GirlsTalkinSmack wonders if the top 8 photo, taken Thursday night, includes couple spoilers for next week. Maybe, or could it be that some So You Think You Can Dance producer is actually playing with our heads?
Gev might not have been best dancer all around in terms of technique, and I knew he wouldn't get to the top four, but he was the most entertaining for me, and the one who brought the "most improved" arc to the show. And I don't think any of the other dancers could do many of the moves he does. He danced his heart out every time. I'm going to miss seeing him on my TV! I hope he will be able to continue to grow as a dancer and a performer after the tour.
According to the choreography reel he helped choreograph "Stomp the Yard," and worked with Fergie, Ciara, and Missy Elliot, and it seemed like he helped choreograph a stomp dance piece in the 1996 Olympics? Insane.
And Here's some of Suga Pop's solos. He's a well respected popper in the b-boy community, and is in fact a part of the oldest and most famous b-boy crew, Rock Steady Crew
A Seattle P-I reader-blogger quotes Shane Sparks on the increasing recognition of dancers/choreographers and the status of Asian crews in the hiphop dance world.
A landslide 87% of 353 readers gave the thumbs up to Lil C on the judging panel in our latest reader poll. Thanks for voting!
In case you haven't noticed, our music columnist, Natalie, has been posting news updates this week. What a relief it's been for me to have some help, and she's doing an OUTSTANDING job with it. Thanks, Natalie!
We haven't seen many fanvids this season, but this is the second excellent one we've seen dedicated to Thayne Jasperson. We previously posted buffmetube's, now here's one by Youtuber kookykatlyn. This one includes that great Thayne/Grover moment (thanks Leee!).
Dave said it was supposed to be Studio 54 in the year 2085. You can spin it any way you want as long as you keep spinnin' it, kid! Twitch and Comfort slayed the competition with this number. That's what hip-hop done right looks like, folks: Amazing!
BuddyTV has its weekly interviews up with Kherington Payne and Gev Manoukian. Kherington speaks highly of Twitch, and Gev reveals what it was like when he had to switch partners.
Kherington's hometown paper asked her what it was like to miss her high school graduation:
It was sad not being able to go to my graduation, because that's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. But then again, I had to tell myself that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. …My mom brought plates that said "Grad" on it, and we had a little pasta dinner. We were fun about it, and we had a little banner. It was cute.
"So I totally apologize if what I said came out wrong, because putting down their way of life is not what I meant, at all. I think it's so admirable, what they do. I respect their way of life. I should take their advice."
This comes about a year after Mia had to apologize for the upside down Marine emblems on her jacket.
The big, slow website has a video of a behind-the-scenes look at Napoleon and Tabitha's Top 12 group routine. They're the cutest couple ever. We'll post the actual video once it's available on YouTube.
Adam at EW.com recaps the results show. He speculates why Gev was eliminated. Was it because his "internal artistry never quite met his physical expression — i.e., he wasn't buck"?
What does one hour of filler equal? SYTYCD's Top 10 Results Show! To be fair, there were three musical numbers and four solos. However, I just wanted to get to the results and that took approximately 56 minutes. In fact, the last part of the show, where the contestants hug the ones eliminated, was cut off, due to time constraints. Sounds a bit like American Idol, eh? Well, same producers, same format...
Anyway, Cat had on a pretty blue dress with her hair in a ponytail. Perhaps someone told her to dress in a fun, summery way, because she has both nights. After we say hello to the judges, we get to our first number, a Bollywood dance choreographed by Nakul Dev Mahajan, who gave us Katee and Joshua's fantastic Bollywood dance last week. While I enjoyed the music and costumes, I can't say that the dance really worked for me. It seemed as if there were too few dancers on stage for such an elaborate number, though it is certainly nice to see this type of dance on the program.
After we hear that Shane Sparks, Wade Robson, and Mandy Moore received Emmy nominations for their dances last season, and the makeup team did as well, we got to the highlights of the previous evening. The only surprise was...
More after the jump... ...that Kherington, who performed two disappointing numbers with Mark, was less than gracious in the package. After her first dance, the Two Step, she says that "Hopefully we can redeem ourselves, because the judges really hate me." Really? Did they say that? And after their second dance, the disappointingly performed jazz number by Tyce DiOrio, she says sarcastically regarding the judges' lukewarm remarks, "Really? Really? Really?" In other words, blame the judges, don't blame me. This will come back to her haunt her later. In happier news, we decide that Lil C has been deemed the official judge of SYTYCD by the readers of this website. Congratulations, Lil C! See you next week (we wish)!
The second dance is for the top five girls and is choreographed by Mia Michaels to Ave Maria by Celine Dion. I don't like this dance because 1) I don't like Celine Dion, but more because 2) I found it overwrought. I typically like Mia's numbers, but this one just bored me, although a lot of viewers found it beautiful.
After the dance, the five girls, who are dressed in white with braided long hair and and pale, scary eyes, are given the results. Cat notes that the bottom two girls and guys will be given the opportunity to dance solos, as this might be the last time they dance on the program and to show how good they are. I know this is mostly a way to fill time, but more so to have the judges remark on their tenure on the show and recommendations for the future. I mean, REALLY lengthy remarks.
First up is Chelsie, who is not in the bottom two and runs off the stage in extreme excitement. Next is Comfort. Cat notes that last night Nigel said she had finally lived up to her potential, but did America see her potential? No, they didn't, and she is in the bottom two. Katee is the third dancer. She is praised profusely and Cat asks if the won the hearts of America? Of course she did, and she runs off the stage and into the arms of Chelsie. Courtney and Kherington are the final two girls, and not surprisingly, Courtney is safe and Kherington is in the bottom two and joins Comfort on the dreaded stools, stage left.
After the commercial break, we are treated to the boys routine, danced to Joe Jackson's Five Guys Named Moe by a "mystery choreographer." The dance is upbeat and great fun, featuring each of the boys, who are dressed in white t-shirts and black sweatpants and do flips and other hip hop moves, including krumping. I am sure it's by Lil C, and even write that in my notes, but when the dance concludes, Cat asks the audience who they think the choreographer was, and to all of our amazement, it's ...Nigel! He cites his assistant Chuck Maldonado and Suga Pop, a well-known member of the b-boy community, for helping him with the stepping and locking, and jokes that he was known as the sixth Moe, Old Moe. I'm pleased to see that his humor has returned and wonder if he ought to go back to choreography and give Lil C his spot on the judging panel. Oh, to dream...
Now we are onto the boys' fate. First up is Joshua, who starts to leave the stage but is told to stay by Cat "or I'll have your grandfather tie you up" (his grandfather is in the audience and so cute). She reminds us that the judges said he stroked the floor with his Rumba but is he still in the picture after last night's vote? Not surprisingly he is and we get another shot of his grandfather and grandmother clapping. Will is next and we are reminded that Nigel said he was probably the most beautiful dancer he'd ever seen on the show (ahem Danny ahem) and did America see this, too? Of course they did, and Will bounded off the stage. This left the final three boys and there was considerable tension, at least amongst the viewers (read: me). Cat reminded us that the judges felt Mark had not performed well the previous evening, and could they possibly be losing him tonight? Yes, they could, and he was in the bottom three. Thousands of viewers cried out loud (okay, I did) and they (I) vowed to vote more next week if he is safe. This leaves the final two Moes, Gev on tippy toes and Twitch, and the final safe boy is...Twitch. I am saddened once again, and think that though Mark or Gev will be eliminated, at least they will both be on the tour.
After more tedious Snuggle Dancing (thanks for the blatant product placement, producers), we move onto the solos. Comfort dances to Egypt, Egypt by the Egyptian Lover, and she does include some Egyptian moves but I found this pretty typical of her solos, with perhaps a bit more energy. Then we move onto the portion of the program that went on and on and on: the judges' possible send off to each of the contestants. Now, I can see doing this IF they are eliminated, but not if they are POSSIBLY eliminated. Do we have to go through this every week? I hope not. This took up three pages of my notes, so I'll share, but I hope I won't have to next week. Nigel reminds Comfort that she was lucky to come back into the competition, that dancers had to deal with this all of the time, and she should be happy to have the opportunity to return. Mary echoes Nigel's sentiment but adds that if Comfort danced every dance the way she she did in the hip hop routine, she was going to stay week after week (I doubt it, but who knows?). I wondered if Mary knew something we didn't. Lil C then provided the most interesting remarks, as he did with each contestant. He said that his heart was beating so fast when she was dancing, and that "it is difficult to locate the avenues of gang when you're being chauffeured by loss," but that she has evolved the most in this competition and that she needs to keep fighting. He also mentions that "every loss is one step closer to perpetual evolution." Wow. Comfort says that this is a blessing for her, and she didn't care if she went home right now, because she was so happy to have danced with these beautiful people "fa real." I was impressed by her genuine response, but again, why did she even have to say this if she hasn't been voted off yet? Very bewildering.
Mark dances to Black Betty by Ram Jam and it's another innovative, original performance, though perhaps not quite as sharp as last night's. Nigel applauds his quirkiness and his musicality, and says that they love him, which is why he's here, and that America loves him, which is why he is in the Top 10. That doesn't bode well for Mark, me thinks, or at least shows us that Nigel is not a big Mark fan. Mary blathers on about how hard the competition is, which has nothing to do with Mark. Then Lil C waxes poetic (thankfully). He says that Mark is a very focused dancer and that he "reminds me of the most instrumental worker bee of the art hive" and that he has a distinctive atmosphere about him and to keep doing what he's doing, please. How much do we love Lil C?
Kherington is next, and she dances to My Philosophy by Inner. I find this more muted and angular than most of her dances have been, with less energy but more focus. Cat notes after much cheering that the audience loves you in here and they need to vote more (true). Referring to her package (uh oh), Lil C rebukes her by saying that "We love you, your ride has been pretty turbulence free," and that she can't be upset because "we turned up the heat in the kitchen just a smidgen and that this is a realistic TV show but we just offer constructive criticism." We LOVE you, Lil C. Mary says that out of Las Vegas Kherington was at the bottom of her Top 20, but that from the moment she stepped on stage she has been a front runner and she is surprised Kherington is standing there. I don't remember Mary lavishing such praise on Kherington in the past. She adds that Kherington is a beautiful dancer and that she will continue to have brilliant performances in her life. Nigel says that Kherington has got film star looks and that it's about performing and she has a helluva future ahead of her.
Finally, we move onto Gev, who dances to Feeling Good by Michael Buble.
Once again, he delivers the solo of the night, with his b-boy tricks and jazzy moves (speaking of musicality, Gev certainly has it in spades). I also like his red hat. :) Cat says that she feels like his mother and is always terrified when he takes to the stage. Cat obviously feels great affection toward Gev (as do many of us). Lil C says that he is such a fan of the little man, he always roots for the underdog, and that Gev dances with so much heart. He explains that a dancer's heart is sort of "like the mediator's railroad between music, expression, ingenuity and the dance floor" (how beautiful), and that Gev dances through his heart and that whatever he does he always delivers. Mary says that he has always been tremendous in almost all of his dances (this is particularly notable as he is a b-boy and had quite a few ballroom dances) and that he is one of the most lovable characters on the show and that some of his solos blew everyone in here away. Nigel says that having worked with all of the guys, they all have their only unique personality and charter traits and that Gev is really outstanding, with his personality, charisma and unique ability. This reminds me of what they judges said about Dominic last season, and I have a feeling he will be cut.
And at last we get to the results. Wait for it (I know, you already have):
Kherington is cut and her farewell package is to Forever May You Run by Gavin Rossdale (as always, thank you, Natalie, because I had NO idea who the singer or the song was). She has no time to speak, probably because of the earlier packaged I mentioned, and we are onto the boys. Gev pulled the lowest number of votes and is out, and he gives a little frown. His farewell package is to It Ends Tonight by the All-American Rejects, and Gev says, "Why did you pick that song?" (aw) and thanks everyone so much, and though he is sad, he is looking forward to the tour and this is just the beginning. As the credits roll, Chelsie, looking ghost-like (from Mia's dance), comes onto the stage, and the show ends. And that's it for this week. Remember to vote for your favorite dancers next week! See you then.
The LA Times has another behind the scenes look at what happened during the results show that didn't make it on camera. Before she gets into the juicy details though, she references Leee:
"...inquiring chatter "Leee" asked a very good question: "Why hasn't Gev gone shirtless yet?"
My Dance Place gives us a "Play by Play" recap of the results show. She had a few guesses about the "secret choreographer" and was just as surprised as I was when Nigel was named the man behind the dancing.
Zap 2 It has a wonderful interview with Cat Deeley. She goes from making jokes about her shoes to explaining how she tries to make this experience wonderful for each dancer:
""The really important thing is that there can only be one winner, so therefore you've got 19 other people who come to this stage in Hollywood and what you try and do is make the experience quite positive for them and make it a real life experience. Sometimes it's going to be hard, sometimes it's going to be challenging, sometimes it's just going to be downright bad, but then other times it's going to be really great and really fulfilling and it's their chance to do something new."
Cat is also on the cover of Eve magazine for the month of July.
