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Jessica and Will - Jive - I was pleasantly surprised here. This genre suits Jessica. She looks good in 40's styling and the cornball faces she makes work with the style. She danced a smidge better than usual and Will was a smidge less clean ("perfect"), so they matched up better. Overall, the partnering wasn't as strong as it could have been, but that one amazing trick made up for a lot.

Comfort and Thayne - Broadway - These two were dancing in two totally different styles. She was smooth and languid and sultry. He was explosive and showy. Both did okay on their own terms, but didn't fit together very well. Also, what I missed in their performances were the split-seconds of complete stillness that would make their poses "pop".

Kortni and Matt - Hip Hop - I was pleasantly surprised by Matt, here. I think he nailed the choreography and the movement and made it seem natural and easy. Kortni didn't do nearly as well. She felt more awkward and clunky. She also seemed to be behind the beat a lot, and I blame her for their [many] out-of-synch moments… I do have to quibble with the judging. The style of the choreography, it would seem, was meant to be cool and "chill". It wasn't a piece that was about passion and heat - just the opposite, in fact. I think Matt pulled that off nicely.

Chelsie H. and Mark - Jazz - I feel bad for saying this again, but Mark just wipes her off the stage in terms of personality and charisma. It's not that Chelsie lacks these things - I actually think she has some personality, and with a different partner, would probably pop more. I just think it would be hard for any of this year's girls to measure up to Mark in that way. I liked but didn't love the choreography. I liked but didn't love the execution. Chelsie's lines, especially on the lifts, were broken at the waist and just not beautiful. While that is probably the choreography, the dancer ultimately needs to wear it onstage. The only thing I really loved was Mark himself…

Kherington and Twitch - Paso Doble - Paso Doble is my absolute favorite dance, but with this couple, I was hoping for the best but expecting the worst. They came out somewhere in the middle. I give Kherington credit for losing the smile, but the over-the-top, overacted sneer, while an improvement, was hardly ideal. I think Nappy and Tabs critique about Twitch was spot on - I don't think he slipped into it until halfway through. Mostly, though, I don't think they hit the percussive moves hard enough. With a great Paso, the stomps and claps and slaps should be sharp enough that they could give the drummer the day off and the music would still have all the percussion you need. That didn't happen here. If a couple had given this level of performance with hip hop, they would have been accused of not hitting hard enough. I feel the same criticism applies…

Katee and Joshua - Contemporary - What an awesome challenge! To dance perfectly in synch while playing characters so out of sync… To do elaborate, connected coupling work while playing people so disconnected… I was VERY impressed. This was some of the best acting work we've seen on the show thus far this season, and the dancing was great, too. The only problem I had with it was with Katee's ridiculous hairstyle.

Courtney and Gev - Hip Hop - Gev finally showed some personality, and I welcomed it. He felt very authentic and natural in his own style. Courtney impressed me by hitting the choreography so hard without becoming masculine. I disagree with the judging and thought this was pretty decent. The only reason I felt it wasn't better was just because the song didn't capture me as much as the dancing didn't.

Jessica and Will - Jazz - I hated the first half while they were dancing separately. Jessica looked like she was doing Cinemax soft-core porn, while Will only seemed to be in love with himself. He was Danny 2.0 for sure, and there was no connection between them. When they came together, though, it picked up immeasurably. The choreography fueled the performance and I began to believe a fire between the two of them. Unfortunately, that fire needed to be there from the beginning.

Comfort and Thayne - Smooth Waltz - This bored me and I had a hard time paying attention. Comfort had better technique and more elegance than I expected, but Thayne was even creepier than usual. Didn't work at all.

Kortni and Matt - Mambo - I am glad that Kortni redeemed herself here. That choreography would have been tough even for a smaller woman, but for her to get her super long limbs to do stuff like that is pretty incredible. However, she was missing the Latin hips the dance needed. Matt had a good carriage, but lacked any and all sexuality. The chemistry definitely was lacking, but individually Kortni did well and Matt did okay.

Chelsie H. and Mark - Foxtrot - Mark, I thought, pulled it off well and looked great in the style of a Rudolph Valentino. Chelsie danced beautifully, and while she seemed to mark the right performance beats, I would have like to have seen a bit more oomph in her facial expressions. When she was doing the kicks towards his face, I would have liked to have seen more attitude. Ballroom attitude, but attitude nevertheless. Instead, she had the exact same face as in the rest of the piece To me, Chelsie is like a dancing Carrie Underwood - pretty and talented, but somehow lacking depth and substance.

Kherington and Twitch - Contemporary - I've never liked Kherington more than I did here. She felt committed and in the moment more than I've ever seen from her. The technique was a little spotty (one leap that could have been like Will's in the jazz number got about 4 inches off the floor), but she carried it through with her performance. Twitch also availed himself very well and did a great acting job. What I didn't like about the piece was the gimmicky act-out-the-words choreography. Come on, Mia! It doesn't always have to be so damned literal! And, please, somebody tell her that she can't strew flowers across the stage anymore.

Katee and Joshua - West Coast Swing - Uh-oh. It had to happen sometime. For the first time, I didn't like a Katee/Joshua routine. I found it inert, disconnected, and frankly, a bit boring. Also, the choreography was so one-sided. It seemed like Joshua was given all of the hard work, while Katee just hit a few poses and mostly stood around. I'm glad that Nigel pointed out the failed cartwheel, but it's no wonder Joshua couldn't pull it off. He had to have been EXHAUSTED after doing all of the dancing for the pair of them!

Courtney and Gev - Broadway - I'm not a fan of this style at all. I don't like cheesy, badly-acted, over-the-top stuff. On Broadway, I want to believe and identify with the characters. I couldn't do that here. That being said, I think these two gave what was expected of them. I just didn't like it very much. I do think they could have stood to tighten it up a bit more. Some of the moments were a bit out of synch.


My Rankings:
1. Katee and Joshua - Contemporary
2. Kherington and Twitch - Contemporary (for their dancing, despite the cheesy choreography)
3. Jessica and Will - Jive
4. Chelsie and Mark - Foxtrot
5. Courtney and Gev - Hip Hop
6. Chelsie and Mark - Jazz
7. Jessica and Will - Jazz
8. Kortni and Matt - Hip Hop
9. Kherington and Twitch - Paso Doble
10. Kortni and Matt - Mambo
11. Comfort and Thayne - Broadway
12. Courtney and Gev - Broadway
13. Katee and Joshua - West Coast Swing
14. Comfort and Thayne - Smooth Waltz

Comfort and Thayne were definitely the worst couple and Kortni and Matt also deserve bottom 3. Who will join them? Will and Jessica, who cumulatively haven't been all that great, but who had a very good night, or Courtney and Gev who were just okay tonight? I'm guessing Courtney and Gev will be in the bottom and Jessica will survive another week.