wade robson

(S03E10) So You Think You Can Dance, come for the dancing, stay for the drama... One of the things I really like about the show is that they stay pretty heavily focused on the competition. Sure, we get the sometimes useless backstage bits, but they have to fill out the two hours of their summer hit somehow. For the most part though, they do steer clear of the theatrics and keep the actual dancing in the spotlight. That broke down a little tonight, though maybe not as much as it could have. More on that later.

First, look over there, it's dance legend (we can call her a legend, right?) Debbie Allen sitting in as guest judge. I had heard that she was going to be making an appearance and have been looking forward to it. She didn't disappoint either. Throughout the show she was a lot of fun. Nigel and Mary were, of course, along for the ride. So, with the introduction out of the way, on to the performances... and the drama.

(S03E09) This week started out much like the last results show with a big production number featuring the remaining dancers. Shane Sparks choreographed the performance to Wade Robson's music. It was very fun with some break dancing and some big stunts thrown in for good measure. I think my favorite part of the opening though was that Sabra was highlighted in the big finish. If she won't step up and grasp the spotlight, might as well thrust her into it.

And right about there is where the results show stopped making sense to me. Between the results of the vote, and the way the producers grouped the couples as the results were revealed, I was caught off guard right away and didn't really catch up until the very end.

(S03E06) Finally, the waiting is over. There are no more interruptions by bad dancers or mothers that want to yell at Nigel. Now we get to the real competition. And the really interesting part of that competition comes as we get to see what happens when the luck of the draw forces dancers out of their comfort zone. Being able to spin on your head is great, but not much use if you have to waltz. Much like the years of classical ballet don't mean quite as much when you land the hip-hop number. It's what makes the show so fun.

Dan Karatay joined Nigel and Mary at the judges table this week. They had a lot to get to as the final twenty paired off to do ten different numbers. There were some surprising moments, some great performances, and a couple that could have been better. More on each of the couples after the jump.

(S03E02) I'm really not sure what the programmers over at Fox are doing. 90 minutes last Thursday, two hours last night, and an hour coming up tonight seems rather random. That's just one of the fun bits of the summer television season I suppose. As strange as the scheduling is, Nigel and Mary were back with a couple of their judging pals to see a ton of contestants in Los Angeles and Chicago.

After a premiere that was too heavy on the lesser contestants, this second episode had a much better selection. There were some great dancers and some really interesting stories. Of course, we also had a selection of auditions from people that obviously were not going to be moving on. This group was much better than the one we saw last week though. After the jump, a look at some of the highlights.