SYTYCD S9: Finale

Praise the voters, they got it right! I was resigned to the fact that one of the winners tonight was going to be someone I didn't think deserved it, but guess what Ameriker! I was wrong! I almost looked at the results before watching the show, but decided that ruins the fun, so it was a surprise to me to the very end. So who are the winners?

Eliana & Chehon!

Yes! I was so worried Cyrus was going to win in the end, and it seemed primed for a Cyrus win too, and then wham bam, it's Chehon. Yay, Chehon! Yay Eliana as well, but that was not really a surprise. Honestly I would've been way more surprised at a Tiffany win, seeing as I could really only remember one of her routines from the whole season.

As per usual, all of the judges got to pick their favorites of the season, along with Cat and the top four dancers themselves, which may have been a new twist. They all chose the below, and I have to mostly agree:

Nigel's pick: Audrey & Matthew's Travis Wall Titanic routine

Lil C's pick: Witney & Twitch's Luther Brown hip hop

Debbie Allen's pick: Tiffany & George's Sonya Tayeh contemporary

Adam Shankman's pick: Lindsay & Cole's Jason Gilkison paso doble

Tyce Diorio's pick: Amelia & Will's NapTab lovecats routine

Mary's pick: Chehon & Kathryn's Tyce contemporary suitcase routine

Cat's pick: Tiffany & Brandon's Doriana Sanchez disco

Eliana's pick: Stacey Tookey contemporary with Alex

Chehon's pick: Argentine tango with Anya

Tiffany's pick: Mandy Moore contemporary with Ade

Cyrus' pick: Christopher Scott animation with Twitch

I would maybe also add in the pole routine from last week with Eliana and Tiffany, and the contemporary with Chehon and Allison, oh and probably that Will hip hop one, oh and probably another Cole one for good measure. HA, I guess I liked a lot of them?

Rounding out the dancing was another Top 20 group piece choreographed by Sonya and Chris Scott, which was pretty damn beautiful. There was also a new hip hop piece from Chris featuring Cyrus, Twitch, Comfort and the choreographer himself, and a guest performance by the Dragon House Crew, which was pretty awesome, and one last group piece with all of the all-stars that was all Lion King remix. Oh, and a musical performance was that double caps pretty LAME, as they usually tend to be on this show, so I'll just say la la la and pretend it didn't happen.

But, again: YAY! Congratulations to Eliana and Chehon. Ballet dancers FTW!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S9 Top Four Performance Finale

Was that a jam-packed show or what? It must be pretty brutal on the dancers to get all of that choreography down in time and keep up their stamina throughout the night, because whoa. Five dances apiece! I guess it's to be expected of the performance finale, but it's still impressive. It's super weird that we have to wait a whole week before the results finale, but that's been the nature of the season in general with the results - all weird, all the time.

I'm just going to recap the partner dances in order and not bother with the solos, except to say that I liked Eliana and Chehon's the best, but that's probably also because I just like them the best in general at this point. Onward, ho!

Cyrus & Eliana - These two started off the show with a Jason Gilkison paso doble that was apparently supposed to be switched where the guy was the cape instead of the girl, but honestly I didn't see much difference. I'm still not convinced Cyrus did much actual dancing in this routine, it's something about the lack of movement in his legs. One of the least memorable dances of the night.

Tiffany & Will - You'd think a Sonya Tayeh contemporary would have me jumping for joy, but I miss Sonya's quirky weird jazz routines, to be honest. I mean, I get that this was good. Maybe I'm just getting burnt out on this show in general. Good thing it's over next week, then I suppose! But I do agree with the judges in their comments that though Tiffany may be tiny, when she extends her legs, you wouldn't know it.

Chehon & Eliana - These two had a traditional ballet piece choreographed by Marat something? I'm sorry, they never actually showed his name on screen, unless I missed it. It was... super traditional. Like, from the Nutcracker traditional. And therefore, for me, kind of boring, particularly that bit at the end where Eliana just keeps doing spin-pause-spin-pause-spin-pause-spin for seeming eternities. Also Chehon didn't really get to do much besides hold her up, which I get is hard, but makes it seem all about her.

Tiffany & Cyrus - In this lyrical hip hop choreographed by Tessandra Chavez, I think we saw maybe the best performance out of Cyrus in the entire season. Tiffany also brought it; she's actually pretty good at hip hop though you might not expect it to just look at her. This is the dance where things started to pick up steam.

Chehon & Allison - Easily my favorite performance of the night. These two had a Stacey Tookey contemporary piece that gave me chills. I actually muttered "wow" to myself out loud. Wait, does that make it seem like I never talk to myself? Because that's just a lie. And now I've made myself look weird! But you do it too! I know you do! OKAY, back to the dancing. Honestly I loved this one. That one-handed lift! It made me really happy that Chehon made it this far, because his emotional journey became really apparent. Good for him.

Eliana & Tiffany - That's right, since it's the final performance show, all the dancers dance with each other. The two ladies had my second favorite routine of the night thanks to Ray Leepers burlesque broadway piece involving a pole. Because Eliana just owns that pole when she's on it. She really stood out to me in this piece compared to Tiffany. She's just more of a woman where Tiffany is more of a girl. Of course, this brought dirty Uncle Nigel out to play after it was over. I liked how Mary thought he was going to make some joke with the word hard in it, but he wasn't. Dirty mind Mary, ha! Anyway, yes, that thing Eliana did at the end with like a twirl back bend leg twist crazypants? YES.

Cyrus & Chehon - These two had a Sonya Tayeh jazz piece that again I felt was good but not amazing. The judges basically forwent making any comments on the dance itself and just said oh you're wonderful oh we love you oh me oh my contain our emotions we just can't with the feels! You guys, I'm regressing into this whole gif/tumblr speak lately, and it's really alarming. But you know what that means, that I also don't really know what to say as a comment about the dance other than Cyrus still can't really do lifts.

Eliana & Alex - You'd think I would be in some kind of SYTYCD heaven with these two in a Travis Wall contemporary routine, but man I am just bereft of emotion or something, because I really wanted more. Part of it was that the music played more cheesy than anything else to me, and I have a hard time getting over stinky cheese. The judges, however, went gaga over it. Okay? Hmph. I don't know. I liked Eliana and Alex's other routine from earlier in the season about 100 times more.

Chehon & Tiffany - In their final dance of the night, these two had a rumba choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin. It was sweet enough, but my mind kind of started to drift. I think it may have been due to the mentioned fact that these two really don't have much romantic chemistry. And with a dance that's all about, like, love and schmoopy stuff, that's kind of maybe a problem, yeah? It wasn't bad or anything like that, but just good. I apparently only ever want great anymore. Give me great or give me nothing! I am demanding and fickle!

Cyrus & Twitch - Okay, seriously? The pimp spot for Cyrus again? And in his own freakin' style? With Twitch?! Deck, welcome to your stacked position. ughblughblerg ANYWAY, that's not to say that the animation piece choreographed by Christopher Scott wasn't good or anything, but of course it would be good, it's Cyrus' own specialized style that is really the only thing he's truly great at. And Twitch can do no wrong. And then, and THEN Nigel had to go and say that he wouldn't be voting for Cyrus because of blah blah and yada yada, and do you know what Nigel? I think that's just going to make people vote for him more! It's reverse psychology! Or will it be double reverse psychology, instead, in my wishful thinking place? Arg! ANYWAY, do you know what my favorite bit of this routine was? It was actually the very end when they both were stopped but their bodies were still kind of swaying as if balancing with the little back and forth movement. I don't know why, it's just the way I feel, okay?

Anyway, I don't know how the vote is going to go. I want it to be Eliana and Chehon, and I feel they should win, but whether that happens or not will remain a mystery for another week. Sigh.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S9: Top 6 Perform

So, this is totally weird, right? It's the top 6 performance show, but there's no voting because of this whole new voting system. Instead, there will be a performance finale next week, I assume followed up by a results finale the following day? I guess. It just made this week's show feel sort of superfluous, really. And also angering, because I don't agree with one of the top four guys at allllll. Like, no. Ugh.

The guest judge this week was repeater Christina Applegate. Each dancer performed a solo, a partner dance with an all star, and a partner dance with a fellow contestant. Thus, I'm not sure how exactly to go about this recap. All individually is just too long, so I guess... okay we're going seat of the pants! Seat of the pantsss!

Tiffany - Tiffany's night started with her all-star partner performance with season two winner Benji in a Jean-Marc Genereaux choreographed jive. It was a lot of fun, full of energy, and she really kept up with him. I was actually quite impressed at how well she did. The flick kicks, especially. I'm not just saying that because the judges all mentioned them, but because I also noticed! Okay! I can be smart about dance moves too! I'm thinking Tiffany could pull a Jeanine and win, but it'll probably depend on what happens next week. Her solo was another bit of just okay for me, but that's becoming par for the course for solos.

Witney - Witney's night started with a very bullfighter-esque solo that felt a bit haphazard to me, but at least she planned something out? Sure. Her all-star dance was with Marko, who was sporting a sadly shaved head (can I just do a quick sidenote and say: guys, if you have hair, why would you shave it? Do you know how many balding men would kill for naturally growing thick hair? I DON'T GET YOU.). They had a Ray Leeper lyrical jazz piece that honestly didn't really wow me that much. I wrote "cute," which basically equals to meh? It's not like it was bad or anything, though Christina did point out that Wit has a tendency to flip her hair around, hairography style, too much.

Eliana - Eliana's started her night with all-star Twitch in a Chris Scott hip hop piece. But wait, are we sure this was hip hop? Because it felt more like jazzy broadway schmooze to me with not enough actual dancing. Which is sad, because normally I really like Chris Scott's routines. But this one really didn't feel like it was enough, and if this was what you were going to base your predictions on, I would've been very worried about Eliana's chances to get into the final four. Her solo later on was rather understated, and I'm not sure in a good way? I dunno, I'm all over the place.

Cole - Cole started his night with all-star Melanie in a Sonya Tayeh jazz piece that featured one of the my two favorite songs of the evening (Too Close by Alex Clare, if you care, see what I did there?). I wanted to love this piece, because it has two of my favorite dancers coupled with one of my favorite choreographers, so it should automatically be brill, right? But I kind of wanted to feel more than I did from it. I'm not sure what exactly was missing, maybe it was something about how Cole is just so controlled in his movement sometimes, it doesn't come across as natural? Does that make any sense at all? Not saying it was bad, because it was good, but something was missing. Cole's solo was all about strength and power, almost to an angry place? That lift toe thing he did was pretty cool, and honestly I just loved all of the comments from his mom. D'awwwww

Chehon - Chehon's night began with his solo, which was all about strength, in a more controlled, fluid sense than Cole's angry strength. That's how I'm describing it anyhow. Sure! His all-star dance was with Katherine in a Tyce Diorio contemporary that was quite frankly one of his best performances on the show, period. He was so emotionally invested, and actually let go, which is something that seems to be rather hard for him to do. I would say he has probably grown the most out of all the dancers left. You may say it's someone else, but I will disagree with you until the cows come home about that, peeps, I will.

Cyrus - Cyrus' night started the latest, with all-star Comfort in a Chris Scott choreographed dubstep routine that was pretty much just tailor-made to show off Cyrus' particular style. Honestly it just felt like a gift to him. I was hoping it would be a parting gift, but I guess there is always going to be heartbreak for me on this show in one form or another, because ugh. His solo wasn't as good as we've seen him do in the past. I really just wanted him to move across the stage more than just stand there, but whatever, my rose-colored glasses have been firmly stomped on in regards to Cyrus at this point. That sounds mean, but I just can't anymore.

And now, on to the contestant partner dances....

Witney & Chehon - I mean, a train wreck, right? These two had a Jean-Marc cha cha that was just all kinds of wrong. The first lift in the beginning was botched, Chehon was completely out of his comfort zone and it showed big big time. The whole thing was missing a spark and felt really slow. Chehon totally knew he messed it up, but the thing was, Witney didn't really shine much either, and this is her style, right?

Eliana & Cole - So, can I just say, when I saw it was Eliana and Cole in a Mia Michaels contemporary, I made this really stupid squeally noise that could not be contained. Dream! Come! True! And it was. The routine was just the perfect mix of awesome music choice (my other favorite of the night - Adagio for Strings by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra), the movement, and their performances. I had some major chills by the end of it, and kept muttering "wow" to myself like a loon. I was feeling it. Honestly a lot of it was because the music was just so perfect, but man. Yes.

Cyrus & Tiffany - How many times have they given Cyrus the pimp spot? Come ON. These two had a Spencer Liff Broadway routine that for me relied more on chemistry and acting than actual dancing, which is basically the Cyrus MO at this point. He just doesn't move his legs enough. I mean, good on him for getting through the coat issue without much fanfare, but I still wasn't very wowed by the routine. It was fine.

The point is, I'm upset that Cyrus has made it into the finale and Cole hasn't. If you couldn't already tell, and if that's the case then wow, you really don't pick up on things.

Final Four:
Tiffany
Eliana
Chehon
Cyrus

The girls? Yes. Perfect. But the guys? I mean, I just... sigh. I know this has no bearing on real life, but really? If he beats Chehon, I will have lost all respect for the voters. Although I pretty much already have now that both Cole and Will are out. This is like Mark all over again! He should've been in the top four of his season too! Ugh! Why!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S9: Top 8 Perform

You guys, I am UPSET. For the most part this season, there haven't been very many surprises in terms of how the vote has come down, but tonight I literally cried out NOoooo! Only about the guys, though. The girls it was sort of not a surprise, much.

But, seriously?

I don't feel I'm giving anything away at this point. I assume if you're here, you've already watched it, right? Otherwise you're looking to see who was cut, so you know, THERE. You know it's one of those two, my two favorite guys left! Why, cruel America, why?

Okayokayokay. I'll calm down now and get to recapping. Joining the judging panel tonight was judging favorite Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who may not know a lot about dancing (isn't there some nacho move?), but makes up for it in personality and fangirling, because fanboying just sounds strange. I'm a-gonna go in solo order, because that's right, along with a partner dance with an all-star, each dancer also performed a solo.

Tiffany - Her solo was only okay for me, but honestly this is really just because all contemporary solos start to kind of look the samey-same to me anymore. I've been watching this show too long with a critical eye, clearly, because I wrote "pretty, nice, whatever." SO NICE, JEN. Her partner dance was with all-star Ade, and was a Mandy Moore contemporary piece. And what is this? A Celine Dion song? Man these choreographers love them some Celine Dion, much more than the general populace of this dear country, to be sure. Or maybe not, she does have a Vegas show, after all. Besides the point! The point! Is! I was also kinda bored with this routine too, despite the many lifts. Am I barren of heart? Do I just no longer care? Am I alone in my crazy uncaring, or have some of you joined me in wondering why the judges decided on a standing O?

Will - Oh Will, my dear Will. Sigh. Alright, Will's solo was mostly all about his crazy long legs and did I catch a praying mantis pose in there and yeah I thought it was good but not great and I'm just creating a run on sentence so why not keep going? Will's partner dance was with all-star Lauren in a Christopher Scott choreographed lyrical hip hop piece that dang, I really enjoyed. The way that Lauren was sort of mirroring his movement.... the concept was just really cool. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I do love me some Chris Scott routines. But YES, he was GOOD. And now I will WEEP.

Lindsay - Look, I know it's hard to do a solo when you're a ballroom dancer, I get it. But I really thought hers was lacking tonight. It didn't seem like altogether that much dancing. I dunno, I've never really cared for Lindsay overly much, so, you know, BIAS. Her partner dance was with all-star Alex in a Sonya Tayeh jazz piece that honestly I just got distracted by because I was jamming with the Gotye. As soon as the judges started talking about their chemistry not being there, I said, "She's out!" And what is that? I'm to be proven correct? Well oh me oh my oh me oh my. That's the trouble with the results at the end of the hour now, methinks.

Chehon - Okay, now Chehon's solo? Great. Really. I wrote beautiful, emotional, and boy was it. Chehon has been somewhat of a dark horse of the competition, picking up steam near the end, which is actually probably a good way to do it. His all-star dance was with Anya in a Miriam and Leonardo choreographed Argentine tango. And, well, that is perhaps one of the best traditional tangos I think the show has ever had, to be perfectly honest. There was a stillness, not a complete need to go over into the character stuff, which was for the best.

Witney - Witney's solo was filled with just about as much dancing as Lindsay's was, but there is just something about this girl that sparks. Okay, seriously, she's sexy. I mean, I'm a girl and I see it practically seeping out of her pores. Her partner dance was with all-star Twitch in a Luther Brown hip hop that was much more hard-hitting than the other hip hop dance of the evening, and dang if the little blonde didn't have herself some swag in there. But I truly, truly hated her "diaper pants" as JTF called them, and also I kind of hated the music too, but I thought the dancing itself was up there. She does have the disadvantage of it being the first partner dance of the evening, though.

Cole - There is just something so mesmerizing about Cole's dancing, particularly when he's doing his own style, and that was no exception in his solo tonight. He's my favorite guy dancer, okay? It's just the truth. I will always prefer a little quirk to just generic good-dancer-ness. His partner dance was with all-star Alison in a Sonya Tayeh contemporary and Dang. For real, that was my favorite dance of the night. The way they would pause in those moments of stillness really took my breath away. It helps that Alison is amazing, but I was watching him just as much, which is just as important. And why is he so good at being so sinister, when he seems like such a nice guy? He's channeling all those bullies, I guess. Stupid bullies.

Eliana - Follow up my favorite guy with my favorite girl. I loved her solo, all right? It may or may not have brought a wee tear to my eye, so I guess my earlier comments of being dead-hearted or whatever are just not TRUE. You just gotta have that extra somethin' somethin' somethin' to keep me interested. Wait a minute, is this an analogy for real life too? Let's not go THERE! Her partner dance was with all-star Ryan in a dreaded quickstep choreographed by Jonathan Roberts. And hot dang, that was perhaps the first quickstep I have ever actually liked on this show. She's just so smooth, and man that walkover waterfall move thing was amazeballs, and the dance itself was somehow more accessible than other quicksteps we've seen on the show, which is interesting, because I wrote that, and then the judges called Eliana out on her accessibility in general, and simpatico!

Cyrus - Look, I don't deny that Cyrus is amazing at what he does. I don't deny that I wanted to see more of his solo at the end, but I would really, truly like the judges to stop blowing smoke up that kid's ass telling him how wonderful he is. Soon enough he will be floating in the sky in a hot air balloon! His partner dance was with all-star Melanie (!) in a Mandy Moore jazz piece that the judges just swooned and swooned over, but can I just say something? I didn't think it was that great. I was watching Melanie the entire time, and I wasn't the biggest fan of the choreography. I know it was meant to be old school with the Bob Fosse hands and whatnot, I get the point, I GET IT, but I DON'T at the same time, because I think Cyrus' tenure should've ended tonight, but it has. not.

Because the two guys in danger were not Chehon and Cyrus as was likely expected from many, but instead was none other than my two favorite guys, two of my top three favorite people in general, Will and Cole. I had a feeling they would save Cole, and I was correct, but I am still sad to see our favorite giant puppy go. You were robbed of the finale, Will, you truly were.

Of the girls, it was the two ballroomistas to visit the bottom two, and despite the fact that I think Witney has actually been in the bottom more than Lindsay, I can't say I disagree with the decision to keep her around another week. I don't think there's any way it won't be Eliana and Tiffany in the finale, but knock on some wood because I thought it would be Cole and Will and well look how that went up in dramatic, sad bunny flames! Flames! Of sadness! And dead bunnies!

I've clearly kind of lost my mind tonight, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.

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SYTYCD S9 Top 10 Perform

Tonight's top 10 performance show was the debut of the all star dancers returning to the stage. I have to admit, I'm a bit mixed bag when it comes to the all stars, mostly because I think maybe the dancers should've also had to do another dance with each other, rather than only having the one. Yes, I want to TORTURE them, okay? More dancing! Just all the time dancing!

Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel was Benjamin Millipied, or as some of you may better know him, the husband of Natalie Portman. But no, he's actually a choreographer, duh. On to the dances, because clearly I am blathering on about nothing worth blathering on about!

Tiffany & Brandon (season five) - Doriana Sanchez disco - Man oh MAN that is the best disco the show has probably had since back in season five's Brandon and Janette. It was straight crazy, tons of lifts, lots of energy required, and they delivered. Tiffany was lucky she had someone like Brandon who could handle it, because imagining her having to do that with someone like, say, Cyrus, would've been likely a disaster. I think Tiffany is kind of the dark horse of the competition this year, similar to Jeanine maybe. She's not my favorite, but she hasn't been in the bottom yet either, which is telling.

Witney & Nick (season one) - Travis Wall jazz - The pre-dance video package touted this routine as being ultra sexy, for miss sexy Witney to sexy up. Did I mention sexy? Oh, you got it already? (sexy) OKAY. I mean, yes, sure. But was it very memorable? I don't know. It doesn't help that it was in the second spot in the line up, which is maybe one of the worst places to be. It wasn't bad or anything, but it didn't wow me. Sorry Wit.

Cole & Anya (season three) - Dmitry Chaplin cha cha - Look, Cole is my favorite guy left in the competition, well, maybe he's tied with Will, but for real, I love Cole. And I thought he actually did pretty well, he moved his hips a lot more than I've seen other dancers try to doing this sort of thing, and I thought he tried to give it some character, which isn't necessarily called for in a cha cha. That said, the judges did point out that maybe he was performing too much for the audience and not enough toward Anya, which I can see. But he really seemed to take all of their comments to heart, and actually welcomed them, which I think is a great thing.

Lindsay & Jakob (season six) - Spencer Liff broadway - I really liked the concept of this dance perhaps more than the actual dance itself. I think part of it is that I have some real bias against the damn Broadway dances. Ultra show is just not my cup of tea. Not that this was ultra showy, but the music was way too onthenoseoverthetopshenanigans. The judges went mad for it, but... eh. Not my cup of tea per se.

Will & Kathryn (season six) - Nakul Bollywood - Sorry, I really don't remember Nakul's last name, it's all complicated and such. Anyway! Kathryn is gorge, and great at Bollywood (and pretty much everything), so it was great to see her back again in this fun routine. My eyes were drawn to her, but Will wasn't bad or anything, in fact he was actually quite good. I always seem to be surprised how much he can move being so tall. Why? I don't know, don't try to understand my inner thoughts, it's weird in there. ANYway, what Will has more than anything is a completely infectiously charming personality. I mean, how can you not love the kid? You can't, is what.

Cyrus & Jaimie (season three) - Travis Wall contemporary - I thought to myself, finally Cyrus is getting something interesting. And while watching it, do you know what I thought? I wish another guy were doing it. Now the judges seemed to think that Travis didn't hold back in the choreography for him, but I kinda disagree, I thought he went a little easy on him. Or else he didn't perform the moves as big as some other people would have, which could be the case. Look, I get it, he also has this raw energy and magnetism when he dances that draws you in, but is that really enough?

Chehon & Lauren (season three) - Dave Scott lyrical hip hop - Chehon has kind of the opposite problem of Cyrus. He is undoubtedly a great dancer, with amazing lines and all of that, but there is something a little lacking when it comes to his performance quality, the emotional side of it. I really wanted him to get down and dirty so much more. I mean he was dancing the routine just fine, but it was all just so clean. I'm not sure he'll ever be able to really let himself go, but I could be wrong.

George & Allison (season two) - Tyce Diorio jazz - Honestly, I was really impressed with the choreography on this one, which just proves that Tyce should do jazz and contemporary more than Broadway, because I nearly always hate his Broadway numbers. But that's off topic. I kind of had to agree with Nigel when he said that he didn't so much believe in George's character in the piece, though he did have good technique. Obviously George has great technique, but again, something not 100% connecting with the audience.

Eliana & Alex (season seven) - Stacey Tookey contemporary - This was a very quiet and controlled, emotional piece with a great song. I mean, that song made that dance werrrrrk. It was also another sexy, sensual piece, which seemed to be a theme of the night, no? I mean, these two are both such great dancers, what can you expect? Nigel called Eliana his favorite of the season, and you know I agree. She's amazing. Also, she was the star of the group number, rather unabashedly so. You go, Eliana.

Audrey & Twitch (season four) - Dave Scott hip hop - Damn, this one could've been SO cool. I mean, she danced it fine, but there is something about Audrey that just comes across as little girl to me, and here she was supposed to be like a vampire hundreds of years old or something, which I just didn't see. Plus she had Twitch as her partner, who will own any dance he's in, but especially hip hop. It just was kind of eh, which is interesting considering they gave it the pimp spot of the night.

After alllllll of that, there was the reveal of the bottom four. That's right, it's just two guys and two girls in the bottom now that we're in the top 10. And they all got to perform solos, moreso for the audience's benefit than the judges needing more info for a decision, I think.

Bottom:
Witney - Yeah girl, we know you're sexy.
Audrey - Fine flail, but a doofy song choice if you ask me.
Chehon - Good, though be careful of those slow intros on solos.
George - By FAR the best we've EVER seen him dance on the show. Amazing.

Without much surprise, it was Audrey and George who were eliminated. Audrey quite honestly has looked defeated since Matthew left, and George, despite a great solo, because he doesn't connect with the audience. But it'll probably be Chehon next week, so... eh?

Who are your favorites?

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SYTYCD S9: Top 14 Perform, 3rd Elimination

After a two week hiatus, So You Think You Can Dance came back tonight with an interesting take on the top 14 performance episode. Every routine was a previous famous Mia Michaels piece from past seasons, with an additional cool group piece involving ropes that may have (un)intentionally evoked a certain terrible currently popular "novel." You may have been able to decipher my opinion on said "novel" by that statement, and that's where I'll leave that.

Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel were a couple SYTYCD newbies - the Ballet Boys Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt, who had the interesting position of being the only people on the judging panel to not have seen these routines performed by their original dancers. Let's get to it...

Eliana & Cyrus - The Door routine (originally performed by Katee and Twitch in season four)
Still a great routine, but not as great with Cyrus in place of Twitch, I must say. Honestly I think Cyrus has been pretty lucky these last few weeks by not getting into the bottom, just based on personality alone. Personality can only go so far, however, and next week things could go south for him. Eliana, on the other hand, hasn't had a real chance to showcase her talent, though tonight I thought she killed it. Hopefully she gets someone awesome when they switch up partners next week. Oops, giving away that they both already made it through! Oh well.

Tiffany & George - Hometown Glory (originally performed by Katee and Joshua in season four)
What's funny about this one is that they made this big deal about the assisted run in this dance, and when it actually came to that part, it was a huge letdown, it didn't seem a showcase of the routine at all, but I'm not convinced it wasn't partially the camera's fault too. The judges really harshed on Tiffany, but I actually thought she was getting into character really well. Who knows.

Amelia & Will - Butt dance (originally performed by Randi and Evan in season five)
Now, I was never ever a fan of Evan in season five, so I liked Will in this so much better than I did in the original, but I have to say that I agreed with the judges on Amelia. There was something just not quite there, not as much butt, but not as much performance with the butt there was too. It's hard to take something that's become sort of iconic and make it your own but still pay homage too, which was sort of a theme of the night.

Janelle & Dareian - Bed dance (originally performed by Kherington and Twitch in season four)
I was reading about the whole tribute to Mia earlier today, where they listed all of the dances that were going to be performed, and they mentioned that in this one, they never actually touch, which I don't think I'd noticed before, but makes it all the more effective. Honestly this was the first time I thought Janelle was okay, and Dareian was pretty great if you ask me, though the ballet boys did get on his case about his feet again. Poor kid needs to get his feet under control. If he had them under control, the results may have been different. But I'm jumping ahead.

Audrey & Matthew - Father/daughter routine (originally performed by Lacey and Neil in season three)
This one got perhaps the most flack of all the routines of the night, and I'm not sure it was exactly fair. I think it was mostly because it's such an emotionally charged piece that people have become attached to, that it's hard on the dancers to get it just right for each person. That said, I liked the sense of innocence that Audrey brought to it that was different from the original. I did think that Matthew wasn't quite as expressive as Neil, and that was likely his downfall.

Witney & Chehon - The Bench (originally performed by Travis and Heidi in season two)
This is perhaps the most iconic of Mia's routines, perhaps just because it's really the first one that really made such an impact. That said, I thought these two did it justice pretty well. It was one of the better ones of the night, although Chehon did still get a little finger wagging for not letting himself go more. That's the ballet dancer in him, clearly. He likes to be in control of his movement. I enjoyed it, though. They did a good job.

Lindsay & Cole - Addiction (originally performed by Kayla and Kupono in season five)
I saw this routine in person when it was first performed by Kayla and Kupono, and I can honestly say that it is probably one of my favorites from the show, ever. And, OMG, what Cole did in that role was totally amazeballs. He did exactly what the judges had been wanting everyone to do and really made it his own. The twitchy nature of his movement, the sheer creepy scary sinisterness of it, I loved all of his choices. By far the best one of the night. Lindsay did fine in it too, though honestly I was just so drawn to Cole it didn't much matter.

After all was said and done, the dancers who were in danger after the last show's voting were:

Girls:
Amelia
Janelle
Lindsay

Guys:
George
Dareian
Matthew

Unlike the last few weeks, they actually had everyone perform solos. With the girls, it was pretty apparent even before they came out who I thought they were going to save, and there was no change after. Lindsay's in. I'm not really upset about the other two going, honestly I think Janelle out-stayed her ability already.

Out of the guys, however, I had an inkling who I thought they were going to save, but I wasn't sure, it could've gone any way. Matthew, however, sealed his fate by doing an ultra-flaily solo without a lot of dancing. George was controlled power, and Dareian had my favorite solo of the night. Honestly, if he didn't have his foot issue, I think that solo would've saved him. Alas, George is the one sticking around for now.

So that dwindles the number down to the top 10. Next week the partners are getting broken up, and the all stars are coming in to play. I'm not sure which all stars are going to be around, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. (Please let there be some Mark?)

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S9: Second Live Performance; Second Elimination

This season of SYTYCD is kinda weird, right? I'm getting used to having the eliminations on the same night as performances now, and I actually kind of like it because those results shows are always so bloated. But now we're going to have another break in between new episodes. That's right, no new episodes until 8/15! It's because of the Olympics, so this shouldn't come as a complete shock, but still, it can't help ratings.

Tonight's show featured guest judge Christina Applegate, who had some really great comments throughout the night. One of the better guest judges on the show, right? I think so. The opening group number was a sort of black and white themed thing that was choreographed by Tyce Diorio, and after finding that out I wrote in my notes, "No wonder I was eh about it." I feel bad always sort of dissing his choreo, but what can I say, I hardly ever like it.

Now on to the routines...

Tiffany & George - These two had a NapTab hip hop routine about babysitting. Can I be honest? I thought it was kind of boring. It was just really light, and I get it, that's how they like to start the show. Something light and fluffy, but I have to agree with Nigel a little bit (gasp!) in that he wants to see some more down and dirty hip hop. We've seen a lot of this lighter, story-based stuff, let's get krunk in here, people. That being said, they both danced this fine, but I'm not sure it's enough to get them a ton of votes. Particularly when we come to find out that George was in this week's bottom three guys.

Amber & Brandon - They danced a Ray Leeper jazz piece that unfortunately came a week too late. The judges rightly praised Amber for this routine, because she danced the hell out of it. Can you imagine if she'd had to do this sexy thing with her old partner Nick? I cackled at the mere thought! That being said, I didn't think Brandon had much actual dancing to do in the number in comparison. Nonetheless, it was sexyyy, but in the end these two were already in the bottom three from last week.

Janelle & Dareian - This pair had a latin ballroom piece choreographed by Pasha, and ooph. It did not go well. Not to mention that it was paired with the most annoying/catchy song of the moment, which is now, of course, stuck in my head. The dancing, though, was not great. That lift was super clunky. Janelle still isn't doing anything for me, I feel like she's more of a camera whore than a dancer sometimes. The judges gave both of them a lot of criticism, and I kind of have to agree. Dareian also was in the bottom three for the night from last week.

Lindsay & Cole - These two had a Mandy Moore contemporary piece that was probably my favorite of the night. It had a love/hate theme and was really quite beautiful, I may or may not have gotten some actual chills. I was especially impressed with Lindsay, who I wouldn't have said was a ballroom dancer based on just seeing that routine alone. Likely a defining moment for her, even though she was also in the bottom three this week.

Amelia & Will - Wait a minute, two Mandy Moore routines in a row? Yep, this one a jazz piece. It was an enjoyable, punchy, pretty cool routine, despite Nigel's poo-pooing on it. What was most hilarious, however, was in the pre-show footage how Mandy Moore was kind of obsessed with dancing with Will herself. Ha, loved it. I'm not sure I'm on the Amelia bandwagon. I know she's a good dancer, but there's something I'm not quite connecting with. But she and Will make a great pair, so I think they'll be around for a while.

Audrey & Matthew - They had a Liz Lira salsa routine and... yikes. First of all, that red suit they put poor Matt in? Hideous. And the routine itself just felt so lackluster. Everything about it was missing energy; it really just felt like it was slowed down a couple beats or something. I don't know, but it was quite possibly my least favorite routine of the night.

Witney & Chehon - These two had a Stacey Tookey contemporary number that everyone kind of went a little nuts over. Look, it was good. But the amount of praise heaped? I'm not sure it was that good. Though that jump fall lift thing was truly amazing, I will admit. I want to see that over and over again. But there was something not quite smooth enough for me in Witney's dancing, and the whole thing felt too short. I guess too short is better than too long, though.

Eliana & Cyrus - If ever there was a tailor made routine on this show, the NapTab hip hop piece these two had was it. A ballerina taken out of her shell to join a robot? I mean, I'm pretty sure they made it just for them, which is perhaps defeating the purpose of the competition a little bit, but does make for more entertainment value for the viewers. And let's face it, it was pretty great. Honestly the first one of theirs that I actually liked, which is weird since I like both of them. So I was pretty upset when it was revealed that Eliana was in the bottom three girls. Say it ain't so!

This week, after the bottom six reveal, the judges asked for two of each of the guys and girls to perform a solo, which you could then basically infer the one who didn't was already deemed safe. A little hokey, I guess, but nonetheless...

Bottom 3 girls:
Lindsay - not asked to do a solo
Amber - perfectly perfunctory contemporary solo
Eliana - beautiful control in a contemporary ballet solo

Bottom 3 guys:
George - not asked to do a solo
Brandon - stepping didn't particularly translate too well for me, didn't seem like much more than running around a lot?
Dareian - a lot of tricks, but there's something magical about them

In the end, it was pretty obvious who would be getting the boot after the reveal. There was just no way that Amber and Brandon weren't going. Particularly with Lindsay and Eliana in the bottom, Amber probably knew she had no chance. If Janelle had been in there, however, it probably would've been a different story. If she's not in the bottom next time, you may see smoke coming out of my ears.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S9: Top 20 Perform, Part 2

Can I just say how weird it is not to have a results show anymore? Not that I don't like it, as they were always incredibly bloated, but the offing of four dancers tonight felt very rushed and sort of like okay sorry, buh-bye! They didn't even get to dance solos! What is the world coming to! I suspect that this will change in the future, depending on who's in the bottom each week, but who knows. That's one thing about this show: they're always changing it up.

To be perfectly honest about tonight's show, I wasn't really in love with any of the routines particularly. None of them were outright horrible, but apart from two that I liked a touch more than the others, they were all sort of just good, but not great. That being said, let's talk about them...

Lindsay & Cole - These two had a Christopher Scott routine that was very character heavy (a theme of the night, to be sure), all about a nerd going to the dentist. I'm not sure there was really that much actual dancing in the routine; it felt more like a bit of light fluff. Not that it wasn't fun, because it was, but perhaps the funniest part of all was how Cole refused to break character once the dance was over.

Amelia & Will - In one of the better routines of the evening, these two had a Sonya Tayeh piece that was full of punctuated movements and staccato violin. What's interesting is that you wouldn't necessarily think these two would make a good match, but unexpectedly, they are actually great together. They were synchronized and clearly trusting of one another, which showed through in the dancing.

Amber & Nick - These two had a Miriam and Leonardo tango, and although the judges were quick to praise it, I felt like something was a little off, mostly, perhaps, in the chemistry department. Like, it sort of seemed like Amber was annoyed at Nick or something. It's possible that was just part of the characterization they were going for, but I don't know. The routine felt sort of stiff and emotionless to me, and, spoiler alert, I was not at all surprised to find that Nick was in the bottom three, though Amber was safe.

Audrey & Matthew - They had the second Sonya Tayeh piece of the night, which was much dirtier, but still one of the better pieces of the evening. It was hard hitting, darker, more aggressive, and honestly I tend to like that Sonya style better than her more traditional contemporary numbers. The judges went pretty mad over it, which is sort of becoming a trend, it seems. I will say, though, that despite being so tiny, Audrey had mad extension skills.

Janelle & Dareian - The second of the Christopher Scott routines was done by these two, and like I said last week, something about Janelle's dancing just seems a little lackluster to me. She's doing the moves, but she's not feeling them, that's the only way I can explain it. Dareian, on the other hand, was just as good as I've come to expect in so short a time. Nigel totally dissed Chris Scott on having another light routine, though! Oh man, choreographer burn!

Janaya & Brandon - What's this? A Broadway routine I don't hate? It's true! But it was choreographed by Sean Cheesman (instead of *ahem* Tyce), so maybe that makes a difference. It's actually kind of a pity, because I thought Janaya danced the crap out of it, getting really into her character and having a ton of fun, only to then find she was in the bottom three. Brandon, however, was not, which was actually a relief, I think he has more to show than he's had the chance to so far.

Eliana & Cyrus - Oh god, these two had a jive by Melanie and Tony, and... well, Eliana was great. I doubt she will ever not be great. But Cyrus? Yeah, this is not something for him to shine in. Granted, he didn't completely suck, but he seemed a bit uncomfortable and was missing a fluidity. Honestly I want him to be able to do a more emotional piece, because I think it could open something up in him, instead of these two light ones he's had so far.

Alexa & Daniel - These two had a Dee Caspary contemporary piece that had a big prop - a bathtub. I thought maybe the judges were going to overpraise it, when I actually found myself sort of getting distracted and not paying much attention, but then Adam basically said he felt it was missing something too. I'm not alone! Apparently, really not, because these two both ended up in the bottom three after last week. I guess all of that airtime for Alexa didn't mean much when it came time to vote!

Tiffany & George - Usually when a couple picks a foxtrot, it's like the sound of a death knell in the wind, but with this Tony and Melanie piece, these two actually seemed to nail it. It's a hard dance to get overly excited about in general, and I did think that their last life thingy was sort of weird, but otherwise they danced it really well.

Witney & Chehon - Rounding out the night was this pair with a Nakul choreographed Bollywood routine. It was crazy fast. They had to do so many intricate moves, but they did it all. There wasn't a lot of partner work, which was probably to Chehon's benefit, because he was vastly improved over last week, though it didn't keep either of them out of the bottom three. That's right, Witney was in the bottom three too, which was really the only surprise for me.

We also had an opening group number that I really enjoyed choreographed by NapTab, and an interlude by some of the dancers from the new Step Up movie that guest judge Adam Shankman couldn't stop yammering about. But, let's get back to the bottom three...

Girls:
Janaya
Alexa
Witney

Guys:
Nick
Daniel
Chehon

It's pretty obvious who they decided to save from the girls, right? I would've been outright shocked had it not been Witney, but it was, which means that sends both Janaya and Alexa packing. Out of the guys, I knew Nick would be getting the boot, but I kind of thought they would keep Daniel. Alas, it was not his lucky day, and Chehon got to stay instead. Which means that Amber and Brandon will be a new couple next week.

Do you agree with who went home? Do you feel sort of cheated that we didn't get to see their solos? Because I kinda do, to be honest.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S9: Top 20 Perform

Changes 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!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S9: Meet the Top 20

Wow. What a way to kick off the top twenty! There was so much dancing in this 200th episode of the show! Funnily enough, I was driving home tonight and thought to myself, "I hope they do it where they give the news to the people and then have them perform right after," and that's exactly what they did!

Joining Nigel and Mary on the "judging" panel tonight was Zooey Deschanel. I put judging in quotes because it was really just a love fest, which is what this episode is meant to be, since there is no voting yet. That comes in two weeks. But tonight was just about introducing us to the top 20, of which there were few surprises. All of my favorites made it through, so I'm happy.

The first group to perform in a Tyce Diorio contemporary piece included Alexa Anderson, she of the much screentime. Can you imagine if she had been cut after all that screentime? Ha! Joining her was George, who quite frankly seems like one of the best dancers in the top 20, Will, who we've seen absolutely nothing of until this point, but is a rather tall teddy bear with a seemingly adorable sense of humor, and Amber, who made it to Vegas twice before and almost didn't come back again. Can I be honest? They danced their routine perfectly well, but it was probably my least favorite of the night. It was just kind of boring to me. But then I've become kind of a snob after watching so many great routines on this show over the years.

Next up were the latin ballroom dancers in a Jason Gilkison routine. The judging panel tried to give us a fakeout and make us think that only one of the two girls were going to make it through, but I saw through their shenanigans. Both Witney and Lindsay made it through, and joining them was another unknown, Nick. No offense to Nick, but the girls kind of outshone him in that routine, which is what seems to happen quite often in ballroom anyway, I suppose. I will be perfectly honest and say that I prefer Witney over Lindsay for some reason I can't quite figure out.

The judges tried to fake us out again when they brought up the two male ballet dancers left in the competition, and this time they almost had me, because surely they wouldn't do the same thing right in a row like that? Pish posh! Both Chehon and Daniel are in, along with one of my favorite girls, Eliana. And their routine by Desmond Richardson and Dwight Roden was pretty awesome. There haven't been many ballet dancers on this show yet, and now we have three major contenders.

Usually Sonya Tayeh's routines are my favorite, but I have to say this one she did for the next group didn't quite do it for me. I'm wondering if it would have had all of the girls been able to participate. Because, YEP, we've had our first sit out of the season in Janelle, who was mysteriously "sick" or something, and could not perform. The two girls who were left to fend for themselves were Audrey and Tiffany, who I really could not tell apart at all in the routine. Was one better than the other? Who knows, they looked exactly the same.

After that it was time for some more contemporary dancers, this time doing a Stacey Tookey routine that was leaps and bounds better than the other contemporary routine, in my opinion. It was a two-guys two-girls routine with Matthew, Dareian, Janaya, and Amelia. I know this is of no importance, but wow is Amelia pale! Like, crazy pale. Like, maybe paler than me, which is an accomplishment. I don't have much to say about this routine, other than I thought it was beautiful. I don't know much about this Janaya girl, and she didn't necessarily stand out to me, so is she long for the competition? I can't say.

Finally, saving the best for last? I have to say that I think my new favorite choreographer might be Christopher Scott. He was tasked with coming up with something for a trio of diverse dancers, and he did it with aplomb. And just who was this diverse trio? A stepper we've not seen before, Brandon, the martial arts guy Cole, who is probably tired of just being called the martial arts guy, and, of course, OF COURSE, Cyrus. As if there was any doubt this dude was going to make the show. What he may lack in training, the dude makes up for in that undefinable other quality, that thing that makes someone a star. ANYWAY, the routine itself was a fun mash up, with maybe a slightly funky ending, but seriously, it had me smiling throughout the routine, and that's something.

And after all of that?! The show still wasn't done! Three more dances remained...

The Top 10 Girls (or, really, the top 9, since Janelle couldn't perform) did a Travis Wall routine that actually gave me some chills. Dude knows what he's doing. My favorite part, though, was probably in the rehearsal footage, when he said, "Don't stress out," and Witney immediately mouths, "I'm stressing out." Ha, gotta love it.

The Top 10 Guys had a Sonya Tayeh number that was much more back to form for her. I think maybe she excels best at the group numbers. It was very powerful, which was sort of the message. And honestly, I think I like the group of guys this year better than the girls. It'll be interesting to see what happens once voting comes into play.

And, finally! The top 20 perform together to a, wait for it... Mia Michaels routine! Mia! I, or should I say we, have missed you! I loved it.

Phew. That's all for me, folks. Are you happy with the top 20? Anyone you're upset didn't make it, or are you feeling like me in that you could've predicted about 80% of these people? Hit up the comments!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S9: Vegas Week

Ah, Vegas Week. So much drama. So much dancing. So much stuff that I don't know how to do a very good recap of it all. After eight rounds, the many dancers that were sent through to Vegas were whittled down to 35. We find out next week which 20 people out of these 35 will be the top 20, and I'm going to make some predictions below. We'll see how accurate I am!

First and foremost, it's quite clear to me that a season frontrunner is going to be Cyrus Spencer, aka Glitch. That dude is sick. He could be this season's Twitch, quite frankly. He's not trained, but he has so much heart and personality that it doesn't matter as much. He'll grow week to week, and I can't wait to see it. I would probably fall off my chair if he didn't make it. There's really now way it's not happening, considering I pretty much recognized him in a clip from next week's show during their first performances. I mean, come on. And, not to toot my own horn, but... toot toot! I totally called that he would be the most likely to make it in Vegas week out of the Dragonhouse Crew, and yep. Yep yep. His other two cohorts didn't last, and we also said goodbye to the Exorcist dude pretty early on too. I'm not really surprised. Those guys were great at their own thing, but as is often the case, have trouble with others' choreography.

Moving on! Another person I think we are pretty guaranteed to see make the top 20 is Alexa Anderson. No way would they shove her growth arc down our throats so much if they weren't going to. That's just not what they do. Hopefully she's better than Ryan from last season, because we all remember how well that went.

I think we can also count on seeing ballet dancer Chehon Wespi-Tschopp of the amazing leaps and abs, and I also think it seems like we might be seeing the other male ballet dancer Daniel Baker make it too. I'm not 100% on that prediction, but they've done stranger things on the show (like put through 3 tappers one year).

They're sort of setting up a her or her showdown between the two blonde ballroom ladies, Witney Carson and Lindsay Arnold, but I could see both of them making it onto the show as a not so twisty twist. If I were to pick one of them, though, I'd have to give the edge to Witney. I just think she has slightly more spark than Lindsay.

The belly dancer Janelle Issis also seems fairly certain. Though we didn't see much of her, Eliana Girard was there in the crowd at the end, and I loved her, so I'm hoping she makes it. I'm thinking maybe Amelia Lowe gets cut at the last minute, but I could be wrong; I'm just not as enamored of her as everyone else seems to be, and I'm not sure why. Jasmine Mason was also under the radar, but I think she has a good chance as well.

How many did I just list off? I'm not sure. But there are a few of my favorites from the audition rounds that I can't recall one way or the other whether they were there in the final lines or not, like Cole Horibe and Dareian Kujawa. It's possible they're both still in the running but I'm not sure!

Not in the running? Adrian Lee, who seemed primed for an Alexa-style comeback, but I guess they can only do one of those a season.

Alright, I'm gonna shut up now, except to say this: I love when Debbie Allen calls a dancer "child." Love. It. So do you agree with my predictions? Any glaring omissions? Anyone you're upset didn't make it farther than they did? I know I saw some faces in there I hadn't seen before, so I'm sure there will be a couple kids who get the "who the heck are you" treatment come showtime.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S9: Salt Lake City Auditions

Guess what! This is finally the last audition episode before Vegas week! Honestly I think Vegas week is maybe my favorite episode of each season, so I'm happy these auditions are finally over. But you know what made me crack up? During the preview for Vegas, the voiceover says something like, "only 20 will survive," and then the video cuts to someone messing up a trick and going unconscious. Dramatic much? Sheesh.

The final auditions took place in Salt Lake City, with guest judge Adam Shankman joining regulars Nigel and Mary. Before I get into the auditions in earnest, I want to touch on a couple things. First, tacky editing. Look, I know. You're trying to get ratings. But it bothers me when the judges and everyone else is really nice to heartfelt people in person, and then completely make fun of her with the editing. I'm talking about the girl inspired by the cosmos, obviously, Lynn Gravatt. I just didn't appreciate how they made fun of her when she was so earnest and sweet, and clearly was just inspired by dance.

On the other hand, they make a big deal about another dancer who we ultimately know isn't going to make it on the show, but because he has an inspiring story and appears to be an extremely kind and genuine person (which Lynn seemed to be too, he's just less weird about it), he gets standing ovations and all sorts of stuff. And I'm not knocking Leroy Martinez, don't get me wrong here. I just get a little aggravated by how they edit things on the show sometimes, you know? I can't be the only one.

ANYWAY. Sorry. Off the soapbox now, I promise.

I think my favorite audition of the night has to go to the krumping girl, Mariah Spears. Man she was ON it. I was seriously impressed, because you'd never just look at her and think oh yeah, she's a krumper. They sent her to choreography, and she nailed it. Go girl! I also really enjoyed Dareian Kujawa, who I merely wrote "beautiful, softness" by in my notes. Also surprisingly impressive, to me, was Witney Carson, the latin ballroom dancer who looks about 12 years old. But she was pretty damn good, garnering the first Mary woo hoo of the season. Finally, I thought Gene Lonardo, though his praying mantis audition was undeniably sort of strange, was actually also pretty dang good. They set it up like he was going to be terrible, but he wasn't!

Why didn't I mention Adrian Lee in my favorites? Because along with the judges, I have to agree, his audition choreography was less than stellar. However, that being said, I think his could be a compelling comeback story, and he's obviously got talent. Whether the other repeat offenders to Vegas week will have as much luck as him, I'm not sure, because I think he probably has the biggest chance of all of them. That we've seen so far, anyway. There could be others in there that they didn't show us yet.

There were a few other dancers that didn't impress me as much that were also put through to Vegas. Deanna Tomasetta, the Italian contemporary-ish dancer. Lindsay Arnold, another latin ballroom girl who I thought was fine but not as good as the other one. And... Rachel Applehans, who got these scribbles, "stripper audition? Tongue?! EW. Burlesque jazz, okay." As the judges put it, she had way more burlesque than jazz in her audition, but after going through choreography was sent through to Vegas.

Well, that's about it for the audition rounds! Do you have any favorites heading into Vegas week? Any predictions about who's going to make the top 20?

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SYTYCD S9: Atlanta Auditions

Another week, another two hour audition episode. I can usually go about 3/4 of the way through okay, but after that I'm ready for it to be done. And still no Vegas week in sight! I don't remember the auditions being this many weeks in the past, but maybe I just blocked those memories out. It's entirely possible.

In any event, tonight's episode featured the Atlanta auditions with guest judge Debbie Allen. You really should see some of my notes on these people. How I remember who is who is kind of ridiculous sometimes. Bacon girl, Dan Byrd lookalike, dumb chickens... I mean. Yeah. That's how I roll. But let's get on with it!

My favorite auditions, by far, were courtesy of the Dragon House Crew. Look, I get it, contemporary dancers are great and lovely and beautiful, but can I tell you something? I almost always love a great hip hop/pop locker more than I do a contemporary. There's just something way more exciting about it somehow, and also? It's not as common. The Dragon House Crew consisted of three equally outstanding performances by Boris Penton, Andre Rucker and Cyrus Spencer. I mean, major props to all three. Boris had a great unexpected piano music routine. Andre's was straight up weird, in a very cool way. And Cyrus was funny and robotic and charismatic. Now, whether these guys have what it takes to survive Vegas, I'm not sure. Just basing it on these performances alone, I'd say Cyrus has the best chance, but who really knows.

A few other hip hop dancers made waves as well, including the aforementioned Dan Byrd lookalike. Now, you're probably wondering two things: who is Dan Byrd, and who in the world looked like him? Dan Byrd's on Cougar Town. And the hip hop redneck kid Asher Walker (cool name, btw) truly looks just like him but with blonde hair. Seriously. Anyway! The kid was actually pretty good too, and was sent straight to Vegas. Tim Conkel was another hip hop style dancer, who I termed "manic pixie kid." For real, the kid was all over the place. Not to say he didn't have good tricks, but whether there's substance behind them remains to be seen. Finally, we have the duo of Damon Belmon and Deon Lewis, who apparently auditioned last year and had all this heat because they did an homage to Les Twins, and people thought they were ripping them off, yada yada. For this year's audition, they performed their own routine quite well, with a lot of humor, and were sent through to choreography, where only Damon made it through to Vegas. Again I'm not sure how he'll do in Vegas, but sometimes people surprise you, which is half the point of the show. Oh and I also should mention Jackson Alvarez, he of the spontaneous wobble lesson on stage, who had a cool hip hop contortionist style and made it past choreography to Vegas as well. I think he could do well, actually.

There were also, of course, a slew of lovely contemporary dancers featured as well, so many that they even had to basically fast forward through a few auditions with just some names and a couple seconds of footage. The ones who garnered more footage: Audrey Case (neck farter leg extensions), Danielle Dominguez (quirky Sonya bacon girl), Courtney Kirby (crying grandma with good transitions), and Brittany Ortner (kinda dumb chicken girl). Not trying to mean to that Brittany, but for real. She could not string a sentence together. I mean, they were all good. But the two contemporary dancers that I think outshined them were actually two guys: Joshua Alexander and George Lawrence II, who, strangely enough, both sported purple shirts. Why I notice that, who knows. I just like purple? Sure. But they were both really good. I'm not sure both of them can make it into the top 20, but their auditions were both great.

Oh, and yes, there was a belly dancer by the name of Janelle Issis, who they could not stop calling beautiful. Which, yes. She made it past choreography to get to Vegas as well.

Okay, that's about it for this week. Who were your standout performances?

Next week it's Salt Lake City!

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SYTYCD S9: LA Auditions

Is this the first time we've ever had a two hour audition episode that took place in just one city? I was kind of blown away about that. Really? Necessary? Granted, there were a lot of good auditions, but I have to be honest, I think this show really gets going once it gets to Vegas. Making these auditions go for three weeks before we even get there is already wearing me out.

What I will say, though, is that thankfully there didn't seem to be any fame whores showcased in these two hours in LA, which one could argue is probably one of the more fame whorish towns around. So, either bravo to the city for being classy, or bravo to the producers for making it classy. Either way, thanks.

Anyway! I'm just going to briefly touch on the contestants that didn't make it through to Vegas, but that were given a lot of screentime regardless. First we've got our second waacker on the show, Jontel "Johnny Waacks" Gibson, whose waacking (am I spelling this right?) was fine, but not as good as Princess Lockeroo from last season. Caley Carr was the surfer hipster mustache tapper dude (interjection - I hate hipster mustaches. the end.) whose tapping was pretty good, but could not handle the choreography. David Matz, the circus performer with the seer (?) wheel. Beautiful performance with the wheel, but also couldn't hack the choreo. And, finally, the Italian dude from seasons past, Jonathan Anzalone, or as I like to call him, the Joey Lawrence lookalike. While not as cocky as before, he definitely was still confident, but not good enough to make it past choreography.

Okay, now that we're done with those people, let's move on. I'll tell you my two personal favorites of the night: Eliana Girard and Cole Horibe. Eliana is an aerialist who has some LEGSLEGSLEGS, and I have to say I loved her entire performance. If she can do other styles as well, I think she's top 20 material. Cole Horibe was the martial art influenced dancer of whom I wrote: "strength power control intensity." Those are a lot of good descriptors. The best, however, was after he listed off all the styles he's studied. Guest judge Jesse Tyler Ferguson said, "Such an overachiever," and his response was "I'm Asian." HA. Love it.

Other highlights of the evening included the brother/sister duo of Marshea Kidd and Jasmine Mason, the survivors of a horrific car accident just six weeks before the auditions. They both made it through to Vegas, though I have to say personally I thought Jasmine's dancing was better. But hell, the dude was pronounced dead at the scene and was actually not dead, so major props for being able to dance so well so soon after such an ordeal. I also enjoyed Megan Branch, who had a cool jazz style about her. And here's the difference between her and someone like Sam Lenarz, whose dancing was fine but just got her to choreography at first... on the surface, they seem sort of similar. Little blonde things who have good lines and whatnot. But why did Megan get a ticket straight to Vegas while Sam didn't? She just had that extra oomph, the extra emotional connection. It really makes a difference.

Alexa Anderson had my favorite music of the night, and was a repeat from last year, having almost made it into the top 20. The song in question was either a remix or a cover of The Naked and Famous song Young Blood. I'm gonna have to find that because I really liked it. Edit: It's this one by White Sea.

And the last dancer to be featured was Stephen Jacobson, a rare case of someone given a second chance after performing an absolutely horrendous initial number that was nowhere near the ballet he said he was trained in. Turns out, he was actually good after they let him try again.

Finally, a special shout out to the hilarious ninja twin duo Nick and James Aragon. I often don't like the overblown theatrics on this show, but they really made me laugh, and are actually good dancers too. Alas, they're over the age limit. Oh well, I enjoyed them anyway.

But seriously. Is it Vegas week yet?

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SYTYCD S9: NYC & Dallas Auditions

Well look at that, we're back for another season of So You Think You Can Dance! I would like to start off this recap with a quote that I think encapsulates why I like to watch this show, courtesy of Lil C:

"I love, love, love talent. But what I love more than talent is when talent meets skill. It leaves me spellbound."

Exactly. I think anyone who works in a creative capacity can have an appreciation for that. But okay, let's get to the meat and potatoes of this thing: the dancing of it all! Now, I'm just going to come out and say it straight off... I'm not a huge fan of the audition shows. They're bloated with filler and feature people who do should not be featured. What bothers me about featuring such people is that is exactly what they want! Like one dude, who shall remain nameless because I'm not going to give him the satisfaction, whose goal was "to be a celebrity." Really? Ugh.

Okay, now that I've got that off my chest, let's head into hour 1 of the premiere, which kicked off in New York City. Nigel and Mary were joined by Tyce Diorio for these auditions. The two dancers from this hour that stood out for me were Shafeek Westbrook and Chehon Wespi-Tschopp. Shafeek was the breaker/flipper who had an awesome smoothness to his work that you don't necessarily see very often in the more hip hop type dancers. He was great, and as such was sent straight through to Vegas. Chehon was the Swiss ballet dancer who was beautiful in more ways than one. Shut up, you know it's true, even Mary gave him a prolonged hug after his audition. He was strong and not obviously just a ballet dancer, and if he can do the other styles I think he could go far.

A lot of people will probably give props to Leo Reyes, but I get a little annoyed with obvious emotional blackmail. Look, I get it. There's a story there, but I felt like the story was played up more than actual dancing. We'll see how long he lasts in Vegas. Also played up was Amelia Lowe, the '20s style girl that everyone seemed to love and I just kind of thought was more of the same contemporary stuff we've seen. but heck, what do I know?

Moving on to Dallas, Nigel and Mary were joined by Lil C, and I thought this hour was much more entertaining than the first. True, I love Lil C, but that's not the only reason why. There were two guys here that really impressed me as well, and also one woman too. Gotta give props to the lady since hardly any ladies got individual showtime this week. The lady in question is Bree Hafen, an "older" dancer with a couple kids, but hey, she can dance. And despite the obvious emotional blackmail here too, at least I felt like I could see that she could dance.

The two guys that really impressed me were Stepheon Stewart and Hampton Williams. Stepheon was the creepster zombie guy who could seriously do some really terrible things with his voice and eyes and weird smile, but he also displayed some serious skills. And this just goes to show you what a great audition means, because he went straight through to Vegas, which doesn't always happen for the more pop lockin' types. Another prime example is Hampton. Because damn. You hear his spiel about exorcising stuff from you through his dancing and think oh man, what am I in for, and then you see it, and yeah. Yeah. I got chills. His music choice was so unexpected, but in a good way, and they actually let him go through the whole song, which never happens. That's how riveted everyone was. Whether he goes very far in Vegas, I don't know, but it was great nonetheless.

There was also Jarell Rochelle, another contemporary dancer that was, you know, good, and had good emotional weight to his dancing, and Daniel Baker, the Aussie ballet dancer, who was also, you know, good. Whether they will be memorable later on? Remains to be seen.

What about you guys? Are you excited for another season, or are you waiting to reserve judgment until the top 20?

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