SYTYCD S8: Top 16 Results

Okay, first, I must give an ill-formed "we're not worthy" bow to the second guest couple on tonight's show. And also to the Axis Dance Company. I wish I was being more fastidious and listening to names and things, but, um. Whoops? If you know their names, please feel free to blast me in the comments! But seriously! That second couple was amazeballs. I mean, I was literally yelling with delight with every crazy move. They kind of reminded me of ice skaters without the ice. Anyway. Yes. They were, as Tony the Tiger would say, Grrrrreat! Yes, I did just do that.

But let's get back to the competition, as that is what this show is supposed to be all about. The bottom three couples tonight were not very surprising, and I was only annoyed that one couple over another wasn't in the bottom. Can we guess which couple? Puh-lease. If you read this blog at all, you already know*! In any event, the three couples put in danger tonight were:

Ashley & Chris
Miranda & Robert
Caitlynn & Mitchell

And honestly, it's really no surprise who went home after that. Even though I feel like Miranda in particular had the best solo of all of the ladies. Robert also performed a pretty great solo (much better than his first one), but it's become clear he's just not very good at the other styles. Caitlynn and Mitchell did a whole lot of flailing about the stage for their solos, and while I understand strong emotions will breed such flails, it's generally not a good policy to rely on that alone. Ashley's solo, meanwhile, bored me. I enjoyed Chris', but felt he could've pushed even a little bit farther after seeing how explosive Robert's was.

And while I am not surprised at the decision to oust Miranda and Robert tonight, I will say that I can see why the judges were not unanimous on the decision for the girls. Because if it was my decision, I would've kept Miranda over Ashley. There is something a little off about the Ashley/Chris pairing, and I would've really liked to see Miranda and Chris do something together. But hey, I'm not a decision maker here, am I? Nope. I just win points on my fantasy league and call it a night.

And, Nigel? It was Robert who had the woodpecker routine, not Chris! Get it together!

Oh, and one more thing. Miranda and Robert had such graceful comments on their exits, it made it even sadder to see them go. Class acts, those two.

*Jess and Clarice. Duhhhhhhh.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S8: Top 16 Perform

It's late, so I'm keeping this as short as possible tonight. For the top 16 performance show, we had two guest judges join Nigel and Mary - Lil C and Kristin Chenoweth. Now I know I've been kind of complaining about the stunt casting of judges this season so far, but I really enjoyed Kristin, despite her having very little criticisms. Then again, hardly anyone had any criticisms this week at all, so... Eh.

Let's barrel through the performances here...

- Sasha and Alexander - These two had a contemporary piece from choreographer Dee Caspary that will probably be forever known as the piano routine. Sasha, as always, killed it. Seriously, this girl is a star. I said it last week and I'll say it again - she brings the characters to life. Not everyone is able to do that very well, including her own partner Alexander. While he has certainly been improving in that department, he just can't quite live up to the spark plug that is his partner.

- Caitlynn and Mitchell - With a Jean-Marc Genereaux samba, things could've gone bad. But they didn't. Caitlynn really moved her hips, I was pretty impressed, actually. I think there were a couple tiny rough spots but overall enjoyable. But whoever said Mitchell is the Chris Rock of the show needs to get a hold of themselves. Clearly he is much more like Chris Tucker. Was the routine memorable enough to keep them out of the bottom three, though? Not as sure about that.

- Miranda and Robert - You know, it's interesting. The judges were full of such effusive praise for almost everyone tonight, but I was not feeling this one like they were. It was a Tyce Diorio broadway number, which may be part of the issue. But I did not see any of the characters from the video package before. If that hadn't been there, I would not have known she was supposed to be a lady of the night at all. And they didn't seem to be dancing nearly fast enough for the beat of the music.

- Melanie and Marko - I still love my M&M's. They did great yet again this week in a NapTab lyrical hip hop piece that I really, really enjoyed. Maybe one of my favorites of the season so far. They brought such emotion to all of it, and that's what really sold the whole thing for me. Not to mention that kiss! Whoa. Are those things planned? I always wonder. A power couple, indeed.

- Ashley and Chris - One of the only couples tonight to receive any sort of criticism from Nigel, and I actually agreed with him. They had a Sonya Tayeh jazz piece that should've been crazy weird, but it just wasn't quite weird enough. There was just something missing, and all I could think was how I wished the perennial favorite Mark from seasons past was there. He and Sonya were like bread and butter. These two should be in the bottom, but then they should've their first week too and they weren't, so...

- Clarice and Jess - These two had a Jean Marc fox trot that the judges went mad crazy over, but I cannot get over Jess and his face pulling. Stop it! Ugh. And she was so much taller than him, which just makes these types of dances super awkward. I honestly wish these two were the ones going home tomorrow, but who the heck knows with how the voting has been going lately.

- Ryan and Ricky - I loooove the choreography in this one, thanks to one Sonya Tayeh. It was a contemporary piece about letting go, and involved an unraveling piece of fabric between the two of them. I still think I caught one or two vacant smiles on Ryan's face, but at least she's started to tone those down a little. But honestly the choreography itself was the start of the show here.

- Jordan and Tadd  - Another NapTab hip hop number that again was more exciting because of the concept than the actual dancing. What's this? I agree with a Nigel comment again? Egads, what is going on! But yes, he said basically the same thing. He also said that the two of them aren't going anywhere for weeks to come. Jeez, bite your tongue. Don't say that kind of thing, you might jinx them!

Who will be in the bottom three tomorrow night? I think it should be: Ashley & Chris, Clarice & Jess and Miranda & Robert. Will I be right? Who knows!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S8: Top 20 Results Redux

Now this, this is exactly exactly exactly why I don't agree with the decision to keep all of the bottom three from last week! Because not one of those bottom three couples were in the bottom this week, when definitely at least one of them should have been. *cough* Jess and Clarice *cough* It's not really fair, because the people who were in the bottom last week? Their fans knew they were likely in trouble, so they probably re-doubled their voting efforts. And because of all of that, a guy I truly feel could've been in the top 10 was already sent home. For shame. For shame indeed.

I blame Nigel. He's the easiest one to blame, right?

I can't fault the judges for their decisions based on the solos tonight, though. I have to agree with them. But there really should've been a bottom four instead of a bottom three. I don't want to keep shouting, "it's not fair!" and sound like a whiny whiner, but, heck, it wasn't really fair.

Now I've been blathering on and on, and I haven't even said who was actually in the bottom at all, have I? Well okay then! Get to the point, princess!

Our bottom three couples: Missy & Wadi, Iveta & Nick, Ryan & Ricky


Missy and Wadi really didn't stand a chance in this bottom three, so it's no surprise that they got sent home. And with a judge favorite like Ryan also in the bottom, Iveta got the short end too, because her solo was pretty awesome for a ballroom solo. And Nick. Nick. He's the aforementioned guy I think should've made the top 10. And not just because I have a soft spot for tappers (did you know I tapped? As a child, nothing very exciting, but hey). As Nigel said, he's got a spark, a twinkle in his eye. But Ricky really pulled out all of the stops in his solo, so he got the one spot to stay. Boo hoo for me.

Man. Man oh man. I shake my head. Please tell me I'm not alone in being annoyed with all of this?

In other news, the Rage something or other (Crew? I mean, sorry, I forgot to take notes) danced awesomely. That one little girl was amazing, right? The Quest dudes also made a reappearance during the musical performance by a group I've never heard of! LMFAO. That's a musical group name now? Okay then.

That's all for this week. Sigh.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S8: Top 20 Perform Redux

Okay, first of all. Look, I have nothing against Debbie Reynolds. Let's make that clear. But if they're just going to use that third judging spot this season to simply place people who are going to ooh and aah over everybody? I'm not okay with that. Also, let's admit, Debbie was a little bit crazed. She did the Woody Woodpecker noise! I mean. Come on.

Not that there was a lot to complain about tonight for the judges anyway. There were really only two routines that stood out to me as noticeably subpar. The rest were all pretty good, or at least one person in each of them was great, thereby making the other partner also look good. And when we're voting for teams at this point, well, lucky them. Let's go through a run down of the couples. I'm just going to go in the order they danced tonight.

Ryan and Ricky - Well what do you know! These two have a Mandy Moore jazz routine set to an '80s song! How very surprising and unexpected! Ahem. In ANY event, they danced this well enough. I'm beginning to wonder if Ryan is going to be a dancer that grows on me over time. There's been something about her that bugs me, but I liked her more than usual in this one. Now this next comment is going to sound maybe stupid. But I kind of wish Ricky would maybe bulk up a little? I don't know. There's something about his dancing that is sort of feminine sometimes? Maybe it's because Ryan is so tall. I don't know. I may be crazy.

Caitlynn and Mitchell - Can we just start calling Mitchell Chris Tucker? He talks exactly like him. These two had a Stacey Tookey contemporary routine. The one with the chairs. And now I'm thinking it was good that Mitchell got to stay another week, because they danced it really well together. I do get distracted by him always having sweaty armpits, though. Sorry, this is the kind of commentary you get from me. Not always the most dance-y.

Missy and Wadi - The first serious misstep of the night with the cha cha from Jean Marc Genereaux. Missy was doing well enough, but Wadi was having some seeeerious issues with this number. "That was rough" was my main note that I wrote down. And was it just me, but did it also feel kind of slow? I wanted them to dance it faster, to have more punch and wow. He was just super awkward, and it showed. A lot. I will be surprised if these two aren't in the bottom tomorrow night.

Iveta and Nick - Hmm. Did a lot of these routines feel super short tonight? Iveta and Nick's Bollywood routine by Nakul felt especially short for some reason. But maybe that's because of how fast the Bollywood routines are. They both danced it well for me, though I thought Iveta did it a little better. That's kind of to be expected, but hey. I like these two. I may have even voted for them. What! I'm revealing my favorites?! Shh.

Miranda and Robert - Here's a not-so-secret-anymore secret: I initially wrote Missy instead of Miranda. Whoops. That just shows that the girl has some personality issues for me, I guess. These two had a NapTab hip hop routine (it will never be NappyTabs for me, no matter how much the show tries to make it happen). The judges really liked it, and I agree that they both did well, but I'm not sure it's enough to keep them out of the bottom three. And I'm kind of okay with that.

Clarice and Jess - Oy. She just looked so huge compared to him in this one. And she's not big. I really did not get the concept of the dance from the actual dance itself, which was a regular girl marrying a prince. Nigel had a good point about this one - that they both danced really well when they were separate, but when they were together, it fell apart. He may not have said fell apart, but for me it fell apart. I kind of feel like Clarice doesn't really like Jess. I could be completely wrong, but... I don't know. I can see how he'd be annoying, ha.

Jordan and Tadd - Okay. Tadd? What! Tadd is amazing. I didn't really have an opinion of him coming into the actual show, and man. He just steps it up! He's a b boy! And he did a Viennese waltz like I've never seen a hip hop style dancer on the show do one before! Okay. Whoa, calm down with the exclamation points. For real, though. He was awesome. Oh, he had a partner? Oh, it was Jordan? Okay. I mean. She was fine. But I have issues with her personality. The fact that Tadd's secret fact about her was that she's not so smart? Did not help that at all.

Melanie and Marko - These two are a power couple, and everyone seems to agree, even the judges. They had the second Mandy Moore jazz piece of the night, and what? Was it not set to '80s music?! Jaw. Drop. It was more of a classic jazz, right? I may be making that up. Personally the music didn't entirely go with the whole routine for me, but what do I know. All I know is I love these two, and unless America does not agree with me, I don't think they're going anywhere soon.

Sasha and Alexander - Sasha is a powerhouse. Alexander is damn lucky he has her as a partner, because she completely stole the NapTab routine from him. In a way it was designed to showcase her, but he was too smooth in his movements doing hip hop, in my humble little opinion. But Sasha? She popped. What's great about her is how much she gets into character. Every moment she could look at him, she was. She just takes it that extra step.

Ashley and Chris - There's something about Ashley that bothers me. I think she comes off as kind of smug. Am I the only one seeing this? Chris seems like such a sweet guy, comparatively. These two had a Spencer Liff Broadway number where they had to dance with bars between them. It was a whole thing. They were MUCH better than last week. And also? I loooooved her dress. I want that dress. I kind of think he danced the routine better than her, that he was putting more heart into it. But also it was hard to tell with all of the crazy camera stuff going on. Mary, however, loved it so much that she trotted out a long-winded explanation of steam or whatever powering her infamous hot tamale train. Oh, Mary. Mary Mary.

All right! That's all for tonight. Who are your faves? Who do you think is in danger? And is it really fair that two out of three couples will be sent home tomorrow? It all depends on how the votes go. I voted for two couples tonight, and I rarely vote this early on in the season! I don't want my favorites to go!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S8: Top 20 Results

Ughhhhhhhhhhh. I'm sorry, what is the POINT of an elimination show if they aren't going to eliminate anyone? What a waste of an hour of our lives. I don't particularly care that their reasoning was to let America get to know the dancers better. If they are saying that all of these dancers are so great, then how is the decision next week going to be any easier, when it will apparently be two couples going home instead of the traditional one? It honestly just feels like a free pass to Mitchell, who didn't get to dance this week in the performance round.

Who I thought would've been eliminated, had they done it: Miranda and Mitchell.

Even so, I don't agree with all of the superlatives that Nigel was laying down for Jordan, who literally did maybe two dance steps in her entire solo. You want a tip on how to do a solo? Take a look at what Tadd did. He planned it out, he had it timed out so that he'd end it when the music ended. His was honestly the only solo that I thought was actually good. The rest (Clarice, Jess, Miranda, Robert and Mitchell) were all just sort of meh.

The only couple I was surprised did not get put into the bottom three was Ashley and Chris, whose hip hop last night I felt was a bit of a lame duck.

Anyway. I'm not spending any more time on this. Am I the only one annoyed, or is everyone else too?

As a final aside, I happened to be at The Grove tonight and I saw Melanie and Sasha (and Natalia) walking through Nordstrom. Two of my favorite dancers this season! It's one of the perks of living in Los Angeles, I suppose.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S8: Top 20 Perform

First of all - already  an injury? ALREADY?! It's only the first week! What the heck. This time it's Mitchell, who I barely remember, so it does not bode well for him. He will already be in the bottom tomorrow night, so he'll have to do something amazing to not get das boot right off the bat. Sorry Mitchell, sucks for you this time.

Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel tonight was Megan Mullally. Are they going to be doing this stunt judging every week? I mean, yes, Megan has a background in dance and theater, but I prefer when it's a choreographer type up there as the third judge. But she had some good comments, so it's fine.

Okay. Now onto the actual stuff this show is about, supposedly - the dancing. I love how they pretend they pull these routines out of a hat. Really? The ballroom dancer just happens to get ballroom? Broadway gets broadway? Hip hop gets hip hop? That is not random, that is giving everyone a fair shake on the first week of performances. Fair enough, but this was not drawn out of a hat. And the partners aren't either, for that matter. Jess was not going to get Iveta, who would tower over him. Down the line that could happen, but not for the original partners.

Anyway, I'm rambling. I'm going to go through the list of dances tonight in the order of my favorites. None of them straight up sucked, but most of them were mostly good but not great, in my humble little recapper opinion.

Melanie and Marko. Okay, first of all? This is like my dream partnership. I kid you not, these two are my two personal favorite contestants of this season so far. And paired together? Magical. On top of which, they got to dance a Travis Wall contemporary routine, which will probably forever be known as the statue routine. Though, as Nigel commented, it was not perfect, it showed they have room to grow, which is what this show is all about. And come on. That choreography was a work of art, I adored the concept. M&M for the win!

Iveta and Nick. What's this? A quickstep is one of my favorite routines of the night? But isn't it the most dreaded of routines to get? It is if you're not a world champion like Iveta. If Nick had been partnered with anyone else, I'm sure it would've been about a million times harder for him to do, but hey, he did it really well. Not that I know what a world class quickstep looks like, but I actually enjoyed this one, which never happens! Nick is also one of my favorites of the season, so I'm glad he knocked it out since I was weary upon finding out he'd be with Iveta, who bugs me in some way. I also used to tap when I was a kid, so maybe I'm biased to like Nick already. Whatever, you can't tell me that wasn't good.

Missy and Wadi. I really did not know much about these two going into their Sean Cheesman jazz number, but boy did they luck out on some really cool choreography. They were the sexy demons coming out of Pandora's Box, and it worked. In my notes I wrote how he had never partnered before and he was the best partner so far. That was about midway through the show, but he really was one of the best partners of the night. Plus, getting to see him do some of those crazy jumping off walls moves? Awesome.

Caitlynn. Caitlynn was originally supposed to dance with Mitchell, the injured dude, but since he was out, guess who filled in? None other than the lovely Robert from last season. And in a Sonya Tayeh jazz number, no less! Mary also hinted that he'd be one of the all stars coming on later this season, to which I say: yes! Anyway, back to the dance. I must admit that I prefer when Sonya goes totally wacky with her routines, but this more conventional one was still good. Though Caitlynn has not had much screentime before now, she did a good job of shining alongside Robert.

Ryan and Ricky. They get this spot more for the choreography by Chris Scott than they do for their performances. Because honestly, Ryan, it made no sense for you to be smiling so big the entire time. If you have to explain yourself later, something isn't coming across. That being said, while I appear to have some kind of something against Ryan and her weird limbs, I will say that she is a good dancer. I also find it hilarious how they're trying to make it look like Ricky could be in love with Ryan when he's so clearly gay. He might love her, but he's not in love with her. Am I being offensive? Hope not.

Jordan and Tadd. The best part of this African jazz routine by Sean Cheesman was that I would not have been able to tell that Tadd was a b-boy based on his performance. He straight up danced that thing, and danced it well. Jordan did fine too, but I'm going to be honest. She bugs me. She's the Mollee of this season for me. There's always one girl who grates on my nerves, and she unfortunately has won that role this time around. And I swear she said amplode instead of implode in the opening piece, which is not okay. That is not a word.

Sasha and Alexander. These two got the other Travis Wall contemporary of the night, and while I usually adore Travis' choreography, I think it's safe to say that the statue one just made this one look silly. Not that it was bad or anything, but I wanted to like it more than I did. Sasha definitely stood out waaaay more than Alexander in this routine, as all of the judges were quick to point out. I think Sasha has come into the top 20 with a fan base already in place, so they probably won't be in the bottom three this week, but I'm not sure how long she will be able to pull Alexander along with her unless he steps it up.

Clarice and Jess. What's funny about this couple is how much older she seems than him. I'm not sure there is even that big of an age difference, but he looks like a little boy next to her, and it makes the chemistry hard to see. Is it just me, or did she seem like she doesn't really like him? I could be crazy. Anyway, these two had a Tyce Diorio Broadway piece. I didn't hate it, which is always a step in the right direction when it comes to Tyce Broadway pieces. Because I usually hate them. If that wasn't clear. That being said, while Jess is a good dancer, there's something about his personality that just comes off as arrogant. Some of it has to do with that Broadway personality type, which I understand, but I don't know. 

Miranda and Robert. Now listen, Robert has a great personality. As Nigel pointed out, he probably has the biggest personalty out of all of the contestants this season. But personality can only take a contestant so far, and this Latin jive dance from Jason Gilkison was clearly out of his wheelhouse. And not to diss Miranda, who was perfectly serviceable, but... she wasn't memorable. And when there are so many other memorable girls in this top 20, I'm not sure coasting on Robert's personality alone is enough. And also as Nigel mentioned, people will either love his woos or hate his woos. I'm on the fence myself.

Ashley and Chris. If any couple miffed it tonight, it was these two, dancing a Chris Scott hip hop routine. They were just not hitting it hard enough for me. Which is a shame, because I like Chris. The judges were being really nice to them, but I feel like it was just to give them some help this week since it was the first week. I don't think it was enough to keep them out of danger, since they aren't people who've been given a lot of screentime already. They were off on some of their moves that were supposed to be at the same time. I don't know, just not that great.

But who's going to be in the bottom three couples come tomorrow? I don't know! It will be the true testament of who America already likes. I think Ashley and Chris are in danger, and we already know Mitchell will be in the bottom. But who else will be joining them? Let me know who you think in the comments!

By the way, dance fans. Some friends and I are doing this fantasy league thing on HitFix where you rank the players every week and get points if you guess who's going home. If you want to join our league, here's the info:

Go HERE

Either sign up or use your facebook account to login.

Click join a league and enter in this information:

League Name: If Lil C and Sonya had a baby
Password: 1awesomekid

Should be fun!

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Flourless Chocolate Cake

One day. One day I will make the little mini molten chocolate cakes that I have been wanting to make for a while now. But this weekend did not provide that day. This weekend had another day. A day devoted to... flourless chocolate cake.

You see, I recently bought a springform pan so that I would be able to make this sort of thing. And cheesecake. One day there will also be cheesecake.

But if you are a chocolate fiend, like I know some people that read this are, then you will surely love this. It's dense. It's rich. It's oh so very chocolatey. For me, it's a little too much, but I'm sure others would think that's crazy talk!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

12 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

6 eggs, separated

Start by lining your spring-form pan with parchment paper, making sure to clamp it down inside so it stays. Spray with non-stick spray as well. Preheat oven to 325F. Separate your six eggs into two bowls, the whites into a larger one that you can mix later. Melt the butter and the chocolate together either over a double boiler, or you can microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each zap until it's smooth. If you use the microwave method, make sure you cut up your butter into smallish chunks so they melt faster.

Whisk in the sugar and then the egg yolks one at a time. Whip the egg whites until they form stiff white peaks (easiest to use an electric mixer for this or you will be doing it a long time with a whisk). Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until mixed well.

Bake at 325F for one hour, it will rise very high, but rest assured, it will fall later. Let rest for one hour out of the oven, then put in the fridge for another four hours. Yes, there is a lot of waiting.

In photos:

Do you know, I'm still not sure I did the parchment right? Is it supposed to go up the sides on the inside? Wouldn't that mean you'd have to put more than one piece in?! So confusing. I just did the bottom. It was fine.

This is a time I was wishing I had a larger Pyrex bowl. Oh well. The chocolate and the butter about to go into the microwave.

Meanwhile, separate your eggs. The yolks can go into a regular bowl, but the whites need to go in a larger mixing bowl.

After the sugar has been added to the chocolate/butter stuff. You can't really tell, but yes.

And with the egg yolks. You see, this is why I wished I had a larger bowl!

Look what happens to egg whites when you mix them around for a while! Isn't it crazy?!

After you fold in the whipped whites into the chocolate stuff, pour it into your prepared pan. I love those swirls.

It'll come out looking like this. Poofy. Don't worry.

Once you let it set for an hour, and then put it into the fridge for four hours after that, and you take it out of the springform pan... it will look like this.

It really is a lot of waiting!

But by the end, you get to have a piece of this very rich chocolate cake. It reminds me of brownies, really. And that piece right there? Too big! Maybe if it was tempered by some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream it wouldn't seem so intense, but on its own? Whoa. Crazychocolatetown.

SYTYCD S8: Meet the Top 20

Um, I cannot handle these two hour shows. Eesh. And they're just going to stay that way, I know, I know. But it's... just... so... much! They mixed things up this year. Rather than just have the whole episode be about the reveal of the top 20, they had the top 20 dance group numbers as they were announced throughout the episode. I suppose I like that better than how they've done it in the past, where we have a whole other episode devoted to just letting them dance in their own styles. By that point we're all just like - on to the competition already!

What I found also very interesting about the top 20 reveal tonight was just how many dancers I swear we've seen not a peep of this entire time. At least six. I feel like that's a record. They usually have a few, and I always feel they're sort of at a disadvantage because of it, so maybe they tried to even the playing field? I barely know who half these people are! I guess it will be the luck of the draw for them all next week, because if you're an unknown and you get something you're terrible at? Be prepared to be dancing for your life.

Just who are these top 20 dancers? I'll go in the order they were revealed. These are going to be brief...

Ricky - One of the guys I don't remember ever seeing before tonight. I honestly barely remember what he looks like now.

Miranda - A contemporary girl we haven't seen up to this point. Halfway through the episode all I could recall was that she had dark hair.

Melanie - Yes! I know who this one is! She's the super cute and smiley quirky artsy girl. They seem to kind of be giving her the short shrift on footage since her audition, but hopefully she can continue to shine in the coming weeks.

Sasha - Yep, the older of the Mallory sisters made it through, which is the one I had a feeling would all along. Besides which, younger sister Natalia is only 18, she has some years left in her. I think Sasha's going to have a pretty big following already.

Chris - I knew this b-boy looked familiar. Apparently he was in this same position in the past. Though we didn't see a lot of him tonight, I thought he really stood out among the other hip hop style dancers.

Wadi - Wadi got a lot of footage in the Vegas week stuff, so it's no surprise that he made it, but he didn't really do much to stand out for me tonight. Then again, it's tough when we are pelted with so many people at once.

Tadd - I feel like we did see Tadd in the earlier audition rounds, but I can't be sure. I honestly don't have much to say about him yet.

Robert - The woo guy made it! I have to say, I love it when the hip hoppers embrace the silly side. He seems like a sillier version of Twitch, which is not a bad thing. Is he as good of a dancer as the others? Remains to be seen. But personality can take you quite a long way in this competition.

Iveta - The lone ballroom dancer to make it through this season, and it was her third time trying out. Admittedly, she's great at the ballroom dancing, but there's something about her that's not connecting with me. Am I alone?

Jess - The broadway dancer looks teeny tiny up against his competitors, but he's got a pretty big personality to fill the height difference. Something about him comes off as a little standoffish, though, so he's going to have to work on that to get people voting.

Nick - Okay, we'd seen nothing of this tapper before tonight, and he's already one of my favorites. Tappers haven't had the best of luck on this show in the past, hopefully Nick can break the mold.

Clarice - I think we saw like two seconds of this jazz girl in Vegas week. I remember next to nothing about her other than she was pretty. Go figure, pretty girls on this show!

Marko - Ah ha! The cute Asian was actually someone we'd seen before - the dude with the bullet in his arm! I feel like a dummy for forgetting that, but oh well. We all know I like Marko already, get over it.

Jordan - Okay, here's a girl I'm not so sure about. We've seen a lot of her over the course of the show so far, but I'm not sure that's going to guarantee votes at this stage. There's just something slightly fake about her that bugs me.

Missy - All I can remember about this girl is that she had super long hair and likes to be the sexy one. Moving on.

Caitlynn - Apparently one of Nigel's favorites, it's weird that we didn't see any of this girl before now.

Ashley - Is this girl the Zoe Saldana lookalike from one of the auditions, or someone else? I'm being a lazy bum by not checking for myself, but whatever. She kind of blended into the crowd for me this week.

Mitchell - I.. don't remember Mitchell. Um. He had a boxing glove shirt on?

Alexander - Another contemporary guy. These guys are really going to have to wow to gain some traction.

Ryan - Oh Ryan. I know she's a good dancer, but there's still just something about her that rubs me the wrong way. But when she was one of the last two girl dancers, and the other girl looked exactly like her, it would've been super weird for the other girl to make it after all the focus on Ryan.

To be perfectly honest, everyone danced fine tonight. But they were all in their comfort zones. It's once they get pushed outside of them that the magic can start to happen, and that some people seriously crash and burn. Plus we usually get to see some amazing chemistry crop up. Who are the couples going to be?!

We'll find out next week!

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SYTYCD S8: Vegas Week

It's always interesting to me how the show will focus on a bunch of dancers in the audition rounds that don't make it very far in Vegas. I think only five out of however many were featured (ie we know their names) made it through Vegas week. Well, I should say, only five that were given much focus. For example, one of my favorite auditions came from Melanie Moore, and while she wasn't given much focus this week, she is still in the running. I think she could make the show, too. I hope she does, anyway.

But I think the real story of Vegas week belonged to the Mallory sisters, Natalia and Sasha. I just have this feeling that they're going to have picked the top 9 dancers and bring those two out, ultimately choosing between the pair of them. It's how they like to do things on this show, after all. Which one will they pick? I'm not entirely sure, but I have a feeling. I'm not going to say right now. But I'll tell you tomorrow if I'm right! Wahaha! The power!

Not really. It's not like I'm making the decisions here, which ultimately seem super tough. I feel like half of the top 20 are going to be dancers we've hardly seen up until this point, right? The only other dancers that I could pick out that got some focus before and are still around are Jordan Casanova, Lil O, and Ryan Ramirez. And maybe Wadi Jones? Honestly I can't remember his audition, but who the heck knows.

One guy we saw just a little tiny clip of I already like. I have no idea what his name is, but I termed him "cute Asian" in my head. Very classy classification systems in my head, yep.

Really, I don't know what else to say about tonight's episode. I don't particularly feel like going through all of the people who got cut, other than to say "YES!" to a couple of them, because they annoyed me. Ahem, Chyna Smith. Ahem, Amber Williams... Really any annoying blonde, apparently. Annoying blondes, be gone!

Can I also confess that when Ryan was given her chance to do the contemporary and got to dance with Robert from last season, all I could do was watch him? Robert! Does anyone else find Ryan kind of offputting? It's something about her legs. This sounds ridiculous, I shouldn't be saying these things. Oh well.

I apologize for the really haphazard nature of this recap! Yikes.

Tomorrow we find out the top 20! Who do you want to make it?

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SYTYCD S8: LA Auditions

Omg, you guys. Please appreciate my dedication tonight as your faithful recapper, because I just had to endure 40 out of 50 minutes of completely f'ed up sound in this episode! It was as though I was watching it online and the sound was off. But, no. No no. I have satellite. Wtf!

Okay. Now that I have that off my chest, let's continue. Tonight was the last round of auditions before Vegas week, and was featured in my very own city of Los Angeles. And I tell you what, LA really brought it. There was only one bad audition that they showed the entire night, and only one pair of people that we focused on going to choreography and not getting a ticket straight to Vegas. That's pretty crazy, people!

In the first day of tryouts, there were four dancers featured. First up was Jordan Casanova, who I simply wrote down as "sexy." Tyce was going a little bit insane over her, but at this point, I hardly remember anything other than what she was wearing, so I'm not so sure. Next up was DC Chapman, a hip hopper with a pregnant girlfriend who had a really entertaining style to him. Was he as entertaining as one of the guys from last night? I'm not so sure, I guess we'll see what happens in Vegas with those guys. Next up was Arielle Coker, a repeat auditioner that I don't really remember from past seasons. But, that being said, her audition was pretty kickass. Also very intense. It could be her year to make it into the top 20. And finally, my favorite dancer from the LA auditions was Hero McRae, the awesome Japanse pop and locker. I guess that's what you'd call her style. But I literally said "wow" out loud, so you know it's good. If she can rock other styles too, she has a good shot.

On the second day there were also a few standouts. First up was Alexis Mason, little sister to season five winner Jeanine Mason. And she looks so much like her! I feel like she also has a kind of similar dancing style about her, which isn't a bad thing, I was always a Jeanine fan. Another standout was Patty Anne Miller, the tomboy hip hop dancer, who's also a drummer. And her hip hop was pretty straight up to match up to any boys dancing it too. It's not often we see female hip hop dancers, so if she has any ability in the other stuff, she could go far too. Plus she's got a very cool style about her. That always helps. And finally we had the sister pair of Natalia and Sasha Mallory. They performed a kind of African contemporary number that, while good, didn't get them straight through to Vegas. But after some choreography, they both got the go ahead. I have to say that I'm more drawn to Sasha at this point in the game, but who knows. Vegas can make or a break dancers, for real.

Okay kids, that's it for this week. Fingers crossed I don't have such sound issues next week. Vegas week is one of my favorite parts of this show! Don't mess with me, Fox, I can't take it!

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SYTYCD Season 8 - NYC & SLC Auditions

Man, I don't know about everyone else, but these two hour audition shows really wear me out. So much to process, and some of the people you like that they focus on won't even make it that far in Vegas! Speaking of Vegas - are we going to see Alex Wong there? You remember Alex. The amazing ballet dancer who got so terribly injured last season that he had to step down. He totally would've won. In a way it wouldn't be fair to the other dancers trying out this year if he comes back. He would be nearly impossible to beat, but I still want to see more of him, so... well. What can ya do.

But we're not in Vegas yet! Get back to the program, fool! First up tonight were the Salt Lake City auditions, featuring Robin Antin, the creator of the Pussycat Dolls, on stage with Nigel and Mary judging these would-be dancers. There were five featured dancers in this hour that were sent on to Vegas.

First was Devon, one of the awesome steppers. You know, step dancing. It's just cool. He had a partner up there for their audition, but he didn't make the cut in choreography. If Devon can handle Vegas, he could be the first stepper to make it into the top 20. You know how they like to have diversity up in there! Also featured was Chyna Smith, who I termed "sexy pop." As in, Robin wanted her for the Pussycat Dolls, and obviously. I'm not sure of her actual dancing ability based on her audition, but Vegas will sort her out one way or the other. Annie Gratton, she of the reddish hair and dancing daddy, also made it straight through to Vegas. I'll be honest and say that some of these contemporary/jazz/pop girls start to mix together, no matter how good they may be. Tadd Gadduang, a B-Boy that used his skills to some kind of Italian type music, really reminded me of Dominic from seasons past. Finally, there was Chase Thomas, or, who I wrote in my notes - "the body." Let's just say, he had some fine muscle tone. Boy did he. He also danced well, so good for him.

Do I think any of these folks have what it takes to make it all the way? As I already said, Devon could be if he can handle the other styles. The judges really liked Chyna, but I'm personally not sure about her. The others will have to step up to make themselves stand out amongst all of the other great contenders, of which there seem to be a lot this season.

The second hour tonight was dedicated to the big apple - New York City. This time around, Jason Gilkison and his lovely accent joined the judging panel. This time around we were introduced to eight dancers who made it through to Vegas. Like I said, it seems like Vegas is going to be an embarrassment of riches.

First up we have Samara Cohen, she of some kind of dancing called wacking? Whacking? I'm not sure. But it's basically: crazy arms. She had a great audition though, with a whole story involved, and proved that's all it takes to get a ticket straight to the big time. Seriously people, do a great audition. Plan it out, it pays off. Next up was Brandon Jones, a contemporary lyrical dancer, who I wrote down: "beautiful. Vegas, obvs." My notes, they are full of wit and charm and nearly no actual detail, ha. After Brandon was a change of pace with Brian Henry, a krumper who had the audacity to kind of boo on Russell and Lil C. Them's be fightin' words, bro, don't go there. But! He could krump. And he had something like a 10-pack ab thing going on, Mary had to get him to put his shirt back on in order to concentrate. I feel ya, because whoa. Anyway! They weren't sure about his personality based on what he said, so he went on to choreography, but he did just fine there and was sent on to Vegas. I think maybe he was just misunderstood, so we'll see where he goes.

Next up was another new type of dancing for the show - Irish step dancer Mary Kate Sheehan. Now I have a soft spot for all things Irish, so of course I loved her step dancing. Also she just seemed to jump six feet in the air all over the place! She was sent on to choreography to make sure she could do other styles, and it turns out she can, so off to Vegas for her. The final guy of the first day was Virgil Gadson, who I think may have a nickname of Lil O or something? I apologize for my lack of paying attention. Anyway, he was a hip hop dancer with a great smile and style, so of course he was sent straight through. Good to see some quality hip hop/krump/b-boys going through!

Day two had a few more standouts. Among them was Jess LeProtto, a broadway jazz type guy. I enjoyed his style, but the judges weren't so sure that it was translating to his face. Which is funny, because he basically said that's what people have been telling him for a while in his interview package! Ha, guess it must be true. He was sent to choreography because of that, but proved himself and got a ticket to Vegas. Another one who had to prove herself in choreography was Kristen Dobson, a latin dancer. At this point I have a hard time seeing her make it much farther, but they did decide to focus on her rather than the apparent litany of other ballroom dancers who made it through, so what do I know? And finally there was Robert Taylor, Jr. He of the woos. He danced a really fun hip hop routine that had me laugh out loud a couple of times and maybe even clap at the end. Why do I clap for a TV show when I'm here by myself? It's a good question. One to ponder, or not. But anyway, he got a ticket straight to Vegas. It's always nice to see the hip hoppers get that, because they are sent to choreography more often than other types of dancers, it seems.

Tomorrow night are the LA auditions. Are they the last ones before Vegas? I hope so! I can only handle so many audition shows.

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Reese's Dessert Bars

Okay, confession. These are not baked. These are not even from scratch.

These are, in fact, from a... box! What!

This box, in fact. A Reese's Dessert Bar Mix. That is extremely, extremely easy, and just shy of extremely tasty. I'm not going to lie here, these aren't the greatest, most scrumptious dessert bars in the world. They're missing that extra little something. But, hey, when you only need some water and butter, I'm not complaining.

Also? I love Reese's. It's a fact. Except that I don't really like regular Reese's as much anymore, I like the eggs and the hearts and the trees and all of the various specialty offerings during holidays. More peanut butter equals more better.

Shush, I know that's not correct grammar.

In any event, really, I took some photos of the process anyway, in case there were curiosity cats out there.  Off we go...

You add some melty butter to the crust mix. It's some kind of chocolately stuff, a bit like crushed up oreos.

Press that into the tray they provide. Yes. They even provide a tray! How easy!

Mix in some more melty butter with the peanut butter stuff and the filling mix, which I took to be some combo of flour and sugar, to give it some consistency.

Add that onto the crust layer.

Meanwhile, you'll have put the topping bag in a bowl of hot water to make it easily pourable. Pour it onto the top. I had to use a frosting knife thing to smooth it all around evenly. This appears to just be straight melted milk chocolate. Though it must have something else in it to keep it liquid. Hmm.

After you've put it in the fridge for about a half hour, you can cut into the bars. They then recommend that you keep them covered and refrigerated. 

Like I said, not bad, but not wonderfully splendiferous by any means. They aren't quite... sweet enough. I think that's it. Maybe if I added a touch of powdered sugar to the peanut butter mixture. Hmm. Or I could just make my homemade peanut butter balls, which are nearly the same thing! I was just hoping the peanut butter middle would be a little more like the peanut butter middle of peanut butter cups, but it's not quite. So close, but so far...