okay, I did not see this last weeks show, so here is the "Copy and Paste" Review:
First Group: Lauren and Kent
Lauren is safe.
Kent is safe.
Well, neither of these two are really a surprise. Many viewers will agree with me for sure when I say that these two are favorites for the top four. I spent the majority of this segment watching for any chemistry between Lauren and Kent.
Guest Performance No. 1: Fernando and Lauren (aka Kids!)
Two adorable kids dance to "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley. Seriously, they're awesome and the little girl does the splits! I definitely wasn't that flexible as a child.
Cat banters with the children and then the little boy arm wrestles Cat...and wins. Okay, I forgive her for always looking so amazing; that was just too cute. I love Cat's not at all convincing "I'm struggling to beat this 10 year old boy" face.
Second Group: Billy and Adechike
Adechike is safe.
Billy is in the bottom two.
Well, that's one of my guesses that turned out to be true. Billy had a great week, but Adechike really hit it out of the park on this one. I do feel bad for Billy, though. His work has steadily been improving and he was a lot of fun to watch last night.
Mia agrees it was Billy's best show last night. He has a "lightness" and he's allowing himself to feel the music. Finally, we get to see his personality. She's shocked to see him in the bottom two, but thinks he should just continue breaking down those walls.
Third Group: Jose and Robert
Robert is safe.
Jose is in the bottom two!
Finally! Finally! I think that Jose is probably a great guy, but it's getting to the point where it would be cruel for everyone involved — especially me as a viewer — for Jose to continue past another week. At least the rest of the voters are starting to see it now too.
Adam asks Jose how he feels about making it so far in the competition. Jose admits he's surprised that he's made it this far and is honestly surprised that this is the first time he's been in the bottom three.
Guest Performance No. 2: Jamal Roberts and Rachel McLaren from the Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe
Song: "Gravity's Angel" by Laurie Anderson
There is a phenomenal tale being spun during this piece. Obviously, this troupe has a very different style than most of the guest performers on Dance.
All-Star Spotlight: Comfort and Twitch
Song: "Forever" by Chris Brown
Twitch! Yeah! Here is the return of the amazing Dave Scott number from Season 4. One word: Awesome. While I'm not entirely sold on this all-star season concept, I do love that they are letting the all-stars relive their glory days on the results shows. I welcome these two back with open arms.
Solo Performance No. 1: Billy
Song: "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King
Billy really has improved at connecting with his audience. The emotion he throws around the stage makes this performance miles above his earlier numbers. I'm curious to see what he's going to do next week — assuming he's here next week — because if he's improved this much so far, think of what he could do in just another seven days' time.
Solo Performance No. 2: Jose
Song: "Chicken Bone Circuit" by RJD2
I do love what Jose can do on the floor but after awhile you realize that's where he stays all the time. Most break dancers change it up at some point, but he doesn't really have any variety to his moves.
The judges go off to deliberate.
Guest Performance No. 3: Christina Perri
Song: "Jar of Hearts"
A surprise guest performance! Thanks to Stacey Tooki using her song in the Billy and Kathryn piece from two weeks ago, Christina Perri has rocketed to the top of the iTunes download list. Now, she is performing on the show and being backed by Neil and Allison. I really love this song even more as a live performance. Maybe it's just Allison being wonderful as always but she and Neil seem energized by the instruments behind them.
Elimination:
Ashley has joined Jose and Billy onstage.
Nigel asks Jose to step forward. I think this means he's probably safe. Oh, Nigel just wants to tell him that he likes the character Jose showed in his solo and that he knows now that Jose is willing to fight to stay on the show.
To Billy Nigel advises that he step away from some of the perfectly performed classical moves and allow himself to open up even more than he already has. Only then will he get the votes he needs.
As for Ashley, Nigel reveals that he's spoken with both of her doctors and that each has said she needs between three and five weeks rest. Because of that information, Nigel feels they have to let her go. He wants her to be on the So You Think You Can Dance tour though.
So, that's it. And then there was one. Lauren is bawling amongst the boys not least of all I'm sure because she is now alone in representing the women of the show. It's sad that this is how Ashley leaves considering the amount of promise she's shown in the last couple of weeks. She went from being one of my least favorites to being at or near the top of my list every week. Good luck to her and I hope she gets better soon.
Ashley is barely able to get out her thank you's through the tears. She just seems so sweet.
