SYTYCD Season 9: Top 16 Power Rankings
We have already lost four dancers at the end of today’s episode… knowing that, what I am going to do is this… I will still rank the routines if they are missing one of the dance partners but focusing more on the partner that is still in the competition. Any routines where both dancers are eliminated I will also mention at the end of the rankings. I have already posted various polls on the dancers that remain as well as posted the music with my instant thoughts.
At the end I will do what I did last week and rank the individual dancers as well…
TOP THREE ROUTINES
1. Witney Carson & Chehon Wespi-Tschopp – Bollywood
Very rarely has a Bollywood routine disappointed me, and this did not break the trend. Granted I was watching Chehon much more than Witney, but that could be because a lot of the poses that he held were just something to see and a testament to his ballet background. But one thing that Chehon did this time around that he did not do last week was enjoying the dance. He not only enjoyed the dance, he showed that he enjoyed the dance and that makes all the difference in the world. Witney has been a fireball of energy since the beginning, however for me it is getting to the point that it is overwhelming. This is still a very good partnership, and I hope they continue to balance one another out.
2. Tiffany Maher & George Lawrence Jr – Foxtrot
As I said before, this was a very fun, smooth routine, this is a very strong couple and they seem to mesh well together. Considering one is a Jazz dancer and the other a Contemporary dancers they did remarkable well in a genre that neither is related to… Then again that could also be because the choreographer manage to work the routine around the skill sets of whom they have. These two also had strong chemistry together which the audience can sense and will react well to. If they keep this up with two strong routines under their belt then I don’t see them falling to the bottom three anytime soon.
3. Amelia Lowe & Will Thomas – Contemporary
What is there to say? I really liked their routine last week and I still like them this week. They were blessed with two strong routines that seem to cater to their strengths. Then again they did a Jazz and a Contemporary routine which aren’t far stretches from their genres (both are contemporary), so naturally they are going to be strong in these routines. The real test will begin the moment they get a chance to work on something outside of their styles. With similar personalities they mesh well and seemed to be rather in sync with one another in this routine staying in time, which is considered difficult since Will is a considerably larger person over Amelia… but you would never really have guessed.
MIDDLE THREE ROUTINES
4. Audrey Case & Matthew Kazmierczak – Jazz
They were lucky to have another strong routine this week and with a Sonya Jazz piece that seems to be stretching beyond her “norm” that we have seen over the seasons. They danced this routine really well, but that is to be expected considering that Audrey is a Jazz dancer while Matthew is Contemporary so they didn’t really moved all that far from their genre in the past two weeks. Knowing that, I am seriously hoping that their next routine would be different from either genres so we could really see what they can do. At the moment they are a strong pairing and seem to connect with one another rather well.
5. Janaya French & Brandon Mitchell – Broadway
It is too bad that Janaya is gone because I felt that she really did redeem herself considerably in this routine. There was chemistry between her and her partner, she emoted and characterized well, you can tell that they were both having fun with the routine. Brandon (being a stepper) reminds me a little of Twitch and Joshua from Season 4, his movements closer to that of Joshua for some reason… especially when he is rising up from his toes at a point. I loved Brandon in last week’s routine and I still like him in this week’s routine. It will be interesting to see how he fares with Amber Jackson as his partner.
6. Lindsay Arnold & Cole Horibe – Hip Hop
Being the first routine of the night they are at an instant disadvantage of being forgotten as the episode goes on, and quite honestly to me Lindsay was forgettable in this routine while Cole knocked it right out of the ballpark. He was quirky and funny in this routine and he really characterized the geek really really well, whileas with Lindsay I didn’t quite believe her in this number, it was definitely too cute to be a seductress and the connection – though there at times – didn’t wow. After riding a high from last week, I would consider this to be a small baby step backwards. I don’t think Cole would be in danger, but Lindsay is another story entirely. However, they work well together so who knows?
BOTTOM THREE ROUTINES
7. Janelle Issis & Dareian Kujawa – Lyrical Hip Hop
To be honest, I really enjoyed this routine despite it being “cute” and the connection between Janelle and Dareian wasn’t there for a fair chunk of it until the very end when Janelle sees the ring and the kiss. OMG the kiss… if she had connected with Dareian with as much intensity as that kiss then I think this routine would have been a lot better and would have shined a lot brighter. I would agree to an extent that neither dancer was shown to the best of their ability, but with a character driven routine how could you expect it? Then again the closest comparison would the contemporary routine of Kent and Lauren’s prom night… Janelle definitely seemed to be enjoying herself while dancing, but due to her belly dancing background I could see how she would have a tendency to look out to the audience more than her partner, but that is something that she needs to work on if she wants to have a chance in continuing in this competition. Dareian was just dreamy despite moments where I cringed at his feet, he did emote more but it seemed to have stalled since Janelle wasn’t connecting with him. This is two weeks of good routines but not strong… here’s hoping that next week brings something new to the table.
8. Eliana Girard & Cyrus Spencer – Jive
I love this pairing, I truly do… so it kills me to have to put them at the bottom of the barrel like this, but what choice do I have? What carried them in this routine was not just Eliana’s technical prowess but also their combined personality and charisma. That is what makes America love them, their personalities just shine no matter what they do and they just seem to be having the time of their lives in their routines. They get along well, which is also a plus, so that chemistry can be felt from the audience perspective as well. In some ways Cyrus reminds me of Cedric Gardner from Season 3 who was amazing in what he did but faltered a lot when it came to adapting to other choreographers’ routines. Here is hoping that in the coming weeks Cyrus shows improvement because I really love him as a person and dancer and Eliana needs to be shown off as much as possible as opposed to over compensating for Cyrus.
9. Amber Jackson & Nick Bloxsom-Carter – Argentine Tango
Argentine Tangos… as I have said in a previous post… I would consider to be either a hit or a miss. You either got all hot and bothered or cold and this felt cold to me. It was danced well, don’t get me wrong… but as has been the case for most of the night, the chemistry in this piece simply was not there. Then again, I don’t believe that Amber and Nick really had strong chemistry to begin with. I feel bad for Nick because that is two weeks in a row that he is drawn dance styles that are closely connected to his genre but what can you do? With Nick gone it will be interesting to see how Amber and Brandon are going to fare together since Nick isn’t really a strong personality while Brandon is.
ELIMINATED COUPLE
Alexa Anderson & Daniel Baker – Contemporary
ARGH! I would consider this routine one of my favorites of the night despite Alexa not being able to emote nearly as much as Daniel did (or I felt he did). This was not only a well danced routine but an incredibly technically challenging routine. It is such a shame that Daniel was also eliminated because I felt that he did far better in the characterization department both last week and this week over Alexa. I agree with Alexa being eliminated because the emotional / mental growth that she appeared to have shown during Vegas Callbacks all disappeared when the lights are on and she’s in the spotlight. If Daniel was paired with a more charismatic person I wonder how that would have worked for him? But then I guess we’ll never know.
NEW PAIRING: Amber Jackson & Brandon Mitchell
A contemporary dancer and a stepper, this is going to be an interesting pairing. Brandon is a very strong personality who has been characterizing and emoting well in his routines thus far while Amber hasn’t nor has she been able to connect with her partner. Depending on the dance style they will have next week will help gauge how this couple will do, but I don’t think Amber is going to last much longer than a week, perhaps two. She didn’t really connect well with Nick and as thus the audience is left feeling cold and the chance of them picking up the phone for her is not very high… still… we’ll see how it will work out come next week.
ELIMINATION THOUGHTS
Alexa Anderson: this is one elimination I totally agreed with, she just wasn’t growing in the way that everyone is hoping that she would
Janaya French: we can see that she is a gifted dancer, and I believed redeemed herself this week with the Broadway routine with Brandon, but due to her lack of chemistry last week… her personality just comes across as flat.
Nick Bloxsom-Carter: he was someone that I really liked on the show, he reminded me a little bit of Benji Schwimmer from Season 2, except a bit more mellow. His lack of a connection and chemistry with his original partner may have done him in but dammit I wished we didn’t lose a ballroom boy this early
Daniel Baker: I was very disappointed with this elimination, though in comparison to the boy left standing I wasn’t terribly surprised. Much like with Nick, I believe in Daniel’s case his lack of a connection with Alexa may have left the audience cold and unwilling to pick up the phone for him, which is disappointing because I have seen him in videos posted by his friend Alex Wong from Season 7 and it was just so much fun to watch him dance in other styles. This is a loss in my opinion but what other option was there?
TOP TWO GIRLS Amelia Lowe Eliana Girard |
TOP TWO GUYS Chehon Wespi-Tschopp Cole Horibe |
MIDDLE THREE GIRLS Audrey Case Witney Carson Janelle Issis |
MIDDLE THREE GUYS Will Thomas Brandon Mitchell Dareian Kujawa |
BOTTOM THREE GIRLS Lindsay Arnold Amber Jackson Tiffany Maher |
BOTTOM THREE GUYS George Lawrence II Cyrus Spencer Matthew Kazmierczak |
I like the fact there is more opinions going into the decisions of who stays. I wish they would have told us the part that the judges knew who was in trouble from the start. I may not always agree but its a competition someone has to go. So vote till your fingers bleed for your favorite dance.
As for my favorite dancers I have a few and they are still on the show for now.
I am a quiet fan of this blog and loyal reader. I have never felt compelled to comment until now – I have to disagree with Matthew in the bottom! He is by far one of the best dancers and should be in the middle. I would swap him and Brandon in your rankings. I agree with your assessment that he has been lucky the past two weeks, but I don’t get from your write-up why you have put him in the very bottom.
@Barrett – I didn’t mean to put him in the very bottom… I should have put a disclaimer (in no particular order). I agree that Matthew is one of the strongest dancers in the show thus far… but for me he hasn’t made as much of an impact individually as some of the others have.
When I place dancers in the Top / Middle / Bottom… I typically go with whom I, personally, remember and liked and those that made more of an impact tend to find themselves higher up the list.
To me: Matthew has made more of an impact when dancing with his partner than as an individual. I also take into account the group routines… whomever I find myself drawn to when watching groups of people dance tend to find themselves higher up the ladder than those that seem to melt into the background.
Keep in mind this is just my personal opinion and in no way reflects the populous.
Me too, I think Matthew was much stronger than that. And I agree that Brandon wasn’t all that- I was more compelled by Janaya than Brandon in their routine, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the next to go.
I also disagree about Amber, I thought she did extremely well in a very difficult tango, whereas Janelle did much more poorly, I think. I also think Lindsay did poorly last night, she really wasn’t very believable in that routine.
And Tiffany too, she did quite well, esp for being out of her element…
My full thoughts are here again! Thanks for reading my last post too!
http://werkwirqwourque.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/sytycd-season-9-top-20-perform-4-dancers-eliminated/
I’m loving the men again this week, except Cyrus. He’s my choice to go next.Can you imagine if he had had to perform the bathtub routine? there is no way he could have done half of what daniel did!
Loved Adam S. as third judge.
For the women, Lindsay would be my choice to be eliminated. I did notice her feet sometimes become pigeon-toed.
The routines of the night, ranked in order in my opinion;
1. Amelia & Will- Contemporary
This was absolutely breathtaking. Given, they were both in their genres, but they are so compatible as partners and both have very attractive personalities which will make people want to vote for them.
2. Tiffany & George- Foxtrot
Usually ballroom doesn’t do much for me, but I thought this was gorgeous. Neither were in their genres, but they both pulled it off exquisitely. They, too, are another partnership that really works, and George is possibly one of the best dancers the show has ever seen.
3. Audrey & Matt- Jazz
Already fan favourites, Audrey and Matt have no problem connecting to each other or to the audience. I think that they and Amelia & Will are up against each other for the Melanie-and-Marko-best-partnership-and-generally-everybody-loves-them award.
4. Witney & Chehon- Bollywood
Loved it. Chehon was enjoying himself, and they both were synchronized and danced it to a tee. Beautiful.
5. Nick & Amber- Argentine Tango
I generally ADORE Argentine Tangos, especially Caitlynn and Pasha’s last season, and although I do not like Nick at all, Amber really shone for me. It was full of passion and very fiery, and this is the second week she’s had a ballroom routine completely outside of her genre. It would be a huge struggle for me to try and fake that sort of passion with somebody like Nick, but she really pulled it off.
6. Lindsay & Cole- Hip Hop
What can I say, this was a generally well-executed piece for this early in the competition. Cole is definitely the Dark Horse of this competition, so far killing everything he’s been given. Lindsay, as a ballroom girl, I thought did very well, although she didn’t play the seductress part as good as she could have.
7. Janelle & Dareian- Lyrical Hip Hop
This was meh. I think that Dareian is an exceptionally talented dancer, and he played the part very very well. Janelle was less so, although I loved Chris Scott’s choreography when she found the ring… It was sweet, perhaps unmemorable, and it may be enough to keep them out of the bottom next week.
8. Janaya & Brandon- Broadway
Janaya definitely stepped it up (MOVIE PLUG!!!) and I was generally impressed with the entire preformance of the couple, although the choreography was, in my opinion, kind of messy and all over the place. Brandon was excellent.
9. Alexa & Daniel- Contemporary
Well, it was a very fluid routine, but it was also supposed to be quite sensual because of the entire bathtub-prop thing, and the feeling was not there. Alexa, I feel, is super cold towards partnering. Daniel tries his best, but Alexa pretty much becomes an empty shell when she’s dancing on stage.
10. Eliana & Cyrus- Jive
The only reason I put this at the very bottom was because Cyrus’ movements were often cringe-worthy- but Eliana is being incredible at trying to make them both look good, and Cyrus’ positive attitude makes up for it. I think Lil’ C put it best, ‘It is not often that someone who was mastered their own domain has the appetite of a student in another’. Amen. Hopefully their joint popularity keeps them out of the bottom, but even if they are, they’ll probably stay.
Elimination thoughts-
JANAYA- Honestly, no surprise. She seems very sweet but just isn’t memorable.
NICK- Bye. His personality really set me off, and he seems very difficult to partner with.
DANIEL- He seems like a very nice guy, but unfortunately the cards were not played in his favor.
ALEXA- She really reminds me of Ryan Ramirez- The hair, the talent, but the inability to connect and make a really memorable preformance. I thought the judges were going to pull another Ryan and let her stick around awhile, but I suppose they’ve learnt from their mistakes.
Also… Nigel is so annoying. I honestly cannot bring myself to like him. It was fantastic having Adam back (“Sonya, we’re going to have words later.”:), I hope he’s there often. Overall, it was kind of a bland show.
Bottom 6-
1. Janelle
2. Amber
3. Lindsay
4. Dareian
5. Cyrus
6. It’s really a toss up from here. Possibly Brandon.
If this is the Bottom 6, I think they’ll vote off Janelle and Brandon. Oh, I’m sorry, not VOTING OFF, but rather VOTING FOR and SAVING, while LETTING SOMEONE GO HOME. Whatever, Nigel. That entire monologue was so strange.
Love the website and the posts!!! Thanks for posting your opinion so fast.
Last night was a great night, with lots of fantastic pieces. I’m going to put the pieces in the same catagories as last time. My thoughts-
AMAZING PIECES
Audrey and Matt Sonja Jazz
This was scary good. It actually made me feel the tension and the fight between them in this exhilarating piece. I love how it had no “gimmicks” which usually are special themes, characters, costumes, this was just a great piece on its own. Audrey and Matt proved yet again that they can dance!
Janea and Brandon Broadway
At first i was like, “This is pretty good,” for the first few seconds, and then… it blew my mind. It was soo impressive! As it got faster, i was even more in awe. It really made me feel sad that Janea was voted off this early, she really shined through in this piece. She was in character, and attacked this dance with all she had. Maybe she knew it was her last chance.
Whitney and Cheon Bollywood
Bollywood pieces usually are always the same, but Whitney and Cheon made this theirs! They had a ball and showed everyone out there that no matter how difficult it is, they love to dance! It was a fun routine, and had no flaws.
Amber and Nick Tango
WHOA! We’ve all been underestimating Amber! I almost thought she was a professional ballroom dancer! She brought her legs up all the way up seemingly with no effort! And the lifts, the way she can move, i don’t think anyone could have performed this any better. Well done!
GREAT PIECES
Janelle and Darian Lyrical Hip-Hop
This piece really warmed my heart. It was just cute and cheerful. It was fast, but not rushed, and was full of energy.
Alexa and Daniel Contemporary
This piece was really pretty and flowing. I think they did a great job dancing it, but they didn’t add anything emotionally. They both are good dancers, but the lack of emotion was probably why I didn’t feel sad when they were eliminated.
George and TIffany Foxtrot
The foxtrot isn’t a thrilling genre, but they made it interesting, and danced it great! I loved every part, and the whole dance was performed gracefully. I love there is always a solo part for George slipped in so that you can see some of his talent too.
GOOD PIECES
Amelia and Will Contemporary
Sorry guys, i just don’t feel anything for Amelia! She’s never really impressed me. This piece was pretty though, and i liked it. The only problem was, its not memorable! There was also some moves i didn’t like, like when she was on his back. Still, it was a good routine.
HORRIBLE PIECES
Lindsay and Cole Hip-Hop
This piece was the definition of horrible. I wouldn’t even consider it dancing! They basically just walked around the stage! The hardest move they did was putting their hands over their heads! The only thing that they could of done to make this piece bearable was strengthen their characters, and neither of them did. I couldn’t have told Cole was a nerd without the costume, and Lindsay wasn’t trying to be sexy at all.
Eliana and Cyrus Jive
Can they just elimanate Cyrus already! Who cares if he can animate, he can’t dance! He was struggling with the simple task of moving her around, and looked like he was in pain when dancing on his own! He was painfully stiff also. Eliana danced well in this piece, but she can’t balance out Cyrus.
Love this site, your recaps and polls, and can’t believe how quickly you get these out! Really enjoying the show this year and these incredibly talented dancers, but I do miss having the second night for results…seems really rushed with no solos, no highlights and barely time for goodbyes.
I wish Adam Shankman was permanent in that 3rd judge’s chair…love his passion, personality & critiques and I’ve missed him! And speaking of missing, I missed Tyce this week and his Broadway.
Loved most of the routines this week but I really feel for Eliana and hope I get to see her classical ballet…maybe even with Chehon ( a girl can dream) before she gets eliminated trying to carry Cyrus week-to-week.
Love Matthew & Audrey, Will is adorable and the StepUp routine with sytycd alums was the best!!! Can’t wait for the movie!
Thanks for all your hard work :). Peace 🙂
Stand outs for me:
Matt and Audrey–I didn’t think I’d remember this pair when they first joined up. How wrong I was. Travis’ piece last week and now this one. They ate that one up. They attacked it that they seemed to fill the stage despite being pretty small dancers. There was nothing small in the way they took on that routine.
Janaya and Brandon–This piece put them on the map for me (last week was a miss) Anyone else get the sense that the judges already knew they’d be cutting Janaya? They heaped praise on Brandon and sort of echoed his praise on her, like “Oh, yeah, Janaya, you stepped up too.” When I thought they equally knocked this one out of the park. Comedy is tough to pull off and she really went for it (as did he). Very enjoyable. I’m sad that didn’t save her.
Amelia and WIll–the choreography really stood out for me, and they inhabited it well.
Ok, I don’t want to be mean, but this is my honest opinion: Cyrus needs to go home. Eliana is an amazing dancer who isn’t able to perform to her true ability since she has to cover for him as well as try to make herself look good. Cyrus is great at his own genre, but he’s just not at the level of the other dancers when it comes to different styles. I was really sad that Daniel went home this week instead of him.
Lindsay hip hop is like 10 times worse than amber performance. Come on
[…] Thoughts: Last week I put in my own thoughts as to whom would be the bottom six: – Last week: Lindsay Arnold, Amber Jackson, Tiffany Maher, George Lawrence II, Cyrus Spencer, Matthew […]