So you think you can judge dance

We've come down to the final six, and I'm having all kinds of crazy mixed emotions. I still have a general confusion about whether I want to see pure skill or personality rewarded the most. But you know what? This week was the best they've had, and I thought all of the dances were amazing. If the second round wasn't quite as strong as the first, they still had enough crazy lifts and dives to keep my heart beating happy. So much of it really depends on the choreographer, and I was glad they seem to have been saving some of their best stuff for the end. Lacy and Pasha I thought were the best paired, and their first routine rocked out. They are both just awesome, way better than their lame solo dances ever indicate. Actually I think most of the solo dances suck. These kids are too young to be choreographers yet, they just run around, do some tricks if they've got 'em. How much better would it be if like Lacy came out and did that manequin thing. Character is always more interesting.

Miss Chevious will remember this, but years ago we took class with Tommy Walsh (who recently passed away way too young) who was one of the original cast members of "A Chorus Line", and got to do lots of his super fun Tony-award-winning choregraphy from "My One And Only". But for weeks he would line us up at the back of the room, put on this crazy music from the movie "Soapdish", and make us one at a time dance down the room in our own style. I would never say I was a great dancer, but especially at that time I was probably just reaching my prime as a dancer, and still I HATED that exercise. Most of us did. There were a few exceptional dancers in the class (Kristin Fox this means you!) who had a big enough dance vocabulary and self-awareness to be really cool. But for me the music was just goofy and silly and I never got over my self-conciousness about it. It was always the low point of class.

And that is how I feel about the solo dances. Danny and Neil alone have enough tricks to get through it without being totally boring. But even so it is just them running around, it isn't like I'm getting any insight or making any connection with them as dancers. I want to see them shine, not fade.

Anyway, I still think Sabra is my girl, but she has some very strong competition. I've had reservations about Neil and especially Lauren from the beginning, but both of them were great this week, especially Neil. Frankly for the first time I'm at a loss at who I want to go home. Well, Lauren. But I really don't know for the boys. Danny is so super talented, and Pasha is so super cute, and Neil is smack dab in between. I'd be happy to just have the show end the competition, stay with three couples and just let them all go at it every week. At this level, I could watch forever. This could be the Lawrence Welk Show of our generation. And instead of the boring solo dances, you could get like Melinda Doolittle and Chris Daughtry from Idol to come over and do musical numbers. That would be sweet.