'SYTYCD' – 8/15/2012 – Top 14 Perform/Third Elimination
This week of SYTYCD was a tribute to the extremely talented and incredible choreographer Mia Michaels. The top 14 performed classic Mia Michaels routines from past seasons. Tonight was also the revealing of the top 10, who will be going on tour this fall! “The Ballet Boyz” Michael Nunn and William Trevitt were guests on the judges panel tonight. Cat Deeley also announced that there is now an official SYTYCD app that is free and available for download now! Make sure to check that out! You have the option to vote using this new app.
To start things out, the top 14 danced to ‘Hanging On’ by Active Child. This was of course a very incredible routine.
This week, each contestant was asked to share the most inspiring moment for them, out of the entire series so far.
Cyrus and Eliana were up first, performing the Emmy-nominated door scene performed by Katie and Twitch. Eliana was very strong in this routine, almost overpowering Twitch. Twitch was also very strong though. They both did a wonderful job. I never saw the original performance, so I have nothing to compare this performance with, but I really enjoyed it. Nigel said it “showed that the pair of you can bring something else to the routine other than just the choreography.” Mary said that Cyrus is such an entertainer (in case that hasn’t been said enough already). The Ballet Boyz commented with “you had me begging for mercy” and “something that shouldn’t work together, worked great together.”
Next they showed some videos from Dance Day, which was July 28th. The biggest celebration was of course in LA, where a Zumba routine was taught to the thousands of people who showed up there. There were videos shown from all over the world though, including China and India. Age, ability, etc. did not matter on Dance Day. Everyone participated.
George and Tiffany were up next. George said his most inspiring moment was Wade Robson’s’ Ramalama Bang Bang’ in Season 2. They performed Season 4’s Hometown Glory routine by Katie and Josh, to ‘Hometown Glory’ by Adele. Again, I don’t have the original performance to compare this to, but wow. This was incredible. One of my favorite performances. George and Tiffany are both such talented dancers, and Mia is definitely an extremely talented choreographer. Mary said “they murdered this routine! It was phenomenal.” I couldn’t agree more. Michael said they had “fantastic energy.” Some points did feel like you were watching two solos instead of a duet, and the assisted running wasn’t very assisted, but they still did a wonderful job.
Will and Amelia were next. Will’s favorite part of the show was when Nigel got kidnapped in Season 4’s top 20 routine. Amelia’s favorite
part was last season when Melanie and Neil danced to Total Eclipse of the Heart. I have to agree with her. That performance was absolutely beautiful. They performed Evan and Randi’s ‘Butt Dance’ from Season 5. They danced to ‘Koop Island Blues’ by Koop. Nigel said it was “one of the toughest routines to critique” because of the original performance. This wasn’t my favorite routine, but they did very well.
Next were Dareian and Janelle. Janelle said her favorite part of the show was in Season 4 when Chelsea and Mark danced to Bleeding Love. Dareian’s favorite part was Kent and Neil’s duet from Season 7. They got to perform the bed routine, originally performed by Kherington and Twitch. They danced to ‘Dreaming with a Broken Heart’ by John Mayer. This was a very beautiful routine and performance. I’ve always loved this song, and to see it come to life in dance was just amazing. The judges didn’t quite love it as much as I did, but they still thought it was really good. Nigel said that Dareian’s technique is much better than Twitch’s. Mary said “at the end it felt like it was overacting just a bit.”
Matthew and Audrey performed next. Audrey’s favorite moment on the show was Season 1 when Nick and Melody performed their disco routine. Matthew’s favorite moment was Mandy’s 80’s Jazz piece. They had the honor of performing Mia’s dad’s piece from Season 3, originally performed by Neil and Lacey. They danced to ‘Time’ by Billy Porter. This was another beautiful performance. I saw a lot of tears in the audience. Mary had a hard time talking. The judges had problems with Matthew’s performance, but Audrey did amazing. William told them ‘you got to find a way of disguising the effort that goes into it. Nigel followed with ‘you need to bring fun into it. This is more than just dancing now.’
Up next were Whitney and Chehon. Chehon loved Melanie Moore’s audition last season. Whitney loved Danielle Chorizo’s audition in Season 4, who turned out to be Travis Wall. The performed the bench routine by Heidi and Travis from Season 2. They danced to ‘Calling You’ by Celine Dion. Nigel said it was ‘one of my favorite routines of all time.’ Mary agreed, saying it was ‘absolutely hypnotic to watch.’ I completely agree. This was definitely one of my favorite performances of the night.
Lindsay and Cole were next. Cole’s favorite part of the show was when Mark from Season 4 made it to the top 20 (they’re friends). Lindsay’s favorite part was when Travis and Benji performed their famous Hip-Hop routine in the Season 2 finale. I didn’t watch the show much really until last season, but I did see Travis and Benji! I have to say that was one of my favorite performances ever! Lindsay and Cole performed Addiction from Season 5 by Kayla and Kupono. They danced to ‘Gravity’ by Sara Bareilles. This was absolutely phenomenal. Lindsay and Cole are both such incredible dancers. I agree 100% with Nigel when he said “you two, for me tonight, have come out on top.”
Then it was time to reveal who was safe and who was in danger of leaving the competition. Eliana and Cyrus were both safe. Tiffany was also safe, but George was in danger. Amelia was in danger as well, but Will made it to the top 10. Janelle and Dareian were both in danger. And the final two dancers in danger were Matthew and Lindsay. Which means Audrey, Whitney, Chehon and Cole are all in the top 10! The judges decided to have everyone in jeopardy of leaving dance again.
The bottom 6 performed their solos next. Amelia danced to ‘Falling Slowly’ by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Janelle danced to ‘Inta Omri’ by Elie Attieh. Lindsay danced to ‘Hip Hip Chin Chin’ by Club Des Belugas. George danced to ‘So Long, Lonesome’ by Explosions in the Sky. Dareian danced to ‘It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World’ by Joshua Ledet. Finally, Matthew danced his solo to ‘Delicate’ by Damien Rice.
Finally, it was time to reveal who was safe and who was going home. For the girls, the judges decided to save Lindsay. Which means Amelia and Janelle went home. And for the boys, they saved George. Which means we said goodbye to Dareian and Matthew.
Now we now the top 10! You will see Eliana, Tiffany, Audrey, Whitney, Lindsay, Cyrus, George, Will, Chehon and Cole all on tour this fall!