So You Think You Can Dance: So Close Yet So Far

If there’s one week besides the finals that counts above all weeks, it would be this one. With two more sent home, the top ten is solidified, and those guys get to go on tour and continue to dance out their dreams. It’s also the last time the couples are guaranteed. Next week all the pairing will be done at random.

Now onto how Cat fared! I dub thee a 7, Cat. That’s like a 15 for me so I don’t feel bad getting critical. (And she made up for it with a prefect 10 on the results show.) Her dress color was great, but she kept having to pull it down and the hair was a little frizzy. Of course, she was still as cute and sweet as ever. Some things never change.

RYAN AND ELLENORE
A Lindy Hop by newbie Carla Heiney to “I’ve Got To Be A Rug Cutter” by the Boilermaker Jazz Band
Let me preface by saying that I’ve loved the Lindy Hop ever since I had to perform it in a school musical. Unfortunately, in the performance I watched, I saw characters but it didn’t seem like they were playing off each other. And that’s sad given they may never dance again. I will commend them on pulling off a few cool tricks, but it just didn’t float my boat. Adam thought it was fantastic. Nigel got me for a second when he said, “I thought it was terrible…that we haven’t had the Lindy Hop on this season, well, for three seasons.” 7

A Broadway routine by Spencer Liff to “Razzle, Dazzle” from the Chicago (Original Broadway Cast) soundtrack
Ellenore is definitely one of my favorite dancers, so I was glad they had a second opportunity to prove themselves before America voted. She was perfection as she usually is and also showed some crazy foot flexibility. Ryan also continues to impress me more and more in terms of performance and skill. Mary felt that he really dug in and still managed to pull off a ton of lifts. Adam said that it was “true Broadway vocabulary,” which I guess means it could have come straight off the stage and onto our TVs. 8

LEGACY AND KATHRYN
A jazz routine by Sonya to  “So Deep” by Hot Chip
Kathryn is, by far, the most surprising dancer this season. Sonya’s choices forced her to do things I’ve never seen before all while being sexy and smooth. The number  was insane, and her performance equaled it. While Legacy didn’t catch my eye as often, he was strong and supportive and fit in perfectly. Sonja also put in some jazzified b-boy moves which helped a lot and still managed to elevate the dance. Nigel called it his favorite routine of the season, and Mary called these two “walking into the top ten.” Agreed. 9

A Vienese Waltz by Jean-Marc Genereux and France to “Your Guardian Angel” by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
The dance brought Legacy to tears again. Who is this guy, Dominic? What is it about Latin b-boys being so emotional. I truly saw a weakness for this pair for the first time. Kathryn was elegant and beautiful, but Legacy’s form was horrible. Basically, he held her back. The judges had a hard time judging him since, well, he cried! Nigel said, “I’m glad, this evening, that you are being judged by three people whose hearts you’ve stolen and will turn a blind eye to a lot of things that were going on there that really weren’t as good as I believe you can actually do now-a-days…you were gorgeous, my darling Kathryn.” 7

VICTOR AND KAREN
A tango by Tony and Melanie to “Monstserrat” by Orquesta del Plata
There’s no nostalgia here as these two have only been dancing together for a week. And I think that nostalgia would have added a little passion to the dance. Karen was sexy (duh) and sultry, and Victor was very strong and poised, but I didn’t see the “hot chemistry” that Adam saw or the great pairing. Maybe I just had a bad day because the judges and I were not on the same wavelength. Mary also commended Karen’s frame, top line and quality of movement. I trust her when she says it was a difficult routine. And they did make something that looked hard seem easy. 8

A hip-hop routine by Laurie Ann Gibson to “Moving Mountains” by Usher
This one had me really perplexed. First of all, the start was completely out of sync. No matter how much attitude those two gave, I didn’t believe a single emotion. Individually, these two are both great dancers and have had some shining moments, but where as many are improving, they’re stagnant. It’s really good but not great. It didn’t help that the routine was boring, and the music didn’t seem to match some of the movements. 6

NATHAN AND MOLLEE
A hip-hop number by Jamal Sims to “Ring-A-Ling” by the Black Eyed Peas
Surprisingly, I thought Mollee had some flaaaavor. Nathan was so uninteresting that I forgot to look at him. I didn’t even notice when he ripped his pants. The routine wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t as hard hitting as it should have been, and there were some flubs. Of course, the judges like Nathan more than Mollee because it was Opposite of Nisi day. Thankfully, Nigel gave me a little back up when he said he‘s looking forward to seeing them each with more mature partners because this one reminded him of “Dolly Dinkle’s Regional Hip-Hop Class 1010”. 7

A Cancan by Tyce to “Cancan Suite” by Offenbach / Ponchielli
I agreed with the judges who thought this face-paced and energetic dance was the perfect pull. With Mollee’s flips and Nathan’s pirouettes, they really got the chance to have a good time, look smiley and show off some skills. These two really need something perfectly suited for them. There were also no characters for them to have to fake. It didn’t stun me, but it was fun. 8
RUSSELL AND NOELLE
A samba by Tony and Meredith to “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira
Samba is, apparently, a difficult dance because of the awkward ways your body has to move. It’s not an easy dance to jump into cold turkey. I’m not a ballroom connoisseur so I can’t point to all the things that were executed poorly, but some of the lifts were really awkward. At times, I feared for Noelle’s life. It was less sultry and more goofy. I feel like the judges went a little easy on this two. Adam loved the performance value. Mary was a little disappointed and critiqued them, but she also prefaced everything with a compliment. Nigel needed Noelle to give him more sex to give him a reason to act pervy. 6

A contemporary routine by Tyce to “A Case of You” by Diana Krall
Tyce wanted Russell to “paint with your face across her chest.” As Nigel mentioned, if that’s not the best advertisement for young guys to dance, I don’t know what is. Technically Noelle is great, she doesn’t have Ellenore’s level of charisma or Kathryn’s level of appeal, but she definitely knows how to command attention and that stage. It was one of my favorite Tyce numbers. I’ve also never seen Russell in such great form and in control. 9

JAKOB AND ASHLEIGH
A lyrical jazz routine by Sonya to “Time Flies” by Lykke Li
Nigel called Sonja’s last dance his favorite of the season, but this one set the bar even higher. Ashleigh is the one I wish I‘d never doubted. Their growth coupled with their eminent split almost brought Mary to tears. Seriously when do these ever falter? 10

A cha-cha by Tony and Melanie to “Cha Cha Heel (Ralphi Rosario Radio Edit)” by Rosabel featuring Jeanie Tracy
See above. These two are on fire! Seeing Ashleigh square in her element was so exciting, and though Jakob wasn’t perfect, he was committed and confident which made up for a awkward body roll or two. 9

THE RESULTS
Want me to allow the anticipation to build before you find out who actually went home? I thought so. I know you’re dying to know who visited the SYTYCD stage this week.

I don’t know where Nappy/Tabs have been hiding this season, but I need to see more routines like this week’s opening group number. Later, Paoloma Herrera performed a ballet piece. And Shakira sang her new single “Give It To Me.” Though I appreciate her hotness, I really miss old Shakira when she used to actually sing.

When it comes to the bottom six, Mollee, Nathan, Victor and Karen were easy to pick. Yet when it came down to Ryan and Ellenore versus Russell and Noelle, I was torn. They’re all great, but I prefer Ellenore over Noelle, and Russell and Ryan are neck and neck. Any way it played out, a talented dancer that I liked would go home.

I think Karen learned from the disaster that was her solo last week. It was like the old Karen before she started flailing a bit, but too little too late. And Mollee seems like a completely different dancer when not paired with Nathan and fighting for her life. Both she and Nathan appeared to have channeled the maturity the judges  have so wanted from them.

Victor did his usual bottom dance thing. He picked some intense music and joined it with some intense faces and intense dance moves. Sometimes I feel like I’m watching some melodramatic contemporary ballet performance. No doubt he is super talented, but not as likable as the other dancers. Ellenore was her unique and odd self. Ryan had fun and flare, playing to the crowd.

In the end, it was Karen and Victor who were sent home. Though Mollee is not my favorite dancer, and I liked Karen more, one’s growth was slowing down while the other was speeding up. And I may not like it, but I can’t disagree with the judges rationale. The top ten was close for those two; just not close enough.

For another opinion on this episode, check out And the Top 10 Are… by Trisha Huntsman.

Season 6, Episodes 17-18:  The Top 12 Perform & Two of 12 Voted Off (originally aired November 24 & 25, 2009)

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