They decided to change things up when it comes to delivering results this season on SYTYCD. Instead of the usual ‘two episodes a week’ thing, where the dancers perform the first night and receive results the next night, they are only having one episode a week. At least, that’s how it’s going so far. So instead of losing the first two dancers last week, we said goodbye to four dancers this week.
This week they opened with the top 20 dancing to “The Beautiful People” by Marilyn Manson. I really enjoyed this, and thought it was a great way to open the show. The very first thing we saw was Cyrus in a mirror with his face painted similar to ‘The Phantom of the Opera.” He then went on to be the leader of the pack throughout the rest of the performance.
Following their opening performance, the top 20 came out in couples as Cat Deeley introduced them.
Before they began the rest of the performances of the night, there was more talk of Dance Day. We got some really exciting news this week! This year, the Post Office is releasing four special stamps featuring legendary choreographers for Dance Day. The choreographers are Isadora Duncan, Jose Limon, Katherine Dunham and Bob Fosse. I would recommend getting your hands on any of these if you have a chance, because they looked really cool!
Lindsay and Cole opened the couples’ performances with one of my favorite routines ever! They danced a hip-hop routine choreographed by Christopher Scott, to Lady Gaga’s “Teeth.” This number had Lindsay playing the sexy dentist and Cole her nerdy patient. And boy did Cole play to his character well! He makes an adorable nerd. He even kept the act up well after the performance had ended. Mary called him the “nerd of all nerds tonight.” All of the judges thought it was a very fun way to begin the show, but they would have liked to see more from Lindsay.
Amelia and Will were up next, with a Sonya Tayeh choreographed routine to “3326”by Olafur Arnalds. This was a very beautiful routine, which had the couple playing two souls carrying the weight of the world and searching for the light. It required a lot of trust in Will from Amelia. Nigel commented “you’re very lucky dancers,” because they have each other, and they are both amazing contemporary dancers, among other reasons.
Bringing us the first Tango of the season were Amber and Nick, dancing to “Tanguera” by Sexteto Mayor. This routine was choreographed by Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo. This was not my favorite performance, but they did a very good job. Guest judge of the week Adam Shankman said that it was “HOT!” He also said that Nick lived up to his duty of being a good partner and making Amber look good. Nigel, however, disagreed. He thought that Amber made herself look good and she was really in character.
Audrey and Matt were next, performing another routine choreographed by Sonya Tayeh. This routine portrayed the power struggle between man and woman. They danced to Steed Lord’s “Hear Me Now.” After this performance they are definitely still up there in my list of favorite couples. They have such great chemistry. Nigel said that they are probably one of America’s favorite couples.
Up next, Janelle and Dareian performed a Christopher Scott choreographed routine to the song “My Girl” by The Temptations. This was a very cute and happy routine! I quite enjoyed it, although I agree with the judges when they said it could have been better. Adam said that “there are routines where you need to invest yourself more in the choreography, and there are routines where you need to invest more in the character.” This routine was the latter, and Dareian did a better job with this than Janelle. Nigel thought it was “a little uninspiring,” and didn’t show what they can do.
Next up was a Sean Cheesman choreographed Broadway number performed by Janaya and Brandon. This routine had them playing two people at a bus stop. Janaya played a girl reading a romance book, and she wanted Brandon. He didn’t want her, though, and things got violent. They danced to “Bring on the Men” by Linda Eder. Adam said that this was another great example of a character investment routing, and it worked great. “Brandon, huge step up for you (movie play intended)!” he said. Nigel said it was really brilliant Broadway. I completely agree with them. This was definitely another one of my favorites. Maybe my top favorite of the whole night. It was very entertaining.
Eliana and Cyrus were up next with a jive choreographed by Melanie LaPatin and Tony Meredith. They danced to “I’m Shakin’” by Jack White. This was a more difficult routine, and it showed in the performance. Mary (talking to Cyrus) said the transitions were rough, footwork wasn’t quite there, and posture wasn’t great, but he still looked like he was having a good time. All the judges agreed that Cyrus is a good partner for Eliana. He got through it, never giving up. As for Eliana, she was a little more successful. They called her a very clean, phenomenal dancer.
Alexa and Daniel performed a contemporary routine next. This was choreographed by Dee Caspary, to the song “So Long my Friend” by Yanni. This was yet another very beautiful piece. For part of the routine, they were dancing in a bathtub. I don’t know how they pulled that off, but they did. Adam wasn’t completely satisfied, saying “after that bath I should have wanted to take a shower, but I didn’t.” The problem was there wasn’t really any chemistry between the two dancers. Other than that detail, I think they did very well.
Up next was a Foxtrot by Tiffany and George. This was choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin. The song they danced to was Sinead O’Connor’s “I Want to be loved by You.” Adam used another movie play on this, saying “you stepped it up to a whole other level.” Nigel said Tiffany and George are an absolutely incredible couple, and “you have just given a lesson to every other couple on this show of how to connect.”
Whitney and Chehon did the first Bollywood routine of the season next. This was choreographed by Nakul Dev Mahajan, to the song “Tandav Music” by Aatish Kapadia. This routine had no storyline whatsoever. It was all about stamina, speed and getting their hands right. “You have to be so specific with your hands or you could offend half the world,” said Whitney. As hard as the routine may have been, they did a fantastic job! This was a very fun and fast-paced routine. I enjoyed every second of it. Adam said it was hard to critique them because they were so great. This was the first time we got to see personality on Chehon’s face.
With all the performances out of the way, it was time to reveal the six dancers in jeopardy of leaving the competition. For the girls, it was Janaya, Alexa and Whitney; and for the boys – Daniel, Nick and Chehon.
While the judges discussed who they would save, we got a sneak peek the upcoming “Step Up Revolution,” which hits theaters on July 27th! This movie includes many dancers from previous seasons. In the preview clip we saw all kinds of flash mobs, each one a different style of dance. This was followed by a special performance by the dancers of the movie. They danced to “Hands in the Air” by Timbaland. A huge fan of the past “Step Up” movies, all of this sneak peek stuff got me VERY excited for the new movie!
And then it was time for results.
The judges decided to save Whitney and Chehon, meaning that the first dancers eliminated from this season were Alexa, Janaya, Nick and Daniel.
Make sure to watch next week’s episode to see many more wonderful performances!