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Top 16 Thoughts

Dance on a Monday night is a great way to unwind, especially if your Monday is a little “manic”. Tonight we were treated to several new choreographers, including Reina Hidalgo and Asiel Hardison, who created that fun opening routine. Love a good dance to a Justin Timberlake song.

1) Alexia, Derek & Jaja: Stacey Tookey (contemporary)
Stacy is one of my favorite choreographers on the show. She found a way to show case each dancer. Jaja is continuing to grow and blossom. Glad they were all safe…even if Cat psyched out Derek.

2) Megz, Moises & Jim: JaQuel Knight (Hip hop)
JaQuel another new choreographer and it’s the mastermind behind the Single Ladies dance. This was one of those that didn’t quite work…well for the guys at least. Megz was in her element and I’m really starting to like her.

3) Edson, JJ & Yurelis: Tovaris Wilson (Jazz)
This jazz had a real groove to it which I liked. I really hope Edson wilt some votes this week because I don’t think we have really seen him peak yet. JJ’s technique was lacking just a little bit.

4) Asaf & Marissa: Jean Marc (Club Salsa)
I just so bad…I was hoping it would have been some what ok but it wasn’t. Asaf really did try but he seemed to just be walking through it. While Marissa was able to pick up the steps she completely ignored her partner and played towards the crowd. If they were able to pull off some chemistry then maybe the dance would have been slightly better.

5) Gaby, Ariana & Birum: Sean Cheesman (African Jazz)
This was a fun routine and the girls were in beast mode. Over all a good routine.

6) Kate & Neptune: Justin Giles (Contemporary)
Just a simply beautiful routine and a great connection between Neptune and Kate. They both stepped up their game.

7) Virgil & Hailee: Pharside & Pheonix (Hip hop)
This was definitely my favorite street style routine of the night. I was even entertained by these two as they stayed in character throughout the judges critique.

Bottom 6: Stage; Kate, Edson & Moises Street; Asaf, Birum & Ariana

Twitter Save: Kate and Ariana (this actually surprised me)
Judges Save: Edson and Asaf
Going Home: Moises and Birum

Personally I think the B-boys should have been switched and I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that.

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July 27, 2015 I Written By

Dance is one of my biggest passions. I grew up dancing at Augusta West Dance Studio (the same studio that Kathryn McCormick). I have a BFA in theatre/dance from Valdosta State University. Tap is my favorite style of dance.

Filed Under: Entertainment  So You Think You Can Dance
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Top 20 to Top 18 Thoughts

Love tonight’s opening number choreographed by Pharside and Pheonix. My mom and I like to try to guess who does the choreography for the opening number before Cat reveals the answer. After watching last weeks show it seemed clear to the public the Team Street won the show. However, Cat revealed that according to the voting results that Team Stage (much to the surprise of Travis) won the night with 54% of the vote. Also, cute to see Twitch blush when Cat said she saw Magic Mike XXL (btw Twitch is fantastic in the movie) over the weekend.

Okay back to tonights show…the competition really gets started.

1. Haliee, Darion & Yurelis: Salsa; choreo by Jonathan & Oksana.
This had the possibility of being a great salsa trio but fell a little short. The girls were fantastic and hopefully they will be safe next week. Darion was the weak link in this trio. There wasn’t any emotion coming from him and the fact he also bobbled that lift did’t help either.

2. Derek & Ariana: Jazz; choreo by Ray Leeper
So nice to get to see Derek in a smaller number, giving the audience a chance to know who he is. I thought what Ariana said in the package was great, that she can also have technique in other styles. She had Twitch asking what team she was on. Overall a nice dance.

3. Alexia, Virgil & Megz: Contemporary; choreo by Dee Caspary
This was one of my favorites tonight. I was definitely impressed by Virgil and Megz. Also I saw Megz in a different light and looking forward to seeing what else she can do.

4. Burim,Gaby, Edson, & Lily: Bollywood; choreo by Nakul
While Bollywood routines are always fun to watch but they do make me nervous just because of the amount of detail and energy this style requires. Like usual the dancers pull it off. Happy to see that Burim is continuing to pick up the choreograph and love that he also gave credit to the other dancers for helping him. This dance was a great example of team work.

5. Kate, Asaf & Neptune: Broadway; choreo by Spencer Lift
Love this version of “All About the Bass” but the dance itself was okay. I like Kate and I agreed with Nigel that her cool confidence doesn’t always work in her favor. She needed a little more sass. Asaf seems to be his own worst enemy, hopefully he will get out of his head cause he seems to pick up the choreography pretty well.

6. Jaja & Jim: Hip hop; chore by Chris Scott
My other favorite of the night. Jim really reminds me of Alex Wong, which isn’t a bad thing in my book. Also I love the softer side of hip hop and the softer side of Jaja. These two are in my personal Top 10.

7. Marissa, Moises & JJ: Jazz; choreo by Ray Leeper
It was another good jazz routine for me. Though it was interesting to hear the difference of opinion from the judges. Nigel and Jason didn’t like they fact the girls had a smirk during some moments of the dance. Paula on the other had liked it.

Overall enjoyed both of the team dances but the prop in the Team Street routine was fun.

Bottom 6
Team Stage: Darion, Derek, and Moises
Team Street: Ariana, Lily, and Neptune

Twitter Save: Moises and Neptune
Judges Save: Derek and Ariana

Going home: Darion and Lily.

*Tune in Tomorrow night for the 10 year anniversary special at 8/7 central.

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July 20, 2015 I Written By

Dance is one of my biggest passions. I grew up dancing at Augusta West Dance Studio (the same studio that Kathryn McCormick). I have a BFA in theatre/dance from Valdosta State University. Tap is my favorite style of dance.

Filed Under: Entertainment  Reality TV  So You Think You Can Dance
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Top 20 Thoughts

The first live show of Season 12 was a nice introduction to the dancers and what they can do. This week only each team each team performed in their own style, which is always nice to see them in their comfort zone.

Last nights show kicked off with a great group number by Chris Scott and Jessica Kellar. It didn’t take me long to spot Asaf Goren, the replacement to the top 20 dancer that had to withdraw. Unfortunately, Alain “Hurrikane” injured his knee and due to the conditions it was a better idea to heal properly than to cause a reoccurring injury.

We also got a glimpse of what the live shows will be like this season. We will see duos, trios, and quartets of dancers. Starting next week stage and street will have to dance together and probably will expose some weaknesses. So for this episode I’m just going to give my thoughts on the dances and my best guess of who might be in the bottom three next week.

Team Stage
1) Stacey Tookey: Contemporary; Gaby, Derek, & Moises
Stacey once again creates a beautiful routine and the dancers knocked it out of the park. This was my favorite dance from the stage team. I think that all three dancers will be safe.

2) Brian Friedman: Jazz; Marissa, Hailee, & Alexia
So great to have Brian back on the show and he didn’t hold back with the choreography. The highlight was seeing him breakout his stilettos and show the girls if he can do it, so can they. Overall, I enjoyed this jazz number. I do have to agree with the judges when the dance and costumes are sexy, you don’t need to oversell the sexiness.

3) Swan: Ballet; Darion & Jim
From what I’ve seen online everyone loved the dance and the dancer but they did not love the costumes. I agree the costumes just did not work for me.

4) Travis Wall: Contemporary; Edson & Kate
Okay so don’t know what the judges had a problem with this dance and neither did Travis. I really hope these two stick around next week.

Team Street

1) Dave Scott: Megz, Neptune, & Jessica (JJ)
Seemed to have a mixed review from the judges but nothing really negative. There is a part of me that wants to say maybe nerves were a factor.

2) Chris Scott: Jaja, Lily, Burim & Asaf
This dance was a great example of why I love Chris. He likes to show off the dancers strengths. Also was one of the few times that I did not like the camera work because I could not see everything that was happening. I also hope the B-boys continue to work hard to pick up the choreography.

3) Pharside and Pheonix: Virgil, Ariana, & Yorellis
This was a fun routine with a clear theme and a well known song. Virgil will be an audience favorite. Yorellis will be one to watch since she does have training in some of the stage styles.

I honestly thought both teams had there winning moments and there okay moments. Who will be in the bottom is tough to say but based just on a gut feeling here’s who I think might be in trouble. Stage: Hailee, Alexia, and Darion. Street: Megz, Neptune, and Ariana.

Tune in next Monday night to find who stays and who goes.

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July 14, 2015 I Written By

Dance is one of my biggest passions. I grew up dancing at Augusta West Dance Studio (the same studio that Kathryn McCormick). I have a BFA in theatre/dance from Valdosta State University. Tap is my favorite style of dance.

Filed Under: Entertainment  Reality TV  So You Think You Can Dance
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Vegas Week Part Two

Part two of the Vegas week call backs begins with the always interesting group round. Much to my surprise, there weren’t too many train wrecks. Perhaps the dancers are learning what to expect when they get to this round and have made the right decisions when working together. Only a few were cut after groups.

Choreography Round 3

Team Stage gets to learn a jazz routine from Sonya Tayeh. While Team Street get to work with NappyTabs. What I really loved was watch Tabitha showing the contestants what their choreography is supposed to look like. I’m not sure if they have done that in the past but it is nice to see what the choreography is supposed to look like.

Cat took notice that Travis was starting to get competitive, and he replied with how he lost the show the first time around. The same is true about Twitch. Both mentors were the runner-up on their season, so it’s safe to say that both would like a member from their team to win.

Now the moment we have been waiting for, the green mile and the reveal of the Top 20 dancers for Season 12. I correctly predicted 9 of the 20 dancers, it would have been 10 had Denys not dropped out. Still not sure why he really decided to drop out but at least he can still say he won the Canadian version of SYTYCD. Also, one of the top 20 has been injured and will no longer be able to compete but of course we won’t find out what happened till next week.

Here is your Top 20

Team Stage: Merissa Milele, Edson Juarez, Moises Parra, Kate Harpootlian, Hailee Payne, Jim Nowakowski, Alexia Meyer, Derek Piquette, Darion Flores, and Gaby Diaz

Team Street: Alain Hurrikane, Jessica Jrabone, Yorelis Apolinario, Lily Frias, Ariana Crowder, Virgil Godson, Eddie Eskridge, Megz Alfonso, Burim Jusufi, and Jaja Vankova

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July 6, 2015 I Written By

Dance is one of my biggest passions. I grew up dancing at Augusta West Dance Studio (the same studio that Kathryn McCormick). I have a BFA in theatre/dance from Valdosta State University. Tap is my favorite style of dance.

Filed Under: So You Think You Can Dance
Tags: