So You Think You Can Dance update

We're closing in on the top 10 and my favorite couples are clear: Chelsie/Mark and Katee/Joshua. I think what appeals to me about these pairings is that they have great chemistry and they emote on stage. I do wonder if they've been a bit lucky with their genre/choregrapher picks though...my favorite routines this season have both been Tabitha and Napoleon hip-hop routines--Katee/Joshua from Week 1 and Chelsie/Mark from last week. I don't really care that they're "hip-hop-lite," they were wonderfully performed and just really watchable.

This week didn't have any super wow moments for me--Mia's choreography is always very powerful but it's not always my cup of tea. Benji's West Coast Swing wasn't nearly as fun as Sara/Pasha from las year and I thought the costumes were just hideous. I did like the new Broadway choreographer though--Andy something--much better than Tyce's stuff this season.

I think the couples are going to be getting mixed up in a few weeks though, so that'll definitely be interesting. In terms of individual dancers, I think the guys are knocking the girls out of the park this year. Mark, Will, Twitch, and Joshua are all just excellent. I do like Gev (his solo last night was so much fun!), but he and Courtney have been kind of flying under the radar...I'm waiting for them to break out a bit. That leaves Thayne--I think he'll be the next to go unless something big happens.

As for the girls--I like Chelsie and Katee obviously, I don't like Kherington or Jessica, and Courtney's questionable. I really want to love Comfort but she's gotten stuck with a lot of ballroom routines that just weren't that exciting. I'm hoping that she'll stick around and get to do a hip-hop or contemporary.

Another thing I really love about this show is that sometimes the musical choices really jump out at me. I got hooked on the Veronica's "Untouched" a couple of weeks ago (even though the routine was not that good) and I was really intrigued by the odd swing cover of Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" for Chelsie/Mark's foxtrot this week.

I also think they've hit on a good formula for the results shows. I never used to watch the American Idol ones because they're all fluff, but here the group pieces are actually really good, the guest dance performances have been pretty good (loved seeing Dominic and Hok last week and the popper Robert this week), and of course there are the solos. I get a little less enthused about the musical performances but that's only a small bit. And of course Cat Deeley is just such a wonderful reality TV host. Love her! (Though maybe not all of her dresses...)