SYTYCD, Week 1

Eeee-hee-hee-hee, first week!! K, since there's 10 dances to cover I'm gonna try to keep things somewhat short today. ** Voice from the future - this doesn't happen. AT ALL! **

Jeanine/Phillip: (yay for Tabitha & Napoleon!) Fun number, and she's way better at hip-hop than she was giving herself credit for in the video intro; both very good! IMO, they do need a little more raw chemistry, but this is week one so that'll probably be true of most of the couples.

Auska/Vitolio: Hmm.... just okay. They're missing a strong connection, and they just didn't really bring anything of their own to the piece. They somehow made it feel like a slower, heavier dance when it should've felt very quick & peppy. So, not my favorite.

Karla / Jonathan: Cute pair, and they both did a great job! I think they could've attacked it just a touch more, but for the first week - and especially for her not being a latin dancer! - that was a sassy Cha-Cha.

Randi / Evan: Wow! What a great dance - and what a natural partner Evan turned out to be, considering I don't think he's really done much partner work. Favorite of the night so far, for sure. I really like both of them, they didn't let a single movement go to waste; and she is such a strong female dancer - I always love a gal with some muscle behind her movement. Super-smexy number!

Paris / Tony - HA, yeah she definitely has the hip-hop vibe in her, you catch that on her first move. For Tony, I wish he would've committed a bit more; I have yet to be super-impressed by him. Overall, it was par.

Kaitlyn / Jason: More Bollywood this season. Yay. *ahem* Anyway, um, it was overall pretty good, and it's definitely a very unique style with its own unique & considerable challenges. I thought he kept up with things a little better than she did (although I LOVE her), but it was wild & colorful, and they've got a great connection going on that they can continue to build on.

Janette / Brandon: Another Wow! For two fish out of water heading into the Foxtrot, that went so swimmingly well. And I'll stake my claim now: I J'ADORE Brandon to the 3rd degree! That boy is da MAN, let me tell you, so Mia can just go sit on a rock while he dances. :) They were both stunning and smooth, and very Fred/Ginger but completely in their own way. Beautiful!

Ashley / Kupono: LOL Oh Wade man, great to see ya! Yikes. Okay, the dance wasn't my favorite Wade piece; but it was a superb delivery, both in technique & story. I was pleasantly surprised by Kupono, whom I hadn't been too impressed with during the audition weeks. As a pair (to channel my inner Nigel), I'm sure they made Wade quite proud, which surely is a hefty challenge in & of itself.

Melissa / Ade: Whoooo-weee, nobody does that like Mandy Moore! I love her. And I LOVE these two! Strong, smooth, sensual & very ethereal. And the stage wind doesn't hurt a thing. :) I'll bet Mandy was tickled pink when she found out she had an honest-to-goodness ballerina to work with. That was beauty in any language.

Kayla / Max: Me likey that Samba! Very good, and yes she's made for ballroom (although she needs to throw even more power and sizzle into her legs - let's have Chelsea Hightower give her a little afternoon tutoring session). We'll have to see how he fares in styles outside ballroom, but for tonight they both land well away from the bottom of the heap.

Okay, bottom 3 for the first round I think shall be:

Asuka & Vitolio

Paris & Tony

Karla & Jonathan

Can I just say, I've missed this!! hehe I know y'all haven't exactly missed my weekly rants, but you can just skip right past all this & I'm never the wiser. :)

And yes --- I THINK THEY CAN DANCE!!! I smell a crazy-good season heading down the rails...