So You Think You Can Dance Review: Anyone Got a Muzzle?

Mia Michaels is about to get muted indefinitely. She obviously never learned the simple lesson; if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all. I know, I know. The judges are there to give critiques, suggestions for improvement, and also to provide gossip for the reality television market. Still, that woman crosses the line.

Yes, people who work in a creative field will always suffer criticism, there will always be people who don’t get them or don’t like their work, and they should get used to it. Then again, there is a difference between constructive criticism or a critique and just bashing for the hell of it. Mia bashes. She makes statements – like the one to Melinda last week about wishing they’d kept Cristina, and the one to AdeChike this week about how she just sat there the entire time wishing she was watching Alex – that have no value to the contestants. There’s no suggestion, no help, nothing that they can improve upon. She needs to learn to bite her tongue. Seriously. During the results show last night she “apologized” to AdeChike for her remarks, but it wasn’t an actual apology. It was one of those I’m saying I’m apologizing but really I’m excusing my behavior and blaming you in a backhanded way remarks. Brutal. Immature.

Okay. Rant over.

The Top 8 were scheduled to take the stage Wednesday night for two numbers; one with an all-star partner and another with one of their fellow contestants. I looked forward to the number in which contestants were paired, hoping to glimpse a little piece of the old format which I, for one, miss a great deal. One small problem. Alex Wong ruptured his Achilles tendon during the Tuesday night rehearsal. Ouch. That poor guy can’t catch a break. The judges advised us that, due to the new rules, Alex would automatically take a spot in the bottom 3 this week and if he could not perform next week he would be eliminated.

AdeChike drew a Jazz piece with all-star Courtney and a Bollywood number with Alex. Obviously, Alex couldn’t join him on the Bollywood number so a professional assistant, Mala, took his place. The Jazz piece with Courtney was supposed to portray a late night hookup in a bar, and fell flat. I don’t know what it is about AdeChike. I want to like him. He’s handsome, he’s a good dancer, and everything about him says he wants this so bad. Except his performance. He’s so dull on stage. His Bollywood piece gave him more trouble, but it does most people. He added a little of his own personality and was crucified for it. I loved Cat Deeley more than ever when she stood up for him, reminding the judges that they praised Jose for doing the exact same thing two weeks ago. Mia’s answer? Jose is charming. See what I mean? RUDE. For me, he still belongs in the bottom 3, but he hasn’t been there yet.

Ashley, the lovely little thing, picked a Hip-Hop dance with all star Dominic and the Dreaded Kiss of Death, otherwise known as the Quick Step, with Robert. Her Hip-Hop, like Alex’s last week, astounded me right along with the judges. She’s such a sweet, soft, beautiful dancer but she went out there and got her butt-shaking, with attitude, gangster self on. It was great, and it proved the judges weren’t wrong in putting her on the show. She’s no one-trick pony. She and Robert had more in common than I would have thought, and tackled the ballroom number with tenacity. They got through it, and I think Ashley did a better job than Robert looking comfortable.

Billy had some good luck this week when he drew all-star Allison (who has quickly become one of my favorites) for a Broadway routine. Then he had bad luck when Allison hurt herself and his second draw resulted in a pairing with Jose for an African Jazz number. Katee, an all-star stand in, took Allison’s place. Their Broadway number turned out well, with the judges agreeing it constituted Billy’s best performance yet, aside from his solos. The African Jazz genre has surprised me in seasons past, with the dances standing out as some of my favorites. Tonight…not so much. Billy just can’t hit things hard. He can’t. He tries hard, and he has a great attitude, but his reviews on that piece were diluted and blah. Kind of like the dance itself.

Jose is still the darling of the show and I have no trouble seeing why. His smile, quite literally, lights up the room with its sweetness and light. Then again, if I were the other contestants, I would be irritated that he keeps sliding by every week with glowing reviews even as the judges recognize he’s not as talented as everyone else. Still, he works hard, he takes the critique well, and he wants to learn and grow. There’s absolutely nothing not to like about this kid. This week he started with a Contemporary routine with all-star Lauren, and stunned the world again with his grace, poise, and accelerated learning curve. They pulled it off, but in my opinion, not with the emotion or connection of the more experienced Contemporary dancers. His second number was the African Jazz with Billy, and I think Jose tried a little too hard to be Billy instead of bringing his own edge and funk to the piece. Still, a solid effort. He’s not going anywhere for a long while.

Kent is quite possibly my favorite thing in the world right now. Except my iPhone. I made an admission on Twitter last night, so it’s only fair that you, dear readers, hear it too. I’m 31 years old and I’m a Kent Boyd fangirl. I have no idea how it would be possible not to be in love with Kent. He’s adorable, he’s funny, he’s a little bit sexy (no matter what the judges say) and he’s TALENTED as crap. His choreographer for the Hip-Hop routine with all-star Comfort seemed to understand his nature, and provided a dance that cast him in a Justin Timberlake role. It turned out perfect, there were no funny faces, and he was sexy. Nicely done, and the judges agreed. His second dance, a Contemporary piece with Lauren, is far and away my favorite dance of the season up to this point. They were adorable. I nearly died from the cuteness of it all. They might have really fallen in love on stage. Adam said it almost felt too intimate, as though we were watching something we shouldn’t have been. I agree. But I watched it five or six times anyway.

Lauren is very nearly as cute as Kent, and her bubbly, engaging personality makes me enjoy her even more. She is athletic, a trait that has worked both for and against her. This week, it worked for her in the Cha-Cha with all star Pasha. She shocked me with how good she looked as a ballroom dancer, and the judges had nothing but praise for her. I’ve already shouted my love for her Contemporary piece with Kent from the rooftops, but I’ll just throw out there that she was every bit as integral to making it special as he was. She looked lovely, young, and soft – what the piece called for. She’s concerned girls won’t vote for her because she got to dance with Kent. I don’t think she has to worry.

Robert is…hard to pin down. I don’t NOT like him. I also don’t like him an awful lot. The judges seemed to realize that America wasn’t getting Robert, or not understanding what a good dancer he is, or something and spent the week pumping him up for the audience. I do agree about his skills on the floor, he’s just so odd the rest of the time. His all star performance was a Jazz number alongside Kathryn, in which they played dolls come to life. I enjoyed the piece (for all you old fogies like me, it reminded me of the N’Sync video It’s Gonna Be Me), and so did the judges. For the record, I still adore Kathryn. The Quick Step with Ashley went as well as could be expected, and aside from a few technical issues, he did very well. For me, he probably should still be in the bottom 3, but after the judges push I doubt he will be.

RESULTS

We finally got a Mia Michaels choreographed routine during the results show, which I enjoyed. I think she should go back to choreographing so we aren’t subjected to her mean, cold-hearted comments on a weekly basis.

The bottom 3 were Alex (by default), Billy, and Ashley. I have no idea what America is thinking. To lose either Billy or Ashley before Adechike or Robert is pretty much the dumbest idea ever. Last night, though, Alex found out that his Achilles tendon had completely ruptured and that he would need surgery – including at least a 3 month recovery. He left the show, leaving Ashley and Billy safe for another week.

Get it together America. Stop being blinded by fake, glowing judges comments and winning smiles.

For another take on this episode, read A Sad Dip On This Rollercoaster Ride by Inisia Lewis.

Season 7, Episode 12 & 13: Top 8 Perform & 1 of 8 Voted Off (originally aired July 7 and July 8, 2010)

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

Photographs courtesy of Fox and IMDbPro