Thursday, August 07, 2008

So You Think You Can Dance - The Fantastic Four

Top 4 - Final Performance Night
Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and Mandy Moore

The Top 4! The Final Four! ACK. ALREADY?

Am I the only one that was NOT looking forward to this episode because that meant SYTYCD is over again for another summer? I almost wanted to NOT watch so I could savour it all in an extended period of time. (At least SYTYCD has been renewed for a 5th season for the summer of 2009!)

On top of that, I COULD NOT GET ANY TICKETS to the So You Think You Can Dance Tour in Toronto when it sold out within minutes/seconds (WTF?) so I'm not sure what to do. ALL my friends tried and NO one got through the system to get tickets.

At least my awesome blogging replacement Linz (thanks again for taking over for a few weeks) got tickets to the LA show and asked me to join, so I should be heading down to see them there.

But I'm STILL LOOKING FOR WAYS to see it in Toronto... (hint hint hint).

Anyways, let's enjoy the dancers while we can (2 who were treated for exhaustion and ALL the dancers were forced to take a break from rehearsals but they failed to name who the 2 dancers were). It's a busy night so lets get started:

Courtney Galiano and Twitch
Style: Hip Hop - Choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon Dumo
Song: "Church" - T. Pain feat. Teddy Verseti

That was a fun routine but it looked like they were a little tired (which is to be understood) and not hitting things as much as they should have, but Courtney does the wild thing well and Twitch is such a strong presence that they still make it look good.

Grade: B
Here's the video of Courtney and Twitch's Hip Hop Performance:



Courtney Galiano - Solo
Song: "These Weren't There" - Missy Higgins

A bit more of the same contemp thing that Courtney does everytime but it's pretty darn good.
Grade: B+
Here's the video of Courtney's Solo:



Katee Shean and Joshua Allen
Style: Contemporary - Choreographed by Wade Robson
Song: "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" - John Mayer

Katee. With Joshua. Doing Contemporary. Again. Do I REALLY need to explain more? How can this miss? Are you sure there has to be only one winner? These two are so amazing together that it's going to be hard to choose between the two, but if I'm going to give it to someone, it will be Katee who tends to have to do a little more than Joshua but mainly because that's what they were given. On the other hand, I could say Joshua for overcoming his untrained dance background to become as versatile as Katee.

Grade: A
Here's the video of Katee and Joshua's performance:



Courtney Galiano and Katee Shean
Style: Broadway - Choreographed by Tyce DiOrio
Song: "The Trolley Song" - Rufus Wainwright

For a year when we started out with tons of standout guys, Courtney and Katee sure pulled through to knock the guys out of the way to stand on their own! To be honest, usually its the boys routine that stands out (Tranji, Danny and Neil) and I can barely remember the girls routines (Heidi and Donyelle, Sabra and Lacey) but this Broadway was wonderful (again, one of the rare times I've loved Tyce's routines) and Courtney and Katee were spot on spectacular and complete dolls!

Grade: A
Here's the video of Courtney and Katee's Broadway performance:



Twitch - Solo
Song: "It Was All In Your Mind" - Wade Robson

ACK. After a great routine last week, I thought he reverted back to his simple bravado hip hop tricks for a pretty good routine but not the GREAT routine the Top 4 Performance night deserves. I'm almost slightly disappointed by it, especially cause I know he can do better. The judges loved it but they seem to be playing nice tonight.
Grade: B
Here's the video of Twitch's Solo:



Joshua Allen and Twitch
Style: Russian Trepak - Choreographed by Youri Nelzine
Song: "Trepak" - Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite

I actually thought the trash talk pre-dance video was pretty funny. I still long for the Tranji days when they didn't have the dueling boys but this was pretty cool and both were excellent. BUT, was it me or did Twitch outdance it just SLIGHTLY better than Joshua? Joshua had some great solo jumping moments but when they danced as a pair, Twitch was just rock solid.

Grade: A
Here is the video of Joshua and Twitch's Russian Trepak performance:



Katee Shean - Solo
Song: "Hide and Seek" - Imogen Heap

God, I've loved this song since the Season 2 Group 6 dance Mia Michaels choreographed to this song. Oh yeah, and Katee, as usual, was great.
Grade: A
Here's the video of Katee's Solo:



Katee Shean and Twitch
Style: Fox Trot - Choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie
Song: "Feeling Good" - Michael Bublé

This was perfect for Twitch, who got to stand and look strong, and when he actually DID get to dance, he was absolutely wonderful! BUT... Katee pretty much stole the show. Her lines and her body demeanor are just so smooth and light. Her arms, her shoulders, her whole back. Katee just nails it.

Grade: A
Here's the video of Katee and Twitch's Fox Trot performance:



Joshua Allen - Solo
Song: "(Not Just) Knee Deep" - Funkadelic

I felt like this had less "tricks" than Twitch's, yet felt more like a complete routine, even with the shameless run onto the judges platform. Maybe he learned a thing from Mark? Still not as wow as we all expect them to be but it was still pretty enjoyable to watch.
Grade: B+
Here is the video of Joshua's Solo:



Courtney Galiano and Joshua Allen
Style: Jive - Choreographed by Jason Gilkison
Song: "The Dirty Boogie" - The Brian Setzer Orchestra

I'm not sure if it was on purpose or not but I'm guessing not, but some of the steps were a bit sloppy (if I'm REALLY noticing) but these two are such entertainers that it really didn't matter. Joshua actually seemed like a natural at this and though Courtney had moments where she looked like she was trying TOO hard, there were moments that seemed really smooth for her too. Overall, it was a hard dance and they were able to make an joyous routine out of it, despite the technical misteps (that Nigel pointed out).

Grade: B+
Here's the video of Courtney and Joshua's Jive performance:



The Top 4 Group Dance - Courtney Galiano, Katee Shean, Joshua Allen and Twitch
Style: Contemporary - Choreographed by Mia Michaels
Song: "Hallelujah" - The Vitamin String Quartet

You know, it wasn't perfectly danced, and they seemed tired, in a Mia Michaels routine that had the hard time of unifying the four very different dancers together, but at this point, who am I to criticize? (Though funny, Nigel points out that audiences are less forgiving). Not my favorite Mia routine but as Nigel points out, it allowed the dancers to show their athleticism. Who needs the Olympics next week?

I did think the routine allowed the boys to show off more than the girls, who got a bit lost in the routine (and camerawork).

Grade: B+
Here's the video of the Top 4 Group Performance:


So there you have it. The competition dancing is over. Who will win?

Best Pairs Dance of the Night:
Katee and Joshua's Contemporary, Courtney and Katee's Broadway, Joshua and Twitch's Russian Trepak, and Katee and Twitch's Fox Trot
Best Pair of the Night:
Katee and Joshua, again.
Best Solo: Katee

Individual dancers in order of Favorite to Least for this week (Last week's ranking in parenthesis):

1. Katee (2)
2. Joshua (4)
3. Twitch (7)
4. Courtney (1)

Individual dancers in order of Favorite to Least accounting for the whole season (Last week's ranking in parenthesis):

1. Katee (2)
2. Joshua (4)
3. Courtney (1)
4. Twitch (7)

Again, you could mix up the whole order and I would probably just go... okay!

Who should win? Katee just edging out over Joshua
Who will win? Joshua

Thanks to krunkyou for the video uploads.

For More So You Think You Can Dance:
Check here for the most Recent current postings and Latest News on SYTYCD

So You Think You Can Dance
- Season 4
:

Top 6 Performances and Results 6 to 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
Charleston, South Carolina and Washington D.C. - S.C.D.C. The New Electric (Boogaloo) Term!
Salt Lake City and Dallas - Yeehaw Utah!
Los Angeles - It's Time To Put On Those Dancing Shoes Again Kids!

For more on So You Think You Can Dance Canada:

Top 12 Performances, Results 12 to 10
Top 14 Performances, Results 14 to 12
Top 16 Performances, Results 16 to 14
Top 18 Performances, Results 18 to 16
Top 20 Performances and Results
Introducing Canada's Top 20

Auditions:
Toronto Week - The Cut to the Top 20
Vancouver, Halifax, Calgary, Montreal - West, East, Middle and Quebec
Toronto - Toronto's Best Foot Forward
The Judges, The Host, The Teaser, All Photos from CTV

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
Top 18 Performances, Top 18 Results
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

No comments: