S12.E15: Top 6 Perform + Elimination

[Tara Ariano]

The Top 6 dancers perform, but two more contestants are eliminated.

[Koffee Kup]

Alex Wong posted a pic on FB/Instagram today with the following caption, 

 

Peekaboo! Guess who's dancing on ‪#‎SYTYCD‬ tomorrow?  Who do you think will make top 4?

 

 

[kechara]

Cat is pregnant isn't she? She sure looks like it

[Quickbeam]

Hailee over Jim? Really? Hmmm. Didn't see that coming.

[Koffee Kup]

Nigel should have just crowned Ya Ya tonight.  He was channeling that a Street dancer is going to win all night with his comments about hip hop and dance.

 

Jim should be in the final.

[kechara]

I found that very disappointing too. But I think the comments for the past coup,e of weeks have been the writing on the wall for Jim. When they put Alex with Jaja, rather than Jim, I was pretty sure he only got the one dance at the beginning with the other ballet guy and nothing else close to his genre, unlike anyone else. Whining now

[Thog]

Man, that was hard to watch. I can't fault anyone for voting for Hailee (and Gaby was a given), but watching Jim barely keep it together for the farewell segment just broke my heart. He is an amazing dancer and seems like such a sweet, genuine person. Best of luck to him moving forward.

[LadyMustang65]

Well, that sucked.  I prefer Megz over Virgil, but I've been preparing myself for weeks that she wouldn't squeak past him into the finals.  But I never ever even once suspected that Jim would not be there.  Hailee has never done anything for me.  She just bugs.  And now (sorry to say because it's not her fault) I really despise her for knocking Jim out.  That was just stupid.  But at least it made voting easy - split between Gaby and Jaja.

 

Also thrilled to see Joshua back again.  I loved him in his season, and like the other All-Stars, he's improved since his time on the show.  I enjoyed the show tonight - except for the results - but again none of the choreography really wowed me.  But I did like Gaby and Jim's number apparently a lot more than the judges did.  I thought it was a lot of fun.  

[luvthepros]

Cat is pregnant isn't she? She sure looks like it

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

[allypenguin]

NOOO WHY JIM? My heart was breaking watching Jim cry at the end. I wanted him to dance with Alex sooo badly too.

 

I could just watch Alex dance forever. Jim's solo was incredible. Anya was smoking hot, and I love seeing Dmitry for, uh, reasons. I wish Jaja and Virgil's dance was more hard hitting and grimy, or nastier even. 

 

ETA: this tweet:

Alex Wong ‏@AlexdWong 41m41 minutes ago

Tonight's #SYTYCD elimination breaks my heart. I don't like it one bit.

 

Me neither Alex, me neither :(

Edited September 1, 2015 by allypenguin

[Thadeeeyus]

I found that very disappointing too. But I think the comments for the past coup,e of weeks have been the writing on the wall for Jim. When they put Alex with Jaja, rather than Jim, I was pretty sure he only got the one dance at the beginning with the other ballet guy and nothing else close to his genre, unlike anyone else. Whining now

 

I'm whining, too. Jim is a fantastic dancer.  I think the writing has been on the wall since his early dance with Jaja. It seems that's the last time he had any praise without qualifications.  They were trying their best to make him look bad. I thought he was really good in both of his numbers tonight.  Gaby was awkward in the Broadway number which impacted the impression of the dance, but Jim did a good job.   I do think Alex Wong is the Asian face of ballet or SYTYCD and they don't want to interfere with that.   Oh, well. I wish you well, Jim!

[Stuffy]

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

Pretty sure that's a fake news website. I ran into it a couple of years ago. They will say something like "_____is pregnant/engaged" and then do the update with the representatives denying it. It's almost word for word what I saw two years ago. Edited September 1, 2015 by Stuffy

[beeble]

Bummed about Jim but I like all of these dancers so much. And nobody is a pointing, look-off-in-the-distance, heart-broken, deeper-feeling-homo-sapien-than-you-or-I-could-ever-be contemporary dancer.

 

So now Alzheimer's is a dance topic? Can we just do a hospital ward mash-up of all of the ailments that have affected the choreographers and be done with it? 

[TrudyC]

Hailee over Jim? Really? Hmmm. Didn't see that coming.

I don't think Hailee saw it coming, either. She started to hug Jim to congratulate him, and then she realized her name was called. I hated to see Jim go, but I think Hailee deserves to be there. 

 

Not sure if it was just me, but JaJa and Alex's dance was one of my favorite contemporary pieces this season, even with the heavy handed theme. Loved the choreography, which really showcased JaJa's strengths.

[Toaster Strudel]

I was certain of Jim/Jaja in the top two.  They are both magical creatures in their own right and their inner flame outshines every spotlight.

 

I hope Jim takes it in stride, he has delighted everyone with superlative dancing.  I thought he nailed the ballroom, I felt it was overly criticized.

[Thadeeeyus]

I hope Jim takes it in stride, he has delighted everyone with superlative dancing.  I thought he nailed the ballroom, I felt it was overly criticized.

 

 

It was in their script not to say anything positive about Jim tonight. It didn't matter how he danced, he was going to get criticized.  I like Jaja, but I don't think I have the heart to watch the show any more this season.

[grumpypanda]

I wanted to hate the Alzheimer's dance but I actually liked it. I still hate that JaJa over emotes and I think she ends up looking kind of silly most of the time. I wasn't a fan of her solo either. I think she gets a lot of love just because she dances in a way that a pretty white girl normally doesn't. She'll probably win and I'm okay with that. Basically now that Derek is gone I'm okay with anyone winning.

Most of tonight's routines were kind of forgettable to me except for a few.

Hailee and Megz routine was interesting and I almost loved it but Megz brought it down a notch for me. I really thought Hailee shined in it though.

I think the worst of the night was Megz and Joshua's hip hop. I thought Josh was doing his best but Megz seemed a little lost at times. It doesn't help that I don't like Christopher Scott's choreography.

The best moment of the night for me was after Jim's samba while he was standing next to Cat and did his adorable little sexy dance. I'm sad to see him leave tonight but if there is another season I wouldn't be surprised if he came back as an all-star.

[ketchuplover]

I thought I saw some slow motion in one routine.

[phoenix780]

I fell asleep.  When I woke up it was Jaja and Virgil, and I frickin' love Paula calling out the musical choice on that because the whole thing was just...yet another routine this season where I was waiting for them to get past the warm-up into the core of the dance.  I'm not sure I miss Tabatha/Napoleon, but I am sure I don't want any more routines from these two.  They try very hard, concept-wise, but their stuff doesn't pop for me.  Can't remember it well, either, once it's done.

 

Then Nigel rambled something about how hip hop is a legitimate dance style now, and all I can say to that is I want to be as rich as he is so I can create my own narratives about the world.  I feel like there's something quintessentially British about the way he approaches hip hop, in that he seems big on owning it and defining it.  It reminds me of being in the British Museum reading all the little signs about how they "acquired" things (like the entire facade of a temple) when you know they just flippin' stole stuff and refused to give them back.  Hip hop is his acquisition, which he'll display any darn way he pleases.

 

I'm really struck by the way Hailee looked at Jim.  She totally didn't think she was going through.  

 

I'm glad Megz got this far.  I don't care if she wasn't great from a pure technique standpoint, she was one of the only ones this season who felt original to me and I enjoyed her.  

 

Not a bad final 4 I guess.  I'll root for anyone but Virgil- I feel like I've seen him before.

 

ETA- If they want to prove that hip hop has now made it, or whatever, let's see a hip hop routine about disease and/or suffering.  While we're at it, how about a contemporary routine about, I dunno, Egyptian gods fighting or two people meeting in a club.  Let's go, show.  If stage makes street better and vice versa (sometimes) let's swap themes and see what happens.

Edited September 1, 2015 by phoenix780

[Cuatro1234]

Chris Scott's smirk was unsettling when they showed him after his routine!

 

I thought Jim was all the way, too, so sad for him.  He was great in his Fever routine, but I liked last week's solo better than this week's.

 

Alex Freakin' Wong, you are a gift.  Loved that.

 

My daughter and I were watching the Virgil/Jaja going "And now...the beat will drop.  And now... And now..." and Paula's right, it never came, and that was SOOO boring.

 

Jason Derulo really found his voice tonight!  Love him trying to cut off Nigel:  "What did you think of the ROUTINE?"  :) :) :)

[Morgan of Hed]

The hip-hop community must be really excited to get the endorsement of a 66 year old British guy.

Loved JaJa's solo tonight. I also really liked Megz & Hailee together. All the other duets were meh for me.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Listening to Paula Rube Goldberg machine her way to reasonably on-point critiques all season has been exhausting. My scrunched up face count has to be in the hundreds.

 

Gaby totally got bused tonight to pave the way for a Jaja (or possibly Virgil) victory. She goes first and is paired w/ the most Meh of all the allstars (Marko), she gets two very similar jazz-looking pieces. And she gets paired w/ Jim (I know, I know, impecable technique) who simply isn't a strong partner (thank you Jason) when it comes to being stable and supportive on lifts and leaps. Even both of her choreographers were about as nondescript as you can get in the SYTYCD-universe, w/ Ray Leeper and Justin something rather...

 

Compare that to Virgil and Jaja who got to dance w/ each other in their preferred style as well as being given vaunted "emotional" pieces for the judges to completely or almost completely fawn over.

 

I wonder if Hailee would've had Alexia's hairstyle for the entire competition.....would we feel wildly different about her run on the show? What if we went ahead and gave Alexia the edgy, alternative hairstyle? Not that I totally hate Hailee...I just feel like for somebody to make the final 4, shouldn't you have at least couple of 9s or 10s on your resume? The only routine I'd give that high of a score to was the hip hop she did w/ Fikshun. She's had a lot of 6s, 7s or 8s, but ymmv of course.

[methadonna]

(And I say this as a fan of musical theater, er, sorry, BROADWAY dance, and Gaby, and Jim, and, BUT...)

OMG, that dance.

Or, not that dance, because I couldn't pay one second of attention to it once I saw the final anvil^H^H^Hnail in the hospital bed^H^H^Hcoffin of heavy-handed foreshadowing that was the fedora placed so prominantly on the bedpost and thought, "Why, golly gee, pre-dance package VoiceOver Voice: when you said it would be up to the audience ::beat:: AND GABY :: to determine whether it had all been a dream, or...[dun dun dun] REAL, and after all the talk about the fedora-wearing stranger, no less, could you POSSIBLY have been fore-foreshadowing that the dance would end with Gaby "waking up," only to discover [dun...you get it] THE FEDORA IS STILL THERE?!"

And, that, my friends, was it.

All I could do was groan at the cheese and wait for the end so I could groan even more at how goddamned cheesy and treacly and trite and cliched and whatever words I could find that might be even more cliched and trite and treacly and cheesy as these words and this dance and this telegraphed ending. Because, really? UGGH. Be. More. Smarter.

I mean yeah, I know, as the great Alfredora Hitchcock once said, "If a character-developing hat is shown in the first act, it must go^H^H be taken off for the third act." Or something. Maybe if it had killed her?

[vibeology]

After Jim's dance last week, I do get why he went home but it's still a shock since his dance capacity is so great. That samba was wildly underpraised. Sambas are hard and Jim's footwork was strong, there was so much content and he stood up to Anya. I do agree his back and hips could have been looser, but overall that was a great performance. Nigel should have given him credit on the way out.

I'm not mad at Hailee making it. She had a good week last week and a better week this time. When this show is over she's going to book so much work. She's that sort of dancer so I get why she's made it this far.

[LadyMustang65]

I realized this morning that I am doubly annoyed at the show big - time.  Since they knew already that Jim was leaving last night, why the ever-lovin' h-e-l-l didn't they put Jim and Alex together for a dance last night?  That would have been so amazingly awesome!!  Of course, it most likely would also have pointed out big-time the stupidity of the voters to not put Jim through, but still . . . for all the lip service they gave to Jim being perhaps the greatest technical dancer in the show's history, why not give him a chance to show off how truly amazing he can be with a duet with another truly amazing and gifted dancer from the same style?  Would it really have freakin' killed them to give not only him that chance but also give the audience that delight?  I just don't understand choosing Hailee over Jim.  They're not in the same league, imho.  smh

 

And while I'm at it, I absolutely adore Cat Deely, but I thought asking if there was tongue was just gross.  Eww.

Edited September 1, 2015 by LadyMustang65

[Haleth]

Well, I'm disappointed too but Jim and other recently eliminated dancers got a lot of exposure so hopefully his career will explode.  He certainly has an incredible talent.  And of the six who performed last night he was probably the least suited to work with Jennifer Lopez, so there's that.  It might have worked out for the best with a better opportunity awaiting him.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Still so disappointed that Jim was eliminated. He should have been in the final four in my opinion.

 

The major thing I noticed during the opening number was that even in the long shots, I could always tell which dancers Virgil and Megz because their toes weren't pointed and their port de bras weren't as expansive. I know, I know, training, technique, blah blah blah. Yes, they were dancing outside their main styles, but I find it really distracting when I can immediately identify a dancer for negative reasons. Aside from that, I think that the group looked pretty good as a whole in terms of skill level, but that was helped greatly by the fact that a lot of the choreography was not in unison.

 

Bless Ray Leeper for saying that his dance was all technique and no story. Based on the rehearsal footage, I was expecting a total booty dance so I was actually a tiny bit disappointed that we didn't get more of Gaby's booty. I disagreed with Jason about her "star quality" being diminished this week. First of all, I wasn't moved by her dance last week. Secondly, a dancer doesn't need to have dramatic emotional choreography in order to have a great performance. I did not get Gaby's weird head wobbling while Cat told us how to vote for her though. I hated her costume too.

 

I liked the old school vibe of Virgil's solo but I didn't think it showed off his dance skills or his personality really well. Most of the personality came from the song and the costume.

 

Always great to see Tessandra Chavez on the show (she choreographed for my high school's dance team so I have a soft spot for her). I don't have an issue with the Alzheimer's storyline. If they are going to have those kinds of intentionally emotional dances, at least this one had actual dancing, unlike Mia's Dead Daddy flower dance which I loathe with the fire of a thousand suns because it was emotionally manipulative and contained almost no dancing. This dance had much more technical choreography which is important to me because this is a dance competition. Jaja's contemporary technique isn't as good as Jim's, Gaby's, or Hailee's but she had no technical problems with this dance. She is very good at making the choreography look effortless. In addition, I think that she is the best actress of the top six which makes a huge difference in dances like this. And it can't be said enough: ALEX FREAKING WONG!

 

I really liked the lighting during Hailee's solo but that was about it. Her solo was on par with Derek's - very typical competition routine with trick after trick. I am also so tired of that Sia song.

 

I like Megz but I didn't think she did very well in her hip hop routine. I was expecting her to kill it and instead she just looked okay. I don't know if she was uncomfortable with the style or what but she didn't seem into it. The one good thing during the judges' comments was Jason mentioning that the contestants only get seven hours per dance. That is not a long time to learn and polish a dance.

 

Anya and Dmitry! Eeeeeeee! I knew poor Jim was toast when he was assigned the samba. And how could anyone be expected to watch Jim when Anya was up there doing her thing? Ha and I love that Dmitry's costume choice for Jim was the patented open shirt.

 

When Jaja was talking about her mentor, I kept thinking she was calling him Titus. Then I thought she was caling him Tightass. When they finally showed his name on the screen, I was like oh, Tight EYEZ.

 

Virgil was lucky that he got a contemporary routine that only had about 30 seconds of dancing for him. He spent the first 30 seconds kneeling on the ground while Melanie danced around him (and then the routine ended with 20 seconds of him kneeling on the gruond again) which made me feel like I was watching a Dancing with the Stars routine where they were wasting time to minimize the amount of time that the celebrity had to dance. When they got to the section of side by side choreography, it was really obvious that Virgil's contemporary technique is not very good.

 

Awwww, seeing Jim get choked up talking about his mentor had me tearing up a little. It's really touching to see how appreciative both he and his parents are that his mentor recognized his talent at such a young age.

 

Robert's dancing has really matured and I think that he is grown into his looks. I don't mean that he was unattractive before, but on his original season, there was something about both his dancing and his face that seemed a little raw and unfinished. I agreed with Paula's critique about Hailee working on her transitions. Smoothing out the movement from the prep through the partner tricks is the difference between good and great.

 

Seeing that Megz took all kinds of dance classes as a kid makes it all the more disappointing to me that she doesn't point her toes more. I know I keep harping on that, but unlike, say, being flexible enough to do the splits (which Nigel criticized her for a few weeks ago), pointing your toes doesn't require years of practice. Anyone can do it right now. I really liked her solo though. It was very smooth and elegant.

 

I love Fever so when I heard the first bass notes of Jim and Gaby's routine, I got excited. Then I saw the song credit on the screen and I was like argh, why Michael Buble? Peggy Lee, bitches!

 

Megz really benefited from the choreography in her duet with Hailee because Hailee got all the technical stuff. I'm not saying that Megz did a bad job though. All I'm saying is that Hailee was the one doing the penchés and other more technical moves. It wasn't so the point where I felt like I was watching a DWTS routine though.

 

I don't hate Pharside and Phoenix but good lord, must we have one of their routines EVERY week this season? Top 16 was the only week we didn't have a P+P routine (but they made up for it by having two routines during Top 10 week). One thing I really liked is that despite their Alice in Wonderland theme, the costumes weren't actually necessary to make the routine work. You could put the dancers in completely different costumes and the dance would still make sense (I really dislike when a routine relies on the costumes to tell the story).

 

Heh, apparently Jaimie is this season's bad luck charm. Every time she danced with someone this season, they were eliminated. Okay, fine, it was just Edson and Derek , but Jaimie was the only All Star this season to have two people she danced with eliminated (and two weeks in a row!).

[kechara]

I would have enjoyed seeing the street side, and most of the stage side for that matter, attempting a ballet routine. It would only have been fair. Jim got hip hop and jazz almost exclusively

[Crisopera]

I mean yeah, I know, as the great Alfredora Hitchcock once said, "If a character-developing hat is shown in the first act, it must go^H^H be taken off for the third act." Or something. Maybe if it had killed her?

 

 

That was actually the great Russian writer Haton Chekov.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I agree. During this episode, I found myself watching each routine and then wondering how the other contestants would have fared with the same choreography. This is why I'm okay with Megz leaving because I couldn't imagine her doing as well or better in Jaja's contemporary or Gaby's Broadway, for example. But unfortunately that's why I wish Virgil had been eliminated instead of Jim (which I know is going back to the old boy vs girl format rather than the stage vs street format so it's a moot point). I don't think Virgil did very well in his contemporary and I can't imagine him dancing the male parts in Jaja's contemporary or Gaby and Jim's Broadway.

 

Even though Jaja is on the street team, I have liked her non-street routines better than seeing her dance in her own style.

[kayma]

Wasn't hip hop a mainstream dance genre over 20 years ago? Or really even longer since my 20+ years frame of reference is in rural upstate NY and not in NYC or LA. I'm glad Nigel finally caught on.

Too bad I ran out of time to fast forward through the judges on that comment. I did enjoy Jason's snarky question about the routine, though.

I'm surprised Jim left. I could not remember who the 6th finalist was before elimination until they showed them lined up and saw Hailee.

I would be happy with JaJa winning. I really liked the Alzheimer's dance as long as I ignored the story. I loved her solo. Gaby is very hit or miss for me. I like Virgil but he's hit or miss, too. Those two don't always elevate the meh choreography for me.

[Wootini]

I thought I saw some slow motion in one routine.

 

I thought the same thing for a split second, but then I realized that wasn't a camera effect, that was just Jim's exquisite control as he swept his leg up over Anya's head in what appeared to be slow-motion. AMAZING.

 

And this is the guy you send home? I mean, nothing against Hailee (Gaby was a lock), but COME ON.

 

That was a big surprise for me. It has been pretty obvious for weeks and weeks that Virgil and Jaja were going to be the two Street dancers in the finale. And while Megz impressed initially, she hasn't continued to grow, so that's it for her. But I was really pulling for Jim. In fact, after the judges shat all over him last week, his solo was so unbelievably gorgeous that I gave him all 20 of my votes. And I was prepared to do the same thing after they shat all over him AGAIN, but then he was eliminated. So I thought about it and realized I no longer care who wins, so I wasn't inspired to vote for anybody this time. And I won't vote next week after the performance finale. 

 

I mean, it's probably going to be Virgil. Who are we kidding?

 

It just really irks me that the judges for the past weeks have been ragging on every little thing in Jim's performances. And it doesn't help that he's given things like hip hop and samba while other people are given easy contemporary (Virgil, I'm looking at you) with a treacly emotional hook for the audience or their own style. Ugh. So frustrating. It's like the show was TRYING to get Jim eliminated.

 

Oh well, I can only hope that he goes back to ballet where he is UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING and leads a company somewhere.

 

PS: Hey producers, if we don't get an Alex/Jim ballet duet in the season finale, I'm gonna be hella pissed. Just FYI.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Wootini, a big fat WORD to your entire post. A few seasons ago, Nigel was tripping all over himself to get Chehon and Eliana to win and this season he has been doing everything within his power to make sure that Jim didn't win, whether it's "randomly" assigning him hip hop three times or talking about how he doesn't connect with his partners. When he was giving his critique for this week's Broadway routine, I thought well gee, imagine if Virgil had been assigned to do that dance with Gaby. He would have been falling flat on his face trying to do a good portion of that routine. But the worst thing that Nigel had to say to Virgil this entire season is that his lack of technique was exposed a few weeks ago. I don't dislike Virgil at all and I think he is really good when he's in his comfort zone, but I think he is not very versatile and he is the worst technical dancer in the final four (and he was lobbed a softball with that alleged contemporary routine this week). Meanwhile Nigel was thrown Jim under the bus week after week for no discernible reason. I know that this isn't the Jim vs. Virgil show but it's just really frustrating to see the disparity in their "journeys" (as Nigel likes to call them).

 

Wasn't hip hop a mainstream dance genre over 20 years ago? Or really even longer since my 20+ years frame of reference is in rural upstate NY and not in NYC or LA. I'm glad Nigel finally caught on.

 

Too bad I ran out of time to fast forward through the judges on that comment. I did enjoy Jason's snarky question about the routine, though.

I seriously could not believe that Nigel was patting himself on the back for bringing hip hop to mainstream America. Are you fucking kidding me? If white middle class suburban kids have been able to take hip hop classes at dance studios and middle schools for over twenty years (which they have), then Nigel isn't exactly on the cutting edge of dance the way he thinks he is. I swear, he is determined to dislocate his shoulder patting himself on the back for bringing dance to the ignorant unwashed masses (he did the same thing when he started talking about how Megz has grown because of being on SYTYCD - I loved that Cat's immediate response was to point out that Hailee's journey on the show has been great too).

 

I was so annoyed with Nigel that I was really glad that Jason broke into Nigel's self congratulatory speech to ask what he thought of the actual dance they just saw. Ha! I am still not a huge fan of Jason, but he definitely has his moments and that may have been his best one all season.

[Thadeeeyus]

I thought I saw some slow motion in one routine.

I thought the same thing for a split second, but then I realized that wasn't a camera effect, that was just Jim's exquisite control as he swept his leg up over Anya's head in what appeared to be slow-motion. AMAZING.

 

I loved that!  Good stuff!  I admit to being partial to ballet dancers since that was my chosen style of dance, but Jim is such an awesome and talented dancer.   I'm still sad.

 

I was so annoyed with Nigel that I was really glad that Jason broke into Nigel's self congratulatory speech to ask what he thought of the actual dance they just saw. Ha! I am still not a huge fan of Jason, but he definitely has his moments and that may have been his best one all season.

 

Haha. That was great!  Something tells me Jason won't be asked back. 

Edited September 1, 2015 by Thadeeeyus

[poppy-]

I thought the same thing for a split second, but then I realized that wasn't a camera effect, that was just Jim's exquisite control as he swept his leg up over Anya's head in what appeared to be slow-motion. AMAZING.

 

I think that is the moment I will remember in a few years, out of this whole season.  Cool choreographer trick made possible by an exceptional dancer.

[poppy-]

I like Jason as a judge. Nigel and Paula have legit cred in their fields, but having an entertainer at the peak of his career, with lots of dance training and professional dance experience, is a good thing for this show.

 

And yeah Cat looks very pregnant. Good for her.

Edited September 1, 2015 by poppy-

[St. Claire]

I'm sad to see Jim gone, although the final prize (chance to be a back up dancer for JLo) isn't exactly in his wheelhouse. With any luck, Jim's time on the show will catch the attention of someone who can pave the way for him to be in a major company and I'll be seeing him on my annual Ovation Nutcracker binge-watch at Christmas. Nigel was extra annoying this week with his back-patting for bringing hip hop into the dance landscape. Phht, go away, you pretentious jackhole.

[shimarella]

On the one hand, seeing the show break the pattern of two boys, two girls as finalists was really cool but on the other hand, I was indeed surprised and disappointed that Jim didn't make it over Hailee. That hip-hop last week screwed him over. I have nothing against Hailee ( well maybe just that her short blonde hair + dark eyebrows makes her look like Miley Cyrus) but everytime I plan on being impressed by her, I can't remember what she did on the show. 

I groaned out loud at the concept for Gaby & Jim's dance. REALLY? SHE HAS A FEVER. Its like middle school girls came up with the literal concepts for the show. It was great to see Anya again and I think Jim danced well with her, TBH. Jaja did great with Alex. I think she is a bit of a phenom in that her expressively mobile face adds so much to her performances, and she does make her work look effortless. I was prepared to dismiss her as a novelty ( white girl krumping) but really...she's a star in the making and I'm not mad at her for it. 

Megz was bound to go in part because of that paso that she couldn't overcome. But I am a fan. She's fierce, she has abs and her gender-non-conforming self DID end up breaking ground on the show. It mattered to me. She's someone else who has a career if she wants it. I also am completely sympathetic to her difficulty with toe pointing To the poster upthread who said it was easy...nope nope it is not. For some reason ( probably just that all my dance training has not been at all about ballet/modern) I cannot remember to point my toes in the clutch to save my life, hence judges notes forever and demerits in pole dance competitions to that effect. SO Megz...I feel ya. 

 

I'm just hoping that next week we get some good choreographies, by maybe some different people. If nothing else, this season fully bored me in terms of what the choreographers had to offer. Also, I would have loved to see everyone's solos be longer. That would be really nice for a final someday.

Edited September 1, 2015 by shimarella

[Primetimer]

It's the news the dance community was waiting for -- Nigel Lythgoe declares hip-hop a legitimate part of dance culture!

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[DollEyes]

[bernie Mac Voice] "This is some bullshit." [/bMV] Poor Jim. He was robbed. Utterly, totally and completely robbed. The judges in general and Nigel in particular have been throwing Jim under the bus for weeks and now they finally gotten what/whom they wanted for the F4. While I like Virgil and Jaja & am meh on Hailee and Gabby, I floved Jim and though dancing for J.Lo ultimately wasn't the right fit for him, he deserved to be in the finals anyway, because that's how awesome he is. 

 

Jim did a great Samba and he kept up with Anya. It wasn't "perfect," but it was much better than Nigel said it was. Jim's tribute to his late mentor was as beautiful as his solo.  When Jim was eliminated, it broke my heart almost as much as it did his.

 

  After the way Nigel alone has treated Jim, Jim and Alex Wong should dance together in the Finale because Jim deserves it. The world deserves it.

Edited September 1, 2015 by DollEyes

[Alison]

So now Alzheimer's is a dance topic? Can we just do a hospital ward mash-up of all of the ailments that have affected the choreographers and be done with it? 

Maybe it's because I lost my grandfather to that horrible disease in March, but I found the dance very upsetting. Actually, I recall very little of the actual dance because I was so angry at the story. I've always disliked the obviously emotionally manipulative dances (Mia's dead father, the cancer dance, etc.), but this one hit too close to home, and the final shot of Jaja pushing Alex away because she didn't recognize him made me break down.

I really liked Gaby and Marko's dance (although I would have preferred a more charismatic All-Star; sorry, Marko). What was with the saloon costuming, though?

I knew Megz was for sure going home on Street, but I had no idea what would happen on Stage. I'm devastated by Jim's ouster, but any pairing for the final 2 would be fine with me; Gaby, Hailee and Jim have proven themselves to be excellent technicians and performers. The girls are just a bit more versatile than Jim, though; he did his best with all the hip hop they threw at him, but the girls transition into different styles so easily. I gave Gaby 15 of my votes and Virgil the other 5.

[Thog]

 

Something tells me Jason won't be asked back.

I actually wondered the same about Paula, after she dared to criticize the choreographers for their choice of music in Virgil and Jaja's routine. I actually cheered. I can't remember a judge ever saying anything so directly critical to the choreographers before, even when they clearly did a disservice to the dancers. I assumed it wasn't allowed.

[bafleyanne]

I was fine with the street finalists. I had been expecting it would be Jaja and Virgil, and although Jaja is a bit overhyped I really like her. Possibly helped by the fact that she bears a striking physical resemblance to my BFF. :)  Jim got robbed, though. I agree--we totally need a Jim/Alex routine in the finale. That might soothe my pain a little. Hailee is an ok dancer but not in Jim's class at all. I'm really hoping she is in 4th overall.

[Wootini]

The judges SHOULD be allowed to criticize the choreographers. Because sometimes it IS the choreography that lets the dancer down, not the other way around. Especially this season, where they're bringing in a bunch of new choreographers who are decidedly hit or miss. I guess it's just because the initial seasons had such great choreography that now we're feeling a little let down. But Nigel can't ding Paula for criticizing the choreography or the song choice. I wish somebody had dinged whoever choreographed Virgil's soldier routine (I forget who it was) because it totally let him coast and didn't give him anything difficult to do. (Much as I would've dinged Travis for that Edson routine where all he did was forklift his partner around the stage and wasn't given anything to show off his actual talents.)

[phoenix780]

I never noticed the judges throwing Jim under the bus (haven't watched the parts of last night that I slept through, though).  I remember them telling that one guy he needed to work on connection (was that directed at Jim? I thought it was the white guy...whatever his name was).  And I remember them beating Megz down last week.  

 

I wasn't that much of a fan of Jim, though.  Seems like a nice kid, I'm sure he's technically great in ways I can't appreciate, but I remember him feeling very one speed (bouncy/bubbly).  I think I'm not remembering him actually dancing, like he didn't leave an impression on me through that.  Which I don't fault him for, by the way, because I think the choreo was just not there this year overall- I'm having trouble remembering any of them in a standout routine this season.

 

 

I guess it's just because the initial seasons had such great choreography that now we're feeling a little let down.

 

I keep going back on forth on this.  And I think what it comes down to for me is...the choreography had gotten stale before this season.  Sonya's jazz routines, Tabatha/Napoleon hip hop, Tyce's crap Broadway and maudlin contemporary (sometimes using moves borrowed from Mia)- it was tired.  Yet this season has new choreographers and it wasn't really better.  

 

It's just...weird.  I kind of want to express my disappointment without reference to seasons past, 'cause I don't think I'd want those people back, either.  They really should layer on a competition for young choreographers (who would have time/incentive to work long hours with the dancers polishing a routine).  Or find what I can only assume are a lot of talented choreographers who would love to have their work televised nationally.  It shouldn't be so hard, I think.

Edited September 1, 2015 by phoenix780

[Jael]

Not that I'm complaining, but every time All-Star Robert gets brought in, the costume department celebrates by breaking out the bondage gear and throwing out all the shirts. Feels like we haven't seen him in years without some strap of leather wrapped around him somewhere. (Again, not a complaint.)

 

I think this season was designed for Jaja to win but Gaby is the most versatile and talented, in my book. Either would be fine with me.

 

If they wanted Virgil to win they would have brought in Amy for his All-Star.

[MrsMoltisanti]

I truly believe Hailee thought she was going home based on the concept of 2 boys/2 girls in the finale.  She looked so upset for Jim and he looked downright broken hearted at that moment.  It's a great moment for her but on the back of a friend and it was visible in her face. 

I really loved it when Paula made that comment about the choreography and the music.  It was all one line to me with no crescendos and de-crescendos as Paula schooled.  Right on Paula!  It did nothing for the dancers, or at least didn't allow them to bring it home as they might have been able to.

Derulo looks like he can't wait to be done with Nigel. 

I am still not feeling the JaJa love.  She is cute.  I get that.  I feel nothing when I watch her dance.  Is it that the show is manipulating me to like her for the win and I feel that in some tunnel of my brain? 

[Wootini]

I also felt like Jason's comment about how quickly they have to throw these routines together and the lack of rehearsal time and time with the choreographer was his way of subtly apologizing for/explaining why these routines have been somewhat lackluster this season.

[Mason]

Anyone interested in the origins of krump (and why a little white girls might be a novelty), check out the documentary Rize (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rize_%28film%29). If I remember correctly, there is still some bad blood between Lil C and TightEyez (JaJa's mentor) over who created it.

[Apocalypse Cow]

I was not surprised to see Jim go. I think he is a lovely dancer, and I much preferred over Hailey McMuggy Face, there was something cold or disconnected about his dancing that did not resonate with me.  I wish that when we hit the top 10, the division between Street and Stage had gone away, and the bottom two dancers just left. I preferred Neptune (awesome chemistry with everyone) and Megz (just something really pleasing about watching her dance) over Jim and Hailey. 

 

I do feel the magic is missing from the earlier seasons. I think that some of the magic in the earlier seasons had to do with the relationships between the partners and that we actually got to know the dancers better.  I don't think the dancers have gotten better/worse, or even the dances... but we don't know these people like we knew Twitch, and Lacey, and all the others.  

 

And finally, I'm tired of the jazzy-contempo opening numbers. Make those stage kids do a hard hitting hip hop with the street kids.