The SYTYCD Rant: Let’s Hear About Your Favorite Dancers Getting Sent Home
Since we’re in the Las Vegas round, it’s the perfect time to have what I’m calling the SYTYCD rant. This is where I’m going to rant about my favorite dancers getting sent home. Only problem is that I’m on the west coast and so I still have an hour until the show airs. Once the show airs I’ll be updating this post with my feelings on who I thought shouldn’t have been sent home. Until I get to enjoy So You Think You Can Dance, I welcome you to post your SYTYCD rant in the comments. Come on! Let it all out. It will make you feel better to see other people who feel the same way you do.
My SYTYCD rants…
Natalie Reid – I’m sure that no one will be surprised with this rant. What a way to cut tonight’s episode. First, you show Natalie Reid and Brandon Bryant rocking out and demonstrating Sonya’s choreography for the others and then next thing you know she’s being kicked off of So You Think You Can Dance. I do have to agree that Natalie’s actual performance wasn’t as good as what Brandon and her did together, but it does seem like something’s missing in this story.
Everyone watching the show from home thought that Natalie Reid should have gotten a chance to dance for their life. To be honest, they didn’t use the Dance for Your Life card nearly enough this season. Lil’ C said on his twitter that you only get to dance for your life if someone disagrees, but they said that Natalie Reid going home was unanimous. I guess there goes my theory that she maybe did dance for her life and it just landed on the virtual cutting room floor.
All of this said, I thought that Natalie Reid would make it to the So You Think You Can Dance top 20, but I wasn’t too disappointed to see her go. Just sad for her more than anything.
Caitlin Kinney Dancing for Her Life
Ok, I know that Caitlin kind of screwed up Mia’s choreography, but that doesn’t matter to me. The judges should lay their hands off my Caitlin Kinney. Sure, I was glad to be able to see more of Caitlin Kinney dancing, but they definitely shouldn’t have scared me by leaving the vote to Mary Murphy. Seriously, it may be the only time I was happy with Mary Murphy this season. She made a phenomenal choice to keep Caitlin Kinney on the show.
Ok, so yes I’m showing some utter and complete bias on this rant, but that’s what being a fan is all about. Now everyone that reads this website will know my bias up front. Although, I reserve the right to change my mind.
Mia is Such a Wench
There are probably a few other words that aptly describe Mia, but I like to avoid using those words. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy watching her choreography. She definitely has an awkwardly creative mind that has hit a few home runs on So You Think You Can Dance. I just didn’t like her as a judge. She was so arrogant about being a judge. Nice to see she’s opinionated, but it went too far a few times I think. Of course, Mary Murphy is still at the top of my list of least favorite judges and will remain there forever. Anyone else notice that Mary Murphy said so little in this round. That’s because she says so little of worth.
Missing Dancers
I’m not really sure how they resolve this issue, but I’d like to get to know more of the dancers and see more of the dances. I’ll give the show a bit of a pass since they have a lot of dancing to cram into 2 hours. However, I wish they offered the bonus footage of all the extra dancing and outtakes on fox.com. Maybe they’ll finally figure that out in their 10th season of the show.
I must admit that I thought I’d have a lot more rants. I think that’s a really good sign for the show. It was incredibly entertaining and the quality of the dancers in the top 20 is awesome. I can’t wait to find out who are the official So You Think You Can Dance top 20. Are there any other SYTYCD rants that I missed?
Has Kelsea Taylor gotten sent home yet? She was one of my favorites but I didn’t see her on the show tonight at all, and I don’t believe they even talked about her.
I was thinking the same EXACT thing Lindsey. I have no idea, they didn’t mention her. I also didn’t think Natalie did that bad to be sent home. You would have at least thought she got another chance. That just did not make sense at all.
Hey Shari, I was mad about them sending Natalie home too… she should have at least gotten to dance for her life. They kept people that they shouldn’t have kept and sent home ones I really liked and thought did well. It was a very weird night.
I agree, Lindsey, it was a strange night. It is so frustrating when you can’t see any rhyme or reason to the judges’ decision. Why didn’t Natalie get a “dance for your life” solo? Why didn’t Sonja get to put her two cents in, since she obviously thought Natalie was doing a great job? Mia got to judge the piece she choreographed, after all. I agree that Natalie did not do a great job with the actual performance but…to be eliminated? Really? I can’t help but feel as if there is some other reason she was cut. Conspiracies, anyone?
Yeah I agree with everything you said Stephanie. I wanted Sonja to say something about them eliminating Natalie, since she even picked Natalie and her partner to show everyone the dance… kind of odd that Sonja loved her enough to do that and then the girl gets eliminated. I wonder if something went on that we don’t know about… hmm.
I had BOTH those thoughts. Why didn’t Natalie get to dance for her life? She didn’t even do that badly! Gabi was terrible in most of her choreography rounds and she made it further than Natalie AND got to dance for her life!!! I too was wondering if she was cut for any sort of reason, like maybe being an example cut so the others don’t feel as safe and try harder? I don’t know. She seemed like a great person, so it makes me that much more angry about it!
The other thing I noticed was there was one of the “great auditioners” MISSING from the storylines of tonight’s show! After watching the last auditions last night (DVR :D) I fell in love with Kelsea Taylor’s audition. So I was looking for her all tonight! Didn’t see her once!
Well I hope that at least Asuka makes it into the top 20. I also really like Brandon and Evan… I’m so excited for tomorrow!
I was very upset about Natalie Reid being sent home. I felt like she deserved it more than a couple of the girls there atm. I was upset that they didn’t even give her a chance to dance for her life.
I read on Lil “C” ‘s twitter feed that Natalie didn’t get to dance for her life because the judges were unanimous in their decisions to cut her. If one judge wanted her to stay, then should would have received a second chance. It still stinks though.
Go Ryan and Evan!!!
I finally added my comments on Natalie to this post. Kind of crazy and surprising. No doubt the producers liked them sending her home. I think Gabi should have gone home sooner as well. Although, she does do a nice solo.
I’m really surprised we saw so little of Kelsea Taylor as well. I have a feeling we’re done seeing any of Kelsea on the show. When you see the final cuts you realize that a whole lot of people didn’t really make any part of the show. I guess that means it’s good that they allow them to audition again.
John, I really agree with your rants about Mia and the not-enough-dancing. As for Mia, I am especially disappointed, because she wasn’t such a nasty bully at the start of this show. She used to remind me of every other modern choreographer I’ve had, and I loved her for it. I’m not sure what happened, but her “character” has turned just plain mean.
I also really wanted to see more dancing! I was just dying to see the final solos, and half the time devoted to that part of the Vegas audition was spent focusing on the judges smiling. Do you think there’s any chance Fox might put some of them on their website? Or show the final solos of their top 20 sometime later in the season? If they made SYTYCD DVDs, the solos could be the bonus material! I’d buy it!!
I was really sorry to see Natalie go too. I don’t think they explained well enough to the audience what the criteria was to “dance for your life.” It seemed quite arbitrary to me. I understand after reading here but that should have been explained. Still think they do a great job of not stretching out this part of the show and balancing that with showing what the dancers can do.
Love Mia but I do agree she was a bit full of herself last night. Don’t hate Mary either but she does annoy me sometimes. Overall, I think the judging on this show is much more balanced and serious than the judging on other talent-based shows. Although they are honest about looking for the “favorite” dancer as opposed to the “best”, they also do their level best to have a fantastic dancer win. I don’t feel as manipulated by this show as I do by other talent shows. All in all, I think they do a terrific job.
Ditto to what Stephanie & Bobbi said about Mia – what has happened to her in the past year that has made her so arrogant and cruel? Granted, I have always found her to be rather abrasive, but what she was saying was almost always on-point; last night, however, I found her to be uneccessarily mean to the point that it discredited what she was saying. Yikes…down girl. Although I have to point out that I found Tyce to be the same way during the Miami auditions as well…just obnoxious for the sake of being obnoxious. No constructive point to his cruelty. Good grief, I hope this hasn’t set the tone for the judges this season…
Stephanie,
I wouldn’t sit waiting for a DVD. I hear that the music rights are what precludes that from happening. I wouldn’t expect the extra video to be on Fox.com either. They just aren’t organized enough to be able to do that I think. The only shows that do that well from what I’ve seen is Survivor and Amazing Race and there each on like their 15th season or something. Once SYTYCD gets past the 10th season they’ll probably have it down enough to do it;-) At least we can hope.
Bobbi,
Certainly every show manipulates it to produce a good entertaining product. Luckily the dance on this show is at such a high level that they don’t have to do as much manipulation. At least that’s my theory.
Courtney,
Perfect description of what was wrong with Mia. It’s like she’s so full of herself. The comparison to Tice was dead on as well. They both felt more like actors on stage instead of judges trying to help the dancers.
All of that said, I still love the show.
What ever happened to Anna Dunn?
Didn’t she make it through to vegas?
Or did she not get past choreography?
Amanda,
It’s a great question. We’re still trying to figure that one out. Same goes for Kelsea Taylor. Both just basically fell off the show.
I believe Natalie was simply used for ratings given the whole thing last year in the auditions. Too bad they resort to things like that. Its a great show. So, its not necessary to stoop to that level for ratings. Yes, Mia has turned nasty. I love her choreography but that doesn’t give her the right to be so disrespectful. Shame on you, Mia.
So basically, no one knows what happened to Kelsea Taylor hmm… that’s odd. Unless she changed her hair color, I didn’t see her, and the reason I say that is because when she tried out, she had the front part of her hair gray, so that’s why I remembered her so well. Hopefully we’ll find out tonight if she’s actually still there or not. Maybe she’s been really good and they’re keeping her hidden, kind of like they do on Idol with the good ones [keeping my fingers crossed ha].
I agree that Mia has been a little stabby so far this season. IThe Emmy must have gone to her head. I think Tyse must have been on something during the Miami auditions. I did not enjoy his rude commentary. He doesn’t have to like everyone, but I thought he was clearly trying to be funny (unsuccessfully) rather than constructive in his criticism. Mary has been much more subdued this year, thank God.
Lindsey,
One of my sources told me that Kelsea Taylor didn’t make the top 20, so I won’t be surprised if we don’t see her tonight. It’s just sad for fans of Kelsea that they didn’t put her on the show.
Michelle,
Tice (or however you spell it) carried the same attitude over when he entered for the choreography. He’s either playing it up for the screen or the true Tice is coming out and it’s not pretty.
I was also upset by Natalie being sent home without another chance and was upset to see Jeremiah say something like “I’ll be around” when they hadn’t shown him anywhere till then especially since other dancers say he is a good dancer and that he nailed Mia’s choreography this year and
did Peter Sabastino (sp) make it?
Sometimes it looks like the ones they let us “know” or the ones they cut
I too was shocked about Natalie Reid. I hadn’t thought about it until I read your post, but the more I think about it, the more I believe that Natalie did get the chance to do a Dance For Your Life, but the programmers just decided to cut it from the footage…but you’d think somewhere in the two-hour episode they could’ve found the time to show it. Oh well.
One thing I was glad about was hearing “Dance With Me” by Old 97s play during the end credits. I really hope a competitor gets to dance to this song sometime soon! I can totally picture Nathan Trasoras tearing it up to this tune.
Being loved by Sonja seems to be the kiss of death! (At least for Natalie and Kelsea) Why do I feel like there is something territorial going on between Mia and Sonja?
Oh ok thanks so much John. That really sucks. Like Justice said, the ones they show a lot are the ones that go home, and that’s so wrong, especially if they don’t deserve to go. I’m sad Kelsea and Natalie won’t be in the top 20.
Lindsey,
They like to highlight people they are sending home and also people who are going to make the top 20. They don’t want the top 20 to be a group of virtual unknowns either.
Yeah I see why they do that I guess. It just sucks because all the ones I really liked are gone now. Oh well, guess I’ll pick new favorites ha.
Lindsey,
You can pick Caitlin Kinney with me. That would work.
LOL alright because I like her as well.
It was sad to see Natalie go, but I could understand why, and even why they didn’t let her dance for her life. She went through Vegas week last season and was so close to making the top 20 – so the judges knew she had the talent and the skills, she just had to deliver this time, and when she didn’t, it made sense to let her go right then and there – because this second try at Vegas week was them granting her another chance.
I was really sad about Natalie and felt that she did much better than other dancers who were allowed the chance to dance for their lives. Whether she got no votes after her performance (which I think was a bad decision) was immaterial to me, she had still been more consistent throughout all of the choreography than Gaby. Mia was just rude and I’m losing respect for her personally. I LOVE Caitlin and think she dances beautifully. I’m not sure what Mia has against her, but I feel if she makes it, Mia might be a constant thorn in her side.
i have to say, Natalie reid was amazing. It was a very rash decision on the judges part and they really made a mistake. She deserved it more than anyone. She worked her butt off!!! I don’t know… It was really weird that they did it… And yes Mia is a wench. I mean, she’s a good choreographer… but to be honest, Sonya’s better… Mandy Moore’s better too…. I hate Mia. She makes me cringe and she is not inspiring to the dancers at all, she only scares them to not want to mess up… And coming from a dancer, that is absolute CRAP… I’m soooooo glad Mary Murphy said tonight “I’m not going to sit here and listen to this crap” about Brandon… Mia’s an iDIOT if she thinks Brandon’s bad… He’s amazing like Natalie…. stupid idiot judges.
Lauren,
I’m with you all the way until you got to the Brandon part. Oh and I think Mia, and Sonya both have good nights and bad nights.
I’m actually with Mia on the Brandon stuff. She didn’t say he was “bad.” She just said she wasn’t feeling him. I get what she’s saying. His audition was awesome. He has some particular skills that are great, but something’s missing when he’s doing other types of dance. That said, I’m excited to see what he does on future episodes.
While everybody was focused on Natalie (I’m heartbroken about her not making the Top 20…or even making it to the final stretch…I also personally believe they kept comparing her to Katee…which isn’t that fair) and Mia’s nastiness (separate rant at the end)*…
I was FURIOUS that Bianca Revels was cut. Absolutely LIVID. The skill and passion she displayed in every routine, every challenge was extraordinary…and yet she still ended up going home. SHAME!
*I can (personally) actually see how and why Mia would not be able to connect to Brandon. When he dances, he exerts this overwhelming confidence that I could imagine coming off as cockiness, which Mia just abhors. There’s also the situation with the amount of hype that surrounded Brandon. Mia has had some season favorites from previous seasons and auditions, and Brandon just happened to not fit her mold, and she just doesn’t think he’s all that. She admitted he’s a talented dancer, but she’s seen better. It happens. I was more surprised by Lil’ C admitting to not being too impressed.
PS: While she was unnecessarily nasty to Brandon…and that can make some people angry (considering how he was an early fave) I don’t see how anyone can completely discredit her skill as a choreographer. I love Sonya. Lovelovelovelovelovelovelove. As a dancer, she is someone I would love to dance for. But Mia’s an inspiration. As Joshua said, it really is more than just dance with her, and that’s something the dancers and the audience recognize clearly. It’s why her word is so important on the show.
“It’s why her word is so important on the show.”
Actually, I don’t think her word matters to the show. Her choreography matters to the show, but her word doesn’t bring in more viewers.
What irks me the most about this season is how “American Idol” they are becoming. I don’t want to see the boys diving into the pool or the girls laying out for a tan. I want to see dancing. I think they have been including far too much fluff (how many times do I need to see someone wave good-bye?) and not enough of the dances. I watch the show because I like the dancing, not the “extras” (which American Idol includes far too much of). I also hate the trend in TV shows where they show you a preview before each commercial. Quit wasting my time. If you want this show to be taken seriously, focus on the dancing.
I actually liked the pool scene. Was kind of nice to see them together outside of the show. Although I agree more dancing and less good bye’s are fine with me.