Evan and Randi. Wow. I am blown away. I really, really did not like Miss Thing and her unitards in the early rounds. She was a total hair flinger. But here, she was exquisite. Amazing body control. And that first attitude turn? Lovely center. Both of them were great. And this is the thing that makes me so frustrated with Tasty. As long as he's not choreographing Broadway, he can bring it. His lyrical pieces are always some of my favorites, and this one was sexy, sultry . . . wow. First wow routine of the night for me. Also, that blue dress was gorgeous.

see, they should take Tyce off B'way and bring in Ryan.

I just thought that Asuka number was choreographed too ... slow for that music? Like, it should have been even brighter, even more steps or something.

Exactly my problem with that routine. I thought the weakest routine of the night in terms of performance was Tony and Paris's hip hop number, but that silent film number was just weak from the get-go, and the dancers couldn't really recover from it. I don't know who will be the third of the bottom three--maybe the cha-cha? Even though that split through her legs was a great move, upon rewatching I thought it was definitely weaker than that last number of the night.

I'm having a hard time pinning down my favorite of the evening--probably a toss-up between the contemp number with the ballet dancer and Ade (?--I think that's who that was, the Gentle Giant guy), Brandon and the salsa dancer's foxtrot (really lovely!), and the crash test dummies (she was amazing in it, and he really brought the character).

Cereal to add--I nearly forgot about Evan and Randy! They were great, too, and they were well-matched in terms of height. I read in one of the cast profiles that Randy was only 5'3", so that makes Evan around 5'6" or so.

see, they should take Tyce off B'way and bring in Ryan.

From your lips to Simon Fuller's ears. For real, Tyce and Broadway is a recipe for disaster. He's never done a good one that I can recall.

also, wasn't Nigel supposed to NOT be back this year? didn't he have a new show or something?

no, he left AI to do SYTYCD.

Janette and Brandon were lovely. Great lifts, and they did a decent amount of closed hold and kept their frames very well. And they really got into the character of the dance. Loving Louis Van Amstel on this show. He's a huge improvement over Hunter Thompson and Toni Redpath.

oh. haha, wishful thinking.

the difference btw Tyce dance #1 and #2 could not be wider.

Agreed. I was pleasantly surprised by #2 since I hate Tyce.

Cha Cha to Poker Face? Really, Tony? And what happened to Melanie? I know she would not have let it go down like that.

Wrod. I hated when they went in the direction of contemporary music for ballroom and keep hoping they'll go back. And I don't mean Michael Bublé.

bollywood - she was behind or he was rushed in a couple of places that threw me off. it is so fun to watch, but I don't think it was near as clean as the one last year.

I think their problem was the same as the Cha-Cha, not bad, just seeming to lack energy.

wade dance - liked it on rewatch, really liked the girl in that a lot.

It was great to see a Wade dance in competition this early. I hope he sticks around.

Good to hear the few dances remaining sound good.

I'm bummed I can't do my usual morning rewatch of the best numbers.

when she makes Padma look zaftig?

Speaking of zaftig, do the women dancers seem bigger overall this year? I think that's a good thing, but I was wondering if it was my TV.