SYTYCD Season 9: Top 20 Performances – Music and Instant Thoughts! (Round Two)

Blogger Note: The first time through I concentrate on getting the music up as quickly as possible… so my thoughts will pop up as I rewatch the routines. Please bear with me.

Dancers: Top 20
Choreographer: NappyTabs
Style: Hip Hop
Song: Marilyn Manson – Beautiful People The Beautiful People - Lest We Forget - The Best of Marilyn Manson

Dancers: Lindsay & Cole
Style: Hip Hop
Choreographer: Christopher Scott
Song: Lady Gaga – Teeth Teeth - The Fame Monster (Deluxe Version)
Thoughts: This was a rather cute routine. I believed Cole over Lindsay in characterizations however, I remember watching Cole’s facial expressions and thinking, “OMG that boy can act!” Together they were ok, but considering I was watching Cole more than Lindsay… it wasn’t a memorable routine for me as a whole, but then again being the first routine of the night doesn’t really help them much.

Dancers: Amelia & Will
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh
Song: Olafur Arnalds – 3326 3326 - Dyad 1909
Thoughts: What is it with Sonya and contemporary routines lately? I mean seriously! Unlike last week, this week’s routine was memorable not only for the routine and who it came from, but the dancers that danced it as well. Amelia and Will seem to be rather well matched in this pairing and I am looking forward in seeing what they will bring to the plate come next week.

Dancers: Amber & Nick
Style: Argentine Tango
Choreographer: Miriam Larici & Leonardo Barrionuevo
Song: Sexteto Mayor – Tanguera (since the individual song is not available on iTunes here is the artist link Sexteto Mayor)
Thoughts: Argentine Tango in general is a hit or miss for me, it can either wow the audience or leave them cold… unfortunately for me this left me cold. I didn’t feel that much of a connection between Amber and Nick despite the dance being well danced and choreographed. They danced the dance well, but eh… it could have been better.

Dancers: Audrey & Matthew
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh
Song: Steed Lord – Hear Me Now [Dri, Lind and Likka Mix] Hear Me Now (Dri, Lind & Lukka Mix) Sytycd Edit - Hear Me Now (Dri, Lind & Lukka Mix) Sytycd Edit - Single
Thoughts: For all my griping of feeling that a lot of Sonya’s Jazz routine seem to be recycled in some capacity i was actually pretty impressed that Sonya did branch out a bit more in Jazz now. I mean, I can still tell that this is a Sonya routine, but at least she is working more out of the box. As for this couple I felt that this routine was the right amount of aggression without being too harsh.

Dancers: Janelle & Dareian
Style: Lyrical Hip Hop
Choreographer: Christopher Scott
Song: The Temptations – My Girl My Girl - My Girl: The Very Best of the Temptations
Thoughts: I really liked this routine, I thought the dance was well done. I agree though that Dareian characterized more than Janelle during the routine, however the most connected moment I felt was when Janelle saw the ring and looked at Dareian and they hugged/kissed. So Janelle is able to emote and characterize but she just needs to do it while dancing. A bit underwhelming, but like the first routine of the night, it was more cute for the moment than memorable for the long term.

Dancers: Janaya & Brandon
Style: Broadway
Choreographer: Sean Cheesman
Song: Linda Eder – Bring on the Men Bring On the Men (from Jekyll & Hyde: The Gothic Musical Thriller) - Greatest Hits
Thoughts: Janaya i thought brought her personality into play more in this routine than she did last week. At the same time, like last week, I believed Brandon more. Janaya is a great dancer, that much is true, but when it comes to personality and character she tends to fall flat and I fear this might be too little too late for her. As for Brandon, he killed it, end of story.

Dancers: Eliana & Cyrus
Style: Jive
Choreographer: Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin
Song: Jack White – I’m Shakin I'm Shakin' - Blunderbuss
Thoughts: Uh oh, you can tell that Cyrus was having trouble, but he did better in this ballroom piece than he did during Vegas Callbacks… so there is hope for him yet. However, what he lacks in technique and training he more than makes up in personality and charisma… how far that is going to last him, who knows. Eliana balances him out really well, not only matching him for personality and charisma, but helping him out as well. One thing that I did find interesting is that Cyrus actually was there as a partner as opposed to Eliana leading for him.

Dancers: Alexa & Daniel
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Dee Caspary
Song: Yanni – So Long My Friend So Long My Friend - Dare to Dream
Thoughts: As opposed to last week, I really really loved this week’s routine. This is a much more memorable routine between the two done by this couple. This is an technically challenging as well (then again they are both incredibly technical dancers)… but I would have to agree with the judges… as beautiful as the routine it felt like I was watching a pretty moving picture in the bathtub. I love the routine, but without the emotional connection, somehow it falls flat. **sighs** Personally I felt more emotion coming from Daniel as opposed to Alexa he was focused on her and I was feeling him emote, whileas with Alexa it just felt cold and distant.

Dancers: Tiffany & George
Style: Foxtrot
Choreographer: Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin
Song: Sinead O’Conner – I Want to Be Loved By You I Want to Be Loved By You - Am I Not Your Girl?
Thoughts: I don’t know why I like this couple, I just do. This is a very good routine for them overall, they brought a good amount of joy to the dance and were well connected. They embodied the personality of the fun Foxtrot to a tee and did rather well with the footwork. If they keep this up… I see them lasting a bit down the road.

Dancers: Witney & Chehon
Style: Bollywood
Choreographer: Nakul Dev Mahajan
Song: Aatish Kapadia – Tandav Music Tandav Music - Waqt: the Race Against Time
Thoughts: YAY BOLLYWOOD! Can’t you see I like watching Bollywood routines? In any case, this routine did not disappoint. I have to admit though I was watching Chehon more than Witney throughout most of the piece, I was particularly impressed by how Chehon was able to hold some of the poses that he was able to. I have to rewatch the episode to really pay attention to Witney, but Chehon definitely impressed me this week as opposed to last week.

Dancers: SYTYCD Alumni for Step Up Revolution
Song: Timbaland & NeYo – Hands in the Air Hands in the Air (feat. Ne-Yo) [From