Let’s jump right in, since I’m running late from work.
Group number choreographed by Tyce Diorio to “The Crapshooter’s Dance” – from Guys and Dolls.
Dancer: Lauren Froderman
All-Star: Pasha Kovalev
Style: Tango
Choreographer: Miriam and Leonardo
Song: Astor Piazolla’s “Oblivion” – [I was running late and my mom was texting me the song titles of the first 2 songs – she said “steamy obsession” and I assumed that was the song title, lol.]
Dancer: Adechike Torbert
All-Star: Lauren Gottlieb
Style: African jazz
Choreographer: Sean Cheesman
Song: Ralph MacDonald’s “The Pain,” which also isn’t coming on iTunes. Try “Calypso Breakdown” for now.
Dancer: Robert Roldan
All-Star: Anya Garnis
Style: Viennese Waltz
Choreographer: Jonathan Roberts
Song: Anouk’s “Lost” –
Dance: Kent Boyd
All-Star: Courtney Galliano
Style: Disco
Choreographer: Doreana Sanchez (of course)
Song: David Guetta and Kelly Rowland’s “When Love Takes Over” –
Dancer: Lauren Froderman
All-Star: Ade Obayami
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Sean Cheesman
Song: Kosheen’s “Hide U” – [The link is the regular version, not the remix they used on the show]
Dancer: Robert Roldan
All-Star: Dominic Sandoval
Style: Hip hop
Choreographer: Nappytabs
Song: Basement Jaxx ft. Kelis, Meleka and Chipmunk’s “Scars” –
Dancer: Kent Boyd
All-Star: Neil Haskell
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Travis Wall
Song: DeVotchka’s “How It Ends” –
I’m sad that Billy…and Ashley…and Alex are no longer dancing for us this season. But, I’m kinda excited to see what they give us tonight for the Top 4 Performance Show. What are your thoughts? Excited? A bit apprehensive? Tells us here!!!!
Hello all! Here it is the Top Four… after this week the viewers will narrow it down to the final Three and those three will go head to head in the finals.
As we prepare for this week’s performances I cooked up a few analysis posts on each of the four dancers for your reading pleasure. So feel free to peruse and leave a comment with your own thoughts and feelings on these dancers.
My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)
Yay another twelve hours and it’s the final Top 4 Dancer to come to the limelight. So let’s look for some smooth, creamy, dark chocolate.. aka Adechike Torbert. Just like in the previous posts, there is a post asking which routine of Adechike’s did you enjoy the most.
Las Vegas Callbacks
For one reason or another, Adechike opened up with a tap solo. He must have done a stellar job because he was passed through to hiphop and ballroom. From there he was asked to dance for his life and as thus did a contemporary routine that wowed the judges.
But here’s my question. If Adechike opened up with a contemporary solo rather than a tap solo. He still wouldn’t have done well in the hiphop and ballroom rounds, so would he still have the chance to dance for his life after ballroom?
Meet the Top 11:
– Wade Robson’s Jazz
Now surprisingly enough, Adechike seemed to melt into the background for me in this piece. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not a good thing either. I simply couldn’t pick him out in the routine throughout the piece unless the Top 11 was dancing by themselves and even then.
– Sonya Tayeh Jazz
In this piece it was easier to see Adechike and as thus was easier to see what he’s doing. It’s clear that his technique and ability is off the charts. He’s a very strong and very athletic dancer… but then how is his connection when doing the partner dances?
Week 1: Top 11 Performances:
– Jazz w/ Kathryn choreographed by Travis Wall
Right off the bat we know what Adechike needs to work on: personality, characterization, living through the dance, etc… that seems to be the M.O. for most of the dancers this season, fine tuning. But in a dance where a girl is throwing herself all over the guy and it’s suppose to be the guy’s dream sequence one would think he’d enjoy it more…
Week 2: Top 10 Performances:
– Contemporary w/ Allison choreographed by Mandy Moore
This piece was a lot better than last week, no question about it, but he still needs to fine tune his movement and his connection to his partner. He still needs to stop thinking about dancing and just dance, and he’s doing it… bit by bit.
Week 3: Top 9 Performances:
– Hip Hop w/ Lauren Gottlieb choreographed by Dave Scott
Wow, talking about enjoying the dance. This is the first time I think I’ve seen Adechike really enjoy the dance from start to finish. Then again, this is hiphop and hiphop does funny things to people because it’s so different from jazz and contemporary. Maybe it’s just his partner too since Muscles seems to be obsessed with Cushion’s… well… cushion 😀
Week 4: Top 8 Performances:
– Jazz w/ Courtney choreographed by Mandy Moore
I really liked this routine. I thought Adechike was relaxed, composed and enjoying the moment. So I was surprised to hear that the judges weren’t too thrilled about it. Do I remember the routine weeks later? Not really, but after watching it through, I enjoyed it a second time as well. I’ll admit he didn’t shine like the previous week, but it could be that he’s more acting than living through the dance.
– Bollywood choreographed by Nakul Dev Mahajan
Again this is a week where Neil, Mark and Ade were all available… and could have easily filled this role with ease. In fact they could have asked Mark to fill in for Bollywood since it would probably fit his style of dance best… golden opportunity people! Anyway, when watching this dance I had the distinct feeling that Adechike was dancing what was suppose to be Alex’s part while the assistant ended up dancing what was suppose to be Adechike’s part… which is probably why this piece didn’t do Adechike much justice…
All in all this week was pretty stellar. Nothing extremely memorable, but he is starting to show that he’s having fun while dancing and performing in front of the audience… which is key. So to me, he’s growing and that’s enough for me.
Week 5: Top 7 Performances:
– Salsa w/ Anya choreographed by Liz Lira & Danny Davalos
Ok wow, that was like every trick in the book thrown at them. What’s interesting is that if Adechike reminded me of Mambo dancer Emmanuel-Pierre in regards to look, but at the same time he was a but rough around the edges… overall a pretty strong routine.
– Contemporary w/ Kent choreographed by Dee Caspary
White chocolate and dark chocolate is one of the best combinations in the world. Adechike needed this strength of a routine to balance out the other routine of the day. He was living in that moment, breathing that moment… that you believed what he was trying to do.
Wow this was a very good week for him. Adechike needs to continue on this upward trend. If anything I would consider this to be his “breakout” week. Everything seem to come together at just the right moment, let’s see how long this would last.
Week 6: Top 6 Performances (Round One):
– Lyrical HipHop w/ Comfort choreographed by NappyTabs
O.M.G. this is the most emotionally connected that Adechike has even been with a piece, it was beautiful. It was danced beautifully and it felt like the entire room was breathing in sync.
– Paso Doble w/ Jose choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin
This dance had the chance the possibility of being really really great. So much testosterone that you would have to pull these two men apart before they tear each other to pieces… but something fell flat. There was no really power, no real drive, nothing exploded for me that I had hoped to see. Though, I think Adechike danced it far better than Jose, it still could have been done better overall.
This week was very up and down. With one really good piece and one not so good piece Adechike proved his prowess in the hiphop but lost it all in the Paso Doble. Oddly enough Adechike seems to glow so much more when doing HipHop as opposed to doing much anything else. If he could channel that energy, that joy when doing HipHop into other styles he’d be golden.
Week 7: Top 6 Performances (Round Two):
– Jazz w/ Courtney Galiano choreographed by Tyce Diorio
This was fun, though I had the slight impression that he was holding back for some reason. I don’t think he completely let loose, though I do think he came close. He did show that he had a lot of fun and was enjoying himself and as long as he continued to live and enjoy in the moment he’ll shine more in his dancing.
– Foxtrot w/ Lauren Froderman choreographed by Jean-Marc Généreux & France Mousseau
Considering this is his first time doing a true ballroom dance, I didn’t expect his posture to be perfect. His personality and characterization fit the dance, but I wish he could have tried harder. Nevertheless this was a fun piece, but not a strong one.
This week was an ok week for Adechike, it wasn’t extremely memorable, but it wasn’t bad either. In comparison to the previous week, this balanced out in a different way (if that makes any sense). No real strong pieces, but no weak ones either.
How to Grow
This is another dancer that’s used to working solo. Unlike Lauren that purposely dances to the audience, Adechike simply dances and lets the dance speak for itself. Adechike needs to work on living in the dance and as thus in the moment in order to continue growing in the competition.
In Conclusion
Ok, this boy is a favorite of mine, and apparently of America’s too… He’s done a lot of different styles thus far and did all right in a lot of them. What I think he needs now is to have a routine that’s all about personality aka Broadway, or a routine all about having fun like a ChaCha, Samba or Jive, or a good strong hard hitting HipHop.
Because he hasn’t really peaked yet, he still has a chance to wow the audience and judges on some level. He’s had an “breakout” performance in his hiphop with Lauren Gottlieb, but has faltered a little bit since then and as thus has had to climb up again (so to speak). He has a chance to do it, but whether he could beat out the immense fanbases of Kent and Lauren remains to be seen (though the fact that Lauren has hit Bottom Three once already shows that he could possibly overtake Lauren when she’s having a stellar day while he had a good day).
My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)
Well, I’ve kinda given away some of my thoughts over on the discussion post. Just had to get them out. 🙂 But here I go…
-Loved that opening number. It was delicious. While I loved seeing Allison surrounded by ten guys, I wondered if that was supposed to be Lauren and it made me sad a bit that we didn’t get to see her dance it. I kept thinking that it was a Sonya routine, maybe even Wade (a la Ramalama). Apparently, I’m utterly unused to seeing Mia’s choreography, because I was actually shocked when I heard it was hers – more shocked that I hadn’t recognized it, really.
-I liked that they told us right away that Lauren was fine. Least they didn’t play with us.
-Love that Gatorade is recognizing dancers as athletes. Took them long enough. If golf is a sport, dance is. Dancers have to take care of their bodies more than a lot folks who’re already considered athletes.
-It was a bit sucky of them to bring out the contestant with probably the most and the worst votes at the same time, but at least there was a nice lack of suspense. Kent’s safe, Jose’s not.
-Adechike and Billy was a bit more suspenseful. Personally, I noticed Adechike’s King Zulu t-shirt cause Zulu is my favorite Mardi Gras parade. I wasn’t too surprised when Adechike was safe and Billy wasn’t, even though it wasn’t what I predicted in my Power Rankings.
-What DID surprise me was that Lauren was in the bottom and Robert was safe. Then, I thought again and I blamed the judges/Cat/the producers for telling us all riiiiiiight at the end of the show that Lauren was injured and *nothing* else. So, everybody probably thought she was going home anyway and didn’t vote for her. I was relieved Robert’s safe and I had a pretty good feeling that she was gonna be safe, so mostly I was mourning Billy.
-I enjoyed the Step Up 3D dancers a lot, especially Tony Bellissimo. I’m even more excited for the movie knowing he’s in it. He was one of my favorites last year and he got booted off first! It was really unfair. But it just goes to show that SYTYCD is a reality tv show and the dance community is bigger than a tv show and it takes care of its own. Tony Bellissimo danced on the same stage with Lil C! So, too bad I didn’t get to see him during a STYCYD season, but I’ll get to see him dance now and again. The same is true for *all* of these dancers we’re getting introduced to – Jose and Billy, Alex and Ashley, Adechike and Robert and everyone we’ve ever loved on the SYTYCD stage.
-I already said this in the comments of the discussion post, but that musical performance by Christian TV was atrocious and I’m really pissed that we didn’t *really* get to see Kherington and Lexi dance. Biggest misuse of SYTYCD alumni ever. Criminal, in fact. Annnnd, WHERE is our All-Star performance? They gave the time to that guy instead? Criminal!
-Jose’s solo only reinforced what we all already know – he’s a one-note dancer, but incredibly sweet. Billy kicked ass with his solo. It was as if he was giving it one last valiant effort to stay in, even though he knew he was leaving, and at the same time he was saying to all the choreographers out there, “THIS is what Billy Bell can do, doncha want to choreograph me?” Clearly, this won’t be the last we see of him. Lauren’s solo was awesome and it did showcase her well.
-I did enjoy Allison Iraheta and Orianthi rocking out, I must say. Who were the dancers that performed on stage with them? I feel like we never got close enough to their faces to identify them. Anybody know?
-Alright, so the judges make the right decision faced with this Bottom 3, but it still sucks to lose Billy. I disagree with Nigel that his “androgynous style” kept him from connecting with the audience. I think that they were treating him like the second coming and it went to his head and people didn’t know how to take his swagger/arrogance/humor/whatever it was. He never really found his place inside the reality tv show aspect of it. But I think he proved a few times that he knows who he is when it comes to dance. I’m glad that Lauren stays. And I think every SYTYCD fan cheered when they heard that the judges don’t get to make the decision anymore.
Top 6 Group (again!) Routine
Choreographer: Mia Michaels
Song: Sting’s “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” –
Professional Performance
Group: Step Up 3D dancers including Tony Bellissimo and Lil C
Songs: Music from the soundtrack, including Trey Songz’s “Already Taken” – , Roscoe Dash ft. T-Pain’s “My Own Step” – and Sophia Fresh ft. T-Pain’s “This Moment” –
Musical Performance: Christian TV’s “When She Turns 18” –
The Bottom 3 Solos:
Jose danced his solo to SO:HO’s “Hot Music” –
Billy danced his solo to Venetian Snares’s “Szerencsetlen” –
Lauren danced her solo to Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” –
This one is both easy and difficult. Once again… Except things haven’t really been going as you’d think this season, huh?
Top Two
Lauren – Had a great night! I think her personality is finally coming across just right to America and her dancing is incredible. I loved her Broadway with Allison and enjoyed her Foxtrot with Adechike. But, it’s really her solo that stood out tonight – incredible. And plus, she’s been growing steadily the last few weeks. I’d even say she edged Kent out for pure performance.
Kent – Kent’s routines weren’t my favorite of the night. I enjoyed his cha cha with Anya and I thought he was the standout in that Broadway with Jose. I LOVED all of the personality that shone through during the night, but his routines were not the memorable ones. HOWEVER, he has the most dependable (and largest?) fan base, plus, he’s a “contender” according to the judges.
Middle Two (of course, one of these two will be in the bottom 3, but I don’t care)
Billy – Despite not dancing last week (or maybe because of it??), Billy had a killer night. While I actually think he was weaker than Robert in the Bollywood (and there were some timing issues that I think he was the cause of), it was the last routine and Bollywood is always energetic and memorable. His solo was a great remix of his solo from Vegas Week (“Lights Go Down” by Telepathe, which has been popular all season). He was fiercer and you could see the fire in his eyes. But, what really saves him in my opinion is his PHENOMENAL Stacey Tookey contemporary with Ade. It was one of (if not THE) standout routine of the night.
Robert – He is one of my FAVORITES and he’s been growing so much this season, both in dance ability and in the eyes of the audience. However, I think Billy had a more obviously better night. I adored his Stacey Tookey contemporary with Kathryn, but was the second routine of the night and not even the strongest Stacey Tookey routine. And while I think he out-danced Billy in the Bollywood, I think not everyone will agree with me.
Bottom Two
Adechike – I hate to say it, because he’s really been growing on me the last two weeks or so and I really liked his jazz with Courtney (and even his Foxtrot with Lauren had highlights), I think he doesn’t always connect for some reason with his partner or audience. It makes me sad to say, but I am happy he’s on the tour regardless.
Jose – Unless some wildness (like Lauren’s late-in-the-show injury) saves him again, I think his departure this week is pretty much a given. Nigel even called it – straight out, to his face – and basically said, “at least you’re going on the tour.” I don’t think that’s gonna rally the fans this time around. That being said, his hip hop with Comfort is just about one of my favorite things ever. But honestly? That was probably because of Comfort. That girl is a SHOCK this season. And such a pleasant one. I liked what Jose brought to it, but I honestly wouldn’t mind seeing another guy dance it with her.
Some Final Thoughts
-There was a very obvious and kinda sad disparity in cheers. Kent and Lauren got more than anyone else. There were almost crickets for some, as if they realized how mean it would be not to cheer. OR, there were staffers prodding them with sticks to cheer for everybody.
-LOVE Toni Redpath as a guest judge. One thing I gotta say for the SYTYCD producers is that they do kinda listen to us. I think they got that we needed the irksomeness of constant Mia/Nigel/Adam judging to be shaken up with some new blood. And I love, love, love some Toni Redpath. She’s a good mix of hard and soft, sour and sweet, Mia and Cat.
-Nigel annoyed me a lot tonight. The first time was when he pretended he hadn’t noticed that Jose hadn’t been in the group routines. Whether or not Jose pulled his groin and legitimately sat out, it’s a bit weird that they tried to pass it off like it hadn’t happened, that they never addressed it till WE, the audience, did.
-Loved that Billy was really fighting with his solo. Liked Kent’s solo, especially his song choice (he’s good with that). I think the Elliot Yamin cover was the right choice for what he was doing, but can’t help thinking of the original by Donny Hathaway , who was one of Yamin’s biggest influences (he even had Hathaway’s daughter singing back up vocals for him on American Idol).
-I think Adam nailed it when he said that he already thinks of Lauren as an All-Star. She does already have a quiet polish to her like the All-Stars do. I think she was genuinely surprised and touched to hear it.
-I thought it was sweet that Robert was visibly smiling after hearing his fellow contestants speak about him, before his solo.
-The INSTANT I heard the opening notes of “Mad World” for Stacey Tookey’s routine with Billy and Ade, I was like, “This is gonna be good” and put my pen down. I was right.
-Kinda sad that the judges pretty much ignored Jose while critiquing the Broadway with Billy and that Nigel pretty much told him he’s gone this week. But, it kinda sucks that it’s true, too. And that he was dancing all by himself on stage at the end of the show. :'(
-I loved the package for the Bollywood and Nakul narrating it as a Bollywood movie. That was great. 🙂 I also loved that Nakul got to tell people how DIVERSE Bollywood is and that it pulls from other styles (ahem, Mia). I thought it was odd that it always seems to come down to Billy and Robert. And I really think it does come down to them two for that third Bottom 3 spot. Hopefully, it’ll be Jose and Adechike to go home.
Disagree with me? Agree wholeheartedly? Fess up!!!
My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)
Here’s hoping this week is full of FABULOUS music, to keep up with the rest of the season. 🙂
Dancer: Kent Boyd
All-Star: Anya Garnis
Style: Cha Cha
Choreographer: Jean Marc and France Genereux
Song: 3OH!3 ft. Ke$ha’s “My First Kiss” – , which was on my predicted music list.
Dancer: Robert Roldan
All-Star: Kathryn McCormick
Style: Stacey Tookey
Choreographer: Contemporary
Song: Katie Thompson’s “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” –
Jose’s solo: Rjd2’s “Giant Squid” –
Dancer: Adechike Torbert
All-Star: Courtney Galliano
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Song: Gizzy Gillespe’s “Manteca” –
Lauren’s solo: Aretha Franklin’s “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” –
Dancer: Jose Ruiz
All-Star: Comfort Fedoke
Style: Hip-hop
Choreographer: Marty Kudelka and Dana Wilson
Song: Otis Redding “Try a Little Tenderness” –
Billy’s solo: Telepathe’s “Lights Go Down” –
Kent’s solo: Elliot Yamin’s cover of “A Song for You” –
Dancer: Lauren Froderman
All-Star: Allison Holker
Style: Broadway
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Song: “Who’s Got the Pain” from “Damn Yankees” –
Robert’s solo: Jason Mraz’s “A Beautiful Mess” (from a Raining Jane Session) –
Dancer: Billy Bell
All-Star: Ade Obayami
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Stacey Tookey
Song: Michael Andrews ft. Gary Jules’s “Mad World” –
Adechike’s solo: Maxwell’s “Pretty Wings” – , which I almost picked for my predicted list, ultimately picking “Fistful of Tears” from the same album.
Dancers: Kent Boyd and Jose Ruiz
Style: Broadway
Choreographer: Spencer Liff
Song: “From This Moment On” from “Kiss Me Kate” –
Dancers: Lauren Froderman and Adechike Torbert
Style: Foxtrot
Choreographer: Jean-Marc and France Genereux
Song: Beyonce’s cover of “Fever” –
Dancers: Billy Bell and Robert Roldan
Style: Bollywood
Choreographer: Nakul dev Mahajan
Song: “Ganesh” – from “Bombay Dreams” (by AR Rahman who did Slumdog Millionaire, fyi),
Sorry I’ve been a bit MIA, y’all, but I’ve been sick. One of the very few advantages of that is that I’m home “early” from work and can see SYTYCD tonight. I’m dying to find out what happens this week since we’re losing TWO dancers. Everybody’s got to dance their feet off!!! Though, not literally. We’re done with the Survivor aspect of this season…
from Guys and Dolls. 
