So You Think You Can Dance 5, July 1: How Bizarre

Cat’s pink dress is adorable. On a completely unrelated note, Mia Michaels is this week’s third judge. Cat asks her if her opinions about anyone have changed since “green mile.” **cough**Brandon**cough**. Without naming names, Mia says her opinion has changed for the better. Nigel asks if this is for a small male dancer with the initials Brandon. Mia thinks she’s said enough.

Janette & Brandon – cha-cha – Jean-Marc and France Genereux

Apparently it’s that time in the season where the dancers talk about the highs and lows they’ve been through in, you know, the past three weeks. Really, producers? Really? Brandon & Janette had a good first week… and a good second week… and a good third week. Brandon thinks he won last week’s hip-hop/rock battle but Janette isn’t so sure. Brandon’s teacher had a bunch of people watch the show at her house and they were all impressed with his moves.

Jean-Marc and France have a hot cha-cha in store for Janette & Brandon. This is right up Janette’s alley. Brandon says the routine is fast and dangerous. Janette hurts a finger and almost renders Brandon infertile.

They dance to the Pussycat Dolls’ classic cha-cha anthem, “Hush Hush.” Brandon is truly a chameleon – he makes every style he gets look like something he’s familiar with. He seems to have the posture and hip action down cold. Janette is, of course, great; she’s a salsa dancer, after all. I’d say these two can rest for the fourth week in a row.

Nigel thinks this was the best cha-cha he’s ever seen on the show. It was world-champion-stage-worthy. He thinks Brandon probably felt a ton of pressure knowing Mia was on the panel tonight. Nigel agrees with me that Brandon picked up the footwork and moves really well. This is the first time we’ve seen either of these dancers do his or her style, and they were brilliant together.

Nigel hears a train coming, but first Mary wants to tell Janette that her footwork was exceptional. It’s not the same as salsa footwork, so it wasn’t necessarily a given that she would get it. Brandon keeps getting styles that Mary isn’t sure he can do, but then he proves her wrong. They’re both on the hot tamale train. Scream. Scream. Scream. Mia tells Brandon that she’s the toughest on the people she notices the most talent in. She won’t be satisfied until he’s fully realized his potential. Brandon is so touched that he starts crying. Mia tells him that he’ll love her and hate her throughout the season. She’s going to take him to places he’s never been. She adds that Janette has been on fire since day one and tonight was no exception.

Kayla & Kupono – jazz – Sonya Tayeh

Okay, people you don’t need to recap your experiences on the show. That’s my job. There’s not really even any reason to tell what everyone’s saying. Obviously they enjoyed the highs and didn’t enjoy the lows. I’ll let you know if anyone says anything really interesting.

Kupono is so excited to be working with Sonya that he made a shirt with her name on it. The routine is about Kayla dying and Kupono pulling her towards it. Kupono gets Sonya’s demented way of thinking and loves it.

The Ks dance to “Eyes on Fire” by Blue Foundation. So Kayla is… a dead French maid? She looks pretty creepy with her goth makeup and blond hair. It’s a routine that you could guess was Sonya’s even if we didn’t already know. There’s that push and pull between the two characters, but their movements are still synched up when they need to be. You can sense the tension and fight in the characters. Wonderful movements in an eerie routine. Very, very good.

Nigel mentions a bunch of vampire-related stories that must have influenced Sonya. Kayla was fantastic as always, and Kupono was a new man up there. The technique, the choreography, and the dancing were all wonderful. Nigel loves seeing Kayla & Kupono reaching their potential. They were pushed together just a couple weeks ago and are working together well. Mary thinks that Sonya played to Kupono & Kayla’s strengths without holding back. They had chemistry even when they weren’t dancing together. Kupono was unbelievably in character. Mary’s especially impressed with his kicks. He’s definitely stepped it up. She feels like these two have been partners the whole time. Kupono deserved the hot tamale train last week and is staying there.

Mia says that simply on an aesthetic level, Kayla & Kupono are gorgeous together. Their makeup and costumes are brilliant. This was Sonya’s best piece ever on the show. Personally, I think that’s saying a lot. I think I’ve liked all of her routines. In terms of the dancing, Kayla’s beautiful in every way and Kupono has taken all of the judges’ notes. He gets better every week. He has a calm power on stage that Mia thinks might be a Hawaiian thing, since Mark from last season had it, too. Cat asks Kayla & Kupono if they were ever worried since they haven’t been together long. The two of them really love each other, so no.

Randi & Evan – Broadway – Joey Dowling

Joey wants to give Randi & Evan an atypical routine. She’s not going easy on them but doesn’t think they’re catching on very well. Randi thinks Joey expects the dancers to pick things up the first time through. Usually Randi can do that, but not this time. Joey thinks she was easy on her and Evan.

Randi & Evan dance to “Rich Man’s Frug” from Sweet Charity. I find it more mod than Broadway. It’s okay, but nothing all that exciting. It’s not Randi & Evan’s fault, the choreography just isn’t that great. It’s kind of boring.

Nigel notes the homage to Bob Fosse. He liked it. Eh. Randi did really well but Nigel was a little disappointed in Evan. These two are still in his top ten. Mary reminds the audience that the dancers only get five-and-a-half hours to adapt to a new style. She thought Evan did pretty well and adapted to his character. Randi did, too, but could have been a little brighter. Overall, Mary was entertained.