Rating the ‘Dance’ top 20

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Comfort and Chris: Comfort is a hip-hop dancer who wants to “bring real hip-hop” to the show. Chris is a lyrical/contemporary dancer who took it hard earlier in the season when Nigel accused him of having “the personality of a tree.”

It became clear as soon as they started their jive that Comfort was — ironically? — having some serious issues with her very high-heeled shoes. It was a rough routine; she looked uncomfortable, and he didn't look much happier. Jive needs lightness more than anything, and they had none. These two will be in trouble if he can't relax and she can't dance in heels.

Katee and Joshua: Katee got the last available spot only after beating out her best friend. Joshua is a hip-hop dancer who's had a bit of ballet training. They opened with what this show considers a hip-hop dance, which worked well for him, but could have made her look weak in comparison. Interestingly, while there were hints of that at first, Katee rallied and did just fine.

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It's hard to trust the judging when the routine tells a touching war story, as this one did, but the judges were uniformly impressed by both dancers. This is another team to keep an eye on, because even though poppers have historically had trouble transitioning to other dance styles, Joshua has some training that might make him a good bet to succeed.

Jessica and Will: You may recall Jessica, a contemporary dancer, as the one who landed on a few clip shows for spelling the location of the final round of auditions “V-E-A-G-S.” You may remember Will as the reason there's no more Debbie Allen on the judging panel for now. (It would be a conflict of interest; she's his mentor.)

They performed a flat tango that looked on screen like they were going through the motions, but they received oddly high praise from the judges. That may help them for now, but as for the longer term, neither of them showed the kind of spark on opening night that the better dancers did, and neither seems likely to last.

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Courtney G. and Gev: Hip-hop dancer Gev and contemporary dancer Courtney got the tough assignment of closing the show wearing bright yellow and doing disco. But in rehearsals, they seemed upbeat and winning, which helps quite a bit on a show like this.

They looked good together during the performance; the disco choreography was corny at times, but they pulled through. The judges gave them lukewarm reviews, but their likability, along with the fact that they danced last, may help them make it over the hump and survive to see a day that will treat them better than disco did.

Linda Holmes is a writer in Brooklyn.

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