Yuku free message boards

Melanie/Vincent: paso doble. I actually liked the choreography, and it was a good paso (not amazing). I hope they use Francis and Natalie more often, because Tony and Melanie's routines are getting very generic, and Gustavo Vargus needs to stick to salsa and mambo (his international latin routines have been the bad kind of unique). This paso was unique and different in a very good way, and Vincent was awesome, and Melanie showed a huge improvement over her last latin routine. But, it's annoying that 4 out of the six routines Vincent has done this season have been latin international routines (the only one of the five he hasn't done is rumba). It's frustrating enough that he is getting dance styles he's specialized in, but what's even more frustrating is that he's shown he actually can do other styles. Why is the show protecting him? Well, I actually think they were protecting Melanie; they give her the best partner left, and the slowest, least hip-action filled latin routine, and now the show can say she can do latin. She did well, but she couldn't touch Natalli's ferociousness last year (or her skirt work). I honestly think that, despite the generic music choice, last year's paso was the best the show has seen. So, it was really good, but Melanie was a little less fierce than I would like her to be.

Cody/Amy: Well, we know who the producers want gone now... Amy could be the first person booted (or even hitting the bottom) after a Stacey Tookey routine in the history of the show. I hate how mean the judges were to her; she did very well. Now, I still hate Cody; but he sucked a lot less than I expected he would. He seemed to be able to partner Amy pretty well. It still doesn't change my mind about him. Overall, it was one of the weaker pieces of the night, but not bad by any means.

Kim/Everett: Sean Cheesman is on fire this year, and Kim and Everett really sold the routine. I wouldn't call it the best routine of the season (well... the season has been weak, but I still love dancehall), but was was pretty awesome. Kim, I feel, really benefits from having a good choreographer, and Everett no longer seems to be on the producer hit list (I guess they finally realize how popular he is). He is really surprising me, and could make it much farther still.

Emmanuel/TJ: The weakest routine of the night. It's understandable, since they were the only two who were completely out of their element this evening. Considering the crappiness of every other male dancer who has done a latin routine this season, Emmanuel was not that bad (although he is so lanky it's disturbing when he tries to be sexy). The same can be said for TJ, who was better than Emmanuel, but not very good. The choreography was okay, but wasn't that song already used for a samba with Evan/Randi? Overall, compared to the catastrophic latin routines this season, it was decent (not very good). TJ needs to get her style eventually, though. She has also surprised me, and could be a dark horse to win.

Austin/JR: I think it was one of Sho-Tyme's better routines. and JR really did well with it. Austin was surprisingly decent; I'm surprised the judges were so lukewarm with him (I think they want him gone now, the the costume they put him in only confirms it).

Now, for the solos, the girls, quite frankly, sucked. It was so disappointing to watch, especially considering that each meh female solo was succeeded by a somewhat amazing male solo. The one exception was Amy/Cody. Cody did his usual mediocre soft hip-hop, and while it was better than his previous efforts, it was still very forgettable. Amy, on the other hand, did very well. Her past two solos have been excellent, and she was far and way the best female soloist of the night. I might even say that it was good enough to throw a wrench in the producer's plans, and save her. TJ gets a solid second place for the solos (it was good and imaginative). The three other girls were so disappointing (considering people see them as the three female front runners). Melanie's quirky style is becoming one note and tiresome, and her leaps were worse than ever tonight. JR tried a more hip-hop flavoured solo, and it had attitude, but not much else, and it needed more content (her solos are getting progressively worse), and I was never impressed with Kim's solos (her audition, her solo in finals week), and she did not change my mind with this lyrical hip-hop. It was very forgettable, and maybe the worst solo of the night. If those three don't improve their solos, it will be very hard to route for any of them to win. I actually think that TJ would be the most solid female winner at this point. Also, I no longer want Amy to leave (even though she most likely will); her solos are terrific. Despite being a contemporary dancer, she really switched up her style each time, from the hip-hop flavoured one she did top 16, to the super quirky, poppy one she did top 14, and finally, this very technical one she did this evening. But if Amy doesn't leave, I have no idea who should... JR? Kim? I don't no. It matters not; Amy's good as gone.

For the guys; they were generally great. Austin is really working on his solos, and this was his best yet. Everett had such a fun tap solo (and I'm surprised his ankles aren't broken). Emmanuel, despite relying on his triple axle yet again (not a surprise), was really fun, light, and full of energy, and had great performance quality (that was a surprise). Cody had the worst male solo, but better than his usual efforts. Vincent did a more samba oriented solo, and while they aren't as good as his jive ones, they are still really fun and high energy. But he has only done samba or jive; I want to see him do a paso or cha cha solo (not a rumba, though; that's a recipe for disaster). I would say his solo was second weakest of the men, but still good. I am really worried for him, though. With Cody not being a disaster tonight, and with him, Emanuel, and Everett seaming to have such strong fanbases, and with Austin going last, he could very well go tomorrow, which would be a shame, since he is one of the few redemptive qualities of the season. He also needs to show how versatile he can be again, and not just be used as a "go to guy" for the producers when they need to make a female look good doing a latin dance.

And look, I wrote way, way too much. Oh well. Anyway, I only care about Vincent, but Everett and TJ are gaining momentum, and I am still very impressed with Emanuel. I agree with the above poster about the top six, although Melanie could sneak in there if she steps it up.

Cody needs to leave, but he won't. Ugh...