So You Think You Can Dance Season 8

[RickRS]

Wednesday's show has some good stuff and I enjoy the performances.

Melanie and Marko's jazz number was great inspite of the weird outfit Melanie worn.

Contemporary dancers Sasha and Alexander's hip-hop disappointed the judges, but I still liked it. Sasha was dancing hip-hop better than Alexander. I think what the judges were missing was the "swagger" expected in the dance, and Sasha had a little more of it than Alex.

Jordan and Tadd got smooth waltz, making it the second time they did waltz, having done what I felt was a very good viennese waltz two weeks ago. I'm impress with Tadd. This guy is from the hip-hop community and he's holding his own in dances way, way outside his style.

Contemporary Ashley and hip-hopper Chris did salsa and disappointed the judges. It wasn't that good, but it wasn't a mess. Chris, the weak link in the team for this dance, was doing his best. If he had been on DwtS as a contestant, he would have been in the '9' class. But more is expected here, so Thursday they got eliminated.

Enjoyed Ryan and Ricky's jazz dance to 'Fashion'. I thought Ricky was rocking the "zombie-Zoolander' vibe even better than Ryan.

Last up was Caitlynn and Mitchell with a Mandy Moore contemporary number. The performance was great with the dance seeming to soar above the floor. That dance was a real workout with tons of lifts and leaps. No doubt in my mind when Cat brought them out for the result announcement on Thursday's show they were safe.

The second guest judge, Carmen Electra, didn't show Thursday and nothing was said about that. What was up? I'm assuming that the celebrity judge input was part of the judging, and past guests Megan Mullally, Debbie Reynolds, and Kristin Chenoweth (4th judge with Lil' C) had something to do with the selection. Why didn't Carmen show?

And a reminder of this show's setup; Travis Wall was quoted (from the link Beto provided about a new reality show King of Dance) saying he spent 4 and a half hours working with the dancers as a choreographer for each SYTYCD number. That total, people! I've heard that before, and I have no doubt the dancers work way more than that getting the performance ready, but 4 1/2 hours is all the coaching these dancers get from the choreographer.

 

[dancelvr]

Nothing too exciting for me this week. Although, the smooth waltz routine had fantastic choreography. Would love to see that routine done by a high level ballroom couple.

 

[dancelvr]

They were not. They only auditioned together. Anya was eliminated in week 5 and Pasha in week 8. The conspiracy theorist in me might say that it was producer manipulation to not allow two world class ballroom dancers with years of partner work history between them to compete as a couple on the show. Even if they got a dance style outside of ballroom their teamwork and history together as partners may have been seen as an unfair advantage by the producers.

I can see that if you look back to Season 2, and remember when Benji and Heidi were paired together. Those two had years of partnering with each other. And, they smoked everyone with their Mambo and Broadway routines. However, with the preponderance of contemporary dancers on the show, some get paired together pretty much every week. That would be impossible to avoid. If there were more ballroom contestants, we might be treated to an actual ballroom routine once in a while. Maybe next season?

 

[White Chacha]

I thought the vwaltz from two weeks ago was conspicuous in it's total lack of any closed work. I thought this past Wednesday's waltz was rough, lacked fluidity, and that the couple were well served by the fog obscuring any view of their feet. I was disappointed. There were other routines I enjoyed this past week.

 

[SQ_F05]

I thought the vwaltz from two weeks ago was conspicuous in it's total lack of any closed work. I thought this past Wednesday's waltz was rough, lacked fluidity, and that the couple were well served by the fog obscuring any view of their feet. I was disappointed. There were other routines I enjoyed this past week.

I agree about Wednesday's waltz routine, although the man looked better than the woman.

 

[lacubs]

i think chelsie hightower can only do next week show, so if her get by next week i don't know what going do, but DWTS is not playing nice with this

 

[samina]

interestingly...the top 12 were all interviewed on which has been their hardest dance so far, and nearly all of them cited a ballroom dance.

 

[leee]

interestingly...the top 12 were all interviewed on which has been their hardest dance so far, and nearly all of them cited a ballroom dance.

Interesting -- do you have a link?
Really interested to see what Sasha can do now with partners who aren't Alexander.

 

[samina]

Interesting -- do you have a link?
Really interested to see what Sasha can do now with partners who aren't Alexander.

http://www.fox.com/dance/videos/1057585732001/g-series-top-12

 

[leee]

"Make sure to show the Gatorade, you guys." (Thanks, samina!)

 

[BrownSkin818]

i've been awol and missed the last 3 weeks. just now got caught up. this thread has certainly had some odd tangents.

anywho, i was initially miffed by the number of contemporary dancers chosen this season. though i absolutely love contemporary, i wanted to see more diversity in the dance backgrounds. well it's totally taken its toll on me. seems i'm no longer moved by the contemp solos. i just watched the last dance-for-your-lives and all the contemps felt like repetitive and gratuitous leg extensions, leaps & spins. they dont seem to be doing much dancing. i didnt really think that about the contemp ppl in previous seasons. so either S8 is lacking or i'm just contemporaried OUT.

funny thing is, my eyes brightened a bit to see sasha's solo b/c i thought... here's a chick who can do all the used-and-abused stuff, but she's taken a different approach. i totally liked and appreciated her solo! but then nigel goes and pans her for it. :/ i feel like im in the contemporary twilight zone.

other misc thoughts, then ill shutup until i can be current (this week!) with the talks...
-they panned chris scott good for that uganda piece. i was embarrassed for him. they may want to reserve him for group pieces only. ive been underwhelmed with his couples numbers.
-that guest judge jesse tyler ferguson was hilarious, good fit.
-also LOVED sonyah as a judge, moreso than nigel even.
-that salsa the other week hurt my heart. of their 7 hours of rehearsal, they must have spent 5 on tricks, and 2 learning the actual dance. :/
-good riddance to ryan. they took too long to boot her. ashley too.
-how ADORABLE was it that jordan was so uncomfortable with the bed routine?? in the cutest and most apologetic kid voice she says... "im sorry i cant relate to strange ppl waking up in my bed! i sleep with pillow pets!" ROFL!!

oye! on with it....
my favorite gals: melanie, sasha, and jordan
favorite guys: ? i like them all except mitchell. he turned me off back in week 1 when he shared his partner choice reaction, saying that the most important question was whether or not his partner would be pretty. so he goes to pick the name *drum roll & results* YAY! she's pretty! :? really?? i havent been able to get into him since.

 

[BrownSkin818]

love this new format! we get a whole new batch of all stars next week?? SWEEEEEEET!

my thoughts....

marko & chelsea. samba w/ jason G.
sorry marko, i didnt see you at all. im such a huge chelsea fan.

jordan & brandon. contemp w/ dwight & desmond.
this was all sorts of sick. nice to see a piece not need a story for a change. jordan did very well, but... i couldnt help but think that some of the other girls would have done even better. still thoroughly enjoyed it.

tadd & comfort. hip hop w/ chuck maldonado.
i never liked comfort. never saw why they pegged her as the best female hip hopper to have been on the show. hated the song choice. hated the routine. hated the wardrobe. tadd did what he what he could but when everything else is a bust.... .

mitchell & melody. broadway w/ tyce.
sooooo unfortunate melody had to come back under a tyce piece. a lot of the current followers missed S1, so to have their representative come out to a sucky routine... . im not a mitchell fan so "whatever" on him. i love that the guest judge pretty much panned tyce, lol.

caitlynn & pasha. arg tango w/ miriam & leonardo.
i didnt get why the judges liked this so much. i thought her legs were horrible. she was too far apart from him pretty much the entire time.

sasha & twitch. hip hop w/ c. scott.
c. scott delivered on a couples routine just when i'd panned him earlier for falling short with that. this was the highlight of the night and maybe my favorite routine of the season. dont know why mary didnt put sasha on the hot tamale train. sasha was so waiting for it too, lol. i LOVE how twitch gave sasha props in the pre-package, saying he'd have to bring it in order to dance with her. *thumbs up*

jess & kathryn. contemp w/ stacy tookey.
jess did well but this didn't particularly move me.

melanie & pasha. v waltz w/ jason G.
pretty good. i was a bit distracted by melanie's hand positioning, but it was nice and flowy besides that.

ricky & allison. jazz w/ tyce.
love again how the all-star gave props to the contestant. loved this routine and my first thought as i realized it was good was.... "dang tyce, FINALLY!" lol. very strong showing for ricky. that one armed lift where he pulled her dead weight off the floor by her thigh was ridiculous.

clarice & robert. bollywood w/ nakul.
very well choreographed. very well performed. just wish clarice had had a different all-star. weird vibe with them.


other thoughts....
neil patrick harris may have just earned a recurring judge spot. A+ analysis from him.

 

[RickRS]

I missed commenting on the previous week completely, but just one comment (well, two actually):

What weirdly bad luck for Alex Wong! Injured during auditions for another show the week before he would have likely been the star to see on SYTYCD?! I've never heard any other details beyond what Nigel provided, so if anyone has better information, please share.

I loved the humor that Jesse Tyler Ferguson infused into the judges comments last week. And so far, the season's guest judges have been, for the most part, a good addition to the show's format.

 

[RickRS]

love this new format! we get a whole new batch of all stars next week?? SWEEEEEEET!

But no Chelsea, Pasha, or Twitch next week...

marko & chelsea. samba w/ jason G.
sorry marko, i didnt see you at all. im such a huge chelsea fan.

Chelsea just smoked that number! The danger of dancing with an All-Star: you may be totally ignored.

tadd & comfort. hip hop w/ chuck maldonado.
i never liked comfort. never saw why they pegged her as the best female hip hopper to have been on the show. hated the song choice. hated the routine. hated the wardrobe. tadd did what he what he could but when everything else is a bust.... .

And it's not like two guys dancing hip hop is so awkward (think ballroom, or any couple dance). I can't think of another female hip hop that got into the top ten, or even top twenty, but maybe if there was one she will get a call to be an All-Star in an upcoming week and maybe she'll click with the producers and replace Comfort.

mitchell & melody. broadway w/ tyce.
sooooo unfortunate melody had to come back under a tyce piece. a lot of the current followers missed S1, so to have their representative come out to a sucky routine... . im not a mitchell fan so "whatever" on him. i love that the guest judge pretty much panned tyce, lol.

Yeah, but Neil didn't break the SYTYCD Commandment to speak no evil of the choreographer. The viewer may not have recognized what Neil "wasn't feeling" included Tyce.

sasha & twitch. hip hop w/ c. scott.
c. scott delivered on a couples routine just when i'd panned him earlier for falling short with that. this was the highlight of the night and maybe my favorite routine of the season. dont know why mary didnt put sasha on the hot tamale train. sasha was so waiting for it too, lol. i LOVE how twitch gave sasha props in the pre-package, saying he'd have to bring it in order to dance with her. *thumbs up*

And this is the positive thing about dancing with an All-Star - finally getting a partner that allows the contentant to just explode on stage with a unbelievably excellent proformance. And love that move where Sasha rose partway up from the floor as Twitch slid under her, caught her neck, and then pushed her upright. The trust that required between the two to pull that off!

ricky & allison. jazz w/ tyce.
love again how the all-star gave props to the contestant. loved this routine and my first thought as i realized it was good was.... "dang tyce, FINALLY!" lol. very strong showing for ricky. that one armed lift where he pulled her dead weight off the floor by her thigh was ridiculous.

Tyce's broadway stuff hasn't had any zing lately and then this comes seemly out of nowhere. Kudos to Ricky; the guy is just a bubbly type personality but he was channeling the darkness of Mark Kanemura's performances from season 4 in this number.

other thoughts....
neil patrick harris may have just earned a recurring judge spot. A+ analysis from him.

I'm still loving Jesse Tyler Ferguson, but I would like to see either of these two again.

 

[samina]

i am a bit behind with the season... just watched sasha's paso with alexander and am BLOWN AWAY by sasha! holy cow...

for a non-ballroom dancer, that is the best paso i've seen, the best *male* version and by a woman. couldn't take my eyes off her... good for her! she's extremely charismatic. i hope she goes far...