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 Originally aired on Tuesday, June 21, 2006
Episode Rating: *** (3 out of 5 stars)
Episode Overview: 18 dancers remain as the show really starts to heat up. Every one of the nine couples perform in varying, and often quite challenging, routines. A fan vote follows the episode, so the dancers have no choice but to lay it all out on the line.
Episode Highlights:
- Natalie and Musa put on the best, and sexiest, performance of the season thus far.
- The judges, once again, brutally rip into Joy, leaving the poor girl on the verge of tears.
- The judges and the audience are left awe-inspired by Donyelle and Benji's Cha Cha.
Recap:
The 18 remaining dancers start the show with a fairly blah opening routine, only existing for introductory purposes. A number of the female dancers a very scantily-clad, which is never wrong, but the whole thing remains uninteresting.
Cat Deely comes out sporting a nice English accent, and, like always, exemplifies exactly what a host should be: quick on their feet, confident, and pleasant to look at. After a quick recap of the most memorable moments of the show thus far for each of the three judges (Shane Sparks, Mia Michaels, and Nigel Lithgoe), Hawk comes out. Hawk apparently would have been a contestant on the show this season had it not been for Visa problems, which has to be the first time that has happened. Nonetheless, him and his "Six-Step Crew" warm up the crowd with an enthusiastic break dance-centric routine, featuring a stunning array of athleticism.
Now, onto the performances from the nine remaining couples:
Travis and Martha - Krump
The couple seems quite excited to receive Krumping, a South Central L.A.-originated dance made famous in the film "Rize", and are enthusiastic through training. Travis, who looks like the last man on earth who should be Krumping, summons the inner beast within him and lets loose an inspiring, animalistic performance. Only Nigel has a disparaging word, admitting the performance was good, but just a tad "slower" then Krump should be.
Jaymz and Jessica - American Foxtrot
Not overly pleased with the dance they received, the couple makes the best of it, turning in a quality performance. Nothing too spectacular, but the judges seem to dig it.
Ivan and Allison - Hip/Hop (New School)
For "two goofy white kids", Ivan and Allison seem confident, perhaps too much so. Their routine is solid, but leaves the judges, especially Mia, wanting more.
Dimitry and Joy - Samba
And now it gets ugly. After a sloppy performance, Joy is summarily ripped to shreds, making the "Oh God, I'm about to cry on national television" face. Mia sums up the consensus best, simply stating "That was dreadful".
Musa and Natalie - Contemporary
Natalie, a trained Contemporary dancer, knows she'll nail it but Musa (a break dancer) is going to have to be a quick learner.
He is. My favorite performance of the episode, Natalie oozes gargantuan amounts of sex appeal while Musa gives the most inspiring performance of the show, matching Nat's intensity and ability to a T. The judges are all extremely impressed and proud with Musa and praise the couples unbelievable chemistry.
Brian and Heidi - Pop
The performance is fine, if not uninspired. Shane inexplicably pronounces them "The group to beat," while Mia and Nigel are underwhelmed.
Ben and Ashlee - American Jive
Their choreographer, concerned about this group's ability to perform what is certainly the most difficult routine given tonight, the couple perform what I thought was a fun and polished performance. The judges think otherwise. Shane boldly begins the critiquing, matter-of-factly stating, "I didn't like it".
Jason and Aleksandra - Hip/Hop (Old School)
Aleksandra is struggling from the get go, completely untrained and over-matched when it comes to hip/hop. Jason, hip/hop his forte, will need to carry the weight in their performance. As expected, he is superb, but Aleksandra, putting forth an extremely commendable effort, still dances like a white girl. The judges praise Jason and agree that although Aleksandra wasn't up to par, she probably did the best she possibly could.
Benji and Donyelle - Cha Cha
After what seemed, to me at least, to be an average performance of an uninteresting style, the crowd and the judges go nuts. Shane proclaiming this "the best performance of the night" and Nigel titling them the new team to beat, I am left baffled. The performance was fine, but certainly nothing that elevated the couple from the pack.
Best of the episode: Musa and Natalie executing a pantheon-level performance, Travis Krumping it up like no white boy should, and Ben and Ashlee taking the toughest routine and turning it into a dance that was extremely entertaining, if not technically perfect. Next episode will see one guy and one girl from the three teams with the lowest vote total eliminated. The bottom three couples will likely come from this group: Dimitry/Joy, Brian/Heidi, James/Jessica, and Ben/Ashlee. Overall, the performance level remains very high, building the foundation for what should be an exhilirating rest of the season.
-Oscar Dahl
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