Thursday, July 31, 2008

So You Think You Can Dance - Just Gaga For The Six Dancers

Top 6 Week - Performance Night and Results Night, The Cut From 6 to the Final 4
Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and Adam Shankman

It's the semi-finals, the last week before the So You Think You Can Dance season 4 finale! WHAT? ALREADY? Doesn't it feel a bit early this year? (I know they are trying to avoid the juggernaut of the Beijing Olympics but whatever, this feels a bit fast doesn't it? What am I going to do for the rest of August?) I'm combining the performance and results night recaps this week since I just got back home from Asia (plus my blog was fricken blocked by Blogger for review to make sure it wasn't a spam blog... WHA? ARGH... so this will get posted whenever they "review" me).

And it's the final 6. The final cut to the final 4. In a year when I want all 6 of the finalists to win! Oy, this is going to hurt. The performance show was only an hour long but man can they pack such amazing dances in, in possibly one of the best all round episodes all season. Last week, I gave the most "A"'s in one week but this week was even BETTER!

Courtney Galiano and Mark Kanemura
1st Performance
Style: Viennese Waltz - Choreographed by Jason Gilkison
Song: "The Time Of My Life" - David Cook

You know that moment when you get to take a deep breathe and you feel happy and relaxed and there's nothing in your head except the feeling of joy? I just had that while I watched this routine with two of my underdog favorites, Mark and Courtney who are just so romantic and cute with each other I want to just squeeze them!

Grade: A

Here's the video clip of Courtney and Mark's Viennese Waltz performance:


2nd Performance
Style: Jazz - Choreographed by Sonya Tayeh
Song: "The Garden" - Mirah

I'm not sure what I was just watching or that I should even BE watching, since it seemed like I was being a peeping tom! Cause Courtney and Mark are HOT together! The choreography was perfect for Mark's quirkiness and Courtney's energy and it was weird and wonderful and I wish it went on longer.

Grade: A+

Here's the video clip of Courtney and Mark's Jazz performance:



Katee Shean and Joshua Allen
1st Performance
Style: Contemporary - Choreographed by Tyce DiOrio
Song: "All By Myself" - Celine Dion

I know there's going to be a repeat pairing but this is almost unfair to the other dancers since Joshua and Katee are like the powerhouse couple to start with and now they get to show off their spectacular chemistry again that it gives them a great advantage. Add a Tyce DiOrio routine that was actually quite amazing, and you would have thought that Katee and Joshua had been dancing together all their lives!

Grade: A+

Here's the video clip of Katee and Joshua's Contemporary performance:


2nd Performance
Style: Paso Doble - Choreographed by Jason Gilkison
Song: "Filet" - Le Reve(Original Soundtrack)

Hot damn! It's hard to make the Paso Doble look easy and entertaining but kudos to Gilkison for a great routine, some nice fancy lighting and Katee and Joshua for dancing the heck out of it, as always! One little thing though, is that Joshua looked SO serious trying to stay in character against the overdramatic music that it was a little bit funny.

Grade: A

Here's the video clip of Katee and Joshua's Paso Doble performance:



Chelsie Hightower and Twitch
1st Performance
Style: Mambo - Choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie
Song: "Ahora Me Toca A Mi" - Victor Manuelle

It was a great performance that had a bit of hesitations and it seemed like there were three moments where Chelsie and Twitch almost double checked they their partner had their backs but I'm talking details here because the competition is so tight that it calls for it.

Grade: B+

Here's the video clip of Chelsie H. and Joshua's Argentine Tango performance:


2nd Performance
Style: Hip Hop - Choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha Dumo
Song: "Control" - The Vitamin String Quartet

I thought that was a GREAT routine from Napoleon and Tabitha again, but I felt it was danced at 98% and not the 100% that is needed now to differentiate themselves from the Top 6. It was AWESOME but not AWESOME!, you know? Or am I being TOO picky now?

Grade: A-

Here's the video clip of Chelsie H. and Twitch's Hip Hop performance:



Each dancer also had to perform a solo:

Chelsie Hightower - Solo
Song: "When I Grow Up" - Pussycat Dolls

Not as good as her usual solo's and basically more of the same as her usual solo's so slightly disappointing on such an important night in the competition.
Grade: B

Here's the video clip of Chelsie H.'s performance:


Twitch - Solo
Song: "Midas Touch" - Midnight Star

I finally felt like that solo was a whole routine and the best Twitch has done so far!
Grade: A

Here's the video clip of Twitch's performance:


Katee Shean - Solo
Song: "Can't Stop" - Maroon 5

What an aptly chosen song! I Can't Stop thinking about you, Katee!
Grade: A

Here's the video clip of Katee's performance:


Joshua Allen - Solo
Song: "Like That" - Memphis Bleek

I still hope for a more coherent solo instead of a set of tricks, but oh what a set of tricks he has!
Grade: A-

Here's the video clip of Joshua's performance:


Courtney Galiano - Solo
Song: "Rock Your Soul" - Elisa

She sure rocked MY soul! I LOVE Courtney now and is proving herself the fighter in this competition!
Grade: A

Here's the video clip of Courtney's performance:


Mark Kanemura - Solo
Song: "Bum Like You" - Robyn

Finally Mark takes his shirt off! Not his greatest solo and his "story" wasn't enough to cover the fact that he uses very few "tricks". Still, I love his style and energy and his body is pretty smokin' too!
Grade: A-

Here's the video clip of Mark's performance:



Best Pairs Dance of the Night:
Courtney and Mark's Jazz and Katee and Joshua's Contemporary
Best Pair of the Night:
Katee and Joshua and Courtney and Mark
Best Solo by a Male: Twitch
Best Solo by a Female: Courtney

Bottom Four Predictions:
Mark and Courtney just based on history.
Twitch and Chelsie just based on gut feelings and that Katee and Joshua are kind of unstoppable.

Going Home Predictions: Mark (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO though I've said that 3 weeks in a row now and just maybe, MAYBE he will get to stay despite the underdog vibe) and Courtney (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO)

Individual dancers in order of Favorite to Least for this week (which is a combination of performance and likability and how it gets added to the past) (Last week's ranking in parenthesis):

1. Courtney (1)
2. Katee (2)
3. Mark (3)
4. Joshua (4)
5. Chelsie (5)
6. Twitch (7)

Or really, 1. Courtney/Katee/Mark/Joshua/Chelsie/Twitch

So, the results are going to be painful no matter what happens, but at least we get a Top 6 Group Dance first!

Top 6 Group Performance
Choreographed by Mandy Moore
Song: "The Rose" - Bette Midler

I wish it were a bit more synchronized but considering they had all of a day or two to learn it, it was still beautiful and enchanting and I loved the whole thing and I can't wait to see it live on the tour (assuming I can even get tickets when they go on sale this weekend, since I couldn't get decent seats during the presale).

Here's the video of the Top 6 Group Performance:


Everyone danced solo's this week for the results:

Courtney Galiano - Solo
Song: "Almost Lover" - A Fine Frenzy
Grade: A-

Mark Kanemura - Solo
Song: "Wind It Up (Original Neptunes Mix)" - Gwen Stefani
Grade: A+

Katee Shean - Solo
Song: "Beautiful Disaster" - Jon McLaughlin
Grade: A

Joshua Allen - Solo
Song: "I Can Make You Dance" - Zapp
Grade: B+

Chelsie Hightower - Solo
Song: "The Girl's Gone Wild" - Travis Tritt
Grade: A-

Twitch
Song: "Don't Worry, Be Happy" - Bobby McFerrin
Grade: A-

They don't announce the bottom 4, but instead send one person back to safety though they may not have pulled the most votes. So the 4 dancers left standing were Courtney and Chelsie and Twitch and Mark, leaving the re-teaming of Joshua and Katee completely safe, as expected.

Lady Gaga performs "Just Dance". I like this song. I don't love it, but it's fun enough to be considered as one of the songs of the summer. I'll have a post about that soon... if I'm still allowed to.

In the end, Courtney was safe (love Chelsie but YAY for Courtney!) and Twitch gets to continue to the finals, leaving Mark and Chelsie as the last casualties before the finale. Sigh, I'll miss Mark and Chelsie had so much spunk and just a burst of energy that she will be missed.

So long Chelsie Hightower


Mark Kanemura



That leaves the Top 4 as Joshua, Katee, Courtney and Twitch! Um, I don't know who to root for. Everyone? Demographically, this year will be the first no matter who wins. Black guy? Asian girl? White girl? Neat! I guess if I had to pick I'm leaning towards Joshua or Katee or Courtney... but between the three, I almost don't care who wins because they all deserve it!

So see you for the finale!

Thanks to krunkyou for the video uploads.

For More So You Think You Can Dance:
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So You Think You Can Dance
- Season 4
:

Top 8 Performances, Results 8 to 6
Top 10 Performances, Results 10 to 8
Top 16, 14 and 12 Weeks Recaps by Vance again
Top 12 Performances, Results 12 to 10 - Guest Blogger Linz McC
Top 14 Performances, Results 14 to 12 - Guest Blogger Linz McC
Top 16 Performances, Results 16 to 14 - Guest Blogger Linz McC
Top 18 Performances, Results 18 to 16
Top 20 Performances, Results 20 to 18
Introducing the Top 20

Auditions:
Callbacks in Las Vegas - The Top 20 Revealed - What Happens In Vegas
Milwaukee, WI - How The Midwest Was Won
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Salt Lake City and Dallas - Yeehaw Utah!
Los Angeles - It's Time To Put On Those Dancing Shoes Again Kids!

So You Think You Can Dance
- Season 3
:
Live Tour - Toronto, Pasha's Solo Video, Neil's Solo Video
Finale - Winner Result
Top 4 Performances - Finals
Top 6 Performances, Top 6 Results
Top 8 Performances, Top 8 Results
Top 10 Performances, Top 10 Results
Top 12 Performances, Top 12 Results
Top 14 Performances, Top 14 Results
Top 16 Performances, Top 16 Results
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Top 20 Performances, Top 20 Results

For So You Think You Can Dance Season 2:
Favorite Video Clips
Song List Live Tour 2006 - Toronto
Live Tour 2006 - Buffalo, Pics, More Pics

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Courtney a NY Knicks City Dancer might have some competition!!! NY Knicks City Dancer’s are looking to get their last spot filled but are these dancers as good as Courtney! You tell me: http://msg.com/knickscitydancers/