Lists
Tonight's top 10 performance show was the debut of the all star dancers returning to the stage. I have to admit, I'm a bit mixed bag when it comes to the all stars, mostly because I think maybe the dancers should've also had to do another dance with each other, rather than only having the one. Yes, I want to TORTURE them, okay? More dancing! Just all the time dancing!
Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel was Benjamin Millipied, or as some of you may better know him, the husband of Natalie Portman. But no, he's actually a choreographer, duh. On to the dances, because clearly I am blathering on about nothing worth blathering on about!
Tiffany & Brandon (season five) - Doriana Sanchez disco - Man oh MAN that is the best disco the show has probably had since back in season five's Brandon and Janette. It was straight crazy, tons of lifts, lots of energy required, and they delivered. Tiffany was lucky she had someone like Brandon who could handle it, because imagining her having to do that with someone like, say, Cyrus, would've been likely a disaster. I think Tiffany is kind of the dark horse of the competition this year, similar to Jeanine maybe. She's not my favorite, but she hasn't been in the bottom yet either, which is telling.
Witney & Nick (season one) - Travis Wall jazz - The pre-dance video package touted this routine as being ultra sexy, for miss sexy Witney to sexy up. Did I mention sexy? Oh, you got it already? (sexy) OKAY. I mean, yes, sure. But was it very memorable? I don't know. It doesn't help that it was in the second spot in the line up, which is maybe one of the worst places to be. It wasn't bad or anything, but it didn't wow me. Sorry Wit.
Cole & Anya (season three) - Dmitry Chaplin cha cha - Look, Cole is my favorite guy left in the competition, well, maybe he's tied with Will, but for real, I love Cole. And I thought he actually did pretty well, he moved his hips a lot more than I've seen other dancers try to doing this sort of thing, and I thought he tried to give it some character, which isn't necessarily called for in a cha cha. That said, the judges did point out that maybe he was performing too much for the audience and not enough toward Anya, which I can see. But he really seemed to take all of their comments to heart, and actually welcomed them, which I think is a great thing.
Lindsay & Jakob (season six) - Spencer Liff broadway - I really liked the concept of this dance perhaps more than the actual dance itself. I think part of it is that I have some real bias against the damn Broadway dances. Ultra show is just not my cup of tea. Not that this was ultra showy, but the music was way too onthenoseoverthetopshenanigans. The judges went mad for it, but... eh. Not my cup of tea per se.
Will & Kathryn (season six) - Nakul Bollywood - Sorry, I really don't remember Nakul's last name, it's all complicated and such. Anyway! Kathryn is gorge, and great at Bollywood (and pretty much everything), so it was great to see her back again in this fun routine. My eyes were drawn to her, but Will wasn't bad or anything, in fact he was actually quite good. I always seem to be surprised how much he can move being so tall. Why? I don't know, don't try to understand my inner thoughts, it's weird in there. ANYway, what Will has more than anything is a completely infectiously charming personality. I mean, how can you not love the kid? You can't, is what.
Cyrus & Jaimie (season three) - Travis Wall contemporary - I thought to myself, finally Cyrus is getting something interesting. And while watching it, do you know what I thought? I wish another guy were doing it. Now the judges seemed to think that Travis didn't hold back in the choreography for him, but I kinda disagree, I thought he went a little easy on him. Or else he didn't perform the moves as big as some other people would have, which could be the case. Look, I get it, he also has this raw energy and magnetism when he dances that draws you in, but is that really enough?
Chehon & Lauren (season three) - Dave Scott lyrical hip hop - Chehon has kind of the opposite problem of Cyrus. He is undoubtedly a great dancer, with amazing lines and all of that, but there is something a little lacking when it comes to his performance quality, the emotional side of it. I really wanted him to get down and dirty so much more. I mean he was dancing the routine just fine, but it was all just so clean. I'm not sure he'll ever be able to really let himself go, but I could be wrong.
George & Allison (season two) - Tyce Diorio jazz - Honestly, I was really impressed with the choreography on this one, which just proves that Tyce should do jazz and contemporary more than Broadway, because I nearly always hate his Broadway numbers. But that's off topic. I kind of had to agree with Nigel when he said that he didn't so much believe in George's character in the piece, though he did have good technique. Obviously George has great technique, but again, something not 100% connecting with the audience.
Eliana & Alex (season seven) - Stacey Tookey contemporary - This was a very quiet and controlled, emotional piece with a great song. I mean, that song made that dance werrrrrk. It was also another sexy, sensual piece, which seemed to be a theme of the night, no? I mean, these two are both such great dancers, what can you expect? Nigel called Eliana his favorite of the season, and you know I agree. She's amazing. Also, she was the star of the group number, rather unabashedly so. You go, Eliana.
Audrey & Twitch (season four) - Dave Scott hip hop - Damn, this one could've been SO cool. I mean, she danced it fine, but there is something about Audrey that just comes across as little girl to me, and here she was supposed to be like a vampire hundreds of years old or something, which I just didn't see. Plus she had Twitch as her partner, who will own any dance he's in, but especially hip hop. It just was kind of eh, which is interesting considering they gave it the pimp spot of the night.
After alllllll of that, there was the reveal of the bottom four. That's right, it's just two guys and two girls in the bottom now that we're in the top 10. And they all got to perform solos, moreso for the audience's benefit than the judges needing more info for a decision, I think.
Bottom:
Witney - Yeah girl, we know you're sexy.
Audrey - Fine flail, but a doofy song choice if you ask me.
Chehon - Good, though be careful of those slow intros on solos.
George - By FAR the best we've EVER seen him dance on the show. Amazing.
Without much surprise, it was Audrey and George who were eliminated. Audrey quite honestly has looked defeated since Matthew left, and George, despite a great solo, because he doesn't connect with the audience. But it'll probably be Chehon next week, so... eh?
Who are your favorites?
Previous Episode -- Next Episode
- Sytycd S9 Top Four Performance Finale
Was that a jam-packed show or what? It must be pretty brutal on the dancers to get all of that choreography down in time and keep up their stamina throughout the night, because whoa. Five dances apiece! I guess it's to be expected of the performance...
- Sytycd S9: Top 14 Perform, 3rd Elimination
After a two week hiatus, So You Think You Can Dance came back tonight with an interesting take on the top 14 performance episode. Every routine was a previous famous Mia Michaels piece from past seasons, with an additional cool group piece involving ropes...
- Sytycd S9: Second Live Performance; Second Elimination
This season of SYTYCD is kinda weird, right? I'm getting used to having the eliminations on the same night as performances now, and I actually kind of like it because those results shows are always so bloated. But now we're going to have another...
- Sytycd S9: Top 20 Perform, Part 2
Can I just say how weird it is not to have a results show anymore? Not that I don't like it, as they were always incredibly bloated, but the offing of four dancers tonight felt very rushed and sort of like okay sorry, buh-bye! They didn't even...
- Sytycd S9: Top 20 Perform
Changes are afoot aplenty this season on So You Think You Can Dance! Since there will be both a guy and girl dancer to win this year, the voting starts off with voting for individuals rather than pairs. And since the show is only on once a week instead...
Lists
SYTYCD S9 Top 10 Perform
Tonight's top 10 performance show was the debut of the all star dancers returning to the stage. I have to admit, I'm a bit mixed bag when it comes to the all stars, mostly because I think maybe the dancers should've also had to do another dance with each other, rather than only having the one. Yes, I want to TORTURE them, okay? More dancing! Just all the time dancing!
Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel was Benjamin Millipied, or as some of you may better know him, the husband of Natalie Portman. But no, he's actually a choreographer, duh. On to the dances, because clearly I am blathering on about nothing worth blathering on about!
Tiffany & Brandon (season five) - Doriana Sanchez disco - Man oh MAN that is the best disco the show has probably had since back in season five's Brandon and Janette. It was straight crazy, tons of lifts, lots of energy required, and they delivered. Tiffany was lucky she had someone like Brandon who could handle it, because imagining her having to do that with someone like, say, Cyrus, would've been likely a disaster. I think Tiffany is kind of the dark horse of the competition this year, similar to Jeanine maybe. She's not my favorite, but she hasn't been in the bottom yet either, which is telling.
Witney & Nick (season one) - Travis Wall jazz - The pre-dance video package touted this routine as being ultra sexy, for miss sexy Witney to sexy up. Did I mention sexy? Oh, you got it already? (sexy) OKAY. I mean, yes, sure. But was it very memorable? I don't know. It doesn't help that it was in the second spot in the line up, which is maybe one of the worst places to be. It wasn't bad or anything, but it didn't wow me. Sorry Wit.
Cole & Anya (season three) - Dmitry Chaplin cha cha - Look, Cole is my favorite guy left in the competition, well, maybe he's tied with Will, but for real, I love Cole. And I thought he actually did pretty well, he moved his hips a lot more than I've seen other dancers try to doing this sort of thing, and I thought he tried to give it some character, which isn't necessarily called for in a cha cha. That said, the judges did point out that maybe he was performing too much for the audience and not enough toward Anya, which I can see. But he really seemed to take all of their comments to heart, and actually welcomed them, which I think is a great thing.
Lindsay & Jakob (season six) - Spencer Liff broadway - I really liked the concept of this dance perhaps more than the actual dance itself. I think part of it is that I have some real bias against the damn Broadway dances. Ultra show is just not my cup of tea. Not that this was ultra showy, but the music was way too onthenoseoverthetopshenanigans. The judges went mad for it, but... eh. Not my cup of tea per se.
Will & Kathryn (season six) - Nakul Bollywood - Sorry, I really don't remember Nakul's last name, it's all complicated and such. Anyway! Kathryn is gorge, and great at Bollywood (and pretty much everything), so it was great to see her back again in this fun routine. My eyes were drawn to her, but Will wasn't bad or anything, in fact he was actually quite good. I always seem to be surprised how much he can move being so tall. Why? I don't know, don't try to understand my inner thoughts, it's weird in there. ANYway, what Will has more than anything is a completely infectiously charming personality. I mean, how can you not love the kid? You can't, is what.
Cyrus & Jaimie (season three) - Travis Wall contemporary - I thought to myself, finally Cyrus is getting something interesting. And while watching it, do you know what I thought? I wish another guy were doing it. Now the judges seemed to think that Travis didn't hold back in the choreography for him, but I kinda disagree, I thought he went a little easy on him. Or else he didn't perform the moves as big as some other people would have, which could be the case. Look, I get it, he also has this raw energy and magnetism when he dances that draws you in, but is that really enough?
Chehon & Lauren (season three) - Dave Scott lyrical hip hop - Chehon has kind of the opposite problem of Cyrus. He is undoubtedly a great dancer, with amazing lines and all of that, but there is something a little lacking when it comes to his performance quality, the emotional side of it. I really wanted him to get down and dirty so much more. I mean he was dancing the routine just fine, but it was all just so clean. I'm not sure he'll ever be able to really let himself go, but I could be wrong.
George & Allison (season two) - Tyce Diorio jazz - Honestly, I was really impressed with the choreography on this one, which just proves that Tyce should do jazz and contemporary more than Broadway, because I nearly always hate his Broadway numbers. But that's off topic. I kind of had to agree with Nigel when he said that he didn't so much believe in George's character in the piece, though he did have good technique. Obviously George has great technique, but again, something not 100% connecting with the audience.
Eliana & Alex (season seven) - Stacey Tookey contemporary - This was a very quiet and controlled, emotional piece with a great song. I mean, that song made that dance werrrrrk. It was also another sexy, sensual piece, which seemed to be a theme of the night, no? I mean, these two are both such great dancers, what can you expect? Nigel called Eliana his favorite of the season, and you know I agree. She's amazing. Also, she was the star of the group number, rather unabashedly so. You go, Eliana.
Audrey & Twitch (season four) - Dave Scott hip hop - Damn, this one could've been SO cool. I mean, she danced it fine, but there is something about Audrey that just comes across as little girl to me, and here she was supposed to be like a vampire hundreds of years old or something, which I just didn't see. Plus she had Twitch as her partner, who will own any dance he's in, but especially hip hop. It just was kind of eh, which is interesting considering they gave it the pimp spot of the night.
After alllllll of that, there was the reveal of the bottom four. That's right, it's just two guys and two girls in the bottom now that we're in the top 10. And they all got to perform solos, moreso for the audience's benefit than the judges needing more info for a decision, I think.
Bottom:
Witney - Yeah girl, we know you're sexy.
Audrey - Fine flail, but a doofy song choice if you ask me.
Chehon - Good, though be careful of those slow intros on solos.
George - By FAR the best we've EVER seen him dance on the show. Amazing.
Without much surprise, it was Audrey and George who were eliminated. Audrey quite honestly has looked defeated since Matthew left, and George, despite a great solo, because he doesn't connect with the audience. But it'll probably be Chehon next week, so... eh?
Who are your favorites?
Previous Episode -- Next Episode
- Sytycd S9 Top Four Performance Finale
Was that a jam-packed show or what? It must be pretty brutal on the dancers to get all of that choreography down in time and keep up their stamina throughout the night, because whoa. Five dances apiece! I guess it's to be expected of the performance...
- Sytycd S9: Top 14 Perform, 3rd Elimination
After a two week hiatus, So You Think You Can Dance came back tonight with an interesting take on the top 14 performance episode. Every routine was a previous famous Mia Michaels piece from past seasons, with an additional cool group piece involving ropes...
- Sytycd S9: Second Live Performance; Second Elimination
This season of SYTYCD is kinda weird, right? I'm getting used to having the eliminations on the same night as performances now, and I actually kind of like it because those results shows are always so bloated. But now we're going to have another...
- Sytycd S9: Top 20 Perform, Part 2
Can I just say how weird it is not to have a results show anymore? Not that I don't like it, as they were always incredibly bloated, but the offing of four dancers tonight felt very rushed and sort of like okay sorry, buh-bye! They didn't even...
- Sytycd S9: Top 20 Perform
Changes are afoot aplenty this season on So You Think You Can Dance! Since there will be both a guy and girl dancer to win this year, the voting starts off with voting for individuals rather than pairs. And since the show is only on once a week instead...