So You Think You Can Dance 6, November 3: Maybe Nigel Is Tryin’ to Tell You Something

Just like last week, the dancers will perform in pairs tonight (nine pairs this week as opposed to two last week – sorry, Ariana and Brandon) and the judges will cut two dancers before the episode is over. Starting next week, the audience gets to vote and determine the bottom three.

Cat tries to make fun of the World Series, saying it’s “slightly less prestigious” than this show, but apparently I’m the only one who thinks it’s funny. Wake up, audience. There’s no guest judge again this week, and there’s still a chair for Paula. He moves the chair next to Adam to see if that will change anything. Adam starts naming Paula’s songs. Thanks, Adam. Nigel does some housekeeping – next season Billy Bell can join up with the top 100 in Vegas, and Brandon can also return.

Hey, let’s ask the dancers what the best and worst things are about their partners. Because they’ve known each other so long.

Russell & Noelle – hip-hop – Jamal Sims

Noelle is indeed back. She loves Russell’s voice but hates that he always wears sunglasses. Russell thinks Noelle’s funny, especially when she tries to jump in while he’s freestyling, but he doesn’t like that she keeps getting injured.

Jamal, who’s new to the show, tells us the dance is between a couple who start off in love but end up fighting to the death… in a tennis match. Um, awesome. Can we call a moratorium on people commenting on routines being fast? No, wait – I’ll just start a drinking game. Noelle vows to win the tennis match.

The match is to DJ Laz, Flo Rida, and Casely’s “Move Shake Drop” remix. Russell definitely knows what he’s doing and hits it hard, while I’m not quite as impressed with Noelle. She seems to be struggling a little in the beginning, though she picks it up and holds her own later in the routine. They have the distinction of having practiced together last week without getting to perform together, so this is the first time they’ll get feedback from the judges. I think their chemistry comes across pretty well. I think we could have done without actual tennis racquets, though.

Adam’s happy to have Jamal here; he’s choreographed the Step Up movies and, though Adam doesn’t mention it, Adam’s directorial debut, Hairspray. He says that the dancers have to make sure the choreography doesn’t control them. They have to let go and make it work. At times he felt like the dance was overwhelming Noelle & Russell. They need to let the small be small and the big be big.

Mary thinks Russell won the match, but that’s not a big surprise, since this is his style (sort of). It got labored toward the end. She’s happy he didn’t wear sunglasses onstage because she likes the light in his eyes when he’s happy. Mary couldn’t tell that Noelle was just coming back from an injury. She kept looking for a weakness, though she shouldn’t have, and didn’t see one. Noelle gave Mary more than she expected.

Nigel babbles something about tennis and the speed of the routine, saying that Russell & Noelle didn’t really get a hold of the choreography. Noelle totally botched an aerial cartwheel. Her dancing might not have been strong enough to keep her out of the bottom four. Russell did better this week than last week; though he was complimented last week, he was still in the bottom four because the standard is so high.

Jakob & Ashleigh – Viennese waltz – Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin

Jakob doesn’t like how Ashleigh’s hair always gets in his face when they dance. He appreciates that Ashleigh sweats as much as she does. She thinks that’s the worst thing about him, but the best thing is that he’s funny when he mimics bad dancing.

Melanie describes the piece as a couple’s first wedding dance. Cue the requisite jokes about Ashleigh getting married when she’s already married, in case you’d forgotten that in the last five minutes. Jakob says the piece is a challenge but he hopes they can pull it off.

The bride and groom share a kiss, then dance to Etta James’ “At Last.” To me and my untrained eye, their performance looks flawless. Ashleigh dances probably the best we’ve ever seen her dance, and Jakob proves once again why he was placed in the top 20. The nice thing is that since this is a routine where they really do need to smile the whole way through, they look genuinely happy, like a real married couple.

Adam thinks Ashleigh & Jakob can do no wrong at this point. It’s common knowledge that he loves them, so he wants that out there before he makes any criticisms. His only real problem was that he wished the choreography had required them to use more of the stage. Also, the choreographers don’t have to keep having Jakob do a split jeté over and over just because he can. Hey, choreographers, you should promise to stop choreographing that move when Mary promises to stop screaming. I mean, just because she can scream doesn’t mean she should do it every week, right? Anyway, Adam thinks Ashleigh was lovely.

Mary makes a big deal about the kiss, like, this is a dancing show, not a kissing show, Mary. She liked the lifts but Jakob didn’t deliver as much in the dance steps. She makes technical comments that I’m sure make sense, just not to me. She does like how Jakob partnered Ashleigh. Ashleigh was very smooth and had beautiful lines. Jakob & Ashleigh are getting closer and closer to the top ten all the time.

Cat asks Nigel if these two are a power couple, and though he won’t say that, he thinks they looked wonderful together. Jakob can do a split jeté every week. Ashleigh is disproving everyone who thought she didn’t belong in the competition. She just needs to watch her arms and hands because she’s still using them in the way she would for Latin dances.

Victor & Bianca – Broadway – Tyce Diorio

Victor loves how loud Bianca is – “you’d never lose her.” Heh. He complains that she changes her hair so often that he keeps mistaking other people for her. Bianca loves Victor’s laugh but not his neon clothes. He blames Miami for his clothing choices.