Loading...
Follow Zap2it:
'So You Think You Can Dance': Top 20 dancers take the stage
Twitter
Google
We're not sure what it says about "So You Think You Can Dance" that the first celebrity judge of the season was Megan Mullally -- star of "Childrens Hospital," erstwhile Tammy no. 2 on NBC's "Parks & Recreation" and "Will & Grace" alumna. She's not really known for her dancing. But, hey, we were pretty jazzed, what with being big fans and all. We hoped to catch a glimpse of real-life husband Nick Offerman (Ron Effing Swanson) in the audience, but no such luck -- probably home whittling a canoe.But we digress -- we're here to talk about dance, and here we go.
Season 8's top 20 dancers got off to a strong start with routines choreographed by the usual suspects -- Sonya Tayeh, Jason Gilkison, Travis Wall and -- of course -- sometime judge Tyce DiOrio. We tried to catch every single moment, but since we were watching from a bustling green room just yards away from the main event, it was a little hectic.
Here's what we can tell you: Melanie Moore -- who used to wear a helmet for narcolepsy, what? -- was paired with Marko Germar in what the judges deemed one of the best performances of the night. We know this because their contemporary routine, which truly was beautifully executed, brought tears to the eyes of judge Mary Murphy. The good kind. Their togas and white sparkly body make-up -- to make M&M look like Roman gods -- only added to the implied dignity of the piece.
At one point Megan Mullally commented that "SYTYCD" has "the best costumes, hair and makeup of any show on TV." And we have to ask: Megan, have you not seen "RuPaul's Drag Race?" I mean, it doesn't take much to make a 19-year-old dancer look hot.
Another standout performance: Missy Morelli and Jamaican-born street dancer Wadi Jones, who paired up to dance a fierce jazz routine from choreographer Sean Cheeseman. Hot doesn't even begin to describe it. Also, they had a prop -- which is always fun. And, in their case, useful, since Wadi careened off of it to show off some Parkour-reminiscent acrobatic moves. Megan labeled the couple "insane" (a compliment) and Nigel Lythgoe expressed exactly what we were thinking -- that Wadi, who had never before partnered with another dancer, gave an amazing performance. We're hoping he sticks around for the long haul. Mary, being Mary, said, "If the two of you think you looked anything like sexy demons out there, I think you're right."
Also strong: the surprising pairing of ballroom dancer Iveta Lukosiute and tapdancer Nick Young. Amazingly, they drew a quickstep for their routine -- which, although one of the hardest dances faced by the average contestant, was pretty much in the bag for the world champion quickstepper and a guy used to fancy footwork.
Robert "Woo Man" Taylor, who has been trying to get on the show for ages, paired up with Miranda Maleski for a mod/nerd take on Latin dance. It was interesting, but we got the sense that both dancers were holding back. At least in the dance department. In the personality department there is no such thing as holding back for Robert, who had the audience "woo-ing" for him.
In his sternest critique of the evening, Nigel said, "This is so you think you can dance, not you think you've got a great personality. You're going to have to learn how to point your toes." Ouch.
We liked the pairing of Clarice Ordaz and Jess LeProtto, who lucked out and drew a routine from Tyce DiOrio that played to Jess' strengths as a showman. There was razzle dazzle to spare, though Nigel warned Clarice that she needed to keep up with Jess. "Jess outdanced you in that routine," he said. We respectfully disagree. She made Jess look good because she impeccably paired with him in a routine designed to showcase his talents, not hers.
The weirdest routine of the night award goes to Ryan Ramirez and Ricky Jaime, who drew "lyrical hip-hop" as their style and were forced to dance it to the incongruous "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone." An odd mash-up made odder by Ryan's perma-grin. We were immediately thrown off by the dissonance of the melancholy routine and her smiling face. And it wasn't lost on the judges -- all three noted that the smile kind of threw them off. Add in Ryan's flowy short baby-doll dress and long unkempt blond curls and you get what Zap2it's Mikey O'Connell described as "Erin Brokovich, the Musical."
We expected more from openers Sasha Mallory and Alexander Fost, who danced a modern African jazz number that, although strong, didn't really do much for either dancer. They're amazing, independent talents and the routine diminished them both somehow.
We felt for Mitchell Kelly, who had to sit out the competition because of an elbow injury. He sat, teary eyed, in the audience watching his partner for the week, Caitlynn Lawson perform with season 7's Robert Roldan. The Sonya Tayeh routine was fierce and for an 18-year-old, Caitlynn did a great job of communicating strength.
"What I love about it is that Sonya produces such strong, powerful movement," said Mary. "Every girl wants to be you, that's for sure."
We'll see. On Thursday (June 16), two dancers will be eliminated. Who do you think will be the first to go?
Follow Zap2it on Twitter and Zap2it on Facebook for the latest news and buzz
Photo/Video credit: FOX
Related pics
Zap2it Elite Sheet Must Reads from the Web's In-Crowd
Advertisement
What's Hot Right Now
Sign in to connect with Zap2it:
Rewards Challenge Members
Top Users from the Past Week | All-time
Zap2it Elite Sheet
Must Reads from the Web's In-Crowd
Our Partners
I agree with what you said about Clarice Ordaz. I thought she out danced him.
About Ryan looking happy throughout her routine. She was just supposed to be a memory--not really there--he was remembering her and and how much he missed her. So her smile wasn't out of place at all!
I hate to see any of them go, they all did well. I wish they could all go on tour (I know, it's a competition.)
I totally agree with this article/Morisot on Clarice. i thought she out danced him as well and especially considering this was jess' speciality and not hers. Clarice is an amazing dancer and i hope to see more of her throughout the season!
I think the judges were caught up in the moment and gave the statue routine too much credit. It was good, but it wasn't great. I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the bottom.
I thought Ryan's smile was completely out of place, and that her reasoning was something made up on the spot.
Slight mistake in your article: Jordan and Tadd opened the show.
I'm sorry but Wadi was awful! He could move, but his transitions were wretched. Not smooth at all. And he got outdanced like nobody's bizness!
Woo Boy is going to be this year's Wapakoneta and is going to coast on his personality. Glad Nigel called him on it, though he did do a fairly good job.
If everybody votes on dancing, I think Ryan and Ricky could be in trouble, mostly because their dance was weird and they didn't seem to gel. And Ashley and Chris weren't very good either, just "fun". I think Clarice and Jess could be in trouble because I do think he way outdanced her, plus she had the perma-smile too, AND I don't think Jess has a lot of fans out there. I think one of them is going to outdance the other on a weekly basis, depending on the style.
They're amazing...Isn't it Their...
No, Adrian Mapp. "They're amazing" is correct.
The producers and coordinators of the show have clearly given their picks for the the top ten every advantage possible and set the others up to fail. Sasha, Melanie, Ryan, etc., were given the best male partners, the best choreographers, and got their starts in the competition in their personal styles of dance. Nothing random or fair about it. I went in to watch hoping to see the spectacular defeat of challenge by the most talented, but clearly some of my favs were intended to be dancing for their lives.
None of the guys have the sex appeal and star quality of past seasons, save Wadi and Markko, and Ashley and Clarice were cheated last night of the tools to shine.
Awful recap. At this stage, with so many dancers, your comments should be in the order that they performed... not in random confusion. And you can just skip the last names... everybody else does. As a knowledgeable re-capper I think you should be able to go out on a limb and make a prediction as to who is going home... its kinda your job.
Correction, Sasha did NOT perform in the opening number...that was Jordan. I agree, horrible recap.