August 13th, 2010 by soullldiva

It’s going to be a show packed with amazing dance–and we get to see all our favorite pieces from the entire season as well! All that before we find out who is America’s favorite dancer on season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance. Let’s get movin’!

First off, let me say that I love Cat’s dress, it’s very ballerina-ish. And I always love her hair. Her stylist manages with extreme precision to style it in a way that it does not look styled, just like she pushed a brush through it after a couple hot rollers and went. Brilliant.

What we are treated to first is a completely amazing, whirlwind, entrancing number to “RA” by Nathan Lanier. This is very high-concept and stylized and just great dancing. The top 11 dancers and all the all-stars are in it, and nothing makes me happier than to see Alex skate out on a chair with wheels and do an incredible solo with only his hands and arms. Makes me tear up. I begin to think this is looking a lot like an LDX piece when it’s announced that Christopher Scott, from yes, the LDX choreographed it. A great beginning to the night.

There are SEVEN choreographers/judged shoved in behind the microphones:
Nigel Lythgoe (we get a montage of his hair, very funny–and I want to see him do the full dance with the kids!)
Mia Michael (we get a montage of her making up words and sayings, I didn’t realize she did that)
Adam Shankman (great montage of all his funny and rico suave faces)
Tyce DiOrio
Stacey Tookey (Emmy nominated, btw)
Kenny Ortega (lahhhve)
Mary Murphy (Mary’s back! Mary’s back!)

First up is the judge’s pick for their faves of the season. Kenny Ortega picks Tyce’s “Shoeless Joe” from Damn Yankees with Kent and Neil. Kenny thought that Tyce’s piece was a great homage to Fosse and the the thing that Kent needed at that monent in the competition to push him forward. I would agree with the great Ortega.

Nigel’s pick is Stacey Tookey’s number with Billy and Ade, “Mad World”. A real moment for Billy, and he left the following week. An exceptional piece of art, and I am torn between this one and Travis Wall’s piece with Kent and Neil as my favorite of the season. I’m sure we’ll see that one later.

First special guest tonight is Quest–which happens to contain all-star Dominic. How does Dominic land on his back like that and not rupture countless vertebrae? Love the music for this, combination of hip hop, disco, and old fashioned vaudeville. Great fun.

Mia’s favorite pick is AdeChike and Comfort with their lyrical hip hop NappyTabs number. Very interesting, as I would have pegged her to pick Travis’ piece. As I recall AdeChike got really emotional afterwards the first time. I do love this piece, I always love it when hip hop can successfully tell a full story. I like it when it just jams, too.

Next is not a pick, but Kent and Anya doing their Cha Cha Cha to “My First Kiss”. I have to say that Kent still pulls the faces, but he’s got it down to an art and a science now. He knows exactly when to pull them, what type and how much. Watch the cha cha again and see what I mean.

Tyce’s pick is another NappyTabs, the clown piece with Robert and Dominic. I can’t decide whether this is ultra cool or ultra scary with the clown makeup. Oh well.

We get a peek around the US at National Dance Day from July 31st. I love that there is a national day for dance and that dance is being recognized as a physical and athletic pursuit, one that you can do to not only express your artistic creativity, but to exercise your body and get into shape, Yea Dance!

Next is a Tap number featuring none other than judge and exec. producer Nigel Lythgoe. And he walks out on crunches claiming a season 7 curse. Suddenly there’s a seven year old on stage saying he wants to tap dance. Well let him tap dance! And he does. Boy he does. I guess no Nigel tapping (sniff).

The next tap routine by a duo of brothers was probably the most entertaining tap I’ve seen since Gregory Hines. Nice treat!

Nigel’s second favorite pick is Lauren and Pasha’s Argentine Tango to “Oblivion”. Oh, Pasha, you haunt my dreams in skin tight black tuxedo pants and patent leather shoes. This is really an outstanding Tango and I love it even more the second time around.

Adam’s pick for the season is Travis Wall’s “Fix You” with Allison and Robert.

OMG. Is that RUSSELL FERGUSON???? Where the hell has he been? Rehearsing with Lil C, I guess! And C really gives the stage up to him for practically their entire Krump. This is a good pairing, they compleiment each other well. I love getting a dose of Russell’s power and energy through the TV. Fab ending slamming down on one knee and jumping back up. Then they flash their abs. Cute.

Mary’s favorite number is Dominic and Jose doing their duet to the music from District 9. I hardly remember this piece. Oh, it’s because I missed it the first time! Love Jose and hate to say I really didn’t care for this one.

Next special guest is the winner of SYTYCD UK Charlie, dancing with Neil. Great lyrical jazz piece, not sure if it shows her uniqueness, but good all the same.

Robert, Lauren and Kent are called on stage right now, in their next costumes. Can we tell what they are dancing next? Yes. One will be eliminated now. Third place goes to: Robert. A disappointed “awww” escapes my throat. Robert is a fantastic dancer who only got better as the show went on, more able, diversified, emotional and available. Congrats to him.

Blue Steel, AKA Adam’s next pick is another NappyTabs number, who are dubbed the “MVP”s of the season (I would agree with that). Lauren and Twitch dance like no tomorrow to “My Chick Bad”. I just love this song because it talks about how bad-ass a gal is.

We get one more look back at my early pick for the winner season seven, Alex. They replay a recording of his Sonya Tayah piece with Allison to Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah”. I remember not quite liking this as much the first time around, but I have such nostalgia for Alex that I can see it in a new unit of time and it’s really a heart-wrenching piece. I heart Alex.

Stacey Tookey’s favorite for the season was the Dev Nakul Bollywood danced by Billy and Robert. A harem pants, arm waving, foot slapping great Bollywood piece, Dev’s best for the season and amazingly done by Robert and Billy.

Mia gets to pick last and she picks the only one left to pick: Travis Wall’s “How It Ends” with Kent and Neil. Real perfection in storytelling through dance, excellent from Travis and amazingly well done emotion and moment to moment from the boys. A great way to end the performances.

The group Black Gold performs their fab single “Shine” and it’s too bad they do it through a video montage. Although I like the clips, I think the band deserves the full time on screen.

Ok, what is this super duper huge surprise fabulous guest Cat has been hyping the entire show (and who we have to wait for the results through)? Ellen DeGeneres??? Doing Alex’s part with Twitch for “Outta Your Mind”? Whoa! Ok, I have to say that I LOVE this. It’s light, totally un-serious, adorable and really fun. Ellen is such a fan of dance and of SYTYCD and this was a real treat to have her dance for us, and that she tells America that you can dance and have fun even if you’re not schooled. Alex is obviously thrilled.

Last up, the crowning. Kent and Lauren both deserve the title, and for different reasons. Kent for discovering his artistic roots and his emotional value, and Lauren for her womanly power and willingness to put it all on the line. I have no favorite, I have grown to love them both.

And the winner is: Lauren. I am shocked, but absolutely not disappointed. SO well deserved! And Russell brings her Gatorade bottle with her picture out for her (she of course also gets the exclusive Gatorade contract as they are now acknowledging dance as a sport!)

That’s it for Season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance everyone! So glad you could make it through the season with me. I’ll be there for Season 8 next May!

Until then, I have more dance videos, dance quotes, and of course the upcoming season 11 of Dancing With the Stars, so come back for more!

P.S.: I WILL get the performance night music up asap tomorrow, I promise ;o)

August 5th, 2010 by soullldiva

Interesting performance show, I think we know who the three in the finale will be next week. We’ll find out tonight. Here’s the music for you!

Top Four: Broadway
Choreographer: Tyce DiOrio
Guys & Dolls (50th Anniversary Cast Recording): The Crapshooter’s Dance (I prefer to have music with lyrics for Broadway)
The Crapshooter’s Dance – Guys and Dolls (50th Anniversary Cast Recording)

Lauren and Pasha: Argentine Tango
Choreographer: Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionnuevo
Astor Piazzolla: Oblivion (slow and smokey)
Oblivion – Piazzolla en Suite

AdeChike and Lauren: African Jazz
Choreographer: Sean Cheesman
Ralph MacDonald: The Path (fun and tribal)
(not available on iTunes or Amazon as download)

Robert and Anya: Viennese Waltz
Choreographer: Jonathan Roberts
Anouk: Lost (pretty song to go with a pretty dance)
Lost – Hotel New York

Kent and Courtney: Disco
Choreographer: Doriana Sanchez
David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland: When Love Takes Over (usually Dori picks awesome, original disco music but not tonight for me)
When Love Takes Over (feat. Kelly Rowland) – When Love Takes Over (feat. Kelly Rowland) – Single

Lauren and Ade: Jazz
Choreographer: Sean Cheesman
Kosheen: Hide U (John Creamer & Stephanie K Remix)
Hide U – null

AdeChike and Kathryn: Contemporary
Choreographer: Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rohden
Melissa Etheridge: Fearless Love (adore Melissa)
Fearless Love – Fearless Love (Bonus Track Version)

Robert and Dominic: Hip Hop
Choreographer: Tabetha and Napoleon
Basement Jaxx feat. Kelis, Meleka & Chipmunk: Scars
Scars (feat. Kelis, Meleka & Chipmunk) – Scars (Bonus Track Version)

Kent and Neil: Contemporary
Choreographer: Travis Wall
DeVotchKa: How It Ends
How It Ends – How It Ends

SPOILER ALERT!

Tonight’s results show was of course extra special not only because not only did we get to see Desmond Richardson dance to The Rolling Stones, but Janelle Monae did a jaw-dropping live performance of “Tightrope”.
So! The finalists for Season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance are:

1. Lauren
2. Kent
3. Robert

Best of luck to AdeChike. I’m looking forward to an exciting Finale next Wednesday. I’ll be watching and blogging!

June 30th, 2010 by soullldiva

Well hello, once again! I thank you all for being so patient with me, we are fully in our beautiful new home and getting settled. Now that we have our UVerse cable installed (love it), I won’t be missing ANY more episodes of this season’s SYTYCD (whew)!

I’m so behind I don’t even know who was eliminated last week. Oh, Cristina. Sorry, doll, I liked you.

First up is AdeChike with Lauren doing a nerdy hip-hop. Very hip, cute and fun. And what’s THIS? Sexy nerds–right up my alley. Hip-hop with a gigantic measure of personality and hot chemistry mixed right in. A perfect recipe in my estimation. I wanna get up and move myself, I am enjoying this so much. Judges luh-huv it. A good sign for AdeChike, as it seems that he has finally “shown up” to the party. This is a great piece from choreographer Dave Scott, must get a mention in for him.

Next is Ashley and Ade doing a piece from newcomer Dee Caspary. The piece is very fast and flowy and has a lot of power. It seems to have all the right elements, but I still feel it’s missing something. Like it’s too fast the whole way through. There is a short pause, but for me it’s not enough give and take in the dynamics. Dee was true to his word, she does practically no movement without help from Ade. I watch it again just to be sure that I’m not missing something, and it still bugs me a little. Masterfully danced by the both of them, but possibly just too rough and tumble for my tastes and hard to digest visually. Judges love it, now I feel bad. Oh well. Purple breezes and glasses of scotch.

And oh, it’s been so long I forgot–SOLOS! Billy’s up first with amazing purple stretch jeans, amazing flexibility and a love to just get it all out there. Well done.

Robert is up next (wow, what a story with his mom, huh?) dancing a Sonya Tayeh jazz number with all-star Courtney. Sonya’s goal is to show America how wrong they were to put him in the bottom last week. These two are in great synch with each other; when they do the moment where they jete together, it’s perfectly in time. I don’t quite get the ferocity from Robert that Sonya really wanted from him, but they looked really go together. His main note is to study ballet. I take this moment to note that they actually don’t ever dance ballet on this show. Hmmm. Not exciting enough? What about traditional Russian dancing. Was THAT exciting enough? Just sayin’, is all.

Jose’s solo is up and he uses one of my fave super soul classics, James Brown’s “Super Bad”. And it’s the original, no sampling here. You go, Jose. He’s a cutie and his solo rocked.

Tapper Melinda’s inspiration is old time hoofer Dr. Harold Cromer whom she has studied with for a few years. It’s really fun to see a youngling studying with a true seasoned pro. She’s got to show her sexy side with a Salsa by Fabian Sanchez and with Pasha. Right out of the box she’s got the hotness, but her heel gets stuck in her dress and even though she has to get it out, she doesn’t miss a beat. Love the stuff on the floor. Ok, this is hot stuff and super super good. She’s really enjoying her self and who wouldn’t dancing with the Pash?? But wow, she gets crushed by the judges. What am I missing here? Plus, Adam Shankman and Mia Michaels both say that she should have been let go last week instead of Cristina. This really frustrates me and I’m going to move on now.

Kent has is solo next. He’s a super cute ball of energy, but it’s too much reaching out and up for me in the solo.

Alex comes out of the gate with his sheer perfection solo to music from Planet of the Apes (odd, but so right) and I have to rewind it twice. Love this guy, because not only has he got the chops that can’t stop, he has the emotion there and ready to go when its needed. Sigh.

Next Lauren and Neil are up with an Joey Bowling Broadway number, and I’m looking forward to this. Broadway always needs a huge amount of chemistry, a lot of back and forth between the couple and they had it, just not in spades. Mia points out that as an athletic dancer, Lauren needs more femininity, and I would agree with her. Just a little more sauciness. And yes, the dress broke, but then we’re just watching the dress and not her. I enjoyed the dance, though, Joey gives good Broadway.

Ashley gets her solo next, and I don’t quite get her first count of 8 because she barely moves. But then she’s gone and all over the stage. Powerful, but I don’t get her as a dancer in this infinitely short amount of time. Right about now is when I say that I think they should get rid of solos all together and just keep the dance for your life. It is really tough to find just the right combination of elements to please everyone yet show off the best of your abilities in 20 seconds. Give em a break.

Interestingly enough, Billy Bell’s inspiration is Legacy from season 6. Wow, that is actually super cool that a dancer who moves like Billy was inspired by a breaker who moves like Legacy. Neato. Billy and Katherine do a contemporay by Stacey Tookey. This piece is a great balance of dance and emotion through dance and connection–which they had the most of at the end moment, as Nigel pointed out. Katherine was there for him 100% of the time (damn she’s really good) and he didn’t quite match her with being there in the moment. Technique, check. Emotion,

Robert’s solo is next to Ray Lamontange, who I adore. His solo hit me in a good place (where would that be you ask), and I just was able to sit back, watch and enjoy. He’s really gorgeous to watch dance like that alone. Ahhh.

Jose’s influence was Bruce Lee, and this is not the first time I’ve heard a breaker talk about Bruce as an influence. It has been said that Bruce’s fighting style was the basis for the creation of break dancing. Jose gets to do a Samba with Anya (and Dmitry Chaplin, welcome back), and here we go. Right away he looks like a solid partner with the catch off the table. The arms aren’t quite there but he’s pretty darn good for a B-Boy doing frickin’ samba. And he loved dancing with pretty Anya. I actually couldn’t take my eyes off him. The judges echo my sentiments. Whew, I’m not completely crazy, huh.

Melinda does her tapping to Alicia Keys and I’m really not sure what the judges were talking about her musicality. Sounds perfectly fine here to me. I liked it.

Kent gets to tackle a jazz piece by Mandy Moore with Allison. Kent’s lesson is to be a MAN. While he held is own with Allison in the choreography, there was no sizzle between the two of them. Allison is such a hottie tottie and and she was right there for him, but he wouldn’t bite (to her, that’s to say; he loved to play to the audience). And the song is Heartburn for gawd sakes! Burn, baby burn!

AdeChike supposedly raised the roof with the dance for his life last week and I’m looking forward to this solo. Strength, power and beauty. That coupled with gentleness is what gives this guy his swag.

Lauren. Here is a gal who knows how to pack everything needed into a 20 second solo. Technique, passion, leaps, new stuff, emotion, audience connection, connection to the song, restraint. Pure satisfaction.

Alex’s NappyTabs hip-hop number with Twitch is probably the most anticipated tonight, since guys are rarely put together at this stage of the show. And I have to sincerely say, this is THE MOST enjoyable number of the entire show for me, I’m practically yelling at the screen “yeah!” at the top of my lungs. Excellent work done by Alex, I would have never known that he had no experience with hip-hop. He had the moves down, and was perfectly in synch with Twitch, and great chemistry with him to boot. The whole concept was a home run with the song “Outa Your Mind”, the story with the shrink/patient, the NappyTabs moves, throwing in Alex’s ballet, on and on and on. Amazing. Alex has sealed himself as my early front-runner favorite on the show. Early prediction, he could win it!

Whew! That was a whirlwind. Who will be in the bottom and who will be safe? We’ll find out tomorrow!

June 11th, 2010 by soullldiva

I’m still not certain how the new format for season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance is going to sit with me. All I know is, I had a frickin’ BLAST watching the introduction show, where all the dancers are showcased with their respective “all-stars”. No pressure this time around, no cutting this week, it’s all fun and hard work and lots of sparkling. The only thing I will say about cutting 20 down to 11 is that 9 new dancers lost out on the chance to be on the show. But we won’t get less dancing, so I guess I am satisfied.

The show stared off with a gigantic, explosive bang with a Wade (thank you gawd) Robson dance: Teaparty and Croquet anyone? Only Wade can turn something stuffy into a hawt, cutting edge dance. On grass. To “Fame” by David Bowie. I watched it three times in a row. Love. It. Let’s treat ourselves again, shall we?

This is most likely the last chance that we will get to see the Top 11 dance without (or nearly) a care with phone numbers or judges’ thoughts. And a dancer who dances with the knowledge that nothing negative will be said about their performance on prime-time TV is something special to see, ya’ll. Free expression and excitement on a level that is causing me to salivate in my Venti Iced Green Tea with 1PCL.

Let’s get going. First up is Lauren and Kent, dancing a Travis Wall number with all-stars Mark and Kathryn. How do you even describe this? The costumes are complicated and rock with parasols and cravats–and don’t upstage the dancers. Fierceness and grandness with fire in their eyes. Travis tells us it’s set in the 20′s in Paris and about the dark and twisted souls who come out at night, celebrating the fall of an empire. Totally got it. And Mr. Wall is now my favorite new choreographer for this season. I have my stand-bys with Wade and Mia, but am looking forward to much more Travis.

Alexie (finally made it!!) and Melinda are up next doing a Tyce DiOrio jazz number with all-stars Allison and Lauren. Ooo, and it’s a Sweet Charity number. A little predictable for four girls (or West Side Story), but he girls are pure pleasure to watch, and the song is so character driven how could they not get that much into it? The only thing I miss is the live singing (but that would be a different show). LOVE the dresses. The red one shouldered one on Allison is my favorite. Love that Cat wants to come up and pose with them on the stage. And even though I thought there would be no negative notes, Nigel felt the need for the critique for Melinda, shame.

Jose, the lone B-Boy in the top 11 is next doing a TappyTabs number with Comfort, Twitch and Dominic. What a crew. I love the beginning, bedcuase it’s Jose vs. the three all-stars, like they want him out, and it also makes it easy for him to dance solo. Sweet booty shake by Comfort! And OH what a move putting the feet inside the hoodie and doing a backwards somersault to reveal his shirt–he’s part of the group, ya’ll. Very cool, high, energy, great  stunts. Fresh NappyTabs, baby.

Did I just hear the words Jason Gilkison? Oh yes, I did, and it’s coming up for all-stars Pasha and Anya and newbie ballroom hottie Cristina. Two girls, one guy and a big competition. Amazing lift and flip of Anya over Pasha’s shoulder. Jason does it again with an incredibly hot ballroom number that breaks the mold. I’m getting chills. You get that they BOTH really want the guy and are fighting for him. Loved that they stretched out the ending and the girls led him on then pushed him to the floor. Go girls. (and another critique again, Nigel? Ugh.)

Celebrated returnees Alex and Billy are next dancing a Mia Michaels piece with Ade (love him). Mia gets to talk about the piece beforehand, and speaks about time and the journey of life for a man, from childhood to the infirm age. Billy is the boy, Alex is the man and Ade is the elder. Beautiful lines, amazing extension and a huge amount of emotion laced right in. “This Bitter Earth” plays and these three men dance their lives out on stage, this is a truly gorgeous piece and not overdone in any way, IMO. Storytelling at it’s best. Thanks, Mia.

Adechike, Ashley and Robert are the last three doing a Sonya Tayeh number with all-stars Neil and Courtney. The costumes leave a bit to be desired, but I love the combination of a little hip hop and classic jazz moves. Sony a knows how to do that best. Just plain fun. And I love Sonya because she loves dancers and loves making them give all they have.

Next week the competition stars for REAL. I hope my nails can grow a little more!  I’ll be there watching.

Didja love it, didja hate it? The stage is still the infernal new stage, but no video projections. What do you think? Let me know!

December 17th, 2009 by soullldiva

**SPOILER ALERT**

The night opened with a sexy Top 18 (why not 20?) super hot group dance choreographed by Kelley Abbey and set to “Scared of Me” by Freddie le Grand. My husband even walked by and was distracted by the stockings and garters. “Ooh, those are hot.” Add a red chair to any dance and I’m a happy girl.

Next come the start of the judges favorite dance picks of the season:

Lil’ C’s dance choice is Kevin, Legacy and Russell dancing a NappyTabs Hip-Hop to “Beggin” by Madcon. Even better the second time around, Russell ruled it (of course) and I really love that song.

Adam Shankman: Ellenore and Jakob dancing a Sonya Tayeh Contemporary piece to “Tore My Heart” by OONA & Dave Tweedie. Great choice and I remember him practically orgasming over it last time. This is just a great piece. Love the post at the ending.

Nigel Lythgoe: Derick K. Grant tap number with Philip, Peter and Bianca dancing to “Take the A Train” by Ella Fitzgerald. I love that three, let alone one tapper was in the top 20. Tapping is just a really great form of dance that is not appreciated enough in today’s dance world of extreme acrobatics and hip-hop. However, it doesn’t seem to translate to television the way other dance forms do. So sad.

Mary Murphy breaks the “rules” this time around, and instead of picking the Contemporary piece that Ryan and Ashleigh danced last night, she got them to choreograph a Jive routine themselves. She’d waited all season long to see them dance together and was disappointed they didn’t draw a ballroom style. Their Jive is definitely good, but not nearly as compelling as their contemporary piece from the night before.

Next, guest dancers the Groovaloos perform a street hip hop number. This is a fun, great piece and the breakdancing moves are stylin’!

Continuing with Judges’ Choice, Nigel picks the Dwight/Desmond Contemporary piece with Kathryn and Jakob set to the fabulous song “At This Moment.” Brilliant.

Tyce DiOrio picks the Bollywood number that Nathan and Mollee did wayyyy back when. Ah, the two kids back together. I think that this and their Can Can routine were their best things as a couple.

Then, unfortunately, is about a minute of confusion as quite a few things happened: Cat’s mic went on the fritz and we couldn’t hear anything, then three finalists came on the stage, and Cat is given a hand mic which she starts asking “where’s everybody else, ” and “what’s happening here?” Then we see Russell limp on under Ryan’s help, unexplainedly in pain and tears. He’s hurt his leg. Cat deftly assures him that they will get him help. Then, with pretty much no ceremony Ryan is named 6th runner up. They cut to his video package which really shows him off. I always really liked him, for his dancing and especially for how much he loves his wife (awwww).

After the commercial, Adam Lambert comes on and we don’t get an update on Russell. Adam really smokes, and I talk with my husband about his really hip look, which he dubs “Rockabilly/Metal and Billie Holiday mixed with Freddie Mercury.” I love my husband, he’s so with it.

The five finalists come back on stage, Russell on a stool. The 5th place dancer is named: Ashleigh. Her video package is super hot and I for one am glad she overcame her illness to get back into dance.

Next Shankers picks the Ellenore/Legacy Travis Wall Contemporary. I didn’t care much for this the first time around, but seeing it again in a new unit of time endears it to me more. Very innovative, and as Adam said, had risk, danger, chemistry out the butt. He predicts an Emmy award for Mr. Wall.

Ms. Debbie Allen picks the African Jazz piece choreographed by Sean Cheesman for Noelle and Russell. Because Russell is injured, they go to the tape of the dance. Too bad for Noelle, she doesn’t get to do this again. I really loved this piece when I saw it the first time (the Frog Dance, it’s called), and the bit where they clamp onto each other, Noelle’s head down between his legs and flip end over end over end was amazing. Love it.

The four remaining finalists are on stage and they announce the 4th runner up: Ellenore. Her video package just reminds me how original she is, very unusual and quirky dancer. The dance world needs more of her.

After the break, Lil’ C makes his next choice, one the dancers had to “wring themselves dry” for, a Tyce DiOrio Contemporary way back from “Meet the Top 20″ and Nathan, Jakob, Channing and Ariana. This piece is good and each dancer shines in it. But with the four dancers shooting across the stage constantly and jumping up on each other all the time I found it a little hard to focus on.

Next Mary picks the red hot Hip Hop NappyTabs choreographed for Kathryn and Russell from the previous night. Smokin, I mean really. This, of course, is from tape as well.

We’re back from the commercial break, and Mary J. Blige takes the stage, looking absolutely classy. She performs “I Am.” This was really good, but why do they need clips of her videos in the background is more than I know. Hate that screen. H-a-t-e. Got it Fox? Good.

There’s time for one more judge’s pick, and Nigel goes back to “Meet The Top 20″ show and Wade Robson’s piece to the fantastically fierce “Comanche” by the Rebels. This is my absolute favorite group number of the entire season, it just combines so many elements that I adore. Thank gawd they played it again. 60′s style dance, dancers having sound while they dance (“shi-kah!”), girls in satin skirts slit up to their coochies, guys dancing tough as nails, hot and loud sax (yes, I said SAX), clapping, snapping, dance fighting, posing. Do I need any more??????

Ah, pause for a moment. While I watch the screen. OMG. Kathryn is just named 3rd runner up! I really don’t believe it. I really thought she was going to take it. Oh!! Wow, this is a complete surprise for me. After her video package she’s crying and her voice does NOT go up, good girl!! She’s beautiful, beautiful, beautiful and I wish the best things for her.

Ok, recover after that moment.

After the break, Jennifer Lopez reclines in a large silver stiletto on stage. Pretty neat. She calls–SANTA! Very cute. And I love her rhinestone tights. She looks fab and dances great and is probably lip-synching. Who can blame her with all the dancing?

Now it’s time to get down to business. Jakob and Russell come on stage. Well, Russell with Jakob’s help, that is. A few words about the show, dance and America winning as well as the winner of the show. We get to see a video package for both Russell and Jakob. They are really great to look back at, and we get to see Jakob do that amazing jete another 5 more times. Pure Poetry.

The boys look happy and anxious as we come back, and Cat starts her patter. The envelope snaps open. America’s Favorite dancer IS: Russell Ferguson! And BOY is he happy and grateful (and shirtless). He thanks everyone  and says that he has dreamed of this since he was born (“I came out like–what!”).

Well he deserved it. And I picked the winner! Woo Hoo! Well, I know I said that Kathryn would probably get it, but I wished in my heart it was Russell. Yea for America, you voted well.

LONG LIVE DANCE!

Until season 7 of SYTYCD, I’ll be here continuing Dancemomma coverage of dance around the world. Goodnight.

(Images courtesy of FOX Television)