SYTYCD - First Performance Show

This has been a very hectic week so I am woefully behind on catching up with my PVR but I finally saw last week's episode of So You Think You Can Dance, the first performance show.

As a Canadian, I can't vote so I'm using this blog to record my favourites and dislikes.

Favourite routines:

Number one favourite is the Titanic-inspired contemporary to Unchained Melody, as danced by Audrey and Matthew.  When I saw the intro, I rolled my eyes and expected something cheesy and predictable.  Instead it was breathtaking despite not being terribly original.  It didn't matter that I'd seen most of the elements before.  It was like reading a book and knowing it's a classic quest story and not caring because the characters and plot pull you along.

Number two by a very close margin was the paso doble danced by Cole and Lindsay.  The paso is my favourite ballroom dance but I'm usually disappointed in the performances.  It should look like a competition between the two dancers for dominance.  Most of the time it comes off as posturing rather than a real competition.  Not so for this one.  It was incredible and really felt as if they were vying for control.

My third favourite was split between Janelle and Dareian's primal African jazz number and the hip hop alcoholism one by Janaya and Brandon.

And now for what I didn't like:

First on the list: Kenny Ortega's commentary.  It sounded like he was writing movie posters.  Throw out a few adjectives and then something superlatively vague.  I much prefer when they refer to specific points in the dance.  It gives the dancers something to look at and reassures the audience that the judges are actually paying attention.

I didn't like Alexa and Daniel's jazz piece.  It was technically good but felt empty.  Alexa had a hard time connecting and performing during Vegas week and I think she's still facing the same problem. 

I also didn't like Amber and Nick's waltz and for mostly the same reason.  It didn't really speak to me.

Ah well, only twenty-four hours until the next episode airs.