S12.E10: Top 18 Perform + Elimination

[poppy-]

That Cha Cha was like a Dancing with the Stars number if the pro was told to NOT highlight the weaker dancer.

 

Very early on in this show they had a bboy doing a mambo.... I don't think it was technically good, but he committed, and it really got me hooked on this show.  Asaf may have worked hard, but he didn't commit.

 

 

I REALLY like Nigel. I thank him for bringing us this dance show and I appreciate his passion for dance. I get him where others don't.

I love this show.  I appreciate that he's trying to shine a light on something he loves.  I really appreciate this season's more frank judging.   He just lacks charisma. And competitive reality tv is always going to be tough on, and somewhat exploitative of, very young people....especially here when they have to be emotionally vulnerable and often fairly undressed. Nigel's a mixed bag for me but overall I think he is sincere and he loves dance, so that tips the scales for me.

[luvthepros]

 

 

I love this show.  I appreciate that he's trying to shine a light on something he loves.  I really appreciate this season's more frank judging.   He just lacks charisma. And competitive reality tv is always going to be tough on, and somewhat exploitative of, very young people....especially here when they have to be emotionally vulnerable and often fairly undressed. Nigel's a mixed bag for me but overall I think he is sincere and he loves dance, so that tips the scales for me.

Thank you for not making me need my armor. I often think I'm the only one on this forum who appreciates and likes Nigel. I've been reluctant to say anything with all the bashing he receives but I put on my big girl panties, donned my armor and put it out there.

[realdancemom]

Thank you for not making me need my armor. I often think I'm the only one on this forum who appreciates and likes Nigel. I've been reluctant to say anything with all the bashing he receives but I put on my big girl panties, donned my armor and put it out there.

Sometimes, I roll my eyes at what Nigel says.  But I agree that he loves dance and I appreciate all the work that he has done for SYTYCD.  Even if somebody doesn't win the show, it brings exposure which helps their dance careers afterwards.  It's a good place to learn choreography from top choreographers and meet other dance people.  I also love watching dance and would miss this show when it's off the air.

Edited July 30, 2015 by realdancemom

[crowceilidh]

I don't loathe Nigel so much that I wish he'd never happened and I'm truly grateful for the show, but he is just sooo freakin' pompous that I know I'd want to kick him in the shin if I ever saw him in person.  It's almost like he gives gives gives all this good stuff with the one hand and takes it all back having slimed it with the other.

[Cuatro1234]

I've got plenty of room right beside me here on this big, grassy knoll, if anyone wants to join me.

 

It seems so obvious that the reason they kept Asaf is to generate buzz.  90% of the comments here, for example, specifically comment on Asaf (ok, I didn't actually count them, but a LOT of the comments mention him).  Ratings, buzz.....no such thing as bad publicity, right? 

 

I also don't believe for a second that Paula's comment about Burim's package was a simple slip.  I think it was planned.  (I promise:  I don't hear voices, I don't think everyone's out to get me, but I don't believe in "reality" TV.)

 

That cha cha reminded me of the Russian dance that Jeanine and Phillip did.  Chuckle.  And I agree with whoever said that Marissa looked completely safe in all those lifts.

 

I agree that the backstories about the dances help promote the dance and make them more interesting and meaningful for the general public.  But it's nice to not have that pushed EVERY time.  The robot dance was nice for me in that way.  Story:  robots from outer space.  Done.  Some of my favorite dances from past seasons didn't seem to have a big backstory:  Boogie Shoes, with Lauren and Billy Bell; The Garden, with Courtney and Mark; I could go on. Some great dances DO have a backstory:  Ruby Blue, with Janette and Brandon (probably my all-time favorite, and the backstory is about 2 bank robbers, of all things).  Just sayin', variety is nice.

[vibeology]

I see Marissa as a great contender for a role on DWTS, and I mean that in a good way. She seems to have the attitude and showmanship that Witney had, and Witney has done well there.

 

As someone who already has to suffer through Alison's awful "ballroom" numbers I don't want another untrained waste of space on DWTS. Having personality isn't enough to be a ballroom/latin pro. Surprisingly those people train for years to reach the level their at now. Technique is important in ballroom dancing even though this show tries to downplay that aspect of Latin/Ballroom in exchange for showmanship/firecracker skills. 

 

Also, Travis doesn't do Ballroom, and he didn't do well at any in his season until he was paired with Heidi (and had paso doble, which is usually choreographed with minimal lead-follow anyway). What cha cha tips could he possibly have given Marissa?

 

Travis is the master of all Stage dancing, dontcha know? He's full of it to suggest he has real Latin knowledge to impart to Marissa. In his one Latin dance on his season, 15 seconds was holding Heidi above his head and another 20 was stamping his feet. He was lucky to have Mary and Heidi to get him through that number. He wasn't even sure if he was the cape or not.

 

So, when Nigel says they spoke to the choreographers, he means the ones on the current episode (in this case for Asaf - Jean Marc, Marty Kudelka & whoever did the Top 18 routine). We don't know what they said about Asaf. I'm pretty sure Jean Marc would have been kind. In the interview that I posted in the media thread, Asaf and Marissa said Jean Marc spent extra time with them (when they rehearsed in hallways etc after the studio time was over) trying to make them look good, so I'd expect he'd talk about hard work and dedication.

 

Jean-Marc is the biggest sweetheart who basically gets treated like crap by this show. Need to bus someone, get JM for a week and hand them ballroom so the judges can critique everything about it even the choreo. He's a little over the top, but he's dedicated and wants to make his dancers look good every time.

[awaken]

Loved the robots.  I think that'll be a classic, as Nigel was saying.  

 

Annoyed that they kept asaf, dislike his whining and tiny, pouting mouth.  But I agree, it was for the sake of "buzz" and controversy.

 

My prediction is for Virgil and JaJa to go to the end (yes I know they're both team Street so we'll have to have some stage peeps in there.  Jim and Hailee perhaps?)  Virgil has that Fik-shun thing going on which is hard to resist :)

 

Jaja is amazing.  Love her.  Love Neptune.  (Or did they say Andy?)

 

I am struggling to remember who Derek is, even after re-watching this week and last week's shows.  Don't remember ever seeing him before.

 

I realized that Yorelis did a very similar routine two weeks in a row- disco-like, two girls and one guy, black leather strappy sexy outfits.  Would love to see her diversify!  

 

I'm so dense- just realized that there is no "dance for your life" this year!  So we don't get to see them specifically dance in their own genre except in the group routines, and if they happen to get put in their own style that week.  Also, I miss seeing them choose their partner for the next week, and choose their dance style.  That was always fun.  Now I'd like to see what goes into the decision-making about who gets put with who, and why they are with certain choreographers.  

Edited July 31, 2015 by awaken

[Anothermi]

Jaja is amazing.  Love her.  Love Neptune.  (Or did they say Andy?)

.....

Now I'd like to see what goes into the decision-making about who gets put with who, and why they are with certain choreographers.  

 

Neptune went by Eddie in the Auditions. Nigel was surprised that he began calling himself Neptune once the competition started and still calls him Eddie sometimes.

 

Re: the partner and dance style choices. That's been discussed up thread quite a ways as well as in the Top 20 + Elimination ep. At the start of the Top 20 plus elimination ep Cat stated that the dancers had been separated into groups and those groups did a random draw for their dance styles (choreographers). This was questioned as it seemed unreasonable for the choreographers not to know in advance how many people they were to choreograph for. However, Spencer Liff stated on the recent After Buzz show that the choreographers don't know how many they will end up with. So, the question remaining is - what criteria is used when putting together dance partners for each episode?

 

Contestants choosing their next partners normally didn't happen until Top 10. The exceptions were S01 and S07 when a draw was made each episode. So usually the criteria for the Top 20 pairings was height  and different styles but we didn't really know what else was taken into consideration. Now, the lack of necessity for pairs each time opens up the field for different criteria to be applied so I, too, am curious about how the groups are chosen.

Edited July 31, 2015 by Anothermi

[crowceilidh]

And, are there going to be Allstars come the top ten?  If this has been discussed, I have missed it.

[Anothermi]

And, are there going to be Allstars come the top ten?  If this has been discussed, I have missed it.

 

I hope I didn't give the impression that they were, in my post, because I don't know the answer to that question.

 

Since you asked, I thought I remembered some kind of confirmation about All Stars in the Media thread, but it turned out to be your post linking to a dance magazine article about Alex Wong where it said to watch for Alex as an All Star on SYTYCD this spring. However, Alex was on the Top 20 opening routine which was only All Stars so that might have been what that article was referring to. Otherwise I've seen nothing one way or the other about what will happen when we get to the Top 10 this season. 

 

The show has been known to make changes on the fly (i.e. moving the one-show-per-week eliminations from the start of the show to the end) so I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't yet decided if they will bring in All Stars - and in what capacity - after the Top 10 are revealed.

[realdancemom]

Re: the partner and dance style choices. That's been discussed up thread quite a ways as well as in the Top 20 + Elimination ep. At the start of the Top 20 plus elimination ep Cat stated that the dancers had been separated into groups and those groups did a random draw for their dance styles (choreographers). This was questioned as it seemed unreasonable for the choreographers not to know in advance how many people they were to choreograph for. However, Spencer Liff stated on the recent After Buzz show that the choreographers don't know how many they will end up with. So, the question remaining is - what criteria is used when putting together dance partners for each episode?

 

Contestants choosing their next partners normally didn't happen until Top 10. The exceptions were S01 and S07 when a draw was made each episode. So usually the criteria for the Top 20 pairings was height  and different styles but we didn't really know what else was taken into consideration. Now, the lack of necessity for pairs each time opens up the field for different criteria to be applied so I, too, am curious about how the groups are chosen.

On idolforums, there was a post where a person went to a live taping.  After the taping of the live show, that person mentioned that the contestants drew numbers from a hat.  Then people were grouped based on the numbers that they drew, e.g. those with # 1 were group 1.  So the groups are also done randomly.

[Mason]

On idolforums, there was a post where a person went to a live taping.  After the taping of the live show, that person mentioned that the contestants drew numbers from a hat.  Then people were grouped based on the numbers that they drew, e.g. those with # 1 were group 1.  So the groups are also done randomly.

 

I know I'm going to regret asking; but why don't TPTB simply post how stuff is done on their web sites? 

[realdancemom]

I know I'm going to regret asking; but why don't TPTB simply post how stuff is done on their web sites? 

Or they could show a little clip of them picking from a hat.  They used to do that.  It would be better so that people don't assume that TPTB are giving the same partners/styles to the same people.  Lindsay Arnold mentioned that they did pick styles from a hat.  However, they chose the choreographers so they can give Sonya, Stacey, Nappytabs, etc. to their chosen ones.

[innocuouspuff]

Completely forgot to mention a fav moment from the show, of Cat going "exterminaaaate!" as Virgil and Hailee robot walked off the stage. Secret Doctor Who fan?

[rollerblade]

JaQuel Knight Hip-Hop with Megz, Moises, and Jim

As much as I like all three dancers, I just couldn't get into this performance. It felt like a warm-up piece for a larger follow-up act that never came. It seems out of place on a big empty stage. It's a style that seeks to hype up an audience, but the stage distances them from that audience. There was no sense of a feeding cycle of energy. The boys seemed to get the dance steps generally right, though.

 

I agree with you about the empty stage feel. This piece could have benefited from some props, a fun backdrop at least; especially when the dancers themselves couldn't fill the stage with their {lack of} awesome dancing.

 

 

It really annoys me that every contemporary number on this show has to tell some profound story, when clearly half these numbers are just comprised of people moving in random patterns, reaching out and rolling around on the floor.

 

I wonder how much of these "stories" just come from producers pressuring the choreographers into having something more than an abstract dance.

 

I view it as another "dumb it down" thing they do for the lower common denominator audience.

Sure don't want viewers to go... See, even the head judge didn't have a fucking clue what the dance is about!

 

It's also a lot easier to talk about a piece to our friends -- "Oh yea, dude, the dance is about 3 individuals showing BRAVERY with their personal struggles. The guy in military uniform is a veteran, the girl in a nightgown is in an abusive relationship, and the other girl in a purple dress is a single mom." ..... LOL!

[Canada]

Are you f#^$%$!! kidding me?  Did the judges not see Asaf lumbering through that opening group number?  He was making up his own steps, when he wasn;t just standing around.  And I really hope Marissa doesn't suffer next week for having had such a useless partner.  Keeping Asaf was a joke.  Actually, the bigger joke was letting him in to the top 20 at all.  Paula's hormones won out over common sense in that decision!

[Blueeyedgirl]

More and more convinced this about the redemption story arc. That and the fact he is cute.

Most viewers don't have insider knowledge...my mom, for example, said, "yeah, they kept the cute guy. He was terrible, but he is so cute, that must be why they kept him."

[LadyMustang65]

I also am loathe to believe Asaf was only kept for his looks and drama.  Storyline, I can believe.  Lots of "growth arcs" have been orchestrated on this show, and they typically involve the street style dancers: notably, Ivan and Legacy (although I think S1 Artem also counts, to some degree).  But keeping him for personal drama, as in a person who is difficult to work with?  I find that hard to swallow, especially when it affects not only the other contestants who have to work with him, but with the choreographers as well.  I've mentioned before that S1 Blake was full of drama, but he had the skills to back up his stay.

 

ETA:  To get back to Asaf vs. Burim, I just keep reminding myself that we see very little of what goes on.  

 

Travis said in his blog that has been quoted here that Asaf has an amazing personality.  I have not seen anyone mention Burim's personality.  So I think it's entirely possible that people on the show genuinely like Asaf and want him to succeed.  I think it's possible that they see something in him that makes them think he has the potential to be really good and are trying to foster that.  He may be another Jose, who stayed around far longer than most fans thought he should have (although I adored him even with his shortcomings).  Jose also struggled with learning choreography and different genres, but he was just a really nice kid and so much fun to watch in his own style.  I can also see where Spencer Liff might not have had good things to say about him, but Spencer would not have been consulted with regard to the eliminations this week.  If I am correct in believing that we have seen an attitude change in Asaf, then I can also believe that Jean Marc would have good things to say about him, even though he struggled.  I had fully expected that Asaf was going to leave last week, but I'm not unhappy that he stayed. I liked both him and Burim.