Since I am technically overseas and this is the first time I have been able to sit at a computer to type out the Power Rankings for the Top Four… please bear with me. I hope that when the Top Four perform it will be a lot better… but that is also up in the air.
Now that we know whom the Top Four is going to be… let me go through who I believe the Top Guy and Top Girl is going to be based on their performances thus far and what I would love to see from them in the upcoming penultimate episode of Season 9.
THE GUYS
Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer
From his introduction, Cyrus was introduced to the audience as the “dancer that could”. As someone whose genre is so unique that it seemed virtually impossible for him to adapt to anything else, the choreographers week after week found ways to hide his faults and flaws in dancing whle emphasizing the strengths of his dancing and more importantly his newly developed partnering skills. What Cyrus brings to the table is a love, passion and desire to learn other dance styles all the while evolving his individual style in the process.
He is not without his struggles. Cyrus has time and again struggled in picking up the choreography in other dance styles while at the same time has learned adapt his individual strength and focus it into partnering. Another positive for the enigma known as Cyrus is his charisma and simple joy of just dancing on stage… one would hope that would never change. At the same time, I wouldn’t consider Cyrus “the whole package” he is still rather weak on the dance technical front, but dammit… I could see the allure that is Cyrus if only for his smile.
Chehon Wespi-Tschopp
Chehon is at the opposite side of the spectrum: He is technically proficient in any and all dance styles. He has learned how to loosen up and let go and learned to get down and feel the steps (hip hop with Lauren anyone?) and bit by bit he has shown pieces of his personality. But it was a battle to get to that point. Chehon was reserved and quiet when it came to his personality.
However there was something about Chehon that just kept him on the stage, partially the judges loved him, partially the audience was drawn to him. No matter the reason, the answer is clear, Chehon is someone special. He may not have the over flowing and abundant sense of charisma that flows out of his being like Cyrus but undeniably there is something about him that you simply cannot ignore.
Over the past several weeks, Chehon’s biggest issue wasn’t his dancing prowess but being able to simply let go and just dance. He struggled early on with the Latin and hip hop styles but over time he started to feel more and more comfortable in his skin to be able to simply enjoy the dance. There have been a lot of cases / situations where the stronger technical dancer has been overlooked in favor for one whose charisma and personality is infectious, here is hoping that this is not the case this time around.
THE GIRLS
Eliana Girard
This is another very strong technical dancer who also possess the charisma enough to be the total package. In fact one would go so far as to say that she is the total package. However the primary issue here is that in aiding her partner in the first few weeks of the season she may have suffered in revealing what she is capable of to the audience.
Very much the dark horse between the two girls she has shown time and time Gain via her technical ability that she has what it takes to come out on top. However, something about her fell flat to early in the competition that landed her in danger of elimination. Eventually she found her stride and it would appear that the voting public is warming up to…
Whatever the reason, for me personally, she appears to be the full package as long as she continues his upward trend. To me her struggles weren’t so much personality or charisma but rather she was working hard to help her partner look good and as thus her own image suffered to an extent, but now as an individual she is able to not only brighten but shine in the glow of the self.
Tiffany Maher
I will be the first to admit that I was not sold on Tiffany from day one, there was something about her that didn’t appeal to me and even then I did not see how she appealed to others. However week after week, routine after routine she was able to find ways to shine not only individually but via her routines.
But what was it about her? There is no telling but what did it for me was her Top Six routine. She caught my attention and for the moment I begin to understand her allure. She stayed just under the radar throughout most of this season and I feel that she is peaking at just the right moment. Coming up from under the radar and shining at just the right time. Whether she is able to keep herself shining bright against another female dancer who is also shining at the right time remains to be seen, but Tiffany appears to have the momentum on her side and it started far earlier than that of Eliana’s.
THE ELIMINATED
Cole Horibe
This was a disappointment to me. Cole embodies his characters so well that it is almost frightening and that is what I believed to be his undoing. Cole played cold and calculating so well that the choreographers tended to play to that more and more over time. Unfortunately, because Cole tended to play those characters on and off stage it tended to rub the voting audiences the wrong way.
But who is to complain about his technical prowess? Yes he was touted as a martial artist that was learning the art of dance, but as each week went by he proved time and time again that he is much more than meets the eye. Is it possible that TPTBs attempt at misdirection went too far as to hurt Cole’s legitimate chances of making it towards the end? It is possible, but honestly we may never know.
Witney Carson
Of the two female ballroom dancers, Witney had the personality, charisma, and technical prowess to make it far. And she did. Did I think she could have gone further? It is entirely possible, but honestly Witney, at times, tended to come off more sexy than not, which in the end probably did her in. Too much of one thing tends to draw the audience away and as thus she may have lost her chances.
IN CONCLUSION
Looking back at the above six dancers it is easy to see why America chose their top four. In many ways I agree with their choices and in other ways I may not. In the end this was a very strong group of dancers and in all honesty any combination of dancers would have worked.
After all they all bring to the table varying degrees of skill sets and personality quirks, and any combination of these would work in the final four. As to whom deserves to be in the final four? Well that was to America…. No?
