Our Final Eight Perform
Thursday, July 24 2008 | Comments (0)
It's becoming more and more nerve-wracking on So You Think You Can Dance now that we're down to the wire with so few dancers left. We have just 4 guys, and 4 girls left this week. Who is going to have what it takes to remain in this fierce dancing competition?!
Host Cat Deeley opens last night's show by explaining the eight remaining dancers again get to pick new partners for this week. This time the guys get to choose their partners and dance genre's out of the hat. And joining our regular panel of judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy this week, is Emmy winning and Grammy nominated singer, dancer, director, and choreographer, Toni Basil!
Our first couple dancing for the night are Will and Courtney! I love this match up. Their first routine will be a Samba number choreographed by Jean Marc Généreux and his wife France Mousseau. This looks like it's going to be A HOT routine! They dance to Che'Nelle's "I Fell in Love with a DJ". And I was right! Hot Hot Hot routine! Nigel started off by saying tonight is going to be a great night for dancing. He felt the performance most of the time was fantastic. He also commented how he curious how most of the guys remaining on the show look like they should be in the movie '300' because they are all so muscle bound and toned. Nigel was also surprised at the chemistry between the pair - he said it was so good and he wasn't expecting that - a lot of good stuff between them. Mary thought they did a terrific job. She felt Will was a little too technical at times and could've loosened up a bit more, but Courtney was hot and did a great job! Guest judge Toni Basil really enjoyed the performance and said she had so much fun watching the two of them dance, she almost forgot she was judging.
We then see our first solo of the night from Comfort Fedoke. I think I've been a bit harsh on Comfort these past few weeks for her solos, But tonight I was really pleased to see she's worked really hard on her choreography this week. I think this is her best solo to date for this season.
Our second couple to dance together for the evening are Twitch and Katee. They chose Contemporary and Broadway for their routines. Katee explains she and Twitch knew each other before they came to the show this season, and they were really excited they finally get to dance together. Their contemporary routine is choreographed by the wonderfully talented Mia Michaels, and will showcase a boyfriend and girlfriend in somewhat of a fight. They dance to the song "Mercy" by Duffy. Nigel felt their performance was just fantastic. Everyone was captivated and he said this was one of the most entertaining routines ever to be on the show. Mary screamed they were two of the best dancers they've ever seen on the show. She loved their performance and called it brilliant! Toni remarked they were lucky to be choreographed by Mia. She loved their dancing; it had a Wow factor and they were wonderful.
Our second solo dancer of the night is Will. He danced a routine that was James Brown-inspired (wig and all!) and it was so much fun to watch! He really got the crowd going with great tricks and technique. His energy was amazing.
Our third couple paired together this week is Mark and Comfort. They'll be dancing a fox trot and hip hop. They dance hip hop first choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon. This routine is going to be very quick and intricate. They dance to "Party People" by Fergie featuring Nelly - very cool song for a dance routine. I'm sorry to say Mark looks totally out of his element for this number. You can tell he's trying really hard to keep up with Comfort and match her. He's such a talented dancer - I hope this routine doesn't send him packing. Nigel commented he was surprised at Comfort and how she dances so well when she's choreographed, but doesn't transfer that excellence to her solo performances? He feels sometime she will need to excel in both areas. He was also surprised with Mark and how he did much better than was expected. Mary was excited for Comfort and thought she nailed this routine. For Mark, she felt he did good - better than she'd hoped for or expected. Toni remarked she knows how hard Tabitha and Napoleon's routines are as she takes classes from them every so often. She felt overall the dancers efforts worked; the groove was definitely there from both of them.
The next soloist up is Katee. I love her style of dance but her solo this week, seemed very similar to last week’s? I could be imagining things but I did get a slight sense of déjà vu. That being said, she still danced it beautifully. You can really feel the joy in her technique and emotionality. I also love the way she throws herself into her routines.
Our last newly paired couple is Joshua and Chelsie. It seems they have a love-hate relationship. They get along, but are both feisty with one another. Joshua and Chelsie’s first dance is the Argentine Tango choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin. Chelsie’s footwork is amazing, and it had better be considering this is her style. I honestly liked their pairing. I think they were fortunate because of Chelsie's technique and experience in this genre, and because of Joshua's strength. The lifts were flawless and together they were definitely on Mary's "Hot Tamale Train" tonight. Nigel felt hey picked the most technical routine so far. Chelsie’s legs were exquisite - so fast, and snappy. He loved the choreography and the use of Joshua’s strength. Their chemistry really worked for the routine. Mary said it all translated in just the right way. She finds Joshua believable and Chelsie is so much sexier in this Tango routine than in her first. Toni said this is the most street of the ballroom partner dances. It needs to feel it’s spontaneous and torrid, and the pair definitely accomplished that. The dance really came together, and it was quite a performance she thoroughly enjoyed.
Mark performs his solo next. It's high-energy, and always quirkily entertaining. This particular solo wasn't as good as some of his others. He's sporting his faux-hawk once again and looks adorable.
Courtney and Will dance their second routine - a Lyrical (or Slow) Hip-Hop piece choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon to an Alicia Keys song. The emotional connection was pretty great and overall I really enjoyed the piece. Nigel comments Tabitha and Napoleon have created incredible routine's this season. He really felt emotionally affected by this one, almost like the feeling of being a voyeur. The dancer's were connected together emotionally and physically. Mary states Will and Courtney are tremendous dancers. She has very high expectations for the two of them, and they blew her expectations right out of the water. Their emotion and passion were exploding and it made her feel great. Toni remarks street wasn’t considered an art form when she got started. Great art makes you feel something and she thinks America will never feel the same about dance again after this show.
It's Chelsie Hightower's turn to dance her solo. She dances to "Damaged" by Danity Kane. I still don't get into the ballroom solos? She did well I guess? I didn't love it or hate it entirely.
Twitch and Katee’s next performance is a Broadway piece choreographed by Tyce Diorio to the song "Sweet Georgia Brown". I really enjoyed their routine. When Broadway is performed like this, I think just about anyone would love it. I really like how they get into their characters during their performances. It was fun to watch and I always like it when the choreographers make sure to put a little of the dancers’ own style into the piece. Nigel said he loved the routine. This is a Broadway routine you would actually see the dancers doing on Broadway. Twitch has risen to every single challenge they’ve given him and Nigel really enjoys his performances. He also comments there hasn't been one minute this season he hasn’t enjoyed Katee’s performances, which is the highest compliment he could possibly give to her. Mary thought this routine and performance was terrific and they really pulled it off. They both had well matched movement, and entertainment. She felt it was so amazing it didn't even look they were trying that hard. Toni feels Twitch brings much more reality to the choreography; and dances from the inside out. She also states Katee is a beautiful dancer but she wanted to see a much deeper, rougher approach that better matched the vocals of the song. But overall she feels they both did wonderfully.
Joshua Allen takes the stage next for his solo. (Before he does, we see footage of him telling the most adorable story about how he got started in dance, and it involves doing the moonwalk to the principal's office. How cute!) He is so charismatic and always so much fun to watch. His movements are incredibly precise and he hits his routine hard. Now onto Courtney's solo. She is definitely one of my favorites - and I especially appreciate that she puts a lot of advanced thought into her solo routines. This may actually be the best we’ve seen her do in a solo. The emotion was very real and I liked all her technical elements. Twitch is our last soloist of the night. He's always such a pleasure to watch in his solos. He made great use of the entire stage and had fun routine - Loved it!
Our second to last performance of the night is from Mark and Comfort dancing a Fox Trot choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereux to The Brian Setzer Orchestra's song "Lady Luck". I have to admit I didn’t hate it. Was it passable? In my eyes, yes. I didn’t notice Comfort’s horrible hand position on her turn so it didn’t bother me. I think it’s very interesting that these two dancers ended up performing together. The pairing may have saved them if this piece was as good as their first. I said, may have. Although I believe they were both trying their best, I don’t think it was enough to make people pick up the phone for them this week unfortunately. Nigel remarks first that he feels Lady luck walked out of the room on this number. There wasn't enough chemistry for him and how the pair had to think so hard throughout the routine was slightly amateurish. Mary agreed with Nigel. She loved the choreography, but them dancing it, she didn't see anything meshing together as it should have; the transitions were too rough. Toni states bad turns set the tone, although she felt Mark’s jazz parts were really good. For this routine, she said the power and technique behind it were extremely difficult, and doesn't feel they were able to pull it off.
To end the night, Joshua and Chelsie dance a Disco routine choreographed by the beautiful and talented Doriana Sanchez to "Everlasting Love" by Gloria Estefan (what a perfect song!). This was a fun piece to the end the show with. More than anything, I think their obvious energy really made this number work well. Joshua was like a workhorse during this routine – he was mostly there for the lifts – and he did a great job. He did stumble at the top of the number when he didn’t come out of his turn correctly and couldn’t complete a jump. But otherwise, he was pretty amazing as always. Chelsie danced superbly too. Some of the lifts they had to do would've scared the heck out of me, but she got through them with ease. You can tell she puts her entire trust in Joshua and it ultimately shows (which is yet another reason I love both of these dancers - they're very professional at all times). Nigel thought the Superman lift was absolutely fantastic, and for Chelsie to have the courage to do the lifts - she was incredible too. They both carried off the routine really well. Mary states this number was really good. And she could imagine how hard this was because the lifts seemed so tough. Doriana and Chelsie both trusted Joshua to nail the lifts - and he did. And of course, Chelsie made the landings work. This number was "Outa sight" said Mary. Toni felt Joshua pulled together the spirit of Disco although his lines weren't as long as she would've like to see. But Chelsie - she had all the lines. The two of them together worked really hard and it showed - they pulled it off despite some minor errors.
Overall, I think the partnered routines went very well last night. I was pleased to see almost everyone bring the level of their game up a notch too. It's so important right now for every dancer to do their very best and master every routine as close to perfect as possible. The judges are being harsh, and I think America will be even harsher in their voting this week. Only the best get to stay of course. Let's hope America's votes the right people off and ensures the the most talented stay! Results show Thursday night 7/24 on FOX. Will post another news update with those results later this week so check back for more on So You Think You Can Dance!
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