CarmenSandiego

Here's my power rankings of the remaining dancers, beginning with the girls: 1. Alexis -- best girl by a mile. 2. Anna -- she has yet to be in danger. 3. Ralyn -- so does she. 4. Essence -- she was in danger but she's a hip-hop dancer, so I think that will help her survive another week. 5. Jordan -- she needs to stand out more in order to survive next week. And now for the guys: 1. Keaton -- he was the best of the guys by a mile as well. 2. Beau -- he's the only other guy not to be in danger. 3. Thiago -- he recovered nicely but he needs to improve his performance skills in order to make the finale. 4. Carter -- he's been in danger, but he's the only ballroom guy left, so that might help him survive another week. 5. Waverly -- unless he recovers well next week, he's a goner. Keaton has done better and between him and Thiago, I think that the judges will save Thiago. And now for the eliminated dancers: 1. Virginia -- I was right. She was cannon fodder compared to Jordan, Anna and Ralyn. 2. Lord Finn -- what went wrong? Carter improved and he didn't, sadly.

I really hope that neither one is robbed at the Top 6, but I want Alexis in the finale more than Keaton, both because I tend to vote for the girls more and because I want a ballroom girl in the finale.

Yeah, unfortunately, Waverly was just better overall than Lord Finn (James), so the judges probably made the right call even if it meant cutting the only male hip-hop dancer in the show. I'll bet Twitch tried to save Lord Finn but JoJo and Leah overruled him.

Unfortunately, Virginia and Lord Finn were eliminated. I'm not surprised that Virginia was eliminated. She was in danger last week, so it was highly unlikely that she'd be saved again. While Lord Finn's elimination is a little more surprising considering that he was the only male hip-hop dancer in the Top 12, he wasn't as good overall as Waverly was, so I'm fine with him leaving.

You were right to be worried about Jordan & Waverly. They were in danger. And so were Lord Finn and Virginia. I also think that these were probably the right choices.

I think that Essence and Thiago saved themselves tonight. They were really good, and Thiago improved his performance skills from last week. Technique is great, and I really appreciate great technique, but performance really sells a routine, especially a hip-hop one, and Thiago proved his skills there.

This was good, but I prefer Beau in less technically demanding dances. But Anna did quite well with it. ETA: If Jordan wasn't as exciting as she could be, then that's troubling.

I didn't know that Virginia was taken advantage of by a dance instructor at 15. I sympathize with her, but I think that she might be in danger again. Only this time, I think that it's more because of her partner. The judges criticized Lord Finn for not giving his all to the dance. But Virginia was better this week. Jordan & Waverly were really entertaining, and I agree with the message of the song. I think that they're safe yet again.

Loved Alexis and Keaton's Cha-Cha! I think they'll be safe tonight! Unless Keaton and Thiago are the bottom 2 guys. And I hope Keaton isn't in the bottom.

Ralyn & Carter were pretty good in their routine. Hopefully, they'll survive this round.

Thanks.

Week 1: Lord Finn (26)/Virginia (21) - Hip-Hop (Luther Brown) - 5.5. The weakest of the dances. Jordan (24)/Waverly (19) - Contemporary (Mandy Korpinen & Elizabeth Petrin) - 7.5. I liked it but it wasn't awesome. Anna (18)/Beau (23) - Broadway (Al Blackstone) - 6. At least it was entertaining. Thiago (18)/Essence (20) - Contemporary (Tessandra Chavez) - 6.5. It was lovely but it could have been better. Carter (20)/Ralyn (18) - Jive (Alan Bersten) - 7. I enjoyed the song. Alexis (21)/Keaton (20) - Contemporary (Talia Favia) - 9.0. I loved the dance. Top 12 - Hip-Hop (Luther Brown) - 7.5. It was fun.

Daniella and Pasha will be choreographing Alexis & Keaton! I hope that they do well for Alexis's sake.

Here's my power rankings after the first performance show, beginning with the girls: 1. Alexis -- she did the best routine in the 1st performance show by a mile. 2. Jordan -- she's the best contemporary girl. 3. Ralyn -- she has a definite personality and that probably kept her out of danger. 4. Essence -- she's the only hip-hop girl, so she's safe for now. 5. Anna -- she's not quite as good as Jordan or even Ralyn. 6. Virginia -- cannon fodder. And here are the guys' power rankings: 1. Keaton -- at least this week, he was the best of the guys. 2. Waverly -- he was very good as well. 3. Thiago -- he's a great technical dancer but he needs to improve his performance skills. 4. Beau -- he's unique and that will help him. 5. Lord Finn -- he might get past Beau with a better performance. 6. Carter -- I liked his routine but he was overshadowed by Ralyn.

Yeah, if there's one thing that the people behind the show learned, it's how to avoid vote splitting. And since I want a ballroom girl to win, I don't mind too much if I can vote for Alexis.

Oh yeah, I forgot that it was from 12 to 10. Anyway, Elliott, do you have a new favorite now that Konnor failed to make the Top 12? As I said, mine is Alexis.

Maybe it's just for the first couple of weeks, then they go back to the regular voting.

I'm glad that they all made it to next week, but that means that four people will go home next week and not two. Here's my advice to those who are in jeopardy: Carter should do his best to shine in contemporary next week. Otherwise, he might be a goner. Essence needs to improve her technique and fast, otherwise she's probably a goner. Thiago just learned that being a great technician isn't enough on this show. He needs to improve his performance skills; otherwise, he's going home sooner rather than later. Virginia is the one that I think is least in jeopardy of going home next week of the four of them, but she still needs to improve next week. I have some advice for Keaton for next week as well. You're doing ballroom, so don't drag Alexis down with you! Do almost as well as you did this week, and you and Alexis should be just fine. Oh and here's a question for Elliott: with Konnor gone, who's your new favorite? I have Alexis as my favorite, and we can at least have a friendly competition to see which of our favorites gets farther.

I was kind of afraid that Essence and Thiago would be in danger since I knew that the judges criticized them, albeit constructively, and since I knew that technique doesn't always trump performance on this show. I'm a little surprised that Carter was in danger, however.

Well, it looks like Alexis and Keaton brought the house down! The judges giving them a standing ovation gives me a lot of hope for them moving forward.

You're probably right. Anyway, Ralyn & Carter had an awesome Jive. I loved the song and they danced the heck out of the jive. Possibly my favorite so far!

Well, NIgelsimon was off with the next two pairings, as Anna was paired with Beau and Essence was paired with Thiago. Beau and Thiago are pretty much opposites. Thiago is a beautiful technical dancer but at least according to Leah and Twitch, he needs to be more of a performer. I wouldn't call Beau a great technical performer, but he's unique and entertaining. Anna was also entertaining, while Essence was very good as well, but audiences by and large prefer performers to technicians, so Anna and Beau might outlast Essence and Thiago.

Nigelsimon got another one right with Jordan and Waverly being paired together. I hope that Elliott isn't too upset that Konnor failed to make it in, but I think that Konnor lost in part because he was short and they needed a tall male dancer to be paired with Jordan. Anyway, I agree that Jordan and Waverly also did very well. I was really impressed that they did so well with the umbrella props.

Here were Nigelsimon's predictions for the Top 12 pairings: *Pedictions: 1. Alexis & Thiago (TCO) 2. Virgina & Lord Finn 3. Jordan & Waverley 4. Anna & Carter 5. Essence & Keaton 6. Ralyn & Beau* Well, he was right about Virginia and Lord Finn being paired together, at least. Virginia and Lord Finn were very good. Lord Finn was really flexible!

Looks like Elliott is going to be very disappointed since Konnor apparently didn't make it. I'm a little disappointed myself, but at least Alexis is still in.