Cat is wearing some sort of blue satin toga kind of thing, and when she comes out on stage, the dancers don't exit right away, so as to remind everyone that these dancers will be on the tour. Wilkes-Barre, you've been warned.
Mia Michaels is sitting in with Mary and Nigel this week, so Cat strokes her by complimenting her on her Emmy nomination. Also, important changes this week: you're no longer voting for couples, but voting for individual dancers, and the guy and girl with the fewest votes will be eliminated.
So, since we're not voting for couples anymore, the dancers will all be dancing a solo routine, choreographed by Wade Robson. Wade wanted this piece to have some meaning, something everyone could get connect to. "It's about peace. It's about the war. Anti-war. It's about peace." People always want to know, what can I do? I guess you can spray-paint things like "UNITY" on T-shirts and then dance. Take that, war!
The dancers are being partnered up randomly, now, remember, and Pasha's getting paired up with Lauren to do a Shane Sparks routine. Shane Sparks? Awesome. PASHA DOING HIP-HOP? EVEN MORE AWESOMER. Lauren's thrilled about breaking Pasha into hip-hop, while Pasha's nervous about letting Lauren down.
"Fuego" by Pitbull. Green spotlights highlight Lauren and Pasha, seemingly joined at the hip, moving as one like some kind of mechanical spider. They're wearing black outfits with a skeleton motif. They're both fantastic. Is there anything Pasha can't do? This routine rules, and it finishes up with them back locked up together. Cat can't resist saying, "It's the only way to travel…on Pasha!" Hee!
Nigel calls them "human transformers," and praises Pasha moving from Latin/ballroom to hip-hop. He also notes the judges weren't sure about keeping Lauren last week, but he's glad they did. Mary squeals a whole bunch: she liked it too. She's got a fever, and the only prescription is not more cowbell, but more Lauren and Pasha. Even Cat is all, "Pace yourself, Mary." Mia admits to being freaked out that Pasha was going to be doing hip-hop, but says he pulled it off. She also thinks that Lauren is "blowing up."
Jaimie's first up with the solo routine that will end war. She's chosen to write HONESTY on her shirt. There is leaping, some elbow stuff going on, arms moving like hands on a clock. There's a break during the song where apparently the dancers are supposed to yell, but it's kind of getting lost in the cheering of the crowd. It's going to be hard for me to judge this, especially as I'm apprehensive about having to listen to "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer TEN TIMES. The song ends with Jaimie drawing a circle (or a heart?) in the air, followed by her flashing the peace sign. Interesting: using the peace sign to symbolize peace. Bold choice.
Dominic's up for his solo. This is the same routine, right? I can't tell any difference. Dominic does his best to look all soulful when he flashes the peace sign, and looks to the sky. Big ups to the big guy upstairs, yo.
Sabra and Kameron are going to be dancing a contemporary Tyce Diorio routine. Sabra's thrilled that Dominic's not going to be dropping her anymore, and Kameron thinks that Sabra may have cooler hair than he does.
"Amazing Grace" by Crystal Lewis. There is a lot of flailing, and it doesn't do a whole lot for me until Sabra does a run and jumps into Kameron's arms, standing straight up. Half the time the routine seems more like two individual dancers rather than a couple -- I'm not sure why the choreographers sometimes do it. Nigel calls it well-danced, but then says he didn't quite believe Kameron's emotional journey. "Sabra's soaring, but I don't quite believe you did," he says. Mary agrees that there wasn't a whole lot of magic. When she gets booed, she for some reason tries to pretend that she's not saying that's a bad thing. She's critical of Kameron's extensions. She loved Sabra, though, calling her "pure perfection." Mia's even harsher on Kameron: "Kameron, I feel like you've been exposed tonight," she says, and calls him an "immature" dancer. She also, however, loved Sabra, says her career's going to skyrocket. "I can't wait to get my hands on you someday."
Sara's dancing the solo now. She's HOPE. For what it's worth, her movements seem really sharp and crisp. Or maybe Sara's just my favourite.
Pasha's up for the solo. COMMUNICATION. By now the crowd has learned to at least keep quiet until the scream, and he lets loose with a primal one. But other than, I think it's the weakest routine -- it's clearly not his thing.
Lacey's paired up with Danny, and they're going to be dancing a Dmitry Chaplin samba. Lots of playfulness in the rehearsal sequences, with Lacey proclaiming the piece is going to be sexy. "Devour me, Danny," says Lacey at one point. Danny says they're so close it's almost like they're making out.
"Hip Hip Chin Chin" by Club Des Belugas. This song is all rhythm, and Danny and Lacey are great, in all black. They're great dance-wise, but Lacey said the piece was going to be sexy, and I never buy that coming from her. Her sexiness is always a simulacrum. Even Danny seems kind of aloof. To me, both of them are working the camera more than each other. Anya would have melted the television. Nigel praises the choreographer (Dmitry was a contestant last year), but tells Lacey not to forget Danny's there, and not to play to the audience so much -- I agree with him there, not so much when he says Danny didn't forget she was there. Mary lavishes praise on Lacey, but says Danny wasn't her favourite. Mia calls it the sexiest dance so far this season. She calls Danny the "stallion" of dance. And Lacey is hot too, and ridiculous, and whatever else.
Lauren's dancing the solo now, with PATIENCE painted on her shirt. So we're not even halfway through the solos and already I never want to hear this song or watch this routine ever again. Is this a sad song? An upbeat song? Half the dancers are smiling at the end, the others look spent.
Neil's dancing to solo, with HUMILITY on his shirt. He looks like he throws his back out during a punch. I can barely hear his scream, what with the Neil fans shrieking in the audience.
Sabra's dancing a solo. UNITY. Something about Sabra's solo hits me a little more than the other dancers; I can't really quantify it or anything. She's so good. Even her scream gives me chills.
Kameron's solo. TRUST. Poor guy has to dance after being slaughtered by Mia Michaels in her critique. But he looks the same as he ever does. These are really all looking the same to me now.
Toni Redpath is going to be choreographing Jaimie and Dominic in a Viennese waltz, which she says she's going to give a Spanish flavour. I'm no expert, but isn't it called Viennese waltz for a reason? "Man of La Mancha" by Linda Eder. The routine seems okay to me -- Jaimie's always good, and so is Dominic -- but I couldn't tell you how good a representation of the Viennese waltz this is. I suspect not very. Nigel points out that the Viennese waltz is normally in ¾ time, but this is a little more Spanish, so it's overlapping styles, and when there's too much characterization, it risks being a caricature. He calls it Groucho Marx turning into Mr. Bean. That's a little rough, but even I noticed Dominic arching his eyebrows all over the place. Nigel admits he had a hard time watching Jaimie, because Dominic was too hammy. Jaimie looks like she doesn't even understand the words coming out of Nigel's mouth, and Dominic is clearly apologizing to her. Mary also bitches about the routine, calling it cartoonish. Funny how this is never the choreographer's fault, huh? Again we have a choreographer deciding to ignore the assigned dance, and then the dancers coming in for criticism when the judges don't like it. The carriage and lines were atrocious, says Mia, adding that when Dominic jetéd off the stage, she wanted to jeté off the judges' panel. She liked Jaimie though, although she thinks Jaimie has to not have her mouth open so much. I'd say the same thing about each of the judges, really.
Lacey's dancing solo now, with PEACE on her shirt. "Very well done, sweetie," says Cat. It was good and all, but Lacey's getting to be like Meryl Streep for me. She's always good, but tell the truth, but isn't she kind of boring, too?
Danny's up (UNDERSTANDING) for his solo, and it's good, only when he screams it sounds like he's just hit his thumb with a hammer.
Sara and Neil are dancing a disco routine choreographed by Doriana Sanchez, who -- well, if there's a worldwide pancake makeup shortage soon, blame her.
"Knock on Wood" by Rachel Stevens features Sara in a pink dress, and Neil in a blue suit. She starts on stage, while he enters by means of a few twirls and then a spectacular flip. He holds her and spins around, and then there's some classic Saturday Night Fever moves. It's so good, so much fun. I'm not the biggest Neil fan, but I think he's suited for the cheese of disco.
"When it's like that, I love disco," says Nigel, adding that it's great to see them enjoy themselves, and also how great it is to see him without goggles this week. Mia pretends to get upset at the poke at her routine from last week. Mary loves it as well, praising Neil's flip, pointing out that he spread his legs at the top of it, and how rare that is and to come out of it with so much control. Mia says she had a great time, and calls them the "biggest dorks in the best possible way." Thanks for sharing your dance knowledge with us there, Mia. I'm really learning a lot from you.
Now the dancers get lined up to hear the judges' assessments of their solo routines. Nigel says Jaimie has a single emotion. "There's no dynamics to your emotion whatsoever," he says. Mary loved her. Mia says she danced it really well, but she agrees with Nigel in that she's hit a plateau. Dominic: Nigel thought he was tight, and technique-wise he was lacking. Mary agrees with that. Mia thought he was "committed" and "in it" and then says she thought it was up to the dancers to take the piece Wade gave them and make it their own, and she doesn't feel any of them really did that. Sara: Nigel tells her she's a small person, so she has to make her dancing bigger. Mary says, "It absolutely connected with me." Mia also thought she did a great job, so I guess Nigel can suck it. Pasha: Nigel says he thought Pasha was out of his league, and that he didn't get any emotion of it because he was too busy thinking about technique. Mia thought it was overdramatic and awkward. Lauren: Nigel thought she was absolutely flawless, and she was the first person to come forward with hope in their eyes; everyone else was angry or upset. Well, that's just not true. Mary loved her. Mia just draws a heart and points at Lauren, and says things like "great" and "fabulous." Hey, remember when the judges were worried about showing favouritism to Lauren? No, me neither. Neil: Nigel talks about Neil hunching his shoulders, and says he didn't get enough emotion from him. Mary agrees with Neil, in that he seems tense sometimes but also has wonderful moves. Mia literally says "ditto." Sabra: Nigel says she's one of the small dancers who dances large. Mary says she has just one thing to say, and Mia pre-emptively covers her ears, but Mary just lays down a "we're not worthy" bow. Mia says she's decided Sabra's her favourite dancer. Kameron: Nigel says he was fantastic tonight (after wondering how he lasted this far); Mary thought he did a great job too. Mia agrees, saying she applied her earlier critique to this performance, which speaks volumes about what he'd be like as a professional dancer. Lacey: Nigel brings up her supposed specialties -- Latin, ballroom and swing -- and informs her, "you've got everything." Mary agrees, calling her a class act: "Man, you can dance." Mia says she wanted more emotionally, but all around, she's just "killing it." Danny: Nigel says he thought Danny put his own feel on the dance, calling him honey that was poured from a jar, but warns him not to come off the music, and then blathers on about chipping away at Danny's emotional shield or whatever. Mary praises him, saying she felt his emotions tonight. Mia echoes Nigel's comments about breaking Danny down emotionally. "You have the potential of being in the books of history if you take it seriously and go for it…" and there's some more in there about "breaking chains" and "beyond" and whatnot. "To infinity and beyond!" chirps Cat, relieved that the judges are finally done blathering.