So You Think You Can Dance: And The Final Four Are…….

26 Comments

1. 1
   cattyfan
   Posted August 3, 2009 at 8:45 am

   Clowns always make me think of John Wayne Gacy¦so after the (creepy) opening number, I was envisioning a dancing serial killer clown. Not pleasant.

   If they had been merciful and dropped Sean Paul, Cat could have interviewed the dancers from last season and given us an update on how they’ve used the opportunities they were given.

   It was nice to see Jessica. It would have been even nicer if she had flipped off the judges who treated her so abominably last year.

   The JabbaWockeeZ made me think, “So this is what would happen if The Blue Man Group danced.”

   “Bleeding Love” for the Emmy win, please. Mark and Chelsea are outstanding in this number¦and it’s the only dance that seemed to retain as much impact as the original performance. I’m with you: I was a lot more invested last season.

   I’m glad Melissa is gone¦but I wish Evan had joined her. I will be disgusted if he wins.

   Brandon or Kayla for the win.

2. 2
   georgiababe
   Posted August 3, 2009 at 10:29 am

   PM – Still on the first page, but I think that what Cat meant regarding “This person is going through to the finale, although they didn’t necessarily get the most votes” is that the judges already knew which girl and which guy had the lowest number of votes, so to make the tension worse, they randomly picked one girl and one guy to do a solo again.

   Which, to me, seems stupid, unnecessary and rather cruel. But I digress.

3. 3
   georgiababe
   Posted August 3, 2009 at 10:49 am

   “For me, what made this dance was Chelsie and Mark. They sold it, they threw themselves into it and performed the shit out of it.”

   Yup. I agree with you. I missed Mark’s audition and I didn’t know who he was when they announced that he was in the top 20, but I immediately liked him – as well as Chelsie – and then “Bleeding Love” just cemented it. Mark, I think, (and Chelsie) are some of the dancers that have stood out for me over the seasons as true actors. They don’t just do the dance, they LIVE the dance and I love that. Whenever I danced, I would often get those kind of comments on adjudication sheets – that I felt the dance and didn’t just dance it – and it came really easily to me, so I can’t understand how you can dance and not get into it. You could be the greatest technical dancer in the world (which Mark was not) but if you don’t have a personality or you don’t bring the emotion to your dances, I’m not going to like you. That is probably why I didn’t like Will last year – I found him incredibly boring, but Mark was so quirky and interesting to watch, even though he wasn’t always the most technically proficient.

   Anyway, that out of the way, I am mostly happy with the final four. I have always liked Evan and even as recently as last week I thought that I wanted him in the finale, but Ade has been growing on me so much that I find myself disappointed that he isn’t in the final four. Oh well.

   I am rooting for a Jeanine win. I don’t think Kayla can win (she’s been in the bottom too many times), Evan shouldn’t win and then Brandon definitely has a chance.

   I don’t really like Brandon though. I don’t dislike him, but he hasn’t been a favorite of mine since he hit the top 20, which is weird, because he was a favorite of mine during auditions and Vegas last year and I was really disappointed that he didn’t make the top 20. I don’t know, something about him just rubs me the wrong way. I think that maybe he has the same problem that I had with Will in that he kind of bores me.

   I have liked Jeanine since she got to the top 20 and I think she definitely deserves it. I have enjoyed her solos the most. After I stopped dancing competitively full-time, I did some choreography and I really enjoyed it. Perhaps I benefitted from having good choreograpers, but I felt like, being a dancer, I had a good grasp of how to put together a compelling routine. However, many of these dancers do not seem to be able to choreograph. They rarely have musicality (Mark, Jeanine and Ade stand out as ones that do) and their solos are often very repetitive (week to week and throughout the solo) and jam-packed. Whenever I choreograph, I like to try to tell a story. Perhaps 30 (or is it 60?) seconds isn’t enough to do that, but they seem to do trick after trick after trick with no transitions and no flow to it. It’s not good.

   Jeanine for the win!

4. 4
   jennaboa
   Posted August 3, 2009 at 11:49 am

   PottyMouth, awesome recap. One thing: Did you have to show the screencaps of the clowns? Those things are creepy — Clown Screencap No. 3 is straight out of my nightmares.

   Scarier? The Sean Paul screencaps. Seriously, we need a Hugh intermission in there somewhere to make it more bearable. Could you possibly start photoshopping Hugh’s face over the musical guests? It would be more entertaining that way.

   I love ABDC! Love, love, love JabbaWockeez! They should have ABDC crews on instead of musical guests every results show. I would love to see Kaba Modern or BreakSk8 or Qwest again.

   And, Cat, wow, honey. Just because you are the host on a dance show doesn’t mean you have to wear the pelts of skinned disco balls as dresses. Gave me a Dynasty moment when she walked out. I’m kind of worried where this progression of shiny dresses is leading to.

   This week was rough for me. I loved Melissa and wanted her to make it through to the end. (Because she is quite talented at assuming other styles and, as ancient as she is, she is still younger me. Apparently, at 34, I am practically dirt.) Still Jeanine and Kayla have grown so much during this performance, it is impossible to begrudge them a spot in the finale.

   Not so, Evan. He is a superb soloist, but there is only so long I can watch him go “Oh shucks” at the end, all clowny and cutesy, before it gets a wee bit twee. Just stop it already! We get it: You are a hip Rat Packer. Just turn off the “cute” when you partner someone so they don’t get cut ok? This isn’t a height thing. I am all for shorties as I am only 4″8 Go Team Napoleon. This is about his ability to break out of his own mold. It’s like Hugh Grant trying to act as anything other than A Charming Cad or Pamela Anderson doing any role that doesn’t require her ta-tas to be on display — they can’t do it. And Evan can’t *not* be Mr RatPack.
   I know this is supposed to be for America’s favorite dancer, not the best one, but this kind of choice chaps me a bit. I really wanted to see Ade and Brandon dance.

   I guess at this point, I really want Brandon or Kayla to win. Jeanine, I love, but Kayla has such incredible grace falling into a character that I don’t see in Jeanine.

5. 5
   Lizbot
   Posted August 3, 2009 at 1:07 pm

   Ok, I think I’m in the minority here but…I’m not that big a fan of Bleeding Love *ducks*

   Ok, I know this will also be very unpopular but, I think I didn’t like BL in large part because I couldn’t stand Chelsie *ducks again*

   That said, I do think it was nice that they brought back the emmy nominated dances and the dancers who danced them from last year (even if I don’t necessarily agree with all the picks). I was thinking: why didn’t they do that for the 100th episode, rather than making us sit through that overblown Katie Holmes’ number? And even the Jabbawockeez could have done an apperance that episode. Wasn’t that supposed to be the big celebration about all things SYTYCD and for real dancers? I don’t get it. But I amn happy they did it. Maybe it will become a tradition (if SYTYCD keeps getting nominations).

   I wasn’t that mad about Evan getting in over Ade, although I think Ade probably earned his spot more. But I’m with you abou there being something missing from this season. I mean, I think the dancers are just as skilled, if not more so, than past seasons. But a friend of mine suggested that it might be that the dancers this year haven’t really been making the dances their own at the same level that past contestants have. Like I will never forget the majority of Josh and Katee’s routines from last year. Even Twitch and Kherrington. Or Mark and Chelsie (their first contemporary by Mia was much more impressive to me than most of what they did later on in the season). I mean, even though I favour Jeanine for the win, I still feel like I’m left wanting more from her when she dances — even when she dances really well. I don’t know if that’s casting or if there’s some extra pressures/less support on the show than there have been in previous years.

6. 6
   hm21
   Posted August 3, 2009 at 1:36 pm

   Another great recap Potty Mouth!!

   I love the “Bleeding Love” routine because it sends such a powerful message…especially with Mark and Chelsie doing the dancing…it wouldn’t feel the same if someone else danced it.

   Love the Jabbawockeez!! Hopefully for the finale next week they’ll have Quest Crew the winners of season four(?) which include SYTYCD alumnis Dominic, Hok, and someone else from season one who I can’t remember.

   One big thing that bugged me was that Will grew out his hair into CORNROBS!!! That just annoyed me throughout the whole dance because it just didn’t look like Will. And apparently he got the cornrobs from Joshua because suddenly he’s buzzed cut!! Weird!!

   I was disappointed that Ade got out because I thought he really deserved it more than Evan. Evan has such a fan base that even when he’s not that good, he’s never in the bottom three.

   I’m hoping for Jeanine for the win!! Kayla seems too frilly or something (just rubs me the wrong way), Brandon doesn’t have much of a personality even though he has the best technique, and Evan doesn’t really deserve it (maybe we’ll give the win to his brother for next season).

7. 7
   here4beer
   Posted August 3, 2009 at 2:22 pm

   Team Jeanine!!! I’m actually going to vote for a change (I think), too. Maybe.

   I wish they would have brought Quest crew instead of Jabbawockeez, mostly because writing that word makes my cry for the English language, but also because Quest is comprised of so many former SYTYCDers (Dom, Hok, Ryan). But hey, it was better than having a shitty musical perfor…. wait. Nevermind.

   I also hope that Wade and Shane are back this week; Shane should be good to go, since ABDC doesn’t start til Sunday. (Also- I like how you threw that commercial in there, PM. Have you been taking lessons from Nigel?) Maybe we’ll get another Travis appearance, too? His work has actually- surprisingly – been some of the best this year IMO.

8. 8
   here4beer
   Posted August 3, 2009 at 2:23 pm

   Gah!!! I should have read hm21′s comment before I posted… sorry. But you know what they say, GMTA!

9. 9
   bravojunkie
   Posted August 3, 2009 at 3:32 pm

   Awesome recap as always!

   One thing that has always bugged me about the Bleeding Love routine, and I know I’m going to sound like Nigel here, but what is going on with Chelsea wardrobe, they are supposed to be a married couple but she looks like she’s in high school.(rant over)

   @hm21 – I was actually commenting to my husband while were watching the results show (he’s so nice to watch the show with me and act interested) that I was worried they were going to take out Evans success on his brother, does anyone know if they have already done Vegas yet for next season? I was thinking maybe they would find a reason to boot the brother since they couldn’t seem to get rid of the Evan and didn’t want the same thing happening twice. Lets just hope Evan doesn’t win or his brother is a goner.

   I’m with you Jeanine for the win!!!

10. 10
    georgiababe
    Posted August 3, 2009 at 4:19 pm

    Also, one more thing. Your screencap for Melissa’s solo shows exactly the thing that bugged me to no end about her. I liked her, don’t get me wrong and I was happy to see a ballerina in the top 20, but if you look at the screencap, she is NOT fully on pointe. Her weight is not completely over her toe like it should be. I have noticed that several times and it bothered me.

    She needs to take some lessons from Veronica Tennant, I think.

11. 11
    JohnnyLegs
    Posted August 3, 2009 at 4:58 pm

    I loved the Jabberwockeez performance so much! I’ve watched it over and over and I still get chills. The precision and quality of movement is so tight. They just seem so comfortable and make it look so easy. They should perform every week.

    I knew right away that that stupid fucking clown number was Tyce’s baby. It reminded me of those stupid clown ballet posters that 6 year old ballerinas have on their bedroom walls, only worse. God! That dude just sucks seven ways to Sunday.

    It was good to see Twitch and Katee again. I love Katee. And I love Twitch. So naturally I loved seeing them dance together. I agree with you, Pottymouth, there was something really engaging about the contestants last year – Twitch, Mark, Joshua, Katee – that just isn’t there this year for me (with the exception of Janette and to a lesser extent, Jeanine). I think there was just more personality. I think also, there was more potential. With this group, you know what you’re going to get: Brandon will be great, Kayla will be technically good (with amazing lines, so I’m told) but a little detached, Evan will be a little worse than he should be. Last year, there was always the possibility that someone was going to be unbelievable, and it just hasn’t been there this year, again, with the exception of Janette (I’ll shut up about her now).

    I think we all need to band together to make sure Evan doesn’t win. I like the kid, but I think it’ll hurt the show’s credibility (don’t laugh) if he takes it. So vote early and often.

12. 12
    razzbeth
    Posted August 3, 2009 at 5:46 pm

    Oh boy, what to say here. I’m still mourning the loss of Janette since she was my favorite and seemed to be the most versatile and fun of the bunch.

    I am glad to see Melissa go, though. I think it was all that posey crap she pulled all the time that really got on my nerves. And I really don’t think she was all that great a dancer. A lot of what she did was have Ade hold her in the air. Plus that comment about hip-hop really rubbed me the wrong way, too. My opinion only – we know that I am not a dancer and have no idea what I am talking about….

    Personally I think Ade should have stayed, but he was totally not given a real chance as most of the time he was just a prop for Melissa (see above comment). I think if he had a different partner at the beginning he would have had a chance of growing a larger fan base. He was never given a chance to shine and that I am sad about.

    Evan is a great dancer in his style, but aside from the contemporary routines, he just doesn’t do it for me. And I guess that is why I always liked Janette and Brandon. Throw anything at them and they did it, and did it well. I think as a couple they brought out the best in each other and you could tell they were having fun with it.

    Kayla is just meh to me. Sure, she’s had some great routines, but still..meh. Not that I don’t wish her well, but, yeah, meh. At least she stopped blowing kisses when the judges kiss her ass.

    So I’m torn between who I want to win. Do I pick Jeanine who managed to shine even when saddled with Philip (a wonderful dancer in his own style, but despite all his efforts was only so-so in others) or Brandon who was great when partnered with Janette but who seems to have gone back until his shell without her?

    And it is true. For some reason I don’t seem as invested in this season as last season. Katee and Joshua had me routing for them all season and at the edge of my seat waiting to see them dance. This season it seemed like a lot of the dancers were playing it safe and just trying to get a job out of the exposure. Maybe we are all just jaded since they allow amateur and professional dancers to audition. As with all shows of this nature, once you become more popular, you give up heart for training.

    I want my Janette back!!!

13. 13
    chibby
    Posted August 3, 2009 at 8:18 pm

    Oh it was great seeing Katee & Joshua and everybody. Finally, somebody I look forward to seeing dance. This year has been just meh. There’s a few that I root for, but overall, can’t compare with past seasons. I’m hoping this fall will be more exciting. and I agree, bring back Danny! Have him dance with Brandon. maybe I’ll like him more. Also, I’m curious too see if they’ll let present dancers dance past favorite choreography. I’m curious.

14. 14
    mama j
    Posted August 4, 2009 at 1:03 pm

    Um … PM I hate to break the news to you, but has anyone mentioned the fact that your beloved bench dance is also choreographed to a song by MY beloved Celine Dion?! I can’t comprehend how you, as a longtime dancer, wouldn’t have a deep love and appreciation for Celine! So many of her songs over the years have been dance-worthy! You can’t tell me you didn’t hear songs like “Fly” and “It’s All Coming Back To Me” like a thousand times at dance competitions over the years. Ah memories …

    Anyway, I think Celine’s haunting, yearning singing is what makes the bench dance so amazing. It wouldn’t have been nearly as powerful without her.

    But enough about Celine … your recaps are brilliant as usual this time, and I can’t wait for the finale (mostly because it means we’re a week closer to what I’m hoping will be a much better season of SYTYCD).

15. 15
    Lizbot
    Posted August 4, 2009 at 3:17 pm

    mamaj- actually that’s not Celine, that’s Leona Lewis. Looks like you found a new songstress to be a fan of!

    She is very similar in style to Celine. Being a Canadian, I have this pride-disdain thing going for Celine. Many of her earlier works reside in my catalogue of guilty pleasures! So deliciously, unabashedly overwrought is she

16. 16
    Lizbot
    Posted August 4, 2009 at 3:19 pm

    oops, sorry mama j — my mistake. I was thinking Bleeding Love, not Bench — that shows me to intrude on other people’s convos!

17. 17
    brat
    Posted August 4, 2009 at 3:26 pm

    So I am feeling a little in the minority here – I actually loved the clown dance, even though I don’t really like Tyce’s stuff usually. I never knew there were so many clown-o-phobes – interesting. Also, I am actually not all that disappointed with Ade leaving. Not that Evan deserved to stay, but Ade just kinda bugged me. I think it was the whole pick in his hair crap. He reminded me of this mean guy from high school who used to do the same thing, so I could never quite warm up to Ade as a result.
    And I LOVED seeing Will again and loved his hair. I thought he looked HUBBA-HUBBA-HOT. I loved him last season.
    So I have a couple of questions for anyone knowledgeable about dance – why did the judges all dislike Jessica so much? did she have the dreaded cycle feet? ugly lines? non-beautiful legs and feet? What was it? Cause I remember liking a few of her dances (like the one with a shirtless Will and they used the shirt throughout the dance to tangle each other up). Also, the judges keep talking about what a beast Kayla is and how great she is? Is she really that much better than dancers like Katee or Sabra, who I thought were really great (even though I agree that Danny should have won)?
    All in all, I have to say this has been a bit of a let down season. In previous years there were usually a couple of finalist that I thought could run away with it. This time I kinda feel like the winner will be the dancer that America thought was the least boring instead of the most entertaining. That being said, I hope Jeanine takes it.
    Cheers, and thanks for the great recaps PM.

18. 18
    bambinoitaliano
    Posted August 4, 2009 at 5:44 pm

    Can you imagine either girl pair up with Evans in the finally? He was one of my favorites during the top 20. Like Philips, his talent is limited to broadway.I rather Jason be in the final 4. I’m not so sure some of the dance will be great because of Evans. I don’t think gender should be an issue here. I would like Brandon to take the title. Just because beside Kayla, he is technically the most skill dancer remain. His personality beats Kayla. I was dissapointed last season he was not in the top 20 and I was extremely elated to see him this year. So it’s been a long journey for him as well as I being a fan of his.

19. 19
    Memememe
    Posted August 4, 2009 at 6:04 pm

    Here are my random thoughts…

    All of the Emmy dances were weaker than the last time I saw them, for whatever reason. The Bleeding Love routine, good as it is, is ruined for me by Chelsie’s ridiculous costume. I felt that way last year and I felt that way last week. The dance itself, and the dancing, are great. I know the costume isn’t her fault or anything.. it’s just. Boo. The outfit is terrible.

    It was good to see Mark again. If someone had asked me to recall him any time in the last year, I would have thought of Michael Urie (Mark on Ugly Betty). Now I remember what our Mark looks like!

    I am going to throw this in to the mix — are you guys aware of Ade’s not-all-nude, mostly-nude, very suggestive, very NSFW photos out there? Perhaps the show chucked him out of the finale to avoid that scene. Just saying it’s possible. And his photos are gross. I’d go so far as to say I’m no longer a fan of his, having seen them.

    Tell me if anyone wants the URL.

    Jeanine for the win. I’ve never been a fan of Kayla, and Brandon isn’t great for me. He’s good but he’s lacking something. If Evan wins it will be a serious blow to the credibility of this show (such as it is. Nigel’s doing a fair job of making me embarrassed to admit I watch it, all by himself.)

20. 20
    PottyMouth
    Posted August 5, 2009 at 7:36 am

    cattyfan: Yes! I would have much rather have heard about what the dancers were doing than listening to Sean Paul.

    georgiababe: Yep, I think you’re right and I also think that it’s absolute crap. It’s supposed to be the bottom four, not the one that’s out and some other random person. I personally think that they were trying to hide who got the most votes which means it was probably Evan. Grrrrrr. I wish they would lengthen the solos because I think that is contributing immensely to the issue of them just cramming a lot of crap into them. 30 seconds is too short.

    jennaboa: Hey, I have nightmares, you all get to have them with me!!! The thought of Hugh’s face over some of the musical guests’ faces we’ve had just made me laugh out loud. Thanks so much for that.

    Lizbot: You don’t like Bleeding Love?!?!? BANNED!!!! Just kidding. Like I said, I love it, but I sort of wish I didn’t since Tabitha and Napoleon work my nerves with their vanilla hip hop. Just when I write them off they manage to put out something I like. Go figure.

    hm21: I would love to see Quest perform this week. I love those guys. Kayla rubs me the wrong way too, but I really attribute that to the tongue bathing at the beginning of the season. Which is a shame, but I just can’t help it.

    here4beer: You crack me up! But you answered the Ryan Question (hee hee) so you saved me having to! I’d love to see Travis back again. While I wasn’t over the moon about his group number I loved the piece he did for Jeanine and Jason. Commercial? I know not what you are talking about ;P

    bravojunkie: Yeah, I hate her outfit too. I don’t think they’ve done the Vegas episodes yet, and I am really hoping that they don’t punish Evan’s brother for his success. I’d really like to see what he has to bring to the table.

    georgiababe: YES!!! That has driven me crazy about her.

    JohnnyLegs: I think you’re right about the personalities, and the expectations. We do know what we’re going to get from them, and perhaps that has taken away some of the excitement.

    razzbeth: The hip hop comment irritated me also because I honestly don’t care that she did hip hop in a group number. She never got it in a partnered dance where she would be closely scrutinized, and that was a bunch of hooey.

    chibby: Danny and Brandon on the same stage would be freaking amazing. Of course, I don’t think that will ever happen, but a girl can dream.

    mama j: I was hoping that no one would ever notice that I can admit that there are some Celine songs that don’t make me want to kill myself, but I’ll never be a fan. I do agree that the bench routine would not have been as good with different music.

    Lizbot: LMAO!

    brat: The reason the judges disliked Jessica is because they felt like she was dragging Will down. That she wasn’t able to dance at the same level as him. And then it sort of became a downward spiral because their comments were affecting her and making her nervous and that was showing, and they would commenting on it and so on and so forth. They were such assholes to her; it still pisses me off.

    bambinoitaliano: I’ll be curious to see what styles they all dance in the finale. Evan with either of those girls in say a ballroom number could be disastrous.

    Memememe: Are you talking about the guys with iphones thing? I haven’t seen them, but I heard about them. Are we sure it’s him? If they’re that gross I don’t know that I want to see.

    So tonight is round one of the finale! Are you guys excited? I’m looking forward to it but not with as much excitement in previous years. Here’s hoping that Brandon and Jeanine kick some serious ass tonight!!

    SWAK, PottyMouth

21. 21
    Memememe
    Posted August 5, 2009 at 9:35 am

    Yes, the guys with iphones ones. Which means he posted them himself. There are three pics. You can see them by typing www dot tinyurl dot com slash nv388s.

22. 22
    tv freak
    Posted August 5, 2009 at 12:17 pm

    Potty: I love ABDC so much and cant wait for the new season. Part of it is I just love hip-hop most of all, but they are just so creative. I need to know your favorite crews now that I know you watch! (you had better get back to me on this =) ) I think it would also be great if someone recapped ABDC (hint hint)

    Jenna: Breaksk8 are on America’s Got Talent right now, if you didn’t already know.

    hm21: the guy from season 1 is Ryan. And I agree about Will’s hair. It bugged me also.

    and for all who wanted Quest on SYTYD, I think they performed on there before ABDC and even before Hok and Dominic were in it.

    Just under 1.5 days left until Evan wins =/

23. 23
    PottyMouth
    Posted August 5, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    Memememe: You didn’t answer my other question….are they really that gross? I don’t want to open up pix that are gonna make me wanna barf.

    tv freak: I LOVE JabbaWockeez & Quest Crew, obviously. Also loved Kaba Modern and Fanny Pak. There are other crews that I liked some of what they did (Strikers, Dynamic Ed., Fysh & Chicks) and other that I thought overstayed on the show Break Sk8 & Boogie Bots to name a few. I really love the creativity involved in the show and that they choregraph their own stuff. I also love how much Shane geeks out over performances. Yep. Love it!

24. 24
    Lizbot
    Posted August 5, 2009 at 12:49 pm

    Lol Pottymouth — sorry about the bleeding love thing (and the bench faux pas)

    I have my own guilty pleasure Naptabs dance, which is Katee and Josh’s top 20 routine — the one where he’s going away to the army. yes it was typical Napoleon and Tabitha, but Katee and Josh sold that dance for me.

    Did you know that Donyelle Jones has a crew that will be on ABDC this season? It’s an all girl crew so I think that and name/face recognition will get them pretty far. The choreography’s pretty decent, but I just can’t see them competing with the big tricks that crews like Kabba, Jaba, and Quest were able to put out there. We’ll see though…

25. 25
    Lizbot
    Posted August 5, 2009 at 12:51 pm

    Oh, and a friend showed me the edited version of the Ade pics (you know, with the naughty bits black-barred out. They’re really porny. Not a bright decision for a young man trying to work his way up imo.

26. 26
    Memememe
    Posted August 6, 2009 at 9:46 am

    Pottymouth, no, you won’t barf out of sheer disgust. You’ll just be really disappointed in him. What Lizbot said: they’re porny and stupid.