SYTYCD - VEGAS, BABY!!!!!
At last, So You Think You Can Dance has narrowed down the entire nation of dance competitors to just 152 on one stage showing off all kinds of genres as they compete for the top 20. Those are some grim odds, and seeing only the best from each audition city all mixed up together was pretty intense.
Starting out with solos up against solos allowed the dancers to show off their strengths again, but it also showed pretty starkly who was out of their depth here in Vegas. They cut 41 people just from seeing the solos, then they moved on to teaching choreography from specific styles. That's where we got to see who was too focused on a single form to truly be great across the board -- and who could "bring it" no matter what the music sounded like. (Can you believe the krumper doing ballroom? AMAZING!!)
The choreography started out with hip-hop, which unsurprisingly put the tap and ballroom dancers to the test -- but it also caught the b-boys by surprise. Several of them proved they could do the steps, but copying the choreography and staying in unison with a partner was completely opposite their training where originality, creativity, and individuality are what matter. One explained how when they watch someone else demonstrating steps their brain automatically starts working out how to respond to those steps with their own, where dancers from other styles see steps and have been taught to memorize those moves. A lot of our favorite b-boys just didn't make it through the hip-hop routine. We were sad to see them go.
Day two started out with cha-cha -- where the ballroom dancers were in their element, particularly the turn dancing champion of the world who was pared up with a krumper from Boston. At breakfast, he mugged for the camera and said one of the great lines as he showed off his ballroom footwear:
"I've got the shoes with the heels on them and I can't point my foot! You know I'm a krumper, but I can point my foot too."
Having seen the b-boys falter the day before, we were pretty worried for him -- especially when he was paired up with a spectacular ballroom dancer who probably cha-chas in her sleep. She was spectacular, but we just couldn't keep our eyes off HIM. He absolutely blew us away. His steps were spot on, his hips were moving like a pro and his connection with his partner was absolutely charming. The choreography was intense -- some of the fastest partner dancing you'll ever see. But man, we could watch that krumper cha-cha all day!
The next bit of drama in the cha-cha was a contemporary dancer whose partner accidentally elbowed him in the face during rehersal while they were still blocking it out -- before they had a chance to try it once with the music. He sat out with a bloody nose (a helpful medic hovering over him, giving him ice and checking to make sure his nose wasn't broken) for the rest of rehersal. His partner practiced with him in the aisle as they waited for their turn on stage -- and apparently that was enough. They sailed on through, neither one of them cut.
Speaking of cuts, this is definitely the time when they get tough. They're all so good! Can't we keep them all? Sigh. Several of our favorites had to go home this week. We wanted to see Evan's (from last season's final four) brother Ryan do just as well as his brother did last season, but the competition was just so intense. He got a "maybe next year." Ouch.
Several dancers got one more chance at the end of the day to do another solo and convince the judges to keep them. Legacy -- one of our b-boys who had trouble earlier in the day -- convinced the judges to keep him on just a little longer, but John from New Orleans who impressed everyone with his tumbling tricks got too nervous and forgot to put on his game face -- you never want to hear Nigel telling you it looked like the lights were on, but nobody's home. Gutwrenching.
But like they said... now is the time the judges have to make choices, and there are stronger competitors. But come back next year! Oof. We hope we can make it to next week!
Day two started out with cha-cha -- where the ballroom dancers were in their element, particularly the turn dancing champion of the world who was pared up with a krumper from Boston. At breakfast, he mugged for the camera and said one of the great lines as he showed off his ballroom footwear:
"I've got the shoes with the heels on them and I can't point my foot! You know I'm a krumper, but I can point my foot too."
Having seen the b-boys falter the day before, we were pretty worried for him -- especially when he was paired up with a spectacular ballroom dancer who probably cha-chas in her sleep. She was spectacular, but we just couldn't keep our eyes off HIM. He absolutely blew us away. His steps were spot on, his hips were moving like a pro and his connection with his partner was absolutely charming. The choreography was intense -- some of the fastest partner dancing you'll ever see. But man, we could watch that krumper cha-cha all day!
The next bit of drama in the cha-cha was a contemporary dancer whose partner accidentally elbowed him in the face during rehersal while they were still blocking it out -- before they had a chance to try it once with the music. He sat out with a bloody nose (a helpful medic hovering over him, giving him ice and checking to make sure his nose wasn't broken) for the rest of rehersal. His partner practiced with him in the aisle as they waited for their turn on stage -- and apparently that was enough. They sailed on through, neither one of them cut.
Speaking of cuts, this is definitely the time when they get tough. They're all so good! Can't we keep them all? Sigh. Several of our favorites had to go home this week. We wanted to see Evan's (from last season's final four) brother Ryan do just as well as his brother did last season, but the competition was just so intense. He got a "maybe next year." Ouch.
Several dancers got one more chance at the end of the day to do another solo and convince the judges to keep them. Legacy -- one of our b-boys who had trouble earlier in the day -- convinced the judges to keep him on just a little longer, but John from New Orleans who impressed everyone with his tumbling tricks got too nervous and forgot to put on his game face -- you never want to hear Nigel telling you it looked like the lights were on, but nobody's home. Gutwrenching.
But like they said... now is the time the judges have to make choices, and there are stronger competitors. But come back next year! Oof. We hope we can make it to next week!