Tapeworthy: SYTYCD8 & SYTYCDC4

So You Think You Can Dance - Season 8 - Top 20 Redux - Results, Top 16 Performances, Top 16 Results - Eps - 809-811
Judges Top 20 Results: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Debbie Reynolds
Judges Top 16: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Kristin Chenoweth, Lil' C

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Season 4 - Auditions: Vancouver, Edmonton, Saint John, Montréal - Eps. 402-403
Judges: Jean-Marc Généreux, Tré Armstrong, Mia Michaels, Luther Brown, Melissa Williams, Stacey Tookey, Sean Cheesman, Mary Murphy
Choreographer: Blake McGrath

How have I been gone from the continent for just over a week and missed 7 hours worth of SYTYCD between the US and Canadian editions? Ok, lots to catch up on. So let's get started:

Top 20 Redux Group Performance
Style: Hip-Hop
Choreographed by: Dave Scott
Song: "Sinnerman" - Nina Simone

The Filler:
LMFAO w/ Quest Crew. Love Quest Crew but hate LMFAO.
Rage Crew:

Is it me or is the slightly sexualized dancing from little kids a little creepy? The moves are cool, but that little Black Girl front and centre during the mini-me portion looks like those internet e-cards where you stick a face on a dancing body.

Dance for Your Life:

Wadi Jones
Song: "Pon de Floor" - Major Lazer feat. Vybz Kartel
Grade: B

Missy Morelli
Song: "Move (Metronomy Remix)" - CSS
Grade: B

Nick Young
Song: "Follow Me Down" - 3OH!3 feat. Neon Hitch
Grade: A-

Iveta Lukosiute
Song: "Samba Rock" - Gennaro
Grade: B+

Ricky Jaime
Song: "Riot Rhythm" - Sleigh Bells
Grade: B+

Ryan Ramirez
Song: "Moving Mountains" - Usher
Grade: B+

Here is the video of the solos:

The Cut:

They should save Iveta and Nick, instead, they save Ricky and Ryan, thus cutting Wadi, Missy, Iveta and Nick. Thus keeping 2 more contemporary dancers and cutting the lone Tapper, the lone Ballroom dancer.

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Top 16 Performances:

Chris Koehl, Clarice Ordaz, Marko Germar, Miranda Maleski, Mitchell Kelly, Ryan Ramirez, Sasha Mallory, and Tadd Gadduang
Style: Broadway
Choreographed by: Tyce DiOrio
Song: "Hit The Road Jack" - Ray Charles
Grade - Dance: C
I'm biting my tongue about the choreo... Anyways, dancing was great but I think my eye tended to gravitate towards Marko, Tadd and Sasha, though it's also hard to miss Ryan's big poof of blonde hair.

Sasha Mallory and Alexander Fost
Style: Contemporary
Choreographed by: Dee Caspary
Song: "Belong" - Cary Brothers
Grade - Dance: B+
Grade - Boy: B
Grade - Girl: A-

Wait, how did the piano keep playing once Alexander started dancing? :P

I like Alexander. I do, but I feel with Sasha as a partner, he gets easily overshadowed by her presence and her dancing. Sasha seems to have this innate spark that gives her dancing, her movements, even the stops in her movements, the extra oomph that just gives her a glow.

Nigel mentions a similar response, telling Alexander that his moves and lines are there, but there needs to be that emotional pull from within.

Here's the video of Sasha and Alexander's Contemporary:

Caitlynn Lawson and Mitchell Kelly
Style: Samba
Choreographed by: Jean-Marc Généreux
Song: "Put It in a Love Song - Alicia Keys feat. Beyoncé Knowles
Grade - Dance: A
Grade - Girl: A
Grade - Boy: A-

For some reason I thought this was going to be a disaster but while Jean-Marc gets annoying as the head judge on SYTYCDC, I tend to forget that he's a pretty great choreographer and knows how to mix fun current music with his ballroom styles. That was pretty fun, and I thought Caitlynn looked awesome and sexy and Mitchell got all the hip shaking and a surprisingly clean and crisp looking Samba. Maybe a tad too clean and crisp, but pretty spectacular nonetheless.

Here's the video of Caitlynn and Mitchell's Samba:

Miranda Maleski and Robert Taylor Jr.
Style: Broadway
Choreographed by: Tyce DiOrio
Song: "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" - from Sophisticated Ladies Original Broadway Cast Recording
Grade - Dance: C+
Grade - Boy: B-
Grade - Girl: A-

Miranda didn't quite look sophisticated but her dancing was pretty swinging. Robert did pretty good for a hip-hop dancer but I thought there were moments he looked laughably flailing while being one step behind Miranda.

The judges praised them, and particularly Robert, but I thought as good as he did, he paled to Miranda.

Here's the video of Miranda and Robert's Broadway:

Melanie Moore and Marko Germar
Style: Lyrical Hip-Hop
Choreographed by: Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo
Song: "I Got You" - Leona Lewis
Grade - Dance: A
Grade - Boy: A+
Grade - Girl: A-

The first shivers of the season. And not even during the kiss. BEFORE that near the start of the dance. Ok, hold on. I need to rewatch that again RIGHT NOW.

Ok, let's get nitpicky. Melanie was a tad behind in some of the hip-hop movements and wasn't as sharp as Marko.

Um, yah, that's about it. Melanie was still beautiful in her movements.

Marko's movements are simply splendid. The total sh!t! Add in the emotional character he was able to portray, and Marko is easily at the top of his game right now, and the top of this season.

Why did this dance have to end? I could have watched it for much longer. It was also nice to see NappyTabs back, and as Lil' C mentions, they must have been excited when they found out they had the powercouple to work with. Then the judges go crazy kissing each other.

Here's the video of Melanie and Marko's Lyrical Hip-Hop:

Ashley Rich and Chris Koehl
Style: Jazz
Choreographed by: Sonya Tayeh
Song: "Lights Go Down (District 78 Remix)" - Telephathe
Grade - Dance: B+
Grade - Boy: B-
Grade - Girl: B+

I like Chris. I really do. But like Alexander, Chris can get overshadowed by his dance partner. Ashley has that extra power in her dancing that keeps her interesting.

But despite that, I never felt there was a truly wow moment in this Sonya dance, and while I don't necessarily agree with Nigel that it was the song's fault, I do think there was a lack of an extra surge of energy in the dance (whether it be by the dancer or by design) that could have elevated the choreography.

Here's the video of Ashley and Chris' Jazz:

Clarice Ordaz and Jess LeProtto
Style: Foxtrot
Choreographed by: Jean-Marc Généreux
Song: "Fly Me To the Moon" - Frank Sinatra
Grade - Dance: B+
Grade - Boy: B+
Grade - Girl: B+

There's nothing I can really criticize about the dance, and Mary Murphy thought it was great and this was Kristin's favorite of the night, but I thought it was a nice dance, danced nicely, but I still felt like something was missing, or it seemed a bit snoozy. Part of it may be the fact that I think I'm tired of the way Frank sings this where he punctuates the wrong spots. Yes, I said it. I criticized Frank (ducks from a hail of mob hits). I know it should not affect how I see the dancing, but just as clean and sparkly as it was, I will probably easily forget this dance in a few days.

I almost wish Clarice were paired up with Alexander or Chris and Jess thus gets paired up with Ashley or Sasha.

Here's the video of Clarice and Jess' Foxtrot:

Ryan Ramirez and Ricky Jaime
Style: Contemporary
Choreographed by: Sonya Tayeh
Song: "With Every Heartbeat (Acoustic)" - Robyn
Grade - Dance: B+
Grade - Girl: B+
Grade - Boy: B

So here's the contentious couple. While I think Ryan and Ricky are great dancers, I still think Nick and Iveta should have stayed instead.

Now after seeing this, I still don't know how Ricky stayed over Nick, who not only was a tapdancer (so something different), but was far more versatile. Ricky's a good partner and great dancer, but I don't ever feel like he's quite THERE in the dance, and easily gets overshadowed by Ryan, despite some incredible dance moves he can pull off.

Lil' C thinks they are a power couple, but I don't think they bring it as much as Melanie and Marko. Nigel couldn't take his eyes off Ricky. Did I miss something? Are they just trying to justify their Top 20 Redux decision that many disagreed with?

Here's the video of Ryan and Ricky's Contemporary:

Jordan Casanova and Tadd Gadduang
Style: Hip-Hop
Choreographed by: Tabitah and Napoleon D'umo
Song: "Memories" - David Guetta feat. Kid Cudi
Grade - Dance: A-
Grade - Boy: A-
Grade - Girl: A-

This morning after dance was quite amusing and a lot of fun. Tadd and Jordan weren't always in perfect sync, and I actually thought Tadd was a tad softer than Jordan in hitting the beat.

But lots of fun getting dressed and undressed again.

Here's the video of Jordan and Tadd's Hip-Hop:

Alexander Fost, Ashley Rich, Caitlynn Lawson, Jess LeProtto, Jordan Casanova, Melanie Moore, Ricky Jaime and
Robert Taylor Jr.
Style: Contemporary
Choreographed by: Dee Caspary
Song: "Poison and Wine" - The Civil Wars
Grade - Dance: B+
Interesting to note how Jordan, Jess and Melanie always seemed front and centre here, and thus the most noticeable. Though thought Caitlynn and Ashley did lovely jobs as well.

Here's the video of Top 16's Group 2:

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Final Roundup:

The Dancers - Pairs Routine:
1st - Best of the Night: Melanie and Marko
2nd: Jordan and Tadd
3rd: Caitlynn and Mitchell
4th: Sacha and Alexander
5th: Clarice and Jess
6th: Ryan and Ricky
7th: Ashley and Chris
8th - Worst of the Night: Miranda and Robert

The Routines:
Best Routine of the Night: Tabitha and Napoleon's Lyrical Hip-Hop (Melanie and Marco)
2nd Best Routine of the Night: Jean-Marc Généreux's Samba (Caitlynn and Mitchell)
3rd Best Routine of the Night: Tabitah and Napoleon's Hip-Hop (Jordan and Tadd)

Should Go Home:

This is how I rank all the dancers overall (based on dancing and personality): (last week's rankings in parenthesis):
Overall Ranking:
1. Marko (1)
2. Melanie (3)
3. Jordan (6)
4. Tadd (4)
5. Ashley (7)
6. Caitlynn (8)
7. Mitchell (9)
8. Sasha (10)
9. Jess (12)
10. Chris (11)
11. Clarice (13)
12. Ryan (14)
13. Ricky (15)
14. Miranda (20)
15. Alexander (18)
16. Robert (16)

------------------------------
Top 16 Results- The Cut from 16 to 14

Top 16 Group Dance
Style: Jazz
Choreographed by: Michael Rooney
Song: "The Incredits" - from The Incredibles Soundtrack

Results:
Bottom 3:
Ashley and Chris
Miranda and Robert
Caitlynn and Mitchell

The Filler:
AXIS - Song: "Partita for Violin No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004: V. Ciaccona" - Janine Jansen, Choreographer: Alex Ketley
An integrated dance company, showing us a dance with a guy in a wheelchair.

Ballroom Champions Eric Luna and Georgia Ambarian - Song: "Calypso" from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Soundtrack
They threw in a lot of tricks for ballroom and man, it looked spectacular and I ate it up! Georgia looked like she was floating the whole time, with much thanks to her partner Eric for holding her up in so many different ways. Dang!

Dance for Your Life Solos:

Ashley Rich
Song: "For You" - David Ryan Harris
Grade: B
Cute and flighty if not quite dance for your life worthy.

Chris Koehl
Song: "You're Gonna Make It" - KJ-52 feat. Blanca Reyes
Grade: A-
I forgot Chris is a Hip-Hopper. He's good!

Miranda Maleski
Song: "Unthinkable" - Maria Zouroudis
Grade: B
Nice if standard DFYL solo.

Robert Taylor Jr.
Song: "I Don't Need It" - Jamie Foxx
Grade: B
Lot of quick dancing and fast feet movement but it doesn't seem quite enough anymore.

Caitlynn Lawson
Song: "It Doesn't Hurt (Live Version)" - Katie Thompson
Grade: B
Throws in a more passionate solo with that whole yearning standard contemp dance but a couple of missteps throws her off.

Mitchell Kelly
Song: "Rolling in the Deep" - Adele
Grade: A-
Isn't this a modified version of the first solo he did? On the other hand, that was a spectacular solo

From this batch, Robert and Miranda should go home, and they do.

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So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Auditions: Vancouver
Judges: Jean-Marc Généreux, Tré Armstrong, Mia Michaels, Luther Brown
Choreography: Blake McGrath

Here's some notable auditions:

Niki Hutchison, 19, AB
Dubbed "Spicy" by JM in previous audition, I'd say she's more emo-cute, looking a little like a dancing Jennifer Lawrence with those blonde tresses and the baby face.

Mike Cameron, 18, Heldenberg, ON
Cheeky cute tap dancer (who seems way older than 18) who seems very stretchy and part cool and part geek.

Mackenzie Carlson, 18, Calgary, AB
Looks a little like Kelly Clarkson. Very smooth contempo dancer with some power moves, all while looking so sweet and gentle.

Other dancers of note: Tia Haraga, 21, Chiliwack, BC (danced on MMVA's w/ Ke$ha but I thought her audition was kind of plain, and as Mia said, one note), Carlos Chang, 29, Vancouver, BC (Buff Ballroom dancer with quick feet who has auditioned on the US show 4 times and apparently Mia was a big fan the whole time), Carlena Britch (quirky fun funky dancer but her audition is more vibe than substance), Handy Yacinthe, QC (popper who moves like a smooth robot, though to me looks more like specialized movement than dancing), Spandy Andy (he's ready for SNL, but I gotta say, boy's got ABS).

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Auditions: Edmonton
Judges: Jean-Marc Généreux, Tré Armstrong, Luther Brown, Stacey Tookey
Choreography: Blake McGrath

Moses Layco, 25, Winnipeg, MN
4th time auditioning, took up diving to broaden skills and while I don't remember if they've showed him before, whatever he's done in the 4 years has helped. Beautiful dancing that is both smooth and lyrical and strong and controlled.

Jamie Pragnall, 18, AB
Cute little girl who isn't stick thin but does what Stacey calls "flawless". Tre says is the "true consummate artist".

Other dancers of note: Yuliya Zavadaska, 29, and Sharon Levit, 27, Toronto, ON, (Great ballroom dancers), Lanie McAuley, 21, BC (Suffered from depression but is pretty and has a quirky and impassioned style of dancing. Needs a bit more technicality in her skills), Katie Baines, 19, Calgary, AB (Babyface Ok), Derick Robinson, 19, Reswick, ON (Funky hair guy who has funky moves to match), Matthew Michalski, 18, Calgary, AB (Cute big brother dancing for his sister with great potential but the cute and tallness definitely helped),

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Auditions: Saint John, NB
Judges: Jean-Marc Généreux, Melissa Williams, Sean Cheesman, Luther Brown
Choreography: Blake McGrath

Matthew Marr, 19, Saint John, NB
Looks like a jock, dances like a wild angel. And seems to have just a slightly quirkiness beneath the cool exterior.

Justin Lopes, 19, Simcoe, ON
Another handsome dude but with a very quirky and soulful attitude with some nice lines and technical skills. (And is a construction worker)

Nicholas Eichenberger, 19, Amherstberg, ON
3rd audition in Saint John, 3rd cute 19 year old guy, third knock out audition. Only 3 years dancing experience and while his lines could be tiny bit cleaner, he too has a nice quirkiness and musicality that shows a lot of potential. Makes Melissa Williams cry! The judges are blown away that he's only danced for 3 years and it's his first audition. If he doesn't make the Top 20 this year, he will one year and do really well.

Alvin Collantes, 21, Mississauga, ON
Almost made the finals last year, has since gone back to school (book school), but damn, his movements are crazy strong.

Mario Fugnitto 19, Whitby, ON
I feel like he seems like a club dancer who actually has some skills and moved into the contempo realm.

Haley McPherson, Brooklin, ON
Strange little bird, and strong, clean lined little bird.

Other dancers of note: Courtney Van Wirdum, Woodbridge, ON (A tiny control problem out of a spin, but she's sexy and does a controlled contemporary piece. Judges want to see more), Erica Jean-Baptiste, Gatineau, QC (Stretchy)

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Auditions: Montréal
Judges: Jean-Marc Généreux, Tré Armstrong, Luther Brown, Mary Murphy
Choreography: Blake McGrath

Denitsa Ikonomova 23, Laval, QC and Christian Millete 28, Montréal, QC
What a hot and sexy couple. Very sultry audition. She's got the moves and he's hot to boot.

Geisha Chin, 19
Lovely dancing. Learned from last year's failed attempt.

Christelle Denis, 26, Trois-Rivieres, QC and Steve Grenier, 20, Deux Montagnes, QC
Kind of a wild ballroom couple that JM LOVED.

Adam Asselin-Rioux, 20, St. Jean Sur Richelieu, QC
Super strong control of his body in frantically emotional (if slightly too literal, which Luther didn't like either) interpretation of "Grenade". Cuteness helps too.

J.P. Dubé, 19, Montréal, QC
The sweetest looking white boy gives his Hip-Hop moves a cuteness that probably won't give him street cred, but definitely will win him lots of fangirls (and fangays).

Jenny Dailey, 22, Montréal, QC
Now blonde and looking different from her twin sister Jaime Rae (Final 4 of S2 and possibly one of the best female dancers of all the US and Canada seasons), is back and still as good as ever, and now holding her own.

Kevin Howe, 21, Ottawa, ON
Beautiful dancer. Cute, Tall, handsome. Beautiful lines and controlled movements. Lovely.

Other dancers of note: Eric Olivier (A bit of a hip-hop tease), Emily Nadeau, 19, Trois Rivieres, QC and Francois Prunneau 25, Trois Rivieres, QC (Cute ballroom couple),

And that's it for the city auditions. Whew. Wait. They're gonna be announcing the Top 20 for Canada already???
Won't that mean Top 20 Canada will start crossing over with Top 12 US?

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
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