SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Recap: Top 10 Perform
July 26, 2007 by Kath Skerry
I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get in a SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE recap before I left, but my flight is delayed a bit this morning so I thought talking a little dance was a good way to pass the time.
For the contestants making in to the Top 10, it’s a whole new ballgame (or ballroom, perhaps). Each week they will be given a new partner to dance with, and they are no longer competing as a couple, but rather on their individual dance performances. And their fate is now in America’s hands. The guy and girl with the least amount of votes each week will be sent home. Remember, SYTYCD is a search for America’s “favorite” dancer, not the “best” dancer, so the connection you’ve made and will make with the audience is key (I’m talking to you Tidwell).
Another change to the format tonight, is that each contestant will be performing a solo choreographed by Wade Robson. To make it an even playing field, the contestants will all be performing the same solo. More on this in a bit.
Before we get into each couple, a big holla to judge Mia Michaels. Woman you are fierce and in another life, I’d like to be you…only with a better haircut.
The newly formed pairing of Pasha Kovalev and Lauren Gottlieb kicked things off tonight with a hip hop routine by Shane Sparks. This was some crazy-good choreography. The beginning and the end were especially fantastic. Nigel likened it to the transformers, and that’s just what it felt like. Shane was worried about how ballroom dancer Pasha would handle the dance, but in the end his worries were unfounded. Pasha was really fantastic and proved what a great all around dancer he is. Lauren really stepped it up tonight. I’m still not loving her personality, but I can’t deny that she danced the hell out of the number. The judges all about loved it. (Check out their performance in the video below)
Sabra Johnson and Kameron Bink took on a contemporary piece by Tyce D’Orio. As I’ve said before, I really don’t know anything about dance or dance technique, but for some reason I feel like I know a wonderfully performed contemporary piece when I see one. I guess it’s because I got to see Travis Wall perform them so well last year, that I feel like I really know what I’m looking for. And unfortunately for Kameron, what I was looking for last night he didn’t have. While Sabra glided around the stage with grace and power, Kameron danced the steps but put nothing extra into it. Last week Wade said that Kameron was dancing heavy – well I really saw that tonight. His performance once again proved that he has been hiding behind Lacey all these weeks. And Sabra, she’s just a joy to watch. Her personality, her dancing – she’s got it all. The judges all praised her (especially Mia whose genre this is). They all came down pretty harsh on Kameron. Mia went as far to say that his dancing was “immature” and that he’s been “exposed.” Ouch.
Lacey Schiwmmer and Danny Tidwell were paired up this week for a Samba routine choreographed by S2 finalist, Dmytri. And before you ask, no, Dmytri did not take his shirt off (I know, I was bummed as well). But the lack of pecs was made up for by a glimpse of Cousin Heidi, who was assisting him tonight. Again, no screen time love for Cousin Heidi. Someone, please acknowledge her before she pirouettes off a tall building. Ok, so the dance. Well, here are the notes I took during the performance: “Hot!”, “Sexy”, “Holy Sh$%”…so yeah I liked it. Kudos to Dimitri for some really fresh and hot hot hot choreography. I thought his interpretation of the music was just perfect, and Lacey and Danny did a fantastic job with it. Danny is so easy on the eyes, and Lacey is just a sexy, sexy woman. Still shocked she is a Schwimmer and is able to keep her inner geek in check. So I was floored but the judges weren’t. Danny got critiqued all around for his lack of technique, but praised for his performance. The judges all loved Lacey, but how could they not with that performance?!
Jaimie Goodwin and Dominic Sandoval were randomly chosen as partners this week and took on a Viennese Waltz by Toni Reopath. Yeah, let’s get to it. This was by far my least favorite routine last night, and you know that’s tough for me to say since I love Dominic so much. But he wasn’t good tonight. Overall I was disappointed in the dance – it was a Viennese Waltz with a Spanish flavor. As Nigel pointed out, it felt much more like a Paso Doble. My boy Dom over performed the piece in what I think was in an effort to hide his nerves. Jaimie’s dancing was just fine, but her costume was so distracting that I had a hard time really seeing her movements. The judges slammed Dom across the board (but in a nice way since they all love him). And how sweet was it that Dominic kept apologizing to Jaimie for letting her down tonight? Aw, I love that boy.
The last couple of the night were Sara von Gillern and Neil Haskell. I was really bummed to hear they were given a Disco routine by Dorianna Sanchez. I’m not a huge fan of the Disco as I feel the routines are usually cheesy and just don’t hold up with other genres. Well, Neil and Sara proved me wrong last night. Their routine was fun! fun! fun!…and oh they danced the hell out of it too. Neil had some amazing acrobatic moves that really started the number off right, and Sara continued to showcase her versatility. I think it’s time someone tells Sara to stop promoting herself as a B-Girl…I think that might be her weakest genre now. Praises all around from the judges. (Check out their performance below.)
Solo Performances
As I mentioned before, tonight each dancer performed a solo routine by Wade Robson. And before I move on, I want to make sure you are sitting down? Are you sitting? Ok, so here it goes….I didn’t love the choreography! I know, I know, it kills me to say that because I think Wade Robson is a gift from the Gods, but tonight’s “peace inspired” dance didn’t do it for me. I didn’t mind seeing each dancer perform the same number, but listening to John Mayer’s “Waiting for the World to Change” over and over and over again was killing me. I guess the silver lining for me is that I saw the dance so much that now I know the choreography, so when that song is playing I have a little routine I can perform and impress my friends with. Yeah, I’ve got mad skillz and my moves are from Wade Robson…beat that (shhh, Whit and Jess, don’t give away my secret because I’m so pulling out this routine at Lauren & Glen’s wedding just to impress Kendall).
So rather than critique every solo performance, let’s hit on the good and the not so good.
I thought Sara, Lauren and Sabra had the strongest solos for the girls tonight while Neil and Danny really caught my attention for the boys. I think the ladies overall did a much better job at conveying the emotion Wade was going for. But Neil and Danny put a little more of themselves into the routine which was a nice change after seeing the same routine 10 times over the course of an evening. The judges doled out the highest praise to Sabra Lauren, and Lacey tonight. Mia declared that Sabra is her favorite dancer in the competition…YES!!
Not impressing me with their solos tonight were Dominic (oh but I still love you) and Kameron. It wasn’t that either were bad, but I just didn’t feel the love for them on the stage. The judges surprisingly loved Kameron’s performance and praised him all around – which brought tears to his eyes.
So that’s that. Who will be going home tonight and who will live to dance another day? I’m thinking for the guys it is pretty obvious that Kameron needs to go. I think overall he had a better night than Dominic, but throughout the course of the competition, I think Dominic has been a strong dancer. For the ladies, I think it’s going to come down to Jaimie and Lauren. I thought Jaimie was great last night, but she was probably the weakest of all the girls. Lauren had a really, really, strong night, but I’m not sure she has connected with the audience enough over time to get the votes she needs.
What was your take on the show? Who had the strongest performances and who should be going home?
For more on last night’s show, please visit BloggingSYTYCD.
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Filed under Neil Haskell, So You Think You Can Dance
What an interesting night! For the first time, I was watching thinking “Wow! Everyone is strong tonight!”…..then we got to Dom and Jaime. (I love Dom too so I was really bummed)
One thing that bothers me about this season is that the judges are not as critical as they were in past seasons- let me explain. A great example of this is Pasha and the hip hop routine. While Pasha was entertaining and performed fairly well, he in no way looked like a hip hop dancer. If you go back to Season 1 when Craig and Melody performed a hip hop routine, the judges ripped him to shreds saying he didn’t capture the feel of hip hop and looked like a contemporary dancer. The same was true last night with Pasha, yet he was praised just because he got through it. It is very hard for me to critique Pasha because I think he is a fabulous partner but when it boils down to it, he looked out of his element. The same thing holds true for Sara. I understand she is a b-girl but when she is out of her element- she looks it! She is very heavy on her feet and a poor technician. The judges over look this because she’s “always out of her element.” I just really wish they would hold this season to the same standard as the previous ones.
Finally- Sabra, you are a rock star! The emotion you evoked during your solo was one of the most moving moments of the season and you deserve every ounce of praise that you receive!
I think given the last few weeks (especially last night), Lauren finally deserves to stay. If I had to pick, I’d say Kam and Jaimie are going home tonight.
Lauren/Pasha were my favorites of the night and Neil/Sara and Lacey/Danny tied for second.
Liked Lauren, Sara and Danny’s solo the most.
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It was hardfor me to see Sabra & Kameron’s piece get ripped. I loved it so much it made me cry!
I loved my BF’s Pasha’s routine. I was nervous for him doing hip-hop but he really pulled it off. I thought his solo was okay, but like you GMMR, I got bored watching the same routine to the same song over and over again.
The other stand outs for me were Sara and Neil and Lacey and Danny. I think Sabra is a wonderful dancer, but I really feel Kam brought her down. The two I think should go home are Kam and Jamie. The two that I think will go home are Dom and Jamie.
It’s hard for me to pick who is better between Dominic and Kameron – I think they’re the same because they each do many styles well, but possibly not well enough? I also liked Kameron & Sabra’s dance. Yeah, they didn’t have perfect chemistry BUT it was “pretty” performance – the costumes were light and airy, it just looked beautiful. I enjoyed it.
I recognize Lauren is a great dancer, but something about her really turns me off. I’m annoyed by her 🙁 I’m also becoming annoyed by Lacey, who is also a great dancer. It’s Sabra all the way for me! I *do* like Sara though, and I’d LOVE to see Sara & Dominic do hip hop together.
I think it’s sad that we never get to see pairings+ genres that make sense – i.e. Sara & Dominic could rip up hip hop, Pasha & Lacey could do great ballroom stuff, etc. I can’t even imagine the height differential between Sabra and Danny 🙂
I thought Wade was brave to do an anti-war related dance – good on you Wade! But, I too wasn’t super impressed by it. Maybe he wanted to make it simple enough so that each dancer could make something of it? The whole screaming thing became distracting after 3 dancers.
I love Mia Michaels 🙂
I didn’t like the new format for the top 10. I much prefered last years, where we got 2 couple routines and a solo from each dancer.
This time around, the last 10-15 minutes were just Nigel and the gang talking, and I almost forgot the Awsome disco dancing…
I hope they don’t stick to this, and that it was a one time thing.
BTW – my picks to go are Danny and Jamie. But if it were up to me, I would’ve maybe kicked Pasha out sooner, since he was terrible last night.
Apart from that the girls are way better than the guys this year. I think it’s Lacey to win, if not – Sabra.
I wasn’t bored with the same routine over and over again, but the song did get annoying. And I didn’t like that by the time the judges were done critiquing, I forgot everyone’s numbers.