Tapeworthy: SYTYCD Canada - Who To Vote Four?

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Final 4 Performance Night - Ep. 222
Judges: Jean-Marc Généreux, Tré Armstrong, Blake McGrath, Luther Brown

Top 4. A strong group too. Maybe one of the strongest. I would switch out Everett for Austin but Everett has got some PERSONALITY and I still love him.

But seriously, after this performance night, I'm still torn between who should win, who will win, and it almost makes me mad that Tara-Jean, Vincent and Jamie Rae all won't win, since each are deserving of the title.

Alas, we will have to wait until Sunday's (9pm EST) 2 hour finale (with what might be the last Mia Michael's choreographed routine for this show, plus Kenny Ortega will be back as well), but as you can see below, it was an AMAZING final performance night that didn't really help make any clear choice since EVERYONE upped their game.

Top 4 Group Dance - Everett, Jayme Rae, Tara-Jean, Vincent
Style: Theatre Cabaret
Choreographed by: Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin
Song: "Theme for Gypsy (Shivas Regal)" - Sonny Lester and His Orchestra
Grade: B+

That was fun and quite different from what we're used to from Tony and Melanie! Though what was with the half naked men in the background playing coatcheck?

Okay, so the judges favoured the girls here more than the guys but maybe my own biases prevail but I found myself watching Tara-jean and Vincent's side more, and then Vincent and Jayme Rae more when they switched up, which is to say, basically, I thought the girls and Vincent did great, but Everett, while I adore him, was slightly lacking.

On the other hand, TJ and Vincent have a slightly unfair advantage since they've just worked together for the last 2 weeks, while Jayme Rae and Everett haven't. And when Everett was back with TJ, it showed that TJ has really grown since the first few weeks and now seemed to carry the weight.

Here's the video of the Top 4 Group Dance:

Everett Smith

Everett Smith
&
Vincent Desjardins
Style: Atlanta Hip-Hop
Choreographed by: Sho-Tyme
Song: "B.O.B." - Outkast
Grade: B

Okay, usually I think Vincent has been the best Hip-Hopper this season (outside of the Hip-Hoppers) but I think Everett did a better job here. Loved the shoe swap with one red and one white. Cute!

Still, love these two and I think that was such a fast Hip-Hop and they did a great job for such a fast style. As Tre says, Everett's stamina stayed strong but either way, these two seemed to have a nice chemistry together.

Here's the video of Everett and Vincent's Hip-Hop:

Tara-Jean Popowich
&
Everett Smith
Style: Jazz
Choreographed by: Sean Cheesman
Song: "Say (All I Need)" - OneRepublic
Grade: A-

Okay, that wind was a bit cheesy. I was loving it up until that point.
Luckily then there was the toe thrust and we were back in the game. That was really cool!

Here's a perfect marriage of song and dance and with TJ selling it, and Everett's natural charms, it ended up being a beautiful piece (minus that slightly wind cheese moment). I think TJ still showed stronger skills, and Everett still has some awkward, less smooth moments, but on the other hand, remembering that he's a tap dancer, he's done a tremendous job growing into this style.

Here's the video of TJ and Everett's Jazz:

Jayme Rae Dailey
&
Tara-Jean Popowich
Style: Mambo
Choreographed by: Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin
Song: "Ran Kan Kan" - Tito Puente
Grade: A

Was I the only one thinking about Betty and Veronica?

So shaky shaky and so dazzling! And those heels! Seriously. These two girls are amazing. They would have kicked ass in any other season and already won the damn thing. It's kind of sad that no matter what, at least one of these two WON'T win.

Here's the video of Jayme Rae and Tara-Jean's Mambo:

Jayme Rae Dailey
&
Vincent Desjardins
Style: Contemporary
Choreographed by: Stacey Tookey
Song: "Can't Stop Thinking 'Bour You" - Martin Sexton
Grade: A+

WOW. HOLY. WOW. AMAZING. WOW. HOLY COW. WOW.

Jayme Rae. WOW.

Vincent. WOW.

It's hard to believe that Vincent is a ballroom dancer and not a contemporary dancer after seeing that. He's SOOO versatile and has been all season, but watching him do Stacey Tookie's choreography was just heaven. Pure heaven!

And if there was any doubt about Jayme Rae, um, WHY WOULD YOU HAVE ANY DOUBT? She's fricken AWESOME.

Why can't BOTH of them win? Seriously?

Here's the video of Jayme Rae and Vincent's Contemporary:

Tara-Jean Popowich
&
Vincent Desjardins
Style: Hustle
Choreographed by: Maria Torres
Song: "Last Dance" - Donna Summer
Grade: A+

That was supposed to be cheese. But it SOOO wasn't. It was so classy, smooth, controlled, swaggered, elegant and just plain AMAZING TOO.

Vincent just had that edge and manly swagger to pull it off, and Tara-Jean just sparkled and swung around like a disco ball.

My heart is actually beating hard after watching that. WOW!

Here's the video of TJ and Vincent's Hustle:

Jayme Rae Dailey
&
Everett Smith
Style: Samba
Choreographed by: Eric Caty and Kelly Lannan
Song: "Run the Show" - Kat DeLuna
Grade: A-

Okay, Everett still struggles just a bit with the lifts but his leg work is great and his smiling face always saves whatever flaws he may have. That being said, I couldn't take my eyes off Jayme Rae and her red frilly dress. By the second half, I barely noticed Everett was even there.

Here's the video of Jayme Rae and Everett's Samba:

The Solos

Everett Smith
Song: "Style" - Cameo
Grade: A-

I still love Everett's solos and forget what a great tapper he is. His showmanship is still through the roof and his smile and positive aura are always welcoming.

Jayme Rae Dailey
Song: "Radiaciones Arrabaleras" - Bailongo
Grade: A+

I've mentioned this before but I had been disappointed by JR's solos through the season only cause I KNEW she could do so much more, but every week, they got better and better as she figured out how to perfect them. Well, NICE TIMING because that was not just HER best solo, but an AMAZING solo period, and just in time for the final performance night!

Vincent Desjardins
Song: "Land of 1000 Dances" - Wilson Pickett
Grade: A+

No guy has done ballroom solos like Vincent. SO FAST. SO Much ENERGY. He's like a Ballroom Rock and Roll star. As much as I loved Pasha and Dmitry and Francis, Vincent has always managed to make his ballroom solos look edgy and modern.

Tara-Jean Popowich
Song: "Bleeding Love" - Boyce Avenue
Grade: A

Still such the sparkplug. I think TJ's had the biggest growth and really got great during the Top 10, and her solo's have been fabulous in the second half.

Here's the videos of the solos:

2 comments:

momo1:25 p.m., October 21, 2009
Scouring the interwebs for videos, but your recaps are a great stand-in! I will be thrilled for any of these four as winner, what a great group of dancers and personalities! STYCYD Canada has really impressed me, and I so wish I could just watch the damn shows!
mathyoo20035:23 a.m., October 22, 2009
Can anyone explain to me why after 7 seasons in US and Canada they still insist on keeping the solos only 30 sec long? Wouldn't it be nice to see what these dancers can do on their own even after the audition shows? Or do the judges and choreographers always have to hog the spotlight?

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

SYTYCD Canada - Who To Vote Four?

2 comments: