The So You Think You Can Dance top 20 took the stage with their new partners this week, and faced the first tough elimination of the season.
Routines
Top 20
On The Town choreographer Joshua Bergasse choreographed a fantastic routine for the top 20 contestants. The dancers portrayed colorful citizens of the Big Apple, everything from navy sailors, to baseball players, to businessmen and housewives. The routine was full of energy, and very well danced by all the contestants. However, it served as a bit of a showcase for Ricky, Rudy, and Nick, the sailors, as they stood out in their bright white costumes, and danced at the forefront of the group for much of the time.
Tanisha Belnap and Rudy Abreu
Tanisha and Rudy were the first new pairing to take the stage, with an aggressive “cat and mouse” jazz routine from Sonya Tayeh. It was a great routine for both dancers, emphasizing Rudy’s strength, and showcasing Tanisha’s ability to shine in styles outside of her own. It was a very sexy routine, and the judges were impressed.
Valerie Rockey and Ricky Ubeda
Valerie and Ricky are immediate front-runners in the “cutest pairing ever” category, and were even more blessed to be honored with a Travis Wall contemporary routine this week. The dance was about “the one that got away,” with Valerie begging Ricky to come back to her. Ricky did a great job in his style, but it was tapper Valerie who really impressed the judges.
Bridget Whitman and Emilio Dosal
Bridget and Emilio took on a Luther Brown hip-hop routine, in which Emilio discovers his long-lost nerdy friend, Bridget, has grown into a hottie. The judges wanted Bridget to be a little stronger, and not be afraid to get down. While Emilio impressed the judges with his dancing, Nigel felt his outfit made him look like a dancing hobbit.
Jessica Richins and Nick Garcia
Jessica and Nick were pushed to the limit with a West Coast swing routine from SYTYCD season 2 champ Benji Schwimmer. The dance was very fast, and a bit of a strain on both dancers, for their first routine together. The judges felt both dancers could have performed better, but also felt that Benji had been a bit mean to them, giving them that difficult routine.
Carly Blaney and Serge Onik
Carly and Serge also lucked out this week by getting to dance a beautiful and powerful Sonya Tayeh contemporary routine. About “a love that’s unbreakable,” the routine had Mary Murphy in tears, and Sonya on her feet cheering with pride when it was over. Carly was beautiful in her strongest style, but it was Serge that shocked Nigel, because he was such a good partner to Carly, and gave such an emotional performance.
Emily James and Teddy Coffey
Emily and Teddy were a little bit timid in rehearsals for their flirtatious Dave Scott hip-hop routine, and Dave said they needed to get over it and just make out. Whether they did that or not, they were a little bit better onstage. They could still work on their chemistry, but the judges felt they generally did a wonderful job.
Malene Ostergaard and Stanley Glover
Spencer Liff was inspired by ‘60s variety shows with his telephone-themed broadway routine for Malene and Stanley. It was a clever routine, but it totally fell flat for both dancers. The choreography did not really play to their strengths, and the telephone props just became a burden. Plus, Malene and Stanley may well have been dancing completely different routines, because they had zero chemistry.
Jourdan Epstein and Marcquet Hill
Jourdan and Marcquet followed in the illustrious history of fantastic SYTYCD table routines with their Sean Cheesman “sexy interrogation” routine. Marcquet has previously proven himself to be a master of all genres, and this was no exception, but Jourdan really shined outside of her prim and proper ballerina training. Both dancers seemed to have a lot of fun, and it really showed in their performance.
Brooklyn Fullner and Casey Askew
Brooklyn and Casey got up close and personal with a steamy Argentine tango from Miriam and Leonardo, about a toxic relationship. Even though it’s difficult, as a viewer at home, to tell just how difficult the control and intensity of the tango is, the judges were all very impressed with both Brooklyn and Casey. Casey is an excellent partner, and Brooklyn showed a lot of maturity in this performance.
Jacque LeWarne and Zack Everhart
Jackie and Zack’s African Jazz routine by Sean Cheesman was the last routine of the night, but it was certainly worth the wait. Both dancers did an amazing job, well outside of their styles, and earned themselves tickets on Mary’s hot tamale train. But the routine was visually stunning as well, with both dancers in colorful bodysuits that matched the scenery, incredible makeup that looked straight out of a Gotye video, and spiky, colorful hair.
Dance Crews
Remember the dance crews from the audition rounds? Well they’re back, and this time, without Justin Bieber. So basically, we’ve already won. The first of the winning crews was back to perform live on the SYTYCD stage: Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies. Dancing to Beyonce’s “Flawless,” the girls looked fabulously flawless themselves, moving in complete synchronization.
[HD] Chloe Arnold's Syncopated Ladies – SYTYCD… by IdolxMuzic
Eliminations
Nigel announced the bottom six dancers at the top of the show: Brooklyn, Casey, Jourdan, Nick, Malene, and Serge. They each got one last chance to prove their worth to the judges, but at the end of the show, it was elimination time. After addressing each of the six individually, Nigel broke the news to Malene Ostergaard and Nick Garcia that they would be going home. Malene is so ridiculously gorgeous, this will be only a small road block for her. Poor, sweet, little Nick looked absolutely crushed.
The top 18 dancers will perform next Monday, July 16 at 8 p.m. on Fox.
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