S12.E14: Top 8 Perform + Elimination

[Thog]

I love Jim, and I threw a lot of votes his way because I feel like he keeps drawing the short straw and unfair comments. But I also can't see him as a back-up dancer to J-Lo in Vegas. Hopefully all this exposure will open other types of doors for those who have made it this far.

 

Really, I'd be happy with just about anyone winning at this point. Even the weaker routines are usually a joy to watch.

[MrsMoltisanti]

I still don't get JaJa and all the love.  Is it just me?  I hear everyone gushing.  I see all the love pouring at her.  Week after week I am sitting here feeling - nothing.  Overhyped?  I love puppies, kitties, and all things cute and wonderful.  I love practically everything and yet for Jaja, I feel nothing.  That is all.

[poppy-]

Jaja has a face for television closeups, but her dance style isn't really suited for TV.  Her solo is so tight and controlled and ... unflashy.

[Morgan of Hed]

JaJa gets by a lot on her sparkling personality, mobile face, acting ability and general cuteness. It doesn't seem like she's been hit with anything overly challenging technically, or maybe she just makes it look easy. It wouldn't shock me to see her win. Top 4 will be her, Virgil, Jim & Gaby; I'm OK with any of them winning.

 

PS I love her solos.

Edited August 25, 2015 by Morgan of Hed

[Lila82]

Pharside and Phoenix do interesting work but I think we're on overload.  I'd rather one or two outstanding routines from them every season than episode upon episode of same dance, different costumes.

 

Props to Ray Leeper for choosing the xx.   My love for that band is about the only thing that made the routine remotely interesting.  

 

I could watch an entire episode of Fik-Shun and Vigil having a smiling contest and never get bored. 

Edited August 25, 2015 by Lila82

[MoxyMissi]

I was really excited for a moment when I thought I heard the Jaja/Ricky routine being described as being about two LOBSTERS who had been scooped up and thrown in jail.  I had a moment of mentally picturing them both in red sequined lobster outfits, complete with giant pinchy hands, trying to escape from a restaurant's holding tank.  

 

Jaja did a nice job with the broadway, but I was still disappointed.

[grumpypanda]

I still don't get JaJa and all the love. Is it just me? I hear everyone gushing. I see all the love pouring at her. Week after week I am sitting here feeling - nothing. Overhyped? I love puppies, kitties, and all things cute and wonderful. I love practically everything and yet for Jaja, I feel nothing. That is all.

You're not alone. I've said it before that I think she's vastly overrated. I don't dislike like her. I think for the most part she does alright but she hasn't wowed me in anything yet. I wouldn't be mad if she won but I don't think she's been really challenged. I would love to see how she handles a Cha Cha or Samba. Somehow I don't think she could pull off the sex appeal though.

[mojoween]

It's fun, to disagree, because Gaby annoys me with her very presence and yet I know she's popular. I was not one whit moved by her dance with Robert.

What this season has taught me is that Paula knows exponentially more about dancing than singing.

Oh! Also, I watched "Can't Buy Me Love" the other day (RIP, Amanda) and noticed Paula was the choreographer. So is it too much to ask to get the African Anteater Ritual on this show?

[realdancemom]

I don't mind the Street vs. Stage format.  It brought us a lot more street girls.  But I think they set it up wrong since Vegas.  The stage side should have done one Latin round instead of Broadway or jazz.  The street side should have done at least one hip-hop number that required some kind of partnering.  Or maybe, the stage and street shouldn't have even been separated since all of them had to do all the styles when the show went live.

 

They shouldn't have just limited ballroom to just one or maybe zero routines per night.  Previously, I was on contemporary overload.  Now, it feels like I'm on jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop overload.  It also seems that a lot of the contestants only had those three styles and weren't challenged with other styles.  Jim had to do three hip-hops which is so far from ballet.  He would have been better with a Broadway or jazz routine and I don't think he had any of those.  With ballroom, there could have been so many Standard and Latin choices.  When you add the occasional Bollywood, African Jazz, Broadway, etc., there would be more variety per show.

 

I thought Megz would be better since her parents were ballroom dancers.  She really needs to work on her shoulders.  I'm assuming she's the next one to go on the street side since Jaja and Virgil seem popular.  I thought Neptune was a naturally good mover.  He wasn't a good technician but I loved how he moved and changed characters.  He was a great Frankenstein last week.  Plus, he and the B-Boys were really the only true "street" dancers.  All the other street dancers had some kind of training some more than others.  Ariana and Yorelis could have been stage dancers.  I think Yorelis would have loved the JLo prize and she left too early.

 

I'm assuming Gaby will be in the finals.  She's versatile and hasn't had a bad routine yet.  She reminds me of when Robert was on Season 7.  Robert is amazing now but for me, he lacked the IT factor on Season 7.  That's how I feel about Gaby.  I think she is more mature than somebody like Tiffany (Season 9) who was also versatile but danced young.   Virgil and Hailee have also shown their versatility but as a whole, I like Gaby's routines more.  I thought I would like Hailee's and Fik-shun's routine but I got bored right away.  It was the choreography.  It didn't have enough dynamics and it just felt like they were doing the same thing throughout the dance.

 

Nobody can touch Jim and Jaja when it comes to their own specialties.  I love watching them do their solos.  Jim is an amazing technician.  I don't care what Nigel or the judges say.  I love to watch him dance.  I don't need him to be really hammy, smiley, or anything like that.  It's weird because Derek was also a good contemporary technician but I did want more from him emotionally when he danced.  I think it's their solos because Derek just does a bunch of tricks like a lot of competition dancers.  He needs to let the music move him.   

Edited August 25, 2015 by realdancemom

[cali1981]

I was a bit surprised at Hailee being in the bottom two but between her and Gabby it's a very tight competition.  No worries though because Derek was clearly going home.  I think it was Paula who told Hailee that as soon as the tour ends she's going to have offers like crazy.  Couldn't agree more.  Whatever "it" is Hailee's got it.

[St. Claire]

Top 4 will be [Jaja], Virgil, Jim & Gaby; I'm OK with any of them winning.

 

That's exactly who I want for my top four, with my order of preference for winning being Gaby- Jim- Virgil- Jaja.

 

I was really excited for a moment when I thought I heard the Jaja/Ricky routine being described as being about two LOBSTERS who had been scooped up and thrown in jail.  I had a moment of mentally picturing them both in red sequined lobster outfits, complete with giant pinchy hands, trying to escape from a restaurant's holding tank.

 

After the sexy-fish burlesque, I never want to see another marine dance ever again.

[Snow Fairy]

Am I the only one who doesn't see the stories in the (mostly contemporary) routines? They say "it's about this that bla bla", and I look at the dance - don't see it.

Like this week with Gaby - I really didn't see what Mandy was talking about.

 

Gaby is still one of my favourites, since the auditions. But I like Virgil, Jim and Jaya. Probably top 4, like you said. Hailee bug me too, I don't know why I dislike her, but something puts me off.

 

 

edit- forgot to say I liked both teams group numbers, although I didn't see abusive relationship story in team stage

Edited August 25, 2015 by Snow Fairy

[Tara Ariano]

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

 

The Grateful Eight / Solid routines but nothing memorable, really. Everyone's just happy to be here!

[MorbidPet]

The Mandy Moore number made me cry. Okay granted Sarah McLachlan's song Angel always makes me cry but with Mandy's choreography and Gaby's (& Robert's) outstanding performance I was a mess.

I did also enjoy the Team Stage group number though. I guess this makes me Team Stage for the first time this season :)

[shimarella]

This is where almost every cut stings a little bit. Except for Derek, I was ready for him to be gone a while back. I was surprised that Neptune got cut, but I think he has a bright career as a pro dancer in LA regardless. He does have " a nice upper body". haha. 

 

They could only have gotten away with that concept for Cheeseman's dance with two brown dancers, and it was a fun choreography with lots of elements in it. And extra bonus points for using music by TGU, one of my most favorite groups ever. Virgil is just so adorbs and talented. I hope he makes Top 4. 

 

Gaby did great but I think I liked her solo better than her duet. Kudos to her for making tapping to Santana work. Dale shine, girl. JaJa does make everything seem effortless. That and her gorgeous made for stardom persona are probably going to get her to Top 4. I dont think its that she's not "being challenged"...I think she just makes it look that way. It wasn't a very interesting dance but she made it look fun. Jim's solo was perfection. The idea behind his duet with Comfort really sucked and put him at a disadvantage. The "Get Low" routine that Jasmine did last year was a much better use of the deadly snake concept. And ending a routine by implying that you've beheaded your dance partner...yeah...no. Hailee has star quality for sure and she reminds me of Lauren in terms of her affect and energy. But dear god was her solo generic. We'll see how far Booty Shorts and Blondeness will get her, I suppose. Megz was lovely in her solo. I just enjoy looking at her ( #creepercougarfemme) and I think she has awesome fierceness and energy. But that paso didnt suit her at all. I think the show actually does try to work with her gender-non-confirming self in terms of styling but the outfit didnt work. They should have just dressed them both in more masculine clothes and been done with it, IMO. And yes, I am not sure her core strength is the issue. Maybe as a freestyle hip-hop dancer she's used to slightly rounding over in her upper body...that's what killed her lines in the routine. In any case, as much as I adore her, I think her journey is over. And I think she CAN be proud for what and who she repped, coming this far. 

 

Some of y'all have hit the nail on the head with this season. What Stage vs Street did was allow some terrific "street" dancers who wouldnt have made the cut otherwise onto the screen and I'm super grateful for that. For the most part, Gaby and Jim were the only truly interesting "stage" dancers for me. All of the dances tailored towards stage were mostly exceedingly boring. If they keep this idea ( and I think its worth another go), I hope they rethink how the dances and styles work out. 

 

FInally, the group dances. I totally lost interest half-way through the Prep School opening dance. The street team dance was more fun to watch than stage because it allowed them to get loose and just dance without any overwrought SLs ( AHEM Team Stage). 

Edited August 25, 2015 by shimarella

[crowceilidh]

 

 

In a move no one could have possibly foreseen, Genereux wants the dance to be full of passion.

 

The ptv write-up has this hilarious line, followed by others.

 

Also St. Claire made me laugh with the line about "marine dances".

 

Also

 

And ending a routine by implying that you've beheaded your dance partner...yeah...no.

 

Especially if you're going to be all geeky and Greek myth-y as EVERYONE knows that Perseus showed Medusa her face in his shiny shield and she turned to stone before he cut her head off.

[jackjill89]

I really can't stand Megz. IMO, that is not dancing. Jim and Gaby--gorgeous, beautiful, perfect.

I thought I was the only one that can't stand her. I have an irrational dislike of her. 

[pamplemousse]

PaulPaulPaulPaulPaullllllllll!

 

That is all.

 

(Ok, not quite all. Kayla has become a stunning dancer. I didn't like her in her season, but I really do now. The way she moved in that jazz routine reminded me of Suzanne Farrell in Tzigane. And sad to see Neptune go, I would've rather it been Megz.)

[phoenix780]

I still don't get JaJa and all the love.  Is it just me?  I hear everyone gushing.  I see all the love pouring at her.  Week after week I am sitting here feeling - nothing.  Overhyped?  I love puppies, kitties, and all things cute and wonderful.  I love practically everything and yet for Jaja, I feel nothing.  That is all.

My JaJa love is totally irrational and based on my feeling that she's at least a different type of character.  I also think she was robbed before so I'm buying into that whole Second Chance narrative.  If I were to be objective, she may well be overpraised and not all that versatile.  She makes me smile when I watch, though, and I remember her when the show is done, so I'm rolling with it.

 

The fun thing about this seasons is that with this last set of dancers...when I'm reminded of who they are I kinda get why they're all around.  I have my favorites, I'm ready for them not to win, but there's nobody drawing my disdain.  I'm leaning towards faulting the choreography for the weakness of the year overall (their single best show of the past few seasons was when former contestants other than Travis choreographed- they need to do that again, imho).  That, and as was discussed upthread in a slightly different way, I tend to think they brought on weaker "stage" dancers intentionally so the street kids didn't get blown out of the water with technique on week 1.  

 

PaulPaulPaulPaulPaullllllllll!

 

That is all.

 

(Ok, not quite all. Kayla has become a stunning dancer. I didn't like her in her season, but I really do now. The way she moved in that jazz routine reminded me of Suzanne Farrell in Tzigane. And sad to see Neptune go, I would've rather it been Megz.)

At the risk of being offensive, I think I like Kayla better because she has a fuller shape.  I'm not even straight, she just has sex appeal going for her now, imho, whereas before she was kind of vacant to me, except in the Addiction piece.

 

Oh- and Neptune...I didn't realize his specialty was krump until his solo last night.  He really was quite versatile, I wish I'd noticed that sooner.

[sekay87]

I have to say, I am really disappointed in this season. I find the routines to be incredibly bland and played out, and I HATE the stage vs. street setup because it completely minimalizes ballroom. I don't want to watch 3 contemporary and 3 hip hop routines per episode. I used to like how the show would change it up and have a true variety of styles. Now I feel as though I have to watch 2 hip hop, 2 contemporary, 2 jazz, and one random style per week. I find it annoying and feel like the show has lost its luster for me. It's a shame because Gabi is probably my favorite contestant to have been on the show in years (probably since Katherine McCormick) and I would have loved to see her perform on a season with more contenders. The quality of dancer is good this year, don't get me wrong, but I have not seen one routine that has given me chills or made me emotional, and that's honestly a first for me for this show. I hope we go back to normal next year.

[Shannon L.]

 

Am I the only one who doesn't see the stories in the (mostly contemporary) routines? They say "it's about this that bla bla", and I look at the dance - don't see it.

I see it sometimes.  There are usually a few moves here and there that I think fit the narrative, but the dances as a whole?  Not really.

[raspberry7]

Can someone with tap dancing expertise help me out here:  I think Gaby does really cool rhythms while tapping in her solos, but she is often ahead of the beat. (I used to play percussion, and this irks me.) Is it normal in tapping to try to be off the beat a bit, and if so -- normal to be in front of the beat rather than behind it?  (I.e., is it desirable to be off beat so that the audience can hear the tapping better?)

Edited August 26, 2015 by raspberry7

[Anothermi]

Can someone with tap dancing expertise help me out here:  I think Gaby does really cool rhythms while tapping in her solos, but she is often ahead of the beat. (I used to play percussion, and this irks me.) Is it normal in tapping to try to be off the beat a bit, and if so -- normal to be in front of the beat rather than behind it?  (I.e., is it desirable to be off beat so that the audience can hear the tapping better?)

 

I did a brief internet search and came up with a preview of a book called Gotta Dance! The Rhythms of Jazz and Tap by Jenai Cutcher. There were other books previews but I don't have the time to explore them all. If you are interested, the phrase I used to google was "rhythm in tap dancing styles" but I'm sure there are multiple other ways to look this stuff up. Anyway, the 1st paragraph of the 1st chapter relates Tap and Jazz as forms that are the "body singing".  Here's a section that I think is relevant to your question:

Key elements of any type of jazz and tap include syncopation, or the shifting of accents to weak or unexpected beats in the music, individual style, and improvisation.

 

That sounds like a lot of the rhythm is danced around the regular beats, not just in front. The paragraph goes on to include hip hop, breaking and swing dancing as styles that use the above quoted elements. I often find tapping makes me think of jazz music combos - which I like - but can be a bit much for those who like to hear a melody at all times.

 

So that's a stab at an answer by a non-tapper. Here's the link to the segment of the 1st chapter I am referring to.

[kb3]

Considering that the "media source" for the pregnancy rumour refer to her husband as her partner and then provides a follow up story on the possibility of her being engaged?  Not much credence. If she is or isn't, she's a spectacular host. I'd love to see her and  Tom Bergeron take on a joint hosting gig though my fear would be that they would cancel each other out.

Edited August 26, 2015 by kb3

[dcalley]

You could be right :)

 

http://en.mediamass.net/people/cat-deeley/pregnancy-rumors.html

That site calls itself a satire project where they publish the same articles with different people's names. Here's the same story for Courteney Cox.

 

Can someone with tap dancing expertise help me out here:  I think Gaby does really cool rhythms while tapping in her solos, but she is often ahead of the beat. (I used to play percussion, and this irks me.) Is it normal in tapping to try to be off the beat a bit, and if so -- normal to be in front of the beat rather than behind it?  (I.e., is it desirable to be off beat so that the audience can hear the tapping better?)

I thought there was discussion of this before, but I only found talk of the posture of the rhythm vs. Broadway styles that Valerie and Zach had last year, not the timing. I guess I remembered wrong.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

You know that scene in Dirty Dancing when Johnny, Baby, and Penny all dance together? Right before they start, Penny goes behind Baby and pulls her shoulders back. That's what I wanted to do to Megz the entire time I watched her routine this week. Last week when Nigel suggested that Megz work on her flexibility, I said that more useful advice would have been to point her toes. I stand by that because this week it was really noticeable that she wasn't pointing her toes during her paso, especially in some of the lifts.

 

I am really curious about her costume. Did she specifically ask Jean Marc that she didn't want a traditional girlie paso costume and shoes? I don't think it was the worst costume ever (and luckily since the costumes have been so terrible this season, that somehow made her costume seem like it wasn't totally horrible), but it was unusual for a paso.

 

I don't think it was so much that Jaja had an easy routine this week as that she made it look easy. I liked that it showed a more elegant and smooth style of dancing from her which is a contrast from her sharp style in last week's Bollywood. Between Jaja and Megz, I find Jaja to be more versatile. I was actually surprised that Megz wasn't eliminated this week. I was sure that she would be cut instead of Neptune.

 

Neptune has been up and down for me. Actually for the first few weeks, he wasn't up or down. He was kind of invisible to me and I kept forgetting he was on the show. He has had some good weeks since then though and he is cross trained well enough that I didn't think, "Well, that wasn't bad for a krumper," during his routines.

 

Virgil's solo was kind of disappointing for me. I remember liking him during auditions so I was expecting more from his solo.

 

Hailee is a weird combination for me because she definitely has the it factor that draws my eye to her, but then she pulls these weird really intense faces (both when she's dancing and when she's standing next to Cat).

 

Jim is awesome. I am tired of the judges bitching at him about how his technique is great but [insert complaint]. If there is anyone who that criticism should be leveled at, it's Derek. He has some great tricks and good technique but I still forget he's on this show every damn week. He is just so blank for me, like he's always on auto pilot. I don't know if he's capable of being more than a competition kid. Maybe he will be like some of the All Stars who just needed a few years to mature. Jim, on the other hand, has beautiful technique and control and he looks joyful when he's dancing. I totally hope that he wins. But seriously, can they stop giving him hip hop routines?

 

I agree that Gabby has good technique but she lacks the it factor. Her routine with Robert did nothing for me. It was pretty and she didn't make any mistakes, but it didn't move me. I'm not saying a dance has to make me cry in order for it to be good, but I had no reaction to it at all. I kept waiting to be wowed and it never happened. I like her much more than Derek though, so there's that.

 

As for some of the comments about who would be suitable to dance in a J Lo show or what kind of dancer has never won before, I don't take any of that into account. Sure, dancing in a Vegas show is a great opportunity, but I am not going to root for someone because they're more suited for the prize. Similarly, I am not going to vote for someone just because we've never had a female street dancer or a tap dancer win the show before. Dancers get my vote based on their dancing and performances.

[paramitch]

This was a pretty good night of dancing. I was glad after Megz's underwhelming paso that she had a strong solo, and I loved the intensity of her final glare into the camera there. That, to me, is the personality and connection she sometimes missed in the past few routines. I also loved all the adorable looks back at the baby dancers (I'm not made of stone, here).

 

But I agree with those who are disappointed with the choreography overall this season. I miss the way ballroom/latin could really electrify the room or surprise me about a performer -- Lacey and Danny's samba, Mollee and Jakob's lovely waltz, for instance (I didn't love Mollee, but that was her best moment for me), or Kathryn's fantastic cha-cha with Ryan, etc. Even Twitch's waltz with Kherington -- while not technically loved -- gave us something really lovely and sensitive -- different emotions and shadings. Right now all we seem to get are "tough/fierce" (hip hop/krump/etc.) or "sob sob sob angst" (contemporary) with a few more cheerful variations far between with African Jazz, Broadway or Bollywood (but with far too many jazzes simply embodying 'sexy! vampy! flirty!' and of course 'scary/sexy!').

And my God, please, somebody stop Tyce. Why why WHY do choreographers insist on turning the opening numbers into weird-ass crazytown torture vehicles in which the dancers are consistently covered with paint, props, acres of material and rendered almost totally unrecognizable? I just think it's such a cruel thing to do to these kids in their few moments in the spotlight. It seems to be a constant thing with the opening number choreo -- let's turn them all into clowns, or dolls, or matching Wednesday Addamses, etc -- I just don't get it and wish it would stop. (The better approaches transform the dancers but we can still see who they are, as with Wade's "Ramalama" or Travis's "Beautiful Friends" ghost number a few weeks back -- and where I thought everyone looked especially gorgeous).

 

My favorites are Jaja, Gaby, Neptune (sob), and Jim. I also like Hailee and Virgil, but they're a bit much for me, and I feel like both tend to be muggy. I like Megz as well (and I've loved seeing her versatility this season), but I think tonight probably sealed her fate. It's interesting -- it's a really lovely group this season, and they all seem like really sweet people. I've found them all very rootable and likable. 
 

JaJa gets by a lot on her sparkling personality, mobile face, acting ability and general cuteness. It doesn't seem like she's been hit with anything overly challenging technically, or maybe she just makes it look easy. It wouldn't shock me to see her win. Top 4 will be her, Virgil, Jim & Gaby; I'm OK with any of them winning.

 

PS I love her solos.

I disagree with the idea that Jaja is somehow 'getting by' on easier or less challenging routines this season. Thus far, she has danced hip hop (lyrical and harder-hitting), contemporary, jazz, Bollywood, and Broadway. I definitely think she's been pushed outside any comfort zone she might have as a krumper/animator, and just as much as anyone else this season (and more than most).

I thought Jaja's performance in the Broadway tonight was just perfect -- great technique, pointed toes, lots of softness and precision, and she danced up to Ricky's level at every step. I was actually surprised. The number was as lovely as a soap bubble and reminded me of Kathryn's "Choreography" duo way back when.

 

Am I the only one who doesn't see the stories in the (mostly contemporary) routines? They say "it's about this that bla bla", and I look at the dance - don't see it.

Like this week with Gaby - I really didn't see what Mandy was talking about.

I really enjoy Gaby, but this week's routine left me completely cold, and befuddled. I just didn't get it. There was too much flailing and clutching, AND flailing AND clutching. I thought it was actually a rather embarrassing cliche of everything that has become overdone about contemporary lately.

 

I like Mandy so much more when she's razor-sharp and slightly naughty, as in "Sweet Dreams" or "Relax," or when she's playful as with "Boogie Shoes." I've liked a few of her angsty contemporaries but honestly I think that's where she's weakest. I really disiked this routine and was stunned to see the judges standing up for it. I can only think it simply didn't translate well to television somehow.

 

PaulPaulPaulPaulPaullllllllll!

 

That is all.

 

(Ok, not quite all. Kayla has become a stunning dancer. I didn't like her in her season, but I really do now. The way she moved in that jazz routine reminded me of Suzanne Farrell in Tzigane. And sad to see Neptune go, I would've rather it been Megz.)

I was delighted to see Paul as an All-Star, since I adored him in his season -- he and Mackenzie were one of my all-time favorite pairings on the show. But then I became bummed when Meggz just could not dance at his level and it became a bit painful to watch (although she looked beautiful).

 

I'm just as delighted to see Kayla back again as an All-Star, and wow, she has certainly grown up gorgeous. I adored her in her season and wanted her to win (although I loved Janine just fine as well). I just thought Kayla had more "moments" throughout the season ("Addiction," the zombie hip-hop, the vampire jazz, her waltz with Evan, etc.). But she was really lovely here, and I thought she was a stunning counterpoint to Neptune -- they both have those gorgeous long, lean lines. (I was also so happy they pulled her hair back for this one -- in her last appearance, her face was constantly covered by that waterfall of hair.) She and Neptune made a good pairing, and it was lovely to see that when everyone came up to embrace Neptune at the end, Kayla was the first, and really seemed to have connected with him.

 

Speaking of Neptune, I was irritated at his critiques tonight. I think it's incredibly condescending to tell someone like Neptune that he just needs to keep learning and taking classes (as if, once he does, he'll finally be a 'real' dancer). I get that they were probably meaning that he could be a formidable all-around dancer if he keeps cross-training (which would be really cool) but the way Paula and Nigel phrased it, the criticisms just came across really awkwardly to me. There was just something about the tone of it (just keep trying and you'll be good someday!) that bothered me, when Neptune will probably be really successful working within his own style right away after this. 

 

I felt for Derek, being in the bottom week after week after week, and he's a beautiful technician, but his dancing just doesn't make me feel anything. This same criticism is leveled at Jim, but in Jim's case I think it's simply more a matter of his drawing crap choreography repeatedly now. The "Medusa" routine was just awful, and way to go, Phoenix and Pharside, giving Jim -- a contestant the judges have specifically asked to show more partner connection -- a routine in which he is literally not allowed to look at his partner. Gah. 

 

But it was a fun night. And I'm always so impressed at how warm Cat is in dealing with the contestants, and how caring she is with those who are eliminated. She really helps to support them in a difficult moment, and reminds them of all the good things in their experience.

[Snow Fairy]

I really enjoy Gaby, but this week's routine left me completely cold, and befuddled. I just didn't get it. There was too much flailing and clutching, AND flailing AND clutching. I thought it was actually a rather embarrassing cliche of everything that has become overdone about contemporary lately.

 

And don't forget the necessary leap into his arms. Did we have something like that this season? Contemporary usually bores me, so I don't remeber.

 

I would like to see Gaby do the cha cha, samba, passo... as well as Yaya and Virgil.

[Wootini]

The Mandy Moore number made me cry. Okay granted Sarah McLachlan's song Angel always makes me cry but with Mandy's choreography and Gaby's (& Robert's) outstanding performance I was a mess.

 

That song just makes me think of sad kitties and puppies. ;)

 

And the whole time Jim and Comfort were dancing, I was expecting the routine to end with her freezing him solid. He'd strike a cool pose and hold it as the lights went down. That would've been a MUCH better ending than swinging his sword down on her while she lay behind a pillar. :-/

[Mason]

I was expecting the routine to end with her freezing him solid. He'd strike a cool pose and hold it as the lights went down. That would've been a MUCH better ending than swinging his sword down on her while she lay behind a pillar. :-/

 

That would be contrary to the myth. But I agree with you in spirit: dancers freezing at the end in an angst-ridden pose would be a welcome alternative to all the walking off..

[crowceilidh]

 

I was delighted to see Paul as an All-Star... But then I became bummed when Meggz just could not dance at his level and it became a bit painful to watch (although she looked beautiful).

 

I got the distinct impression that she had danced it better before because I thought I saw Paul pull in his performance ao as to try not to outdance her partway through the dance.

[MrsMoltisanti]

You know what I miss?  Disco.  No angst.  No big ole explanations needed.  Just glitzy clothes, fun and smiles and some awesome dancing and a crazy lift maybe.  Disco, when dancing was just having fun and wasn't about a dad in heaven, someone going off to war, couples breaking up, unrequited love.  Just dance baby dance and let it all shine!  Disco ball, the great equalizer.  Give Jaja some platform shoes and let Virgil unbutton his shirt down to his naval and point to the sky and let that disco inferno burn!

Seriously though, I do miss the variety.  I would love more ballroom, disco, west coast swing maybe?  I used to just run to my tv in the days of Benji and Heidi, Blake, Lacey, Anya and Pasha.   Wade Robson did a routine about the hobos in the train station that I adored as well.  These days, not so much.  I am not feeling it. 

Also, Nigel must have said three or four times that so and so picked this or that out of the hat.  The jig is up Nigel.  No one picks anything out of a hat that you don't orchestrate so let's get that off the table, shall we? 

[Cuatro1234]

I wondered if the Broadway with Jaja was better during dress, too, because (while it was really nice), it did not have the big wow! factor I thought the final number would have.

 

The Gaby duet to Angel and her solo to Santana made me think about how much the song choice influences my appreciation of the dance.  In past seasons, there were always several songs that were new to me that I liked and immediately downloaded.  Not so this season.  This season, it seems to be the cool thing to pick kind of music-less music, and I'm enjoying that less.  So for me, it's not the choreography that's suffering, it's the music choices in many cases.

 

Adding to the grumbling about costumes.  My friend said, "what, they had a special on black latex cat suits?"  And I thought Paul looked more feminine than Megz in that dance--way overboard on his eye makeup, and as has been noted, kind of a fail on Megz's outfit.

 

And this:

 

 

They could only have gotten away with that concept for Cheeseman's dance with two brown dancers,

It made me think this show really HAS "cured" racism, because it seems like in past seasons, TPTB went well out of their way to avoid pairing dancers of color together (a kind of racism that was prominent for appearing to try to avoid racism, or something).  But this season, we've seen lots of duets with "brown" dancers.

 

Lastly, Jim.  I came into this feeling "meh" about him--something about his thinness and ropy muscles kind of put me off when he danced--but he has really grown on me.  I thought his hip hop last night was much better than his previous ones, and better than many of the HH dancers' out-of-genre dances.  His solo was the only thing that made me gasp this show.  Gorgeous.

[RFH]

I guess I've missed the significance of keeping a tally of which genre won each week's voting. Is there a cumulative reward for one side or the other? Or is it bragging rights for either Twitch or Travis? Or is it a process, as I suspect, which is simply an otiosity featured as an excuse to give air time to two whom the producers feel are over-whelming fan favorites? I missed what happens with that at the end of the season.

[Mertseger]

I guess I've missed the significance of keeping a tally of which genre won each week's voting. Is there a cumulative reward for one side or the other? Or is it bragging rights for either Twitch or Travis? Or is it a process, as I suspect, which is simply an otiosity featured as an excuse to give air time to two whom the producers feel are over-whelming fan favorites? I missed what happens with that at the end of the season.

 

It's an attempt to engage the audience in the format, but, indeed, there are no stakes whatsoever.

[cali1981]

This season has been OK but pales in comparison to past seasons and I think that the Street vs. Stage format change has a lot to do with it.  There seems to be a narrower choice of styles which may be a concession to the street dancers.  Personally, I miss the mix of ballroom numbers and dancers.  They added a lot to past seasons and the ballroom boys and girls always proved to be adaptable to any type of routine.  I've noticed that the opening numbers this season have looked similar with a smattering of fluid movements and a lot of animation and hip hop. Once again a possible concession to the street dancers?   The choreography has been pretty variable as well and it looks like the contemporary/lyrical/jazz choreographers have struggled a bit to craft numbers that a stage and street dancer, when paired, can perform on a reasonably even basis.  This week's show really exposed some of the street kids when they were paired with very strong all-stars in non hip-hop routines.  Whether it was because the ratings have steadily dropped over the past few years or the increased diversity of media sources now, the show's gamble on the new format has not, to me paid off.  The ratings are at an all time low.  The younger demographic that the show runners and Fox were hoping to attract have seemingly not responded and many of the loyal long-time viewers may have been turned off by the new format.  One wonders now much gas SYTYCD has left in the tank or how long Fox will stick with it in the face of such poor ratings.  If the show does survive I hope that it reverses course somewhat next year and returns to, at least, a modified version of its old format.  One very good thing has been the "jiddges". Paula has been excellent and Jason, who has more dance training than he sometimes lets on, has been been on point when he focuses on performance or gets more technical.  I don't miss the guest judges at all this season.

[Anothermi]

It's an attempt to engage the audience in the format, but, indeed, there are no stakes whatsoever.

 

Yup, pretty much that ...unless TPTB find something in the next 3 episodes to throw at it to make it (kinda) relevant.  It does have past precedent to stand on though. Starting S02 Cat used to announce how many millions of votes were cast each episode. Equally irrelevant because there were no limit to phone votes and people on fan sites used to brag about how many thousands of votes they were able to cast in the 2 hours allotted for voting. So the number of votes sounded like the show was immensely popular but you couldn't actually tell by those numbers how many people were casting votes. They stopped that practice when the vote numbers started to decline.

 

Seems like the addition of "which team got the most votes" is a stab at bolstering the Stage vs Street concept, because it's a pretty weak concept. (But I'm OK with it because we finally got a bunch of female Street contestants.)

[KLovestoShop]

What purpose does Jason serve?  His comments to contestants are so totally pedestrian and in many circumstances make little or no sense.  He's a waste of a judge seat, imho.

 

I loved Jim's solo.  I can see him succeeding in a large city ballet company, but I can't see him doing much on Broadway, Vegas or as a backup dancer.  

 

I think it's been interesting to see the shortcomings of the dancers during performances that aren't a part of their usual dancing talent.  

[Kat From Jersey]

Hmm, I'm torn.  This season has been really great, and really not-so-great.  However, there a lot of good dancers in the top 8 (and now top 6), that it's hard to choose.

 

Hailee, great.  Gaby, great.  Jaja, very good, but I love her personality and stage presence so much, and she's so good at 'street' dances.  Megz, not so much.  She's good at her genre, but that paso was so bad.  So bad, I didn't even realize Paul was her partner (truth be told, I didn't like him much at the beginning of his season, but he really, really grew on me).  That cape was just her death sentence, and I'm shocked she's still there and Derek isn't.  Derek left a bit to be desired (and really, I'm so bored with a lot of the contempo stuff), but he's amazing at splits, leaps and jumps (and those thighs... yowza).

 

Eddie/Neptune, I liked him a lot.  Great style, nice and loose, and what a personality!  Virgil, amazing, I think he'll take one of the top spots.  Jim is so, so good at his style, but too stiff at anything else. 

 

Will there be one guy and one girl as winners, as in the past few seasons?  Or one stage and one street? #confused

[St. Claire]

I think it ends with one stage and one street (since they have been culling the herd by removing evenly from each team, but not necessarily keeping male and female even) as final two, then a single winner.

Edited August 26, 2015 by St. Claire

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I think it ends with one stage and one street (since they have been culling the herd by removing evenly from each team, but not necessarily keeping male and female even) as final two, then a single winner.

Usually the finale is the top four dancers (exceptions: S6 had six finalists and S7 had three finalists).

Edited August 26, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Zuleikha]

I don't know if it's watching it on my laptop versus the big screen or if I'm just in a good mood, but I didn't think the paso with Megz and Paul was that bad. I thought the choreography and song choice were nicely done, and Megz did a decent job. I think what would have helped her is if her cape became a skirt when they went to one cape because being in pants really exposed that her legs and feet weren't quite correct. Also, it would have made a cleaner distinction between her and Paul... although I've read that shadow matador is one of the modern interpretation of the woman's role in paso, so if that's what Jean-Marc was going for, he may have wanted to maintain the more mirrored look.

 

Kayla/Neptune's number was really hot. The difference in Kayla now and when she was competing is what I've been complaining about with the young female contestants having to do numbers like the fish burlesque jazz and the femme fatale jazz. Kayla has an easy sensuality now that she didn't have when she was a teenager. I think that's pretty common for dancers to develop that in their 20s. That's true for male dancers, too, but it doesn't affect them as much on SYTYCD because they're not asked to play as mature roles.

 

I really liked Jasmin/Virgil's Afro-Jazz. Since I don't watch the intros, was the story that he was a spirit possessing her and then she fought back? I liked the idea of incorporating possession, but I didn't like that she fought back because that's very anti-the spirit of the Afro-Caribbean syncretic religions.

 

I did not like the Perseus/Medusa number. The concept seemed to exist for dress-up costumes. I liked the choreography, and I thought Jim danced well, but I thought the dance would have been better without the Perseus/Medusa story. With that story on, I wanted the choreography to have more push-pull tension with Comfort trying to get him to look at her and Jim almost looking and then pulling away. As it was, he just seemed cold and distant not making eye contact. A false blindfold would have helped, but I think choreographing the actual story would have helped more.

 

I loved Jaja/Ricky's number. I didn't think it was easy choreography. I thought Jaja got asked to do a lot and that she did it beautifully. I don't think she's overpraised at all. I think she's just a strong, versatile dancer with great musicality and expressiveness. I have a tough time deciding whether I think Jaja, Gaby, Jim, or Virgil should win

 

I think it's Megz and Hailee's time to go, but I won't be shocked either if Hailee stays over Gaby or Jim. Those three seem very close to me.

[Caelicola]

Ok, so, I got bored and checked out for a while, came back last week because af the all stars, really only enjoyed the Jaja-Alex Bollywood because Alex, decided to give it one more chance this week and ended up only enjoying the Virgil-Jasmine Afro Jazz and being bored overall.

(Small addendum: I also really really enjoyed looking at Robert, because he's almost painfully gorgeous and I'm really quite shallow).

 

The dancers are all in the good to really really good range, the all stars all proved that they deserve to be called so, but I'm sooooo tired of the choreography, man. Every contemporary/lyrical/jazz is a jumble of the same five movements and emotional beats in slightly different sequences, the hip hop all has a very similar style (there are sooo many interesting and different flavors of hip hop, why is it always either west coast hard hitting or smooth lyrical?), whenever they squeeze in a latin it's almost painfully bad and has very little actual latin technique, and to top it all off, the camerawork and costuming this season have been amateurish and in some cases have ruined the routines for me.

The only part of the show that hasn't lost any of its charm for me is Cat.

So, I think for the first time ever I'm actually out (I know, I know, nobody will cry over it, I don't know why I feel the need to announce it).

Unless they pull a Danny Tidwell out of their all star hat for next week, but I don't see that happening.

(In all honesty, I would also accept an Anya or a Pasha).

[Electruck]

One of the things mentioned in this week's Afterbuzz (link in Media) was that Megz was in hard-soled shoes. She may have been pointing her feet's little heart (hearts?) out in the paso, to no avail.

[Anothermi]

The only part of the show that hasn't lost any of its charm for me is Cat.

So, I think for the first time ever I'm actually out (I know, I know, nobody will cry over it, I don't know why I feel the need to announce it).

Unless they pull a Danny Tidwell out of their all star hat for next week, but I don't see that happening.

(In all honesty, I would also accept an Anya or a Pasha).

 

I don't know if this will be good news or bad news for you, but also on the Afterbuzz show (that Electruck posted in the media thread) it was announced that ANYA! will be on the show next week. Yay! They are usually right.

[Anothermi]

I really liked Jasmin/Virgil's Afro-Jazz. Since I don't watch the intros, was the story that he was a spirit possessing her and then she fought back? I liked the idea of incorporating possession, but I didn't like that she fought back because that's very anti-the spirit of the Afro-Caribbean syncretic religions.

 

Pretty damn close. What Sean said was he was trying to lure/convert her to the "dark" side - which of course she resisted.  I'll have to look up syncretic religions later to see if he (Sean) hit it or ignored it.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Anothermi

[phoenix780]

You know what I miss?  Disco.  No angst.  No big ole explanations needed.  Just glitzy clothes, fun and smiles and some awesome dancing and a crazy lift maybe.  Disco, when dancing was just having fun and wasn't about a dad in heaven, someone going off to war, couples breaking up, unrequited love.  Just dance baby dance and let it all shine!  Disco ball, the great equalizer.  Give Jaja some platform shoes and let Virgil unbutton his shirt down to his naval and point to the sky and let that disco inferno burn!

 

I agree with the sentiment but I'm glad to not see disco, or at least Doriana disco.  Those routines...I'm just waiting for the guy to drop dead from all the lifting and spinning.

 

Still, they could do with some just dance dancing.  For some reason that makes me think of LauriAnn Gibson and the "Battlefield" routine back in the day.  Or that one routine...Boogie Shoes, I think it was.  It's like 90 seconds of movement, does it really need a backstory that takes 30 seconds to explain? 

 

Alternately, I'm down for them to tell one story throughout the entire show, as portrayed by different dancers in different stories.  That might be interesting.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Doriana disco is scary. It's nonstop lifts so I am always afraid the dancers are going to get hurt. But I agree that some non-angsty choreography without any story would be welcome.

[allypenguin]

I also miss when stories were not just angsty love stories, or cheating stories, or two girls fighting over the same guy stories. Like Mandy's Table piece, the two princes with Danny and Neil, or even something like (don't hurt me please) Tyce's baseball piece.

 

I really wish the show would have Blake choreograph like on SYTYCD Canada. Yeah it's raunchy, but at least it's different/not boring. Or bring House to the US show. I also miss krumping. Definitely not an every week thing but I enjoyed seeing it. Bring back Lil C :(

[Mertseger]

Pretty damn close. What Sean said was he was trying to lure/convert her to the "dark" side - which of course she resisted.  I'll have to look up syncretic religions later to see if he (Sean) hit it or ignored it.

You'd probably have better luck looking up Yoruba which (because of the slave trade) combined with Catholicism and native Meso-American religions to form Candomble and Santeria among others. Vodun arose through a similar process with a different set of African religions. These religions generally practice a form of possession in which the participants enter willingly and surrender their consciousness to the spirits. Thus, it would not be seen as surrendering to the dark side nor would be resisted within such traditions. Such practices would be seen (and frequently are) seen as the dark side by Christians. A great book on Yoruban Traditions  by a modern practitioner is Jumbulaya by Luisa Teish.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Mertseger