DaveChung.com - A Guy's Blog From Girl World | So You Think You Can Dance: Top 16 - Twitchington, Chelsie H. & Mark

Well, it had to start sometime, the dances we’ll remember for the rest of the season began in Week 2 of So You Think You Can Dance in Hollywood during Top 18 week. It was a week of big hits and equally big misses, with leading couples Kherington and Twitch pulling off a beautiful Viennese Waltz and Chelsie Hightower and Mark dazzling the audience with some breathtaking footwork in their Argentine Tango.

Katee and Joshua continued to impress with a Broadway routine that knocked the judges off their feet, but it was Twitchington and the fancy feet of Chelsie H. that stole the show tonight. These were two routines that people will remember well beyond this season, like Lacey and Kameron’s contemporary routine, Lauren and Pasha’s hip-hop routine, and Sabra and Dominic’s hip-hop routine from last season.



Kherington and Twitch proved that they could be the couple to beat at this point in the competition with a dramatic Viennese Waltz that rivaled Mia Michaels’ contemporary routine for Chelsie H. and Mark last week in terms of pure emotion. The Viennese Waltz has been done very differently in the past, memorably through Lacey and Danny last season, and while the dance might not have been as clean and polished, the performance by Twitchington was so dramatic and graceful that this made for one of my favorite performances in two seasons of religiously watching the show.

While Twitch is inevitably going to be seen as a favorite throughout the season, Kherington, through talent and association, stands a good chance at going extremely far in the competition. She’s got that Neutrogena Girl appeal, perfect lines, and just enough personality to shine during the clips. I think Kherington could be a real dark horse this season, especially after she’s out from Twitch’s shadow once partners get switched later in the competition.

Impressive again this week was the duo of Mark and Chelsie H., who again, I will admit is my favorite contestant this season. Though Chelsie is a traditional Tango dancer, the Argentinian Tango was right up her alley this week, and less so for her partner Mark. However, Mark did not allow himself to get upstaged by Chelsie, despite everything that said he should have been.

Chelsie’s spotless footwork was matched step by step with strong partnering from Mark as the two pulled off one of the cleanest routines in recent memory during a very exciting, gimmick-free, Argentinian Tango that showed that a good routine does not have to be all about having a few big tricks.

While the moves are great, it’s really the chemistry between the dancers for the top couples that is adding that extra spark to separate them from the masses, even in a “big brother/little sister” relationship like Chelsie and Mark, the two are electric on the dance floor.



While these two couples, along with another strong performance from couple Katee and Joseph, put everyone on notice this week, there were a lot of disappointments as well. Chelsea and Thayne’s Jazz performance was one of the worst that I’ve ever seen on the program. And while entertaining, Susie and Marquis’ Salsa was disappointing simply because Susie didn’t really step up in her style of dance, though she was insulted and offended when choreographer Alex da Silva called her a “street dancer” and not a “real Salsa dancer.”

Personally, I wasn’t as blown away by Katee and Joshua, but I think that I was distracted by a strong dislike for the music that was chosen for them. It was another “ok” week for one of my early favorites, Courtney Galiano and partner Gev and it likely won’t be long until Courtney sees what will feel like a premature exit. I was also disappointed in Will and Jessica, who I feel like stand a chance at being one of the top couples, but didn’t seem to pull it off with this week’s hip-hop routine.

Jessica, like Jessi Peralta from last season, is easily one of the most attractive contestants in the competition, while Will is one of the most diverse talents this season. However, the two need to put their talents together at the same time to really wow an audience to catapult them to the upper tier of couples.

After two weeks, here’s a very early guess at four couples that I think are locks to stay together (neither competitor being eliminated) through the entire first rotation.

- Kherington and Twitch

- Jessica and Will