SYTYCD Top 10 Performance Thoughts/Power Rankings
I’m going to combine my Top 10 performance thoughts and power rankings this week.
Some of you may wonder how I come about my power rankings. Unlike my “thoughts” posts, the power rankings are not based upon my personal preferences. Though, on rare occasion, I have refused to put one of my favorite dancers in the Bottom 3, even though I knew they probably would be. ๐ I rank the dancers on my impression of how the performances go over with the voting audience, which takes into account, the dancer’s perceived popularity, the judges’ comments and the live audience reaction. And also, your comments. I take a look at what all of you are saying about the dancers and their performances and I keep that in mind as well.
I gotta say – this is the toughest job, trying to decide who’s gonna be in the bottom and maybe go home, especially this season. But, I’m always up for a challenge, so here I go….
Top Three
Lauren – She crossed oceans from where she was last week. While her performance wasn’t all that bad last week, her reaction to the judges turned off a lot of people. This week, she threw herself into her performance (not just the moves) and appeared humble and centered when facing the judges. She and Dominic are probably two of the silliest of all the dancers, yet they performed an intense, serious routine with heart and the respect that it deserved. I agreed that there wasn’t much to the “abuse” element of the piece – but I think that was in the choreography. It was Tessandra’s first competition choreography on the show, so she might have been straddling a very fine line. All of the real (forgive me) “punch” to the routine came from Lauren, in my opinion. She was whaling on Dominic. I was super impressed with them both. It was a great routine and Lauren’s got a solid fan base (and the good word of the judges), so I think she’ll be fine. [For those of you who know how bland hip-hop generally is to me, you might be surprised to see me say all this, but there you go.]
Jose – Everybody really seems to love Jose and he kinda won me over with this performance. He’s been one of the weaker dancers in my mind for a while, but I was really charmed and entertained my his Bollywood with Kathryn. They played up how he and Nakul were from such different worlds, but that’s kinda bullsh*t in my opinion. They seemed to understand each other pretty well, especially by the end. Bhangra, which is an Indian club dance style, has a lot in common with hip-hop. So, I think Jose held his own with Kathryn for the most part and particularly presented the character of the piece well. It was joyful, which is what made it so entertaining (much like Kent’s cha cha last week). His one greatest weakness this week was his arms while they were in the air. They didn’t seem to have the strength that they needed, but rather seemed to flap limply at times. But it seriously seems to be a stand-out routine (and it was for me, as well), so I think it is up there as one of the favorite routines. And he’s pretty popular, as far as I can tell.
Kent – This is the same situation as Jose (and Kent’s own performance last week). He drowns whatever weaknesses exist in exuberance and shear entertainment. He’s great. That being said, I think he did a great job with Courtney. I think he does a good job of taking on different characters of being dark and jazzy. And did you hear the audience cheer when they kissed at the end? And that doesn’t hurt, either, it was the last performance, so very memorable in several ways.
Middle Four
Ashley – I would like to put Ashley at the top because she’s quickly becoming one of my favorites. However, I think a lot of people are still on the fence about her, so I’m putting her here, at the top of the middle. I looooved her routine with Mark – I think she’s extremely lucky to have danced with two of the handsomest of the All-Stars already (and two of the strongest and most supportive). I was struck by her chemistry with Mark – apparently, that’s one of her strengths. So while I enjoyed her both last week and this week, I would love to see her dance something different. Maybe hip-hop with Twitch next? That would really keep her sexy partner trend going.
Robert – A lot of people seem to be on the fence about Robert, as well. I adore him. I think he’s wonderful. He had some crazy lifts in this routine with Anya – he got her so high up there and she’s not dramatically shorter than him (well, maybe that’s the heels). I disagreed with completely that Anya ate him up because I felt he met her as an equal in her own specialized style and there were times when he “dominated” as the male partner should in a tango. I think Anya had a point – that while she’s the expert between then, she needed a good partner in order to look as great as she did. If he hadn’t been strong, she would’ve been able to compensate for him, but it probably would have made her own performance suffer.
Alex – I loved this routine. I don’t think it had as much of the things that a lot of the audience look for (story, partnering, kick-ass music), but it did have music that was perfect for it, two phenomenal dancers and a friendly and sweet “anything you can do, I can do better”/battle feel to it. It reminded me of b-boy battles like Jose mentioned. They were doing tricks together, supporting each other and competing against each other – in the Broadway sense, which is a give and take. I thought Alex might be careful not to burn bridges back to the ballet world, but I love that he’s eager to learn whatever he can sink his teeth into and thrilled to be on the SYTYCD stage. And Lauren! Love that girl! ๐
Billy – His krump could have been a lot worse. That’s kind of it for me. I don’t love the style, I don’t adore Comfort and I agree with Nigel that the music is overbearing and repetitive. BUT. It was actually pretty enjoyable. And Billy represented a lot better than I (or anyone, probably) thought he would. But seriously, with his fan base, Billy could drop his partner off the stage and probably be safe. Though, he’s got to have some amazing routines in the next few weeks because I think people are starting to get tired of his (already high level) plateau.
Bottom Three
Adechike – He got a lot of flak last week for dancing poorly with a strong partner, great choreography and a phenomenal partner in his style. Yet, he wasn’t in the bottom 3. I think he’ll be there retroactively for last week’s routine, especially since he still paled in comparison to his gorgeous All-Star in his own style. It says something that he’s been lucky enough to get his own style twice with two extremely popular and strong partners and he can’t match them. I think in another season, he would’ve been given time and room to grow. But, in this season, I think he’ll be in the bottom 3. And if he is, I think he may go because of his first two weak performances and the judges will probably want to “match up” the numbers of guys and girls since there’s been outcry against an all-boy, 1-girl season (like American Idol).
Melinda – I love Melinda, but I recognize I’m in the minority here. Apparently. Attractive girls (especially without formal training) have a hard road to travel on this show. The voting block loves gorgeous guys and sometimes supports them longer than their talent deserves, but at the slightest bit of wobble, a lot of the gorgeous girls go. I recognize that Melinda’s one of the least technically strong, in many respects, but we love the “journeys” of the b-boys, don’t we? Why can’t we get behind a gorgeous female tapper who’s trying to learn different styles and kick ass in them? And guess what? She was amazing last night. She had great lines, especially for a “hoofer,” as the judges pointed out. The worst thing about her performance was her costume, which she can’t control. So, I don’t get the Melinda hate, but she’ll probably be here in the Bottom 3. I hope she survives, because I’d especially love to see her dance with Neil. It’d be great to see her dance hip-hop with Twitch.
Cristina – One of our readers said “Cristina just doesn’t do it for me,” and I have to second that emotion. Whereas I don’t get the Melinda hate and feel protective of her cause I wanna see her keep dancing on the show, Cristina is my least favorite of the dancers. She’s the one that feels the most flat and one-note. Her paso with Pasha was alright, but that was mostly due to Pasha for me. Plus, I feel that paso more than any of the other dances uses dramatic lighting and theatrical music/costumes to disguise the sameness of the choreography (often) and the weakness of the dancers. Don’t believe me? There were hardly any close shots of Cristina and Pasha dancing and they were almost all focused in on Pasha’s faces and expression, not Cristina’s. Almost the entire routine was shot in mid to long shots that enabled us to see the large movement and gestures, but nothing refined performance-wise. The last pose was gorgeous of course, which was helped enormously by the lighting. If she’s in the bottom 3 again, there’s a very good chance she’ll be eliminated this week.
So, all that being said, I generally believe in my bottom 3. I think that either Adechike will go home or the judges will give him one last chance (to try a style outside his specialty) and send him home next if he’s in the bottom (again). In which case, Cristina is probably going to be eliminated tonight.
Some last thoughts before I go –
-I’m with a lot of our readers who say that Nigel’s comment to Tyce, “That was jazz, thank you very much, Tyce” was horrifically rude to Travis and he looked so hurt/pissed when they panned to him. I would be, too. Honestly, I loved his routine, so big whoop if it’s not technically jazz. Speaking of Travis, I loved that we could hear him hollering happily at the end of Ashley/Mark’s routine. Love him.
-I love Mia, but she needs to stop making weird noises rather than offering real, solid criticism. She can leave the noises for her personal, private discussions with the dancers, in my opinion. I think they do understand that language of hers, but I think it’d help them more if it was on a one-to-one level rather than while they’re on stage. Also, she is one of the worst for favoritism. She ragged on Melinda’s costume (which she can’t control), and then said to Kent, “Was that Bollywood? I don’t know, but I don’t care.” I get it – I have favorites, too. I’d probably be the same way. But she’s a permanent judge, not an audience member.
-Cat was in fine form tonight. I loved her comments about her massive head (with the hat) and how it’s ridiculous that Kent grew up in the 90s. But, I have to say…her comment about “Would you like to go deeper, Dominic,” disturbed me. As did his hand kind of petting her shoulder while Lauren was standing between them getting her criticism. Loved when she asked if sexy Kent was in there and Kent said, “yeaaaaah.” Lol. She has the best repartee with the contestants – that never changes.
-I’m really, really glad they decided to have the All-Stars stand on stage with the contestants through the criticism and are sorta letting them talk and offer support. It was too weird having them run off stage before we got to catch up with them a little. It’s one of my favorite parts of how the new format is developing, so I hope it continues.
Tell me what you think, as always!
Agree completely re: Cristina, Nigel’s snarkiness, Mia’s sounds and Cat’s repartee. Also re: all stars on stage.
Disagree on Adechike and Melinda. Think Adechike is great–I love watching him dance and I think he’s a brilliant technician and has shown both amazing growth and a lot more authenticity than many others (ahem-Melinda-ahem). ๐
I think that’s what gets it for me on Melinda. It’s not that she’s good looking (I think that’s a cop out, really), it’s that she comes across fake. Kathryn, Jeanine and Kayla were all drop dead gorgeous and survived well on the show…so I don’t think that’s a really apt observation. I think it’s the authenticity that’s the deal breaker for me on Melinda. Since Vegas she’s come across as putting on airs–trying to be what she thinks America wants her to be…and it comes through–to me–in her dancing. I don’t see even glimpses of realness. And that bothers me.
Cristina I feel authenticity, but she’s just not technically up to par. And her performance doesn’t make up for her technical lapses.
Ah, love SYTYCD.
I disagree with you about Melinda and Cristina. You are spot on about Adechike and I, personally would love to see him go home tonight. I’d swap the two girls and put Billy and Jose in the bottom. It probably won’t happen that way because most people are not voting on performance and technical ability, but one or the other. I think both girls showed technically they can hold their own and performed beautifully.
NIgel was freaking cruel to Travis!!! So not right, and if I was him I would seriously consider my future on the show, especially with Nigel at the helm.
I really wasn’t feeling Billy’s krump at all. In fact I was bored with it because there was no swagger. I think all in all I wasn’t as thrilled with the night as I was the week prior.
I do think the bottom 3 are about right. I really think Melinda dances clunky, and Adechicke is not in the same league as the other contemp dancers. Cristina’s problem. Her competition is Anya. When she can’t measure up to the ballroom dancer then she’s in the hinterland.
I think Ade should go home to me, he is very fake to me and doesn’t have the chops to compete with the the other boys and I like the girls that are left. He got close to his style for the 2 weeks and it was a let down I only looked at the all-stars.
I definitely agree about Adechike, too — time to go, mate; you just don’t have the chops to hang with the others. It’s surprising, because his solos during the auditions were unbelievable. I also agree that Billy should be in the bottom 3 this week. I know a lot of voters are bringing the Billy-love, in part because he’s better known than the others (having been on the show before, though briefly), but even someone like me who knows nothing about dance could see that his krumping was… well, at best it was funny… but ooh, it was baaaad. And I just flat-out don’t like Cristina’s dancing at ALL. Yuck. So they’re my bottom 3 for tonight.
Like others, I disagree about Melinda. I’ll be the first to that I am susceptible to giving the benefit of the doubt to a gorgeous guy, but I don’t do that for girls. But in Melinda’s case, I really want her to blow my doors off… she just doesn’t. I was on the phone last night while she danced, and didn’t realize it was her straightaway. At first I was becoming outraged at the vast divide between the All-Star I was seeing and the competitor, who was doing so poorly by comparison. Then I realized it was Melinda, and I thought, “Oh, okay, well, that makes a difference; I’ll give her a little leeway.” But pretty soon my goodwill is going to wane, because in the end, I’m going to vote for who’s better rather than who’s most improved.
Nigel being un-nice to Travis made me feel all Incredible-Hulk-y. How anybody could be mean to Travis escapes me, but it is not, NOT cool. >:-{
I’m with you on Melinda. If her name was “Jose” or “Russel” or “Legacy” she’d be getting huge praise for being even barely competent out of her style.
I FF some of the judge-talk, so I missed Nigel’s second comment re:jazz. But 1 or even 2 negative commetns after the mountains and mountains of praise they ahve heaped on him since he joined the show won’t hurt his character.
@Kevin: agreed. i’ve always been a travis fan since i started watching this wildly addicting show. he’s brilliant. it wasn’t jazz. do better. nigel, quit being a dick and be the teacher you profess to be to us lowly dance-ignorant americans.
ps WTF with all the world cup talk. who the hell does he think watches this show? gay men and teenage girls don’t watch that cause there’s so little shirtless-ness.
@Emilie – Phew! For a second there, I thought I was the only one that had a “pretty girl conspiracy theory” about the show’s (and many other reality shows, in general) skewed voting – it’s unfortunately a bunch of teenyboppers and fangirls, so of course any guy who’s decently attractive (or has a sunny disposition, a la Evan in season 5) is going to get plenty of votes each week, whether he deserves them or not. The girls, on the other hand, seem to really have to prove themselves week after week in order to stick around, and at the slightest misstep, they often find themselves in the bottom 3 or even heading home. And they’re really screwed if they’re confident and sexy (like Karen) – I almost feel like that brings out the cattiness in female voters, who label them as “snobby” and seem to throw all their votes to the boys at that point. It’s a theory I’ve been throwing around over at Pure DWTS for awhile, but it’s amazing how vehemently some people will deny that there’s some sort of “pretty girl discrimination” going on – now I will admit that it’s not the sole deciding factor in whether a girl gets sent home or not (despite a good performance), but I daresay there’s at least SOME of it going on.
And I, too, am also over the exhaltation of b-boys and their “growth” on the show – Dominic will forever be the original “little b-boy that could” for me, and Hok & Gev, while charming, seemed to lack a bit of the personality that Dominic brought to the table. By time Legacy came around, I was beginning to tire of the “b-boy journey”, but Legacy was at least likeable enough to carry it off; but now, with Jose, I’m completely over it and unimpressed by him.
Just as an aside, as a researcher of gender stereotypes, I hate when people assume that women are catty or envious of pretty, confident women. If anything, this show has shown that pretty, confident women WHO ARE THE BEST DANCERS will get the votes. I think that we pick theories that fit our preferred narrative without looking at all of the data sometimes–
Janette, Jeanine, Chelsea H., Kayla, Kathryn, Anya…I could go on and on. A woman can be pretty, confident and also any other characteristic that makes her unlikeable to a very fickle fan base. Could be clunky footwork, sloppy arms, a lack of humility–any number of things.
I think we underestimate women–and young women–when we assume such things about their motives. Are there some women who vote against pretty girls? Probably. Just like there are some who only vote for pretty girls. And some who vote for someone who looks like their best friend. And some who vote for whomever danced with their favorite all star. But to make generalizations about the reasons why a certain person is not a “favorite” is not helpful.
I mean, would it be helpful for me to claim that people were hating on Adechike (my fav) because he’s the only black guy? Of course not. Because that would be an oversimplification of a complex process–and unfair to the many who have what they feel are legit reasons for their disdain.
I know this is not a sociology board or anything (lol), but I just had to say that, what with all the awesome women who post and blog here! ๐
awesome post!
def agree about your rankings, i think either adechike or cristina should go tonight for sure.
and nigel was super rude to travis last night, i really cant stand tyce (is he getting creepier looking?? i think so! haha), and more praise was needed for nakul (sp?..) as he always has AMAZING choreography!
guess we’ll see soon!
@beth: I should’ve specified that I think gorgeous girls with a non-contemporary specialty (or without a lot of multi-style) training don’t do well the way untrained b-boys/krumpers can still do well, if they learn quickly or have a lot of charisma. What kills Melinda, I think, is that she’s as buttoned-up as Kayla and Kathryn (you nailed it with those 2, but not Jeanine, who oozes openness and personality), but she doesn’t have their perceived technical abilities or versatility. She’s like Kayla/Kathryn crossed with Bianca, you know?
@Ty: I think Nigel’s treatment of Travis was completely uncalled for, but I don’t think Travis has a bad gig with SYTYCD, even with Nigel at the helm. This was a weird one-off, I think. Maybe Nigel was trying to balance-out all the uber love Travis has been getting since he choreographed. Maybe Nigel didn’t want anybody to think they were heaping undeserved praise on him because of favoritism. I don’t think it’s undeserved, but it’s a theory.
@Robin: But was it just Adechike’s solos that were amazing, that got him into this Top 10?
@Courtney: Lol to the “pretty girl conspiracy theory.” I don’t think it’s a conspiracy – I think it’s all about who’s voting. We need to make it okay for straight men to love dance and then all the girls will be safer. By all means, let’s not protect somebody who’s not very talented just cause they’re pretty (a la Katie Stevens from AI this season), however, let’s give the pretty girls with less across the board training the same kudos we give those “little b-boys who could.” Melinda had some AMAZING lines last night, especially for a “hoofer.”
@beth (again): And folks who only vote for blondes, no matter what – aka John. ๐ I find gender studies fascinating, but I really do think that the show and the audience are skewed toward the “untrained b-boy and his journey” instead of the “less well-rounded tapper and her journey.” Ya know? Especially since she’s not nearly as effusive and charming as Jose, for instance. She’s closed-off and removed from the audience, so they don’t want to reach out for her. Except, I LOVE her personality. Like in the package with Ade when she laughed at the “family jewels” thingie and then went into a mock-serious/scary face. Lol!!
Thanks everybody for your comments!!!
Good guesses! You got 2 out of the bottom 3. I was suprised to see Robert there. I wasn’t a huge fan of the tango, but between him and Billy, Billy definitely deserved to be there based on this weeks’ dancing.
I,frankly, don’t get the mad Billy love. He’s good, but not moreso than the other guys. Is is sypathy becasue he got sick last season?
Surprised Robert was in the bottom, but since he got there his solo told me he’s the worst of the male contemporary dancers. Adechike’s solo’s are gorgeous. Robert was a disappointment.
I really did not like on how Nigel told Travis that it wasn’t jazz and it looked like contemporary. Mmph!
@Robin, I completely agree with this… “But in Melindaโs case, I really want her to blow my doors offโฆ she just doesnโt.” I was a fan of Melinda’s coming into this, because I knew her from As The World Turns, and I was really excited when she made the Top 11! Her first week’s jive wasn’t very strong, but I was glad she stuck around. This week, I was excited that she got contemporary, because I thought she’d kill it and we’d get to see how much she can do, but… I hate to say, I really didn’t like her piece. I was kind of shocked that the judges only had wonderful things to say about it (other than her costume, lol). Yes, the point of her feet was impressive, but otherwise her dancing was… meh. Boring. Even borderline awkward. I felt bad about thinking she should go home, but I did.
But mostly I’m just relieved my Robert is safe!!! And, since Melinda is still around, I do hope she truly rocks it next week.
Ugh at Kent and Jose being ranked so high, they both have had atrocious bad routines, bollywood and cha cha (even if he sold it techniquewise it was in shambles). I understand why Kent is high but I thought people were calling out for Jose heads?
I’m also surprised that you’ve put Alex into the second tier as imo the Tyce broadway + Lauren duo is doomed to drag anyone into averageness.
@ Kevin *cough* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFtbcNB6hxM *cough* Whether you like him or not Billy’s body is nuts, no other sytycd contestant ever has the training or body to do this.
Yep, done with that boy-without-training-triumphs (and a lot of the time it’s totally exaggerated; several of them *have* had training).
And you nailed it: it rarely works when you replace boy with gal. We (both genders) like the underdog, and that archetype is typically embodied (in media, in the reality show narratives) by a guy.
I don’t think I underestimate women when I say that the reason Evan got so far, and why Kent is still going strong (despite his… quaint performances) is the cutie-boy factor.
@Kevin, Andie and ahs: I was really surprised to see Robert in the bottom, as well. And really relieved to see that he’s safe. I’m loving him more and more each week. He really is the “dark horse” to me – the first time that’s actually used accurately, I think.
@leon: I’m ranking based on what I think the voting audience will do, remember. And both Jose and Kent were sent to safety quickly and with little fuss, so I stand by placing them as high. Don’t underestimate the “entertainment factor” over technical ability – we’ve seen that it wins out every time. And both Kent and Jose are the little underdogs who could, the exact type that survives on this show.
@NC: I’m just as guilty as the next girl of voting Evan further and further because I liked him so much. And here’s where I defend the “little b-boy/untrained girl” conspiracy theory a little bit. I continued to root for Evan, despite recognizing that he wasn’t as technically versatile as the other dancers, because I enjoyed watching him struggle and attempt far more than I enjoyed watching other gifted dancers dance well. Because I wanted him to get better and become the well-rounded dancer I believed he could be. So, I bought that “little underdog who could” hook line and sinker. Or, as Adam would say – “signed sealed, delivered,” I’m Evan’s.
also @leon: Thanks for sharing that video – that was pretty cool. ๐
okay. let me just comment on the state of the show right now. I’ve watched sytycd for all of the seasons and i love it. But ever since the stage changed and adam shankman came on as permanent judge, it kind of ruined the whole deal for me.
first of all. the judges are so negative that night. travis was pretty upset, and that made me upset that nigel had to be so blunt. what was the purpose of that, if not to only make travis more discouraged from choreographing on the show? he just started and gaining confidence and nigel had to say something like that. and sorry, although i love love love mia, she’s maybe not so good as a permanent judge. and this is saying from the point of the audience. the judges are there to give comments to help the audience to vote. the judging seems more like a learning session now, what with the judges picking on every little thing and telling the dancers how to improve. that’s good learning opportunity for the dancers i guess, but for the audience, i think it really bores them, well it bores me at least. i don’t mind learning a bit from them but now it’s just too much.
the permanent judge thing is kind of bothering me. i understand why nigel has to be there all the time but i wish there were different judges each wk so we can have different personalities and different points of views.
secondly, the format of the show is bothering me as well. it showed clearly last night that it wasn’t working out well. there might just be a all boys final. the old format was much better, with more people and more personalities. and the show was more unpredictable, which made it even more exciting and people geared to vote for their favourites. cristina’s not my favourite, but be fair here. cristina has done pretty well so far. if the judges were eliminating solely based on performance, maybe melinda should have left. just saying that cristina’s elimination makes me feel like the show has lost its credibility.
third. i understand that the producers, nigel and everyone want the show to improve with each season. but the way they do it seems to make it seem like they’re overpackaging everything for us and it just doesn’t seem honest anymore. we don’t get to see the dancers for who they really are, just some basic knowledge of what they like to do,…
honestly, i’m a little disappointed. there used to be many different styles and personalities on the show. and those seem to disappear as more changes on the show are made.
@buggy Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You have accurately explained why I so hate the show right now. Seriously, this might be the last season I watch.
@buggy
+1 iagree completely
My thoughts on the bottom three: I agree that Melinda should be there. I don’t think it’s a conspiracy against pretty girls, more that her personality is tough to nail down and her dancing in other styles is somewhat awkward. I think she’s trying to play it cool and aloof, but it comes across instead as insincere. And her contemporary dancing was not as good as the judges claimed it was. She did not complete all her lines; there were several times she and Ade did a spin and stuck their leg out, and her’s was lower and bent and lacked flow. For whatever reason, I don’t see much flow in her non-tapping dances, and it pulls me out of her performances.
Cristina didn’t belong down there, and she was robbed by being sent home so early. The paso was very good and strong, and her jazz last week was also good. Unfortunately, I feel that people couldn’t identify with her. We didn’t get much feel for her personality early on, and as stupid as this sounds, the retainer she wears probably put off a lot of people too.
I understand why Robert hit the bottom three. His personality is just too strong and too much. He reminds me of a kid in elementary school who sits in the back, can’t stop fidgeting, and randomly stands up and makes a monkey face combined with a weird noise. He constantly expels energy in every direction, and while this is great when you dance, it’s overbearing in normal situations and feels like a defense mechanism. He needs to dial it back a bit, and it’ll help him seem more sincere when talking. His tango was excellent though.
Other Dancers: I’m one of the people fascinated by Kent’s dancing ability. Yes, his personality is charming, but when he isn’t being hard on himself, his quality of movement is exceptional which is why I think people like him so much. He reminds me of Jakob Karr (my favorite dancer on this show, ever), and he could be that good if he had more confidence. The jazz he did was good, although I just don’t like Tyce pieces. They always feel cheap or like a rip-off of someone better. In this case, it felt like he was copying Sonja’s choreography.
The Billy krump was lol. We all knew that wouldn’t work, no matter how well Billy can follow the prescribed moves. Billy is small, lithe and sprightly, I don’t see how he could ever put on a tough exterior. His dancing quality has never been known for strength. I can’t fault him too much for that.
The Jose Bollywood was also goofy, but given that Bollywood is a bit cheesy anyway, Jose played it correctly by hamming it up and using performance to mask his deficiencies. I agree, he can’t get by on this every week, but early on it works. If he gets a more “serious” genre and the same thing happens, I don’t think it’ll be as easy to excuse him.
The Ashley Jazz was good, although it’s not my favorite Travis piece. I didn’t mind Nigel saying at first he didn’t think it qualified as jazz, but bringing it up a second time after the Tyce jazz piece was condescending.
Alex’s did the best he could with the Broadway. I’m of the opinion that Tyce is bad at choreographing this style. The judges criticisms of Alex seem off, as I feel his lack of Fosse-ness was due to Tyce not teaching it right, not because he didn’t do his homework. Boring routine, but whatever, that’s not his fault.
Lauren did a good job rebuilding herself this week. She was incredible during auditions and Vegas, so it was nice to see her return to form. The actual routine was very good too, and nice to see a new choreographer join the mix!
Adechike, eh, I dunno. I still didn’t feel too much from his performance. He’s technically excellent, but he gets too bogged down in focusing on the moves and appearing stoic. I can see why people are probably voting for him, because outside of his routines he has a warm and plucky personality. It won’t carry him forever, and I hope he uses these early weeks as a way to grow as a performer.
RE: the judges. I actually like that they’re harsh and blunt, so long as it doesn’t become condecending. After watching AI for the first time, I welcome judges that don’t just scream and say a lot of nothing in their “critiques.” These dancers are performers, and if they’re professionals, they need honest criticism for the sake of their own growth. Of course, I sometimes feel the judges go too easy on some people or are just completely off on their observations, but at least they’re saying something of substance.
RE: The format: I’m not convinced this should be made permanent. I’m fine with the stage now, as removing that screen and replacing it with lights and bringing props on-stage did wonders. Better camera angles are helping as well. However, I really wish the performance show wasn’t live. Editing in footage during the judges comments was useful, and now they can’t do it. Also, they can’t cut back and forth as quickly as they used to, or find the best angles for each dance. It just makes the whole show feel sluggish and less streamlined.
The Allstars concept is also novel, but it’s ending up with people going home too soon. The show can’t focus on growth narratives, and we’re also having the problem where most of the girls might be gone before the guys. I think Nigel believed this format would result in several phenomenal dances a week, especially since they selected an exceptional pool of talent this season. Aside from Alex’s dance last week, the dances haven’t been any better/worse than previous seasons, so the idea didn’t pan out in practice. I feel like they would have needed to ditch the random partners/genres concept altogether, and just instead assign routines and partners that make sense for each dancer every week. This avoids stuff like Billy Bell krumping. I’m not sure what else can be done, but for now, I feel going back to top 20 next year would be the better idea.
o_O
@Buggy
I can see your frustration with the show, but I think it was one of those times where you implement changes before the show starts to lose ratings. I think our overall frustration before was having the changes to begin with and being thrown with more changes was again mind boggling. What I miss most is the chemistry between the partnerships. However it really brings me to wonder, instead of finding out nothing about the first couple that leaves, maybe if there is a top 10, they can partner with each other and dance twice! ๐ That would really be too much eh?
@James G
I really liked your take on each element of this season including the bottom three results. I started to rant about how Melinda needs to put more heart into her dancing but it started to get confusing. I think Melinda’s personality just isn’t relatable to the demographic. I mean she’s a triple threat (singer dancer actor) and similar to Kayla S5, it’s like she has fall backs if she doesn’t win. Some people have only trained in dance and invested their entire lives in dance. I guess right now I don’t know anything about Melinda other than the fact that she likes to sing, dance, and act which is impressive I’ll admit and great that she can do all this. But it’s like reading a resume: on paper it says this, now what else about you that can’t be written can you show me? I don’t know what to pull from her that makes her quirky like she said. She played music so that makes her quirky?? I guess this is where I’m lost about her personality. This is ONLY what’s being translated on camera. She could be spectacular in person but something isn’t being captured. I love her dancing when she dances certain styles because I really think she stands out but for some reason i don’t find myself picking up the phone for her. Perhaps it’s just that likable personality that ppl look for, she doesn’t exude.
Btw when i saw Melinda being introduced I thought it was Kathryn. They have similar eyes and smiles.
@James I agree with many of the things you said. Tyce is an interesting case for me. I’ve been watching back a lot of his older routines from season 1-5 and comparing them to seasons 6 and 7 and I agree that something is missing. Tyce has done some really memorable routines (Melody and Nick’s All That Jazz, Allison and Ivan’s Why, Donyelle and Benji’s You Can’t Stop the Beat, the Lioness Hunt group routine from S3, Kherington and Twitch’s Too Darn Hot, Jessica and Will’s Silence-which won him an Emmy, Randi and Evan’s W1 Dance, Kayla and Brandon’s Bye Bye Love, Melissa and Ade’s This Woman’s Work) but he’s also had some duds (Donyelle and Benji’s Le Jazz Hot, Jaimie and Hok’s Mr. Bojangles, Comfort and Chris’s The Beautiful People, Courtney and Katee’s The Trolley Song, Asuka and Vitolio’s Hot Honey Rag, Melissa and Evan’s Get Me to the Church on Time) I don’t think his broadway routine from this past week was one of his best, but I can’t fault the fact that he is a talented choreographer. Like I’ve written before, I think they’re working out the kinks.