So You Think You Can Dance Review: Don’t Just Stand There. Bust A Move!

I don’t envy the So You Think You Can Dance judges’ job of whittling down 160 talented contestants to 20 pretty fantastic hopefuls. Seriously, there isn’t another talent competition that stacks its final round with such interesting, varied and gifted possible contestants. The two hours of the Las Vegas round always feels extremely short, and this season was no different, but for once, the two-hour reveal didn’t put me to sleep. After jazzing up this past season of American Idol, producer Nigel Lythgoe threw a little fairy dust on the episode and transformed the night into something fulfilling.

Let’s start at the beginning. Robin Antin, Adam Shankman, Debbie Allen, Tyce Diorio, Mary Murphy and Nigel rounded out the long panel who’d judge the remaining contestants. It’s was about this time that I really started to wonder what the hell Nigel thought he could do with Antin? Now, it’s anyone’s guess, but besides attempting to woo hot ladies to the Pussycat Dolls or commenting on “Sex. Sex. Sex!” she doesn’t bring anything expert or critical to the show. But what do I know? American Idol seemed to do just fine with the least critically sound panel ever. And these shows aren’t supposed to be about the judges anyway, so back to the competition.

The remaining contestants had several battles to win before getting to the live stage. First, they were given another opportunity to showcase their best foot with a solo performance. Then, it was on to the various rounds of choreography, like contemporary, ballroom and Broadway, where they would display their partnering ability and their capacity to learn choreography quickly. And, of course, there’s the dreaded group numbers.

Iveta Lukosiute, 30, kicked things off right, getting Nigel and Mary to shimmy with her sexy ballroom number. The Mallory sisters still managed to audition as a duet in this solo competition, proving them a continued exception. This special treatment would continue on the entire week. After solos, 140 dancers moved on to the next round, where they learned a hip-hop routine choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon D’umo. Chyna Smith really botched the routine, even if she thought she was ghetto fabulous before performing, but the judges saw something special in her and allowed her another chance along with seven others. Other dancers, like Hero McRae, Kathy Ann Miller, Mary Kate Sheehan, Princess Lockeroo and Kristin Dobson, weren’t so fortunate. I was saddest to see Hero McRae fail, especially on hip-hop, but I guess it’s hard to meld robotic movement into anything fluid.

Jason Gilkison popped onto the panel to fill for the ailing Adam, who was on crutches the previous day due to knee surgery. Tyce was sent away to teach a sleazy-in-a-good-way Broadway routine. It’s a rather sexy piece, but I liked the idea of pushing these guys to prove their character playing limits. Four dancers quietly bit the dust. Jason Gilkison showed us why he was the judge chosen to fill in because the jive was up next. Please pause to take note of how beastly we ladies are. Those girls danced hard and non-stop in four inch heels. I can barely make it a whole day, of walking and sitting comfortably at my desk, in heels. Dancing in heels for hours while hopping around = pain. It also put the spotlight on Natalia Mallory, again, who is clearly larger than all the female dancers and harder to lift and toss around. Her and her partner were even split up so she could be paired with a stronger partner and not appear so ungraceful and awkward. Alexis Mason, past winner Jeanine’s sister, fell flat but got to dance for her life. She could be a diamond in the rough, but for once I really agreed with Tyce who didn’t see any flair.

And so quickly, the group numbers were upon us. From the first routine with a jazzy vibe, even though the group was made up of contemporary dancers and Wadi, a B-boy, things looked up. I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been one season in SYTYCD’s eight season run where there wasn’t a bad group number to laugh about…except this one. This season is going to ROCK! With not too much pressure-cooked group drama or horrible performances, most of the camera time was spent on Natalia’s group. She got sick, and Derion “DC” Chapman flipped out because he was stuck in a group full of contemporary/jazz performers with no hip-hop back-up. Basically everyone ignored his suggestions, and he threw a hissy fit, but no one on their team was cut.

We all know contemporary is placed on a very high, very pretty pedestal in the SYTYCD world, so it was saved for last with Travis Wall choreographing the routine. This boy was birthed out of SYTYCD’s womb, and he’s turned out to be a damn pretty baby. DC couldn’t pick up the moves fast enough, though he gets Debbie to offer her tutelage. Chyna surprisingly sucked in contemporary, and when you butcher your own genre, there’s a problem. Both are sent home. The contemporary number compounded a grueling day for these hopefuls, and Ryan Ramirez and Natalia started to feel the pain. Ryan worries that she may have broken her tailbone and Natalia’s blood sugar won’t rise. No one deserves to be sick, but at least Ryan’s woes brought her and Cat Deeley together. Only true best friends pick at your blistered feet with you. The doctor’s cleared Ryan to compete with her severely bruised coccyx, even though she’s basically learned nothing. And she’s looked better than most in my eyes.

With 55 dancers left, there’s another round of solos on final day of Vegas Week. Natalia appeared and disclosed that she was diagnosed with diabetes. It’s pretty sad, but glossed over quickly, because she smashed her solo to smithereens. I could care less about the story they built around her, she’s straight-up talented no matter her size. 31 dancers pass the second round of solos and were only one “Yes” away from an incredibly fantastic journey. Alexis was one of the more visible to get cut.

The following day, I was watching the big stage. What? Cat was all glammed up again. Yay! And I began to realize this would be a new kind of season. Nigel cleared up some questions regarding the show’s format. There will be a top 20, but once the competition get down to the Top 10, the all-stars will be brought in as partners. I like it.

First through is Ricky Jamie from Salt Lake City, a contemporary dancer that I don’t recall seeing. His clips make him out to be the technically fantastic dancer who will need to prove that they’re more than a dancing machine and can emote. Next is Miranda Maleski and Melanie Moore, the Jennifer Goodwin look-a-like whose first audition is still at the forefront of my mind. The Mallory sisters get their news at the same time, and Nigel doesn’t waste a moment telling them that only one has made it through to the Finals, and unsurprisingly, it’s Sasha, the smaller one. I will say, Natalia is a wonderful dancer, but Sasha is better. Then, out of nowhere, appeared a Stacey Tucci number, performed by Ricky, Miranda, Melanie and Sasha.

Like I said earlier, the Top 20 show always bores me to sleep…until now. The fast forward button was placed on the backburner for two hours, something I haven’t done in a long time. Sure, it’s no exact barometer of how the season could fare, but one last, full look at these dancers in their element helps those fantasy leaguers out there. All four showed why they’re some of the best contemporary dancers that the judges saw this year, but Sasha and Melanie stood out for me.

It became clear that it’d be about genres, so inevitably what hip-hoppers would make it through? Chris Koehl, Wadi Jones, Tadd Gadduang all get by, but the only person I wanted to see was the adorable Virgil aka Lil’ O. How he didn’t make it is beyond me?! Robert “Wooo” Taylor makes it through over the Professor. The Professor always seemed sweet, but I couldn’t really remember any of his performances, unless they involved successfully lifting Natalia or pairing with Sasha while her sister was in the hospital. In a routine by Dave Scott, they all impressed me. Each has a different style and swagger to their movement, but if I had to pick a favorite, it’d be Robert and Wadi.

With only two out of 31 with a ballroom background, Iveta was the clear choice, a three-peater, with this year as her last chance. Plus, who can turn down a two-time World 10 Championship winner. Since she’s solo, Iveta’s lucky enough to share the stage with Pasha. All I want to say is “HOT!” And I’m talking about her, her dancing and Pasha, of course.

Showcasing some jazz skills are Clarice Ordaz, the uber sexpot, Marko Germar, the gunshot survivor, Jordan Casanova, and Missy Morelli, who I don’t ever recall seeing for one second. The best part about this number was that in brought a newly blond Sonya Tayeh. Otherwise, I wasn’t particularly excited by this number. Technically, they shined but emotionally I didn’t feel connected. The only one who didn’t pull my eye, though, was Missy.

Nick Young and Jess Le Protto might as well have dubbed Special Teams since they were the only two boys left with their own unique style. Nick Young has tap, and Jess LeProtto has Broadway. A fantastic number by Christopher Scott, of The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, really showcased the difference in their styles while perfectly highlighting their common connection of truly performing and fill the stage with full, playful characters. Something different will always catch my eye, and this blend actually worked really well. It was playful.

Finally, we came to the final group, another batch of contemporary dancers. I don’t remember Caitlynn Lawson but apparently she’s been Nigel’s favorite all along. Ashley Rich was a no brainer. We haven’t seen much of her since her moving audition, but like Melanie, she was one of those dancers to stick with me even though I saw very little of her. Mitchell Kelly, Alexander Fost and Ryan Ramirez were the last to go through. They were gifted with a Travis Wall number. Again, I love him, even if he made the entire dance, kind of unfairly, all about Ryan, but dance is art, and he had his own story to tell. She just happened to be at the center. Overall, Caitlynn was the most exceptional, in my opinion, with Mitchell a fast second.

Group numbers rounded out the week. The Top 10 boys joined together for a number from Christopher Scott, a melee of hip-hop and contemporary. I know The League of Extraordinary Dancers will likely perform again this season. C’mon, Lil’ C is a member, but I hope we get to see even more from Scott. Nigel claimed that the girls had the boys beat, which may be the case, but whenever judges say something like that out loud, it always seems to jinx the ladies. The Top 10 girl performed an equally fantastic and incredibly different jazz number, centered on Geishas. I struggled to figure out who was who, and that’s my only negative. Let these folks shine and not drown them in make-up just yet. The show closed out with a Top 20 number by Tyce that had so many dancers, it’s hard to judge anyone or tell anyone apart, but I ended the final audition episode extremely excited for the upcoming live shows.

So what d’you think? Should another dancer have made the finals? Do you have a favorite so far? Who is your pick to win it all? Do you think Robin can bring anything meaningful to the judges’ panel? Isn’t Cat just as lovely as ever? And how nice is it to have Mary back? You’ve heard my thoughts. Now, I’d love to hear yours.

For more on these episodes, read Who’s In, Who’s Out by Trisha Leigh.

Read more on So You Think You Can Dance here.

Season 8, Episodes 4 and 5: Las Vegas Callbacks and Meet the Top 20 (originally aired June 8 and 9, 2011)

Photos courtesy of Fox and IMDbPro.