SYTYCD: Top 16
So. What do you think?
That hip hop was…bad. Ditto that Salsa. But the two couples are among the most popular. And some of the couples that have been at best so so did much better tonight. While I think it’s clear who will be in the bottom (or at least should be – this is the first night voting) it’s far from clear who will be leaving.
Some other thoughts.
1. The projected images behind the dancers sometimes works. It was great in the Frankie Goes to Hollywood routine. It is distracting in far too many other routines.
2. Performance goes a long way to obscuring bad dancing. Something dancers ought keep in mind.
3. Why isn’t everyone trying out for the show not spending weeks learning quick step? I mean it is the kiss of death so often you think you wouldn’t have to do that much better than everyone else to get praised. (As tonight shows)
4. I’m happy they’ve brought in so many new choreographers. It’s given a breath of fresh air to the show it desperately needed. Especially after last season.
5. They’ve given up on Abdul. Thankfully.
6. That was interesting hair on Deeley.
I’m really curious as to how tomorrow goes. Normally I can call these things but it’s hard tonight given who was so clearly dancing poorly. Hopefully local favorite Ryan stays. (How many top 10 dancers have been from happy valley over the years? A really disproportionate number given our population. And three on the show this year from Orem!)
Who’s the favorite right now? For some reason Ashleigh bugs me. I can’t put my finger on why. But I think she and her partner are the couple to beat. Channing is a pretty amazing dancer and I thought he danced so well she disappeared. (And she’s a great dancer herself) Ashleigh’s husband I like, although he shows off his chest a bit much. Reminds me of Dmitry from season 2. (Yeah, I wish I still had my six pack… So maybe I’m just jealous.)
Ryan’s abs don’t bother me as much as Dmitry’s still do. On Dmitry it was smarmy and…blech. Ryan, I’ll just enjoy his Hugh Jackman wannabe!
Ryan / his partner
Ashleigh / her partner
Legacy / his partner
Those are the ones I’m always excited to watch. Mollee / her partner. Ugh. I hate them. Really want them gone and when my boy, Shankman, said they were fan favorites I audibly groaned!
Comment by gabby — November 11, 2009 @ 7:44 am
I haven’t seen the whole show, but Russel and Legacy are still my faves.
Most of the females have been forgettable for me.
Comment by Susan M — November 11, 2009 @ 10:00 am
Actually Nathan is a pretty incredible dancer. Not quite Jakob good. But pretty great. His solos have been fantastic. I have to agree that last night wasn’t great for them though. I was kind of underwhelmed by their Bollywood last week too – although a lot of people liked it quite a bit.
How would Adam Shankman know they are fan favorites when there hasn’t been any voting yet? I’m skeptical. On the other hand the target demographic is clearly teenage girls. (Look at who they bring into the studio – that whole ground in front of the stage is filled with 14 – 18 year old girls!) They may prefer someone more like themselves.
As for who goes. I honestly don’t know. Usually it is obvious and before yesterday I’d have said Noelle would go. While I think her African Princess dancing was way overshadowed by her partner’s dancing she clearly stepped it up over prior weeks. If I had to pick a girl to go I’d say it will be Kathryn who disappointed in her performance of the Broadway routine. However it could also be Ryan’s partner Ellenore. Because that hip hop really, really was bad.
For guys I haven’t a clue. Honestly. I’d say Ryan was the worst of the evening but he’s been near the top the prior weeks plus he’s more charismatic. Plus would the judges drop him because of that hip hop? I don’t know. The modern dance, while danced well wasn’t exactly gripping the way it needed to be. So there’s a chance that if Victor is in the bottom that he gets dropped. Nathan is a good chance too although his solos are incredible.
We’ll see.
Comment by Clark — November 11, 2009 @ 10:45 am
Shankman continues to be the judge to beat. Nigel stepped it this week, often saying things that were interesting and intelligent. Murphy: your “train” means absolutely nothing anymore. Give it a rest.
Ryan’s hip-hop was bad, but Ellenore did okay. Not good, but okay. That said, the choreography was mediocre and the storyline was idiotic: why were they tossing and kicking money around while still fleeing the scene? But Lil’C tends to disappoint with choreography based on previous seasons.
I predict that Mollee and Nathan will not be in the bottom tonight. It was probably the worst performance of any in the entire series (except some try-out disasters), but I think fans are too loyal.
Jakob: last week I said he danced too effeminate for someone I was supposed to believe just got married; this week he could have been dancing in a gay strip club. He’s really going to look awkward in a hip-hop or Paso if he can’t portray the manliness that his characters require.
Mandy Moore: do you own any music newer than 1985?
Cat: you would have looked awesome…in 1985.
Kathryn and Legacy: he is really fun to watch. In past weeks, Kathryn has been one of the best, but this slipped past her. And what was the deal with those…shorts? hot pants? bloomers? Accentuated all the wrong parts of her body. Would’ve been great if she had been doing a rump shaker hip-hop though….
Karen: she could do much, much better with a better partner. Kevin just can’t keep up.
African Jazz: first time I can actually say I really enjoyed the African style dance on this show. Kudos to Russell, Noelle, and Cheesman.
Comment by BrianJ — November 11, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
Murphy has become a self-parody. She needs to actually make substantial comments other than her typical “your feet were a mess.”
I’ve thought about your comment from last week and I think it’d actually be nice if they had a segment teaching the audience about technique. Just pick a few moves each week to inform the public.
I’m still sticking with the whole, “how do we know how many fans Mollee has?” I’m not with the haters on her. (But, hey, she’s a local girl too – got to love the happy valley dancers)
To defend Jakob, I think he fit the dance Moore gave. (Which I actually enjoyed a lot) I do agree he has to get more in touch with his masculine side though. (I actually had assumed he was gay – I didn’t know he just got married.) I have to confess Jakob is one of my favorites though. It’ll be interesting to see how he deals with hip hop though.
Comment by Clark — November 11, 2009 @ 12:22 pm
Clark: I’m pretty sure Jakob is gay. My comment about him “just getting married” was in reference to his character last week: he and Ashleigh “got married” and then danced a waltz as bride and (effeminate) groom.
And he is one of my favorites too—a superb dancer. And Moore’s jazz routine was one of my favorites from the night, I just wish she’d find some new music.
I’m glad you like the teaching segment idea. I think the “instruction moment” could work on the results show. It’s already horribly full of fluff as it is, so it couldn’t hurt. Maybe even highlight something from one of the couples who is safe that week.
I agree that we don’t know how many fans Mollee has. I just assume.
Comment by BrianJ — November 11, 2009 @ 2:29 pm
Oh…. Doh!
Comment by Clark — November 11, 2009 @ 2:31 pm
The lighting was much improved from previous shows, thank heaven.
Adam Shankman really is the judge to beat – his comments are insightful, educational, honest, and interesting.
I, too, am enjoying the new choreographers. Nice to have fresh energy and ideas.
Kevin/Karen hustle: she’s great, strong. Kevin did ok. However, the hustle is danced with close footwork, especially the ball/change step. NOT wide open like you just got off a horse. Good performance, technique not so hot.
Peter/Pauline quickstep: entertaining, but not danced well technically. Kinda cloddy.
Legacy/Kathryn broadway: good stuff, both very strong. Legacy is surprising me.
Jakob/Ashleigh jazz: Mandy Moore is still one of the best/most consistent choreographers on the show, regardless of music choice. Both Jakob and Ashleigh were very strong and dynamic. One of my favorite dances of the night. I don’t get the constant comments on Jakob’s lack of masculinity – does that mean y’all want or expect the rounded/raised shoulders, sloppy feet, unfinished lines of guys like Peter? I prefer the finished lines and strength and finesse Jakob (and Victor) have. (However, Jakob does have his other moments, I admit.)
Victor/Channing contemporary: I have loved every dance Stacey Tookey has done so far, including last season. I think she’s amazing and inventive. Both Victor and Channing danced this one right on the money.
Ryan/Ellenore hiphop: Li’l C disappoints. I like these two dancers, but this was not a good night for them. Lousy choreography, lousy dancing.
Nathan/Mollee salsa: HUGE mess. Their rhythm was everywhere but together. Their footwork was non-existent. Turns and arm-work were really awkward. For me, the worst, most painful to watch dance of the evening. ugh.
Russell/Noelle afrojazz: I really liked this one. Russell is really a shining surprise this season. Noelle danced this well.
Who should go? My vote is Peter and Pauline.
Comment by Mel — November 11, 2009 @ 4:24 pm
While I don’t care for Li’l C’s choreography, to be fair he was stuck with the really limited characteristics of the performers. As bad as Ryan was dancing what he was given, I’m sure having to figure out what he could be given was even harder.
Regarding Jakob, he’s probably my favorite dancer after Ryan so I’m not criticizing him too much. And I personally thought his style really fit that routine. Sort of The Prisoner meets Clockwork Orange. However it’s not clear he can have that heavy stereotypical macho move. I hope he can because I’d like to see him in the final 4. (And clearly it has absolutely zero to do with his sexuality)
Comment by Clark — November 11, 2009 @ 7:32 pm
Raised and rounded shoulders don’t look anymore masculine to me than a broad, open chest, so no that’s not what I’m looking for. Jakob doesn’t seem to attack certain movements that he should, rather he glides or “finesses” his way into them. When he leads he doesn’t look like he’s leading, which is going to be very hard for me to describe….
Comment by BrianJ — November 11, 2009 @ 7:44 pm
He’ll struggle with ballroom although having a ballroom dancer as a partner will help tremendously. I believe she was teaching at Center Stage in Orem as well. So it’s an ideal situation for Jakob.
Others have struggled in that. So Jakob is hardly alone in this. I think, for instance, that Benji struggled here at times as well, although his other performance skills were so great they made up for those weaknesses. Although he wasn’t nearly as bad as Jakob. I’m trying to think of an other dancer who struggled in this regard and none are coming to mind off the show. Of course Jakob may get hip hop or the paso and surprise all of us. I’m sure hoping.
Comment by Clark — November 11, 2009 @ 8:10 pm
Benji was perfect in every way, Clark. Bite your tongue. He was perfect! PERFECT!
Comment by BrianJ — November 11, 2009 @ 9:46 pm
Hey, I liked Benji but I like Jakob too.
So I guess the “kiss of death” dance still is the kiss of death. I wasn’t remotely close in my guesses. I thought both of them would be safe.
But I was really surprised by Ryan’s solo. Dang. It wasn’t bad, until the flip. But it wasn’t nearly as good as it needed to be. What was sad was that, other than the flip screwup, it was the best solo of the evening!
And was Nigel pissed off all evening or what?
Comment by Clark — November 12, 2009 @ 12:45 am
Weren’t you totally freaking out when they did the Dance Education Moment with Dominique after we were just discussing that idea? Looks like Nigel Lythgoe might be a Kulturblog lurker….
And speaking of Dominique, what is the b-boy word for “sell-out”? Oh yes, it’s “sell-out.” As soon as I saw his hair I thought of another certified spokesman of cool. Maybe SYTYCD can still get this segment to work.
Nigel seems terribly annoyed by the monster he created: a show about dance that is really more about popularity. You sleep in the bed you make, Nigel. Still, I’m glad he ripped Nathan (and Mollee) like that; they and the show will be better for it.
Ryan (pre-flip) and Peter’s solos were both good. Karen’s was okay. Kevin’s was terrible, mostly because he used only a 5-ft line of the floor—forward, back, now forward again, okay now go back. If I didn’t know otherwise, I’d have said that Pauline’s dance style was “exotic dancer” and Ellenore’s was “pantomime.”
Comment by BrianJ — November 12, 2009 @ 10:29 am