SYTYCD8 - All Stars with All-Stars

So You Think You Can Dance - Season 8 - Top 10 Performances and Results, Top 8 Performances and Results, Top 6 Performances - Eps. 816 - 820
Judges (Top 10): Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Neil Patrick Harris
Judges (Top 8): Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Muprhy, Lady Gaga, Rob Marshall
Judgest (Top 6): Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Lil C, Christina Applegate

I was off seeing theatre during my summer break so haven't had the chance to blog SYTYCD. And still haven't even caught up with the Top 8 yet, but will add to this post as soon as I do.

(So I missed SYTYCD because I saw the terrific Oklahoma! at Arena Stage in Washington D.C., with some amazing dancing in a theater-in-the-round production that felt young and fresh. Saw Broadway's How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying again (for my 3rd time, because I'm totally biased due to my involvement with the production) and yet again, Rob Ashford's choreography astounded me, and Daniel Radcliffe's thrilling dance moves is just too much fun to watch. And while the rock-opera Jesus Christ Superstar isn't known for dance moves, the amazing new production at Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, melded in some fantastic modern dancing that made the musical (one I don't typically love) totally work for a modern age.)


Top 10 Performances:

Marko Germar with Chelsie Hightower
Style: Samba
Choreographed by: Jason Gilkison
Song: "Cinema Italiano (the Ron Fair Remix)" - Kate Hudson from Nine Soundtrack
Grade - Dance: A
Grade - Competitor: A

Nice to see Chelsie back on SYTYCD! And instead of Mark, pairing her with Marko is next to brilliant. Marko carries off the Samba in such a manly and suave manner, and looks like the ballroom expert that Chelsea is. Lovely and hot, and totally worked with the song.

Here's the video of Marko and Chelsie's Samba:



Jordan Casanova with Brandon Bryant
Style: Contemporary
Choreographed by: Dwight Rhoden & Desmond Richardson
Song: "Who You Are (Live Acoustic Version" - Jessie J
Grade - Dance: B
Grade - Competitor: B

I'm still in awe of Brandon's power and fluidity. Jordan was good. Worked nicely with Brandon but kind of unremarkable. Nothing bad but I've already forgotten her dancing as I'm typing this.

The judges loved her more than I did.

Here's the video of Jordan and Brandon's Contemporary:



Tadd Gadduang with Comfort Fedoke
Style: Hip-Hop
Choreographed by: Chuck Malodonado
Song: "Look At Me Now" - Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
Grade - Dance: B
Grade - Competitor: B+

Tadd looked great with Comfort and while they weren't totally in sync, somehow it still looked pretty good. Tadd hit the beats just right for the first half, although then there was a bit of a a missy 2nd half where I felt he struggled to keep up.

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



Mitchell Kelly with Melody Lacayanga
Style: Broadway
Choreographed by: Tyce DiOrio
Song: "Take Off With Us - from All That Jazz
Grade - Dance: D
Grade - Competitor: B+

Poor Mitchell. Great dancer, bum routine. This is gonna cost him big.

And it's all Tyce DiOrio's fault.

Here's the video of Mitchell and Melody's Broadway:



Caitlynn Lawson with Pasha Kovalev
Style: Argentine Tango
Choreographed by: Miriam Larici & Leonardo Barrionuevo
Song: "Malajunta" - Orquesta Color Tango
Grade - Dance: A-
Grade - Competitor: B+

Poor Caitlynn, one of the best dancers but being paired up with Pasha gives her no chance at being seen. Still can't take my eyes off Pasha. But from when I could tear my eyes off of Pasha, Cailtynn seemed to be doing wonderfully. That's all you can ask for when you're dancing with Pasha.

Here's the video of Caitlynn and Pasha's Argentine Tango:



Sasha Mallory and Stephen "Twitch" Boss
Style: Hip-Hop
Choreographed by: Christopher Scott
Song: "Misty Blue" - Dorothy Moore
Grade - Dance: A
Grade - Competitor: A

First great Sasha dance! As Nigel notes, this is the first time we've seen Sasha have such great chemistry with her partner, though that's less a dig a Sasha's skills as it is her former partners. Wonderfully done! I've always knew she was a great dancer but finally we get proof when paired up with another great dancer!

Here's the video of Sasha and Twitch's Hip-Hop:



Jess LeProtto with Kathryn McCormick
Style: Contemporary
Choreographed by: Stacey Tookey
Song: "The Lonely" - Christina Perri
Grade - Dance: A-
Grade - Competitor: A-

NPH notes that Jess usually mugs it too much, which can be true, but lately he's toned it down and has been wonderful. And being paired with Kathryn was probably a great benefit to Jess, who looked wonderful here.

Here's the video of Jess and Kathryn's Contemporary:



Melanie Moore with Pasha Kovalev
Style: Viennese Waltz
Choreographed by: Jason Gilkison
Song: "Everybody Hurts" - Tina Arena
Grade - Dance: A
Grade - Competitor: A

Melanie and Pasha. Forever. Please. I actually managed to look at the girl dancing with Pasha this time. That is saying a LOT (especially since his shirt was open here, hello!). Magical. Melanie was delicate and gliding without being fragile. It made the Viennese Waltz exciting, with some perfect lighting cues and a great flowy dress. Stunning.

Here's the video of Melanie and Pasha's Viennese Waltz:



Ricky Jaime with Allison Holker
Style: Jazz
Choreographed by: Tyce DiOrio
Song: "Precious Things" - Tori Amos
Grade - Dance: A-
Grade - Competitor: A-

Ricky is probably the strongest technical contemporary dancer but to me somehow lacks that ability to connect to the audience, but this is probably one of his strongest dances he's done, filled with passion and power. Of course it helps that Allison is his partner and she's always wonderful.

Here's the video of Ricky and Allison's Jazz:
Coming Soon


Clarice Ordaz and Robert Roldan
Style: Bollywood
Choreographed by: Nakul Dev Mahajan
Song: "Aila Re Aila" - from Khatta Meetha
Grade - Dance: A
Grade - Competitor: A

Bollywood with Robert? How fun! Clarice was cute in it, but to be honest, I kept looking at Robert, who was my favorite dancer from last season. I will give it to Clarice that they were wonderfully in sync and looked perfectly balanced on the stage.

Here's the video of Clarice and Robert's Bollywood:


Solos:

Sasha
Grade: B+

Jess
Grade: A-

Melanie
Grade: A

Ricky
Grade: A-

Clarice
Grade: B+

Jordan
Grade: B+

Tadd
Grade: A-

Caitlynn
Grade: A

Marko
Grade: A

Here's the video of the Solos:



Top 10 Results
Coming Soon

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Top 8:
Coming Soon




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Top 6 Performances:

Melanie Moore with Stephen "Twitch" Boss
Style: Hip-Hop
Choreographed by: Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo
Song: "Roman's Revenge" - Nicki Minaj feat. Eminem
Grade - Dance: A-
Grade - Competitor: A-

Melanie is BEAUTIFUL and gets into the groove of NappyTabs Hip-Hop. She doesn't quite hit it as hard as Twitch (who seets quite the standard here), she manages to keep up, and her natural softness plays perfectl to the Red Riding Hood character here (against Twitch's Big Bad Wolf).

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



Sasha Mallory and Kent Boyd
Style: Contemporary
Choreographed by: Tyce DiOrio
Song: "Fool of Me" - Me'Shell Ndegeocello
Grade - Dance: A-
Grade - Competitor: A

Aw I forgot how much I love Kent. If only he were around this year and paired with Sasha all the time. They would have been great together all season. Sasha has been dragged down but last week showed the power she truly has and here again, she gets to shine alone with all-star Kent, in a Tyce routine I could actually enjoy.

Seriously, finally Sasha gets to shine.

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



Marko Germar with Janette Manrara
Style: Paso Doble
Choreographed by: Dmitry Chaplin
Song: "Zorongo (Traditional)" - Antonia Gomez, Ely "La Gambita", Guillermo Basilisco & Paco Peña
Grade - Dance: B
Grade - Competitor: B+

It was good, and I love Marko look commanding. Lil C is right, Marko doesn't just dance the steps, he performs. If anything, he didn't quite spark with Janette but I guess the best dancer still doesn't have the best chemistry with every person.

Here's the video of Marko and Janette's Paso Doble:



Tadd Gadduang with Ellenore Scott
Style: Jazz
Choreographed by: Sonya Tayeh
Song: "The Gulag Orkestar" - Beirut
Grade - Dance: C
Grade - Competitor: B+

I didn't love the routine. Gimmicky without a payoff. Great work from the two dancers and another reminder that Ellenore could have easily won her season. Tadd is a lovely partner here though I feel like he was better support for Ellenore's dancing, but that's partly by Sonya's design, who gave Tadd very little dancing to do.

Here's the video of Tadd and Ellenore's Jazz:



Ricky Jaime with Jaimie Goodwin
Style: Contemporary
Choreographed by: Dee Caspary
Song: "Inside These Lines" - Trent Dabbs
Grade - Dance: B+
Grade - Competitor: B+

On the one hand, Ricky has beautiful fluidity in his movement. Giving him the sticks, and making him use his forearms to lift Jaimie is truly difficult and his strength carries through.

On the other hand, there has always been something that bothers me about Ricky and I don't quite connect. He seems like a sweet young man, who isn't annoying and truly humble. And I think the sticks emphasize the flaw that's been bothering me. Ricky dances beautifully, but in a way, dances like a child. Part of it is because of his thin and frail looking frame, but he looked like a kid whimsically having fun with sticks pretending to play drums, instead of a mature dancer that has child-like energy and exuberance.

Christina and Nigel actually pointed out things I'd agree with too. Applegate says that Ricky doesn't quite pull and push things to its ultimate possibilities, while Nigel says that Ricky is a high dancer and needs to dance lower, and I think both of these pointers, would help him dance less child-like.

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



Caitlynn Lawson with Pasha Kovalev
Style: Samba
Choreographed by: Dmitry Chaplin
Song: "Drop It Low (District 78 Remix)" - Kat DeLuna
Grade - Dance: A
Grade - Competitor: A

Caitlynn let Pasha lead and she followed. And it was SEXY HOT. Ok, I don't know the technicalities and I couldn't tell if she pulled face (as some of the judges said) but the pair (and here, it really was the PAIR) were just so together and smoldering that it was a lot of fun.

Also, if Pasha is reading this, would you please be my lover for all time? Muah!
(And for Caitlynn to be rehearsing between Pasha and Dmitry? Hello yes please!)

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



Sasha Mallory and Ricky Jaime
Style: Waaking
Choreographed by: Kumari Sulaj
Song: "Schoolin' Life" - Beyoncé Knowles
Grade - Dance: A
Grade - Girl: A
Grade - Boy: B+

As I mentioned before, Ricky, while technically great, still dances at times like a little boy, and again made even more obvious here with Sasha who just out-whacked him. She had the snaps and the maturity and confidence in her moves, where as he looked soft and hesitant at times, just going through the motions but not giving each move the attention they deserved.

Here's the video of Sasha and Ricky's Waaking:



Melanie Moore and Tadd Gadduang
Style: Broadway
Choreographed by: Spencer Liff
Song: "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story (Away Team Remix)" - Shirley Bassey
Grade - Dance: A
Grade - Girl: A+
Grade - Boy: A

Simply dazzling. What a pairing. Dazzling. Perfection.

Here's the video of Melanie and Tadd's Broadway:



Caitlynn Lawson and Marko Germar
Style: Jazz
Choreographed by: Sonya Tayeh
Song: "Heavy in Your Arms" - Florence + the Machine
Grade - Dance: A+
Grade - Girl: A+
Grade - Boy: A+

HOLY MOLY SMOKEY. And other expletives. That was simply heart pumping.

As nigel says, a redeeming choreography from Sonya. Powerful, moving, paired with perfect music, danced to perfection by Caitlynn and Marko. Two powerhouses. One that finally shows her true talent, peaking just at the right time, and one that has been consistent the entire season.

Here's the video of Caitlynn and Marko's Jazz:



Solos:

Ricky
A-

Caitlynn
A-

Tadd
B+

Sasha
A-

Marko
A

Melanie
A+

Here's the video of the solos:


The Final Roundup:

The Dancers - Pairs Routine:
1st - Best of the Night: Caitlynn and Marko (Jazz)
2nd: Melanie and Tadd (Broadway)
3rd: Sasha with Kent (Contemporary)
4th: Caitlynn with Pasha (Samba)
5th: Sasha and Ricky (Waaking)
6th: Melanie with Twitch (Hip-Hop)
7th: Ricky with Jaimie (Contemporary)
8th: Marko with Janette (Paso Doble)
9th - Worst of the Night: Tadd with Ellenore (Jazz)

The Routines:
Best Routine of the Night: Sonya Tayeh's Jazz (Caitlynn and Mark)
2nd Best Routine of the Night: Spencer Liff's Broadway (Melanie and Tadd)
3rd Best Routine of the Night: Dmitry Chaplin's Samba (Caitlynn with Pasha)

Should Go Home: Tadd and Ricky
My Predictions:
Bottom 4
Tadd
Ricky
Caitlynn
Sasha
Will Go Home: Ricky and Caitlynn


This is how I rank all the dancers overall (based on dancing and personality): (Top 12's rankings in parenthesis):
Overall Ranking:
1 (Tie). Marko (1)
1 (Tie). Melanie (2)
3. Caitlynn (3)
4. Sasha (9)
5. Tadd (7)
6. Ricky (10)




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