The 'So You Think You Can Dance' Top 20 Special: No Pressure!
One of the biggest problems with TV talent competitions is, as the old adage goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression: Mess up during your first go-'round, and your proverbial 15 minutes of fame will be whittled down to about two minutes and 17 seconds (i.e., you will get prematurely axed--just ask last season's American Idol also-rans Jackie Tohn or Casey Carlson, for instance). And if you didn't get a generous amount of screen time during the show's Hollywood Week (or Vegas Week, whatever), even a totally solid performance might not be enough to save you over more heavily featured contestants who've already won America's hearts during the audition rounds.
So this season, it was smart of the producers of So You Think You Can Dance to stage a non-competitive "Meet The Top 20" episode, on which the chosen finalists were able to showcase their strengths in their specialty styles WITHOUT the fear of being sent home the subsequent night. And the viewers could just sit back and enjoy the fantastic routines without worrying about who to vote for.
And this way, when the voting lines do eventually open, viewers will be able to make more educated decisions. Everyone wins!
So tonight's "Meet The Top 20" evening began with a stunning jazz-dance group routine sent in a smoky, sweaty speakeasy. What a way to really kick off the season! It was hard for me to discern individuals' strengths with so much visual stimulation going on at once, but they really gelled as a group. If only potential guest judge Paula Abdul--who has an empty chair on the panel, being kept warm upon Nigel Lythgoe's orders, should she ever decided to take him up on his offer--had been around to see it. These people were dancing in the path of greatness for sure!
The next dance of the night was a Tabitha & Napoleon hip-hop number to Madcon's "Beggin'" by B-boy legacy, krumper Russell, and hip-hop dancer Kevin. All three put on strong performances--even Legacy, who's struggled when faced with genres of dance outside his area of expertise--but in my opinion, Russell was the real standout of the trio. The man just exuded pure energy and dominated the stage. Whoever ends up partnered with Russell later on, she will have trouble not getting upstaged by this krumping wonder.
Next was a Tyce Diorio contemporary routine by Ariana, Channing, Jakob, and Nathan. A powerful piece set to k.d. lang's heart-rending ballad "Crying," it was a number filled with hurled folding chairs and staged mock-sobbing, indicating that Tyce is one SYTYCD choreographer who will keep spectators' neckhairs and goosepimples standing on end now that genius Mia Michaels has left the show. But I still think the boys prevailed here--my eyes kept trailing over to Nathan's dizzying spins and Jakob's gazelle-like long lines, and I had a tendency to overlook Channing and Ariana.
Next up was the season's trifecta of much-hyped tap dancers: Bianca, Phillip, and Peter. All I've heard over and over is how these are the first tappers to make the SYTYCD top 20. But I must this get out of the way: THAT IS NOT TRUE. For some reason the powers-that-be are rewriting history in an attempt to write a juicy press release. Or maybe the producers just have very short-term memories and have forgotten that in season 1, there was a tapper in the top 20 named Sandra Colton. Sure, she was the first person eliminated in the first season--a dubious distinction, indeed--so it is understandable that some people might have forgotten about Sandra. But then again, Fox actually hired her to be the model in the season 4 SYTYCD advertisements (pictured above right), so it's weird that she has suddenly been erased from the annals of the show's history. SANDRA COLTON WAS IN THE TOP 20 AND SHE WAS A TAPPER, damn it! It's like when Richie's older brother on Happy Days went off to college, never came back, and was never spoken of by the Cunnighams again. Like he'd never existed. Odd.
Okay, phew. Glad I got that off my chest. As for these tappers' routines, after all that hype I must say I was a bit let down. This routine--choreographed by a newcomer to SYTYCD, Derrick K. Grant--was certainly technically excellent, but it just was not high-energy enough to hold my attention. Tap-tap-tap-tap...zzzzzz. And I suspect much of America was similarly underwhelmed. It will be interesting to see if Bianca, Phillip, and Peter can master any other styles on future episodes, since they will have precious few opportunities to tap-dance this season. They will, in fact, only get to tap again if they are in the bottom three and have to solo for their lives. My guess is all of them will soon have that opportunity, though, if you catch my drift...
Three jazz dancers--Mollie, Ellenore, and Pauline--performed next, doing an "uber-sexy" routine masterminded by Mohawked genius Sonya Tayeh, another choreographer who might be able to pick up Mia Michaels' torch. Mollie was praised by the judges for finally dancing like a mature woman instead of a little girl--no easy feat while wearing a princessy tutu--and somehow all three dancers made jazz hands seem seductive and hot. All three were fantastic; there no real standout, as they worked very as a group.
Four contemporary dancers--Billy, Kathryn, Noelle, and Victor--went next, performing my favorite routine of the night, an intense Mandy Moore number set to Coldplay's "Viva La Vida." Billy was my favorite of the four, but sadly since this episode was taped, he has had to bow out of the competition due to an undisclosed illness. (He will be replaced by alternate Brandon Dumlao, who unfortunately for his sake didn't get to strut his stuff on tonight's show--a major disadvantage for him.) Hopefully Billy will make a speedy recovery and get to compete in season 7, and Brandon will be able to make up for lost time.
The last group to dance, doing a routine by choreographer Jason Gilkison, were three Latin/ballroom specialists, including husband-and-wife team Ashleigh and Ryan. And Ryan got to live out every married man's fantasy by having a threeway of sorts, shimmying seductively with both his lovely wife and an equally lovely additional dancer, sexy little hot tamale Karen. Ashleigh didn't seem the least bit jealous, even when Karen was practically wrapping her legs around Ryan; that Ryan was the envy of all of America, and he looked like one happy camper/dancer. We'll see if Ashleigh maintains her composure when Ryan gets a permanent extramarital dance partner later on...
And so, there you have it--a fun, no-pressure evening with the top 19 (and--sigh--poor Billy). I hoped the dancers enjoyed it while it lasted, because starting tomorrow night, it's going to get fiercely competitive. As hostess Cat Deeley said: How are we going to send anybody home this season?
The Tappers WERE a snoozefest (and sloppy), and I LOVE tap dancing. That Bianc especially just rubs me the wrong way (and I'm not exactly sure why). Mollie does the same for me--just ooks me somehow. Not a big fan of Legacy either. I just don't see hime doing things THAT much more crazy than we've already seen.
Should be a fun season nonetheless.
Chuck. His name was Chuck. :^)
The Jazz routine was almost equally abysmal. These girls didn't strike me as sexy AT ALL and after the package that was a huge standout. I'm gonna disagree with you however, Lyndsay, and say that of the 3 Ellenor did at least stand out as the best and better personality.
The hip hop rountine was great, as was the ballroom though Ashleigh is starting to work my nerves, and both comtemp numbers were exceptional. Billy Bell will be missed.
Really too bad about Billy. He was one of my favorites. Hopefully he'll feel better soon and come back next season!
Jakob is going to suffer the Adam/Susan/Brandon curse.
The judges are going to give them all praise & the audience will be sick of it by the finale.
The jazz routine was my favorite. I found myself humming its tune all day today.
I liked the latin dance too. I was glad they pulled it off.