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SYTYCD Canada Top 12 Performance Show

Tonight’s Top 12 was amazing! I was a bit disappointed last week, but this week did not let me down!


Judges: Jean-Marc, Tre, Blake, Luther, Mary

Christian & Lindsey
Salsa – Claudia Primeau & Francis LeFreniere
“Aguanile” – Aguanile - Héctor Lavoe: Greatest Hits Hector Lavoe

The idea of this routine was that Lindsey was an exotic bird. They had awesome outfits and a cage. I love both dancers, but I think because this dance was first, a little different and not overly memorable, it may put them in risk this week.

Adam & Melissa
Contemporary – Sabrina Matthews
“Set Fire to the Rain’ – Set Fire to the Rain - 21 Adele

The theme to this was a couple who ruin each other being together. It was supposed to be a controlled chaos with wild movements and I think they did absolutely wonderfully. I had goosebumps the entire routine and could NOT take my eyes off Melissa. Her legs were so strong, her movements so fierce! Blake even went so far as to say he loved Melanie, who just won USA, but that Melissa would tear her apart! It was Melissa’s 5th consecutive standing ovation from the judges and the audience!

Matt & Denitsa
Hip Hip – Steve Bolton
“C’mon Catch ’em by Surprise” – C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise) [feat. Busta Rhymes] - C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise) [feat. Busta Rhymes] - EP Diplo & Tiesto (ft Busta Rhymes)

I have to say I was impressed with this routine despite judges criticism. I do feel it is probably too little, too late, but we will see what the voters decide. Looking at the overall season I feel these two may be at risk of going home, but tonight’s number was pretty great! They were HARD hitting and really in it!

Yulia & Shane
Jive – Danny Arbour
“Thunder on the Mountain” – Thunder On the Mountain - The Party Ain't Over Wanda Jackson (Ft Jack White)

It was a good effort, strong choreography and solid performance, though I am not sure it will be memorable or strong enough to keep them out of the bottom three, especially given the past results with voters and these dancers. It is odd that they did not mention Carlena’s name. They showed Yulia danced with JP last week and then showed Shane danced his solo last week but no mention or Carlena… then, Danny said Shane had to carry “his partner” last week, but this week Yulia will have to carry him. It was very odd to me, but maybe I am over thinking it? Anyhow, the dance was just meh for me overall.

Geisha & Joey
Afro-Jazz – Sean Cheesman
“Jungle” – Highlight Tribe

I love Sean Cheesman’s routines, so forgive me if I rave about it a bit. This dance was so physical and hard-hitting and amazing! I thought they looked like warriors in the jungle! Sean’s style is so unique and entertaining, I always love when a couple pulls “Afro-Jazz.” I have been a huge fan of Joey’s from the start (He and Jordan) but Geisha did well this week. I think the reason Joey found himself in the bottom last week was because Geisha is a weaker dancer. But I think they will be safe this week, unless Canada is crazy!

Jordan & Francois
Contemporary – Sabrina Matthews
“Let Go” – Let Go - Details Frou Frou

This piece was dedicated to Sabrina Matthews newlywed husband and was about taking a leap of faith in love and life. It was beautifully choreographed and even more beautifully danced by Jordan and Francois. I am not a Francois fan, but Jordan has been my favourite since the start.

Top 12 Group RoutineHip Hop – ShoTyme
“I can Transform Ya” – I Can Transform Ya (feat. Lil Wayne & Swizz Beatz) - I Can Transform Ya (feat. Lil Wayne & Swizz Beatz) - Single Chris Brown (ft Lil Wayne)

I really loved this routine. It was impressive to see a group of 12 NON-HIP HOP DANCERS perform such a hard hitting, fast, fun routine.

Power Rankings

Top 3
1 – Adam & Melissa
2 – Jordan & Francois
3 – Geisha & Joey

Bottom 3
4 – Christian & Lindsey
5 – Matt & Denitsa
6 – Yulia & Shane

I have to say I had 2 & 3 switched originally. Also, I had 4 & 6 switched originally, but changed them up because of overall performances.

I really think it is time for Yulia or Denitsa to go but based on tonight only I’d send Yulia and probably Shane would go also.

It is getting harder to say good-bye.
Tomorrow we find out our TOP 10 as well as see a group “mobster” routine choreographed by Jean Marc Genereux and France Mousseau.

What did you think of tonight’s show? Do you agree or disagree with my Power Rankings? Leave comments below!

August 15, 2011 I Written By

I am a blogger and reality tv lover. I blog here for SYTYCD but mostly the Canada version, since I live in Vancouver BC. I also blog about other reality tv shows on my own blog www.mandysmind.com

Podcast: SYTYCD Season 8 – Top 4 Performance and Finale

Summary
For the finale of So You Think You Can Dance season 8 we give you a super-sized podcast with 15 more minutes of content. We were happy with Melanie’s win and were pleasantly surprised that the top two dancers this season were both women, which has not happened before on this program. The performance episode was not up to the high standards of past seasons which was disappointing for us, but there were some highlights such as Marko and Lauren F.’s wonderful contemporary piece by Tessandra Chavez and the captivating performance by Melanie and Sasha in the second Stacey Tookey routine of the night.

The results show reminded us of many of the great routines from the season, although we were surprised by how the judges picks seemed to place less emphasis on everyone except for Melanie, Marko and Sasha (even Tadd only had one non-group routine repeated). This portion of the show has historically served as a warm-up for the forthcoming tour and features many of the routines that are expected to show up. But here we had many routines that involved all-stars, none of which will likely be on the tour. It was unexpected for the judges picks to lack variety.

We conclude the podcast with a discussion of the show’s production and the effect it’s having on the pacing and the way we get to know the dancers. We pinpoint that the approach towards the show changed in season 6, when they moved to the live show format. At this point the packages became shorter and contained more schtick and the judges comments started having less substance due to the time constraints of a live program. We also discuss the choreographers and that some of them tailor their work to their selected dancers and that others do not and whether this is a fair way of doing things. Finally, we discuss the variety of dancers in the top 20 in later seasons versus the early seasons and the effect this seems to have on the type of choreography we see each week.

Please let us know your thoughts by dropping us a comment here after listening! We love to hear feedback and what you thought of the show. We also encourage you to check out our twitter feed!

We want to thank everyone that has tuned into our podcasts during the course of the season! We’ve enjoyed doing this and its been a learning experience for us! We’re planning to do podcasts for season 9 of So You Think You Can Dance, so check back with us in May 2012. We’re going to continue doing our Big Brother podcasts and will be adding The X-Factor to our weekly discussions when it premieres on September 21st. We are also adding a Week in Review podcast in the fall for all the other shows we watch during that time. So if any of that sounds interesting to you, then follow our blog Reflections on Pop Entertainment and watch for our updates. If you’re only interested in our So You Think You Can Dance material, we’ll see you again next summer!

Episode Length: 44:53

Time Stamps
0:00 – Introduction: Congrats to Melanie! Guest judges: Katie Holmes and Kenny Ortega and the choice to have celebrity judges
2:37 – Melanie and Marko’s disco
4:15 – Sasha and Mark’s jazz
5:44 – Tadd and Joshua’s hip-hop
7:10 – Melanie and Robert’s contemporary
8:29 – Sasha and Marko’s broadway
10:46 – Sasha and Tadd’s chacha
12:57 – Marko and Lauren F.’s contemporary
14:36 – Tadd and Melanie’s jazz
16:01 – Melanie and Sasha’s contemporary
18:27 – Marko and Tadd’s gumboot stepping
20:28 – The order of the placing: 2 girls in the top
22:22 – Results show: The new top 20 routine and tap routine
24:28 –  Results show: The judges picks were stacked towards Melanie, Sasha and Marko and didn’t seem to be a retrospective of the season
28:58 – Post-season discussion: The direction of production and how it affects the show – pacing in live shows vs recorded shows, an increasing focus on the judging panel, choreographers tailoring their work to the dancers, variety in the dancers in the Top 20 (stacked towards contemporary/jazz now), variety in routine genres (less ballroom now, more contemporary/jazz)
42:34 – Wrap-up: What are your thoughts on our post-season discussion? What we’re going to be doing in future podcasts (Big Brother, The X-Factor, Week in Review)


Listen to the podcast

Episode 15 direct download

Subscribe to podcast on iTunes

 

I Written By

Over the past few years my fiancée Meghan slowly brought me into the world of television, turning me into a full-fledged fan of both scripted and reality shows. So You Think You Can Dance turned into one of my favorite reality shows as it is a competition that takes itself seriously, providing the audience with artistic choreography and talented dancers. It's certainly not something I ever expected to get emotionally invested in, but here I am! Meghan and I are very analytic when it comes to the things we enjoy. We constantly discussed and analyzed shows with each other and after doing this for a couple years, we decided that we should turn these discussions into a podcast. We created Reflections on Pop Entertainment, a podcast that provides commentary and analysis of popular entertainment as found in visual mediums, particularly television and film. So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 is the first television series we're covering with weekly podcasts and has allowed us to find our voice as well as actively contribute to the fan community. We hope that you'll enjoy our installments as they are posted to Pure So You Think You Can Dance!

SYTYCD Canada Top 12 Tonight

Tonight we see Canada’s Season 4 Top 12 dancers perform.

With such an amazing week of SYTYCD USA finale’s I am still giddy about Melanie’s win! Some amazing routines from her and others, as you can see by scrolling down at some of the posts this week including bloggers favourite routines of the season.

While Season 8 USA has ended, Season 4 Canada is only half way through…

I apologize for not posting results from last week, but I was camping and away all week.

In a nutshell the Top 14 danced to “Rumour Has It” by Adele in a Melissa Williams choreographed Jazz number. Not only were there amazing dancers, but also lights and visuals. One camera angle looked down at dancers as they rolled and moved on the stage and the floor lit up with the word “Love” and hearts and so on. I will post a youtube video for you if I can find it.

Solo’s from the bottom three dancers included: Yulia, Carlena and Geisha for the ladies and JP, Shane and Joey for the guys.

In the end it was Carlena & JP that went home.

Tonight we are ready for the Top 12 and I am hoping for a little more fire. Last week was probably my least favourite episode this season. The dancers and routines were not up to the level we usually see and I was quite disappointed.

Tune in tonight if you have CTV or check back this evening for my summary and Power Rankings.

Top 14 Performance Show Post Here

I Written By

I am a blogger and reality tv lover. I blog here for SYTYCD but mostly the Canada version, since I live in Vancouver BC. I also blog about other reality tv shows on my own blog www.mandysmind.com