Top 20 (Part 2) Results Thoughts and Discussion
I’m dreading tonight as much as I can dread SYTYCD. Which is to say that I’m looking forward to seeing the dancing, but sad about losing 4 of the dancers. I think the dancers themselves got it right in DanceOn’s video interviews when they said that getting to know them another week almost makes it worse to lose them now.
That being said, it’s kinda cool to see a third Top 20 group routine and Dave Scott’s was really good. I love Nina Simone and I thought there was a really retro-futuristic The Adjustment Bureau feel to it.
I’m excited to see Crew dancing later.
And for the rest of my live thoughts, a spoiler space…
Even though Missy and Wadi were probably the most obvious choice for the Bottom 3, I’m still sad to see them there. I hope they survive and get a better routine for their strengths next week. Caitlynn has really been growing on me, so I’m glad that she’s safe .
Lauren sighting! So cool to see her in the audience. And the Gaterade/nutritionist segment was really cute, with everyone throwing away their unhealthy food at the end.
I’m a bit surprised to see Iveta and Nick in the Bottom 3 because it seemed like they have a pretty big fan base, even if Iveta’s not my favorite. I do really like Nick, so I’m worried now. But I’m also REALLY happy that Melanie and Marko are safe.
Well, I guess it makes sense that Ryan and Rickey are in the Bottom 3 since they’re routine was near the beginning of the show and Ryan was smiling manically throughout. But I thought their fan base (me included, they were one of the 3 couples I voted for!) would keep them in the running.
Cat seemed pretty sad about the reality of losing so many dancers when she said that the judges could only save one guy and one girl. Me, too. Sucks. Every time I kept imaging how it would go, I was sad about losing somebody.
Rage Crew were really entertaining, but I was a bit disturbed by some of the younger dancers dancing the same moves as the older ones. Impressed too, yes, but also disturbed they were dancing such a mature routine.
I love watching Wadi, but it seemed like a lot of tricks. They’re amazing, to be sure, but if they’re worried about his versatility, that wasn’t the solo to convince them. Plus, he seemed piss afterwards, but I know he was probably pretty emotional and maybe he was trying to contain that.
Missy’s solo was really good, but even as she was dancing, I was wondering if it was enough, considering how many contemporary girls we have.
Nick is adorable. Alternatively, I was hoping that the fact that he’s the only tap dancer might save him. I remember thinking that he and Ryan would be great partners after seeing them interviewed side by side in DanceOn’s video.
Iveta’s solo was also really good, but she’s my least favorite and I was hoping that the fact that she’s the only ballroom dancer would’ve save her.
Rickey really laid it out there. His solo was amazing and probably the definition of dancing for your life.
I really want Ryan to stay. Her solo was alright, but I again worried it wasn’t enough. The last few seconds were really strong, though. I was bracing myself to lose her.
LMFAO was awesome! I loved how they danced with Quest Crew and it was essentially one big dance party, especially at the end. It was so high-energy and fun I almost forgot that we’re losing four dancers…
While I’m really relieved that Ryan and Rickey were saved, I’m also very sad to lose Nick, Wadi and Missy. I’m not so sad about Iveta because she’s a champion in her own right and she’s not my favorite, but the other three really could’ve had a better run on the show with different partners.
It’s gonna be a hard season cause all the dancers are so good. But, on the other hand, it’s gonna be a GREAT season because they’re so good. Hopefully, we’re gonna have a ton of phenomenal dances. Can’t wait for next week.
What about y’all? Are you happy with the results? Distraught? Tell me what you think!
My fiancรฉe and I weren’t happy with tonight’s results. Ever since the previous week’s decision to do a double elimination the following week, we were worried that one or two dancers that normally would have gone deep (Top 10) into the competition were going to get axed early. To us, it looks like Missy and Nick are those two people ๐
We’re really sad to see Nick go. He performed one of the best tap solos ever on the show and has been impressive in styles outside of tap. It really seemed like he could grow and benefit from the process. Rickey is also quite good, so it’s a tough decision. The potential for improvement and his wonderful charisma would make us lean towards keeping Nick for at least a couple more weeks.
We’re not fans of Ryan and we haven’t been impressed with her, so it was frustrating to watch her stay over Missy. Reading your blog I know that you’re a fan of hers, so maybe you can give us some perspective. For us, we see that Ryan’s technical ability is sound. However, we don’t believe we’ve seen an ability to interpret character. In each dance and solo shown she’s smiled the entire time, which we’ve found distracting. We would have really liked to see her and Rickey perform the routine Mitchell and Caitlynn had, as it would have shown whether or not she could play a “serious” part in a piece. Hopefully in the next week or two she’ll get something like that. We’d love to be able to say we were wrong about our initial impression, which has happened before for us (Kayla in Season 5 and Legacy in Season 6, for example).
If nothing else, this makes for some interesting discussion!
Soo sad to see Nick go! We hadn’t even begun to see how good he could be, and he has been my favorite from the start ๐ but Rickey danced a great solo and is very talented, so I’m glad he got to stay. As for Missy and iveta, I’m not as in to them as I am Ryan, so I wasn’t as sad to see them go. Ryan is kinda hard to get, but I think her smile is what shows her love of dance. She is a real dancer’s dancer IMHO.
I kind of just think the results are all messed up because of the judges stupid indecision last week. Honestly, at least one of the couples in the bottom 3 didn’t deserve to be there. I wasn’t surprised about Missy and Wadi, but I feel like Ricky’s solo made it impossible for them not to choose him, which saddens me because I love Nick so much. I feel like Nick and Iveta kind of got screwed because of the double elimination. I knew they weren’t going to send Ryan home.
and @ James G, I agree. I just can’t get a feel of Ryan yet. She’s an amazing dancer, but I just can’t get as hyped about her as everyone else. So when she was the last one in the bottom, I was automatically saddened because I knew they would keep her over Iveta.
I believe Jess and Clarice should have been in the bottom. They just didn’t deliver last night. It was so awkward and it was Clarice’s style, and very close to Jess’s.
fsdlfjsdflksjfl. SYTYCD has just gotten me so flustered the last 2 weeks. I hope it can get itself back together soon.
I agree with everything you said, Kenna. I feel bad for Nick and Iveta – seems like they should have been around for a bit longer. And I’d happily keep Nick or Wadi over Jess. I’m shocked Jess and Clarice weren’t in the botttom.
Nigel keeps asking for people other than contemporary dancers to audition (and I include jazz as a subset of contemporary), then he keeps shooting them down when they do come on. The show seems particularly brutal to the tappers.
I haven’t watched the elimination show yet but seriously? the judges made a HUGE mistake not sending robert and miranda home last week,robert is not a good dancer even in his own hip hop style and i cannot stand his personality, the only one i’m really upset about is missy, shes incredible and deserves to be on that show, if the judges would have just sent home the right 2 last week missy would not have had to leave, terrible decision im really upset.
Will someone PLEASE tell the producers to STOP with the terrible terrible TERRIBLE Bollywood dancing. By now it should be clear that NOBODY likes it and all it does is result in low vote counts for whoever is unlucky enough to get stuck with it. Of course let’s not forget what that dreadful Bollywood choreographer did to the amazing Alex last season. I know the producers want to be “inclusive” but it’s just plain bad dancing and it’s unfair to saddle good dancers with it. I can’t imagine including it improves licensing fees on Indian television so someone really needs to start a petition – NO MORE BOLLYWOOD… I’m fairly certain that no one will miss it.
I’m hopping mad right now. 2 weeks in and this season has already jumped the shark. I KNEW when they pulled the stupid “no eliminations” week that we were headed for a train wreck.
@ Kevin: exactly – looking at the audition episodes it seems non-contemporary or hiphop dancers have just stopped bothering to show up, and I don’t blame them.
@ Vidya: yeah, the routine Iveta & Nick pulled was probably at least partly to blame, I mean they were safe last week with a Quickstep of all things.
And I don’t want to start a fight with the Ryan lovers, but honestly I can’t see what you guys see in her. She just seems very immature and unfinished as a dancer. Sure, she might have a lot of potential, but she’s not gonna fulfill it this summer, she’s got a long way to go yet.
I’m upset over last week’s decision to keep all the dancers. It was obviously a stupid move and allowed those who did not deserve to stay to do so and have better luck with their next routine. Maybe how they shld hav done it was to tabulate the votes from last week and add it to this week so that we can see the voters’ overall reaction to both weeks. I dont like th judges keeping the ppl last week cos they were all good and the judges liked them. Although i know that the first few eliminations are for the judges to decide, the bottom couple still have to be voted to the bottom because this is also an audience’s choice. The judges keeping their own favourites on the show makes it pretty unfair for the ppl who had the worse luck the second week.
Also, i was hoping nigel would have the good sense to keep the only ballroom and tap dancer in the show. This decision made the variety on this season disappear. I believe that nick and iveta have the same potential to grow as much as the rest can. i like ricky and ryan. But i dont see why they are kept on the show as compared to those two. They are excellent contemporary dancers but i’d realy rather see a tap and ball room dancer progress and bring something else to the show which is different from what everyone else is doing.
I’m upset over last week’s decision to keep all the dancers. It was obviously a stupid move and allowed those who did not deserve to stay to do so and have better luck with their next routine. Maybe how they shld hav done it was to tabulate the votes from last week and add it to this week so that we can see the voters’ overall reaction to both weeks. I dont like th judges keeping the ppl last week cos they were all good and the judges liked them. Although i know that the first few eliminations are for the judges to decide, the bottom couple still have to be voted to the bottom because this is also an audience’s choice. The judges keeping their own favourites on the show makes it pretty unfair for the ppl who had the worse luck the second week.
Also, i was hoping nigel would have the good sense to keep the only ballroom and tap dancer in the show. This decision made the variety on this season disappear. I believe that nick and iveta have the same potential to grow as much as the rest can. And nick actually has star quality. It would have been nice to see a tapper make it past the third elimination. i like ricky and ryan. Ryan is infact my favourte girl and im glad to see her stay. But i dont see why they are kept on the show as compared to those two. They are excellent contemporary dancers but i’d realy rather see a tap and ball room dancer progress and bring something else to the show which is different from what everyone else is doing. Which brings me back to my point that the judges shld not have kept some of the contemporary and jazz dancers on the show.
I honestly dont understand why they tend to keep the contemp and jazz dancers on the show. Yes they bring more skill and can adapt better to different styles but why not give the others a chance. Its not as if iveta or nick bore us out with their personalities on screen. Rawr. End of rant. I really hope those who stay prove their worth or ill be so irritated.
I didn’t think it was particularly fair to mix their farewell montages. Show one and then the other–it’s their one last moment.
i agree that the lack of diversity in dance styles is starting to get pretty bland. has anyone else noticed that the show pretty much has a standard 2 contemporary, 2 jazz, 2 hiphop, 2 ballroom, a cultural and a broadway line up of dances, depending on the number of them they’re doing? i was just thinking it might be interesting to have a quota in styles of the dancers they accept that correlates to the styles they’ll have to perform. does that make any sense? do you think that would make the show more interesting, or would it be too structured, or too painful to watch very specialized dancers trying to perform other styles? just an idea that occurred to me reading some of your comments. =)
I agree with NC. Not fair to combine their farewell montage. Very sad to see Nick and Iveta go. They were growing on me as much as Ryan is fading from my list of favorites. The love she has of dance can still be expressed by not smiling and emoting the feeling of the piece. Great season so far. This group is spectacular and the choreographers have been amazing so far!
I seem to be the outlier among the commenters, but I wasn’t upset about the lack of elimination last week. Otherwise we may have lost Mitchell or Robert and missed out on their awesome routines this week. I was shocked that Clarice and Jess weren’t in the bottom, but I wasn’t terribly upset that Nick and Iveta were. I was most upset about losing Wadi–I love his style and his personality.
I think that either way, America had its voice heard. If the fans really wanted Robert or Miranda or Jess, etc., to go, they’d have not voted for them this week.
Ultimately, the fact that decisions are this tough, this early, makes me more excited for this season. The judges decisions are always the toughest to take, but that’s the nature of the game. When it gets to the top 10, it’s all in our hands once again. ๐
This show is so dissapointing sometimes. I mean, its obvious the show wants Ryan to go far, after spending all the camera time on her in the tryouts. Nigel LOVES her and i’m really angry that he would send Missy home even though shes much better.
I was reaaaaally sad that Nick and Missy got sent home… They were my two of my favorite dancers in this season!
@carissa I completely agree with having some sort of quota. like. at least 2 ballroom, 2 tap or various style, 2 hip hop, 2 contemp, and then fill in the rest. the diversity is what made the show so much fun in the beginning. Like. I am a big Sara Von Guillern fan from season 3. She was a b-girl and made it so far, surprising the heck out of everyone with her ability to adapt. It was fun to watch and have that surprise. And Heidi! I mean, I remember her crying her eyes out at rehearsal for the bench routine. She was like. I’M A BALLROOM DANCE MY BODY DOESN’T MOVE THAT WAY. and then she pulled out one of the most known dances of the show. And now that we have no ballroom people, that style suffers. When we had Pasha and Anya, or the Dilellos. If they got a ballroom routine, we got to watch them bring up their partners. Now its just two fish out of water, and they either get it or they don’t.
So sorry for the ranting, but yeah. I think there should be a quota.
Like most people, I’m very disappointed by the outcome of last night’s elimination. It would have been more fair if they had combined the bottom dancers from both shows and eliminated from that group.
This year more than ever, I feel like taking the trouble to vote is a complete waste of time because we are competing with the unlimited voting power of the “texting tweeners”. Lord knows how many votes they can chug out in 2 hour’s time!!
I’m also finding that the Thursday shows are deadly dull. I think going forward I will just watch Wednesdays, and take a pass on voting and the Results show. Besides lowering my level of frustration, I’ve just given myself the gift of an hour and half of free time!!
The show is going downhill.
Hate to be blunt and b!tchy, but it’s true. I don’t know what’s happening. Doesn’t Nigel know that AMERICA HATES HIS CHANGES???!!!!
If anyone hasn’t read it yet, search for the E! Online article (you can also find it on OMG! Dance) where Nigel and Mary discuss their decisions. Nigel intended to keep Iveta and Nick, but changed his mind after watching Ricky’s solo. For whatever reason, he also changed his mind about Ryan (citing potential for growth) at the last minute, since he seemed to believe Iveta didn’t have the fanbase to keep her around for long.
It’s somewhat odd that the potential for “growth” is used as a reason to save Ryan, but it’s supposedly not a good enough reason to save Nick. As others have said, Ricky is a really strong dancer and it was terrible that either of them even had to be considered for elimination. But, if they wanted to have some variety and a growth story, Nick could fit the bill. There are arguably stronger contemporary guys in this season (Marko, maybe even Mitchell), so in that regard keeping Ricky maybe makes a little less sense. Though, Ricky’s work has been consistently strong, so it’s difficult to be overly critical.
The justification for saving Ryan contradicts what they have said. They say that all the girls’ solos were poor and on the show Nigel gives Ryan the most negative feedback for her solo. She’s also done two routines outside her style and had difficultly with portraying the characters correctly. So it’s really strange to then cite “potential for growth.” It felt more like “for some reason you’re not doing as well as we think you should, so we’re going to keep you around because you should be better than this.” I don’t feel the choice was ultimately a political one (show has invested time in her, etc), but I can see why some feel that way.
Either way, this double elimination thing distorted the competition. Without it, lots of things about this week would probably have been different and I’m fairly confident Nick wouldn’t have gone home.
I should probably add that I still enjoy the show a lot despite the controversy of the non-elimination round. I still really enjoy most of the routines and I feel we’ll get some wonderful routines from the remaining dancers this season.
I actually like most of the structural changes as of this season. The stage is better looking now and mixing the standard top 20 format with Allstars + Top 10 idea will work really well I think. The opening up of same-sex partnerings outside of the finale by using the All-Stars has yielding some great stuff (Alex Wong + Twitch, etc) and I’m excited to see what comes our way in the coming weeks.
Sorry to see Iveta go – love her. Wish they had not kept Ryan, but I think that they think they owe her something (and Nigel DOES adore her). If they owe anyone anything, it’s Iveta for trying out so many times and working her butt off. James G – I agree with your observations about Ryan in your post #18.
Just some general comments about the show – I don’t like the new all stars format. It’s nice to see some of the past contestants, but I don’t understand what they are supposed to be there for. Also, I’m feeling that the show every year gets more top-heavy with contemporary dancers. Where are all the hip hop,b-boy/girl or ethnic dancers? Seems that they show up in fewer numbers and if they do happen to make it through all the routines are skewed to eliminate them. And enough already with the stupid contemporary routines with those “meaningful” storylines – I mean, yawn. So pretentious……Plus, if it takes a paragraph to explain what your dance is about, then you need to rethink what you’re doing.
P.S. Tyce – mouth open, should be closed.