SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Top 10 Performances
July 15, 2009 by Kath Skerry
I’ve got two words for you SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE fans – “Top Ten!” Want another two words? How about “Oh Yeah!” Super excited about tonight’s top ten performances. I’d be excited regardless but tonight’s episode is extra exciting because one of my very favorite ex-SYTYCDancers, Travis Wall, is choreographing tonight. Yay BF Travis!
Before we get to the show I wanted to let everyone know that there won’t be a SYTYCD podcast this week. (Wah Wah). But Ducky & I will be watching SYTYCD together next Wednesday and the special 100th episode next Thursday, so maybe, just maybe we’ll hit you up with two podcasts next week. Let us know if you’d be interested in both.
And let the show begin…
One by one, Cat introduces her babies, and I must say that after last week’s impressive solo, Ade has a more vocal fanbase this week. Well deserved. Also well deserved – Cat Deeley on every single ‘Best Dressed” list out there. Mama is slammin’ again this week.
For those of you new to this post, I share my thoughts of each dance live as I watch. I then listen to what the judges have to say. Hopefully the judges will get real this week. No more rainbows and ponies. It’s the top 10, which means it’s time to give honest assessments of our dancers. And no one is more real than the fabulous and fierce Debbie Allen, who just happens to be judging tonight along with Mary and Nigel. The judges have their say tonight, but from here on out it’s up to America. Your vote will determine who will go home. Please vote right. I beg of you.
Tonight we’ll see new couples perform. Each dancer will perform a solo. And each dancer will have their own number for which you to vote.
The Bollywood Bombshells
The top 5 ladies are kicking things off tonight with a Bollywood number! I love me some Bollywood. And the ladies looked stunning tonight. What a way to start off the show. I’m exhausted! Excuse me while I go get some water and catch my breath.
The judges loved the routine. No one stood out – for good or bad – which is a good thing in a group number.
Kayla & Evan | Viennese Waltz by Tony Meredith & Melanie Lapatin
The tallest girl and the shortest guy. Now this should be interesting. Before I get to the dance itself, two quick things. One – sometimes the pre-video can be so focused on something that it influences what I’m watching. Yes, I would have noticed the height difference tonight, but I don’t know that I would have been so distracted by it if the pre-vid wasn’t so focused on it. And two, did anyone else think that Evan looked exactly like Roger Bart (the guy that played George on Desperate Housewives)? Weird.
As for the dance, I thought Kayla was especially breathtaking tonight. That girl’s legs go on forever. Her lines are just gorgeous. I thought Evan was noticeable stiffer than Kayla and he didn’t have the follow through that she did, but he did very well with the lifts. Overall I thought it was a lot better than I expected, but that’s not saying much.
The Judges: Nigel said it could have been a disaster and it wasn’t. Mary really tore into Evan with regards to his legs but praised him for his strength. She had nothing but praise for Kayla. Debbie said that Evan “handled his big woman” – LOVE her! Debbie enjoyed the dance and showed some love for the pair.
Brandon’s Solo: I love Brandon and I don’t think his power or talent can be questioned, but I didn’t love this solo as much as I hoped I would. He was kind of all over tha place jerking around the stage. A bit too bizarre from me. Maybe he should have lost the shirt.
Janette & Ade | Hip Hop by NappyTabs
Is it worth it, let me work it. I put my thing down, flip it and reverse it. Yes, this time around we’re going to pair the shortest girl and the tallest guy. Funny how things work out…or don’t. I didn’t need to be influenced by the pre-vid to know that Jeanette struggled big time with hip hop. She was way too smooth when she should have been hitting it. I liked the choreography but Jeanette’s fluidity made the dance painfully slow. Ade did just what he needed to do. I’m bummed that this pairing didn’t result in something a bit more magical.
The Judges: Nigel thought they both did great. Then again he has clearly lost his mind what with the pencils in his hair and talk of trying to get Mary out of her clothes later. What has happened?! Mary thought it was funky. She thought they did it just right. Debbie thought the routine was amazing and mesmerizing.
Looks like maybe I missed something here.
Randi’s Solo: Love her. Loved what she was trying to do with the solo. There were a few missteps and rough landings but I don’t think this solo was going to make her or break her tonight.
Kupono’s Solo: Who was up there doing that solo? It couldn’t have been Kupono? Could it? I ask because choreography has never been one of Kupono’s strong suits, but I thought tonight’s dance was interesting but with focus and a point. Well done.
Jeanine & Jason | Contemporary by Travis Wall
Breathe. Breathe. Why am I nervous? This routine is the first choreographed number by S2 finalist, Travis Wall. Travis is such an important reason why I love this show and so I wish him nothing but the best!
I’d like to share my critique of the performance, but it’s really hard to type through these tears. What was that?! Gorgeous, powerful and breathtaking. Perhaps my very favorite routine of the entire season. Congrats BF Travis – this dance is going to be on the tour! Trav’s choreography was inspired, but Jason and Jeanine took it to another level. Their passion and strength was unexpected. It’s like these two emerged as major contenders tonight! Jason & Jeanine are going to have a lot of people talking tomorrow, and a lot of people picking up the phone tonight. (And me rewinding back to watch it over and over and over again…and not just that smokin’ hot smooch between Jeanine and my SYTYCD BF. Back off girl.).
The Judges: They are on their feet! YES! YES! Nigel of course commented on Travis’s journey, but commended both dancers on taking the choreography to the next level. Mary was a bit loss for words and crying almost as much as I was (not quite). Hell, even Jason was in tears. As for Ms. Allen – well she was thrilled. She said that this dance has shown that “this show has gone beyond a competition”. Adding,”It is a conversation. It is a conversation that’s connecting a community of dance around the world. This is truly evangelizing dance in a way that nothing else has. Nothing, nothing else has. Nothing.” She said she can’t wait to buy a ticket to see it live when they go on the road (honey, I think someone can comp you…just ask).
[Whew…I’m wiped. And we still have another hour to go? Geesh. Let’s get back at it.]
Melissa’s Solo: Melissa is a beautiful dancer. Her solo was wonderful. Why do I feel nothing for her? No connection whatsoever.
Evan’s Solo: (Somewhere in Woburn, MA Jessica is cringing at the thought of having to watch Evan do his thing.) Unlike Jess, I’m a fan of Evan. And I think Evan is at his best when he’s shuffling around the stage like a Broadway dancer of yesteryear. Adorable (although I would have chosen a different outfit – the tux looked a little too stuffy).
Kayla’s Solo: Better than last week, for sure. But as talented as Kayla is, I’d like to see a little more pain in her dancing (what, I’m a sick, I know). All of her dances are plastered with her big smile – which is gorgeous – but a little one note.
Randi & Kupono | Paso Doble by Tony Meredith & Melanie Lapatin
Yikes. Not even Randi’s wig could save this routine. That was a mess. While I thought Kupono was selling the passion he wasn’t performing with it. Smoldering eyes can only take you so far. I thought Randi was a bit all over the place tonight. She looked like she was going through the motions and not really performing at all. I don’t have much else to say. I just didn’t enjoy it.
The Judges: Nigel and I were on the same page – he didn’t like it. Mary didn’t believe any of it. She too thought the look was on Kupono’s face but not in his dance. The song was more powerful than the dancing. Debbie thought maybe the trust was lacking. She thought they needed more time, and they don’t have more time.
Ade’s Solo: While not as purely entertaining as last week’s solo, this dance was certainly strong and unique. Well done.
[Commercial Break: What is GLEE? The only reason for wishing away the summer!]
Jeanine’s Solo: The girl is on fiyah tonight! Well done. Is she my favorite girl? She’s right up there with Kayla.
Jason’s Solo: Despite keeping his shirt on, Jason’s solo was brazilliant tonight.It felt more fully choreographed than most of the routines we see every week. Good job, honey!
Melissa & Brandon | Broadway with Tyce Diorio
Ah, just how I like Tyce – behind the dance instead of at the judges table. And tonight’s he’s bringing us something from “Hair” so I can get behind that. As for the dance…well, here’s another one for the tour. I loved it! Melissa and Brandon brought so much more to the routine than the steps. They really embraced the free, bohemian spirit throughout the dance. I wanted it to keep going. And as beautiful as Melissa danced that, I was floored by the Brandon’s strength. Wow! I’ll be watching this one again later. Well done Brandon, Melissa and especially Tyce.
The Judges: Nigel thought it was fantastic! Mary thought it was unbelievable! Debbie thought it evoked a real harmony. (Sorry, but I’m fading fast).
Janette’s Solo: In the last solo of the night, Janette let us know that she’s a Miami girl. And if we didn’t know it before, her hips really showed us tonight. Sassy and hot.
The Lion Kings
This year’s Top 5 guys ended the show with an African inspired dance by Jeffrey Page, which unfortunately wasn’t the strongest ending to the performance show. It was a bit of a train wreck. Had this been a solo by Ade it would have worked, but on the whole…a big fail. I thought Evan was going to break out into jazz hands at any moment. And he kept looking around like he was unsure of what came next. And a few of the guys completely lost that strong African feel and just wait straight hip hop – no only in the movements, which may have been acceptable – but more so in the “swagger” and style. It just didn’t work for me at all. Bummer.
The Judges: Nigel, Mary and Debbie applauded the choreography and the dance.
Oh well, at least we have Jeanine and Jason to watch over again!
Whew! That’s that. I’ll be honest, it’s so much easier to just podcast my thoughts. But alas, no Ducky-no podcast. Hope this was a suitable alternative tonight.
So let’s talk favorites! Clearly no one held a candle to Jeanine and Jason (and BF Travis Wall) tonight. But they weren’t the only dancers worth voting for.
My favorite couples tonight:
- Jeanine & Jason
- Melissa & Brandon
- Kayla & Evan
- Janette & Ade
- Randi & Kupono
My predictions for who is going home?
I think it will be Randi & Kupono
Talk to me about the routines. Your favorite. Who should stay and who should go.
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I think (hope) you are right about who is going home but who knows how America thinks?
I would flip Melissa & Brandon and Janette & Ade. I used to really like Melissa but she is working my last nerve for some reason and the mix on the music bothered me on the Hair number. I feel like Melissa is a one trick pony with really pretty ballet shoes.
I enjoyed the hip hop by Janette & Ade. I felt like Janette was supposed to be a little less hard hitting than Ade. it worked for me.
I have no words for Jeanine & Jason. I too love Travis and I thought the whole dance was beautiful It reminded me of the Travis/Heidi bench dance that Mia did in S2 and I agree that this will be a dance we see on tour.
The Bollywood dance was great. The guys African thing not so much. Evan was too distracting as the lone short, albino guy in the middle of all those tall dark skinned beauties. And I live Evan! But I bet he’s still feeling lucky he didn’t draw that Russian fold crap last week!
You know I would love 2 car-casts next week. It will be two great shows! I hear Dunkin’ Donuts calling you! Mom! Mom! Mom!
totally agree with pretty much everything you said. Although that African number seemed very difficult, the bollywood number was way more entertaining. Jeanine and Jason were bar none my favorite couple of the night. The paso doble was do off the mark and didn’t work at all. The wig certainly didn’t help. Same deal with the nappytabs number. Then again, it’s rare that I like a nappytabs routine.
“totally agree with pretty much everything you said.”
…Jen – my favorite comment so far 😉
I just found your site and love it. I agree with you. I however, felt Randi lacks a lot, I haven’t felt her “passion” with Evan or Kupono. I am excited to see the results and see what you have to say in the next few weeks.
I agreed with your thoughts on all of the dances, except for the hip hop by Janette and Ade. I really enjoyed their routine. I am hoping that Randi and Evan go home tomorrow night, since we don’t have to vote for couples any longer. It is difficult to pick most favorite or least favorite dancers this year though. I find them all fun to watch and talented but not exactly standout characters. If I had to pick a winner right now, I think I would want Kayla. Her dancing is so beautiful to watch every week.
Your top 3 couple routines are the same as mine. I was just really pleased with everything tonight though as a whole. Even the weaker partner dances and solos were still pretty great.
I LOVE Evan!
I also agree with your sentiments, Kath. I watched with my dad last night and he told me to get on here for him and say that he loved Jason and Jeanine’s dance so much that he didn’t even mute the tv when Mary was commenting. High praise. High high praise. Thanks for the review!
Hi Kathie 🙂 I’m with ya on Janette & Ade’s routine. They were not in synch and they weren’t interacting with each other. But put a hot girl in a pair of booty shorts and most people are sold.
And I totally agree on Travis Wall’s routine. I was in tears too; he was my pick to win Season 2. I loved the way the dancers performed it. Jeanine is officially my favorite (at the moment?). MORE TRAVIS PLEASE!!
The African dance was a disaster. Did you notice how the lighting (sort of strobe-like, but in brown tones) was used to make the dancers’ skin tones look more uniform? It didn’t work, and the strobe effect added to the chaos of the routine.
Glad I finally got on the ball and started reading your site 🙂
Great review of the dances! Even though I watched them all last night, it’s great to get that refresher for ones I may not have recalled so easily. By far, my favourite dance of the night was performed by Jeanine and Jason – what a gorgeous number! I loved the use of the locket, and though I thought it might be distracting like the chains of previous dances, I totally wasn’t! It was fabulous. Close second is the hip hop by Janette and Ade, and the Broadway by Brandon and Melissa – great pairings!
One thing that really makes me sad is the pairing of Randi and Kupono. I’ll admit Kupono wasn’t my favourite guy to begin with, but after the “Gravity” routine with Kayla last week, I love him to death. However, pairing him with Randi seems to be the kiss of death! LOVED Randi with Evan, but perhaps it was the whole package of cuteness and munchkinness, because alone, or with Kupono, I don’t care for her at all. There seems to be no chemistry between them AT ALL.
My predictions for tonight are that Randi will be going home, perhaps accompanied by Kupono, which would be really sad. Couldn’t they have left him with Kayla?!(I know, I know … that’s not the way it works!)
Loved the review as always! Though I do love it more in podcast form…I’ll take what I can get!
I would love two podcasts next week. We’ll need to know what you thought of the Joey Potter number 🙂
hehe Joey Potter. I can’t wait.
2 podcasts are ALWAYS good! I can watch Jeannine and Jason do that dance over and over and over. Cannot believe that hot kiss at the end – but was it choreographed? I wondered!
Kupono and Randi – I had a “Dancing with the Stars” feel to it. It was totally weak. And sloppy, and just so bad on so many levels.
Ade and Janette – I also saw her being a little to fluid and not hitting the moves tight enough, but other than that, it wasn’t as bad as Kupono and Randi.
My predictions for who’s going home? Randi and Evan. Sorry 🙁
First things first, it wasn’t the same watching without you hon, let’s never let that happen again, ‘kay?
Second, I wanted to jump through the TV and squeeze Travis after watching that dance (even if the sleeves on his suit were a bit too short, is that a new style? I might be out of the fashion loop). It was gorgeous and I already can’t wait to see it on the tour. They were the perfect couple for it too, the stars cleahly aligned. And by that I mean, Nigel most likely picked those two to dance it but who cares when it was that freaking good.
Third, after Evan’s solo, Murph turned to me with a sh*t eating grin on his face (there was a look of utter disgust on my face) and said something about what you would be doing after that solo that I can not put in print. For me, his dancing is like watching a little person jump around on a trampoline, striking ridiculous poses while they’re in the air.
Evan and Randi, buh bye.
It’s great reading your commentary the morning after the show. It just lets the episode live on even longer in my mind. I thought last night was great. This being my first season watching, top 10 is certainly taking the show to another level. In the beginning I thought that I didn’t want anyone to go, but now I think I could let go of Randi and Kupono. The Paso Doble has just not been good for the couples who have had it this year. I would love to see Jeanette and Brandon do the Paso Doble, ahh that would be firey! Speaking of firey, I LOVED Jeanine and Jason’s Travis routine. As it is my first year watching the show, I didn’t know Travis, but he really lived up to the hype. I loved the heart necklace, and the song choice. BEAUTIFUL! I want to watch it over and over!
I think I know who’s going home tonight. I actually voted this time too! Can’t wait for next week and DEFINITELY do some TV Talk podcasts! What else is supposed to get me through my ridiculously boring job?
Rewatching last nights performances I finally figured out what bothers me about melissa… she never really puts her weight back on her heel. I know it’s the ballet training, but especially in the bollywood it stood out to me. She would put her heel down occasionally, but even then it seemed hesitant. It was like she was wearing high heeled shoes and everyone else was wearing flats. It gives the quality of her dance a very different feel.
Great review…I agree with the order you put the couples in, as much as it pains me, because I just do not like Brandon. The boy irks me for some reason, and since I feel no connection to Melissa, I really wasn’t feeling it. But it was danced well, I guess. (In some ways, I preferred the waltz, but I like Kayla and Evan both a lot, so…..who knows.)
Glad Jeanine did so well; she has quickly become my favorite lady in the competition. Her and Kayla are my favorite girls, too, followed by Randi (who I agree probably deserves to go home tonight), Janette (who is — very — slowly growing on me) and Melissa.
Nice to see Jason finally live up to his inner potential. It’s harder to rank the guys, because I like some of their personalities so much. If I let that influence me, my list would go Evan, Kupono, Jason, Ade and Brandon; if I don’t, Brandon is still last, but Ade may move up to push Kupono and Jason out of the way (but again, it totally depends on which Kupono or Jason shows up that week). I’ll be sad if Kupono goes because he’s been involved in 3 of my favorite routines this season, so maybe it’ll be Ade instead.
Thanks for the great recap! I’m a big fan of the podcast, and two is always better than one. (Don’t worry, I left an iTunes comment a long time ago).
beautiful photos collection.