SYTYCD S7 Top 8 Results Thoughts
Where do I start? I can’t even pretend not to be heartbroken about the elimination this week, so I’m not going to even try.
Courtney G.’s tweet says it all:
Alex Wong 🙁 29 minutes ago via UberTwitter
-First, a positive. Some of the clips of last night’s performances reminded me of some stuff I loved but didn’t mention in my Performance Thoughts/Power Rankings post. Like the way Lauren lay back slooooowly against Pasha at the end of their cha cha. She seemed relieved. It was a very sweet moment. All of the little moments between the partners before and after their routines were adorable. I looooved Ashley/Robert’s where she kissed his cheek and he fell down from the “kiss of death” aka quickstep. I dub Ashley the Chemistry Queen since she works it out with all her partners. 🙂 Though I thought Robert was well-suited for the Sean Cheesman with Kathryn, I kinda wondered what it would be like if Mark were dancing the routine with her. Oh, and the other point I meant to make last night is that my visiting dancing friend said that Billy wasn’t so much a jaguar in his routine with Jose – but rather a spider monkey. 🙂
On to tonight’s show.
-I wasn’t sure how I felt about that Top 8 Group Routine. I liked that it had a lot of slow, sustained movement. I was annoyed by some of the theatrics of it. And confused to why Ade was in it, till tammi reminded me Alex was sitting out (I think I’d blocked it out).
-There was lots of Emmy talk during which Adam gave some Blue Steel. Nobody mentions how Cat was ROBBED. She’s the best presenter around.
-I was SHOCKED that one of the first two dancers was in the Bottom 3. It seemed a bit quick considering we were only looking for two more dancers. And Billy had a decent night. But I guess all that Jose v. Adechike debate resulted in some major votes.
-I’m getting ahead of myself. The rest of the five dancers were brought out. WHY did they do it this way? Why didn’t they do four and three? Why two and five? I just don’t get it.
-Kent’s safe. They don’t even tease. He went and jumped on Lauren in the safe box.
-Wow, Jose is safe. AND Robert. I’m relieved, but very weirded out. And my Bottom 3 is waaay messed up.
-Commercial for “Standing Ovation,” which I admit I want to see. AND “Step Up 3D,” of course. I saw the trailer recently at the movies.
-Back to the weirdness. Ashley and Adechike are the only two left. Adechike is standing very far away from Ashley and is in a completely different place from her. As a human being, yeah I can get why he’d maybe have to zone out. But I was soo disgusted with how isolated he was – as I have been disgusted. I’m finally figuring it out. He is completely unconnected from the other dancers and often the audience. Which read, on t.v., in my opinion, as if he’s only worried about himself. I get that this is important to him. But what I think it’s done is it’s shut him off from learning *anything* from *anyone*, including the choreographers, the judges and the other dancers. He’s not growing and he’s not pushing his energy out. He is so locked down.
-Ashley’s in the Bottom 3 and not Adechike. I officially hate Top 8 elimination nights.
-My case re Adechike was demonstrated completely (imo) when you could see that Cat was pressing her cheek to Adechike’s to comfort him and he was so stiff and unresponsive. It’s like he wasn’t even there. Unfortunately, it feels like he’s not even there, spirit-wise, when he dances as well.
-It was nice to see Anya and Pasha dance together and Cat cracked me up when she said, “Could you be any hotter?”
-I’m gonna get ragged by this, but I enjoyed the In the Heights dancers a’riiight, but wasn’t overly enthused. It was cool that they were singing and dancing in true Broadway form, though.
-Both Billy and Ashley recycled solos, but they were both VERY strong, which was good to see. Both utilized music that’s been really popular on our site.
-LOVED watching Natasha Bedingfield with the All-Stars. Best part of the night, for me. I just bet it was nice for Cat to hug on someone almost the same height as her.
-Nigel explains the results of Alex’s MRI. But I was 100% positive he was leaving when he didn’t dance a solo. I’m amazed and somewhat soothed that Alex has been invited back for the next season. I’m so glad – but it’s gonna be soooo hard on that season’s contestants. Think Billy Bell’s favored status at the beginning of Season 7 multiplied by about 1,000.
-But, the good news is that Ashley and Billy are safe. They NEVER should have been in the Bottom 3 this week. I’m fairly certain that Adechike is going next week – there’s gonna be some backlash, if the comments here on the site are anything to go by.
-I’m gonna go on the record with what I just told Marianya, even though I may be way wrong. Elimination predictions for the rest of S7: Top 7 – Adechike, Top 6 – Jose, Top 5 – Robert [Jose & Robert may be switched], Top 4 = Billy, Ashley, Lauren and Kent. There you go. Let’s see what happens.
Ande, thanks for posting that insider perspective on Bollywood dancing. The judges should be careful of critiquing styles they’re unfamiliar with.
Andre, thanks for posting your perspective as a black male. I’ve long thought that some of the dancers they criticize as being arrogant are simply conforming to cultural norms (Danny and Brandon come to mind). I think there is a bit of unrecognized racism on SYTYCD, or at least a lack of cultural awareness/appreciation for behavioral diversity. The judges seem to think that anyone who doesn’t pander to the crowd and act goofy for votes is stuck up, and that’s just unfair. I would much rather see a serious dancer with serious skill than an “outrageous” personality with so-so skills.
wow, has anyone checked out Nigel’s twitter lately? He has been responding pretty harshly to some fans critical of some of the decisions made regarding this season and the judging. Judging from some of the things being said/some of the things he’s writing, I have no doubt that it will be brought up (by Nigel) on the next performance show. I don’t like the fact that this has all become so political, the ideas of the show have become bigger than the dancers and that’s just not fair to them. These kids have worked so hard, and regardless of our personal opinions about the changes that have happened this season (in the format, on the judging panel, etc) it’s up to us to support them as they continue to reach for their dreams.
It sometimes feels like the judges are speaking just to hear themselves talk and we as viewers have the unfortunate habit of psychoanalyzing everything that comes out of their mouths. At this point, I’m starting to wonder if we’ve (the judges and the viewers) all lost track of what this show is all about. This is about America’s FAVORITE dancer. And I know that there’s been a big to-do about the fact that the “best” dancer has never won, but the “best” dancer may not be America’s favorite dancer. That doesn’t make us wrong for choosing who we like. The best 2 examples I can think of are Benji/Travis and Russell/Jakob. Yes, Benji and Russell were less technically proficient compared to Travis and Jakob, but they had these personalities where you just couldn’t take your eyes off them and they became better dancers as they adapted to all these new styles. I don’t judge America’s decisions b/c I can hardly ever watch the show live, so why would I have the right to get mad at America for who’s in the bottom 3 when I didn’t actually get the chance to vote.
I think what I’m getting at is that Nigel’s recent Tweets (as well as some of the comments he’s made on the show) have really made me sad. Sad that the show has become so political, rule-changing aside, and all about the appearance. I feel as though, in the continued comments about personality, the dancers are losing some of the joy that comes in dancing because they’re having to try so hard to please the judges. It’s not fair of us to ask them to change themselves for us. That’s what was so great about dancers like Benji, Travis, Twitch, Neil, Pasha, Jeanine, Melissa, Kathryn etc, the judges weren’t asking them to change who they were as people for the sake of a TV show. America’s not stupid, we can see through fake.
As you guys all know, this is my personal opinion, and I won’t take offense if you disagree with me. This is just something that I’ve been rolling around in my head for a while and seeing Nigel’s tweets this morning kinda just put me over the top. 🙁
I ignore Nigel’s tweets on purpose. I do think he’s starting to put a lot of people off.
It’s to the point that you almost expect him to say on any given week, “We’ve decided to take the voting out of the hands of America because they’ve proven they can’t be trusted with it,” and stick his tongue out at us, lol. Or just, “No show this week, because you’re not being appreciative of the format!”
I love Nigel, but he does need to get over himself.
I’m curious about the statement that Alex couldn’t be an All Star because he hadn’t completed the show. He made top 8! I’m I’m not mistakes, that’s at least as well as some of the current All Star’s placed on their seasons. It’s not his fault that 8th was only the 4th week into the season, when normally it would be the 7th.
@ande: You make great points about Adechike and Desmond Richmond (and Bollywood). I’m in no way trying to “trash” Adechike. I’ve said many times that I can see he’s a great dancer and that all of my comments are subjective. But here’s the thing – it’s a t.v. show. And a lot of things can play into how a dancer is received on a t.v. show. Maybe it’s not fair (or accurate), but how people and events are presented on t.v. can be very different from how they are in real life. For instance, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Melissa from S6, yet when I met her, she was very charming and insanely nice. It was impossible not to like her in person. I’m sure that’d be the case with Adechike as well. However, he’s my least favorite dancer on the show at the moment. I enjoy his routines the least. I am consistently disappointed in his failure to open up on stage.
@Nsam: I think a lot of the above comment was for you, too. As for my word choice – I try to be precise in language. But, as a fiction writer (and one who has to find new ways of expression every week for this site), I tend to be creative with my word usage. So, I don’t take back “disgusted.” It was accurate at the time – I was intensely disliking my perception of Adechike’s behavior. Another commenter mentioned how he hugged Ashley, but for some reason, all I saw was him standing very far away from her and looking straight ahead as if he was cut off from everything that was happening. I’ve already said that I can understand being freaked out by all those people and that public setting – but it’s something he signed on for. He’s not rising to the task that the show has demanded of him, in my opinion. No matter how lovely of a person (and a dancer) he is, I don’t think he’s doing well on the show. And you’re welcome for that Cat photos. 🙂 I thought they were adorable.
@ahs: I’d be down for Alex being an All-Star, even if he hasn’t completed the show. It seems like the fairest thing, given his fan base now that he has been on the show and his ability. And if we’re using @Mrs. Dee’s suggestion, which I totally think Fox should. 🙂
@beth: Never too much! I love your continued support of Adechike. Even though he’s my least favorite, I’m glad he’s getting support because he has been put through the wringer by the judges and I can’t even imagine how hard going through this process is. 🙂 I support team Adechike. Lol
@Margaret: I found those tweets hard to read (understand). I couldn’t really get who was saying what to whom. Embarrassing, but true. Good find, though. Thanks for directing us to them.
@Kevin: You make a GREAT point about Alex’s eligibility for All-Star status. Comfort and Dominic and Anya, I believe, were all around Top 8 or 6, so how does that make Alex any different from them?
@Emilie, it took me a bit to figure out what he was saying, too. I think I’ve deciphered it.
RT @DavidSpearman: @dizzyfeet publicly insulting the people who watch your show? Wow. I’m embarassed for you.
Nigel’s response: Don’t be! They’re ignorant!
RT @ladyxluxe: @dizzyfeet …so that he can make u more $$$ (the poster is referring to Alex Wong and their decision to let him come back next season)
Nigel’s response: That is the kind of cynicism I hate. I am blocking your stupidity.
Nigel is really playing with fire. He’s risking alienating a good chunk of the fanbase of the show, which is something he can’t really afford to do, especially given their decision to make such drastic changes to the overall format. We understand that he knows dance and what it takes to make it in dance, but I feel like his ego is becoming bigger than the show, which is dangerous for the integrity of the show.
I hate to defend Nigel, but I think that people are misunderstanding the twittersphere.
Nigel’s first post–(I’ll try to recreate the conversation):
//I’m shocked at peoples selfish reactions “Alex better be on next year.” or “He’s had his chance” My thought “I pray Alex can dance again!”//
1:21 PM Jul 10th via Twitlonger
@dizzyfeet I’m shocked at how you continue to misconstrue fan reactions then attack & insult the fans for caring. #SYTYCD
1:11 PM Jul 10th via Echofon from Southwest Orange, FL in reply to stark23x
@stark23x read my timeline and tell me I’m misconstruing some fans selfish lack of thought and to be frank lack of intelligence.
1:22 PM Jul 10th via web
@dizzyfeet So distinguish between the two concepts: those who speak out from love and those who are just jerks.
@stark23x agreed and fair comment. However, in my opinion it isn’t about #SYTYCD or the fans. It’s about Alex, the operation & his recovery… the only people they appear to care about are themselves.
(then he retweets or “quotes” someone else)
Retweeted by dizzyfeet
RT @ladyxluxe: @dizzyfeet …so that he can make u more $$$
(to which Nigel says) That is the kind of cynicism I hate. I am blocking your stupidity.
To which the first guy says:
@dizzyfeet @ladyxluxe Agreed. Pure cynicism. I don’t think anyone enters this prof. just to make $. There are easier ways!
—
In other words, Nigel’s ticked off that people are complaining about the “rules” when Alex might never dance again like he had before. His career could be over. (god forbid) I think he can call those people ignorant if he wants–regardless of his ego, he does seem to truly care about these dancers…and it would likely irritate him greatly that people don’t understand that this is by far the worst injury a dancer has ever had on SYTYCD, and could be a career-ending one.
Nigel asks a guy to give up his ballet career–making money dancing–in order to go on a show that doesn’t really pay. Then that show could have killed his career. The guilt alone could drive him to have Alex back. It would to me. (Yes, I know it was Alex’s choice, etc., but that doesn’t necessarily change how you feel about the situation.) I give Nigel a pass on this one.
[…] after all this talk of what we could like to see in next season’s So You Think You Can Dance… Nigel pulls a […]
@beth, thanks for the expansion on what I had put in. As I look at it, I don’t think I was frustrated so much with what he was saying (in terms of defending Alex Wong, my absolute hope is that he recovers fully from his surgery as well), it’s the way he’s going about saying it. The thing with Twitter, though it is a nifty site, is that so much of a conversation is missing because you’re not watching a person make their points, you’re reading them. We don’t see voice inflection, gestures, etc. That’s why I think Nigel is playing with fire. While he’s making fair arguments, he’s doing them in a medium that is very isolated where comments can easily be taken the wrong way. I respect him as a judge and a producer, but I feel like there has to be an easier way to make his point.
@beth, Good point. (I’m doing my best to not even let myself think Alex’s injury could be career-ending.)
And I’m sure some people are saying stupid things. But I feel like Nigel shouldn’t accuse everyone who expresses a dislike of his/the show’s choices of being uncaring regarding Alex.
It’s not just on Twitter that Nigel has been kind of particularly unpleasant this year, but on the show as well. I’ve been having a hard time remembering why I like him.
First I have to say this site really has some intelligent, insightful posters! Makes me think of my first SYTYCD forum experiences – Fox.com. OMG mean, immature, stupid… I quit that place pretty quickly. Thanks for the black male and bollywood insight. I’m a non-dancer lesbian, so I don’t have any insight whatsoever as far as the dancers go… LOL! Although I have seen a lesbian or two in Vegas Week, so maybe some day I will 😉
@Margaret I had to jump on twitter real quick to see if Nigel had blasted or blocked me because last night after watching the Billy/Tookey number again I tweeted to the judges: “Figured it out. What the judges decided they want from a dancer overshadows what the choreographer intends.” Here’s an idea – the choreographer submits for the judges a brief description of the intent of the number and the performance guidance given to the dancers.
@Emilie It’s definitely a different story meeting the dancers in person! I thought all sorts of snarky things until finally meeting the S4 dancers on tour (and eventually becoming friends with a few!) Now I have sworn to never say I “hate” a dancer or something along those lines. Sure, I want some off my TV, but I believe that they’re all great people in person. And yes Melissa is INCREDIBLY sweet! And nobody asked, but Courtney is pure joy 🙂
Finally, Cat may not have gotten an Emmy nod, but SOME people give her credit where it’s due! TV’s 25 hotest women! And she has good company at number 18 😉
http://www.buddytv.com/slideshows/eureka/summers-sexiest-stars-tvs-hottest-women-20257.aspx
@Margaret and beth: Thanks for deciphering the conversation for me. 🙂 I was thinking it was along the lines that beth explained, so I couldn’t understand all the outrage. BUT, Margaret, you make a great point that Nigel has better platforms and mediums than Twitter to express his feelings regarding Alex and the fans of the show.
@Margot: Welcome to the site and to commenting! We try to be welcoming and respectful. Things do get heated, but luckily we usually maintain a high level of niceness. I’m proud to be part of this community for JUST that reason. What a great find with the hottest women of summer t.v. Lol. I’m not a lesbian, but even I can appreciate that 2 SYTYCD women grace the list. At first I was insulted that Cat was only #18, but then I saw what you meant about “in good company.” I’m glad they recognized her as being insanely gorgeous both inside and out. 🙂
@Emilie, I think beth deciphered it better than I did because she looked back farther, I had just seen the recent posts. He’s of course entitled to his opinion (as we all are), but I lump Twitter and texting into the same category (for the reasons that I talked about in my previous post). We live in a world where “your mic is always on”, and in this case his mic happened to be a keyboard. We are all, of course, rooting for Alex’s complete recovery and best health, but it’s hard not to question the length to which they’re going to “bend the rules” and not make the unfortunate connection to the fact that Alex is so well-liked and incredibly talented. I have to wonder what poor Jessica King thought when/if she’s heard about this. I know that her season was 3 seasons ago, but I’d have to think that if I was in her position, I’d be a little miffed. Though, she did tour with the Top 10 (since she technically made Top 10) so maybe that made up for it.
@Margaret: I think the rules should be able to change as time passes. Maybe Jessica leaving the way she did is part of the reason they decided to invite injured dancers back. But, I also know what you mean. Any way you slice it, I want to see Alex dance again when he’s well. However that is, I’m down. Fair or not.
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[…] many thanks to commentor Ms Dee for starting this idea in the first […]