Welcome to Pure So You Think You Can Dance

Note from John: I just wanted to welcome Max to Pure SYTYCD. This is his first writeup about an episode of SYTYCD. He makes some good points about tonight’s show. I’m glad to have his help on the site and I hope you’ll all give him a nice welcome (yes, that means lots of comments with your opinions).

Tonight’s Top 16  elimination show was a bittersweet way to say goodbye to two dancers. The bottom 3 tonight was hardly a surprise, until it came time to reveal the final couple nominated for elimination. Before that, however, the evening contained a well thought out balance of entertainment and reality, full of fun and quirky surprises. All in all, however, tonight’s final curtain for two dancers was a suspenseful hour full of distractions from the real world.

Hip-Hop Group Dance; Top 16; A wonderfully quirky hip hop routine choreographed by Dimitry Chaplin, Tabitha and Napoleon. Besides the insane camera angles provided by the show, this routine was lively, exciting and well danced by all, in my opinion. I felt that everyone was in sync, and really seemed to enjoy themselves. While hip-hop is not my favorite style in the least bit, Napoleon and Tabitha’s routines never let me down, and I always find myself wonderfully immersed in them, and the stories they convey to us.

The Judges; Nigel’s beginning speech was a big buzzkill for me, especially after a dance like that. Nonetheless,  Nigel was feeling pain, and I thought it sweet and humble of him to pay homage to his friends the way he did. It felt more like a eulogy at a funeral more than a reality TV show, let alone a dance show such as this one.

Still, it doesn’t make me like his awful, dreadful hair any more. R.I.P Farrah, MJ, and Ed McMahon.

Toni Basil, the guest judge this week, really rubbed me the wrong way on last night’s show. She came off as very old-fashioned to me, and not as ‘with-it’ as the other judges seemed to be. However, she redeemed herself in my eyes after her humble commentary tonight. She refused to call out and humiliate specific dancers, which I found quite admirable.

On to the real stufff now…

Dance School (The Rage Boys Crew): This was fun. The kids here were obviously VERY talented, because the routine and choreography were complex, and everyone had great lines, as well as posture and attitude. I couldn’t find anybody in this dance that was incapable, or even weak. I was blown away by the incredible talent on that stage. And some of those kids were cute, but I think Ms. Deeley made more than it was out of it, as always.

Bottom Three: The bottom 3 this week didn’t surprise me until the very end. Aside from those first 2 couples, all the other ones were extremely strong, with some of the best dancing so far.

I don’t think any of us were surprised to see Asuka and Vitolio in the bottom. Asuka being eliminated was not a shock in the least, and I think that it was even anticipated by many. Her solo was just too mushy containing little substance, and just felt like a lot of glorified movement. From the moment she started out on stage tonight, she was doomed, especially competing with the likes of Karla and Caitlin, two amazingly strong dancers.

I think the only reason Vitolio was saved was due to his background story, and the judges raving comments about his sincerity last week, although truthfully, I didn’t see it. Even so, Jonathan’s performance was weak last night, and his solo was grasping, throwing in a ton and a half of flashy moves and gymnastics out of desperation. It was his time to go. He just was not diverse enough in his dancing skills, and didn’t have the range of movements the others possess.

Finally, I was extremely relieved they kept Karla, as she is quickly rising to the top of my list of favorite dancers this week. I’m happy that Jonathan won’t be weighing her down anymore, but I’m anxious to see if Vitolio will do the same. Still loving Jason and Caitlin, glad they weren’t too harshly judged.  A great week, week 3, eager for our top 10!

Check out all the music from the SYTYCD top 16 results show. This includes Napoleon and Tabitha’s group number and special guests The Veronicas. If you’re looking for music from the previous episodes of So You Think You Can Dance, you can find that here.

Group hip-hop dance to the song “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” -Pitbull (Choreographer: Dmitry Chaplin, Napoleon & Tabitha D’umo)

Musical guest: “Take Me On The Floor” —The Veronicas
Guest dancers: The Rage Boys Crew: “Feel It”—Colby O’Donis and Mauli-B

Dance for Their Life Solos:
Asuka Kondoh: “Don’t Trust Me” —3OH!3

Vitolio Jeune: “Viva La Vida” —Coldplay

Karla Garcia: “15 Step” — Radiohead

Jonathan Platero: “The Hunted” — Kodo

Caitlin Kinney: “Que Sera Sera” —Jennifer Terran

Jason Glover: “New American Classic” —Taking Back Sunday

I previously post about the reasons I wasn’t looking forward to SYTYCD 5. Now I’m going to post the top reasons I am looking forward to So You Think You Can Dance Season 5.

Check out my list (in no particular order):
Cat Deeley – Beautiful, charming, and absolutely a perfect host. She’s involved in the production so she knows how the dancers are feeling and really connects with them so well. Her accent doesn’t hurt either. Cat Deeley really brings a special element to the show. Just watching the other So You Think You Can Dance around the world, you realize just how good Cat is.
Amazing Music – So You Think You Can Dance has introduced some of the most amazing music on TV. I think this is due to the wide variety of dance styles that are on the show. It’s just awesome to watch and hear such an eclectic variety of music. Check out the list of So You Think You Can Dance music to see what I mean.
Variety of Dances – Hip Hop, Contemporary, Ballroom, Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Popping, Swing, B-Boy (and girls), Latin, Bollywood and I’m sure I’m missing a bunch more. Need I say more?
Tricks – Between the lifts done in ballroom to the poppers and breakers, the tricks that are done on So You Think You Can Dance are just sick.
Fulfilling Dreams – I love seeing the raw talent who’ve never done anything but their style blossom into amazing dancers. My favorite example of this was Heidi Groskreutz and how she embraced the dream of being on the show.
Sick Choreography – Shane’s Back. Wade’s Back. Mia’s still there. Are Tab and Napoleon still on it? Either way, I’m expecting more greatness this year.

I’m sure there are a lot more reasons. Any other ones you think I missed?

Talia Fowler was announced the winner of So You Think You Can Dance Australia. The top 4 were incredible, but someone had to win and Talia Fowler definitely deserved it. I’m sad that the season of SYTYCDA is over, but luckily the US version is about to kick into gear. Make sure to check out all the previous SYTYCDA music.

Check out the full writeup of the So You Think You Can Dance Australia Finale:
Six months after auditions began, 18 year-old Talia Fowler has been crowned the worthy winner of the 2nd season of So You Think You Can Dance Australia.

A former dancer with Queensland Ballet, Talia pipped Dubbo Hip Hopper Charlie Bartley, 19, for the $200,000 winner’s cheque.

Third place went to Gosford Lyrical dancer Amy Campbell and fourth place to Gold Coast Jazz dancer Ben Veitch.

After a national tour with our Top 10, Talia will head to the States to perform on So You Think You Can Dance America. And not just any show. Nigel Lythgoe revealed tonight that Talia will dance on the Season 5 Finale before an audience of more than 20 million!

A brilliant technician with extraordinary dramatic range, she will be a fantastic ambassador for Australia and Australian dance. Congratulations, Talia!

Spectacular Kelley Abbey Opening Routine
Kelley Abbey has produced some brilliant group routines this season but her spectactular opening number for our Grand Final put everything else in the shade.

To the Global Deejay’s anthemic “Everybody’s Free” , a cast of Top 100 dancers provided a drop zone as our Top 4 descended on red silk banners, drawing shrieks of delight from the audience.

Nigel Lythgoe & Mary Murphy spring a surprise
Creator Nigel Lythgoe and special guest judge Mary Murphy dropped in from Las Vegas to give their congratulations to our Top 4. But they had an amazing surprise too. Tonight’s winner won’t perform on just any SYTYCD America show – they will dance on this season’s Finale!!!

Top 4 Sarah Boulter Contemporary
For the last time, Amy, Ben, Charlie and Talia danced together in a Sarah Boulter routine about the trials and tribulations of friendship. The track was “Broken Strings” from James Morrison (featuring Nelly Furtado).

Selected Top 20 and Choreographers – “Kill Bill”
Selected members of the Top 100 and the show’s choreographers performed a Nacho Pop and Juliette Verne routine to a number from the “Kill Bill” soundtrack.

Leading ladies Lamb and Chanelle were supported among others by Don, Emmanuel, Sisqo, Pania, Danny, Max and Jesse, and by mentors Adam Williams, Travers Ross, Tiana Joubert, Nacho Pop, Marko, and Simon from Project Moda.

NY Dance Company Pilobolus
NY Dance Company Pilobolus might have appeared on Oprah and the Oscars but this will surely top that – a guest slot on the Grand Final of So You Think You Can Dance.

Forever returns
Jason’s favourite dancer from this season’s auditions, Forever, returned for the Finale, supported by soprano Joseph Bourke and an extraordinary orchestra.

Optus Dance Crew Winners
Winners of the Optus Dance Crew competition received their $5,000 prizes in person from Kelley Abbey – and got a free dance lesson that one young girl said made it “the best day of my life”.

The 3 lucky winners were the Newcastle Dance Academy, which lost its studios in the 2007 floods; Ipswich High, which desperately needs a demountable dance hall; and the Graham Academy of Dance in Innisfail for much needed air conditioning.

We can’t wait to see one of these young dancers appear on the show in the coming years. Thanks Optus!

Talia’s Old Company appears on Dance
Talia left Queensland Ballet to pursue her Dance dream. On this most important night of her life, her old company was here to support her – backed by two percussionists from Taikoz.

Last chance – Supple Top 10 Routine
That crazy guy, Supple, choreographed our amazing Top 10 in a Hip Hop routine to “Bounce/Boom Boom Pow” by MSTRKRFT feat. N.O.R.E. /Black Eyed Peas. This was the Top 4’s last chance to impress the voters before the lines were closed for 2009.

Australian Ballet “Nutcracker – The Story of Clara”
They wowed us last time. They’ve done it again. This time dance legend Graham Murphy was the choreographer with his retelling of Tchaikovsky’s famous Nutcracker. The Australian Ballet Dancers were Danielle Rowe and Andrew Killian.

Loredo & Talia’s “Love Story” wins Macca’s moment of the year
We’ve had some amazing routines on this year’s show but few would argue with this result. Talia & Loredo’s “Love Story” , choreographed by Amè Delves is the winner of the McDonald’s “i’m lovin’ it” moment for the season. Congrats to Talia, Loredo, Amè – and Taylor Swift for the track.

Amy & Damien – “Stepping Stone” Suitcase Rumba
In Top 16 week, this was Amy’s “defining moment” – the routine that turned her from being a Bottom 3 dancer at Top 20 into a Top 4 contender for the title. Here she danced it again with partner, Damien. Did you notice the different ending? This time she left him. The choreographer was Jason Gilkison and the track was Duffy’s “Stepping Stone” .

Ben & Pania – “Talk like that”
Ben & Pania went back to the very beginning – to the very first routine from the Top 20 by Marko Panzic to The Presets’ “Talk like that” . You’ve come a long way, Ben.

Talia & Loredo – “Love Story” Lyrical Jazz
It was as good as we remembered. Talia & Loredo played Romeo & Juliet again in a Lyrical Jazz piece by Amè Delves to Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” . Can we see it again please?

Penny & Charlie – “Single Ladies”
The season ended as it began with Penny & Charlie bringing the house down with Tiana Joubert’s routine to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” . How hard did they pop? How good was it to see Penny dancing again?

Bonnie joins Jason G in choreography
Judge Bonnie Lythgoe joined Jason Gilkison to choreograph Damien, Ash-Leigh and other exquisite dancers in a ballroom extravaganza to Bond’s “Explosion”

Verdict time – Top 4 becomes Top 3
Our Top 4 were invited onto the stage to hear Australia’s verdict. Amy and Talia were singled out and found that they were safe. That left Charlie and a very nervous Ben. Unfortunately it was Ben who missed out and tears welled in the eyes of this beautiful man.

Ben’s tearful farewell
After viewing his incredible journey, Ben thanked everyone including the production crew – “Jenny and Carlos, you rock” – but reserved special mention for his Mum, and his beautiful girlfriend, Zoe.

Chicago – “All that jazz”
As Amy, Charlie & Talia were left to ponder how much further they were going in the competition, Caroline O’Connor and the cast of the Chicago came on to perform “All the jazz”

Top 3 Becomes Top 2
The first dancer through to the final round was Charlie, leaving Amy and Talia with a 50/50 chance of making Final 2. Alas, for Amy, she would go no further. But she did emulate exactly her role model, Kate from last year – making Top 3.

Amy’s Farewell
Her farewell package reminded us of all her fabulous work and then she thanked her Mum, Dad, her sisters and the collective Central Coast population.

Top 2 Dance Jason Gilkison routine
To take into account all possible outcomes, Jason Gilkison created and worked up three fabulous Top 2 routines and Talia & Charlie were the lucky ones who got to perform it. Nice work, Jason G.

The ultimate verdict
With just two wonderful dancers left, Natalie announced that the winner of Season 2 of So You Think You Can Dance was Talia.

Talia said that this had been “the most amazing personal growth journey” for her and she was now going to do “anything” because she was over her “insecurities” and was so much more confident because of her Dance experiences.

Matt said Talia had been “the dark horse” of the competition, Bonnie said that she would “wow” the States, and Jason said that he wanted the winner to be the person who would best represent Australia. He believed we had got that.

Commiserations, Charlie. Congratulations, Talia! Well done, Australia.

Last night was the top 4 performances of So You Think You Can Dance Australia. The top 4 of So You Think You Can Dance has to be one of the best nights of the entire show. Everyone gets to dance with everyone and the very best dancers are on the stage to work their wonders. This night was no exception. Check out the music Charlie Bartley, Amy Campbell, Talia Fowler, and Ben Veitch’s used in their final dances to impress Australia.

Charlie Bartley, Amy Campbell, Talia Fowler, and Ben Veitch (SYTYCDA Top 4) danced Hip Hop to the music of Janet Jackson – “All For You (Video Mix)” choreographed by Supple

Talia Fowler and Charlie Bartley danced Contemporary to the music of Duffy – “Warwick Avenue” choreographed by Debbie Ellis Linnert

Talia Fowler and Ben Veitch danced Tango to the music of Sarah Vaughan – “Whatever Lola Wants (Gotan Project Remix)” choreographed by Fabio Robles

Amy Campbell and Ben Veitch danced Lyrical Hip Hop to the music of Kanye West – “Coldest Winter” choreographed by Travers Ross

Amy Campbell and Charlie Bartley danced Samba to the music of Sergio Mendes feat. Sergio Mendes and Black Eyed Peas – “Mas Que Nada” choreographed by Leeanne Bampton

Charlie Bartley and Ben Veitch danced Jazz to the music of Billy Idol – “Dancing With Myself” choreographed by Cameron Mitchell

Amy Campbell and Talia Fowler danced Contemporary to the music of Adam Freeland & Sarah Vaughan – “Fever (Adam Freeland Remix)” choreographed by Sarah Boulter

The following is the music from the So You Think You Can Dance Australia top 4 solos:
Charlie Bartley: Kings of Leon – “Revelry”

Amy Campbell: Miley Cyrus – “The Climb”

Ben Veitch: Coldplay – “Viva La Vida”

Talia Fowler: Rihanna – “Take A Bow”

A lot of people have been looking for the So You Think You Can Dance Australia top 6 results show music. I think people are definitely looking for the SYTYCDA solo music. Check it out:

Group Dance: Justice – “Genesis” (Hip Hop; Choreographer: Tabitha & Napoleon)
Guest Performers: Stomp
Musical Guests: Duffy – “Rain On Your Parade”
McDonalds I’m lovin’ it performance of the night: Talia Fowler & BJ Rorke (Hip Hop)

Solos
Kat Risteska: Lil’ Wayne – “Got Money”
Talia Fowler: Des’ree – “Kissing You”
Amy Campbell: Yael Naim – “Toxic”
Charlie Bartley: The Goo Goo Dolls – “Iris”
BJ Rorke: The Ian Carey Project – “Get Shaky”
Ben Veitch: Beyoncé Knowles – “Broken-Hearted Girl”

Eliminated
Kat Risteska
BJ Rorke

The following is the music from the top 6 of So You Think You Can Dance Australia. If you’re looking for past SYTYCDA music, you can find it here.

Charlie Bartley, BJ Rorke, and Ben Veitch danced Hip Hop to the music of Mantronix – “King of the Beats” choreographed by Supple

Talia Fowler and BJ Rorke danced Jazz to the music of Yello – “How How” choreographed by Project Moda

Talia Fowler and BJ Rorke danced Hip Hop to the music of T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake – “Dead and Gone” choreographed by Tabitha & Napoleon

Kat Risteska and Charlie Bartley danced Hip Hop to the music of Busta Rhymes feat. Ron Browz – “Arab Money” choreographed by Tabitha & Napoleon

Kat Risteska and Charlie Bartley danced Tango to the music of Daniel Bedingfield – “Gotta Get Thru This (Acoustic)” choreographed by Jason Gilkison

Amy Campbell and Ben Veitch danced Paso Doble to the music from Australian Cast of Jesus Christ Superstar – “Overture” choreographed by Jason Gilkison

Amy Campbell and Ben Veitch danced Contemporary to the music Secondhand Serenade – “Fall for You” choreographed by Amè Delves

Amy Campbell, Talia Fowler, and Kat Risteska danced Broadway to the Original Broadway Cast of Cabaret singing – “Wilkommen” choreographed by Kelly Aykers

Near the beginning of So You Think You Can Dance, I read someone suggest that SYTYCD should have the various choreographers dance on the show. Ok, I think this is a great idea if we’re talking about Wade Robson, Lil C, Shane Sparks, Tice D’orio, etc. However, there are a number of choreographers that I respect and enjoy as choreographers and professionals, but I never want to see them dance. My short list for now includes: Mary Murphy, Nigel Lythgote (sp?) and more than any of the others Mia Michaels.

Take a look at the following video and see what I mean about Mia Michaels dancing.

It’s nothing personal. I’d say the same thing about myself dancing on SYTYCD. Not something that America wants to see. She’s a great choreographer and I usually like her as a judge, but I don’t want to see her dance.

Who else did I miss? Oh, I wouldn’t mind seeing Tabitha and Napoleon do a little number.

Here’s the video of Chelsie Hightower and Mark Kanemura performing a Napoleon & Tabitha Top 16 Hip-Hop Routine. I love Napoleon and Tabitha and I’m so glad that they are on the show. They throw something a little bit different out there that’s unique and interesting.