Live to Dance Semi-Final Round 2 – Recap

Forget the performers for a second, tonight’s live show of Live to Dance had some steep competition itself, going up against the season premiere of American Idol. That said, did anyone even watch this? Not to worry, I’ve got your full recap right here. At times I felt as though I was watching a different set of performances than the experts — I disagreed on many of their critiques, so tonight was bit perplexing for me. But let’s break it down:

First off we learned who America voted into the finals out of the remaining 5 contestants from last week’s show; and the winner was D’Angelo and Amanda. Woo-hoo, well deserved! Once again we were treated to some footage of Paula mentoring tonight’s 6 performers, and some tear jerking back stories:

Jaden (Seattle, WA) — 9 year old boy you may recall as the first performer of the audition show premiere. Jaden was asked then by Travis to return with some ‘new tricks’, which he did in his break dancing routine set to a 90s medley of hip hop music. A very cute and talented little boy, but little Jaden needs to expand his skills into different styles of dance. Paula: gold star; Travis: gold star; Kim: gold star. While Jaden proved he can ‘dance beyond his years’, Travis issued a new challenge to Jaden: add more dance steps to your repertoire. Yet, as we will see below, another performer had similar critiques and received all red stars.

Dance in Flight (Los Angeles, CA) — Middle-aged couple who offered a strange mix of ballet and hustle moves to the Pink Panther theme song which gave way to Paula Abdul/MC Skat’s Opposites Attract. I didn’t understand the dance and I didn’t understand the musical segue. Although this couple has great potential, I thought this showing was a mess, and the slight tumble toward the end didn’t help. While their comments were similar to mine, the experts’star ratings were a real head scratching moment. Travis: red star; Kim: gold star; Paula: gold star. 2 gold stars with an obvious error in the performance?

Twitch (Miami, FL) — A group of about 10 teenagers, all girls with one boy, insists that their style is not hip hop or ballet, but ‘contemporary’. This was also a dance I didn’t understand. I am sure there was a story there, but I couldn’t read it. Even dancing to a beautiful song like Apologize by One Republic, I was perplexed. And here is where I began to really derail from the experts. Their consensus was that the performance was ‘exquisite’and compared it to ‘starting a fire on stage’. Paula: gold star; Travis: gold star; Kim: gold star.

Du-Shaunt Stegall (Las Vegas, NV) — 16 years old; came to Las Vegas to study dance and feared he would have to go home defeated if he didn’t make it on this show. This was my tear jerker for the night. A brilliant hip hop routine to Usher’s OMG. I thought he was awesome, but the experts couldn’t have disagreed more. They felt he needs to show more steps, take more classes, add more styles of dance to his repertoire (hello, what about Jaden?) Kim: red star; Travis: red star; Paula: red star. I was totally bummed but hope the audience vote will save him.

Dax and Sarah (southern CA) — Lindy hopper duo with literally a ‘back’back story. Dax performed with two herniated discs amid much pain (channeling Jennifer Grey on the Dancing with the Stars finale), but they got through their routine with what I thought was perfect execution and fun choreography. I’m lost when it comes to their song, not even my teenager could help me on this one, sorry folks. I was waiting for the experts to really applaud this routine, but none of them were particularly moved by it. Paula rambled and I couldn’t make sense out of her commentary. Travis admitted he was bored, while Kim seemed to enjoy it. Paula: gold star; Travis: red star; Kim: gold star.

White Tree Fine Art (San Francisco, CA) — The married ballet duo who perform a unique form of ballet gave an exquisite showing set to Alexandra Burke’s Hallelujah. While Paula and Kim applauded their artistry, Travis just can’t get excited by them. Kim: gold star; Travis: red star. Paula: gold star.

And the experts’pick of the night: White Tree Fine Art. Although I questioned their judgment throughout the night, this was indeed a fair and just outcome. Notice though that neither of the two acts to receive 3 gold stars, Jaden or Twitch, were the experts’ pick of the night. On to the last of the three semi-finals, airing live on January 26 at 8 p.m. on CBS. Next week’s Live to Dance will reveal America’s vote for tonight and performances by the last of the 6 semi-final contestants. Curve ball: the next 6 performers will have only one shot (as opposed to two) at the finals. The math is killing me.