Tapeworthy: So You Think You Can Dance

So You Think You Can Dance - Top 6 Results - The Cut from 6 to Final 4 - Ep. 521
Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Guest Judge: Lil C

Top 6 Group Dance
Style: Broadway
Choreographed by: Tyce DiOrio
Song: "Send in the Clowns" - Judy Collins (song from A Little Night Music)

Boy, they are using a lot of Broadway songs this season, and current ones too. A Little Night Music opens on Broadway later this season (supposedly, though they seem to keep pushing back the casting announcement) based on the London production that just closed this past weekend. Love the song and loved Judy Collins version, but the dance was alright. I thought there were some cool parts to it, but isn't the best Top 6 routine that in my mind, must still live up to Mia Michael's dance to Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" which might be my favorite dance EVER from the show.

My Predictions from the Top 6 Performances:
Bottom Four: Kayla, Melissa, Evan, Ade
Going Home: Melissa, Ade (Yes, I know everyone's picking Evan but I'm going on a limb here. Hey, if Janette can be out last week, anything can happen).

Should be the Final Four (in alphabetical order): Brandon, Evan, Jeanine, Kayla

And let me clarify that yes, I know Brandon and Ade are the strongest male dancers. But I'll keep defending Evan against those that say he's not a good dancer (his solo's, like Melissa's, are deceptively difficult), but yes, I get that you either love or hate his aw-shucks personality and that he's not as versatile as the others.

Actually, continuing the season long debate that this years crop of dancers, or the show and dances themselves, aren't as good, again, I'll reiterate that usually in an episode or a season, there's actually not THAT many great UNBELIEVABLE dances. It's just that we've now had 4 past seasons worth of collective dances to wax nostalgic that I think we build it up (because I remember people complaining about the same thing in Season 3 and 4, though I will admit, Season 2 WAS my favorite, though I don't remember anybody from the Top 11-20). And proof? More past dancers are back to showcase more Emmy winning routines and they start with Will and Jessica from last year in a dance I TOTALLY DON'T REMEMBER AT ALL. NOTHING. I though it was a brand new dance or something (it's not). (Plus remember how everyone said Will was technically brilliant but lacking star charisma? Sound familiar?) . Also, I kinda hated Jessica for some reason although I can't remember why now.

Adam and Eve - Contemporary
Jessica King and Will Wingfield
Choreographed by Tyce DiOrio
"Silence" - Unfaithful (Soundtrack)

On the other hand, then there was the DOOR routine which is AWESOME and memorable and AWESOME.
The Door - Contemporary
Katee Sheen and "Twitch" Boss
Choreographed by Mia Michaels
"Mercy" - Duffy

Though I seem to remember a lot of the ones with props. (The Table Dance with Neil and Sabra, the Umbrella Dance with Ivan and Allison, the Bench Dance of course, the Flower dance with Neil and Lacey)

Argentine Tango
Chelsie Hightower and Joshua Allen
Choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin
"A Los Amigos" - Forever Tango (original Broadway Cast Recording)

then finally, My FAVORITE routine from last season:
Bleeding Love - Hip-Hop
Chelsie Hightower and Mark Kanemura
Choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha D'Umo
"Bleeding Love" - Leona Lewis

Okay, so I don't think there's been a Bleeding Love this season, but that really was THE standout from last year (S4) for me. (Again, The Table Dance is my fave from S3. S2 had probably the most standouts including my faves SexyBack and Hide and Seek).

On the other hand, Joe commented in my earlier post "For what it's worth, I can understand the complaints about a (comparatively) weaker season, but I find myself far more invested in rooting for Jeanine to win than I was for anyone last season." and I'd probably agree with that too. While I was rooting for Katee last year during the final four, I really didn't care who won by then. I didn't mind Joshua winning, and I can see Twitch's impressive improvements and I just totally forgot that Courtney made the final four (and had to look it up, even though I loved her). If anyone, Mark was my fave from last year but I don't think I've rooted for anybody like crazy since Neil and Sabra or Travis (and remember, a LOT of people felt Neil wasn't a great dancer and should have been eliminated much earlier, and only since the season's ended has his credibility caught up with his actual talent, cause I remember defending Neil during the run of the show as much as I've been defending Evan right now (and Travis the year before when Benji took the sweep)). Seriously, this happens EVERY season. It's like the same Idol whining where EVERY year we complain about the contestants and the crazy judges and blah blah blah blah blah.

Anyways, the results of the final cut were:

Jeanine Mason is SAFE! And the first dancer onto the final four!!! Whoop whoop! She's still my prediction to win though it seems like there's quite the Kayla contingent too, which I used to be in. Not like I don't like her anymore, I've just been won over by Jeanine now.

Brandon Bryant is the first boy to be SAFE! Amazing what a well timed good solo can do, especially considering Brandon, while excellent, always had frenetic unfocused solo's that should have been better considering his talent. Finally he pulled out that A solo just in time for the finale.

That also means the bottom 4 are by default, Melissa, Kayla, Ade and Evan who re-perform their solos.

And in between, the JabbaWockeeZ (winners from America's Best Dance Crew, a show which I surprisingly only got into in the last season, maybe because I just couldn't take it seriously with Randy Jackson's name in the title for the longest time) perform (to "Freak-A-Zoid" - Midnight Star) just in time to remind us of the new season premiering on August 9th.

In the end,

Kayla Radomski and Evan Kasprzak round out the final four just as I predicted thus eliminating original partners Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi out of the finals in a case of amazing dancers that may have peaked too early in the competition. I'm sad to see them go, but I had a feeling it was going to happen.

So we say goodbye to Melissa and Ade:

2 comments:

DuchessKitty5:09 p.m., July 31, 2009
Ah Vance, you are so sage. You're totally right about the fact that we fans complain about and say the same things for the most part each season.
That said, I'm not going to deny that I'm upset that Evan is in the final and not Ade. Ultimately I want to Jeanine to take the whole thing, but Evan has a strong enough fan base that he could pull out a win. And y'know what, that's fine. It is after all America's favorite dancer. And for me the joy of this show is not in who wins or loses - it's the whole package. The dancing is what matters.
My favorite routines and pieces mostly feature people that didn't win their season. Think about all of the success that so many of the past contestants have had recently - Travis, Dmitry, Pasha, Chelsie, Lacey - none of them won or necessarily even made the top 4.

We also agree about "Hide and Seek" being one of the best routines ever on this show. My top placement probably going to Mia's other Imogen Heap piece - Season 3's "The Moment I Said It".
http://duchesskitty.blogspot.com/2009/07/sytycd-favorite-group-dances.html
Replic Jewelry11:46 p.m., August 05, 2009
I’m not a fan of any dancer, what I am looking forward is who’s going to dance their way into our hearts and on to victory. Let’s look forward to the perfect performance of the four sluggers.
It said that Paula Abdul can be the next judge and the choreographer of the next season's show. Is it?

Tapeworthy

Friday, July 31, 2009

So You Think You Can Dance - A Lil Night Musical

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