This is the last week for power couples, as the pairs will be split apart next week. While I’m looking forward to the All-Stars (and there are a few people who’ve been coasting on the strength of their partners, ahem, Alexander), I’ll be a little sad to see Melanie and Marko forced to dance with other people. It just feels like one of those romantic comedies in which the couple who’s really perfect for one another starts dating other people. But hey, it’s a dance competition. I’ll get over it.
Well, it’s time to introduce our latest guest judge. This has been a pretty mixed bag so far, but I remain hopeful. Stop breaking my heart, “SYTYCD”! Hey, look, it’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson from “Modern Family”! Love him! I’ve never thought of him as a dancer, but I’m confident he’ll be funny. Also on the panel are Sonya Tayeh, Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy. I can’t imagine what it would be like to actually work with some of these dancers and then have to eviscerate them before a national audience, but I think that explains why the guest judge/choreographers tend to go mushy in their critiques.
Jesse explains that he did Broadway and some theme park dancing, so he knows him some dancing. I’m trying to imagine Jesse in the Disneyland Electric Light Parade. I keep thinking of David Sedaris’ “SantaLand Diaries,” but while I’m sure Jesse probably has stories that are just as funny, I doubt they’re as bitter.
Sasha and Alexander
They’ll be doing a paso doble by Tony Meredith and Melanie Lapatin. The paso doble is a difficult dance, blah blah blah. Sorry, but the rehearsal segments aren’t always compelling.
And neither is this dance, sorry to say. Where’s that Sasha snap and ferocity? They clasp hands as if the other has contagious strep and, while the movements seem accurate, they lack intensity and precision. I have just one word to describe Alexander: floppy. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great.
Read the full recap on HitFix.com.
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