So You Think You Can Dance Season 9 Episode 7 Recap: Top 20 Perform Again
Jul 18 2012 10:20 pm ET
So You Think You Can Dance - Top 20 Perform, Part 2
Like last week, the group began with a group performance, this time set to Marilyn Manson which interestingly gave Cyrus little to do except in the beginning. Most of the performance, Cyrus hid behind a tree. The girls had more general choreography. Of course, the group was given some dubsetep and again, Cyrus had the least amount of work. I really think his dancing limitations will do him in sooner or later.
We welcome the top 20 again this time, but introduced in their pairings. I did like the minor ways that the couples tried their best to incorporate their multiple styles of dance as a five second introduction. Cat explained that there would be a bottom three after all of the performances. Joining Nigel and Mary was Adam Shankman.
Lindsay & Cole - Hip-Hop - Christopher Scott had a dentist storyline, allowing Cole to be awkward dork Asian. I thought costuming was really cute and Cole's acting skills helped the piece a lot. I didn't think the choreography was as hip-hop as it could have been because there were a lot of props flying everywhere. The sadistic person in me hoped that Lindsay would have tripped over her pencils. Lindsay wasn't enough of a character when Cole was overdoing it.
Grade: Lindsay - B- / Cole - A-
Amelia & Will - Contemporary - Sonya Tayeh created one of those "light at the end of the tunnel" stories that most contemporary stories seem to channel. That being said, I still liked the routine, Amelia's skin tone working really well for the piece. Will's performance was a great counterbalance to his cool cat last week. The two were generally synchronized and Will lifted Amelia with such ease throughout the performance.
Grade: Amelia - A- / Will - B+
Amber & Nick - Tango - Miriam & Leonardo, our tango specialists were trying to make sure the two were connecting perfectly. Nick got lucky again and pulled something in his genre, but Amber was the one who looked amazing as she nearly slammed her head into the ground. There were a lot of Argentine undertones to the tango which is always amazing to watch. Amber definitely lost something on one of her spins (probably jewelry) and she didn't have it phase her one bit.
Grade: Amber - A / Nick - A
Audrey & Matthew - Jazz - Sonya has a stronger piece that allowed Audrey to be darker and as the performance began I believed Matthew, but Audrey had moments between moves where she didn't fully commit. There were some great moves by Audrey, thanks to her insane flexibility and her legs bent like they were pretzels.
Grade: Audrey - A / Matthew - B+
Janelle & Dareian - Hip-Hop - Chris Scott wanted a stereotypical dating piece, but Dareian was acting like Donald Duck in practice. Janelle's legwork worked stronger during the routine. I didn't think the routine had a lot of standout moments. It was a clean performance and had some cute acting, but I thought it was generally forgettable. I disagreed with Adam and thought Dareian didn't have as much character as Janelle did.
Grade: Janelle - C+ / Dareian - C+
Janaya & Brandon - Broadway - Sean Cheeseman wanted a storyline about a bus stop. The practice bench was longer than in the main performance but the two seemed to adjust correctly. This was another character piece where both really had to be dedicated to the pieces. Brandon made some great faces, I'm not exactly sure what happened to Janaya's shoe, but she made the performance work. I thought the performance was dynamic.
Grade: Janaya - A / Brandon - A+
Eliana & Cyrus - Jive - Tony & Melanie knew that the performance was crazy and the two struggled in practice. It showed that Eliana had a lot more confidence in the performance, or at least Tony & Melanie correctly gave her more choreography whereas Cyrus had to hobble around her. His kicks and flicks were awful. He reminds me of one of those celebrities on Dancing with the Stars that tries really hard, but has no dance abilities.
Grade: Eliana - B- / Cyrus - C-
Alexa & Daniel - Contemporary - Dee Caspary had a bathtub as his one prop and emphasized that the two had to channel their emotions. That seemed like the perfect choice for Alexa who performs very cold and disconnected. Daniel was great with the piece as he flailed around, but the lighting was something that actually helped Alexa because we couldn’t see her face. The performance had an amazing difficulty level that worked.
Grade: Alexa - B+ / Daniel - A-
Tiffany & George - Foxtrot - Tony & Melanie must have had a bit more hope for Tiffany & George than Cyrus, but Tiffany looked a little uncomfortable as she spun around. There should be smoothness in the routine; both attempted smoothness, but didn't capture perfectly. George's legs and leaps helped the routine look better, but some of the lifts made Tiffany look awkward. They tried their hardest and did better than the two with the jive.
Grade: Tiffany - B / George - B+
Witney & Chehon - Bollywood - Nakul Dev Mahajan had a very intense routine that incorporated a lot of different choreography. The performance had the dreaded knee spins and some of their spinning seemed off, but I loved the performance. The two were out of their element but didn't show any fear in the performance. Once in a while Witney would sputter on her top line, but Chehon didn't need to have Witney support him in this dance.
Grade: Whitney - B+ / Chehon - A-
The top twenty got in the dreaded line and Cat announced the bottom six: Janaya, Alexa, Whitney, Nick, Daniel, and Chehon. The judges didn't need to see re-dancing, which must have meant that there were no solos. Interestingly Alexa & Daniel and Whitney & Chehon were both coupled together. I have to assume that Amber and Brandon have a stronger voting base than their partners.
There was a little bit of filler for Step up Revolution, which also helped advertise Twitch, Phillip, Tony, and Kathryn. Apparently Adam Shankman called his SYTYCD rolodex for fun.
The eliminations were up and Nigel explained how the eliminations work. America only voted for their favorites. The least favorite contestants get under the judge's magnifying glass. Nigel announced that for the girls Witney would be saved. For the guys, Chehon was also saved. That meant that Alexa, Daniel, Nick, and Janaya were eliminated. They didn't really get a lot of elimination fanfare either.
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