So You Think You Can Dance Review: Meet the Top 11

If only American Idol could take a note from So You Think You Can Dance. Somehow the auditions never seem to end on the former, but when it comes to latter, well, we’re already there. Yes! It’s officially time to meet your Top 10 or 11 in this case, since there were so many good dancers, the judges just couldn’t make the final choice.

The last legs of Vegas seemed to whiz by as the remaining contestants showcased solos, tackled Broadway and contemporary,  and put together group numbers. One front-runner, Ida Sarkee, completely dropped out of the audition process because she had too much going on. Like with, you know, school. I’d like to remind Ida that there are definitely contestants who left/lost jobs to audition, and the judges easily smelled the BS. But they could care less at that point to really listen to any of her excuses. Along the way, Lauren Froderman stepped away from the pack with a stunning solo to “At Last”. Melinda Sullivan and Jose Ruiz also proved they’re far from one-trick ponies when it comes to dance styles.

However, with such a small number of finalists and the line-up so easily figured out at times, the most exciting part of the week was not so much finding out who made it, but getting to see them show their stuff for the first time. Melinda and Jose were shoe-ins. They both represent styles, tap and b-boy respectively, little seen during the audition rounds. Billy Bell and Alex Wong had already been given spots but they were ripped out of their bare dancing feet. And Alexie Agdeppa had reached the final rounds of auditions, having tried out four times, so she had the perfect “try hard and you’ll succeed” story. Plus, I believe SYTYCD supports this fully as they want great dancers to come back if they don’t make it. (Something we heard repeatedly as people were sent packing.)

Speaking of those exiting, 24 were sent home to await their fates. The judges went door-to-door doling out the good or bad news and very few really surprised me, but Anthony Burrell’s exit really got to me. He pushed himself on an injured hamstring. He stood out during group rounds. Basically everything I saw him dance, he was beautiful, strong and manly, but the contemporary field was so laden with great dancers who the judges liked more at this time. I really started to get nostalgic for the old SYTYCD when almost all of these wonderful dancers would have already been on the show.

But I’m welcoming this change. In the grand scheme of things, change is rarely a bad thing, except when it’s a SYTYCD summer season. And change did bring us the showcase episode last season, the perfect way to open up the real competition and get to know the contestants before they’re thrown into something completely out of their element. Let’s get to the who’s who of our favorite dance show. (In order of my personal favorites, of course.)

The contestants and all-stars kicked off the night with a captivating Wade & Amanda Robson group number to David Bowie’s “Fame.” Seriously, I was transported to a very sexy Alice in Wonderland. Already, I’m reminded of just how artistically wonderful this show is. The judges consists of Adam, Nigel and the new queen of the panel Mia Michaels.

KENT Boyd & LAUREN Froderman
All-stars: Mark Kanemura (season 4) and Kathryn McCormick (season 6)
Choreographer: Travis Wall
Style: Jazz
Music: “Paris is Burning” by St. Vincent

I was worried how the dynamic between the new dancers and the more seasoned would play off, but any worry was quickly squashed. Sure, I found my eyes drawn to Mark and Kathryn, two of my faves from their season. Come on! They’re good, and there’s no way that they can be ignored, but Kent and Lauren held their own, often stealing my eyes back, and impressing me with their strong presence. And Travis surpassed all expectations proving that just as we watched him grow as a dancer, we’re getting the amazing opportunity to watch him grow as a choreographer. Kent and Lauren both have good shots in the competition as they’ve gotten a lot of screen time and praise from the judges on both the dance and performance front. Kent has definitely endeared himself much further with his cute ramblings on his dance passion and his family prepared with confetti poppers when he got the big news.

ALEXIE Agdeppa & MELINDA Sullivan
All-stars: Lauren Gottlieb (season 3) and Allison Holker (season 2)
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Style: Broadway
Music: “There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This” from Sweet Chariot
I hope that we see more variety like this during the season, where women partner with women and guys partner with guys and don’t have to wait until the Top 4 or 6. Again, Alexie and Melinda proved that the All-Stars might not steal the shows as much as I thought, but they’re still inching them out. Melinda pleasantly surprised me with her presence and technique. She may be the one tapper who can really transcend all styles. If she doesn’t, well we all know how quickly a tapper can go. Alexie, on the other hand, has a leg up because of her effervescent personality. She’s instantly likeable and that goes a long way.

JOSE Ruiz
All-stars: Twitch (season 4), Comfort (season 4) and Dominic Sandoval (season 3)
Choreographer: Tabitha and Napoleon
Style: Hip-hop
Music: “Din Daa Daa” (District 78 Remix) by George Kranz
Tabitha and Napoleon do not disappoint with this battle-like dance, where Ruiz is inducted into the SYTYCD hip-hop club. It’s fast paced and eye-popping. Jose definitely has the moves and had no problem keeping up, and he constantly surprises me with how versatile he’s proving to be. He’d claimed to want to best last season’s Legacy during early audition rounds, and I was wary. Now my doubts are lessening. Plus, he’s a cute guys with a sweet personality. He’ll need to push his performance more, especially when masters Twitch and Dominic are on stage with him. (We all know Dominic has always been a camera hog.)

CRISTINA Santana
All-stars: Anya Garnis (season 3) and Pasha Kovalev (season 3)
Choreographer: Jason Gilkinson
Style: Samba
Music: “Work” (Freemason remix) by Kelly Rowland
Can we say VaVaVooooooom?! This was one of the sexiest samba numbers the show’s ever produced, and it was elevated by the fact that each dancer brought the sexy, the sultry and the sassy as the two women competed over a shirtless Pasha. Nigel made one comment about Cristina’s lazy feet, a critique I’m happy she got to hear early on. Without the All-Stars, it wouldn’t be as noticeable, I’m sure. But next to Anya’s legs which were visibly raising off the floor with each shuffle, even I detected it.

BILLY Bell & ALEX Wong
All-stars: Ade Obayami (season 5)
Choreographer: Mia Michaels
Style: Contemporary
Music: “This Bitter Earth/On the Nature of Daylight” by Max Richter and Dinah Washington
Billy and Alex got Mia’s return to the stage. She’s always so adept at conveying character and stories, and this is a benefit for the dancers because it allows them to connect with the audience. Each dancer shined as stages of life, young, middle-aged and old. I was awed by Ade’s controlled wobble, Billy’s contortions and Alex’s strength. Alex also showed more emotion in this performance than all his auditions combined. It’s hard not to think that they got the very, very long end of the stick.

ADÉCHIKÉ Torbert & ROBERT Roldan & ASHLEY Galvan
All-stars: Neil Haskell (season 3) and Courtney Galiano (season 4)
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh
Style: Jazz
Music: “Freak” by Estelle featuring Kardinal Official
The final dance had to have a snag of course. I’ve wholly enjoyed every number but I was disappointed that Sonya didn’t spend more time highlighting the new dancers or allowing them moments to dance alone. Even I can’t get enough of Neil, and hard not to follow him, but it didn’t seem fair he got to solo.  Then, the style didn’t seem to fit any of the dancers, especially Adéchiké, whereas all the other contestants seemed more or less at home. And I’m still no just as little about who Ashley is as a dancer.

CURTAIN CALL
So there you have it. Eleven newbies and 12 returnees. The season is shaping up to be promising, thought the jury’s still out on how the introduction of All-Stars will affect voting. I do believe that the “semi-pros” will improve the dances and hopefully help to fuel, inspire and teach these contestants which can only help their growth. And just how will the replacement of sweet Mary with Mia, more of a ball buster, actually work? Adam is still kind of a newbie. All I know is tonight was fully satisfying, and I can’t wait for the competition to really start.

For another opinion on this week’s episodes, check out Buckle Up For the Ride by Trisha Huntsman.

Season 7, Episode 4 & 5: Vegas Callsbacks, Part 2 / Meet the Top 11 (originally aired June 9 and 10, 2010)

For more on So You Think You Can Dance, click here.

Photographs courtesy of Fox and IMDbPro