SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE: Top 9 Performances

Sadly I’m not sitting in the Woo watching with the my SYTYCD crew. There will be no fits of late night laughter, parked one the side of the road. And if you have no idea what any of this means, then clearly you haven’t been listening to our SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE podcasts. To that I say shame on you…shame.

This week it’s just me – no Ducky –  and for the first time in a long time, I’m going to take to the good old blog and share my thoughts on each of tonight’s performances.

If you’re new to my SYTYCD recaps, I watch, I pause, I write and then I go see what the judges have to say. But really, why listen to the judges when you have someone right here who has absolutely no experience with dancing? I mean…

So let’s get to it.

Tonight’s theme is “Inspiration”. Now if this was an episode of GLEE we’d hear the word inspiration at least 45 times. Hopefully, despite this over indulgent opening, we won’t be beat over the head with the theme. How about you let me be inspired by the shirtless men about to take the stage.

Here are the guys and here are the girls (…at least for now)
Sorry but I have to comment on tonight’s introduction of the Top 9. How odd to only have three girls left this early in the season. It was noticeably uneven.

Also uneven were the applause for the men vs. the women. I suppose that’s to be expected given that the SYTYCD live audience is jam packed with squeeing teens, but still. Go back and listen to the explosion of applause for my little Kent and compare that too that smattering of golf claps for Melinda. I think the pressure is on the boys tonight. The judges are going to be looking to out a guy to keep the ladies in the competition.

AdeChicke & Lauren
Hip Hop by Dave Scott
If the judges were looking for a little bit more personality from AdeChicke this week, then he certainly delivered.  Although I was bit nervous for Ade at the beginning, it wasn’t long before he was strutting across the stage with all the confidence of a real hip hop dancer.  I’ve always been a fan of Dave Scott’s smooth hip hop and he designed a routine tonight that blended some tough hits with some fluid transitions. Despite Lauren’s shirt busting open, I think all eyes were on Ade, not only for his fantastic dancing but the character he brought alive tonight.

The Judges: Nigel went on and on with praise. Mia gave it a big YAY. Shankman shrieked and was on his feet. All around great news for AdeChicke tonight.

Ashley & Ade
Contemporary by Dee Caspary
Interesting. The judges made such a big deal last week about Ashley only dancing in her own style to date, that I thought for sure she would not be dancing Contemporary this week.  In fact, I thought the producers would have intervened if she in fact did choose that genre.  But I guess not, because she’s back at it this week.

And thank God she is!  Damn that was a powerful performance.  Welcome to the SYTYCD family Dee Caspary. If that’s what you’ve got packed in your luggage, then feel free to settle in and stay awhile.  The choreography had so many levels and it was so explosive, but it was the energy, technique and passion of Ashley and Ade that made it come alive.  That was superb! Um, did you see that Mission: Impossible move where Ash was headed towards the floor but Ade suspended her seemingly in mid-air?  Crazy!

The Judges: Nigel thought it was Ashely’s finest performance and said she was a different dancer than she had been the previous two weeks. Mia called the performance extraordinary. She said that Ashley was her favorite and cut a above the female dancers. The Shankman was a little choked up and said that it was one of the best Contemporary female performances he’s seen across all the seasons.  Well, that’s some great praise for Ash this week.

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