So You Think You Can Dance Review: Another One Bites The Dust

One more injury and Season 7 will be officially cursed. Poor Ashley, it seems like the Dance Floor Demon doesn’t like when really great dancers start to morph into true stars. So as the dancers continued to drop like flies, I worried that the already short season would be over in a flash at this rate. Yet, almost every dancer (you know who you are, lone ranger) had one number that really proved why they deserved to make this elite top ten. That’s really exciting! Especially when I had so many doubts going into this very new, very changed So You Think You Can Dance.

10. JOSE and Courtney | Broadway | Joey Dowling | “Mister Cellophane” from Chicago
Thankfully, critiques always have a way of catching up to you, and Jose finally got some hard criticism. While most Broadway numbers give the dancers a chance to be expressive and exaggerate, this one had to take away that sparkle. (Giving him a lot of b-boy moves in every performance isn’t going to help either.) And take away Jose’s smile and personality, his dancing sticks out like a sore thumb, so playing an invisible man well basically crippled him.

9. ADÉCHIKÉ and Anya | Salsa | Liz Lira & Danny Davalos | “Oyelo Que Te Conviene” by Eddie Palmieri
Adéchiké pretty much sucked the sexy out of Anya for me, and that’s a really hard thing to do. It didn’t help that they were both dressed in day-glo outfits and were given a death defying routine. Nigel gave Adéchiké kudos for pulling it off since the dance had no contemporary standards like lines and straight legs. Anya and Adam stuck up for him too saying it was competition-level and incredibly hard, but Mia wished they’d had more time to iron out some of the bumps to create a more fluid, less awkward performance.

8. ROBERT and ASHLEY (but with the awesome Kathryn instead because of Ash‘s sidelining injury) | Disco | Doriana Sanchez | “Instant Replay” by Dan Hartman
Disco usually excites me, and the idea of a tall, dark and good-looking man dancing it sounds so perfect. Yet, even with the sheer speed of the number, it didn’t really light the dance floor on fire like Doriana’s numbers usually do.

7. BILLY and Anya | Jive | Louis van Amstel | “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” by Meat Loaf
I don’t think I can breathe after that performance. All those kicks and all that hopping. Phew! Billy made a connection with his partner, something the judges needed to see, and he was strong and sharp in his performance while managing to have some fun. Still, something about Billy’s character just isn’t completely captivating.

6. JOSE and Dominic | B-boy | Nappy/Tabs | “Battle for the Beat” by District 78
This was Jose’s chance to make Dominic sweat. In the end after a fierce, floor battle, Jose got the sword while Dominic kneeled, but in my mind, it was certainly the other way around. He definitely redeemed himself after a weaker performance earlier, as Nigel said, by showcasing a number no other dancer in the competition could have. Still, Mia picked out that he needs fine tuning and strengthening through training.

6. LAUREN and Mark | Cultural aka Tahitian | Tiana Liufau | “Jungle” by Last Voices
Lauren said, “This is going to be the best Tahitian dance you’ve ever seen because it’s the only Tahitian dance you’ve ever seen.” And she was absolutely right. There was a lot of hip/booty shaking and chicken legs, and I had no idea what was going on besides a Hawaiian luau feel and a really hot, jungle Mark, but I was mesmerized.

4. KENT and Neil | Broadway | Tyce Diorio | “Shoeless Joe From Hannibal, MO” from Damn Yankees
For the first time, Kent’s “aw shucks” personality fit this baseball piece to a tee, and the judges lapped it up. It was bromantic and athletic and got the girls screaming bloody murder. And Nigel pointed out, he sorta of outdanced Neil, and my eyes were drawn to Kent from start to finish.

3. BILLY and LAUREN | Jazz | Mandy | “Boogie Shoes” by KC & the Sunshine Band
Sometimes Mandy Moore pulls out something so fun and smooth and cool and all around different. She does well giving, not necessarily fully-drawn characters, but human embodiment of emotion or of a feeling. The two sat in the groove so comfortably, and they pulled off this quirky, happy movement kind of like Seaweed pulls off cool in Hairspray, which was really well, by the way. Adam pointed out that the boys should watch out for Lauren.

2. KENT and ADÉCHIKÉ | Contemporary | Dee Caspary | You Only Disappear” by Tom McRae
In a battle, Kent definitely wins. He’s more expressive, more open and free. Still, as a whole, the piece showed off both dancers beautifully, and Adéchiké leaped so high and gracefully, I thought of a gazelle. (Then, Mia stole the idea away and twisted it when she said he reminded her of a “Giselle”. I wish I got a mistaken compliment like that more often.) Nigel noticed Kent isn’t tense in his movement and could win the whole thing, and Kent officially became the male star of the night, succeeding with two strong numbers. But what both men did well was show softness and strength simultaneously and convincingly.

1. ROBERT and Allison | Contemporary | Travis Wall | “Fix You” by Coldplay
To be lumped into a category with Mia’s “Time” piece, about the death of her father, and Tyce’s breast cancer piece “This Woman’s Work” isn’t too shabby. Travis continues to impress me with his growth and creativity, and by allowing us to see a very raw part of his life, his mother‘s surgery, I was left feeling extremely grateful. Robert danced better than I’ve ever seen him, full of passion and hope, and was overall, truly inspiring.

AND THE RESULTS ARE IN…
I never realized how much I look forward to adult professional dancers making guest appearances after having to suffer through kiddie ballroom and a Cat-kid arm wrestling match. Awwwwkward. They’re were quite good though. Alvin Ailey, however, never fails to bring the power when their dancers visit the show. Jamal Roberts and Rachel McClannan are no exception, and were perfect vessels of strength, control and finesse. And Twitch and Comfort brought me back to yesteryear, when the two re-danced an old number of theirs and the first hip-hop, contestant number on the show. Again, I never realized how much I didn’t care for musical performances that weren’t backed by an awesome group of all-stars. This one makes that all the more glaring because no matter how pretty “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perry was, the best thing about the live performance was Neil and Allison’s dancing.

So without delay, it was always going to be a rough week with so many of the dancers excelling or holding their own outside of their specialty. Ashley was a given, but Billy found himself there, I believe, because America hasn’t really seen much of his personality, and he’s yet to have a wholly endearing moment. Jose hadn’t made an emotional connection through a piece, and America craves a tear or two with their dance every once in awhile.

In terms of a deserving elimination, Billy gave us talent, heart and earnestness with his solo, yet Jose showed me no new tricks, nothing exciting and continues to transition from footwork to tricks too slowly. Of the two, I wouldn’t have chosen the latter. Of course, he seems like a sweet kid, but I want to see more push. Nigel, though, said the judges saw that push. He came out angrier and fighting in their eyes. Nigel pushed Billy to work outside of his comfort zone during solos, but in the end, it was Ashley, who with the doctor’s recommendation, had to leave the contest due to injury. Like Alex Wong, she’ll, at least, exit the competition leaving a nice legacy of some beautiful dancing. Unlike Alex, she will not get a ticket to Vegas next season. And sadly, another dancer bites the dust.

Going into next week, I can’t help but be behind Lauren and Kent, who were both dancers I wouldn’t have picked to reach the top but are making me forget those thoughts with each new performance. Both continue to show that they have the muscles, the acting chops, the looks and the heart to be America’s favorite dancer. But that’s just my opinion. Who are you rooting for?

For another take on this week’s episodes, read Ouch, Not Another One by Trisha Ziegenhorn.

Season 7, Episode 14 & 15: Top 7 Perform & 1 of 7 Voted Off (originally aired July 14 and July 15, 2010)

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

Photographs courtesy of Fox and IMDbPro