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SYTYCD Season 9: Top 20 Power Rankings

Wow… just wow. I just wrote a few quick thoughts on all the routines of the night and tossed a few polls asking for your opinions on which routines you enjoyed, and which dancers you’d love to see move on based on what we saw tonight. What I am going to do is rank all the routines we saw tonight from what I really enjoyed to what was forgettable. Then I will rank all the guys and all the girls w/ no real commentary. Let’s see how this goes.

TOP THREE ROUTINES:
1. Lindsay Arnold & Cole Horibe – Paso Doble
I mean come on! That was almost too good to be true. Such power, such strength, such passion and fire. I knew that Cole had some prior dancing training in addition to martial arts, but I would like to think that it is because of the martial arts that he is so clearly able to bring forth the necessary power and fire that the man needs in a proper paso doble. Lindsay at first came across as a bit of a wholesome, sweet kind of girl and then she comes out all guns blazing and I feel like I am getting a bit of the case of the whiplash because I didn’t see that coming a mile away! At first I thought that of the two Ballroom Barbies, Witney would win out, but man right now? I don’t know, I think Lindsay is making a very good case for herself here… and personally I think this is going to be a very strong partnership down the road.

2. Audrey Case & Matthew Kazmierczak – Contemporary
It’s a Travis Wall routine, so what is not to love? In all honesty though, I really did enjoy this routine a lot… these two just seem to work together so effortlessly. Audrey just seems to float in the air as opposed to jumping up there. Prior to today’s routine, Audrey didn’t really seem to stick out much for me. She hasn’t much more since except when she’s dancing with Matthew and Matthew I really really liked. Granted between the two Jazz girls I see myself drawn more to Audrey over Tiffany, but that again could be because I liked this routine just slightly more than the previous one. Perhaps it is the fact that Audrey just seems to emote that much more than Tiffany did… who knows. In the end this was a very strong routine and definitely one of the more memorable ones.

3. Amelia Lowe & Will Thomas – Pop-fusion/Hip Hop
Can’t help it, I’m drawn to this dance. They looked like they were having just so much fun in this routine. I would say that they are playing a bit of a “cat and mouse” game here, except I think they are suppose to be both cats, in which case… MEOW! I didn’t know much about Will Thomas prior to the Meet the Top 20 episode and honestly, he really caught my attention right away. In this routine the craziness between Will and Amelia was just fun to watch. I am so sure that Will was having so much fun playing with Amelia. I watched the routine over and over again because I found myself just smiling as I am watching them dance.

MIDDLE FOUR ROUTINES (this is probably the most difficult four to put together)
4. Eliana Girard & Cyrus Spencer – Broadway
I’ll agree that this didn’t really show off the dancing strengths for Eliana, but dammit it was fun to watch and really that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Cyrus picked up the choreography rather well for the first time out of the gate. The thing I really like about Broadway routines is that they require a hell of a whole lot of personality, unfortunately that is also at the sacrifice of dance at times, which is what seems to be the case here. What Cyrus lacks in training, he more than makes up for it in personality, charisma and entertainment value. Eliana with her dance/performing background has charisma and entertainment value for days, so I see this as a very good match. Here’s hoping that they could do just as well in the upcoming week.

5. Janelle Issis & Dareian Kujawa – African Jazz
I might be in the minority when it comes to this routine, but I really really liked these two together. I didn’t know what to expect but the intricacies in this routine and movement really came together and if either dancer misses anything, then the whole dance is shot (much like Sean Cheesman’s other routine, but more on that later). As I said before, what these two brought to the table is chemistry and entertainment. There were a few times where they were actually off, but like I said… I really preferred this routine of the two that Sean has created and having two dancers that connect really helps the routine along.

6. Amber Jackson & Nick Bloxsom-Carter – Viennese Waltz
When I saw Nick for the first time in the Meet the Top 20 episode, I liked him, a lot. So I was a bit sad when they already started critiquing him in the Meet the Top 20 episode. Amber Jackson I remembered seeing from previous episodes but almost saw nothing of in Season 9, so when there were rumors swirling around that they were paired together I got scared because these were two fairly unknown dancers who did not have much screen time, how would they fare? Well for a Viennese Waltz they did rather well. One thing I really love about this particular dance was that it really felt like you were dancing amongst the clouds, like a dream. Personally I think they did rather well and should be ok. Only time will tell

7. Witney Carson & Chehon Wespi-Tschopp – Samba
I had a rough time between this routine and number 8. This had a lot of fire and I really love Chehon a lot in this routine. He has very good technique but I agree with the judges that he just seems to be trying too hard. If he can get his head out of the game and just feel the dance it would flow so much better. There isn’t much to say about Witney except that she did excel rather well in this number. Though Chehon seemed out of place in this routine, I don’t think it is going to be much of an issue in later routines since hopefully by then he’ll start emoting more into the dances and routines.

BOTTOM THREE ROUTINES
8. Tiffany Maher & George Lawrence II – Contemporary
The reason I ended up placing them a lot lower than I originally thought I would is because I had to separate myself from the awe that is Sonya’s reinvention of herself into this contemporary movement from the dancers themselves and how they performed the routine. I really really do like this routine, but for some reason other than the fact that this is atypical of Sonya’s routines this was just not a memorable routine for me. This couple emoted rather well overall and I really like George in this routine, but Tiffany just wasn’t memorable for me. So I don’t know

9. Alexa Anderson & Daniel Baker – Jazz
This was a very technically difficult routine and given to two really technically advanced dancers it should have shone but it fell flat. I didn’t feel any chemistry between the two of them let alone with the audience. Between the two I preferred Daniel over Alexa, but then again I think they should have been paired with different partners, perhaps they would have done better emotionally. Granted I felt that Daniel was more emotionally committed to this particular routine over Alexa, but then again I am probably in the minority in this.

10. Janaya French & Brandon Mitchell – Hip Hop
This was another rather forgettable routine for the most part. For some reason I didn’t feel a connection between the two dancers and it felt a little bit like a “dance by numbers” kind of routine with the emotions and facials becoming little more than an afterthought, particularly on Janaya’s side of the fence. I really enjoyed Brandon’s interpretation for the most part, but again the routine as a whole seemed to have fallen flat for me which is rather sad since in any other season they would have been middle of the pack or higher.

TOP THREE GIRLS
Amelia Lowe
Lindsay Arnold
Janelle Issis
TOP THREE GUYS
Cole Horibe
Cyrus Spencer
Will Thomas
MIDDLE FOUR GIRLS
Audrey Case
Eliana Girard
Witney Carson
Amber Jackson
MIDDLE THREE GUYS
Matthew Kazmierczak
Dareian Kujawa
Nick Bloxsom-Carter
Chehon Wespi-Tschopp
BOTTOM THREE GIRLS
Tiffany Maher
Alexa Anderson
Janaya French
BOTTOM THREE GUYS
Daniel Baker
George Lawrence II
Brandon Mitchell

Mind you this is my own opinions on the matter… why don’t you let me know yours! Until next week…

July 11, 2012 I Written By

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... =)

Power Rankings SYTYCD Canada Top 14

They switched Monday night to Wednesday night and it really felt like a long wait from last week to this week. Tonight’s Show was really good and I am struggling with who should be inthe bottom (well I know two but the third I am not sure)

They switched up the couples this week also which will surely change the voting as well.

Judges:Jean-Marc, Tre, Mia and Sean

************* TOP 3 *************
1. Danielle & Edgar
Contemporary – Sabrina Matthews
“Whataya Want From Me” – Adam Lambert – Whataya
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Wow! This was awesome! Sabrina did a great job and the dancers really put everything into it! The story was a woman helping her partner come back after suicide. It was powerful. The movement was sharp and expressive. I really loved this routine! I hope Canada agrees. I know Edgar has spent a lot of time in the bottom 3.

2. Mackenzie & Charlene
Jive – Danny Arbour (1st season)
“Magic” – BoB – Magic
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This was amazing! Charlene really stood out for me, not only her sexy outfit but the energy and attitude. There were some awesome slides, lifts and kicks. Goosebumps! Easily Top 3.

3. Kloe & Shavar
Theatre – Melissa Williams
“Your Song” – Elton John – Your
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I loved the costumes and the story of the magical street lamp. It was very theatre-esque. There were some nice lifts and spins as well as a lot of smooth partnered movements. They captured the characters well… Shavar’s face totally told a story! I think Canada may disagree with this one but I loved it.

************* MIDDLE *************

4. Janick & Jeff
Hip Hop – Luther Brown
“Gangsta Luv” – Snoop Dogg – Gangsta
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It was hard-hitting, smooth if that makes any sense? They really worked it nicely and it was entertaining. I debated between 3 and 4 for this one.

************* BOTTOM 3 *************

5. Jonathan & Nathalie
Jazz – Blake McGrath
“Teenage Dream” – Katy Perry – Teenage
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It was not Blake’s best piece but it was very good. He is definitely paying homage to Katy Perry this season isn’t he? It was what he set it out to be, cute and fun. It did get a bit creepy (as it often does with Jean-Marc) as he complimented her legs, but overall it was just light and fun.

6. Amanda & Sebastian
Contemporary – Stacey Tookey
“Hyperballad” – Whitley – Hyperballad
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Lot’s of legs and arms indeed. Some of the movements were so unusual but beautiful. They fit together really well and had that passion. I enjoyed it and I love them both but it didn’t resonate or connect with me as much despite the moving “story” of a couple who lost their child. I think Canada will vote for it but I am going with my own thoughts this week.

7. Claudia & Denys
Samba (Capoeira) – Gustavo Vargas
“Que Coisa Louca” – Samba Squad – Que
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This was like a major workout to even watch. Non-stop movement and a focus on capoeira. They demonstrated some major strength and energy. Unfortunately it was out of synch and at times a bit chaotic. Claudia really only excels in her area (in my opinion) but struggles in any other style of dance.

***I think Claudia should go home. She just is not versatile enough. I love her, she is amazing but she has one style. I don’t which guy I would send home…

Thoughts?

September 22, 2010 I Written By

I am a blogger and reality tv lover. I blog here for SYTYCD but mostly the Canada version, since I live in Vancouver BC. I also blog about other reality tv shows on my own blog www.mandysmind.com

SYTYCD Season 7 Top 7 Performance Thoughts/Power Ranking

Well, this is the first week where predicting tomorrow’s result is easy…but typing it is difficult. Coming to terms with it is difficult.

Top Two

Kent – He had a great night. He really delivered energy and personality (and skillz!) next to Neil. I don’t think he outdanced Neil as Nigel claimed, but he definitely kept up. And he did what I thought was impossible and developed some real chemistry with Adechike in a great male-male contemporary. He’s maturing, but still keeping his personality, which is the right combination with this show. The cheers are so loud while he dances that I don’t know how he hears the music. He’s safe.

Lauren – She gets a lot of flak, but since my only sorta formal dance training is in belly dance, I have to say that the stuff she did in that Tahitian dance is HARD! You have to have incredible core control to do all of the thigh/knee stuff she was doing (she was doing shimmies while crouching, with her legs at different angles! Normally, you take a pretty solid stance when shimming, that would’ve put a lot of strain on her stomach and back, but it was all really smooth.) Not to mention she kept the tail on her costume bumping and that is seriously hard to sustain. The really impressive part is that no part of her body or face was telegraphing how hard she was working to do that. As impressive as I found all of that (I barely looked at Mark and that’s SAYING something), the real winner of the night was her Mandy Moore jazz with Billy. These two should dance together for the rest of their lives. I totally saw what Cat said about Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney. It was so effervescent and fluid and just fun. Loooooved it. Lauren can be really annoying in her interviews, but she continues to impress me with her dancing.

Middle Two

Billy – He’s been getting a lot of flak lately, too, after being a huge early fan favorite. He gained something back tonight he’s been missing for a while. He was so relaxed. He seemed to be enjoying himself – just plain enjoying himself and that brought back the Billy that I love. He had jive with Anya and was a strong, matched partner to her. They had great chemistry, which hasn’t been his strong suit lately. But, of course, the second of his routines, with Lauren, was just incredible, as I mentioned above.

Robert – I think every single one of his fans are going to take nothing for granted and VOTE like crazy to keep him out of the Bottom 3. He’s been there too often. There’s a good chance he’ll be there again, but I think he’ll be saved by Ashley going home due to her injury. As for his routines – I really liked the Travis Wall contemporary, but I think that the judges/producers tried to hard to make an “Emmy moment” out of it because it was about Travis’s mother’s illness and it was so heartfelt. That almost ruined it for me. It was very reminiscent of Tyce’s breast cancer peace, in my opinion. Especially the opening walk of the two characters. I absolutely adored the walk at the end and the symbolism behind it, but while I think it was well-danced by Allison and Robert, I think Travis has deserved an Emmy more with other routines. I’m glad he shared something so personal with us, but I resented being told to feel about it. I felt the same way with Tyce’s breast cancer piece, actually, and liked it more when I saw it on SYTYCD UK with less fanfare. His disco with Kathryn was a lot of fun. It had it’s problem spots but when you consider they probably only had a day or so to practice together, very good.

Bottom Three

Ashley – is in the EXACT same place Alex was last week. The same place Jessica King was in a few years ago. If her injury is what I’ve heard it is… she’s almost 100% going home tonight. Which makes me very, very sad because she quickly became my favorite once the performance shows started.

Adechike – Okay, so Chike hasn’t been getting much love from me. I’ve acknowledged that he’s a great dancer, but I feel that he doesn’t connect to his partners. His salsa with Anya was horrific – even though there were tiny patches that were pretty incredible. However, I *finally* saw what everyone else sees in him when he danced contemporary with Kent. He had chemistry with Kent!! I loooved this Dee Caspary routine. I thought Chike was so comfortable with Kent in the interview and that really played out in their performance. It was the first time I thought he got everything right. However… I think it’s too little too late. It’s only one solid performance in a night with two performances and after a pretty lackluster season. I think there’s gonna be some Chike backlash this week after all the gossip and controversy. I think he’ll be safe though, since Ashley’s almost certainly going home.

Jose – If Ashley weren’t surely going home, I’d bee 98% certain that this was Jose’s week to leave us. He was flat and unimpressive in his Broadway and he disappointed in his own style next to All-Star Dominic. I found the routine entertaining (the breaking), but it wasn’t everything it was built up to be. Just as Jose is not everything he’s been built up to be. Even the judges had to admit, after his Broadway, that he needs training and polish. He needs to layer dance on top of his gymnastics and tricking.

Some last thoughts before I go –

-I looove that Cat is speaking up more about her opinions. Her comments re: Billy and Lauren reminding her of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland was spot on. 🙂

-I kinda liked the disco tonight and there were lots of crazy hard things in there. But…isn’t there at least one single other disco choreographer in the entire world? I’m very tired of Doreana Sanchez’s choreography. And here’s why – I think the style is already so limited that to have just one choreographer makes it very, very boring. It’s basically all the same routine!! And if there aren’t any other choreographers for disco, maybe that’s a hint that the style is played out. Dry. Done.

-We had a lot of male-male numbers tonight (what with Ashley out and Lauren being the last girl in the race, likely) and they were doozies! Loved Kent and Neil’s baseball routine! As well as Kent and Adechike’s contemporary. The Jose/Dom “battle” was aiiiright. Until they made Dom bow to Jose and I was just.not.cool.with.that. S’okay. We all saw who left with the sword. 🙂

-I think it took changing all the rules for the producers and all of us to realize what we love best about the show. I’m glad we’ve had this mix-up because it’s shown us that bringing back All-Stars and same-gender routines really do work. But it’s also shown us that we really like seeing the contestants grow together in partnerships and that the producers need to be careful not to overproduce = manipulate us. If they can even help it at this point.

– I’m *very* sad I didn’t get to see Ashley dance this week and that she’ll probably be leaving.

-It was a good week for dance, even if Alex wasn’t there. I think a lot of the dancers realized they could actually win and kicked it up a notch this week. It’s a weird season. All the rules changed and now all bets are off.

July 14, 2010 I Written By

SYTYCD S7 Top 8 Performance Thoughts/Power Rankings

I don’t know why I’m surprised that predicting the Bottom 3 isn’t getting any easier or that it’s only getting harder to lose these dancers. But I am. Still, every week, I continue to be amazed at how hard this is and how much harder it’s getting.

Even though I had one of the Bottom 3 handed to me, I am NOT happy about putting his name there, fyi. I hope Alex can stay on the show, but I think we all agree the important thing is that he gets healthy for his long-term career.

And here we go…

Top Three

Kent – I’d probably put Lauren in #1 spot, but her personality seems to annoy some people and Kent has TONS of fans, so #1 for him. His routines with Comfort and Lauren were both well-danced and fun. He had a very undramatic night and got lots of compliments on his “growth” and for dancing small (which mean he grew) rather than overlarge. In a very dramatic night, he made it through the fire unscathed and standing strong.

Lauren – She had an amazing (undramatic) night as well and danced excellently. I think her personality is polarizing – she tries for quirky and cute, but her comments come off to a lot of people as self-absorbed and cocky. However, I really enjoy her dancing and I think she is maturing in leaps in bounds. Her cha cha with Pasha was stellar – like, just the definition of sexy. She was like water dancing with him. I think she studied videos of Anya and Pasha dancing together to figure out how to match Pasha. And while her contemporary with Kent might not be the best we’ve ever seen on the show, it was very striking. I particularly loved that these two young, exuberant dancers were given a serious, beautiful routine and were able to dance it maturely.

Ashley – I’m loving her more each week. She had a great hip-hop with Dominic and while I know that the quickstep is supposed to doom dancers, I quite enjoyed hers with Robert. I liked the incongruence between the dance and the music. I thought it was edgy and enjoyable. I think she’s picking up steam fan-wise and that she had such a good routine with Dom that she’s probably safe. I think we’ve realized it’s time to start picking on some of the guys finally. Judging from the comments, two in particular.

Middle Three

Billy – Danced a solid Broadway with Katee. I enjoyed it and I agree that it’s some of his best dancing. Broadway fans, don’t tar and feather me for this, buuuut it seems like Broadway is like ballroom in that it is sometimes not dynamic for a large part of the audience. It was earlier in the evening and even with having Katee back, I think Billy’s first routine kinda got lost in the shuffle. His Afro-jazz with Adechike was underwhelming. It should’ve been great, but as it was, it was just underwhelming…

Robert – There’s a chance Robert might be in the Bottom 3 again and will go home (because he’s been there before). I’m putting him at the bottom of the middle because I’m hoping that’s NOT the case. I love Robert. There’s a lot of talk about whether the judges were trying to “save” him by coming down hard on Adechike instead of him but I thought they were unnecessarily hard on him and Ashely for their quickstep. Just because it’s gained a reputation DOES NOT mean we have to critique it as if it was bad when it was enjoyable. And I swear Nigel was pulling out technical points with the quickstep when he hadn’t really been all that technical with others (ahem, Jose and Adechike). I enjoyed the hell out of the jazz with Kathryn – I thought they were the perfect dancers for it. While watching it again, I could see some awkwardness, especially with lifts. The first time, I didn’t see any of it though because I was so charmed by the routine.

Bottom Three

Alex – From the tip-top last week after his amazing hip-hop with Twitch to the Bottom 3 this week. All because of an unlucky injury. Phewy to the new rules. I’d rather Alex go the chance to stay on the strength of just that bad-quality video clip we saw of him getting injured. I’d lose BOTH Jose and Adechike (sorry guys) just so he could stay one more week and potentially stay on the show. But, luck (new new rules) being what it is, he’s in the Bottom 3. Hopefully, we’ll get some dramatically good news that he’s alright to dance next week. But there’s a very good chance they’ll decide to let him heal and he’ll be leaving this week. In which case, a lot of hearts will break and FOX stands to lose some of its audience, judging by some of the comments. We <3 Alex, that’s clear.

Jose – I really enjoyed his contemporary with Lauren a lot and I thought he did a’riiite in the Afro-jazz with Billy. But…there’s been a lot of Jose v. Adechike debate back and forth and in the company of titans, his time is running up, in my opinion. I think he may very well be in danger this week. Whether he goes home or not depends entirely on Alex’s injury and whether there’s a backlash from the judges’ soft critique of him the last few weeks.

Adechike – Is my least favorite dancer. He’s shown the least growth in my opinion (which is NOT to say he isn’t a great dancer) and he dances with *any* partner like they’re inanimate props. He’s got to work that out and I don’t see any improvement on that so far. There were elements I liked to his jazz with Courtney (the middle section side-by-side on the floor), but that girl was working her ass off to show him to advantage. His Bollywood was fine, but I couldn’t help thinking that he should’ve been dancing the “girl’s” role with Alex instead of the masculine role with Nakul’s assistant Mara. I liked the “African element” that Mia noticed – which means that I agree with her that it was there but disagree that it was a bad thing.

I can’t predict who I think is going home tonight because the one who I think is most likely to leave us is one of my favorites and I will.not.type.his.name. There’s a good chance I have the other two wrong and Robert’s in danger. And I honestly can’t predict which was the “backlash/sympathy vote” will go if it’s between Jose and Adechike (my best case scenario). What do y’all think?

Some last thoughts before I go –

-Cat should win an Emmy for hosting this show. She’s a defender, an anti-bullshit monitor, cheeky and funny, all while looking gorgeous in dresses and heels. Yay for her calling the judges on their inconsistent comments, as many of you said in the comments.

-I was SO GLAD to see the contestants dance together. I loved the packages, especially Alex sitting behind Adechike and faking like he was going to attack him and Billy outting Jose’s obsession with Lauren G.’s behind. Lol. Soooo great. I think it really brought out a new element to this season. But what a week for Alex to be sitting out! I missed him so much (and I am not alone). Consider this. We had two routines with two male dancers dancing together last night, but they were both contestants in both cases whereas Alex had to dance male/male choreography with an All-Star and he totally rose to the occasion.

-Which brings me to ALEX WONG! Please, please, please don’t have a ruptured Achilles tendon. But, if it is ruptured, I will endeavor to deal with you leaving the show because I want you to have a LONG career. But gosh, how heartbreaking it was to see you hanging your head and tearing up, but mainly being stoic in the face of a lot of pain and doubt.

-I know Marianya and I got a bit carried away wondering what was going on with Ashley and Neil and it turns out they’re both just great at having chemistry with their partners. BUT, there IS something going on between Lauren and Kent. Anybody disagree? Seems obvious now, after his expression when she picked him out of the hat and their actual routine. Or should I say AFTER their routine. Marianya told me that she’s suspected for a long time now that the two of them are together or something. C’mon Marianya, back me up and expand on your theory in the comments. 🙂

-Nigel is a total perv (but Cat started it by referring to Lauren’s wardrobe mishap list week) and he’s annoying me. Mia is…I agree with her a lot, but it seems like she’s expressing herself in the most offensive way possible because she’s “strong” and “opinionated,” etc. Again, Cat totally made the show for me. All of her asides (“he just said he’s proud of you!”

-Ashley/Robert’s “dreaded Quickstep” TOTALLY reminded me of the Neil-Danny “2 princes” routine, and then Nigel mention it as well. I think it was even the same freaking chair and “sceptor of power,” though of course the choreography was different. Interesting.

-Comfort really has grown since her season. I was one of the haters who wasn’t sure she deserved the title “All-Star,” especially the first time having them back on the show. Same with Dom – he’s been impressing me with his routines, few though they are. It as great to have a bonus All-Star in Katee and have her back, though it sucked that Allison had to sit out cause I’m really loving seeing her dance. Pasha has such quiet strength and he’s so lovable!!! And my girls Lauren G., Kathryn and Courtney G. are so amazing! Sexy ladies! And strong! They’re three of my all-time favorite girls and I think they do a great job partnering the guys, but they’re also setting the gold standard for the two remaining girls. The All-Stars are such a wonderful element this season. I say once more – we should have a variety show in the fall with JUST alumni of the previous season and Cat emceeing. The judges can take a break (then we’ll miss them and be glad to have them back for the regular competition in the summer) and they can hold auditions for new contestants and a real tour in the hiatus.  C’mon, Nigel. We know you’re reading! You know my idea is good! Fall Variety show, summer competition show!

July 8, 2010 I Written By

SYTYCD Top 9 Performance Thoughts/Power Rankings

Once again, I’m going to combine my Top 9 performance thoughts and power rankings this week.

This one’s gonna be rough. Roouuuggggh. I’ve been reading a few of your comments to help me out here, but I’m still pretty confused.

Top Three

Alex – Is there any question? I think we can all agree on this one. And this is coming from me, the “hater” of hip-hop. Helllloooo…let’s just say I’m most likely to like hip-hop if it’s NappyTabs. And if Twitch is dancing, I’m always in love. But Alex is what made this routine, which was choreographed brilliantly for him and all, but he held his own with TWITCH BOSS! I mean, boss is in his name. 🙂 And Alex killed it. Did you hear that audience? Cat kept saying it was the loudest crowd she’d even seen on the show. It sounded like they were in a stadium. I especially loved Mia’s, “Who the hell are you?” Even though, I’m not really that surprised Alex rocked because he’s just phenomenal. When I saw the SYTYCDism spoilers that Alex and Twitch were dancing together, I made very girly sounds. 🙂

Billy – The judges came down hard on him (but they kinda have to, since he’s been a judge favorite all along, right?), but it was a gorgeous routine. Billy still has a lot of fans and I thought the combination of his mentioning Legacy as his role model, dancing with Kathryn (who danced with Legacy) and a powerful routine from Stacey Tookey put him up top. He was a bit stiff and arrogant while getting his feedback, I think, which makes me like him less. But the routine was lovely and his solo was strong as well. Overall, I think the judges were hard on him because they’re trying to give him a possibility at a “journey/arch” that he might not be perceived as having since he’s so technically good.

Ashley – When Top 11 started after Vegas Week, I was thinking, “Who is this girl?” I had no idea who she was. But I loooooooooove her now. Yes, she needs to dance something other than contemporary. But she’s been able to show something different in this routine and it was a chilling and wonderful routine with Ade. She has quickly become one of my favorites and will be my biggest solace when we probably lose the girl who has been one of my favorite from the beginning.

Middle Three

Robert -I love him. He got BIG cheers, supported Jose (yes he can, when Cat asked rhetorically if Jose could hold his own) and had great chemistry with Courtney. But, he danced with Courtney again to a blah-ish Sonya (not her best, at least) routine that  happened earlier in the show, which makes it sadly a bit forgettable. He was compared to Mark, however, and I think he does suit Sonya’s choreography. I hope it doesn’t put him in danger cause I loved when Sonya was taking America to task for not voting for Robert. He definitely deserves to stay.

Lauren – I thought it was a fun Broadway, and though I don’t always love her personality, I do enjoy her dancing. I thought both she and Neil were technically strong and had great lines, but there wasn’t a lot of chemistry between them. She’s starting to get a lot of flak, but a lot of people still really love her, I think. Also, I think the wardrobe malfunction and the resulting brou-ha-ha (“I enjoyed that tremendously,” and “I bet you did”) will make her stand out. She got a lot of time – and honestly kudos to her for carrying on with her entire strap dangling. I think that would have been just a bit distracting.

Kent – This is a tough call. It’ll either be Kent or Jose in this or the first Bottom 3 spot, in my opinion. But, they’re kinda on the same level, I think. Both didn’t dance strongly this week, both have huge fan bases. I do have to say I don’t think enough has been said about Dmitry’s phenomenal choreography here – smart and sexy work. While Jose got better feedback (and I liked his performance better), I think Kent’s fan base is a little more rabid AND I think that he’s perceived to have danced better in genres outside his own…

Bottom Three

Jose – Whereas Jose has been giving a lot of “Legacy choreography” – stunts within the choreo that show off his skillz and remind us why he’s on the show. I liked Jose’s performance tonight, but I agree with some of the comments I’ve seen that he didn’t do a lot of real dancing, more like excellent partnering. I think the routine (and most of his routines) have cleverly disguised his weaknesses and the judges are mostly glossing them over. So while I think he may be in the Bottom 3 tomorrow night, I think he’ll be a the “top” of the Bottom 3, which will mean he’ll be back next week.

Adechike – A lot of people are raving about his Dave Scott hip-hop tonight. After watching it back three times now, I think he made *some* improvement. But you know what? He had all the personality of a prop, to me. He might as well have not been there. The only times I noticed him was when he was being sloppy and cheesy. It’s kinda the reverse of Melinda for me – I don’t get the hate for her and a lot of people probably won’t get (or agree with) me putting him in the bottom 3. But honestly, I think that any little sign of improvement was going to be seen as a huge step for him because he danced like a stick with two beautiful women in his own genre in the weeks before this. I think he should be getting a lot of heat for that and I don’t care if he danced a slightly better hip-hop this week. I would’ve rather’d seen that routine with *anyone* other than him. Even not always loving hip-hop, I could see how that could be a great routine. With somebody else.

Melinda – I love her, but… it seems like I’m one of the few left who do. Especially if you count the judges. I thought Mia’s comment was so gross. What is the constructive point of telling her “we might have made a mistake keeping you” on national t.v.? Why not, “You didn’t dance your best, or as strongly as you needed to”? And, after watching the routine back, it galls me to admit this, but it was pretty awful. I enjoyed it in the moment, I did. I thought there were some especially awkward transitions into jumps, lifts and tricks and a moment that might’ve been choreographed or might’ve been a colossal mistake. I think the only thing that could save Melinda now is the sympathy vote after Mia’s ugly, pointless comment or if ALL of Melinda’s fans stay up all night voting for her.

I’m not happy about it, but I think Melinda’s going home. (Or maybe it’s a plot to use reverse-psychology are the voting audience….) I hope that it’s two guys in the bottom with her and I’m fairly confident in my picks. Though, as I said earlier today, I think we’re ripe for a shocker.

Some last thoughts before I go –

-I love that Cat’s talking more than ever – especially about the routines. Even if she’s not a dancer, she should get to put her 2 cents in after all the years she’s hosted and participated in the show. I like knowing what she thinks!

-I thought the solos were all pretty strong and interesting. I wasn’t thrilled with Ashley using the same music as last week’s group routine – I think it was too soon and indicated (whether this is fair or not) that she didn’t try as hard to be unique. Same thing with Adechike – he used at least the same song as his dance for his life in Vegas and it might have been the same solo, I’m not sure. I thought Lauren had the strongest solo of the girls and I was very impressed by Kent’s solo (his “new Billy Belly status” has never been clearer). I enjoyed Jose and Melinda’s solos quite a lot as well.

-The minute Alex’s footage started and up to the last minute on screen was some of the best SYTYCD has ever had to offer. Pure enjoyment. Even though Adam’s “This is your world and I’m just visiting” comment was regurgitated (Marianya reminded me he said it to Ashleigh last season), I think the emotion behind it was truly genuine. How could it not be? You could see the mass hysteria going on in that studio. I think NappyTabs were incredibly smart to forsake an easy route “battle” dynamic for this routine and in doing so, they made this an incredibly memorable routine, one that showcased both of its incredible dancers. If this is the quality of dancing we have to look forward to, I don’t mind *as much* that we’ll probably lose Melinda and be at 2-6 girls and guys.

-You know…some of the problem with this season’s female-male dynamic may originate with the choreographers. Hear me out… I suspect that the choreographers are just plain more inspired by the guys and they’re using the choreography to showcase and protect the guys, yet they’re not doing the same thing for the girls. Especially when you consider the enormous amounts of ballroom that the in-danger and eliminated girls have danced. The ballroom routines usually don’t have intense back stories, are very technically fussy and difficult, usually have less appealing music (hey, I’m considering the types of songs YOU tend to click on) and are a hit-or-miss when it comes to audience appreciation.

-Did you see Legacy on stage with all the dancers at the end? He and Kathryn seemed to have a bit of a reunion. 🙂

Well, bring on my heat for all the cranky-puss comments about Ade. I know a lot of you are going to think I’m crazy for my power rankings this week, so time to hear it! 🙂

July 1, 2010 I Written By

SYTYCD Top 10 Performance Thoughts/Power Rankings

I’m going to combine my Top 10 performance thoughts and power rankings this week.

Some of you may wonder how I come about my power rankings. Unlike my “thoughts” posts, the power rankings are not based upon my personal preferences. Though, on rare occasion, I have refused to put one of my favorite dancers in the Bottom 3, even though I knew they probably would be. 🙂 I rank the dancers on my impression of how the performances go over with the voting audience, which takes into account, the dancer’s perceived popularity, the judges’ comments and the live audience reaction. And also, your comments. I take a look at what all of you are saying about the dancers and their performances and I keep that in mind as well.

I gotta say – this is the toughest job, trying to decide who’s gonna be in the bottom and maybe go home, especially this season. But, I’m always up for a challenge, so here I go….

Top Three

Lauren – She crossed oceans from where she was last week. While her performance wasn’t all that bad last week, her reaction to the judges turned off a lot of people. This week, she threw herself into her performance (not just the moves) and appeared humble and centered when facing the judges. She and Dominic are probably two of the silliest of all the dancers, yet they performed an intense, serious routine with heart and the respect that it deserved. I agreed that there wasn’t much to the “abuse” element of the piece – but I think that was in the choreography. It was Tessandra’s first competition choreography on the show, so she might have been straddling a very fine line. All of the real (forgive me) “punch” to the routine came from Lauren, in my opinion. She was whaling on Dominic. I was super impressed with them both. It was a great routine and Lauren’s got a solid fan base (and the good word of the judges), so I think she’ll be fine. [For those of you who know how bland hip-hop generally is to me, you might be surprised to see me say all this, but there you go.]

Jose – Everybody really seems to love Jose and he kinda won me over with this performance. He’s been one of the weaker dancers in my mind for a while, but I was really charmed and entertained my his Bollywood with Kathryn. They played up how he and Nakul were from such different worlds, but that’s kinda bullsh*t in my opinion. They seemed to understand each other pretty well, especially by the end. Bhangra, which is an Indian club dance style, has a lot in common with hip-hop. So, I think Jose held his own with Kathryn for the most part and particularly presented the character of the piece well. It was joyful, which is what made it so entertaining (much like Kent’s cha cha last week). His one greatest weakness this week was his arms while they were in the air. They didn’t seem to have the strength that they needed, but rather seemed to flap limply at times. But it seriously seems to be a stand-out routine (and it was for me, as well), so I think it is up there as one of the favorite routines. And he’s pretty popular, as far as I can tell.

Kent – This is the same situation as Jose (and Kent’s own performance last week). He drowns whatever weaknesses exist in exuberance and shear entertainment. He’s great. That being said, I think he did a great job with Courtney. I think he does a good job of taking on different characters of being dark and jazzy. And did you hear the audience cheer when they kissed at the end? And that doesn’t hurt, either, it was the last performance, so very memorable in several ways.

Middle Four

Ashley – I would like to put Ashley at the top because she’s quickly becoming one of my favorites. However, I think a lot of people are still on the fence about her, so I’m putting her here, at the top of the middle. I looooved her routine with Mark – I think she’s extremely lucky to have danced with two of the handsomest of the All-Stars already (and two of the strongest and most supportive). I was struck by her chemistry with Mark – apparently, that’s one of her strengths. So while I enjoyed her both last week and this week, I would love to see her dance something different. Maybe hip-hop with Twitch next? That would really keep her sexy partner trend going.

Robert – A lot of people seem to be on the fence about Robert, as well. I adore him. I think he’s wonderful. He had some crazy lifts in this routine with Anya – he got her so high up there and she’s not dramatically shorter than him (well, maybe that’s the heels). I disagreed with completely that Anya ate him up because I felt he met her as an equal in her own specialized style and there were times when he “dominated” as the male partner should in a tango. I think Anya had a point – that while she’s the expert between then, she needed a good partner in order to look as great as she did. If he hadn’t been strong, she would’ve been able to compensate for him, but it probably would have made her own performance suffer.

Alex – I loved this routine. I don’t think it had as much of the things that a lot of the audience look for (story, partnering, kick-ass music), but it did have music that was perfect for it, two phenomenal dancers and a friendly and sweet “anything you can do, I can do better”/battle feel to it. It reminded me of b-boy battles like Jose mentioned. They were doing tricks together, supporting each other and competing against each other – in the Broadway sense, which is a give and take. I thought Alex might be careful not to burn bridges back to the ballet world, but I love that he’s eager to learn whatever he can sink his teeth into and thrilled to be on the SYTYCD stage. And Lauren! Love that girl! 🙂

Billy – His krump could have been a lot worse. That’s kind of it for me. I don’t love the style, I don’t adore Comfort and I agree with Nigel that the music is overbearing and repetitive. BUT. It was actually pretty enjoyable. And Billy represented a lot better than I (or anyone, probably) thought he would. But seriously, with his fan base, Billy could drop his partner off the stage and probably be safe. Though, he’s got to have some amazing routines in the next few weeks because I think people are starting to get tired of his (already high level) plateau.

Bottom Three

Adechike – He got a lot of flak last week for dancing poorly with a strong partner, great choreography and a phenomenal partner in his style. Yet, he wasn’t in the bottom 3. I think he’ll be there retroactively for last week’s routine, especially since he still paled in comparison to his gorgeous All-Star in his own style. It says something that he’s been lucky enough to get his own style twice with two extremely popular and strong partners and he can’t match them. I think in another season, he would’ve been given time and room to grow. But, in this season, I think he’ll be in the bottom 3. And if he is, I think he may go because of his first two weak performances and the judges will probably want to “match up” the numbers of guys and girls since there’s been outcry against an all-boy, 1-girl season (like American Idol).

Melinda – I love Melinda, but I recognize I’m in the minority here. Apparently. Attractive girls (especially without formal training) have a hard road to travel on this show. The voting block loves gorgeous guys and sometimes supports them longer than their talent deserves, but at the slightest bit of wobble, a lot of the gorgeous girls go. I recognize that Melinda’s one of the least technically strong, in many respects, but we love the “journeys” of the b-boys, don’t we? Why can’t we get behind a gorgeous female tapper who’s trying to learn different styles and kick ass in them? And guess what? She was amazing last night. She had great lines, especially for a “hoofer,” as the judges pointed out. The worst thing about her performance was her costume, which she can’t control. So, I don’t get the Melinda hate, but she’ll probably be here in the Bottom 3. I hope she survives, because I’d especially love to see her dance with Neil. It’d be great to see her dance hip-hop with Twitch.

Cristina – One of our readers said “Cristina just doesn’t do it for me,” and I have to second that emotion. Whereas I don’t get the Melinda hate and feel protective of her cause I wanna see her keep dancing on the show, Cristina is my least favorite of the dancers. She’s the one that feels the most flat and one-note. Her paso with Pasha was alright, but that was mostly due to Pasha for me. Plus, I feel that paso more than any of the other dances uses dramatic lighting and theatrical music/costumes to disguise the sameness of the choreography (often) and the weakness of the dancers. Don’t believe me? There were hardly any close shots of Cristina and Pasha dancing and they were almost all focused in on Pasha’s faces and expression, not Cristina’s. Almost the entire routine was shot in mid to long shots that enabled us to see the large movement and gestures, but nothing refined performance-wise. The last pose was gorgeous of course, which was helped enormously by the lighting. If she’s in the bottom 3 again, there’s a very good chance she’ll be eliminated this week.

So, all that being said, I generally believe in my bottom 3. I think that either Adechike will go home or the judges will give him one last chance (to try a style outside his specialty) and send him home next if he’s in the bottom (again). In which case, Cristina is probably going to be eliminated tonight.

Some last thoughts before I go –

-I’m with a lot of our readers who say that Nigel’s comment to Tyce, “That was jazz, thank you very much, Tyce” was horrifically rude to Travis and he looked so hurt/pissed when they panned to him. I would be, too. Honestly, I loved his routine, so big whoop if it’s not technically jazz. Speaking of Travis, I loved that we could hear him hollering happily at the end of Ashley/Mark’s routine. Love him.

-I love Mia, but she needs to stop making weird noises rather than offering real, solid criticism. She can leave the noises for her personal, private discussions with the dancers, in my opinion. I think they do understand that language of hers, but I think it’d help them more if it was on a one-to-one level rather than while they’re on stage. Also, she is one of the worst for favoritism. She ragged on Melinda’s costume (which she can’t control), and then said to Kent, “Was that Bollywood? I don’t know, but I don’t care.” I get it – I have favorites, too. I’d probably be the same way. But she’s a permanent judge, not an audience member.

-Cat was in fine form tonight. I loved her comments about her massive head (with the hat) and how it’s ridiculous that Kent grew up in the 90s. But, I have to say…her comment about “Would you like to go deeper, Dominic,” disturbed me. As did his hand kind of petting her shoulder while Lauren was standing between them getting her criticism. Loved when she asked if sexy Kent was in there and Kent said, “yeaaaaah.” Lol. She has the best repartee with the contestants – that never changes.

-I’m really, really glad they decided to have the All-Stars stand on stage with the contestants through the criticism and are sorta letting them talk and offer support. It was too weird having them run off stage before we got to catch up with them a little. It’s one of my favorite parts of how the new format is developing, so I hope it continues.

Tell me what you think, as always!

June 24, 2010 I Written By

SYTYCD Season 7 Top 11 Power Rankings

My first Power Rankings of Season 7!! It’s very different this year, since we don’t have those “weeding out” episodes at the beginning of Top 20. We’re not losing one girl and one guy every results show this time around, but just one dancer. Which is great…but also hard to predict who’s gonna go. We already have such a small number of dancers and the Meet the Top 11 and first performance show have been pretty killer. It’s really hard to guess how this is going to play out.

That being said… I’m game to try. 🙂 Aren’t I always?

Top Four

Alex – hands down, Alex had the best night. His performance with Allison was stunning and got rave reviews from the judges. I’ve never seen Nigel react the way that he did. Not only that, but the audience loved it and he earned Deely’s first chills of the season. 🙂 Alex managed to be humble, proud and adorable (like when he was mouthing along with Cat’s phone number speel).

Kent – had a solid performance with some slight wobbles. It wasn’t as spectacular as some of the other performances, but it was cute. It had loads of personality and he did look genuinely thrilled ot be there, with Anya in his arms. If you add all the screen time he got and how amusing he was talking with the judges – and Cat’s extremely odd and cute faces – you get a wide security net, in my opinion.

Ashley – her performance is incredibly memorable to me because the chemistry between Ashley and Neil was through the roof. They both seemed genuinely affected for a while after the performance was over and so was I. While the judges were talking, I kept thinking, stop talking, you’re not talking about the right thing. I wanted Neil back on stage with Ashley. Plus, it was a great routine danced beautifully. I think this brought Ashley to a lot of people’s attention.

Robert – had great chemistry with Courtney. This was a routine so natural to them both that it was just kinda like, “here’s some great dancing, no big thang.” I hope it stands out as much as it deserves to. I think it will. And Robert’s personality really shone through, particularly in his [weird] interchange with Mia. So, he probably came to a lot of people’s attention as well.

Middle Four

Billy – is maybe letting the competition get in the way of his dancing. He danced well, don’t get me wrong. It was a cute routine with Lauren. But it had none of the weight of some of the other performances and it was the first routine and several people have told me they don’t think Billy is dancing to his capacity lately.

Alexie – had a cute, competent routine with Twitch. It wasn’t everything it couldn’t been, but it was entertaining and charming and well-danced. I think this is one of the routines that suffered from the new-partner-every-week format of the show. If Alexie and Twitch had been partners for two or three weeks before this, I think it would’ve rocked more.

Adechike – also suffered from the new-partner-each-week thing, in my opinion. It was shocking to me that Chike and Kathryn didn’t have much chemistry because everyone has chemistry with Kathryn. A mop would have chemistry with Kathryn. The chair had more chemistry with Kathryn than Chike did. But, it was well-danced. It just could’ve been more than it was, like Alexie and Twitch’s routine.

Jose – was lucky enough to disguise his lack of experience and training within this routine with Comfort. So while I think it was more poorly danced than say, Cristina’s routine, for example, I think that his charm, the generosity of his choreographer and partner and his potential “journey” will keep him safe.

Bottom Three

Lauren – wasn’t all that bad with Ade, because they’re both strong dancers and Ade is a phenomenal partner. But I don’t think she was feeling Ade or the choreography and it showed. She seemed uncommitted to both. Then, she was kinda a bit of a brat when talking to the judges. She said something along the lines, “I’ll figure out how to earn your approval.” Which seems…kinda…fake… I think it surprised all the judges, when she said that. Her expression was very flat and blank after that, like she was trying to keep herself from saying something worse. I think it turned a lot of people off of LoFro, but not enough to get her booted.

Melinda – was adorable and charming with Pasha. They had strong chemistry. However, she was clearly overwhelmed by the routine. While she did a good job masking her legs (as the judges commented on) with her personality, I think she was one of the more obviously weak dancers. Jose was lucky enough to have some breaking added to the choreography so he could show his strengths while she was left smiling and oozing charm for all she was worth and couldn’t really display any of her dance strengths. She may suffer some stress tonight in the bottom 3, but I hope she doesn’t leave because I love her and I can’t wait to see what she can do.

Cristina – her dancing was better than Melinda, Jose and probably Lauren’s last night. However, it was early in the show and it kinda looked like Mark was slinging her around for most of the routine. I don’t think she got a chance to shine and I don’t think she has the fan base of some of the other dancers, including the ones who’ll likely be in the Bottom 3. When you factor in that she was the only dancer who was critiqued during Meet the Top 11, I think she’s the one in the most danger.

Alright – how off base do you think I am? Do you think the All-Stars’ popularity will rub off on their particular partners? How do you think tonight’s results show is going to go down? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

June 17, 2010 I Written By

SYTYCD Top 6 Power Rankings

I just don’t know, y’all. Part of me thinks this is a slam dunk for Jakob (John already proclaimed him the SYTYCD season 6 winner back on the 8th). But part of me thinks Kathryn or Ellenore might still win it. Wishful thinking? Let’s see…

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December 15, 2009 I Written By

SYTYCD Top 8 Power Rankings

I predict an “easy” solution to a very hard choice for next week’s unprecedented Top 6. Maybe I’m all wrong – you’ll have to let me know what you think. But here are my predictions for tomorrow night’s results…

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December 8, 2009 I Written By

SYTYCD Top 10 Power Rankings

To me, it seems pretty clear who should go this week. Except…because it seems “easy” this week, I wonder if America will feel differently or be polarized. Vote to keep your favorites in! No more Kherringtons! I was thinking we’d probably have a male winner this year (we’ve been alternating the last few…) because the guys seemed way stronger at first, what with Jakob and Russell in particular. But these girls are amazing!

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December 1, 2009 I Written By