Spreading the Gospel of Dance

If anything can bring me back it's So You Think You Can Dance. If you know me you know that I was NOT happy with last season's winner and overall disappointed in the season as a whole (minus Kayla and Kupono's "Addiction" - may it never die!) Needless to say I've been eagerly awaiting the real kickoff to season 6 especially since it's been hyped as the most talented Top 20 yet.

Channing and Phillip - Underwhelming. Neither one of them brought much personality to the dance which is essential for a jive. Mary Murphy was right on - more energy and more sharpness needed.

Ashleigh and Jakob - First off this was pretty weak choreography from Tyce but I forgive him considering the absolutely amazing dance he delivered in last night's show. Basically Ashleigh was just a statue for Jakob's showcase of tricks. She can't kick very high and her pirouettes look like a 5th grader's. Get her out of here! But Jakob, Jakob is a dream. I predict he will be around for a very long time.

Ariana and Peter - I found Ariana's performance unconvincing - something about it just didn't click. Glad to see that Peter does have some versatility. Once again judge's critiques were right on - maybe they've laid off the crack this season.

Noelle and Russell - I love Melanie Lapatin and how she always has to step up when someone gets hurt! Anyone else remember when she was on What Not to Wear years ago? Probs not, but I do! I love Russell but correct me if I'm wrong - Didn't he say in Vegas week that he hadn't had training in other styles?? Then how do you explain "5 years of formal training at Boston Art Academy High School" from his official bio? Something's fishy and I blame Nigel.

Bianca and Victor - While Bianca is definitely the weakest in this pairing she actually did better than I expected. Victor reminds me a lot of Danny from Season 3 - always a good thing. Note on Travis' choreography - love him and some people won't like this but I think he relies a bit too much on tricks for the high points of his dances. Yes there was a story behind it but I don't think it was conveyed enough through the emotion of the dance.

Karen and Kevin - Boy knows how to smize...Tyra would be SO proud! And I love Fox's self promotion using the Glee soundtrack. All in all Karen was hot but the turns and flips were too slow. Also hair stylist - never, EVER put Kevin's hair in a bun again. With those earrings he looked like a smaller version of Ms. Jay Alexander, runway expert. Too much Top Model??

Ellenore and Ryan - Creepy angels....I like it. Just when I thought I was kind of getting over Sonya she reels me back in! Ryan and his fake little Hugh Jackman self really held his own against a contemporary dancer. Ellenore had started to annoy me last night but she's back in my good graces again. No doubt she'll have to face the wrath of Ashleigh backstage after resting her hand dangerously close to the man's goods.

Pauline and Brandon - On first sight these two are an adorable couple and I can't believe Brandon only had a day and a half to learn and clean the dance. Yet again I agree 100% with Mary - what is going on?

Kathryn and Legacy - Love Dave Scott, LOVE the dance! Kathryn was great and Legacy got to show off his skills too. Am I getting a little Courtney and Gev vibe from these two? Maybe too early to tell but thus far I'm a fan! Definitely my favorite dance of the night.

Mollee and Nathan - In case you forgot I've been pimping Nathan from the moment he appeared on our screen almost 6 months ago. I also knew that I recognized Mollee when she first showed up but couldn't quite place her. It all made sense once she explained she danced in all the 3 High School Musical films. So clearly on background alone these two 18 year olds had a lot to live up to. So a couple of the landings from lifts were rough (which the judges failed to mention) but they definitely brought the energy and fun to the piece.

The only real drawback of having a fall season of SYTYCD is the interruption by the World Series. Because of it America will have no say in who stays and goes until the Top 16. This just further feeds into my conspiracy theories about Nigel controlling and orchestrating everything on this show. Case in point - does anyone really believe that Russell would have gone home had Billy Bell still been in the competition? I think not. I'm not really sure who would have - I'll leave that for you to discuss. I don't really think Ariana had much of a chance to stick around even though in my opinion she had the strongest solo. So Brandon and Ariana are the first to leave us on what looks to be a promising season. It's good to have you back SYTYCD, real good.