This week is Katy Perry week. Somehow, MTV made Katy Perry sound more hip-hop than The Black Eyed Peas. I don't know how that works, either. Once again, the producers favor the group IaMmE with a challenge of having the dance crews make things with their bodies while performing. I get it. You want that crew to win. Stop babying them and do it the old-fashioned way: throw out votes until you get the result you want.
I can't stay mad at MTV. They finally got their act together and put clean, high quality, and embeddable dance videos up of all the performances without judges' comments. Thank you.
Phunk Phenomenon must make a roulette wheel while performing to "Waking Up in Vegas"
Hit or Miss: Miss
Why?
Their challenge solution is strong, but the rest of the routine doesn't flow. It's too forced and over-thought. They need to step back, relax, and evaluate their strengths. For example, if all the members of the crew can't do a convincing uprock, then they need to not do a unison uprock. And by all the members, I mean their female crew member who has strengths outside of breaking, yet that's when they always put her center stage.
IaMmMe must make a peacock while performing to "Peacock"
Hit or Miss: Miss
Why?
They're a gimmick crew. Phillip Chbeep (the guy in the blue jacket) has a really unique popping style. He's trying to get five other people who aren't as flexible as him to move just like him. It's awkward. Then they always connect and form strange contraptions which stop the routines dead in their tracks. The best moment they've had so far is that choreographed roll out where the first person in line does choreography, then the next, then the next, until they're in a unison on a diagonal. That was good, but still made half the crew look awkward when they couldn't body wave while locking like Phillip.
787 Crew must make a roller coaster while performing to "Hot and Cold"
Hit or Miss: Hit
Why?
They played to their strengths and had fun with the routine. Their transitions were clean. They had a lot of energy and their roller coaster design using the injured crew member was smart. Manipulative, but smart. Plus, that dancer with a broken leg had to be in a lot of pain while dancing that hard in a wheelchair and he didn't break once. That's commitment.
ICONic Boyz must make and break a wall while performing to "Teenage Dream"
Hit or Miss: Miss
Why?
These kids aren't ready for this. Half of them are out of breath at the end of a sixty second routine. The other half think they're the greatest thing since the invention of the iPod and spend more time mugging for the camera than they actually do dancing. Their choreography is boring and predictable and they're skating by on how cute they are. I hate to be mean about children (I teach music for educational theater and do private vocal and piano lessons on the side, so I'm used to working with kids of all ages), so I'll blame MTV for A) casting them, B) encouraging them to go for the cute vote, and C) letting the judges inflate their egos each week.
Instant Noodles must make a chain reaction and explode while performing to "Firework"
Hit or Miss: Hit
Why?
They, once again, made the entire routine about the challenge. Their explosions were well thought of and built to a nice climax. They didn't do too many innovative moves or stunts, but they did flow moves together that I haven't seen connected before. The performance was entertaining and clever. I was actually impressed by the ballet section. Their technique wasn't the strongest, but they actually made classical dance work in a hip-hop performance.
The bottom two crews are StreetKindom and ReQuest. Will MTV let the only all girl crew go home after three trips to the bottom two or will they cut their losses and promote stronger dance crews on the show?
Street Kingdom must form a spaceship while performing to "E.T."
Hit or Miss: Hit
Why?
Dear Street Kingdom,
Thank you for scaring the crap out of the judges. You were respectful of their idiotic criticism last week and used your performance this week to respond. You didn't go soft last week and you didn't battle each other this week like they told you to. You battled their incorrect assumptions about krump and gave one of the best performances in the history of reality TV dance competitions. JC and D-Trix actually pushed their chairs back from the table because you scared them. Your choreography was tight and you had the best challenge integration of the night. You also proved my point from three weeks ago that if your female crew member Melissa Davila was dressed like the boys that you wouldn't be able to pick her out of the group. Thank you.
ReQuest must ride a wave while performing to "California Gurls"
Hit or Miss: Miss
Why?
It's boring. There's no energy on stage. The solo moments designed to highlight individual crew members are so brief they look like mistakes. The only good part of the routine was riding the wave and they went with the easiest solution. They also tried to do some 1970s locking and failed miserably. That style is not something you just throw in for the sake of throwing in. It is far harder than it looks and those who fail at it look foolish. I will not miss this crew as the pressure of the contest caused them to crash and burn in a lackluster fashion.
Next week, the crews are challenged to dance to Rihanna. Maybe they'll have to wear funny wigs or do the dutty whine while dancing to faux-reggae/dance hall beats.