An interesting dilemma…
With Christina’s departure last night, the producers have been left with a rather interesting dilemma. As of now, there are 6 guys and 3 girls left, which means 3 All-Star boys WON’T be dancing next week. This is a personal opinion, but I’m fonder of the guy all-stars than the girls. Don’t get me wrong, I love Allison and Kathryn and Courtney, but something was definitely missing on Tuesday night without the smiles and personalities (and dancing, of course) of Twitch and Neil on stage.
Nigel said before the season started that there wouldn’t be any dances done by two people of the same gender until the finale, but I wonder if he took into account the idea of the girls getting picked off before the boys. I obviously don’t have a way to get in touch with Nigel, but if I could, I would urge him to change his mind. Some incredibly memorable dances have been two guys (or two girls). Who could forget “Tranji” or “The Dueling Princes”? Or, my personal favorite, the Russian Trepak with Twitch and Joshua from the S4 finale. If they could find a way to move beyond the “dueling” storyline, I feel like the audience would embrace it. The boys of S7 are so strong this year, and it would be a shame to have these talented dancers and fantastic All-Stars not dancing.
What do you guys think? I hated not seeing Twitch and Neil dance this week, and I don’t like thinking that I won’t get to see Pasha or Mark or Dominic or Ade dancing next week. Their personalities are part of what makes this show so fun.
I had the same thought. I too love seeing Courtney and Allison especially, but my favourite all-stars are Mark and Neil. I did miss Neil greatly this week and I’ll be sorry not to see Mark every single show. I don’t understand why Nigel wouldn’t change things up since they have been experimenting with genres and formats. I’d love to see the all-stars dance with partners of the same sex, and the memorable routines you’ve mentioned, as well as Mia choreographing for the top girls, and the Melody and Ashlee(?) number from the first season prove that it can be done.
Well… I wouldn’t be surprised if in another week or two that would be the case… I highly doubt Nigel didn’t ALREADY think about this at some point in time.
It’s the producer’s fault that this is happening! They should have evened it out with 6 guys and 6 girls. Ryan Ramirez should have made it! She is a strong dancer and I felt that she would have lasted long. If we want to see more of our male all-stars, people should vote for the girls!
@Chelsea Rae, how could I forget about Melody and Ashlé?!! Silly me, as well as the piece that Mia did for Kayla and Jeanine in S5. I really do hope he changes his mind, I think he’s shortchanging the audience if he doesn’t.
@Marianya, I really hope it is, I just don’t know because he was so insistent before the season started that there would be no same gender dancing before the finals, but if the pattern holds and someone like Melinda goes home next week, he is going to have a major problem and some very antsy viewers.
@Lola, I am still wondering why they didn’t just do 6 boys and 6 girls, we may never know. I think Ryan is a beautiful dancer, I think she will come back next season as an even better dancer. Ryan and Anthony Burrell in S8 top 20?! Woah, serious talent.
I get what you’re saying about us needing to vote for the girls in order to see the male all-stars, but that’s another dilemma, one that we’ve been debating on this site. There has to be a reason that both Melinda and Cristina were in the bottom 3 this week and last week. In that sense, the producers made the right call to let them go, we weren’t warming up to them, it had to be done, especially with such a small group of dancers. I wish I could pinpoint what it is that I didn’t get about Cristina, but I just wasn’t feeling it.
There’s nothing in the rules this season about there needing to be an equal number of boys and girls, so yeah…America could vote for only boys but at some point, the judges will start acting. I believe a boy will be going home next week, unless the 3 girls are all in the bottom.
But it would be interesting to see all 5 girls getting voted off in the first 5 weeks…
You know what? I actually think that girls will be slowly voted off and there’ll only be guys left. Just being realistic. Haha. Maybe Lauren and Ashley will survive.
But seriously, i think the only way to keep the show interesting is to let the same gender dance together. if not, this season might flop.
and also, i hope that top 20 returns nxt yr. need more personalities and dancing!! love the all stars but old faces aren’t always a good thing! maybe half of the season should have the dancers dancing with the all stars and the later half, with each other. just a suggestion. 😀
I suspect that it’s not so much about gender as it is dance style. With a top 10 it was necessary to include all styles so you’ve got Melinda and Cristina who aren’t contemporary dancers while the boys, already with one more competitor, only have Jose who isn’t a contemporary dancer.
Audiences have proven in the past that they will vote for contemporary girls, such as Sabra, Kayla, and Jeanine, but there aren’t as many ballroom or hip hop girls who make it to the top, and those that do have to be adaptable to fit all styles. Melinda did well this week but clearly had trouble the first week out with a ballroom routine and Cristina was overshadowed by the reunion of Mark and Sonja.
It’s also just a really strong year for guys just as, in the past, there have been seasons that are full of stronger girls. I do like Ashley and Lauren though and hope that they outlast Jose at least!
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I’m enjoying the change up. I like a little diversity in my fav shows, even if they aren’t always changes I want to see every season.
I like the all star additions. I’m having fun seeing how the newbies live up to the competition. And I think it brings the newcomers along much more quickly having rehearsal partners with such experience as mentors.
I don’t really care very much about the gender balance so long as I think the “right” people are going home…and except for the first week (where I thought that Melinda should have gone home before Alexie), I’ve been okay with it.
My main thing is that I like seeing awesome dance routines, and seeing dancers become amazing dancers before my eyes. It’s what’s so great about this show–think about it…all of a sudden, 5 years later, there’s a nation full of dance experts talking about pointing feet, exuding emotion and arm extensions! I’d never thought this would happen, and as a former dancer, it’s a beautiful thing. American Idol didn’t make music more popular, regardless of its impact. But SYTYCD has definitely made dance popular–made it something that kids aspire to do–made it something that is the plot of movies. What a dream!
I’m elated, regardless. 🙂
@Beth, I totally know what you’re saying, and I definitely love seeing great routines. What I’m talking about is that these guys are all-stars for a reason, people like Pasha, Neil and Twitch were not only great dancers but great personalities, they’re memorable. And having them in routines in the format we have this season makes for memorable routines for season 7. If the girls continue to get voted off (and we don’t have the same gender dancing à la Twitch and Joshua) we lose some of the potential for memorable routines. I’m not saying we won’t still have SOME, but people may start to complain.
@Chelsea Rae, I think it’s kind of both. Cristina and Melinda have definitely been overshadowed by their partners both weeks because their partners are fan favorites, and that’s not their fault. It also proves that my theory about contestants being safe because of the fan bases of their all-stars isn’t true. But, as Nigel practically shoved down our throats this week, there is something about Melinda and Cristina that audiences just aren’t connecting to. It’s the tough thing about Vegas Week. Unlike American Idol, whose audience votes in the semi-finals, the judges pick the top dancers, and they have to trust that the American public will fall in love with them. I think that they may have simply guessed wrong with Cristina and Melinda. I’m not including Alexie in that group because I think she was a victim of A. first week jitters and B. being a very small person dancing with a very big person with a bigger personality (Twitch) and, personally, I loved Alexie, I wanted her to stay another week.
Adam addressed our complaints that they were too harsh on the contestants. I don’t think they were too harsh on them, I think they were harsh on the wrong people. Billy krumped, what did they think was going to happen?! I thought they would give him more credit. I don’t mind when the judges are harsh when they need to be, but there were a few points when I thought it was a little too much. For some reason, the addition of Mia really isn’t doing it for me. I think that, individually, they’re great judges. And, unlike the judges on AI, they really do give sound advice. But, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, I miss Mary. She gave the judges personality, this year it’s like watching paint dry. I don’t miss the scream (my eardrums don’t) but I miss how passionate she was about watching the dancers improve and grow.
I love the new format because unfortunate dancers aren’t dragging their partners down but I don’t like the spotlight that is being put on the all-stars. Some dancers, for instance Tango with Robert, are going to be naturally “eaten alive” by their all-star partner because the style of dance show cases the female role so much more. This is not to say that I don’t love watching the all stars dance but it’s not about them. I think the choreographers could do something to make the contestants stand out a little more. They did it with the 1st hip-hop dance Jose was in, it was obvious that they singled him out therefor I watched mostly him. The shows producers have a big job on their hands because there are so many fans of this show (because it’s pure AWESOME) but we are also tough critics!
@Sarah, you make a really good point. I think the contestants are having to work harder to stand out because their partners are so familiar to viewers. But, you’re exactly right about dancers not dragging down their partners. I think it’s taken a couple of weeks for them to work out the kinks.
In terms of your point about focusing on the contestants, I think the choreographer who got it right this week was our newest one, Tessandra. Lauren and Dom worked as a pair, definitely, but he was there for her to work off of and to support her, he did a great job not taking over the routine. She gave him a little time to shine with a few tricks, but my eyes were on Lauren a lot, which is more than I can say for some of the other routines.
@ Margaret – I think that you’re right, and I was sorry to see Alexie go so early too. I suspect she was a victim of so-so choreography though. Considering the brilliance of Alex and Allison, the fun that Billy and Lauren brought to Broadway and other dances of the night I found Twitch and Alexie’s dance entirely forgettable and I think it was the choreography rather than them not giving it their all.
@ Sarah – Good point about the partners not dragging dancers down! When one dancer has star power and the other doesn’t it always feels like they are being carried. Last year showed that sometimes the dancers are just poorly partnered in general though. I think that Mollee and Nathan were done a huge disservice in being partnered. If they danced with more mature dancers from the beginning of the competition they would have grown more and perhaps been more successful.
@Chelsea Rae, I thought the concept was fun, and it was something they could bring their personalities to, but something just didn’t click. I think Alexie needed to go back and watch Courtney and Twitch’s hip hop from their season finale. Courtney a lot smaller than Twitch, but she hits really hard and makes it work. It was also a Napoleon and Tabitha routine, lol.
And you make an excellent point about Mollee and Nathan, and it’s a point I remember Nigel making on the show, basically admitting that they screwed up when they paired those 2 together. Watching Mollee dance with Jakob (who was only 2 years older) just made a huge difference.
Since they annonce the new formula I’m hoping to see some same gender duets. I always loved those choreography in the finale and I hoped at first that it would be like that for the whole season, that they would pick the all-stars/style no matter the gender. That would have been much more interesting and would have given the choreographer opportunities to work on different kind of stories!
I just thought about the same gender dances…
What if a guy pulls Pasha out of the hat???? I’m not sure if that’s going to be favorable to the judges, albiet interesting for the audiences. What if Anya pulls a female? I mean it might be uber hot or utter failure. Also I feel like both men will benefit from the same gender partnership. The women will only be viewed side by side as competition thus, favoring one woman over the other. Once the vote tips, a woman will lose votes significantly whereas the men might have a major increase for both.
It’s just a theory since the demographic is mostly young adult women.
@Christine, I would definitely love to see same gender dances, Nigel, however, said explicitly at the beginning of the season that it wouldn’t happen til the finale, that, when a girl picked, it would only be guy all stars that she was picking from and the same for the boys (only picking from the female all-stars)
However you do it, it’s going to be a crapshoot. A female duet could end up like Ashlé and Melody from S1 (Mia choreographed a piece for them that really highlighted them as both dancers AND athletes) and Kayla and Jeanine (also done by Mia, lol) or it could end up like poor Lacey and Sabra (Wade’s unfortunate dance of the foxes). Likewise, the boys could be spectacular (S4’s Russian Trepak with Twitch and Joshua and S3’s Dueling Princes) hilarious (Tranji), or a disaster (Evan and Brandon’s “Battle’ in S5).
i know this may be out of place, and im so sorry if its already been talked about and i missed it..
but the all stars will have to go on tour right? or else how would they redo the routines? and will the past two seasons be going on tour together??
also, i would love to see some same gender duets!! 🙂
@tammi, I have no idea about the tour, it hasn’t been mentioned lately. but it’s a very good question, I honestly don’t know.
According to spoilers, we may just see a same gender dance this week. But it’s not unheard of, in the past in the final four often the same sex dances together…not necessarily partner dances, but side by side duets in contemporary or hip hop