I like when Mary judges like in this blog. She's much more informative this way.Mary Murphy
It was a roller coaster of a night. It started off with a bang and just didn't stop!
I must say, the quickstep was definitely the trickiest number of the night with all those scatter-chassés and the tough top frame. And I don't know if the audience knows this, but it's a very difficult stage. Besides being slippery, it's not a stage meant for the quickstep. Traditional quickstep stages have to be rectangular with a very long side - at least 75 feet long and 45 feet wide.
I certainly wouldn't want to quickstep on that stage as it doesn't lend itself to getting up the speed and momentum you need to really glide. If you have to curve the long running promenades, it really increases the difficulty of the choreography. I think it's important for the audience to know about the intricacies of quickstep technique.
Natalli and Nico were on fire tonight! I love that Natalli's a wild, uninhibited creature and think it's so important for her to keep that quality about her. In that disco number, she polished herself up and it was right on the money.
Nico was a surprise for me, too, in the disco. He seems a bit serious to me, but it really looked like he was having a lot of fun on the dance floor. He really got into the quickstep, too, and just looked so elegant and refined.
Miles is really the underdog, but he has really risen to the occasion and continually impresses all of us. He's not just a b-boy, he's a dancer. I couldn't stop watching him (and he had his shirt on at that point, I'll have you know).
Lisa did a good job. She is so strong and so muscular but I saw a different side of her tonight, a more emotional side. She was strong when she needed to be and soft when it was required of her. She was very dramatic in the piece.
I think Blake's choreography will be a piece that will be remembered on this stage.
Sadly, I don't think it was Allie and Izaak's night. I'm not sure if it was the music or the choreography or what it was. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great enough.
I have no idea what it would be like to transform from a ballerina to a hip-hop dancer. In ballet, you're supposed to be so strong with your centre and so pulled up, but Allie had to let it all go down and get funky. That's tough.
I think Izaak's really done well. I think he's got a really likeable face and really has the likeability factor going for him. The best number I've seen him do was Blake's jazz number when he danced with Kaitlyn. That was such a dynamic performance.
I can't wait to see what happens on Thursday's show. It's going to be intense.














