This week on Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains, the villains was punished for voting Boston Rob out, losing both reward and immunity challenges. No one could take over Rob’s leadership in this tribe, Russell is a strategist, but he does not know how to lead people.

Back from the tribal council, Coach knew that he had made a terrible mistake, and he was screwed. Jerri was falling in line with Russell, and if he did not follow suit, he would be gone next.

At the heroes’ camp, the sneaky JT tried to look for the idol on his own. He was the one who suggested that the tribe should look for it together and use it at the merge against the villains. He found it without much trouble, but just when he tried to put it into his pocket, Amanda walked up to him, and then Candice. JT acted like he just committed an act of heroism, but Candice and Amanda were wary of him.

Tree mail arrived, and the villains fell into the tricks of the writer that they were going to merge. So they teared everything down and brought them all to the challenge. There was a feast waiting for them, and Probst, who delivered one of my favorite line of the season:” Drop your… expectation.” All the villains were very sad.

When the heroes saw that Rob was voted out, they thought that there must have been an all female alliance in the villains. “Hang in there,” said JT to Russell. (Nobody here had seen the Survivor: Samoa season, so they had no idea how Russell played, and that was a huge advantage for him.)

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This week’s Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains brings us the biggest dramatic change of this season, the clash between Boston Rob and Russell has come to an end, earlier than expected.

Till the next morning after the tribal council, Rob was still confusing on how it happened in the tribal council. He couldn’t believe Tyson was so dumb to get himself voted out, so he suspected someone in his alliance had betrayed them. Everyone was paranoid, especially when Parvati and Danielle were laughing out around their camp.

Before the reward challenge, Colby knew that it’s time that he needed to prove himself. He had been spared three times.

In the challenge, teams faced off, three on three. They had to retrieve a ball in the water and throw it into their basket, while the opposing team tried to stop them. The villains had to sit out three players, and Courtney volunteered again! (Why the villain sit out their weakest player and save her for the more importantly immunity challenge was a myth to me. But Courtney had become a player who made it the farthest without doing anything!)

The heroes dominated, they scored all three points in a row. Colby was in great shape, he scored two points. Yeah, the Superman was back. But can he hold on to that? I doubt.

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Back from tribal council, Amanda vowed to get Candace out because she tried to gun for James. It seems like everyone did not care about James condition with a busted knee, could he be able to physically compete anymore? Meanwhile, James continued to humiliate Colby, asking him if he needed a hug. (If I were Colby, I’d give James a hug with a knife pointing to him.)

Over at the villains’ camp, Russell tried to convince Rob that he wanted to make a truce with him. However, Rob’s too smart for him to play that kind of game. He tried to make Russell play the idol instead. (If these two can work together from the beginning, they’ll dominate the whole game. Unfortunately, their personalities clashed.)

Tree mail arrive, with a very vague content. Everyone was confused what they would be playing for, a immunity, reward challenge or both. Probst revealed to them that they would play for immunity, individual immunity, as both tribes would be voting someone out.

Each one would be hooked onto a rope that was tied to an obstacle course and they would need to get through it the fastest in order to win. JT, Coach and Tyson all competed in this challenge during Survivor: Tocantins, and Tyson won it.

The heroes were up first, and Candace ended up winning. Amanda’s attempt to vote her out failed. What was surprising was that James put on a pretty good performance in this challenge, depite his injury, while Colby was falling behind everyone else. Colby just gave it up.

The villains were up next, and everybody had a fight in them, except Sandra. Boston Rob walked away with the necklace, which made Russell in a very bad position.

Rob and Candace then faced off in a final battle, in a course that is three stories high and much more difficult than the first round (like the one the Tocantins). The winner would get hot dogs and soda for their tribe and they would get to listen in on the other tribe’s tribal council. And Rob won it again. He’s just dominant in challenges.

Back at the heroes’ camp, Colby told everyone that he knew he would be voted out, so there’s no need for everyone to scramble as he just wanted to enjoy his last day in the game. But, it looked like everyone had changed their minds. The heroes wanted to make sure that James was fine to compete. So Amanda asked him to show them. And James tried to impress them by participating in a race against JT. The result, he hobbled along while JT ran backwards, it’s clear to everyone that he could not compete physically at the moment. (What amazed me was that why the hell they would not have done this when Tom was still around.)

While everything worked smoothly for the heroes, you would expect the same for the villains. Rob came up to Russell and told him to play the idol if he still wanted to be in the game. Then, he proved himself to be a great strategist by coming up with a fool proof plan of splitting the votes to ensure that Russell or Parvati went home, even if they played the idol. He even predicted that Russell was going to gun for Tyson.

However, no matter how great Rob was, he failed to make everyone believe in him. Tyson was uneasy that he’s on the chopping block, and that gave Russell a chance to find out the loophole in Rob’s plan. Russell managed to convince Tyson that he would be voting out Parvati.

For whatever reason he had, Tyson believed Russell and voted Parvati at the tribal council. Russell made a bold move by giving the idol to Parvati, and won over Rob. Tyson was voted out. (Welcome to the Hall of Fame for dumbest players in Survivor history, James and Erik are your best partners.)

The villains then enjoyed their hot dogs while watching the heroes’ tribal council. Colby admitted he was not in a good form like he used to be, and James kept on humuliating him by telling him that he was the baddest Survivors of all time and is now like Superman in a fat suit. That hurted. However, the tribe decided that they needed someone who’s not injured to keep them in the game, and sent James home.

It’s a bit surprise that Amanda would vote James out, she’s got no real support now. And Colby has a lot to prove himself to the tribe that he deserve to stay, though I doubt it very much. We’ll see.

This week’s The Amazing Race continues in Chile. All teams are asked to make their way back to Santiago from Valparaiso, then they must take a bus to Puerto Varas. Though Jeff and Jordan are given a head start, they only to find out the bus station opens at 5 AM. So, everyone seem to be on the same start line again.

While waiting, Carol and Brandy decide to form an alliance with another team, and they believe Joe and Heidi is the team that have what it takes to succeed. And all four of them agree. It turns out to be a good alliance, at least for this week. Joe and Heiti save a spot for Carol and Brandy when they are waiting in line (which pisses the detectives’ team very much), and there are only four tickets available for the first bus.

Most of the other teams have to take another bus that is several hours later, while three teams take advantage of a quicker route that involves a stop in Temuco. The three teams are Jet and Cord, Jeff and Jordan, and Brent and Caite. The last team to leave the bus station is Shannon and Jody, but not too far behind the other teams.

However, it turns out that Jet and Cord are the only team to take advantage of the short cut. Jeff and Jordan and Brent and Caite have an earlier but than the cowboys, but their bus leaves at a bus station that’s 10 minutes from where they were dropped off. Jet and Cord learn about this fact while trying to get on the earlier bus, but they decide to keep their mouths shut, and it pays off big time.

The cowboys are the first team to arrive at the Petrohue Hotel, they then have to drive themselves to the detour. The stick shift feature of the cars that drive makes a few teams frustrate a bit. Dan and Jordan struggle with the vehicle and their sense of direction. Louie and Michael find themselves lost along the way as well.

When teams reach their destination, they then have to take a boat to an island surrounded by volcanoes, and their detour. The detour is either to adorn a llama or to fly like a condor. In adorn a llama, teams have to put a scarf around the neck of a llama and a blanket over it’s back side. In fly like a condor, teams must dress in a tandem bird suit and run off a pier to reach a buoy that holds their next clue.

It’s no surprise what the cowboys would choose, adorn the llama. Jet completes the task with relative ease and the cowboy team continue the race way ahead of the others. Caite and Brent and Jordan and Jeff are the only two teams to fly like a condor, as it’s a bit cold out there.

The next clue is  ”Get yourselves to higher ground,” which sends teams to Bella Vista where they find the clue for this week’s Roadblock. “It’s time to make the kuchen.” The word kuchen confuses teams a bit at first, but they soon find out it’s German for cake. The task has each team gathering the ingredients that comprise the kuchen. In other words, this is another task designed for the cowboys.

Jet has no problem milking the cow, raiding the chicken coop for 13 eggs, carrying the bag of flour, bowl of sugar and stick of butter back to the kitchen to get their final clue. As they leave the farm, the other teams just arrive.

Michael, Jordan and Monique struggle with the milking part, but they all get through without wasting much time.

The first team to arrive at the pit stop is Jet and Cord. Next up are Joe and Heidi and Carol and Brandy, who have proved their ideas of teaming up to be a nice one. Caite and Brent moves up to number four, while Monique and Shawne pull into fifth. Coming in sixth are Jeff and Jordan, Steve and Allie make their way to seventh. Dan and Jordan, wasting some time in asking for direction, are number eighth.

Louie and Michael, though lost in their way to the Roadblock, manage to outpace Jody in the task of milking, and ultimately pull ahead of Shannon and Jody.

The last team to arrive is Shannon and Jody, the grandmother and granddaughter team that struggle most in their way, who are eliminated.

(photo via CBS)

Another season of The Amazing Race has started, even at its 16th season, it still looks quite good. I have no doubt that it will be nominated for  the Emmy next year and probably win it again.

After a brief introduction to all eleven teams, I also believe that again no all women’s team will win this season.

All teams gathered at a park in downtown Los Angeles, and they are soon released and running towards their backpacks for their first clue. They will have to take public transportation to LAX, where they will catch a flight to Santiago, Chile. The first three teams to arrive at the airport will be on an earlier flight, while the other nine teams will have to take another flight that leaves an hour later!

Some teams take the railway, while others take the bus.But it’s the teams on bus that arrive at LAX first. And the first three teams are Monique and Shawne, Jordan and Jeff, and Dana and Adrian. However, a mechanical failure postpone their departure and have them changed to the later flight with the other teams. All teams are on the same flight. Before their departure, the cowboy team Jet and Cord make a bad decision by exchanging all their American dollars for Brazilian money.

After their arrival, teams are headed for Valparaiso, which has been dubbed the San Francisco of Chile. They have to get there by bus, and they need the right currency to buy tickets. The cowboys are rejected for using Brazilian money, so they have to exchange their money again, making them the last team to leave the airport, along with Jody and Shannon.

The first contest that all teams encounter is a Road Block. Each team has to decide who to accept the challenge as the clue says, “Who has the balance of a cat and the courage of a lion?” The challenge is a cable-walk across a ravine. Catie is the first to take the challenge, next up is Jordan, both women make it look quite easy. However, as Dan and Adrian walk on the wires, they struggle and then fall. Dan continues without much difficulty, but Adrian is not that lucky. He is forced to return to the start and begin the challenge again.

Brent and Catie are on their way towards the next clue when the other teams arrive and decide who to go across the wire. Jeff and Jordan are right behind them, while Dan and Jordan is the third team to leave. The teams are told to take a Funicular lift down the hill. But Brent and Catie walk down the hill instead.

The next clue is “Time to paint the town”, each team is greeted with a ladder, four cans of paint and two brushes. There are colorful houses scattered about the hillside that are periodically painted by the towns folks. The teams have to match their specific color paint to the house that has an unfinished section and complete the painting. And they have to walk uphill with the ladder, paint cans and their packs to find the houses.

First to finish painting are Jeff and Jordan, then Catie and Brent, they are given the next clue by local painters. Dan has lost his paint brush and fails to find it. At the same time, Adrian falls again!

Jeff and Jordan are the first team to arrive at the pit stop, winning a trip to Vancouver where they will be treated to a whale-watching tour. Brent and Catie catch up right after them, however they are incurred a 30 minute penalty for not taking the Funicular.

Monique and Shawne take the second place, while the cowboys make their way to the third. Steve and Alice, although incorrectly paint the inside of a house, make up for lost time and finish in fourth. Taking the fifth place is the parent team Joe and Heidi, and Carol and Brandy take sixth.

Catie and Brent finally waited out their penalty and are the seventh team. Dan and Jordan, who are issued a fifteen minute penalty for their brush loss, hold on to eighth. Ninth team is Louie and Michael, in tenth is 71 year old Jody and her granddaughter, Shannon.

Adrian can not make a third try on the wire, as he’s too exhausted, so along with Dana they are eliminated.

Since they announced this new season of Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains, I’ve been looking forward to it. I’d love to see how some heroes (especially Cirie and Amanda) will backstab other people again. But the greatest pleasure will be seeing how the ten villains working together. The premiere had some moments that we could’ve predicted (some contestants that played together in previous seasons teaming up, Russell plays his mind game on the girls), and some we would never see coming (Coach and Jerri are having a romance?!). Anyway, I love the premiere, and will definitely follow it the whole season.

The 20 contestants are brought to the beach in two waves, heroes team first, then the villains team. Love the music they played when the villains team’s helicopters flied in, quite dramatic.

After a few chats with both teams, Jeff starts their first reward challenge, and we all know what the reward would be, flint. In this challenge, teams of two would race out to dig up a bag in the sand and get it back to their mat, the opposing tribe could use any means to get it away from them.

Right from the start, the challenge became some kind of beach wrestling, very brutal and violent. First, Stephenie’s shoulder got dislocated (and the medic helped her relocated it), Rupert broke a toe (I think he might be pulled off the show some time later), and Sugar was topless. The villains took the first point, but the heroes evened it. Then Colby was embarrassed by Coach, who rode him all the way back to his own mat. How hilarious. Then the topless Sugar evened the score again. However, it was James who helped the heroes win the challenge, no one could stop him.

At first, the whole villain tribe looks like a mass, no one wants to build a good shelter, no one wants to do anything. But the next day, Boston Rob surprised everyone. He decided to make fire, by using two sticks! And he succeeded! I wasn’t quite fond of Rob before, but now I would love to see him stick around.

And then there was one more thing that I would never thought happen, that Coach and Jerri might have something. It seems that they attracted and intrigued by each other, but they try to keep some distance as they don’t want to draw others’ attention.

Meanwhile, the heroes are working quite well at first, though I think they built their shelter on the wrong site. And they’ve got four chickens. (Did the producers intentionally put them there? My guess is yes.) Again, someone surprised us in this tribe. Sugar annoyed everyone at their first night, especially Colby. Now, I really don’t get her doing that. She had no friends in this tribe, it just made her the target to be voted off.

In the immunity challenge, teams had to build a boat, then paddle it out in the ocean, retrieve a torch and paddle back, disassemble the boat, take the planks from the boat which they would use to build a ladder after a tough puzzle was solved. Candace and Parvati had completed together and won this challenge on Cook Islands, but this time they were in different teams. The heroes took a very huge lead at first, however Amanda, Cirie, Sugar and Rupert were panicked on the puzzle. The villains caught up and solved the puzzle way ahead of the heroes. Villains won immunity.

There’s no question that Sugar is the target. Though we still saw buzz starting around the camp, Cirie, Amanda and Stephenie all became a secondary target.

At the tribal council, Jeff points out that everyone is a big threat for different reasons, people who played together in previous seasons, people who had won, people who had played this game twice or even three times. Still, in the end, everyone wanted to vote for the weakest person, and that person was no one else but Sugar. Sugar was sent home.

Russell is the only one that takes the game serious. He’s the one gets up early and takes back the tree mail. The other four are still sleeping when comes back.

In the first immunity challenge of this evening, players must race across a net and a balance beam to retrieve a bag of puzzle pieces then back and up a steep ladders to a puzzle board. Russell and Brett get off with a good start, but everyone catches up and working on the puzzle right after the first two. Mick and Russell both get qutie close of finishing their puzzles, however, it’s Brett that wins immunity again. (Russell’s plan of voting off the female members of the Galu tribe fails miserably. He should have taken out the strong players first.)

Back at camp, it seems that Natalie’s on the chopping block at first. But Russell wants her around, so the target turns to Mick and Jaison. Russell succeeds in having both of them voting against each other. Then he tries to work out a better strategy with Natalie. There are good and bad points to keep either of them. Jaison won’t win any votes from the jury but he sucks in challenges. Mick is a strong and nice player and might win the million in the end.

When the votes are read at the tribal council, it’s Jaison who becomes the first Foa Foa members to join the jury. And the remaining four are told that there is only one immunity challenge left.

The next day, Russell tries to play his game by aligning with Brett, promising him to bring him to the final three if anyone of them wins the immunity challenge. The four contestants then go on a typical Survivor journey atop the cliffs of Samoa and pay their respects to the players who were voted off before them. In pervious seasons, people tended to make it a touching moment. But, none of these four have any nice things in their minds about most of the other competitors.

Then it’s time for their final immunity challenge, before the last tribal council of the season. The players must balance a statue on a pole, and add another foot long pole on every two minutes. Mick dropped his statue first, Natalie followed him right after. Russell and Bret are each balancing their statues on seven feet poles. It’s intense and nervewracking for them and for us watching it. Finally, Brett drops his statue and Russell wins. (At this point, I really don’t think that anyone can manage to get more votes from the jury than Russell does.)

It’s an obvious decision to make at the moment, no one can beat Brett with the majority of jury are Galu members. But Russell’s having a hard time with it, he wants to sit with the best players in the end in some way.

At tribal council, Russell does the best thing for himself, and Brett becomes the final member of the jury.

The next day, Russell is very confident that he will win. He tries to trash talking with Natalie.

Now it’s time for the final tribal council, and the jury will decide who deserves to be the winner. In their opening statements, Mick says that he stays with the parameters he set for himself, Natalie thanks everyone for helping her get where she is, and Russell states that he’s the best player and derserver the million.

Jaison asks each contestant to let the jury know who they really are and says that no one needs the money. Shambo gives an overdramatic speech, calling Mick feckless (which he doesn’t know what it means), Natalie a coattails rider, and stating that they will not get her vote. Brett talks about going out on a bro date with Mick, Kelly accuses Natalie of needing help every step of the way, and Monica questions Mick and Natalie’s passion for the game.

Dave asks everyone what they think their chances are of winning, Mick says 20%, Natalie says 30-40%, and Russell says he comes to council with great confidence while it drops to 55% at the moment.

Russell tells Laura that if he didn’t take her out, she’d be sitting in his place right now. Mick tries to play the good guy card to John, asking for his vote. Erik asks no questions, he tells Mick that he never deserved to be a leader, calls Russell unethical and proud of it, tells Natalie that she’ll have his vote.

(My take on the jury, they are the worst jury of the Survivor history, period.)

The votes are read in L.A., and they are Natalie, Russell, Natalie, Russell, Natalie, Natalie, Natalie… Natalie wins.

Quite a disapointed result I’d say. This is really the worst jury of all time, they didn’t want to vote for the one who worked very hard to get their asses kicked, so their only choice was to vote for someone who literally did nothing to get to where she was.

The look of shock and hurt was painted all over Russell’s face when he learned the results. I can understand his feeling, that really hurts.

Though he’s been crowned Survivor Player of the Season by America, still, losing the game means much more for him. I can only wish him have a bright future. You are the man!

The former Galu’s member have been down from eight to 2 now, and we all know that Shambo has already been a loyal Foa Foa member. So Brett is now on the chopping board, he will have to win every immunity challenge if he wants to continue on this game. There is no doubt that he will bring home 1 million dollars if he makes it to the finale.

Natalie’s been trying to bond with Brett, which makes Russell a bit worried.

In this evening’s reward challenge, the tribe is devided into two teams of three, Russell and Natalie draw rocks to be captains of both teams. Natalie picks up Brett right away and then Mick. (Her move makes Russell much more concerned.) In this challenge, players must pull a rope that is threaded to make a net one by one. On top of the net are coconuts, which will drop if you pull the wrong rope or pull the rope too quickly. The first team to drop 100 coconuts loese. Russell’s team makes a very horrible start, it almost seems like they will lose. Natalie prays on her team to let God guide their hands, unfortunately, God is not in Heaven at that moment and Natalie pulls the wrong rope, dropping dozens of coconuts and reach the 100 mark. Russell’s team wins, they will be headed for a feast, and take an overnight trip.

At the feast, Russell works Shambo and Jaison to distrust Mick, while at camp, Brett tries to works with Mick and Natalie.

In the immunity challenge, players have to run out and count objects from pigs to crabs to fish to rocks to chicken and run back to their playing board to sort out the numbers into a combination that will open a lock. Russell gets off with a great start, he wants to beat Brett badly. Mick, Brett and Jaison are right behind him and the end of the competition comes down to the men. Jaison is the first one to try his lock, but fails. Then Mick finds himself in the same situation. Brett comes from behind to win. Now there is a big problem for the Foa Foa five.

Immediately back at camp, Jaison tells Russell that he wants to vote Shambo off because they will have a better chance beating Brett in challenges with Mick. He walks away when Shambo comes to join their conversation, which makes Shambo suspecious. Russell tries his best to comfort her.

At tribal council, Russell boldly wears the hidden immunity idol and doesn’t play it. (Love it.) Jeff tells them that the game gets tough because they will have to turn on the people that you aligned with and helped them get this far. So true. The votes are read, and it’s Shambo that is sent to the jury.

So this is it, after a twisted and shorten season, it’s the finale of So You Think You Can Dance Season 6. At this point, it’s really hard to tell who’s going to win, anyone is possible to win the American’s votes.

As tonight we have a two hours show, so we are reminded of some of the best routines that the judges think.

But first up, the Top 20 take the stage for a very exciting and energetic routine to open the show. Then it’s a quick recap of the previous night’s performances.

The season’s best routines are then relived. First up is Kevin, Legacy and Russell’s hip hop routine that reminds us how great they are in their own style. Next up is Elleonore and Jakob’s Sonya Tayeh jazz number. The three tappers (Phillip, Peter, and Bianca) then let us recall when they made the top 20. Ashleigh and Ryan show off a new Latin ballroom routine that they choreographed themselves, and it’s hot and incredibly amazing.

Leona Lewis performs a new song from the movie “Avatar”, which sucks. Then the dance group The Groovaloos impress us with some serious street dancing, love them.

Another two favorite routines come from Kathryn and Jakob’s emotional contemporary, and Mollee and Nathan’s Bollywood.

It is time for some results, but right before all the contestants take the stage, Russell mysteriously injures his knee. It’s no big deal, but unfortunately we won’t be seeing him dance this evening any more.

Anyway, the first one leaving the competition is Ryan, not a surprise to me.

Adam Lambert gives a subdued performance.

And the next dancer that gets least votes is Ashleigh, a bit surprise to me, I thought American would love her more. Maybe it’s because she didn’t dance last week?

Ellenore and Legacy perform their dangerous contemporary table routine by Travis Wall. Then, as Russell can not dance at the moment, we are shown a video of him and Noelle’s African Jazz routine. I believe it’s really hard for him to be sidelined at such a moment.

Next one that pull the least votes is Ellenore. Her weird dance will definately be remembered.

The four contemporary dancers of this season perform their first routine again, then it’s another video showing Russell dancing hip hop with Kathryn. It’s great to see that he has quite a few memorable moments this season.

Mary J. Blige takes the stage to perform her latest single “I Am”, love it. Then the top 20 perform their first routine fo the season, choreographed by Wade and Amanda Robson.

Another elimination, and it’s Kathryn. She’s become a superstar this season, peaking at the right moment. Still, people love the other two talented dancers a bit more. Anyway, I hope she has a bright future.

Jennifer Lopez performs, along with some dancers from season 5 and 6.

It is now time to find out who’s America’s favorite dancer.

And the winner of So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 is… RUSSELL!! WOW!!! Nicely done, you deserve it. Congratulations!

I really hate season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance very much, it’s been twisted so much. This evening’s finale performance has again been shortened to a one-hour time slot, what the ****!

Because there is only one hour, so there is no solos, no girls’ or men’s group dance. Still, each contestant has to dance three times, with different partners. Here’s how the night goes down:

First on stage, Kathryn and Ryan, Samba, by Jason Gilkinson. I really hope that Jason will get more choreographs in the future seasons. He’s done another incredible job of presenting us a tribal-like samba. Ryan is of course great in his style, while Kathryn has very great control in all her movements. Great start of the night, if they could have shown a bit more emotions it’s be perfect. Adam Shankman even commenting that the show should be renamed “The rise of Kathryn.”

Second couple, Jakob and Ellenore, Broadway, by Tyce Diorio. Another fantastic choreography. Both dancers’ strengths and personalities are shown amazingly. There is no doubt that these two are the best technical dancers of the six, and you’ll never disappointed with anything they’ve performed. The combination of Jakob’s flexibility and Ellenore’s smoldering look amazes everyone. You can’t criticize them with anything.

Third, Ashleigh and Russell, lyrical jazz, by Sonya. Russell’s growth is really unbelievably impressive. Having never been formally trained, his talent is just so extraordinary. As the judges say, there is no denial that Ashleigh is a great dancer and performer, BUT Russell completely owned this piece. His extensions and pointed toes look just like professionals. Mary Murphy even cries for she has “never watched someone grow as much as Russell has.”

Fourth, Ellenore and Ryan, Jazz, by Gary Stewart. This is a weird robot dance, and I think it might do some harms to both of them in the voting. As for me, I could not find myself liking the dance. Both of them performed this number as well as they could, but it’s not connected to me. Ryan’s still a strong partner, but there are times that he does not fully straighten his legs or really get himself into the character. On the other hand, Ellenore is completely into her character.

Fifth, Ashleigh and Jakob, Fox Trot, by Jean Marc Generaux. I agree with Nigel that they are a better couple than Ryan and Ashleigh. Their chemistry is so strong that you would think are the real couple. Jakob has always supported Ashleigh in every moves, making her shine. This is not a better performance than some others of the night, still it’s a great routine. And I believe both of them will get many votes.

Sixth, Russell and Ellenore, Paso Doble, by Jason Gilkinson. This is a dance all about passion, and both of them show their passions from beginning to the end. Ellenore’s silhouette move in the dark, and the fire in Russell’s eyes, if you say that’s not passion, you are blind. Though this style is way out of their comfort zones, and they could have improved in some areas. The attention that they commands in their movements and facials will make you forget to look at their steps.

Seventh, Kathryn and Jakob, Contemporary, by Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson. I am full of emotions at the end of this dance, and I’m not the only one. This is the best routine of this season, without any question. It has brought on the first and only standing ovation of the season. They are just amazing, there is nothing that you can criticize them. Never have we seen such sincere and emotional dance as this. I really hope that Jakob will take Nigel’s advice to join a company after the show, and hopefully Kathryn will get a chance too.

Eighth, Ashleigh and Ryan, Contemporary, by Travis Wall. Finally, this married couple gets a chance to dance together as a couple. And what’s better than a Travis’ piece? Both of them show happiness and sincere emotions throughout the dance. Together, they are beautiful and make an amazing partnership. The husband and wife are brought to tears by the tenderness of this piece, which I think will pull some votes for them.

Nineth, Kathryn and Russell, Hip Hop, by Tabitha and Napoleon D’Umo. Now this is what we’ve expected from this married choreographers. It is HOT. Russell is great in his style, but Kathryn is right up there with him. Both dancers are so hard-hitting and uninhibited that every movement they do is beyond what you’d have expected from them. Great piece to end the night.

Last word, my bet on the winner, I think it would be between Jakob, Kathryn and Ashleigh. We’ll see.