So You Think You Can Dance-ing with the Stars

So You Think You Can Dance

Dancing with the Stars

Hello, fellow reality dance show enthusiasts. As the title of this post suggests, I am opting for two, two, two posts in one. (Vaguely reminiscent of the Doublemint twins, right?) Good, because that's what I was going for...

Anyway, I'll begin with So You Think You Can Dance (thereby giving props to the best program overall). Bianca and Phillip are officially gone with the wind, and frankly, my dears, I don't give a d---! And neither would Clark Gable. Or Rhett, either. Stand out performances were Karen and Kevin (car hip hop), Legacy and Kathryn (fear-themed contemporary dance), Mollee and Nathan (Bollywood), and Ryan and Ellenore (Argentine tango). Reasonably good were Ashleigh and Jacob (wedding dance-inspired Viennese waltz), Noelle and Russell (tennis hip hop), and Pauline and Peter (Van Gogh contemporary). Forgettable, as our friend Simon Cowell would say, were Victor and Bianca (gospel-type, churchy one) and Phillip and Channing (samba).

My personal faves right now are Karen, Ryan, Legacy, and Mollee...but that's only based on one dance because last week my DVR failed me. Yes, folks, I missed the performances. (sob) In fact, my ability to even address all of this is a testament to my personal fortitude. (I'm a survivor.) An interesting note is that, according to my son who noticed a familiar-looking picture of Christ in their apartment during the brief bios last week, Ashleigh and Ryan are LDS. He could be right, as they are from Utah. Of course, they could have just bought the familiar red-robed picture at a Deseret Book store, but since they attended BYU and were on the dance team, I think it's a pretty good bet that they are indeed Mormon. Mollee is from Utah, too, but I've got no scoop on her Mormon or non-Mormon-ness...although she is named "Mollee," if that means anything. (Please excuse fairly lame insider LDS joke.)

By the way, I like the new judge, Adam Shankman. His comments are more interesting than most, and he manages to ask for a lot from contestants without being a jerk about it.

Okay, on to Dancing with the Stars. It's no surprise that Michael and Anna are gone, though he upped his game a bit in the last two weeks. I've also been enjoying his attitude with the other dancers, but being the best motivational coach does not equal being the best participant. So I can say good-bye to Michael with a sense of equanimity. As for Lacey and Mark, I'm sadder to see them go, although he and Kelly Osbourne were by all rights the next two in jeopardy, ability-wise. My issue with bidding Mark farewell is that he got a raw deal due to Lacey's flu, but I guess that's show biz, right? And he certainly was gracious about everything. Mostly, I will miss Lacey's choreography, which is consistently edgy and original.

All three of the couples in danger performed to the height of their abilities in the dance-off, so I guess I'm okay with the two couples that ended up leaving. Kelly remains on board mainly because of her appealing personality, but that's not going to get her through from here on out. She'll have to come up with enough inner peace and poise to dance as well as she is capable of dancing (which, I believe, is pretty well). Having said that, I predict she'll be the next celeb to vacate the DWTS premises, unless Donny completely messes up...or kisses Bruno again. (Please, no.)

For me, the top two couples continue to be Mya and Dmitry and Derek and Joanna, with Aaron and Karina a fairly close third. Since Aaron and Joanna have personalities that don't exactly charm me, my hopes are riding on Mya. For now, at least.