Happy Dance Friday #59 - Let's Hear it for the Girls

In our family, we have a custom of, when more than one good thing happens at the same time, of asking "is it Christmas?" That certainly applies here. Covering two weeks of awesome in one blog post is a tall order, so again, we'll hit some of the highlights. Have to say that Melanie and Sasha are still neck and neck for my favorite female, and I'm glad I'm not going to have to be the one to cast the deciding vote, especially after this:

How do you...I don't even... oh heck, girls rule.

My appreciation for the terpsichorial magnificence that is Pasha Kovalev only grows when each of my favorite gals from this season gets their turn with the gentleman.

Melanie and Pasha, performing my favorite ballroom dance, Viennese waltz, with an angsty theme and sparkly lights:

Sasha and Pasha, giving off the old Hollywood vibe with their quickstep. From the first shot of Sasha's opening stance, I immediately thought "Josephine Baker," and that certainly carried through the entire dance, with a deft touch of zombieriffic posturing here and there, which put me in mind of an art piece I saw last October and still drool over (that's for another time, but the theme for that piece was "Gatsby's Ghosts".) Best seen for oneself:

Also on my wish list was a Sasha/tWitch pairing, which certainly delivers. I don't know if Sasha has any acting training or experience, but I do know tWitch is a fine actor in his own right (usually credited as Stephen Boss) with a burgeoning movie career, so Sasha gets extra points for keeping up with a professional dancer and actor here, because we do see the story they play out. No words needed.

The "have you been reading my diary?" award, (phrase borrowed from comedian Gary Gulman)however, is going to have to go to Melanie and Neil's contemporary routine, because Bonnie Tyler's rendition of Jim Steinman's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (can only be beaten by Meat Loaf performing it live) never fails to get me, and if Melanie is dancing to it, partnered by Neil, even better. Then, when I think it can't get any better, (flying leap at 1:17) bam, they hit me right in the heart at 1:38. Spotlight on Melanie, on the floor, Neil stands in darkness but still in her line of sight, and they are acting the parts. Even in darkness, Neil is giving Melanie what she needs to play off to complete her character's story, and the audience feels it. Glorious.