by Lindsay Strouse

 

It’s finally our turn, America! The Top 16 dancers performed tonight on So You Think You Can Dance for our votes and to return next week. I already have a couple favorites picked out, so I’m more than eager to put my say into the show. The only thing hurting the dancers before the show even starts is some of their ridiculously awful choice of costumes—fire red cha cha fringe pants, Ashleigh? Really?

 

Anyway, the audience was joined by the season 5 dancers who had just enough time on break from their tour to see their successors on stage. However, they might have chosen the wrong night to come, because the judges just weren’t feeling too many of the dances.

 

Here’s how the dances went for the night:

 

Dancers: Kevin Hunte and Karen Hauer
Style: Hustle
Choreographer: Maria Torres
Song: “Come to Me” by France Joli
Once on the Hot Tamale Train, always on the Hot Tamale Train! These two just can’t put on a bad performance. Although I think some of the moves could have been tighter, as is the case with most dancers in the hustle, they put on a fabulous performance and milked it for all that it was worth. Kevin had been hiding in Karen’s shadow for the past couple weeks because of her undeniable beauty and amazing technique, but tonight he popped out on stage as a new man. Both dancers got rave reviews from the judges, except for one part. The lifts. Granted, they are probably EXTREMELY difficult and dangerous to  carry out, but Kevin seemed nervous picking Karen up, which made me scared for the both of them.

 

Dancers: Ashleigh Di Lello and Jakob Karr
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Mandy Moore
Song: “Relax” by Frankie goes to Hollywood
I. Loved. This. Dance. Nigel Lythgoe compared it to Mandy Moore’s “table dance” performed by Neil and Sabra in season three, a definite season favorite. The dance turned into a trio between Ashleigh, Jakob and their cane. It never left their side for a minute, which made the dance that much cooler to watch. Both completely committed to their characters to put on a stunning performance with compelling chemistry. One judge noticed a malfunction at one point with the cane, but I would have never noticed. Between Jakob’s unparalleled strength and flexibility and Ashleigh’s continuous improvement, I really think these two are going to make it to the end.
 
Dancers: Peter Sabasino and Pauline Mata
Style: Quickstep (otherwise known as the ‘kiss of death’)
Choreographer: JT and Thomas
Song: “Hey Baby (Shake Those Hips”) by Big Kuhuna and the Copa Cat Pack
So here’s my opinion on the quickstep. It’s called the “kiss of death” on the show for a reason. So, if you can’t work it technically, the performance better be through the roof. Thank you, Peter and Pauline for making this dance one of the most entertaining of the night, despite your technical missteps. The story was of a Navy man becoming completely entranced with a Hawaiin Hula dancer. Were their steps perfect? Absolutely not. Did I care? Not in the slightest. The amount of effort and joy they put into their characters brought the piece together perfectly.

 

Dancers: Kathryn McCormick and Legacy Perez
Style: Broadway
Choreographer: Andy Blankenbuehler
Song: “I Wanna Be Like You” by Swingin’ Fireballs
This dance didn’t suit me too well tonight. Broadway dances on So You Think You Can Dance never get good reviews unless the energy is through the roof, which is the one thing Kathryn failed to do. She was adorable and technically correct, but I found myself getting bored. The chemistry wasn’t there until the end of the number when the couple shared a kiss (is it just me or is there a lot of romancing going on in these dances this season?). Despite all this, Legacy managed to get great reviews from the judges because of the amount of growth shown since entering the competition. He was called an “inspiration to choreographers” because of his ability to adapt and incorporate his own style.

 

Dancers: Channing Cooke and Victor Smalley
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Stacey Tookey
Song: “Be Be Your Love” by Rachael Yamagata
These two are contemporary dancers performing a contemporary dance. I’m ready to be amazed…but I wasn’t. Although it was an absolutely beautiful routine and they were able to hit every mark, it didn’t do anything for me emotionally. Yes, they are new partners and are working at creating chemistry; however, they weren’t able to translate this chemistry into a character onstage who can’t stand his partner, which is what the piece was centered around. One great thing about this new pairing is that they bring out new qualities in each other that the viewers haven’t seen before. Channing has a new sensitivity and softness in her movements with the ability to know to when the mood is supposed to rise or fall. All in all, I love the dance…I just expected a little bit more.

 

Dancers: Ellenore Scott and Ryan Di Lello
Style: Hip Hop
Choreographer: Lil' C
Song: “Lost Boiz Anthem” by The J-Squad
…Yikes. Here we have the pair known as the “nice couple” about to go into choreography with hard-hitting Lil C. From the start, Lil C said the piece need timing, swagger and synergy in order to work. Yeah, about that. Within the first few seconds of the routine I was shouting at my television telling Ryan to bend his knees and just get low to the ground. But I can’t pin this all on Ryan. Both dancers needed to hit it a lot harder and allowed the choreography to control them. The dance wasn’t synchronized in certain spots, it lacked energy…it just wasn’t that good. It’s true that both dancers are growing trememdously throughout the show, but tonight it wasn’t enough.

 

Dancers: Mollee Gray and Nathan Trasoras
Style: Salsa
Choreographer: Gustavo Vargas
Song: “Quimbara” by Celia Cruz 
Tonight was Mollee’s big change to change her image of a cute little teenager into a sexy woman. Unfortunately, her mission failed. They started off coming down the stage on different feet, and it all went downhill from there.  Mollee and Nathan both seemed uncomfortable throughout the entire dance, allowing the movements to expose all their weaknesses. I could see the struggle in Nathan’s physicality as he tried to perform the ending lift, just making it work at the end. According to Mary Murphy, the dance was “French fried” instead of “sexified”—whatever that means. Hopefully their fans and performances from previous weeks will make up for tonight.

Dancers: Noelle Marsh and Russell Ferguson
Style: Afro-Jazz
Choreographer: Sean Chessman
Song: “Frog Dance” by Mickey Hart
I have been waiting since season one for So You Think You Can Dance to put on an Afro-Jazz routine! And I think everyone sees why now. I’m so happy Noelle and Russell performed last because they most definitely closed the show with a bang. Russell’s raw style worked incredibly well in the number, creating the wild and free atmosphere demanded by Afro-Jazz. Both Noelle and Russeell were able to pull on each other’s strengths and weaknesses to create one amazing dance. They put in 100% commitment and let the African Spirit take over their bodies. And boy did it pay off. What’s that I hear? It’s the Hot Tamale Train coming to pick up Russell! I may have yelped out in joy when I heard that.

 

At the conclusion of the night, host Cat Deeley asked the judges who they thought were in the most danger. All three agreed that Ryan and Ellenore and Nathan and Mollee shouldn’t be too confident after tonight’s performance.

 

Tune in tomorrow night, November 11 at 8 PM ET for the live result show of So You Think You Can Dance!

 

(Image courtesy of FOX)

 

 

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