It’s everybody’s favorite part of the season, as the all-stars joined season 11’s top 10 contestants this week for some amazing routines.
Nigel and Mary were joined on the judges panel this week by Olympic figure skater Tara Lipinski. Tara was very charming and likeable in her first live show, though she sounded a little rehearsed. She proved a great addition to the team, though we would love to see what her Sochi commentating partner Johnny Weir has to say about some of these routines.
Group Routine
The show opened with a trip to the Last Chance Saloon, which may be the most Technicolor country western bar in history. The top 10 were dressed in bright neon colors as they danced to “Bang Bang” by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj. It wasn’t a story-driven routine like a lot of our group routines have been this year, but it was fun all the same, and all the dancers looked great.
Top 10 Routines
Bridget and Brandon
Bridget must have been thrilled when she and partner Brandon were assigned the newly-created dance style “Bollywood Disco.” Nothing like combining the two fastest, most high-energy, most exhausting styles into one routine. Bridget looked beautiful, and she certainly delivered for such a difficult routine, but she and Brandon didn’t seem to be very well synchronized. The judges were very impressed though.
Tanisha and Ryan
Tanisha and Ryan, both ballroom dancers, were very lucky to receive a sexy Argentine tango from Miriam and Leonardo. The routine started beautifully, with Tanisha stretching and posing in the center of the stage, before Ryan ran up and grabbed her, and the tango began. Midway through there was a beautiful lift, where Ryan spun her around his neck, and caught her in front of him, and the move had both Cat and Mary screaming.
Emilio and Jasmine
Napolean and Tabitha are back! And how lucky was Emilio to not only get the first Nappytabs routine of the season, but also have Jasmine as a partner? In this Egyptian-themed routine, Emilio was king, and Jasmine was his pet snake that wanted to take over the throne. Both Emilio and Jasmine were amazing, (Emilio’s best routine yet!) but of course Jasmine won in the end, because she runs the world.
Valerie and Ade
Valerie and all-star Ade took on a Tyce Diorio jazz routine this week, and it was a real challenge for Valerie. She has been so adorable and smiley all season, and this routine was a challenge to break her out of her niceness. She tried very hard, but didn’t completely sell the emotion. Also, Ade’s breadth of movement exposed her self-consciousness. It was still a good performance, but she’s going to need America’s votes for next week.
Rudy and Jenna
Rudy and Jenna took on a Louis Van Amstel cha cha, and the whole routine rested on the two dancers being able to convincingly portray their attraction to each other. Dancing to Maroon 5’s “Maps” (which Rudy couldn’t help mouthing along to, while he was dancing), Rudy and Jenna had no trouble flirting, and good lord do the ladies in the audience love Rudy.
Jacque and Chehon
In another SYTYCD first, Jacque and Chehon danced a new kind of Travis Wall routine: Contemporary ballet. Jacque was back in her point shoes for the first time since the top 20, and alongside professional ballet dancer Chehon no less, so she was a little nervous. But it was a Travis Wall routine, so of course it was absolutely stunning.
Ricky and Lauren
Ricky and his new best friend Lauren immediately mastered the adorable chemistry that makes the break-up of Ricky and Valerie’s partnership a little less painful. Mandy Moore choreographed a rockabilly jazz performance to celebrate Ricky’s introduction to the top 10, and the two dancers really seemed to enjoy the party onstage. Featuring an almost-motorboat and an awesome leg-twisty rollover move, it was a fun and exciting routine that confirmed Ricky’s front-runner status.
Casey and Kathryn
Casey joined all-star Kathryn for a Spencer Liff Broadway routine. This style required Casey to be more outwardly emotional than he’s used to, so it was a challenge. Both dancers looked beautiful, and Casey absolutely nailed the passion, and his style of dance was well-suited to Broadway. Nigel said that if Ricky’s looking the other way, Casey will sneak right up and steal the number one spot.
Jessica and Twitch
Nappytabs was back with another hip-hop routine for Jessica and Twitch. In this routine, Twitch was an old man at the bus stop, and Jessica was a hot young thing that put some pep back in his step. I think it’s safe to say that Old Man Twitch is the best thing that has ever happened to any of us. But he wasn’t the only one onstage, and Jessica rode last week’s wave of success into another outstanding routine this week. The judges think she’s finally living up to her potential.
Zack and Amy
Zack and Amy closed out the show with a Sonya Tayeh contemporary tribute to a friend of hers that passed away suddenly. Zack would be portraying that friend, so he really had to dig deep and go to another level. Everything about the routine was gorgeous, from the rainy accompaniment, to the lighting, to the perfect choreography. And while Amy is one of the best contemporary dancers the show has ever seen, Zack was an absolute revelation.
Christina Perri
Christina Perri returned to the SYTYCD stage to perform her new song “Burning Gold” off of her album Human. It was great to see Christina again, but the highlight was Kathryn and Chehon dancing a beautiful Stacey Tookey routine (a tribute to Stacey’s and Kathryn’s involvement in Christina’s SYTYCD debut.) Hopefully it won’t be the last we see of an all-star accompanying performance this season.
Eliminations
In a bit of a change this week, Cat revealed whether each contestant was safe, according to last week’s votes, immediately after this week’s performance. In the end, Zack and Emilio were the bottom two guys, and Bridget and Jacque were the bottom two girls. After Cat Deeley’s epic battle to open the results envelope, she revealed that Zack and Jacque were safe, which meant that Emilio Dosal and Bridget Whitman, partners since the top 20, would be going home.
The top 8 dancers will perform next Wednesday, Aug 13 at 8 p.m. on Fox.