Wednesday, July 11, 2012

SYTYCD S9: Top 20 Perform

Recap/review of So You Think You Can Dance Season 9 - Top 20 Perform by freshfromthe.comChanges are afoot aplenty this season on So You Think You Can Dance! Since there will be both a guy and girl dancer to win this year, the voting starts off with voting for individuals rather than pairs. And since the show is only on once a week instead of twice, getting rid of the results show, the results will be revealed on next week's performance episode. There will still be a bottom three for both girls and guys, BUT they're going to be cutting two of each next week! Is this because there was ostensibly a missing show from last week due to the holiday? My guess is yes. My guess is also that they'll probably reveal the results either after each couple performs or after a group of three couples perform. Whether they still have time for solos, I don't know, but I would think they'd work them in. Just make the judges shut up a bit and it should be okay!

Because, to me, it seemed like the judges were really long-winded tonight! Well, at least Nigel and Mary were. Guest judge Kenny Ortega generally kept his comments short and sweet, which is what I prefer. This is about the dancing, isn't it?

Also, it really seemed to me that they back loaded the show this week. ALL the good dances were in the second half, right? I thought so, anyhow. Except for that opening group number, which I loved. And guess what! It was choreographed by my new favorite Christopher Scott. No wonder I loved it!

In chronological order:

Witney & Chehon - Louis Van Amstel samba. What ho, a samba for a latin dancer like Witney on her first performance show? What are the odds? High, apparently. And she danced the heck out of it, earning her firecracker bon mot rather handily, even getting a patented Mary wooo and a hot tamale train ticket. Chehon, on the other hand, suffered. I thought he was really hesitant throughout the dance, and the judges comments of telling him he needed to just let himself get into it more seems to be saying the same thing.

Tiffany & George - Sonya Tayeh contemporary. Can I be honest? This really just seemed like regular jumpy lovey floating contemporary to me. Not that there's anything wrong with that, and they certainly danced it well, but with the general lack of screentime Tiffany's had, and my current difficulty in conjuring up her face in my mind, I'm not sure how lucky she's going to be with the voters. I did really like that cool floor slide thing that George did, though.

Janaya & Brandon - NapTap hip hop (lyrical hip hop?), aka the one about alcoholism. Honestly I thought they both danced this pretty well, particularly since the main focus of the routine was on the story rather than epic dancing. The judges did pick a little bit on Janaya, though. And I'm just not sure that this routine was showy enough to get a lot of votes. Janaya is suffering from the same problem as Tiffany, in that I don't really remember her. I'd like to see more of Brandon because he's a stepper and that's just cool.

Alexa & Daniel - Sean Cheesman jazz. Can I just mention the shiny tight red pants? Because they were distracting me. I also found myself wanting to like it more than I did. There was a lot going on in terms of extreme moves, and the judges thought that sort of hindered their ability to perform for the audience in a more meaningful way.

Amber & Nick - Jason Gilkison Viennese waltz. Uh oh. A waltz! Unfortunately that almost always equals a trip to the bottom three, just because they're less showy than other dances. I was also kind of fascinated to see JG give Nick some grief during rehearsals! I don't think we've ever seen him get frustrated with a dancer in that way before! Incidentally, I loved her dress to pieces and I want it immediately. But, oh, the dancing! It was floating, fluid, pretty, exactly what the waltz should be. But can I give that Nick a tip, if he stays? Don't be so cheesy, please. I hate the mugging, I hate it so much.

Amelia & Will - NapTab "hip hop," but really jazz. The cat routine! I thought this routine was a LOT of fun, and it made me like these two a lot. They just had so much fun with it, and were able to show a lot of personality along with the dancing, and let's be honest, this show is just as much a personality contest as it is a dancing one. I wasn't sold on Amelia before this, but she's growing on me. And Will is just completely lovable. They got a lot of applause for this one, and Mary went kind of crazy!

Janelle & Dareian - Sean Cheesman African jazz. I have to say I liked this Cheesman routine a lot more than his other one, though it had just as many difficult moves, I think. But they were more fluidy, maybe, so that's what made the difference? I will say, though, that although the judges were giving high praise to both dancers, I did think that Janelle wasn't quite hitting her steps as hard as Dareian, and with something that, as I understand it, is supposed to be sort of primal, was missing a little something for me. But still, I liked it quite a bit.

Eliana & Cyrus - Tyce Diorio Broadway. Oy. Okay, look, I hardly EVER like Broadway numbers on this show. Like, .5% of the time hardly. And this was really no exception, which is a shame, because I like both Eliana and Cyrus a lot. The audience, however, seemed to go wild for it, along with Tyce, who was giving Cyrus some serious crazy eyes during rehearsal. It didn't do it for me, but I may or may not have voted for Eliana anyway. :O

Audrey & Matthew - Travis Wall contemporary, aka the Titanic routine. Now he went a little bit literal with the whole chaise lounge and dressing up Matthew like Jack Dawson, but I have to say that whatever was lacking in that Sonya contemporary piece was present loud and clear in this one. I'm not sure if it was the connection between the dancers, or how the movement corresponded with the music, which Nigel mentioned, but whatever it was, it worked. And I always love me one of those death jumps through the air.

Lindsay & Cole - Jason Gilkison paso doble. I mean, wow. This was a powerful routine, and Cole was awesome. Mary went absolutely nuts for this piece, and I kind of don't blame her. It wasn't your typical paso doble, and that was a good thing. Honestly this piece was all about Cole for me, but obviously Lindsay danced it well right alongside him. Considering she is also a latin ballroom dancer, this should not come as a surprise. (HMMM, both the latin ballroom dancers get ballroom in the first week?! What are the odds!)

Who I think is in danger:

Girls: Tiffany, Janaya, maybe Amber or possibly Alexa if there's an overexposure backlash.

Guys: Nick (I will honestly be amazed if he doesn't get cut next week), Chehon, maybe Brandon or Daniel? Not sure on that last one. 

This is sort of conjecture, though, because it's hard to tell how people are going to vote in the first week. There could be a random surprise in there, too. It's been known to happen.

Okay, I now leave it up to you - Who are your early favorites? Who do you think will be in the bottom three? Hit up the comments!

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