Show Updates
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Season 3 - Top 20 RevealWednesday, August 20 2008 |
The first round of competition for viewer votes features the Top 20 dancers, 10 men and 10 women, strutting their stuff.
So You Think You Can Dance, during its third year was one of the most popular summer television shows. It always starts off with the auditions process, then begins the performance and results portion of its competition where we see ten guys and ten girls competing for a period of approximately 2 months, until only one dancer remains. You get to some of the finalists during the course of the audition episodes, but some you don't really see at all. So, who made it into the top 20 for Season 3?
Let's take a look:
Anya Garnis, 25, is a Latin Ballroom dancer from New York, NY. Anya has been living in the U.S. for six years after growing up in Russia. She has been dancing with partner Pasha Kovalev, also a finalist, for nine years.
Cedric Gardner, 23, is a Hip-Hop dancer from New Berlin, WI. He started training at 18 at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and then moved two-years later to Los Angeles, where he received a full scholarship with Monsters of Hip Hop.
Ashlee Langas, 19, is a Contemporary/Jazz dancer from Tyler, TX. Ashlee has spent her life dancing in all sorts of settings from dance theaters to high school productions.
Danny Tidwell, 23, is a Contemporary/Jazz dancer from New York, NY, whose brother Travis Wall was last season’s runner-up. Danny was previously involved with the American Ballet Company.
Dominic Sandoval, 21, is a B-boy/Hip-Hop dancer from Roseville, CA. Born in Sacramento; he started his hip-hop training in January of this year.
Faina Savich, 21, is a Latin Ballroom dancer from Brooklyn, NY. Following in her brother Stanislav’s footsteps (he was a finalist in Season Two); Faina grew up in Moscow and has been living in the U.S. for six years.
Hok Konishi, 22, is a B-boy dancer from Los Angeles; CA. Born in Tokyo, Hok spent much of his youth in Oxford, England.
Jaimie Goodwin, 19, is a Contemporary dancer from Virginia Beach, VA. Jaimie danced in competitions with Season Two contestant Travis before coming onto the show.
Jessi Peralta, 25, is a Hip-Hop dancer from Valley Village, CA. She has danced in front of President Bill Clinton at the Apollo and has performed at Madison Square Garden.
Jesus Solorio, 23, is a Contemporary/Jazz dancer from Paso Robles; CA. Jesus makes his own wine at his family vineyard.
Jimmy Arguello, 21, is a Contemporary dancer from Miami, FL. After taking his first dance class in middle school, Jimmy, at first focused on running in track and field, changed directions completely and found his true calling in dance.
Kameron Bink, 20, is a Contemporary/Hip-Hop dancer from Coral Springs, FL. Known for his distinct red-star hair, Kameron brings over 15 years of dance training to the show and hopes the experience will bring him new and exciting opportunities as he pursues a professional dance career.
Lacey Schwimmer, 18, is a Swing and International Latin dancer from Redlands, CA. Following in the footsteps of her brother and dance partner, Benji, who won the competition last season, Lacey has her own style which she hopes to showcase this season.
Lauren Gottlieb, 18, is a Contemporary/Jazz dancer who currently lives in Sherman Oaks; CA. Lauren is originally from Scottsdale, AZ. After moving to California, she landed a spot dancing with Shakira at the Grammy Awards. She has been dancing since she was 2 years old.
Pasha Kovalev, 27, is a Latin Ballroom dancer from Fort Lee, NJ. Pasha is originally from Russia and has trained with numerous professional ballroom dancers. He has been dancing with partner Anya Garnis, also a finalist, for nine years.
Neil Haskell, 20, is a Contemporary Jazz dancer from Clarence Center, NY. Neil is currently training in New York City, where he performed in the play “The Times They are A-Changin’” on Broadway and was named Male Dancer of the Year in 2005 by the American Dance Awards Competition.
Ricky Palomino, 25, is a Contemporary dancer from Phoenix, AZ. Ricky also enjoys singing (he recently recorded his first CD), and he is a master teacher and choreographer.
Sabra Johnson, 19, is a Contemporary dancer from Roy, UT, with training in Ballet and Jazz. She hopes to pursue dancing as a professional career.
Sara Von Gillern, 23, is a Hip-Hop/B-girl dancer from Ft. Collins, CO. While she started as journalism major at Colorado College, dancing has always been her main love. She is a dance instructor and was one of 30 people from all over the world selected to be part of the Red Bull: Beat Rider program, which gave her the chance to work with some of the biggest names in the Hip-Hop/Breaking field.
Shauna Noland, 18, is a Contemporary dancer from North Hollywood, CA. She has been dancing for 15 years and also has an avid love of singing.
So then it's time to start a very important moment in Season 3's timeline – the first actual appearance(s) of the TOP 20 dancers. One by one each dancer struts out fully styled and in the freshest threads. They all do a quick little freestyle number, each more unique than the last. Then - hold your breath as Cat Deeley - the show's beautiful host - takes the stage looking radiant as always. She gives a quick reminder of what’s at stake in this competition: a quarter of a million dollars plus the title of “America’s favorite dancer”.
Then the second order of business as always is to meet the judges: For this week we have Hip-hop Choreographer Dan Karaty, Ballroom expert Mary Murphy, and Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe.
So here’s how it’s going to work for the next few weeks: The top 20 dancers have been paired into 10 dancing couples. Each week the couples will pick a dance style randomly from of a hat, then they perform and you vote at the end of the night. Come Thursday night(s) which are results nights, the bottom three couples will have to dance a solo for the judges. One girl and one guy will be voted off and sent home.
So let's get right down to it. The first couple of the night is Jamie and Hok, an unlikely couple I would have to say, but maybe this will work to their advantage? Lucky for Hok, the pair has Shane Sparks for hip-hop. The routine is danced to "Tambourine" by Eve. Jaimie plays an 18 year old temptress, gets lucky on this routine, mostly because Hok is a master hip/hop dancer. Jaimie's performance, likely thanks to Hok's tutelage, is actually more impressive than expected. She is anything but a hip/hop dancer, but she manages to pull off a decent performance. Hok gets to do his thing a couple times (elevating himself at weird angles, etc.) and overall it's a good performance that will keep them safe this first week. Hok totally nails the sharp punchy Shane Sparks moves and Jamie isn’t far behind for a contemporary dancer. Jamie gets a chance to do some serious booty popping which Nigel usually appreciates. The judges all sing some pretty high praises, but after all this is the very first routine.
Danny and Anya are the next couple to dance. Danny is a classically trained ballet dancer and adopted brother of last year’s runner up, Travis Wall. Anya is a well-trained ballroom dancer who auditioned with fellow top 20 dancer, Pasha. The couple will be doing the Jive routine to the song "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne. Neither of them are all that proficient in the Jive, but they dominate the routine anyway. They start off really burning up the floor losing no momentum. This dance is usually too fast and rigorous for ballet dancers, but Danny has no problem. The judges totally love them, especially Mary Murphy who makes her frequent saying about the "hot tamale train pulling in station". Nigel seems a little confused by Mary's tamale comment (aren't we all confused by some of her screeches and weird metaphors at times?), but then says they may be the couple to beat this season. He also comments how he loved Anya's “bum shuffle”.
Next, it's time to check out the Schwimmer legacy. This year it's Lacey Schwimmer (little sister to Benji Schwimmer), and she’s partnered with Kameron. How will a ballroom champ work with a hip-hip dude who has red stars painted into his hair? The routine is choreographed by the contemporary legend Mia Michaels, and performed to a song called "Dancing" by Elisa? This is going to be tough for them both. Dressed like very stylish psych ward patients the pair pulls off a pretty strong emotional routine, barefoot and all. Cat is quick to say “first chills of the season.” All the judges are stunned yet again. It was actually pretty cool, though, and the younger Schwimmer can really dance. Her partner Kameron is a bit arrogant, but he was pretty good, so I say forgive him for now and hopefully he'll drop the "I'm better than you" attitude as the season goes along.
Here’s a couple and routine I’m exited about - Sabra and Dominic doing a disco routine choreographed by Doriana Sanchez and performed to "No More Tears" by Donna Summer & Westlife. This seems like it might be the perfect combo, but who really knows at this stage of the competition. The routine starts slow and loving just like the song, but it only takes seconds for the disco beat to kick in and the hands and feet flying - what fun moves! They look like a real New York disco couple circa 1978, both dancing to escape the pressures of the city. The reactions from the judges are lukewarm, bordering on warm, and then Nigel rounds it off with some big praise.
Ashlee and Ricky are the next couple to dance. Ashlee is a pristine southern belle from Tyler, Texas and Ricky is a math wiz contemporary technician from Phoenix Arizona, both adored by Mia Michaels. The pair of contemporary dancers will be learning the Argentine Tango from the suave Alex Da Silva. It's performed to "Sentimiento Tanguero" by Trio Federico-Berlingieri. Ashlee comes out looking scandalously sexy in blue sparkly bikini combo, while poor Ricky is wearing a boring, plain black suit. They perform the routine just fine, with its various kicks and difficult footwork, but the judges are right on in their criticism: Ricky has no connection with Ashlee. He's in his own little world. Ashlee is an attractive lady, and it should be easy to perform a sexy type dance with her. Not for Ricky. Dan, Mary, and Nigel all agree it was pretty mellow for an Argentinean Tango.
Lyrical dancer Jesus Solario and Sara Von Gillernare are the next couple. They will be learning Pop Jazz from Wade Robson and dancing to "Cabaret Hoover" from the Triplets of Belleville Soundtrack. The routine is a little strange but in a cool way. Wade has some vision of 1930’s era street vagabond’s breaking into dance at 3am. I’m interested to see how this works. I thought Sara might have a difficult time with other forms of dance other than her own, but it's not the case. She rips it up on this number with Jesus, who she out dances handily in an unfamiliar genre of dance. She should be fun to watch throughout the season. They start off lying on the ground crumpling newspapers for the sound effect. The routine started to look a little tedious and they fell out of sync a couple times, but it’s still very interesting. The judges are all pleasantly surprised and really love the routine.
Pasha and Jessi are the next couple, and they’re going to be doing the smooth waltz. They dance to Norah Jones' song, "Come Away with Me". The smooth waltz is normally the most boring of routines, a genre that reminds viewers of royal courts and wigs and guillotines, but tonight it was great. And this number was no problem for the classically trained Russian but Jessi is feeling a little stiff I think. Dan Karaty totally surprises me and says he thought it was “beautiful.” Mary loves it as expected and Nigel is on board too, saying "It may have been the most impressive routine of the night."
Now it's time for a different taste of Russia from the stunningly beautiful Faina Savich. She’s partnered with Cedric Gardiner, an amazing freestyle hip-hopper. The pair will be doing a Shane Sparks hip-hop routine danced to "Get it Shawty" by Lloyd. This number seems perfect for Cedric, but even he had a hard time with the speed of Shane’s choreography. Onto the routine! Faina busts out wearing classic 80’s hip-hop clothes, striped tube socks and all. The choreography is amazing, featuring all kinds of puppet motifs, but they struggle through it. The judges feel the same, saying it felt like dance by numbers. Considering her lack of experience in the genre, I didn't think Faina was all that bad, but it was still sloppy in places.
Lauren Gottleib and Neil Haskell are the next couple. This pair looks like they could really give the rest of the competition a run for their money. They’re going to be learning Salsa from Alex Da Silva and dance the number to "Friday Night Rhythm" by Mazerati 5. They both start off strong looking very sexy, especially Lauren who can’t help but look stunning. They have a lot of fun and show some real skills but it definitely felt amateurish. Dan Karaty is quick to call it out for lacking the passion and sexiness a salsa needs felt it was mostly Neil's fault. Lauren kicked butt on this number, but Neil didn't seem “into” her, as Karaty stated. Lauren is a talented dancer, and this couple is too good-looking to be sent home at this juncture. Mary agrees and Nigel too. So they had good marks, but also had room for improvement.
Last but not least, is an exciting Tyce Diorio Broadway routine from Shauna Noland and Jimmy Arguello. Both dancers are strong in the contemporary genre, so we’ll see if they can break out and let loose. They take the stage with gusto pulling a page out of the Michael Jackson book dancing to "Ease on Down the Road" from The Wiz. They stay in tight sync for nearly the entire routine. The judges totally eat it up loving the whole thing.
It appears that’s all 10 couples in this first breezy 2-hour show. And now some parting words from the judges. Nigel says the whole group was amazing and the only person in danger is Benji Schwimmer. Snicker - Ha Ha. Nigel sometimes has a really corny sense of humor doesn't he? Stay tuned for the results which will be posted in the next few days!
