SYTYCD Top 6 Performance Thoughts (Final Part I)
I’m so excited for tonight’s show. But just a bit cranky, also. One hour for the Top 6 finale performances. Insane. No solos. Which, is annoying. I’m not sure how much the solos would change from what we’ve already seen. But…anybody else remember Jeanine’s finale solo from last season? I sure do.
My thoughts tonight, as they happened…
-Wow, no rehearsal packages again. I miss those so much! It’s nice to see them developing the routine and their chemistry.
-I love Kathryn and Ryan together and enjoyed the samba, but it also felt like something I’d already seen. Till Ryan tossed her onto his shoulders. That rocked and really got my attention. So did the terror on Ryan’s face. 🙂 It seemed to suit the routine, somehow. Kathryn got the judge’s attention. “Rise of Kathryn.” 🙂 Bet Amanda loved that.
-Cat seems a little frantic. The whole pace seems frantic. WHY is this an hour? Why is Gordon Ramsay scheduled later? We need two hours, here!
-Ellenore and Jakob are great together in Broadway. So seamless and perfect that there’s not a lot of tension in the routine. I enjoy everything they’re doing, though. Ellenore’s adorable. I agree with the judges that Ellenore stood out in this one to me. I liked that Jakob is called “the most selfless partner.” Glad he got kudos for that. I’d say that title probably really goes to Ryan, though. Just in general, through the season.
-I liked and disliked Sonya’s lyrical jazz precisely because it is not her usual thing. The music was nothing like what I’ve come to expect from Sonya, nor the movement. And I really dug it on the one hand, but I’m getting tired of the whole “guardian angel”/ good vs evil motif. And especially because the girls are always the angels/guardians/good ones this season. Boring. I didn’t think that Ashleigh and Russell had that much chemistry and their lifts near the end were awkward. But, it was cool to see, regardless.
-LOVED Ellenore and Ryan in that Garry Stuart jazz, despite the purposeful stiffness and lack of emotion. I love their chemistry and Ellenore was so well suited for it. I enjoyed it a lot. Loved that Adam had to agree with both of his colleagues. Nigel didn’t get it and Mary was ready to be beamed up. 🙂
-Good seeing Ashleigh and Jakob dancing together again. It was enjoyable and they do have great chemistry together. I’m gonna get ripped a new one, I’m sure, but Jakob’s kinda meh for me tonight. I’m underwhelmed. I know he’s amazing dancer, but I haven’t see anything new or stunning from him yet. Maybe it’s because he’s so good, so smooth. Ashleigh’s not my favorite, but I enjoyed her. Except with the pointing.
-This paso doble was really strong. Though, was anybody else reminded of Jeanine/Brandon’s paso last season with that fire screen in the background? I liked this one a lot and I really enjoyed Ellenore and Russell together. Loved that last move where Russell jump up and straddled her. Hot. Only bad thing? Ellenore’s done dancing tonight. Why were all her routines at the beginning of the show? Loved Nigel’s comment, “Where are all the shirts tonight?”
-I ADORE THIS! Kathryn and Jakob’s contemporary (I take back my meh at Jakob, at least for this routine). They attacked the crap out of that. Not only did their choreographers, Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden, but Jason Gilkison stood up for them too. I’m sure they weren’t the only ones. I agree with Nigel that they “stopped the show.” They demonstrated why I think the two of the will be the Top 2.
-Here’s the moment everyone voted for, yes? The marrieds dancing together – they lucked out with a Travis Wall contemporary. I don’t think it was his strongest routine ever, or even this season, but I do have to admit it was nice to see them dance together. I didn’t love that they were dancing contemporary, but it was nice that they got to put so much personal passion and emotion into the routine. And, sure enough, they were both crying at the end. Nigel says that Ashleigh has better chemistry with Jakob than her husband – them’s fighting words. Ryan wasn’t letting him get away with that. I think Nigel’s right though. Still, it was a nice moment. I agree with Adam’s comments on the tenderness of the piece. That’s really what stood out.
-Whoa! Kathryn and Russell just killed this Nappytabs hip hop. I agree with the judges that Kathryn was a total surprise. I suspected she’d do well, but she still shocked me. Did you see her face?!? Priceless. There were so many awesome moments in this piece. I’ll be re-watching it several times in the near future.
-Poor Cat! She’s almost tongue-tied trying to rush through everything at the end. WHY wasn’t this two hours? I’m glad about all the guests tomorrow, but really disappointed that they’re giving so much time to musical performances whereas our gorgeous dancers are done competing this season. I want more dances from them! At least we’ll have the group routine, right?
-My favorite routines were the last four routines. Ellenore & Russell’s paso, Kathryn & Jakob’s contemporary, the Di Lillo squared contemporary and the Kathryn & Russell hip hop. What are the common features of these four favorite routines of mine? Kathryn and Russell, baby. 🙂
Haha Emilie how did you know I would like the “Rise of Kathryn” comment? I also love that she is Nigel’s favorite girl.
I have been waiting for the Kathryn and Jakob pairing since the top 10 started. They were AMAZING…the Judges were standing too. My top 2 for sure.
Hate that it was an hour. Why did Fox do that? Just stupid. However I don’t need the packages all of the time…sometimes its just about dance.
Lol. I’m good like that, Amanda. Do you remember who said it, Nigel or Adam? I couldn’t remember. I’d love to see Kathryn and Jakob dance several more times. I don’t *need* the packages. I just miss them when they’re not there. That’s all. 🙂
It was Adam who made the rise of Kathryn comment. They just did a nice bit on the local news about her. I may go to the results show party here and take my camera to get video of reaction of the hometown.
Even though it was only an hour at least the judges couldnt ramble on and on…lol. Okay back to voting.
I miss seeing the packages. and i miss seeing the pull there partners from the hat this season 🙁
They have totally CRAPPED on the contestants this season. Ugh, and then topping it off by throwing 9 dances into an hour. Everything was just…blah. And for what? A cookalong? What? Anyway, here is my rankings from best to worst.
Jakob & Kathryn (Contemporary) – Breathtaking. I loved seeing this because I really felt it pushed them.
Kathryn & Russell (Hip Hop) – I love seeing this girl do hop hop. It also rounded her season nicely, because this is the style she began with as well. Nice to see she’s consistent, and they rock together.
Russell & Ashleigh (Lyrical Jazz) – I loved the story, and Ashleigh’s stuttered movements were quite appealing. Russell was a little unrefined in those WOW moments but I think that made it better.
Ryan & Ashleigh (Contemporary) – This made me cry a little. I loved seeing this because it showcased their growth individually as dancers as well as a partnership. Remember their audition? Fantastic journey for them, and when Adam asked what they thought and Ashleigh said it was “Perfect”, I felt it.
Russell & Ellenore (Paso Doble) – Not the most powerful Paso Doble we’ve seen but I truly do love this dance. I thought Russell was quite ferocious but something about Ellenore’s face betrays here and I didn’t feel the conviction from her.
Ryan & Kathryn (Samba) – I thought this piece was hot!! The opening seemed a little unsure but they snapped right into place, and Ryan nailed the piece. Great job!
Jakob & Ellenore (Broadway) – I thought this was decent. I do believe Broadway should be Jakob’s house because he does it beautifully. I thought it wasn’t eccentric enough for Fosse (which I’ve never seen, just basing it on things Fosse has choreographed as well as the music) but it was enjoyable.
Jakob & Ashleigh (Foxtrot) – I thought this was kind of boring. Not challenging enough for the finale, and I thought including the style was kind of lame. Still, if anyone was going to do it, at least it was these two!!
Ryan & Ellenore (Jazz) – Ok I thought this piece was maddeningly intriguing. Much better than the last piece the choreographer did for the show. It was the weakest in terms of partnerships, they didn’t have their movements in sync and while, yes, it was emotionally devoid, there was potential for turmoil in that emotional silence that I didn’t think came through.
Ben I agree Jakob will either be on Broadway but I really think he will thrive in a dance Company.
Was I reminded of Jeanine/Brandon’s paso? Not in the least. J/B’s was much better.
That said, I thought all the dances tonight ranged form “pretty good” to “great”.
I can see where the “meh” comment for Jakob comes in. Part of it has been his consistent excellence this season rather than the popular “growth”. The other main reason, IMO, was that he danced the foxtrot. Boring, on-memorable dance. And his awesome contemporary didn’t have the best song choice.That said, I still voted for him.
@Ben: I agree that this season’s dancers haven’t gotten a fair shake with this weird new fall thing.
@Kevin: I liked the song choice, but I think the problem with it arose from the really weird edit that had been done for the routine. It was too noticeable that they were skipping through the song, IMO. 🙂
Ben, I think SYTYCD fans have been crapped on in addition to the contestants. I still can’t believe they cut our finale in half. I am more angry at Fox than I can say. And this is at then end of a season where I think they’ve pushed us around like crazy. My husband says they just wanted a filler, and SYTYCD was a kind of throw-away for the network. The way Fox has treated this show, I can believe it!
Sometimes it’s a bad thing to get that network’s attention. They ruin everything they touch. 🙁
Last night’s show being only one hour was yet another major FAIL on Fox’s part. Seriously? Gordon Ramsay’s “special” couldn’t have aired on another night?! SYTYCD had to give up half of its finale for that?!
I, too, have missed the rehersal footage. And I still can’t believe there were no solos last night. Nigel himself went on and on about Jakob being a fantastic soloist… and we don’t get to see him do a solo?! How does that make any sense?!
It would also have been nice to get more interview footage from the contestants… how they think they’ve grown, what winning would mean to them, etc.
Ok, enough griping.
The dancing last night was brilliant (for the most part). Loved loved LOVED Kathryn & Jakob’s, Kathryn & Russell’s, and Kathryn & Ryan’s. Hmmm… do we see a common denominator here? 😉
Stephanie, I agree with you that Fox used SYTYCD as a throwaway filler, which is a shame. The dancers and the fans were totally shafted.
I hated that the show was only an hour, but I did enjoy some things about it. I really liked not having the packages this time. There’s something that seems appropriate about that for a finale show. And I did like that the judges had to keep it short. I probably wouldn’t have even minded the hour if there were only four dancers instead of six.
I didn’t dislike any of the performances, but some things definitely stood out. The Russell/Ashleigh lyrical jazz was my favorite. It really touched me. The Jakob/Kathryn contemporary piece was technically incredible, though I kind of didn’t feel it. I think it’s hurt Jakob as a contestant that nearly every choreographer he’s worked with has had him to lots of jettes and other moves to show off his flexibility. Kind of like I felt about Legacy, I think the amount of challenge for him seems diminished because the choreographers work to his strengths all the time, instead of creating moment where we look at him and don’t see a contemporary dancer, like Russell and Ryan would have.
Anyway, I thought the weak moments were the Ashleigh/Jakob foxtrot, really probably because it’s a foxtrot, and the Ashleigh/Ryan contemporary, which was beautiful and moving but seemed completely featherweight in terms of dancing. It was wonderful seeing them together, but the last thing they needed, in terms of competition, was a simple routine about love and tenderness.
Kathryn & Jakob + contemporary = my life is complete now.
I have been WAITING for that!! What a great routine.
Can they share the title?
Boo on: 1 hour running time. top 6 finale show. no group dances. no girl only or boy only dances. no solos.
I can’t believe the season is over tonight -holy moly!
are serious??? no group dances and no girl only or boy only dances?
Sad 🙁 i love those! they could skip Adam lambert’s performance to make more time…….he’s just gonna screw it up anyway.
i forgot Lambert was performing tonight.
@Glory – I second that.
[…] down to Russell and Jakob. I would’ve said Jakob hands down last week. But he had a “meh” night last night, whereas Russell had a strong night. And, according to your comments, Russell’s line was […]
I was kind of shocked when I saw the show was only one hour. Missed the all-girl, all-boy dances as Kayla and Glory pointed out. It simply didn’t feel like a finale. It felt like a normal show. Actually, it felt worse than a normal show: Too hurried, no trailers to introduce the dances – no focus on the dancers. I feel sorry for the dancers who did an amazing job and got deprived of their five minutes of fame at their peak!