Have I ever told you the story about how I saw her at Ernie's Sports Deli on State Street in Orem? That's pretty much the entire story. I didn't want to be one of the lame people bombarding her while she ate her turkey sub so I stood back all cool like I see "famous" people all the time in Orem. Anyway, Marko's mom was in the audience and she was a hoot. She came from Guam to see the show live and loved the spotlight almost as much as Mary loves to scream.

MELANIE & NEIL - CONTEMPORARY

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Neil? Like, I think he's my favorite ever. He's a lot bulkier that he was on his season which I think makes him a touch less svelt but he's still awesome. And why don't they give him more screen time? He's hilarious. Anyway, who did he dance with? Oh that's right Melanie. Love her. She can do no wrong. Mandy the choreographer, on the other hand, CAN do wrong. Actually she does wrong every week by refusing to use decent music. Don't get me wrong I love me some Celine. But I just can't take her serious dancing when it's paired with overly cheesy tunage. Come on Mandy! Live in the now!

MELANIE & SASHA - JAZZ

So this was good. Like really good. In fact I might have ranked this my favorite if Sonya hadn't already done this same choreography remixed 12 times already. But her style is so good I don't mind seeing it reimagined in every variation possible. It was dark and twisty and I loved it with two women. So cool. While we're on the Melanie subjust: I must point out though that Melanie has been the lucky recipient of the "best" choreography this season. She's pretty much done jazz or contemporary every week, right?

VENEERS & IVAN - HIP HOP

During Ivan's season he wasn't great at much other than hip hop, so it's good to see him come back this way. Remember when everyone though that Ivan and Allison who really in love, like in real life? And they were totally getting married? Yeah, that didn't happen. But it was good for ratings while it lasted. Yeah, this totally reminded me of stuff Allison and Ivan used to do which makes me nostaglic and makes me like it.

LAUREN & TADD - JAZZ


Lauren isn't my favorite winner ever. In fact I think last season of So Can Dance was my least favorite. But Tadd is just so cool. Pair that with some Freddie Mercury and all of sudden we've got ourselves a show!

MARKO & RICKY - HIP HOP

So sue me. I loved this. Gaga can go fly a plane because it made me angry that she was dissin on Tabitha and Napoleon. This should totally be used in the musical, Zoolander!, if such a thing existed. And it should. And Ricky would totally be cast in that stage production.

TADD & VENEERS (still can't remember her name) - BALLROOM


This was all sorts of adorable. Loved the choreography, the music, the costumes. And the dancers delivered. It just all worked... and who wouldn't dance amazingly in that fun dress? My 5 year old self just got all envious of her twirly skirt. And how cute is that Tadd? I just want to carry him around in my purse.

JESS & LAUREN - HIP HOP





Wow. Jess was actually pretty good at hip hop. That little braodway man can dayynce. And he wasn't making those ridiculous faces for the first time ever. Thank goodness. It only took him until his last week on the show to get it right. Dang.


PASHA & SASHA - QUICKSTEP




I just realized their names rhyme. How adorable. I was a bit confused about the costume, but I thought this was cute and fun. But a bit forgetable. It was nice to see Sasha seem a feminine and not so angular and edgy. And it's ALWAYS good to see Pasha in any form.

STRIPPER MCGEE & ADE - JAZZ

Hasn't the "naughty" dancing been a bit overplayed this season for our Stripper friend here? When this was over I didn't remember a single second of it because all of ther "naughty" dancing just melds together.

JESS & STRIPPER MCGEE - BALLROOM

This might not have been their fault, it was probably the choreography. But I don't care to think about it too much. This was their swan song, which is unfortunate because it wasn't that great. Zero chemistry. And that dress was terrible.

RICKY & ANYA - JIVE

I thought they both looked pretty out of sync, and that awful lift in the middle? Oy vey.

TOP FOUR PREDICTION: Marko, Melanie, Sasha, Tadd. I think it's a toss up on the winner... but I'm guessing it'll be Melanie.

What are your thoughts? See you next week!

BREAKIN

Yo... so... there has been a tiny break here at the ole blog. We are taking some down time to enjoy summer.

So Can Dance will be back up this week. Have you guys been watching? No one has been commenting on those posts so I don't know how everyone else feels. But I'm loving Melanie and Marko. Both are my favorites right now. Oh, and Tadd.

See you in a few days.

FAVORITES

Favorite foods:
- Mulligatawny (curry soup)
- Otter pops
- Peanut Butter and Nutella sandwich
- Peas
- Corn
- Spinach lasagna

Favorite way to sit in her high chair:
- One leg up on the tray, preferably with a messy Nutella face (and foot)

Favorite way to enjoy bubbles:
- Eating them

(I just realized that this photo totally sold me out. I swear Brad was at the lab late that night and I needed something awesome to watch. Errr. I mean mediocre to watch. FINE it's true. I can't deny it. That Bieber is amazing. And Never Say Never was actually good. I'm so ashamed.)

Favorite way to wait for mom while she loads the stroller:
- Sitting patiently in the trunk

Favorite way to be a rascal:
- Make five point safety harnesses useless by escaping through the top straps

Favorite way to be a rascal, Part II:
- Climbing up on our tall bed (don't worry I was close enough to catch her, and she was promptly removed after this photo)

Favorite activities:
- Dancing
- Climbing
- Going on walks
- Moving chairs all over the house
- Taking all the dirty laundry out of the basket
- Watching Baby Einstein, Curious George, and Sesame Street
- Going to the library
- Snuggling with dad
- Getting attention from strangers
- Looking out the window and laughing at people walking by
- Taking all the books off the bookshelves

Favorite new tricks:

- She has started consistently taking a few steps wherever she goes, I think her record is eight steps, but I think more impressively she has finally started to chose walking over crawling
- She has started making an assortment of expressive faces, it's like she finally discovered her face muscles and likes to make exaggerated faces that are mostly an inappropriate reaction to the situation at hand, example: whenever something unexpectedly touches her she opens her mouth wide and furrows her brow as if to say, "how dare you!"

WHAT'S NEXT? EVEREST?

Finley LOOOOVES her new spot. It's an Ikea chair I bought years ago that sits next to our bed. Her favorite thing to do is have me pile it with pillows and then she pulls them all off and pulls herself on to the chair laughing the entire time. She then proceeds to stand on the arm rest and pull herself on to our bed. Which is so scary! We have our bed on risers so it pretty much comes up to my chin. The little chicken burrito is so fast and loves to climb everything. She doesn't walk more than a few steps at a time but somehow manages to scale herself onto anything and everything that she can. Needless to say, in addition to the bathroom, we now have to keep our bedroom door closed at all times. At least in the living room she can get herself on and off the couch safely. I really don't know how I'm going to keep up with her.

Yes, she is holding our remote. And yes she pretends to turn on the TV. A low point in parenting is when you realize your 1 year old copies something you swear you do rarely. Apparently we need to turn off the TV and talk to her more... she's still not saying much outside of her alien Finley language. Oh well.


PS. "Baby proofing" is total crap. That level of nirvana does not realistically exist. Babies get in to things and climb up things you would never imagine. You can never possibly stay ahead of the curve. For instance, what is the appeal of taking my spices and throwing them in the trash? That really doesn't seem that fun to me.

SO CAN DANCE - TOP 14

Yeah I don't remember what week this is... but we are getting down to the nitty gritty. Just two weeks until we hit the top 10 and the dancers start pairing with the all stars. Speaking of which, rumor on the street is that the all stars will be: Benji Schwimmer (S2), Sabra Johnson (S3), Caitlin Kinney (S5), Mollee Gray (S6), Evan Kasprzak (S5), Randi Evans (S5), Ellenore Scott (S6), Legacy Perez (S6), Brandon Bryant (S5) and Kupono Aweau (S5).

I actually think this collection of dancers is bit strange. But I'm REALLY excited to see Benji and Evan. I really hope Evan and Little Jazz pair up for an amazing Broadway number. Chills! Okay now I'm officially cheering for Little Jazz to do well.

Kat: I little Asian persuasion this week, mmm just okay.

Guest judge: How awful was Carmen Electra?! Worst judge ever.


LITTLE JAZZ HANDS & CLARICE - CONTEMPORARY

Okay. Jazz and Clarice are totally growing on me. He's not quite so annoying anymore... or Jazzy's mom has started slipping the editors a few Hamiltons each week. Either way, they are the dark horse for me at this point. I LOVED this dance. Can I hear three cheers for finally a storyline that wasn't forced in some sappy Lifetime movie kind of way? The choreographers are getting a little over the top in that department, right? Overall this was the one at the end of the night that I wanted to go back and watch again.


TINY HEAD & VENEERS - CONTEMPORARY

I love me some violin solos and I love me some Celine. Don't even tell me you don't get caught up in the dramatic pause in the middle. I wasn't as excited about this as the judges were but I imagine a piece like this is much better in person. There were some crazy sweet lifts in the middle.


BOY HAIR & MARKO - JAZZ

I could have done without her weird flamenco/moulin rouge dress, it was a bit distracting. I feel like they want to keep dressing her SUPER girly because of her short hair. It's weird though because I'm pretty sure you can look girly without looking like a prostitute. I've decided to embrace the short hair much like Felicty in season 2. She started rockin the headbands and after a while it was super cute. I think America has grown since then. I think they are ready for pixie on tv. Wait. Is this a recap about dancing? Oooooh. I forgot why I was here for a second. This one was good. That Marko is just so dang likeable - I wouldn't even know if they danced like sewage.

RYAN & JEGGINGS! - JAZZ

I was totally feeling the Zoolander vibe. Which is a good thing. This had fun choreo, good dancing, and the costumes worked well. I love a good 3 out of 3.

PS - I really think Ryan looks like Nancy Travis from So I Married and Axe Murderer. Right? Anyway. Just saying.



STRIPPER & TADD - WALTZ

For a dance about a crazy mermaid taking your soul, this was decent. Although, was it just me or was this barely a waltz? It seemed way more contemporary than waltzy. I'm still loving Tadd and I guess Stripper is kind of growing on me after she seemed genuine about thanking her family.


RICO & SISTER - HIP HOP

This wasn't nearly as awful as the judges let on. Sure he doesn't do hip hop but give him so cred. The problem is that he looked more feminine than her. They should have switch roles. It cracks me up that Mary was criticizing Rico for "no swag," wow apparently those who can't do - critique.

PART DEUX & ASHLEY BANKS - SALSA

Can I just say that Ashley is really pretty? But you’re, like, really pretty. So you agree? You think you’re really pretty? I feel like Paula saying that but honestly a lot all the poses Ash did throughout the dance were amazing. She looked soooo pretty. Unfortunately everything in between and everything to do with Part Deux was a bit awful. I never thought either of these dancers would make it to the top 10, it was only a matter of time.

GROUP DANCES

I thought the guys routine was one of the better group numbers of the entire season. If you didn't catch it - go watch it here.


WHO GOT KICKED?


No big shocker on who they sent home: it was only a matter of time. Plus they had to send home Legacy Part Deux before the top ten because it looks like Legacy Part Uno is coming back as an all star. And the world might implode. OR my theory is correct and they are one in the same person. Which in that case I guess dry your tears because he'll be back on in a few weeks. As for Ashleybanks - no such luck. Although how adorable did she look while dancing for her life?

Your Top 12!



* I won't be able to do So Can Dance commentary the next two weeks. But I may have a special guest star fill in... but I make no promises. It's not like anyone reads these recaps anyway.

"MELT LIKE A POPSICLE ON THE FORF OF JULY"

We had some visitors for the 4th this year. Brad's parents came down for the entire holiday weekend. Which was tons of fun - lots of games and way way way too much good food. We taught them how to play Settlers of Catan and Diane's inner land grabber came out in full force. I think they really enjoyed playing. Of course my (not so) inner competitiveness came out as I lost three miserable games in a row. That game is so agonizing when you can't build anything! If you've never played sorry for the shop talk but also - shame on you. Go and learn now.

Anyway I digress - the one time it wasn't a billion degrees or raining we managed to go fishing at a nearby pond. We all caught something but they were tiny so we didn't keep anything. We didn't even keep Ross's biggest catch of the day. A ten pound snapping turtle! I'm so glad Brad didn't get any fingers snapped off trying to unhook him. Those bad boys should be insured at this point!

SO CAN DANCE - WK 3 - TOP 16

Kat's Dress: I don't have a picture this week - which is a shame because it was very sassy. Very gatsby-esque.

Guest Judge: Kristin Chenoweth is adorable. I don't know why she refuses to be best friends with me.

Here are the routines in order of awesomeness (was it just me or was there more kissing in this episode than most??):

1. Boy Hair & Mowgli - Hip Hop


After their kiss-a-licious routine THIS was burned into my soul... gross. If I have to see so do you.


2. Jeggings! & Lil Nepotiz - Contemporary


3. Nepoleon & Silence of the Lambs - some ballroom


4. Woo Guy & Curly Sue - Broadway


5. Sister/Sister & Rico Suave - Contemporary


6. Veneers & Tiny Head - latin Ballroom of some sort


7. Crazy Eyes & Stipper Pants - Hip Hop


8. Ashleybanks & Part Deux - Jazz


In The Bottom
. Curly Sue & Woo Guy
. Ashleybanks & Part Deux
. Veneers & Tiny Head

Who Got Kicked? Curly Sue and Woo Guy. I did not agree with the decision at all. I think they should have kicked off Veneers and Tiny Head, they are good dancers but I always forget that they exist. No more wooing? I'm a little upset.