So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Before the Finale

Top 8 and Top 6 Performance and Results, Top 4 Performance Night

Alright, I'm back in Canada and finally able to properly catch up with So You Think You Can Dance Canada just as the final performance aired so while this is probably all old news, for posterity's sake (and for our non-Canadian readers), here's my thoughts on the Top 8, Top 6 and this week's Top 4, just in time for this Sunday's Finale (on CTV at 9pm)



Top 8 - Performance Night - Ep. 117
Judges: Jean-Marc Genereux, Tre Armstrong, Dan Karaty, Mia Michaels

Allie Bertram and Miles Faber
Dance #1
Style: Samba
Choreographer: Eric Caty
Song: "Aguanile" - Hector Lavoe

Grade: B
I wanted to like this better since these two are my favorite dancers but I thought it was good but not great.

Dance #2
Style: African-Jazz
Choreographer: Vicky Lambert
Song: "Shosholoza" - Soweto Gospel Choir

Grade: A-
Ballerina and a Popper. Yet these two Calgarians are so cute together that I wish they got paired up more. Somehow the two opposing types of dancers CAN work together and prove well here (and sort of redeem their earlier mediocre Samba).

Here is the video of Allie and Miles' Samba:

Here is the video of Allie and Miles' African- Jazz:



Arassay Reyes and Izaak Smith
Dance #1
Style: Lindy Hop
Choreographer: Benji Schwimmer
Song: "Welcome to the Black Parade" - My Chemical Romance

Grade: B-
It was messy and Arassay didn't look as clean as she usually is but on the other hand, she was doing all the work in this piece so she could be forgiven for looking tired. Izaak practically just stood there. I'm glad Mia called out what the Canadian judges couldn't.

Dance #2
Style: Tango
Choreographer: Alex de Silva
Song: "Pa'Bailar (Instrumental Album Version)" - Bajofondo

Grade: B
Was it me or did Arassay just do everything again in the dance and Izaak just basically stood there until he had to spin her? Mia AGAIN called out exactly what I thought. Arassay is trying to connect but it must be hard when Izaak is such a board. Arassay made little mistakes but when you have to do everything in the dance, you're bound to make more mistakes than your partner who is doing nothing.

Here is the video of Arassay and Izaak's Lindy Hop:

Here is the video of Arassay and Izaak's Tango:



Natalli Reznik and Vincent Noiseux
Dance #1
Style: Krump
Choreographer: Lil' C
Song: "Lost Boiz Anthem" - The J-Squad

Grade: B-
I actually thought Natalie was doing better than Vincent until she forgot part of her choreography but generally I thought it was fine but still not hard enough for Krump. I didn't love it as much as the judges seemed to.

Dance #2
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Stacey Tookey
Song: "Happy Ending" - Mika

Grade: A-
I thought both were really great but the connection between the two were just missing a little something. Just a smidgen of something but probably because Natalli connected with Francis so well and Vincent connected with Lisa so well that it's hard to live up to their previous partnerships, especially after only a few days of rehearsing together. I think if these two were given another week or so together, it would be totally there.

Here is the video of Natalli and Vincent's Krump:

Here is the video of Natalli and Vincent's Contemporary:



Lisa Auguste and Nico Archambault
Dance #1
Style: Jazz-Funk
Choreographer: Blake McGrath
Song: "When I Grow Up" - The Pussycat Dolls

Grade: A
Dirty and while I didn't totally love the choreography as a whole, I thought Lisa and Nico really performed it with all their might. Lisa was absobitchingly fabulous!

Dance #2
Style: Hip-Hop
Choreographer: Luther Brown
Song: "Whatever You Like" - T.I.

Grade: A-
The choreography was okay but again, Lisa and Nico danced it pretty damn well.

Here's the video of Lisa and Nico's Jazz-Funk:

Here's the video of Lisa and Nico's Hip-Hop:


My final roundup of the Top 8:
Favorite Pair of the Night:: Lisa and Nico
Favorite Pairs Dance of the Night: Lisa and Nico's Jazz-Funk
Favorite Individual Boy of the Night: : Nico
Favorite Individual Girl of the Night: : Lisa (though Natalli's Contemporary might be my individual favorite female performance of the night)

Worst Dance of the Night: Arassay and Izaak's Lindy-Hop





Top 8 Results - The Cut from 8 to 6 - Ep. 118

Top 8 Group Dance - Paso Doble
Choreographer: Jean-Marc Genereux
Song: "Malagueña" - Brian Setzer '68 Comeback Special

Here's the video of the Top 8 Group Dance:


Here's the video of the girls solo's:

Here's the video of the boys solo's:


Alas, Lisa and Arassay were in the bottom 2 girls and Arassay was eliminated. I know she didn't have a perfect night but seriously. WTF?
Then Vincent and Izaak were in the bottom 2 boys and Vincent was eliminated. Seriously. WTF? When I originally heard this, this was probably the point when I slowly stopped caring as much. (Granted it began when Izaak was put through to the Top 10 by the judges).







Top 6 - Performance Night - Ep. 119
Judges: Jean-Marc Genereux, Tre Armstrong, Sean Cheesman, Mary Murphy

Natalli Reznik and Nico Archambault
Dance #1
Style: Disco
Choreographer: Melissa Williams
Song: "Knock on Wood" - Amii Stewart

Grade: A
I know I've been harsh on Natalli before (I like her but I don't LOVE her like I love the other girls) but just as I was gone, she's really gotten a lot more polished. She has the fire, now she's following through. Nico sucks. Ha. Yeah right. Is there anything he can't do? Do we even need to bother commenting on him anymore? I will add one thing, he never seems to have a problem connecting with any of his partners all while never letting himself down either.

Dance #2
Style: Quickstep
Choreographer: Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin
Song: "Swingin' at the Savoy" - Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88's

Grade: A-
Nico is always so great because he's so confident in his dancing and it looks like he's practiced them all for years. I swear he must be cheating somehow and got the choreography last year or something. Natalli is totally benefiting from being paired with Nico and shines when she has a strong partner (see Francis) and I will admit that while I thought she should have been cut weeks ago, she's shining in these last few weeks, I will still say that Nico is stealing the show.

Here is the video of Natalli and Nico's Disco:

Here is the video of Natalli and Nico's Quickstep:



Allie Bertram and Izaak Smith
Dance #1
Style: Hip-Hop
Choreographer: Luther Brown
Song: "Tell Me" - Diddy feat. Christina Aguilera

Grade: B+
Was it me or was Allie hitting it harder than Izaak? The ballerina hit it harder than Izaak. Tisk tisk. Oh, Mary is totally agreeing with me. Izaak is a'ight but the high grade is mostly due to Allie here.

Dance #2
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Melissa Williams
Song: "Forever" - Chris Brown

Grade: A-
I really liked that and Izaak was better but again still, I was totally enraptured by Allie. What a princess!

Here is the video of Allie and Izaak's Hip-Hop:

Here is the video of Allie and Izaak's Jazz:



Lisa Auguste and Miles Faber
Dance #1
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Blake McGrath
Song: "The Face" - RyanDan

Grade: A+
Holy S@#t that was intense and Miles and Lisa were insanely emotional and incredible. Holy S#!t!

Dance #2
Style: Cha Cha
Choreographer: Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin
Song: "Just Dance" - Lady Gaga feat. Colby O'Donis

Grade: B
That looked awkward against the fast beat song. Love these two dancers though and loved Lisa ripped Miles' shirt off at the end but the legwork did seem pretty decent, especially Lisa's kicks.

Here is the video of Lisa and Miles' Contemporary:

Here is the video of Lisa and Miles' Cha Cha:


Everyone also had to do a Solo:

Miles Faber
Song: "Get Up" - Vernon Burch
Grade: A
Just as I think I'm going to get bored by his popping, he somehow puts a fresh spin into his moves and it's all new again!

Natalli Reznik
Song: "She Wants To Move" - N*E*R*D
Grade: A-
I always felt Natalli's solos were here weakest link and her downfall but they are getting better and better and while I still think there's room for better choreography, she's melding her passion into her dance moves better each week.

Izaak Smith
Song: "Alibis" - Marianas Trench
Grade: B
Good but forgetable.

Lisa Auguste
Song: "The Hop" - Radio Citizen feat. Bajka
Grade: B+
It was a fun little solo but is it enough in the finals?

Nico Archambault
Song: "Reckoner" - Radiohead
Grade: A
There's something definitely french and arty about his solo's which puts it beyond just the typical contemporary/lyrical solo's. I'm definitely reminded of Montreal!

Allie Bertram
Song: "Variation V, Violente" - Tchiakovsky - Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev (The Sleeping Beauty)
Grade: A-
I know, she relies on the ballerina thing in her solo's too much but if I could dance on my toes, I would too.

Here is the video of all the solo's:


My final roundup of the Top 6:
Favorite Pair of the Night:: Natalli and Nico
Favorite Pairs Dance of the Night: Lisa and Miles' Contemporary
Favorite Individual Boy of the Night: : Nico
Favorite Individual Girl of the Night: : Lisa

Worst Dance of the Night: Allie and Izaak's Hip-Hop and mainly because Izaak.





Top 6 Results - The Cut from 6 to the Final 4 - Ep. 120
Top 6 Group Dance - Stepdance
Choreographer: Tre Armstrong
Song: "Hollaback Girl" - Gwen Stefani
Very cute. I didn't love the repositioning sections that could have been smoother but fun routine and fun to see the boys in nerd costumes. I totally want to order a nerd Nico or nerd Miles for myself.

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


Everyone had to do another solo:
Lisa Auguste
Song: "The Damn Thing" - Karizma
Grade: A-
Why didn't she do this routine in the Performance night?

Natalli Reznik
Song: "Tambourine" - Eve
Grade: B
She sort of just strutted around like a Paris Hilton doll princess. Just as I was saying her solo's were improving too.

Allie Bertram
Song: "Runaround Sue" - Dion
Grade: B+
More of the same but why fix it when it ain't really broke?

Miles Faber
Song: "Boogie Slide" - Divine Brown
Grade: A-
He does the smooth popping really really well.

Izaak Smith
Song: "Heaven on their Minds" - Carl Anderson (from Jesus Christ Superstar OST)
Grade: C
What was THAT? That was just a few lunges to the right and lunges to the left.


Nico Archambault
Song: "Reckoner" - Radiohead
Grade: A
TOTALLY reminds me of the french art scene!

Here's the video of all the girls solo's:


Here's the video of all the boys solo's:


In the end, Lisa and Izaak are cut from the competition. WHAT? I think Natalli has been totally improving but she was very inconsistent in the first half of the series while Lisa and Allie have been totally consistent so I'm a little saddened and shocked.







Top 4 - Performance Night - Ep. 121
Judges: Jean-Marc Genereux, Tre Armstrong, Luther Brown, Blake McGrath

So a Ballerina, Latin/Hip-Hop, Popper and Contemporary dancer are in the finals!
Yay! A ballerina and popper! I think they've been trying to get them into the Top 20 let alone the finals on the US version haven't they?

Still, it's been a long journey and the dancers are a little tired (and sadly, it's starting to show). Still, LOVE them!

Top 4 Group Dance - Allie Bertram, Natalli Reznik, Nico Archambault and Miles Faber
Style: Street Jazz
Choreographer: Dan Karaty
Song: "Genesis" - Justice
Grade: B-
I didn't love the choreography or the costume so I couldn't really enjoy their dancing.

Here's the video of the Top 4 Group Street Jazz number:



Natalli Reznik and Nico Archambault
Style: Salsa
Choreographer: Gustavo Vargas
Song: "La Pelotta" - Ray Barretto
Grade: B
This is the first time I've seen Natalli and Nico look tired and while they are hitting their moves, it seems like they are doing it loosely just to get through it. (I mean, understandably at this point in the competition but still, this is when you MUST bring your A game).

Here is the video of Natalli and Nico's Salsa:



Natalli Reznik and Miles Faber
Style: Hip-Hop
Choreographer: Sho-Tyme
Song: "Let's Get Dirty (I Can't Get In da Club)" - Redman
Grade: C
That was kind of a cold mess and it hurts and it pains me to see Miles so down on himself. It was kind of messy even before Miles forgot his moves and even Natalli seemed off her recent hot game but they carried through.

Here is the video of Natalli and Miles' Hip-Hop:



Allie Bertram and Nico Archambault
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Stacey Tookey
Song: "Permanent" - David Cook
Grade: A
Strongest male dancer and strongest female dancer of the competition. Enough said.

Here is the video of Allie and Nico's Contemporary:



Allie Bertram and Miles Faber
Style: Theatre
Choreographer: Sean Cheesman
Song: "Move (You're Steppin' On My Heart)" - Jennifer Holliday, Loretta Devine and Sheryl Lee Ralph
From Dreamgirls OBC
Grade: A-
My favorite male dancer and favorite female dancer of the competition. So fun! Enough said.

Here is the video of Allie and Miles' Theatre:



Allie Bertram and Natalli Reznik
Style: Go-Go
Choreographer: Melissa Williams
Song: "Drums a Go-Go" - The Hollywood Persuaders
Grade: B
Was it me or was that dance kind of sexist? Granted, I guess the whole Go-Go era was that but I almost wanted to cover Allie up (even though I know she's dressed with less before). It was alright for me but I was hoping it would be more fun and flirty and less boxing ring girls sleezy.

Here is the video of Allie and Natalli's Go-Go:



Nico Archambault and Miles Faber
Style: Capoeira
Choreographer: Paul Becker
Song: "A Amizade / Sacode A Poeira (Coro)" - Mestre Barrão/Axé Capoeira
Grade: B+
I'm not sure how "Capoeria" that is but it IS an extremely difficult dance/martial arts to learn so I thought they did a comparable job in learning such a hard style in such a short routine. Still, for a dance with the two sexiest guys in the competition, I was hoping for even more heat and body contact (hehe).

Here is the video of Miles and Nico's Capoeira:



Everyone had to do solo's as well:

Allie Bertram
Song: "Hide and Seek" - Imogen Heap
Grade: A-
More like a routine showing ballerina tricks and skills than a unified solo dance but it's still impressive nonetheless.

Miles Faber
Song: "I Can Make You Dance" - Slick Dogg
Grade: A-
I thought his routines in previous weeks were better outlined but the popping is still impressive and a reminder of how different his original style has been to everything he's been forced to learn and perform on this show.

Natalli Reznik
Song: "Spanish Lesson" - Madonna
Grade: A
There's a difference between a showy dance and a striptease and sometimes I felt that Natalli leaned towards stripperville in earlier solo's but this one crossed back over the line into a sexy showy dance.

Nico Archambault
Song: "Blue Orchid" - The White Stripes
Grade: A
Always brings the most interesting choreography to his solo routines and dances like a solid man without losing any of the fluidity of the body.


Here is the video of Allie and Miles' solo's:


Here is the video of Natalli and Nico's solo's:


Favorite Pairs Dance of the Night: Allie and Nico's Contemporary

And there it is. All the performances to judge from before Canada chooses its first So You Think You Can Dance Canada winner and while I think we lost some amazing dancers along the way (Vincent, Lisa, Lara, Arassay, Danny, Romina, Francis), I'm generally happy with the final four (well, I would have preferred to see Lisa or Arassay in the fourth spot) but alas, we will find out the winner on Sunday at 9pm on CTV.

My prediction for the winner: Duh, Nico is going to win. He's been the most popular dancer from the start and has been consistent and strong in almost every dance and solo.

In order, here's how I think it should go down:
1. Nico
2. Allie
3. Miles
4. Natalli

Although my favorite is still probably Miles for growing the most in the competition and Allie for defying all expectations.


For More So You Think You Can Dance:
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For more on So You Think You Can Dance Canada:

Top 10 Performances, Results 10 to 8
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 4:
Finale
Top 4 Performances
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!

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