[

Here are my thoughts on the on July 2, 2008 performances of the seven couples making up the season 4 top 14. This week they have two routines each and Comfort and Thayne are dancing together for the first time. (Click images for larger view)

———————————————–

Jessica/Will

1. Jive (Choo Choo Ch’Boogie – Five Guys Named Moe): Good jive. Terrific jump over/under through the legs (see picture below). [Watch on YouTube]

2. Lyrical Jazz (Alone – Heart): Finally! A memorable and enjoyable dance from these two. What a terrific opening jump (click picture on left). I now think I might ‘get’ what people see in Will. My third favourite performance of the night. [Watch on YouTube]

Comfort/Thayne – first time as a couple

1. Broadway (Cool – Bernstein and Sondheim): Liked him. As always, didn’t like her. How can anyone not  love the music from West Side Story?  [Watch on YouTube]

2. Smooth Waltz (Hov Arek Sarer Jan – New Age Armenia): Not bad. Especially for Comfort. I didn’t expect her to pull a waltz off as well as she did. Nonetheless, she’s my weekly first choice female to be voted off. [Watch on YouTube]

[July 3 Update: Comfort and Thayne were in the bottom 3 couples this week. Unfortunately Comfort survived to stay on the show for another week.]

Kourtni L/Matt

1. Hip Hop (How do I Breathe – Mario): Should be called hip-hop light – I didn’t like it much. They were not in sync for half of it. There’s no person that has disappointed me more on this show than Kourtni. I had such high hopes for her at the beginning. Kourtni is my second female choice to be voted off this week.  [Watch on YouTube]

2. Mombo (Ban-Con-Tim – Super All-Star): Just OK. Matt out-shined her. She wasn’t looking at him enough. [Watch on YouTube]

[July 3 Update: Kourtni and Matt were in the bottom 3 couples this week. Kourtni and Matt were both voted off. Of the three bottom guys I thought he was the least deserving to be voted off.]

Chelsie H./Mark

1. Jazz (Kiss Kiss – Holly Valance): Entertaining and together throughout. Fun, playful and sexy. First dance of the night I rewound to watch a second time. [Watch on YouTube]

2. Fox Trot (It’s My Life – Paul Anka): When they were actually dancing the fox trot (as opposed to when they were doing tricks) they flowed nicely. This routine left me a bit cold. I didn’t like how the blue dress hid so much of her you couldn’t see her dancing. Mark was trying to connect with Chelsie but the reverse – not so much. Mark is still one of my favourite male dancers. [Watch on YouTube]

Kherington/Twitch

1. Pasa Doble (Malaguena – Brian Setzer ‘68 Comeback Special): Costumes – wonderful! The routine didn’t seem that difficult. But, I really liked it. Terrific performance/acting. Second best routine of the night. I want to purchase a set of his abs.  [Watch on YouTube]

  2. Contemporary (Dreaming with a Broken Heart – John Mayer): Mia Michaels is a strange one. But she does it again! Technically this dance looked easy. The performance was very good for a routine with top notch, though strange, choreography. The song and story touched a bit too close to home   Best routine of the night. [Watch on YouTube]

Katee/Joshua

1. Contemporary (Hometown Glory – Adele) I’m not sure what to think of that one. I didn’t really like this Mia Michael’s routine. It was different. A few spots were very interesting. Odd mixture of hip-hop and contemporary. This is my favourite couple but this was my least favourite of their dances so far. And her haircut – yuk! [Watch on YouTube]

2. West Coast Swing (Shake It – Brother Yusef): Yikes! This is not Katee and Joshua’s week. Bringing in Benjie highlighted how far away these two are from his West Coast Swing excellence. The song was a poor choice too. Hardly inspiring. But after the judges praise I watched it again and this was one of the rare instances where I enjoyed it a bit more on the second viewing. [Watch on YouTube]

Courtney/Gev

1. Hip Hop (Lights, Camera, Action! – Mr. Cheeks): Good, not great. Both were nicely together. Courtney was far better than Gev. This was as easy a hip-hop routine as they get on this show. [Watch on YouTube]

2. Broadway (New York, New York – Bernstein, Comden and Green): I really liked the costumes and this 40’s/50’s Oscar Levant-style dance routine.  Reminded me of scenes from An American in Paris. But the routine was just average. Gev is my male choice to be voted off this week. [Watch on YouTube]

[July 3 Update: Courtney and Gev were in the bottom 3 couples this week. I loved Gev's solo dance. Wow! If only he danced this well in other styles. After his solo I was happy he has not voted off.]

———————————————–

Kherington/Twitch – Hip Hop (Don’t Touch Me – Busta  Rhymes): Who chose those hideous orange overalls and why that song? They danced well enough, but the routine annoyed me. I don’t understand how the judges enjoyed it so much. In fairness, hip hop is about looking cool and tough. There’s nothing Kherington can do to pull off  an image of being tough given who she is. [Watch on YouTube]

Courtney G./Gev – Rumba (Wishing on a Star – Rose Royce): Wow! What a spectacular outfit for Courtney. What a vixen! Terrific rapport. Quite the subdued rumba. A bit stilted a few times, but I liked it a lot. The best performance by these two so far. [Watch on YouTube]

Comfort/Chris – African Jazz (Beautiful People – Marilyn Manson): Finally, a routine I enjoyed with these two. Lots of  fun and well done. I still want to see Comfort voted off. Love the Marilyn Manson song. [Watch on YouTube]

[June 27 Update: Comfort and Chris were in the bottom 3 couples this week. Chris was rightly voted off. Comfort was not. Why the judges like Comfort and keep her week after week is beyond my comprehension.]

Jessica/Will – Disco (Heaven Must Have Sent You – Bonnie Pointer): It started off well. The first two lifts and twirls caught me off guard in a happy way because they were so seamless.  But then it started falling apart as the routien included too many lifts that were beyond them. Still, this is the best these two have done so far. I expect they’ll be in the bottom three tomorrow. [Watch on YouTube]

Kourtni L/Matt – Contemporary (Wrestlers (Sticky, Dirty Pop Mix) – Hot Chip): This was the routine I was waiting for -  Kourtni & Matt dancing her native contemporary.  The expressions on their faces in the picture on the right sums it up. What a let down. I hope this is the new choreographer Sonya’s last time on the show. Hated the lime green leotard. I can’t blame Kourtni and Matt for the poor material and costumes though. [Watch on YouTube]

[June 27 Update: Kourtni and Matt were in the bottom 3 couples this week.]

Chelsea T./Thayne – Quick Step (You Can’t Hurry Love – Phil Collins):  When they got it, they got it. But most of that routine they didn’t have it. Quick step is hard, very hard. I’m not sure if the Phil Collins song made it harder – though it did seem to be in the appropriate  time. I felt sorry for them. Two fish, very much out of water but trying ever so hard. If they had more time to learn the style they could have been much better. [Watch on YouTube]

[June 27 Update: Chelsea and Thayne were in the bottom 3 couples this week. Chelsea was voted off. Thayne was not. The judges are nuts. Of the three women up this week she was the most deserving of staying.]

Chelsie H./Mark – Lyrical Hip Hop  (Bleeding Love – Leona Lewis): You can’t help but like these two. Mark especially. They are fun to watch. This particular hip hop routine was just average for the show. They were out of sync too often. It was probably their least best so far. But these two are a solid couple and always enjoyable to watch. [Watch on YouTube]

Katee/Joshua – Samba (Baila, Baila – Angela Via): My favourite couple. Fantastic. Not  perfect, but really good. I smiled a big smile the whole way through. I enjoy their chemistry and rapport. This is still the couple to beat. [Watch on YouTube]

Here’s an entertaining blog post and video review of this week’s performance

———————————————–

Chelsea T./Thayne – Jazz (Untouched – The Veronicas):  While I enjoyed the routine, it didn’t match up to last week’s performance. But I chalk that up to the poor choice of song and Mandy Moore’s choreography more than the lack of performance. Terrific costumes. [Watch on YouTube]

[June 19 Update: Chelsea T and Thane were voted into the bottom 3 this week.]

Chelsie H/Mark – Argentinean Tango (Mi Confesion – Gotan Project): Loved her outfit!  A slight hesitation at one  point. I’ve seen better but it was superior to Jessica’s and Will’s tango last week. I thought it was hot and very sexy – what a tango should be. Two very good weeks in a row. [Watch on YouTube]

Jessica/Will – Hip Hop (Whatever U Like – Nicole Scherzinger): Two weeks in a row with a sub-par performance. Aside from a couple of moves here and there, it just didn’t do it for me. Nowhere close to Katee & Joshua’s hip hop last week. [Watch on YouTube]

Kourtni L/Matt – Foxtrot (A Foggy Day (In London  Town) – Michael Buble): How can you go wrong with that Buble song? These two redeemed themselves from last week’s unspectacular performance. Matt was by far the stronger of the two. It was enjoyable and they were mostly together throughout. I liked it. [Watch on YouTube]

Courtney/Gev – Contemporary (Lost – Anouk): Yikes, who picked that maternity outfit for her? They both looked great but the piece was too difficult for them. They made a lot of mistakes. He couldn’t manage the lifts. The choreography was good. They didn’t live up to it though. Nonetheless, it was still nice to watch but technically sub-par. That’s two sub-par weeks in a row.  [Watch on YouTube]

Katee/Joshua – Broadway (All For the Best – Godspell (2001 Revival Broadway Group): What a terrific couple. This routine was lots of fun. It couldn’t live up to last week but I still liked it a lot. When they got out of step with each other they quickly regrouped. Great chemistry. With two great weeks  behind them, this is THE couple to beat at this point. [Watch on YouTube]

Susie/Marquis: Salsa (Aguanile – Willie Colon & Hector Lavoe): Two OK performances, two weeks in a row. Marquis was by far the better of the two in this routine. They weren’t dancing together enough. I think Susie is a candidate to be voted off this week. [Watch on YouTube]

[June 19 Update: Susie and Marquis were voted into the bottom 3 this week and both Susie and Marquis were voted off.]

Kherington/Twitch– Viennese Waltz (A New Day Has Come – Celine Dion): Very pretty. Lots of tricks. But where was the Viennese Waltz? They didn’t actually dance the waltz anywhere in their routine. That’s really the choreographer John Marque’s fault though. But, these two are safe with two terrific  weeks in a row. [Watch on YouTube]

Comfort/Chris – Krump (Come and Get Me – Timbaland ft. 50 Cent & Tony Yayo): Chris was out of his league here. They weren’t together much of the time. I blame Comfort for that. She is clearly in her comfort zone. She should have dialed it back to better match Chris. They weren’t a team on the stage.  I really don’t like Comfort’s personality. I’m looking forward to her being voted of as soon as possible. And, I’m afraid Chris is at risk too. [Watch on YouTube]

[June 19 Update: Comfort and Chris were voted into the bottom 3 this week.]

Some nice dances but the show wasn’t as good as last week.

———————————————–

Rayven/Jamie – Hip Hop (American Boy – Estelle ft. Kanye West): Yikes … fish out of water …. boring … I was fearful for the show after this performance. [Watch on YouTube]

[June 12 Update: Rayven and Jamie were voted off the next day.]

Susie/Marquis – Waltz (Dark Waltz – Hayley Westenra): Nice enough but too many mistakes. Was happy Susie showed more substance than she presented in the earlier audition/Vegas shows. Better than expected from her. He was very good. [Watch on YouTube]

Kourtni/Matt – Jazz (Tainted Love – Soft Cell): Kourtni was one of my favourites coming into tonight. She didn’t do much for me in this yawner. The second worst of the night … how disappointing… I hope she makes it through.  I’d like to see her do a Mia Michaels emotive/contemporary routine. She’d be a natural. [Watch on YouTube]

Chelsea/Thane – Cha Cha (Oye Como Va (Latin/Trance Mix) -  Celia Cruz): Hot, hot hot. Chelsea looks to be a permanent passenger on Mary’s Hot Tamali Train.  Thane was good too. That was sexy. [Watch on YouTube]

Chelsie/Mark – Contemporary (Beautiful – Me’Shell Ndegeocello): Dang! Tim Burton’s  wedding – wow! I wish I liked Mia Michaels, the person, more – she annoys me actually. But she sure does do consistently terrific choreography. [Watch on YouTube]

Twitch/Kherington (Twitchington) – Broadway (Too Darn Hot – Kiss Me Kate (2002 Revival Broadway Cast): I didn’t think Twitchington would be as good as they turned out to be. They both had wonderfully expressive faces. She sure is a Dale-type cutie … gorgeous smile …. I grinned a  happy grin as I watched this routine four times over. I didn’t think Twitch was as good as her or as good as the judges said he was however. [Watch on YouTube]

Chris/Comfort – Jive (Boom Boom – Big Head Todd & The Monsters): Back to yawning … didn’t even want to watch it through the first time. What’s wrong with the judges? I hated this dance. Comfort was clearly out of her comfort zone and in my opinion barely made it through. I’d feel comfortable voting them off. Worst of the night. [Watch on YouTube]

Katee/Joshua – Hip Hop (No Air – Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown): Loved it. For  a couple that just started dancing together they were tight, emotive and connected in a wonderful way. I bet the judges are happy they kept her  now. My favourite of the night. [Watch on YouTube]

Jessica/Will – Tango (Tango – Cirque Du Soleil): I love the tango. But Will was popping too much for my taste. It just didn’t look right. She was generally fine. They smiled WAY too much. You aren’t supposed to smile in a tango. I disagree with Mary’s “couple to beat” line. I thought they were just middle of the road tonight. [Watch on YouTube]

Courtney/Gev – Disco (Boogie Wonderland – Earth, Wind & Fire) They did OK. In my opinion, disco should be dropped from the show. It’s hard for me to be impressed with it because, unlike Nigel, I’m so tired of the style. [Watch on YouTube]

Looks like we’re off to a good competitive season.