So You Think You Can Review

Before I review the couples, here is someone else's recap of the Dance of Desperation (tm the crew at TWoP, also known as the "dance for your life" *eyeroll* solos)

This is the routine for both girls and guys. Roll, spin, spin, spin, roll, thrust your arms out forward, fall to the ground, get back up by rolling onto your toes, throw your butt back and your arms way out, pull them back into your chest like you've been denied, stumble dramatically across the stage, leap, spin, spin, spin, backflip, fall to the ground and reach out for help, etc, etc... YAWN!

via Television Without Pity

Benji & Donyelle: I love them. I liked Donyelle from her first audition footage. I disliked Benji in the auditions and semi-finals because partner dancing does not excite me that much, and I thought he was going to be a really annoying attention hog. But after their performances the last two weeks, I LOVE them. Watching them makes me want to get up and dance, and they look like they are really into it. My best is that they make top four easily, and quite possibly top two.

Musa & Natalie: I like Musa and would like to see how Natalie dances when she doesn't feel like she's overacting. It's just at the point that I can't consistently pay attention to the dancing because of this overwhelming sense that I'm being Acted at, with a capital A. She dances really well, as far as I can see, and has great control over her movements (no faltering or wavering limbs). Musa seems to be doing much better than anticipated at picking up different styles. I think they will make top six.

Travis & Martha: I don't particularly like either one of them, but they seem to be really great at what they do. The problem for me is that they haven't wowed me like B&D have. They both seem to be spectacularly talented, so with that much talent, I want to be falling off my chair and squealing at the tv like a tweener whose crush said hi to her in the hallways. My guess is that technically, Travis is the best male. I think Travis is getting more exposure/comments than Martha is, and Travis always seems to talk over her in the interview segments, so my guess is that if they ever land in the bottom three (which they may out of complacency of the viewers), Martha has a chance of getting kicked off, but the judges will keep Travis to the very end. My guess is he will definitely make top four, and maybe top two if he can push out either Benji or Donyelle.

Allison & Ivan: My guess is that they are a big favorite with the younger crowd because they are both young, good-looking, and likeable (depending on whom you ask). I like Allison and was impressed with her solo. She looked so graceful and was really attuned to the music. Like Natalie, she's in complete control over her movements, and in my very subjective and undereducated-in-dance opinion is potentially (pending further viewings) technically the best or second best female dancer in the competition. But what do I know, really, other than how they move me? And neither Ivan nor Allison really move me. When Donyelle first auditioned, she made me feel like I might cry or something else equally bizarre. Not with either one of these two. Either one of these two could be a dark horse to make top four, especially Allison if we see a Travis & Allision pairing at some point due to eliminations.

Heidi & Ryan: My reaction to Ryan is like my reaction to Martha: he moved his body in amazing ways in his solo, but it did nothing for me. I see the technical talent, but it's like some spark is missing, and he's just a faceless dancer in a crowd of dancers. Heidi hadn't really impressed me either, until her Dance of Desperation, when I saw her fire. I didn't quite get her fire, but I saw it and was fairly impressed. She danced like she would break if she did not dance, unlike Aleksandra, who danced like a limp sock with no soul. Heidi is yet another dark horse to make top four, but my guess is that she definitely will not make top two. Top eight is a pretty safe bet though. Ryan is fantastic, but because of various fan-related reasons due to his reaction on finding out his partner was Heidi, he would be lucky to last another week. Despite his technical proficiency, his comments then and the judges' comments last week have pretty much sealed his fate.

Jaymz & Jessica: I don't hate them. Actually, I might even like them. They've had pretty decent weeks; nothing fantastic, but pretty enjoyable in a relatively forgettable way. They both have talent and some ability to connect with the audience, but my guess is that they will make it as far as top ten (together; top eight for Jaymz) and no further because there are others who really outshine them. Jaymz sort of feels like this year's male Kamilla.

Dmitry & Aleksandra: Not impressed by Dmitry and annoyed that Aleksandra is the reason (or so I guess) that her original team was in the bottom three, yet she makes it while Jason doesn't. Arg. I didn't particularly love Jason, but he was clearly the better of the pair. I didn't enjoy either end of the Dmitry/Joy pairing. Their dancing wasn't memorable and it didn't make me throw myself off my seat in excitement. Now, you have two bleh people coming together to form a bleh partnership. "Bleh" is how I feel about Dmitry, but I hear he's quite the object of lust on these here internets. Oh well. He doesn't nothing for me, but YMMV. Not sure if this pairing will last another week. Probably will, just from Dmitry's popularity.

Ben & Ashlee: These guys are either going to get kicked off this week or will get propelled to about top six based on random fanbases. They aren't good together. It's questionable if they are good separately, but I'd sure like to see them do styles that they are comfortable in as a pair or even as solos at some point, or I'll just hate them. I want to cut Ben's hair, but that is neither here nor there. All I know is that the styles we've seen of them have been totally abominable. On one hand, they did improve in their partnership quite a bit. On the other hand, OMGWTF on the move that has been termed cunninguliftus that they keep being forced to do.

Uh... is this all of them? I have no idea. If there is anyone left, it must be because they are so unmemorable that I couldn't even, you know, remember them.

ETA: It occurs to me that it's possible that I've put more than eight people as my guesses to make the top eight (or more than six people to make the top six -- hehe). My boot order is roughly reverse of this list, with some people shuffling around due to one partner leaving but not the other.