Wednesday, June 16, 2010

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 11

This is the first time we’re seeing how the All Star competition element works. This season, now even the competition show is live. And I can tell they’re a bit rusty from the hiatus – the cameras took at least 3 introductions before they got the timing and framing right. This also means less or no replays when the judges are critiquing.

Instead of bottom three couples, now it’s just the bottom three contestants that will be in danger during tomorrow’s result show.

Billy with All Star Lauren
Song: Footloose by Kenny Loggins
Routine: Tyce DiOrio Broadway
That was a really fun routine! It was definitely one of the fastest Broadway routines they’ve had on the show. Billy has amazing lines and his kicks and jumps are fantastic. I love Shankman as a judge, he gave Billy some helpful advice on how to improve throughout the season.

Christina with All Star Mark
Song: Starstruck by Santigold
Routine: Sonya Tayeh Jazz
Great opening image of Christina around Mark’s shoulders like a snake. If this All Star thing leads to Mark dancing Sonya routines every week, I’m all for it! Christina did a great job of holding her own, which says a lot considering how outstanding Mark is in this genre.


Jose with All Star Comfort
Song: Beautiful Monster by Ne-Yo
Routine: NappyTabs Hip Hop
Two predotors going after each other, but who will win out? It’s awfully convenient that the hip hoppers/breakers always get hip hop their first week. Jose did a great job with an solid routine. The running jump with Comfort was very impressive, I was worried she was going to kick him in the face. And Jose found his monster face in the end, that last pose and face was scary! Apparently, the music had to be changed out the day of the show, probably because of legal issues. They did a great job and I wouldn’t have had a clue without NappyTab’s tweet.

Adechike with All Star Kathryn
Song: Addicted to Love by Florence + The Machine
Routine: Travis Wall Jazz
Kathryn is looking sexyyyy. While not one of my favorite Travis Wall routines, it was still solid choreography with a lot of prop use that I’m sure is a lot harder to pull off than it seems. This is a routine that needed more chemistry for it to really spark with the audience. The judges were a bit too harsh, while lacking in chemistry it was well danced. By making him a punching bag, I feel like he will get some sympathy votes that could keep him out of the bottom three.

Melinda with All Star Pasha
Song: L.O.V.E. by VV Brown
Routine: Tony & Melanie Jive
That may have just been my favorite routine yet. She had excellent an excellent performance and of course Pasha was fantastic. The camera work was pretty terrible since we missed a lot of the footwork, and maybe that’s why I disagree with the judges so much on this one. I didn’t see the pigeon-toed, shoddy footwork that Nigel and Mia mentioned. The flip over his shoulder was awesome! This routine had a couple very memorable moments which is more than I can say for some of the other routines tonight.

Alex with All Star Allison
Song: Halleljah by Jeff Buckley
Routine: Sonya Tayeh Contemporary
Ok, THAT was my favorite routine of the night. The judges gave him a standing ovation and even Nigel was in tears. That was so beautiful and just stunning. I loved that song before, but now partnered with that routine that could be a stand out of the season already. They were just so in sync and not only danced it but performed it body and soul. The judges had nothing but the best possible praise – best dance ever danced on their stage, a new standard for the show, etc.


Alexie with All Star Twitch
Song: Butterfly by Jason Mraz
Routine: NappyTabs Hip Hop
While a solid routine, any routine would seem mediocre after Alex’s routine. She had good presence and worked with Twitch well, but nothing stood out for me.

Lauren with All Star Ade
Song: Oh Yeah by Yello
Routine: Mandy Moore Pop Jazz
This song just oozes sex. Maybe it’s because my associations with 80s comedies like The Secret of My Success and Ferris Bueller’s Day off. Lauren’s split lift off the couch was amazing! Mia said that “technically and athletically [she’s] flawless” and I have to agree. Her lines, splits, jumps, etc were incredible. The major problem with this routine was the chemistry, just like with Alexie and Adechike, and I don’t know if that will improve as much as previous seasons with this new format. In previous seasons, they had 5 weeks to get to know their partners and build up their chemistry before they were switched every week. Now, it’s sink or swim week in and week out and I just don’t know the contestants will be able to get to the necessary chemistry levels for every performance.

Kent with All Star Anya
Song: Lady Marmalde by Diva Invasion
Routine: Tony & Melanie Cha Cha
This routine just showed me how hard it will be for any male dancer that draws Anya. My eyes were just drawn to her and found it really hard for me to focus on Kent who is the one competing. From what I saw, he did a good enough job. He just needs to loosen his hips and roll a bit more. He committed to it and had fun, you could see it on his face. I liked Adam’s comment grouping him with Gev and D-Trix – fighting to stay in the competition and attacking every style no matter how hard or how far out of his comfort zone.

Ashley with All Star Neil
Song: For All We Know by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
Routine: Tyce DiOrio Contemporary
Another beautiful routine, another routine lacking the chemistry/emotion for me to feel it the way it was meant to be felt. The jumps where Ashley ran into his arms were tremendous, to steal a word from Nigel, but overall it was a pretty forgettable routine.

Robert with All Star Courtney
Song: Norweg by Cirque du Soleil
Routine: Sean Cheesman African Jazz
Robert is only a “dark horse” because the show edited him out of the audition episodes. It will be tough for him to build a fanbase like Kent, Billy, or Alex because of that. He danced it well and it was an interesting routine, but this was another instance of subpar chemistry.

Overall, it was a really strong performance episode. There were no weak routines or dancers, no duds or complete misses.

Favorite Routine: Obviously, I have to go with Alex and Allison on this one. Just beautiful, powerful, and emotional – a great accomplishment, especially during the first week!

Bottom Three Prediction: Melinda, Adechike, and Ashley with Adechike going home. Although, his solo could be strong enough to save him therefore causing Melinda to go home.

What do you guys think? What was your favorite routine? Least favorite? And who do you think had the weakest routine?

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