S12.E11: Top 16 Perform Live + Elimination

[mojoween]

I think it's funny how people throw a fit when Nigel calls someone baby, but hardly anyone talks about Jason calling people Baby Girl and Love tonight.

I'm SUPER shallow so for me Jason is young and so hot and Nigel is...not. Jason saying it is something I've heard a million times as affectionate but Nigel saying it was weird and not appropriate for the context.

[Watt]

I just think it's interesting is all. :)

[Lindsey]

I think it's funny how people throw a fit when Nigel calls someone baby, but hardly anyone talks about Jason calling people Baby Girl and Love tonight.

 

I thought it was weird coming from Jason too, but Nigel has a long history of saying things to the female dancers that are at least borderline inappropriate, and since he's the executive producer he's in a role with even more authority than Jason has.  And to be honest, I usually skip Jason's commentary, so he may have said things to other dancers that I just didn't hear.

[mojoween]

Oh no problem! I do find it interesting with my own reaction because I did react to both of them but as mentioned differently. But when Jason said "baby girl" I thought "huh, that's interesting."

[Cuatro1234]

I wondered if people with depression would be upset by Nigel's simplistic comments about dancing away depression.  I've gotten kind of used to shrugging aside some of Nigel's more cringe-worthy comments.  But I REALLY wondered if people with mental illness, or their families, would be offended by the padded room routine and the straight jacket costumes for the Dave Scott number.  "Hey, let's do a dance about locked up crazy people!"  Just kind of---off---for me.  If the routine were about, say, a penguin breaking into the lion cage at the zoo and having a good ol' time together (a la Madagascar movie), it could have worked also, maybe.

[adam807]

I think it's funny how people throw a fit when Nigel calls someone baby, but hardly anyone talks about Jason calling people Baby Girl and Love tonight.

 

Honestly, I missed it, because Jason's critiques are so useless that I generally tune him out. But also Nigel can be so bizarrely sex-negative, particularly a few weeks ago when he got on the girls' cases for choreography he didn't like, so I was attuned to it after another sexy number and it made me twitch.

 

It's common, even in 2015, in the dance and Broadway worlds to refer to grown men and women as "boys and girls," but there's something about the context of that one particular "baby" that stood out to me.

[pamplemousse]

It felt to me as though the show really started to hit its stride tonight.  I liked to loved all of the routines tonight.  I'll get this out of the way upfront - I'm sorry and not sorry to see Asaf go.  I thought his performance tonight was light years' ahead of where he started.  There's still room for a lot of improvement, but he was so much better in his movement and in his portrayal of the character.  But he wasn't going to be Top 10 anyway, so I'm glad he got this week to prove that he is capable of getting better.  And conversely while I had been warming up to Kate over the past couple of weeks, last night she completely lost me.  Every dancer we've ever seen on the show has struggled with learning a new lift.  Even big strong guys like Aaron had troubles initially.  So suck it up, buttercup.  Get over yourself and have a little trust in your partner.  For gosh sakes, in rehearsals there are a dozen people milling around to catch you if you fall, and if he isn't getting it, the choreographers take it out.  She just really irritated me, and now I want her gone.

*slow clap* Couldn't agree with this more. However, with the manipulative editing on this show, I'm sure they showed Kate's meltdown to justify sending Asaf home this week. I thought Kate stunk up the joint in her part all on her own, no assistance from Asaf needed. They already took out all of the hard lifts, so why was she still so tentative and crappy. She looked like she was sleep-dancing. Anyway, I don't think she's anything special in the dance department. Her dancing is just run-of-the-mill had a lot of training contemp studio girl. Nothing special or unique. And her performance quality is like nonexistent -- I don't think she sells anything, whether it be sexy or whatever. Even in her best dance, the one with Neptune, I was mostly watching him because he out-performed her. I know she's one of Travis's people and in his dance company, but I'm not really sure why she's seen as such a great dancer. Technically, she's fine but unremarkable. Performance-wise, she's a blank space imo.

 

Jim is a lovely dancer, but the depression routine wasn't moving. The choreo was heavy-handed. I couldn't help comparing it unfavorably to Addiction.

 

Sad to see Marissa go, I was really starting to like her. I like Edson a lot now too. My favorites are Megz, Edson, Virgil (he's a showman and very entertaining to watch), Alexia is growing on me (maybe I'm a sucker for a pet w/special needs story), still love Neptune, Jim is fine, and I think that's about it. Gaby is a good dancer, but I find her boring to watch. I probably would've ff'd her routine had Virgil not been in it.

[alannaofdoom]

Count me in as another fan of Megz - she is so charismatic when she dances. I just can't keep my eyes off her (even with the distraction of Edson's torso).

[St. Claire]

I will also say that, while Jim is my sentimental favorite, I would totally love to see Megz win it all. She's crossing genres really well and deserves every bit of praise she gets. I think maybe I'll go back and watch that dance again just to marvel at her talent (and to have an excuse to watch shirtless Edson).

[Mason]

But when Jason said "baby girl" I thought "huh, that's interesting."

 

Any Criminal Minds fans out there? I'm thinking Morgan and Garcia and the FBI seminar.

[grumpypanda]

I guess it's just me but I find Jaja totally overrated. I think she looks silly when she's trying to look tough. Her jazz routine was okay but it reminded me of something Sonja has some fifty times already.

I think it's bullshit that Marissa went home over the forgettable Derrick. If they wouldn't have told me that he didn't dance tonight I wouldn't have noticed that he was missing.

I'm so happy that Asaf is finally gone. For a dancer, the guy doesn't appear to have any rhythm. I also don't get how someone so hot can have zero chemistry with all of his partners. He pretty much did nothing in his dance but bring Kate down.

Overall, I think Neptune and Alexia had the best routine of the night. The Edson and Megz routine was interesting too and the Broadway wasn't bad. I don't really like that kind of Broadway but Virgil and Gaby sold it well.

Also, for a minute I thought that the Yourellis and Marissa dance was supposed to be about a lesbian bringing a straight girl over to the gay side. I think that would have been a much more entertaining dance.

Edited August 4, 2015 by grumpypanda

[LadyMustang65]

Yup!  I thought the same thing.  <lol>  [Responding to Mason about Criminal Minds.]

Edited August 4, 2015 by LadyMustang65

[Wootini]

I'm so happy that Asaf is finally gone. For a dancer, the guy doesn't appear to have any rhythm. I also don't get how someone so hot can have zero chemistry with all of his partners. 

Also, for a minute I thought that the Yourellis and Marissa dance was supposed to be about a lesbian bringing a straight girl over to gay side. I think that would have been a much more entertaining dance.

 

That's why Asaf is always at his best when he's dancing with his favorite partner: Himself. ;)

 

And yeah, I totally thought the same thing about the girls' hip-hop number. I got a very les-be-friends and "dance" together vibe. :D

[Haleth]

I'm so happy that Asaf is finally gone. For a dancer, the guy doesn't appear to have any rhythm. I also don't get how someone so hot can have zero chemistry with all of his partners.

 

As the show ended everyone ran over to surround and comfort Marissa, while Asaf stood apart and alone, until finally Jim went over to talk to him.  Seems like no one will miss him much.

[allypenguin]

I thought JJ and Hailee came across as vapid in the intros with their hair discussion and Asaf was adorable with his newfound love for donuts and peanut butter. They don't sell peanut butter in Israel?

The other intros ranged from interesting to unmemorable for me.

Oh and Nigel, "you danced your Asaf" was not funny the first time you said it, it did not need a reprise.

 

I wish I could eat donuts and peanut butter and be as in shape as Asaf. Granted he probably does like 1000000 crunches a day...and I...do not but still haha.

[realdancemom]

I also noticed that after the show, everyone came over to comfort Marissa but not Asaf.  Then later, Asaf was talking to Twitch who of course is his coach.  It wasn't until later, others came over after they finished hugging Marissa.

 

Last night's show was so much better than last week's.  This made Asaf's and Kate's dance stand out even more as being really bad.  I do see improvement from Asaf but he was just not ready for this show.  I'm probably in the minority but I agreed with the judges last year that Jaja wasn't ready.  She looked heavy in the jazz round with Novian (did he try out this year since I thought he was really good with his 2013 & 2014 auditions?).  She looked the part in the ballroom round but Emilio was so much better.  I'm glad that she had another year to try other styles.  Twitch also did not make it his first two years.  That's what Asaf needed.  He needed more training to get used to learning choreography.

 

They dressed Kate terribly.  Her hair is really red.  They didn't need to make her outfit match her hair.  The choreography for that jazz piece was also not good but that could be the Asaf factor.  Both Kate and Marissa mentioned not feeling comfortable with the lifts with Asaf as a partner.  Marissa and Asaf did have a nice plank lift last week.  But I wouldn't feel comfortable if he was lifting me really high either.

 

I never warmed up to either Kate or Marissa.  However, I do feel that they weren't going to have a breakout moment with Asaf as a partner either.  OTOH, if Kate ended up in the bottom this week when she had a great routine with Neptune, then she was going to be at the bottom again regardless of her partner.  She's just not a performer.  Last week, I was watching Neptune.  Not only did I like his performance but I like his movement in Justin's piece.  It wasn't typical contemporary movement.  He put his own style to it so it was a mix of street and contemporary.  It was grounded.  I also like the coolness factor that he added when he did Broadway.  Neptune, Virgil, and Megz are my top 3 street dancers.  My fourth pick would be JaJa.  I liked Ariana the last two weeks but she keeps ending up at the bottom.  So I think she might be gone next week.

 

Personality and performance does mean something on this show and to the voters.  Before top 20, Travis said that the street girls are really good and they are.  But he said, that his stage guys are better than the street guys overall.  Now, that could be because Burim and Asaf were going to have problems with choreography.  However, I think he was also thinking that four of his guys (Jim, Darion, Derek, and Moises) had really good technique and technique-wise, they are better as a whole than the stage girls.  But he forgot to figure in performance and personality.  When I watch the stage group, the guys really stand out technique-wise.  But they don't have any stage presence.  Jim is the only one that I like from the stage guys. 

 

OTOH, I really love Hailee and Gaby is starting to bug me.  I liked her during the audition.  I don't like that she keeps going along with Nigel's story about being just a tapper.  She can easily say that she had some cross-training because it's so obvious.   I do think she and Virgil were the perfect couple for the Broadway routine.

 

ETA - Also, watching JJ do the AT made me upset that Tanisha was robbed last year.  Her AT with Ryan was so difficult and she hardly got any praise.  Of course, Ryan didn't get any praise because they don't even acknowledge him when he comes around.  And even though she was classified as a ballroom dancer, she also never did the AT before.  The judtges made it seem that she should have automatically been good at AT just because she was ballroom.   They praised Valerie so much when she did the samba the next week with Ryan and she was horrid.

Edited August 4, 2015 by realdancemom

[luvthepros]

.....Miriam and Leonardo are the sexiest couple in the universe. I would not throw him out of my bed, even with the vaguely pubic-looking goatee.  Didnt a tango dancer get injured a previous year and Leonardo also danced???

This is the second time Leonardo has had to dance with a contestant. This is Haley and Leonardo. (I actually liked this dancer better than the one choreographed for JJ and Derek)........

https://youtu.be/tcreQPUgt4k

[Thog]

 

I don't like that she keeps going along with Nigel's story about being just a tapper

I agree. I like Gaby well enough, and I'm not really sure what choice she has here, but I have a real problem with the attitude toward tappers. I get that they're not always cross-trained, but didn't two of the top 4 last year come in as tappers? I don't see why the judges act surprised that they can do anything else.

[luvthepros]

....You know, not to be dismissive, but Gaby is not naturally pretty but boy does she turn on the beauty in each and everything she does. ......

I couldn't disagree with you more but certainly we are all entitled to our opinions. I've always thought Gaby is very pretty, not only in appearance but her personality shines too. With make up such as in her Broadway performance, Gaby, is just gorgeous.

[luvthepros]

Coincidence? I think not. ;)

Re: Leonardo. Agree with you that is may not be a coincidence. Leonardo and Miriam are known for their flawless awesome but difficult lifts.I can only assume they choreograph difficult lifts for these contestants. Having said that....Doriana has incorporated many dangerous lifts in her Disco routines so I doubt Miriam and Leonardo are not asking any more of these dancers than Doriana does.

[calipiano81]

At times JaJa reminded me of Anna Trebunskaya - not in dancing ability but in her look, especially with her hair down.

JaJa ALWAYS reminds me of Anna Trebunskaya (it boggles my mind whenever two unrelated people look like they could be twins), but especially tonight with her facial expressions and performance quality.

[luvthepros]

In Gaby's "get to know ya" bit I kept thinking she looked so familiar. I finally realized she reminds me soooo much of Sutton Foster!! And then she did a Broadway routine and I was sold on the similarities. 

Yes, I do see the similarity but I wonder if Gaby has pipes like Sutton.

[luvthepros]

I don't get what everyone loves about Kate. Well not everyone, obviously, but I just feel meh on her. It really isn't her dancing, but something that rubs me the wrong way about her personality.

 

Could it be her plastered on smile? That bugs me. Kate is an exceptional dancer, though. I like to see maturity in dance and Kate has it in spades.

[Toaster Strudel]

Questions: Why do I find Leonardo so sensual when he is dancing?  What are the ingredients in this mystery?  It looks like he is barely dancing at all.  Yet I melt.  I need to know.

 

Last night was great but I post here to complain, so here we go: I didn't care for depression dance.  I thought Ariana's Afro-Mohawk was distracting and her geometric grey costume inappropriate.  The movement didn't say "depression" vs. "depression victim" to me.  It was ordinary comtepoflail with a wee bit more push-pull from Ariana.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Yoralis, hope the whole go-go dancer thing doesn't hurt you with certain voting groups.

ITA - there is definitely a stigma about go go dancing. People act like it's stripping. I know a bunch of go go dancers and their costumes range in coverage depending on the venue, but at the skimpiest they are still wearing the equivalent of a bathing suit (sometimes the costumes are actually bathing suits embellished with flowers, rhinestones, etc), which is sometimes about as much as the people in the club are wearing. I have no issue with it at all, but I can imagine some uptight conservative voters getting all indignant about it and not voting for her.

 

And once again he was in the back row of both the opening number and the team street dance, which should tell you how the choreographers felt about him.

Except that he was brought forward a couple of times in both routines, so maybe it's just that he's the tallest of the street group.

Although there are definitely times when height plays an issue in formations, in my experience the weaker people are hidden in the back during the sections that they aren't very good at. I have been keeping an eye out for him during the group numbers to see if he is on stage at all, where he is, and how well he is doing the choreography. He was about as good in the group numbers this week as he has been in past weeks so I can see why he was not front and center the whole time.

 

Didnt a tango dancer get injured a previous year and Leonardo also danced???

Yes. This is not the first time this has happened. I don't know what they're putting in the dances, but maybe its too much for kids on this schedule to pull off without getting hurt.

I agree that the schedule can be grueling for the dancers (especially since this season they have been learning three dances every week, rather than the usual two per week of earlier seasons), I'm pretty sure in the rehearsal footage they showed that Derek got hurt when he was doing a really easy lift (where JJ kicks her legs to roll over his shoulder, which is something we taught even the skinniest/non-muscular uncoordinated guys in my high school choir to do) multiple times. I think that sometimes it's the difficulty of the lifts that gets them but sometimes it's just the repetition while trying to get the timing right. While I like a beautiful lift as much as the next person, I wish they would limit the lifts so that the routines were more focused on dancing, not lifts.

[Carrots4]

A lot of the dancers seem to have taped-up shoulders in the rehearsal footage. Seeing as how they're only a few weeks into the competition, it makes me a bit nervous about how the dancers will hold up until the finale.

 

Seems fitting that shoe fiend Megz had blindingly bright yellow shoes in the opening number. How does she manage 300+ pairs of shoes? Does she wear a different pair every day? I only have 30 pairs and there are still some I have never worn.

 

Was disappointed that JJ's big fact was her topknot. She did have an interesting backstory in the audition rounds, I wish she had talked about competing with Comfort, or how she got into dance, or something other than the hairdo that we see on her head every single week.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

This is exactly why I didn't miss those ten second "getting to know the dancers" segments. For every interesting story we get (I still can't believe that Megz has over 300 pairs of shoes!), we get a total waste of time (JJ's hair). Ha but I did laugh at Jim's unabashed love of bubble baths. I'm with you, Jim.

 

But out of sixteen dancers, we got, what, three interesting stories?

Edited August 4, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[mojoween]

Megz total number of shoes is greater than there are days in a year. That is crazy. But hey, everyone has something they love!

[Terrafamilia]

It would really have served Asaf better to have another year or two to broaden his experience. He definitely needs to loosen up through the hips and shoulders.

 

Overall, the camerawork was better this week. Cutting down on the swirly-cam really helped. And I agree that the costuming so far this year has been uncharacteristically uniformly decent (knocks on wood).

 

I liked Edson this week more than I have in any week previously. He shed the cheerleader aspect of his personality and really embodied the character.

 

While I really like JaJa I kept focusing on Hailee. For me, she really stood out in the duet.

[Zuleikha]

I think it's bullshit that Marissa went home over the forgettable Derrick. If they wouldn't have told me that he didn't dance tonight I wouldn't have noticed that he was missing.

 

I think it's bullshit that she went home over Kate, but the judges didn't have a choice about sending her home over Derek. Derek got saved. Those are the rules. I am mad that the judges were mean to Marissa last week when she danced what she was given well. I don't get their critique for her about how she was supposed to give more to Asaf or whatever exactly they said. I thought she had a lot of good energy with him, and the lack of eye contact was a combination of the choreography and just how Dancesport facial expressions work. 

 

Kate, on the other hand, I didn't think even tried to sell the dance this week. I also didn't think she looked that great in her part of the jazz, which I know was partially because the choreography was bad, but mostly just seemed like she was half-assing it. The show always tries to claim that they're good about not playing favorites, but I don't buy it. I think she got the save over Marissa because of her pre-show relationship with Travis. 

 

ETA: I agree that Asaf would have benefited from having to wait a year and learn how to learn choreography. It seems like the pool of male hip-hop applicants must have been shallow this year for the show to give Asaf the alternate slot. It's also a shame that he got the first year with no dance for your life moments. Cedric struggled pretty hard with choreography, too, but at least he got to do really cool solos to remind us all what a great dancer he is. 

Edited August 5, 2015 by Zuleikha

[luvthepros]

Megz total number of shoes is greater than there are days in a year. That is crazy. But hey, everyone has something they love!

Megzs shoes looked to be more sneakers than anything else. Sorry, but there is a problem there!

[pamplemousse]

I think it's bullshit that she went home over Kate, but the judges didn't have a choice about sending her home over Derek. Derek got saved. Those are the rules. I am mad that the judges were mean to Marissa last week when she danced what she was given well. I don't get their critique for her about how she was supposed to give more to Asaf or whatever exactly they said. I thought she had a lot of good energy with him, and the lack of eye contact was a combination of the choreography and just how Dancesport facial expressions work. 

 

Kate, on the other hand, I didn't think even tried to sell the dance this week. I also didn't think she looked that great in her part of the jazz, which I know was partially because the choreography was bad, but mostly just seemed like she was half-assing it. The show always tries to claim that they're good about not playing favorites, but I don't buy it. I think she got the save over Marissa because of her pre-show relationship with Travis. 

 

ETA: I agree that Asaf would have benefited from having to wait a year and learn how to learn choreography. It seems like the pool of male hip-hop applicants must have been shallow this year for the show to give Asaf the alternate slot. It's also a shame that he got the first year with no dance for your life moments. Cedric struggled pretty hard with choreography, too, but at least he got to do really cool solos to remind us all what a great dancer he is. 

Agree so much with all of this. IMO, Kate let herself AND Asaf down. I think he was trying to perform and be there for her and himself -- she already checked out before they even started. Lifts aside (and most of them were taken out), even the rest of the dancing on her part was crappy. That, combined with her melodramatic whining during rehearsals (suck it up, plenty of people in past seasons have had even worse partners and done less whinging on camera. There's even been a few alarming misfires in performances), makes me wish she'd been eliminated. I think it's her relationship with Travis that swayed things in her favor. I can't believe Marissa got eliminated and Kate didn't. Marissa at least tried to engage with her partner last week and attempt to have some sort of performance quality. I literally don't understand any hype about Kate being an exceptional dancer or whatever, unless people have actually never seen any previous seasons of this show and seen some of the female contemporary dancers who've been on in the past. Her technique is fine, that's about all. I don't think she dances maturely or with any emotion. Yeah, she's older, but she comes off immature and her dancing is just blank -- ok technique, nothing else going on. She's so basic.

 

It really sucks that there's no more dance for your life. I wanted to see Asaf do his thing at least one more time before he got eliminated without the ASAF CAN'T DO CHOREO WORST DANCER AND BIGGEST A-HOLE IN THE HISTORY OF LIFE edit being shoved in my face.

Edited August 5, 2015 by pamplemousse

[traboule]

Nick Florez and RJ Durell's Opening number performed by Top 16 - I thought this was a lot of fun. Choreography and music went well together - especially liked the part near the end where the dancers returned to the risers and suddenly snap into synchronous footwork. This performance also shows how many of the dancers give really good face - Yorelis, Jaja, Hailee, Megz, Marissa, Kate, on and on. I liked the dancers kind of punk haircuts (probably not using that adjective right) with the plaid avalanche in the wardrobe.

 

Jaja and Hailee in Ray Leeper Jazz - Great pairing. The judges aren't overstating to say that both of these dancers are powerhouses. My attention was divided between the two of them fairly equally - Jaja for her presence and expressions and Hailee for her on-point dancing. (Not that Jaja was bad, but Hailee's technique was understandably better.)

 

Neptune and Alexia in Dave Scott Hip-Hop - Favorite routine of the night. I loved that it was bonkers, sexy and funny. Loved the use of the padded wall. Alexia did great in a hip-hop routine. She's such a strong dancer. That drop into the prone split was like something from an action movie, like River Tam in Serenity or something. I love Neptune more and more every week.

 

JJ and Leonardo in Argentine Tango - I thought this was boring and didn't understand the huge amount of praise for it. I thought this looked quite easy on JJ, especially when I went and rewatched Leonardo's tango with Hayley from Season 10. JJ's dress was pretty though.

 

Jim and Ariana in Sean Cheesman Contemporary - I like Ariana, but all the wow moments in this piece belonged to Jim. The air he got on that leap move that one of the judges called out, that spin he went into near the end . . . those were the highlights for me. Aside from those moments, it wasn't my favorite contemporary. There was a part right before the music's climax when Jim and Ariana seemed to be awkwardly staging themselves on the giant discs. The cool lighting and the music did it huge favors on the first watch, but subsequent rewatches made me think a little less of this piece.

 

Gaby and Virgil in Al Blackstone Broadway - Can't think of a better pair of dancers this season to take on a retro Broadway number. Their backgrounds and personalities made them a natural fit. This was adorable and fun and I was smiling the whole time. I loved the gender role swap when Gaby dipped Virgil that one time.

 

Kate and Asaf in Sean Cheesman Jazz - That's twice that Kate's been in a dumbed-down routine because of Asaf. I don't hate Asaf, but I don't like that his lack of skill has impacted other dancers. Nothing new for the show, I suppose, but it's still annoying. It's obvious that they cut out all the lifts that required Asaf to lift her up over his shoulders, like they showed in rehearsal. Kate had a right to express concern for her physical safety. Dancers shouldn't be expected to keep their mouths shut if they feel unsafe, so I hope voters didn't hold her fear against her.

 

Marissa and Yorelis in Christopher Scott Hip-Hop - I really liked what Christopher Scott did with the choreography and the music combination. The finger snaps were a nice touch. Shout-out to the lighting on this one as well. Marissa and Yorelis had some good moments performance-wise, but I don't think they fulfilled the potential of this piece. I agreed with Jason that as good as they are, the other dancers are largely out-classing them.

 

Megz and Edson in Talia Favia Contemporary - I can get tired of angsty contemporary, but the use of the t-shirt over the dancers' heads was a good idea and the dancers themselves really committed to the piece. I like it more and more on rewatches. I especially liked the part where Edson flung the t-shirt off of Megz head dramatically as they both leaped into the air.

 

Team Street piece by Luam - Liked the music, costuming, and style of this piece. My eye kept drawing over to Ariana, looking chill and sexy. Yorelis also.

 

Team Stage piece by Travis - Costumes and make-up were amazing. Loved when the camerawork aided the spookiness, such as when Edson rises into the frame at the beginning. Best group moment was when they rippled into a straight line and when the straight line diverged into poses. Thought the later group work was less impressive, encumbered by the props and the part where they were lying on the floor seemed less than artful. But an interesting concept.

 

This was a very good SYTYCD episode.

 

I was surprised to see Kate in the bottom three after she performed a wonderful routine last week, and that doesn't bode well for her. She probably won't make the top ten. Neither will Ariana. Sorry but not surprised to see Marissa go. I would have sooner lost Derek before her, but understand the sympathy vote given over Twitter.

 

Dancers I'm currently excited about: Alexia, Neptune, Gaby, Hailee, Megz

[Rick Kitchen]

Alex Wong tweeted:

 

 

Wow @traviswall are you kidding me with that ghost light group routine?!?! DANG!!!!!!!! So ridiculously good and amazing concept. What what!

[Zuleikha]

I don't hate Asaf, but I don't like that his lack of skill has impacted other dancers.

I'm still placing the blame on Cheesman for that. He should have been able to give Kate more to do. She had solo sections that were just as boring and simple. There was no need for that. And IMHO, she brought nothing to the synchronized sections where she wasn't required to be in contact with Asaf. She couldn't make sure they were in time if Asaf screwed up, but she could make sure her own dancing was energized and sharp, and she just seemed to be phoning it in.

 

I generally watch the dances that Fox uploads onto YouTube (because they're just the dances), and I haven't been able to find the rehearsal footage for Kate/Asaf. So I'm trying to withhold judgement on Kate's lift fears until I see it. But I'm mostly failing because Asaf looked very safe lifting Marissa last week, and he's obviously quite strong. Lifts can go wrong in rehearsal even with a great, experienced lifter who knows his role--sometimes the timing is just off or you're tired--so it is part of life that as a liftee, you may get dropped and you need to know how to handle being dropped to minimize injury and to not be scared of being dropped. Heck, we've seen the occasional drop happen in the live performance shows.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Really strong episode - once again, I was very happy with the variety in the choreography.  For me, this season continues to be the most interesting since Season 7 (Lauren F's season).

 

I was intrigued by all the group routines (trios, quads, etc.) in the past few weeks but I have to say, some of the old magic came back when they went back to pairs this week.  There were a lot of routines tonight that will probably be considered best of season choices.

 

Hailee and Jaja - Jazz.  I can't think of a Ray Leeper piece I've liked better.  This was great girl power.  I thought Hailee was dancing her heart uut and I really enjoyed her - she was much less artificial than she usually is.  I enjoyed Jaja more this week for the same reason.  She did well, but I kept watching Hailee.  I am with those who think Jaja has been overpraised, so I was glad to hear Jason give some constructive feedback that highlighted Hailee.  The best girl duet, off the top of my head, since Season 1.

 

Neptune and Alexia - Padded wall, Dave Scott.  People keep remarking on Neptune yet I don't really notice him (although it was nice to see he was dressed in white).  I thought Alexia was sassy and fun, but what really struck me was her musicality.  With all this talk about how Asaf should've been held back a couple of years, I kind of wish Alexia had taken more time.  I think she's got lots of talent and potential, but doesn't quite make it out of the cute blond contemporary dancer box this season, so I don't expect her to make it to the final.  Still, I noticed her in the Top 16 routine - she can deliver a lot of attitude which will probably grow a lot with time.

 

JJ and Leonardo - Argentine tango - It was lovely, I thought JJ did a great job and the choreography showcased her very well.  She is one lucky girl.

 

Jim and Ariana - depression contemporary - Sean Cheesman.  I don't always like Sean's choreography, and I wasn't a big fan of the story,   However, I thought the choreography was really smart.  Jim had some standout moments and I was peeved that Jason put him in a technique-only box.  I thought he delivered the emotions nicely.  Ariana is a big zero for me.  She's just not good enough.  I know she is there and doing everything (probably right), I just don't care.

 

I think the choreography was good enough that this could have been outstanding.

 

Gaby and Virgil - Broadway - Al Blackstone.  What a cute throw back number.  Again, I'm charmed more by the choreography than the dancers.  Gaby is not growing the way the others are.  She seems a little static.  Virgil was great - he was dancing so much bigger than she was -- he was all joy, she was all control.  I liked him better in this piece, and I think he is a whole lot better outside of his style than Fik-shun ever was.  My problem is, I keep forgetting about him, whereas I would never forget Fik=shun's smile.

 

One thing I like about this season, though, is that it is not all locked up by overwhelming favorites.  People seem to be all over the place.  I hated Amy-Fik-shun / Jasmine-Aaron's season because they dominated everyone else.

 

Anyway, I loved the choreography but would rather have seen Evan and Randy, or Makenzie and Ricky doing it.  I'm not finding Gaby or Virgil memorable enough to stack against other Top 8 dancers.

 

Kate and Asaf - Sean Cheesman's jazz that looked like a red single person disco number.  That was truly hideous and no fun at all.  After the dancing, I had lost nearly all the good will II had had toward Kate.  I also may have admired shirtless Asaf (who I would take over shirtless Dimitri anyday).

 

Marissa and Yorelis - hip hop with Christopher Scott.  I love Christopher Scott.  I loved the costuming.  I loved Marissa in this.  She definitely should not have been sent home.  Boo.  Yorelis was good, this was my favorite number of the night, with the opening girls' duet a close second

 

Megz and Edson - tshirt contemporary with Talia Favia - very good.  Still loving Megz, and her partnership with Edson was great.  He warmed up considerably.  most improved two dancers of the season, so far.

 

None of the group numbers blew me away.  I didn''t see much dancing in Travis'.  it's like it had an interesting core idea but never got off the ground.

 

I wish we could have sent home Asaf and Adriana..

[mojoween]

In retrospect I should have seen Marissa's ouster coming when Nigel gave her shit about the tumbling in her routine, which is a bullshit critique because it's not like she's the one who choreographed it in there.

[Shades of Red]

Questions: Why do I find Leonardo so sensual when he is dancing?  What are the ingredients in this mystery?  It looks like he is barely dancing at all.  Yet I melt.  I need to know.

That's a question that can never be answered at least in my experience.  The man exudes a sensuality that is undefinable.  Some people have it and some don't.  I personally think it's something visceral vs something you can actually pinpoint.  I know over the years I've had that kind of response to various people who others haven't thought twice about.

 

I'm going to duck as I say this, but part of the attraction for me is the way he commands the dance and the way he focuses on the woman he's dancing with.  It's partly protective, partly sexual and very masculine.  There's a part of me that says "this is a man who will take care of me, cherish me and always be there for me".  Not logical in the slightest, but again a visceral thing.

[Andie1]

This week I saw Megz and what a presence on stage. Wow.  For me the star of the show. 

Overall I liked Megz and Edson, even though I think I could have watched this as a Megz solo and be even more mesmorized... he was completely overshadowed. 

 

I also enjoyed Neptune and Alexa's routine I thought they had strong chemistry, although I'm not sure if I liked the mixing of styles as much, he seemed loose while she was very precise..and I prefer if their movement was a bit more syncronized.

 

Gaby and Virgil, well the concept was cute but I was underwhelmed. For me, Gaby is not a beauty in the traditional broadway sense, she's a character face and when you have that "character" I think it's important to play it up, but she was tightly controlled in her movement. I expected Virgil to be good. This IS his style. He danced professionally on broadway so knows exactly how to bring in the audience.

 

I thought Marissa really stepped up her game and let go of the sex kitten persona in a really hard hitting routine. I thought she was great.  

 

I think Jaja is a very emotive dancer, but without the technique for stage she just pales in comparison.  If she wins it won't be because she's versatile. 

 

JJ got a gift this week but she's a lousy dancer. Where was the heat from her in response to Leonardo just steaming up the stage?  She looked like a robot with spongy legs... lots of lifts because more than one series of engauchos and she would have been ruined. 

[Andie1]

 

Questions: Why do I find Leonardo so sensual when he is dancing?  What are the ingredients in this mystery?  It looks like he is barely dancing at all.  Yet I melt.  I need to know.

 

This is what true Argentine is all about. It is the connection between man and woman first and foremost. It's not about how flashy or staccato you can be, that's ballroom dancers doing it wrong.  Argentine is about a conversation between a man and a woman. Leonardo in close embrace would listen for the woman's heartbeat and then syncronize his movement to it through the music.  With JJ he had nothing, so he had to emote and pull from his experiences with a good partner... on his own.  If it's done appropriately with the right partner it's pure intimacy  and it draws you in because it's authentic.   

 

ETA I would have LOVED to have seen Megz try the routine with Leonardo. I think she's the one dancer on the stage who could have matched the emotion and I would have loved to have seen her try on Argentine technique.  Megz isn't afraid of digging deep and being vulnerable and that's what Argentine is all about.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Andie1

[waving feather]

I was drooling over Leonardo but JJ is such a lucky girl. He made the dance look better than she actually was. At times he was literally pulling her into position and her core and legs weren't as tight as required. Disappointed in one of my early favorites.

Yorelis, on the hand, was smoking in that duet with Marissa. They did a close up of her and man is she a gorgeous woman and so much sensuality in her face and movements.

Alexia also surprised me. I agree that Neptune and her danced it a bit differently. Both looked good but I kind of preferred Alexia's style in that dance.

I know Virgil was well praised in that Broadway number but I thought Gaby was a star in that dance. I haven't been much of a fan of hers but she really impressed me with both the character and the grace she had in the dance. They were also gifted with a coherent and lovely choreography. More Al Blackstone please!

[grumpypanda]

I think it's bullshit that she went home over Kate, but the judges didn't have a choice about sending her home over Derek. Derek got saved. Those are the rules. I am mad that the judges were mean to Marissa last week when she danced what she was given well. I don't get their critique for her about how she was supposed to give more to Asaf or whatever exactly they said. I thought she had a lot of good energy with him, and the lack of eye contact was a combination of the choreography and just how Dancesport facial expressions work.

Kate, on the other hand, I didn't think even tried to sell the dance this week. I also didn't think she looked that great in her part of the jazz, which I know was partially because the choreography was bad, but mostly just seemed like she was half-assing it. The show always tries to claim that they're good about not playing favorites, but I don't buy it. I think she got the save over Marissa because of her pre-show relationship with Travis.

ETA: I agree that Asaf would have benefited from having to wait a year and learn how to learn choreography. It seems like the pool of male hip-hop applicants must have been shallow this year for the show to give Asaf the alternate slot. It's also a shame that he got the first year with no dance for your life moments. Cedric struggled pretty hard with choreography, too, but at least he got to do really cool solos to remind us all what a great dancer he is.

I know the judges didn't have a choice regarding Derek but I still would have preferred Marissa or Kate stay over him. Nothing against the kid personally, I just find him extremely bland. Who knows, maybe he'll get an awesome routine next week and knock my socks off.

Either way I'm kind of neutral on both girls. I think they're both capable dancers but either one is spectacular. Kate's most likely going to leave next week anyway and I'd be shocked if she made it to the top ten considering she's been in the bottom every week. Derek will probably be gone shortly too. I think the top four stage team will be Jim, Alexia, Hailee and Gaby.

[Rahul]

Overall, I found this week's show to be a huge improvement from all prior live shows this season. I think in large part it had to do with reverting back to classic duos where each dancer had a chance to shine, but the infusion of new choreographer blood certainly helped as well.

 

That being said, all of the group routines left me cold. The wacky costuming and bizarre movement of the first number had me convinced it was choreographed by Sonya Tayeh, but apparently she is off doing her thing in NYC. The group hip hop routine seemed less like a cohesive dance then a series of several steps that had been put together. Only Yorelis stood out there for the quality of her movement and her attitude which permeated through the screen. Travis Wall (so sick of seeing his numbers on a weekly basis) was only memorable for the ghost light gimmick; I don't remember one lick of choreography from the piece.

 

I found that Hailee totally commanded the stage in her duet with Jaa. Both of them did well in the number but my eyes were afixed to Hailee the entire time because of her flawless, very pronounced technique and the extra power & pizazz in her movement. She really did give it that extra 10% that Jaja lacked. I found Jaja's dancing a little too soft for this piece.

 

 

Not gonna lie, I went in watching for Asaf.  I wanted to hear whether the judges would defend their decision, whether he would have any kind of storyline.  They really used him well, poor kid, because he drew a lot of fire protecting the rest of them.  Also, I'm not sure how I feel about complimenting him with the motto for the Special Olympics.  

 

I know it may be wrong, but I chuckled over Paula's analogy to Asaf as a Special Olympic performer because it seemed very much like a veiled insult. I took it to mean "Thanks for trying, but really you have no business being in this competition. You belong in a league of your own."

 

Paula said something about Jaja not even making it out of choreo last season. I could have sworn she made it to the Green Mile. Anyone recall her path last season?

 

Paula was dreadfully mistaken. Not only did Jaja make it to choreo in Vegas, but she did in fact make it to the green mile. That is where she was cut while her dance partner/mentor Emilio (whom I love) moved on. Kudos to Jaja for resisting the urge to correct Paula and keeping her trap shut, though. Had that been Asaf I'm sure he wouldn't let a second elapse before correcting Paula. He may now smile while getting critiqued but his flaring nostrils aren't fooling me.

 

Speaking of Asaf, I paid special attention to his placement. He was buried in the back and on the side as usual. I also noticed that while the other dancers all got quick solos at the beginning of the street number, Asaf's 'solo' contained no actual dance moves but only removing his baseball cap and tossing it away. Ha! Moreover, choreographers seem to think that by stripping Asaf of his shirt and having him flex his abs the audience won't notice the lack of actual dancing he does.

 

All Asaf's over head lifts were removed from his duet with Kate and the choreography was once again watered down from what was shown in the package because this guy just couldn't pull it off. I know I sound repetitive at this point but it still burns my chaps that this guy was given a slot in the top 20 when he cannot do anything outside of breaking (and even struggled with breaking choreo he was given). Good riddance! Now hopefully the group routines won't suffer from his presence.

 

I don't understand the heaps of praise JJ was given for the Argentine Tango. It seemed like a very amateur effort to me and all her moves--especially the leg twists and hooks--seemed to be in slow motion. That being said, I realize those moves are probably enormously difficult to execute and I really do like JJ, though my love for her has weaned somewhat since the days of her stellar whacking in auditions seem so far in the past.

 

Glad to see the return of the getting to know the dancers packages. It's a shame Marissa waited all this time to reveal she actually has another talent aside from her hair whipping. If she incorporated more of her tumbling and gymnastics background into her solos rather than all the incessant follicular flipping I might have liked her more. Oh well. No big loss.

 

I don't think Jim revealing his fondness for bubble baths will endear him to either the men or women watching this show.

 

Regarding Nigel's comment on dance and depression: I've struggled with Bipolar Disorder II all of my adult life and its no cake walk. I experienced my first major depressive episode at age 13 and have had bouts lasting years almost perennially. People who experience such early onset as compared to people who have their first episode in their twenties or later are in for a much tougher ride with the disorder since it impacts a developing brain. I personally tend to gain quite a bit of weight when in the throws of depression, and that has impacted both my ability (especially when it comes to center of balance) and desire to dance.

 

I understand what Nigel was saying about dance alleviating the onset of or mitigating the severity of depression. Believe me, there's nothing I like to do more than to dance as it creates such a euphoric high. However, it really is not as simple as just getting up and dancing. I wish he was a bit more thoughtful in his live remarks because although he may be well-intentioned, he often comes off preachy and flippant.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Dance 10; Looks 10 / A surprisingly strong group of dancers and choreographers makes for a tense elimination and some gorgeous dancing on So You Think You Can Dance.

[kechara]

Dave Scott said that Asaf argued about everything and was not a treat to work with. He was thankful that he wasn't stuck with him basically and sympathized with those who were. He felt really sorry for Kate who was stuck with him more than once.

He would have preferred Derek to go home over Marissa.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL05AE23BA68DFEF18

[innocuouspuff]

Dave Scott's comments again raising the question of, who are these choreographers talking about how great it is to work with Asaf? Nigel said it again this week, the big fat liar.

I felt bad for JJ in the hair segment, I imagine she was picturing a cute, sexy type of segment. Lots of viewers might like to watch a hottie play with her fabulous hair. And then the camera person went and took it sooo literally, as if anyone was really going to be taking notes on how to do a topknot.

Not really understanding the horrible insult in comparing Asaf to a disabled althete. Hell, maybe the insult is in being compared to Asaf, hee. Also I hate when people talk about how illness/health troubles must mean automatic depression, like it's a mystery why we don't all just kill ourselves immediately. Depression doesn't even work like that. Shut up, Nigel!

Looking forward to Asaf's incompetence no longer being the main story.

Edited August 5, 2015 by innocuouspuff

[Anothermi]

Dave Scott's comments again raising the question of, who are these choreographers talking about how great it is to work with Asaf? Nigel said it again this week, the big fat liar.

 

To be fair he said they all said how hard Asaf worked both times (as opposed to it being great to work with him) so it was tactical phrasing rather than out right lying. I call it tactical phrasing because that phrase  can be perceived as them saying they had a positive experience rather than that they, too, had to put in extra work and work harder because of him (and with little to show for it).

[Zuleikha]

Dave Scott's comments again raising the question of, who are these choreographers talking about how great it is to work with Asaf? Nigel said it again this week, the big fat liar.

Jean-Marc seemed fairly positive in the one interview I saw. I haven't seen anything from Cheesman yet. Spencer Liff seemed a little salty in the Afterbuzz interview about not getting to comment on Asaf, and Dave Scott wouldn't have either IIRC (because he only did the group dance the same week as Liff right? He didn't do the group dances the weeks Asaf was in the bottom).

[LadyMustang65]

Dave Scott's comments again raising the question of, who are these choreographers talking about how great it is to work with Asaf? Nigel said it again this week, the big fat liar.

 

 

The choreographers mentioned as being critical are the ones who worked with him the first two weeks before he underwent his attitude change.  No reason to think Nigel is lying; it is quite believable that Asaf was much easier to work with once he embraced the challenge of learning new styles and stopped fighting it.

[innocuouspuff]

I mean, I don't think there's any reason to assume Nigel is always telling the truth? It's his responsibility to present the choices of the show and judges' panel in the best possible light, and their treatment of Asaf makes more sense if he's the hardworking, fast-improving dancer Nigel describes. I don't make the accusation in a particularly negative sense. If that's what you get paid to do, then go ahead and get it, you know?

But I am a cynic who finds it hard to believe Asaf grew a new personality in a week. (We did see him giving similar trouble in Vegas Week as well.) Changing your attitude so completely is hard to do in a lifetime, never mind one week while under stress. But like I said I'm a cynic and I wasn't there, so who knows. I like the idea that Nigel is just leaving out key information, that might be the most plausible way to think of it.

Forget to mention: Holy cow was Kate's story inappropriate! I'm sure other dancers had dark stories they could have told too, but why would you.

Edited August 6, 2015 by innocuouspuff