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So You Think You Can Dance: Top 18 Perform
by Jason Hughes, posted Jun 19th 2008 1:06AM
(S04E08) Two down and seventeen more to go until we find "America's Favorite Dancer" for the summer of 2008. Have you found your favorite yet? I'm narrowing it down, but it's a bit early yet to be picking favorites and there are still a ton of dancers left, as the lo-o-o-ong intro sequence showed us. Nigel and Mary were joined this week on the judge's panel by contemporary madwoman Mia Michaels (of the inspired "Tim Burton wedding" piece last week). And her hair was shockingly bleached very blonde.
I think I prefer Michaels choreographing than judging. She focuses almost too much on her own interpretations of the emotions in the pieces rather than what the dancers had to bring. I think she's insane and brilliant in choreography, but maybe a bit too "out there" for really constructive criticism.
THE PERFORMANCES
- Thayne & Chelsea T (Jazz w/ Mandy Moore - "Untouched," The Veronicas) Chelsea has an incredibly toned body and her legs were on fire tonight. The choreography seemed to spotlight this. And while they danced it well, I wasn't blown away by the routine as I thought it lacked a lot in the challenge department and got a little boring.
- Mark & Chelsie H (Argentine Tango w/ Alex Da Silva - "Mi Confesión," Gotan Project) I was very impressed with the footwork throughout this routine by both partners. There was an intensity and command in the way they hit their marks, and the lead partnering by Mark was excellent. A few mistakes, but very good overall.
- Will & Jessica (Hip-Hop w/ Cecily & Olisa - "Whatever U Like," Nicole Scherzinger) The kids learned the choreography but I just didn't buy into the attitude of their collective performance. It was too "professional" and not enough street for me. And I didn't think Will was nearly as all that as the judges did.
- Matt & Kourtni L (Foxtrot w/ Jean-Marc Genereaux - "A Foggy Day (In London Town)," Michael Bublé) Well, they weren't remotely dancing together well enough, with Kourtni taking short movements and choppy arm holds while Matt was all extensions and long motions. They did the drop back to push back up move well, but overall Kourtni let the pairing down this time.
- Gev & Courtney G (Contemporary w/ Mandy Moore - "Lost," Anouk) I'll admit that I like contemporary dances, and especially well-choreographed and performed ones. This was a very powerful and beautiful number with lots of lifts and throws and the pair really came through with emotion, connection and performance.
- Joshua & Katee (Broadway w/ Tice DiOrio - "All for the Best," Godspell) What a big, fun routine that was from beginning to end. The energy was manic and through the wall and for the second week in a row, I think Katee & Joshua really nailed this performance. It just exuded fun, fun, fun!
- Marquis & Susie (Salsa w/ Alex Da Silva - "Agualine," Willie Colón & Hectgor Lavoe) I can see where Alex was coming from as I was expecting a lot more command of the salsa from Susie than she seemed capable of giving. Marquis, unfortunately, wasn't much better and the whole routine was just very amateurish in it's execution.
- Twitch & Kherington (Viennese Waltz w/ Jean-Marc Genereaux - "A New Day Has Come," Celine Dion) The pair looked stunning in white. Kherington was so liquid in her movements she was absolutely stunning gliding across the floor. And I was very impressed with Twitch, who was so clearly out of his element. He wasn't perfect but was where she needed him and strong for her. This is one of the couples, like Joshua & Katee that genuinely excites me.
- Chris & Comfort (Krump w/ Lil'C - "Come and Get Me," Timbaland f/ 50 Cent & Tony Yayo) Lil'C slowed this down a lot, and I think he did it for Chris. What happened, though, was that it hurt both dancers and the enjoyment of the entire number. Comfort hit her moves as you would expect, and Chris went through the motions but didn't so much as hit his movements as he gently slapped them. Overall, I felt it was a disappointment.
BEST OF THE NIGHT
Twitch & Kherington and Joshua & Katee had a run at this, but overall I'm going to have to give the night to Mark & Chelsie H. with their hot Argentine Tango. It was a challenging number with a lot of difficult footwork, and both of them really came through in every way you could possibly want them.
WORST OF THE NIGHT
Marquis & Susie really disappointed me tonight. Marquis gave about as good as can be expected for a dancer out of his element, but for Susie to look as sloppy and stilted in her movements was just stunning. I really hoped Susie could find herself, but if this is what she brings to her preferred style, I'm really worried for her. Da Silva is an amazing choreographer of Latin dance, and this should have been one of the highlights of the night.
OUTFIT OF THE NIGHT
I'm going to give this one this week to both Twitch & Kherington who were just gorgeous in white. The outfits perfectly accented the beauty in their lines and partnering. In fact, I think Kherington's dress actually made them look better, it draped and moved so beautifully across her frame. Honorable mention goes to Chelsea T for the absolutely horrible outfit somebody stuffed her into. Other than accenting how great her legs look, it did absolutely nothing for her.
LINE OF THE NIGHT, or some guys are getting distracted
Well, the dancers were supposed to say the best and worst qualities of their partner and while most went with characteristics, Matt took a different approach. "My favorite feature about Kourtni," he said, "is probably her eyes. She has like the best eyes. Sometimes I get lost in them." She likes that he compliments her. Awkward!
Then Gev came out and said the best thing about his Courtney was that she was pretty and the worst was that she's not available. And then they danced an intimate routine which had to just make his day.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
- The ruffles around the bottom of Cat's dress didn't work. It looked like a little girl's flower girl dress, and with three and a half foot long legs, breaking them up like that just looked goofy.
- Last week we had pants dropping and this week we had Jessica pushing on her breasts. The show's taking a weird stance on expression this year.
- Last week Jessica & Will performed with one chair and this week it was with two. Three next week, then?
- Gev spent way too much time lamenting the dance belt (LOL). Do the other dancers who are new to this accessory have such issues?
- Cat probably actually could put the diminutive pair Courtney G & Gev into her pocket; she looked positively enormous next to them.
- Kherington is right. Twitch's empty frame glasses are ridiculous. And not in the good way that he himself is.
| Thayne & Chelsea | |
|---|---|
| Mark & Chelsie | |
| Will & Jessica | |
| Matt & Kourtni | |
| Gev & Courtney | |
| Joshua & Katee | |
| Marquis & Susie | |
| Twitch & Kherington | |
| Chris & Comfort |
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