I am finding that although I am still passionately in love with dance show (So You Think You Can Dance, for the newcomers among us), it takes a lot more to “wow” me these days. I have been enjoying this season, but I remember back in seasons 3, 4, and 5, practically every week was just SO AMAZING I had to watch and rewatch and then talk about it and talk some more. So far, it’s been solid but not mind blowing, know what I mean? I think it’s really a factor of having seen a LOT of dance show, and that means all the contemporary stuff is starting to blur together.

That said – the two group routines from last week, featuring the top 7 girls and the top 7 guys, were SO GOOD, were they not? Awesome.

Also, while we’re complaining – I find the couples this year didn’t generate any memorable magic for me. I mean, we can’t all be Katie and Joshua, but I remember couplings like Sabra and Dominic, or Phillip CHBEEB (best surname ever) and Jeanine, or Amy and Fikshun from last year. When they showed up, you knew there was going to be some heat. This year – ugh, I could barely keep everyone straight, let alone remember who was dancing with whom. Does not bode well for big sparkling personalities to shine in the top 10, does it?

Speaking of which…we are down to the top 10! Let’s rank! And predict! And discuss! Ready?

Bridget. There were so many cute little contemporary girls this season that I never did keep them all straight. But now that Bridget is the last one standing – she’s standing out. In the top 7 girls’ routine last week, I picked her out easily as being the best. I really think she could win this thing. She’s paired with Brandon this week which means they will likely get disco and it will likely be a too-frantic, too-energetic festival of sequins. But if she makes it through this week I predict she will shine.

Ricky. Ricky is awesome. Ricky is amazing. Ricky is possibly my favourite male contemporary dancer since Jakob. Ricky is also a pretty small guy, which makes it harder for him to partner, and yet he has really made it work with Valerie (one of the few couples I felt had real chemistry). He could win if America votes based on skill and not cuteness factor. He’s with all-star Lauren tonight so that could mean jazz or Broadway or something like that, and I’m sure he’ll do great.

Rudy. Rudy annoys me, because he seems to have the cute guy vote, and I totally don’t see it. But on the other hand, he is really an incredible dancer. He has surprised me week after week with his skill and ability to get into character. I think he can do pretty much anything…if he gets the right partners, he could go all the way. Rudy’s with Jenna tonight, which means ballroom, which he’ll probably suck at but his personal popularity should easily help him weather the storm.

Jessica. The energizer bunny! Somehow she has survived the elimination of just about everyone she’s ever danced with – with good reason. She’s really growing on me, and I thought she was just amazing with Casey last week. I wanted them to save Carly until Jessica’s number – and her awesome solo – and now I’m totally converted. She’s with Twitch this week so that means hip hop, and I think this is a golden opportunity for her – if she rocks it and blows people away, she’ll make her mark in a big way.

Zack. Another guy who continues to surprise me, Zack seems so harmless and then, when he gets on stage, totally transforms into a man of power and charisma. Plus, he taps! I love Zack. He’s with Amy this week for contemporary, and if he makes the chemistry happen then he’ll maybe win some cute-guy votes away from Rudy. Fingers crossed.

Emilio. Emilio is one of the few dancers that I think has shown growth – each week I see him doing something totally outside his comfort zone, and doing it well. He obviously has worked very hard to be here and I like him for that – but he’ll need to really show off some surprising partnering skills if he wants to go farther. He’s with Jasmine this week which means hip hop, which should help him make top 8.

Tanisha. I’m a big fan of Tanisha, I think she doesn’t get enough credit on this show. She seems to meld into every style seamlessly, like she’s been doing it for years, and she has the best snap (meaning, when she dances, everything is exactly where she wanted it to be, and she’s solid and sure about it). I do find she had weak chemistry with Rudy – they often seemed like strangers with no connection at all. She’ll have to showcase some serious heat with her future partners if she’s going to change people’s minds – she’s with Ryan this week for ballroom so this is her big chance.

Casey. Cannot believe I am putting Casey as the bottommost boy, because he is ALSO amazing, and so good, and under appreciated, but it’s a very strong field for the boys this year. He’s with Kathryn this week, which is unfortunate, because I do not like Kathryn – she’s the worst all-star to get because a) the choreographers love her so much that they always choreograph for her, and the boy becomes just a background prop to hold her up and make her look pretty; and b) she seems totally incapable of forging a personal connection with any of her partners. They’ll likely do something lovely and beautiful, but Casey won’t be anywhere near the most memorable thing in it, and that’s bad for voting.

Valerie. You know I love a tapper, and Valerie is so cute and has such a great smile, and she’s my personal favourite girl. But she’s also one of the weaker dancers, and I find she doesn’t show a lot of emotional range on stage – she’s always happy and giggly and up, and given a tough, serious, emotional contemporary piece, I just don’t think she can sell it. She’s with Ade this week and that’s going to be a big, big challenge for her – she’ll have to really transform before my eyes for me to be impressed.

Jacque. Definitely the weakest of the girls, I find Jacque to be a bit of a blank slate – I always watched Zack when they were on stage together (in fact, I just had to go and look up who her partner was, because I couldn’t remember her in anything other than her first week ballet number). She’s just not as versatile or interesting. She has Chehon this week which should make for an AMAZING ballet number (plus: CHEHON, SQUEE), and that could easily carry her through for another week, but in general I don’t think she is top 4 material.

Just realizing, though, that neither Valerie nor Jacque have EVER been in the bottom 6, which usually means they have a massive and rabid fan base…so it’s probably Bridget that will be going home. It’s like I know NOTHING about Dance Show at all. SHEESH.

See you next week!