So You Think You Can Dance - Season 7 (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

I guess 2 pairs of guy contestants will be dancing with each other next week, along with an all-star partner of the opposite gender (perhaps) for their other number.

 

[Hanson]

Wow, the female all-stars are really getting a workout while the male all-stars are spending a lot of time riding the pine.


Since they've already done Allison and Alex, next up should be Kathryn and Alex. This has to happen. Is it just me or is Kathryn much more smoking hot this season than last season? And she was smoking hot last season. It isn't just me, right?


They did a very clever thing with Jose to cover up his lack of skill -- by outfitting him in all black against a black backdrop, Jose's moves, when he actually moved, blended so much into the background that you couldn't see how bad he was. The whole thing reminded me of those puppet shows like Mummenschanz where the performers dress in black to disappear into the backdrop. All you could make out in Jose's performance was his smiley, floating head.


Part of me was glad to see Kent smackdown over his ham-fisted attempts at working the crowd since he thoroughly deserved it, but part of me is suspicious that they did it to create yet another aspect for Kent to "grow" with. It's a reverse de-pimping, if that makes any sense. And how distracting were his asymmetrically attached suspenders? I spent a third of the performance just figured out what was going on there.


I thought it was pretty risky/gutsy of Sonya to choreograph Robert choking Courtney. And with that in mind, Robert was totally lacking in the menace that the role required to make it come alive. That part of the performance should have been shocking -- instead, it was a, "is he doing what I think he's doing?" moment. It seemed like he watched a lot of Mark's dancing and tried to copy it with little success. I have yet to see anything from Robert that makes me think he's a special dancer in any way.


I do see inklings of that in Ashley -- there were moments in her performance with Ade where she appeared to be floating. However, she's so devoid of personality that it doesn't really wow me on any other level. And pairing up Ashley with the equally personality free Ade created the possibility of a personality vortex large enough to engulf the entire judging panel.


Speaking of whom, too many superlatives are being thrown out this season, and we're only three shows in. I'm sure the experience watching live is much more visceral than watching it on the couch, but they have to rein themselves in before they start declaring Alex the greatest dancer in the history of forever. Shankman practically starts sobbing over underwhelming dances and it makes him sound rather dumb. Still, I'd rather hear Mia being bitchy and making scrunchy faces over Mary's screaming, and Nigel is less prone to jackassery this season than last. He did go a bit overboard over Lauren's wardrobe malfunction -- he reminded me of the Wolf in Little Hot Riding Hood:





Oh yeah, and Alex was goddamned amazing. How amazing? So amazing that he even made Twitch look good. No one has ever been able to do that.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Kathryn's always been super-hot, but she's a more confident dancer this time around. Plus they sort of handicapped her by showing her convulsive emotional squeaking in the early season segments on her last season.

 

[Hanson]

I remember in season 4 they did a sob story for Chelsie that made me dislike her going into the season. But she was so good and so sexy that I did a complete 180. Same with Kathryn -- she looked fodder going in and the crying thing made her a joke, but after a few weeks, I could not take my eyes off of her.


This year, Ashley is a snoozer and Lauren is not really clicking with me like I thought she would.


And there aren't any other girls left!


Thank god for Kathryn and Allison. And actually, Lauren G and Courtney have kind of grown on me. I didn't like them in their respective seasons.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Maybe they'll have Pasha dance with a dude this upcoming week's episode. They are running out of things for the all-star guys to do!

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

I remember how you felt about Courtney that season, but she was lust at first sight for me. If they'd have said she didn't win, but let her dance every week anyway, it would have been fine by me. Now that I realize it's the same Courtney, I think I'll go ahead and start watching this season and catch up with last season later.

 

[Citizen87645]

I started watching the show towards the end Season Four and a big part of what got me hooked was Chelsie.

I remember in season 4 they did a sob story for Chelsie that made me dislike her going into the season. But she was so good and so sexy that I did a complete 180. Same with Kathryn -- she looked fodder going in and the crying thing made her a joke, but after a few weeks, I could not take my eyes off of her.

 

[Patrick Sun]

This was a little messy in terms of the pairings in this episode. It's too bad Alex blew out his Achilles tendon, he won't be dancing for a few months with that kind of injury, let's hope he doesn't lose some hops from such an injury.


Ashley - got 2 numbers out of her element, but was pretty good in both numbers, not spectacular, but solid. She didn't even get much critique in the 2nd number with the judges slobbering over themselves trying to save Robert.


Jose - got 2 numbers out of his element, and didn't really come through well in either one (bored me in the first one, and disappointed in his second number). He still gets too much praise at times from the judges. I think he was still overwhelmed by dancing with Lauren G to do it well.


Adechikie - gets too much conflicting "advice" from the judges, no wonder he's confused, but he's clearly not a judge's favorite, but since he gets votes, they haven't been able to boot him off the show yet. The first number as okay, though his bollywood number got a little out of control, and all the Alex love during Adechikie's critique by Mia was not cool.


Billy - got 1 number sort of in his wheelhouse, and 1 number not quite so. It was good to see Katie again dancing on the show, and their number together was solid, though the chemistry was average. Billy brought some contemporary strangeness in the afro-jazz number, pulling off moves only he can do (with Alex down for the count). But he had a good night.


Robert - the judges went too far out of their way to curry votes for him. I thought he botched a few moves in his first number with Kathryn, and did not quite nail the quick-step, which continues to be the death of dance for the contestants on this show year after year.


Lauren - had a real solid night, scored with her first number with Pasha, and made Shankman a little uncomfortable with her second number with Kent.


Kent - had a mushy first number with Comfort, but came back strong with the number with Lauren. I sort of like Kent from last week more, but he wasn't going to score points with the judges with so much mugging during his dances.

 

[Citizen87645]

Lauren, Billy and Kent had the strongest nights, so I think they will be safe.


I thought the judges laid it on a bit thick for Jose in his first number. He is entertaining to watch, but frankly I think Legacy was a stronger b-boy dancing out of his element.


Ashley is largely forgettable for me. The low crotch on her costume also was distracting and didn't exactly do her any favors.


Usually there's someone in the group I have a semi irrational dislike for, and in this one it would be Robert. I don't think he's arrogant like people are supposedly saying on the boards, but I do think he's a big dork and he never quite sheds that dorkiness when he dances. His number with Kathryn just amplified that impression of him. I know that was somewhat the character, but playing that character amplified his major weakness. The fact that he botched the Kathryn flip that was shown in the rehearsal package (dumping her on her backside) also didn't win him any points in my book. He's my pick to leave, though if he's in the bottom three and the judges are making the cut, he likely won't be the one to go unless it's Adechike who's standing beside him.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Did anyone actually watch the footage of when Alex hurt himself? I decided not to watch it (I've been scarred for life by the footage from Lawrence Taylor giving Joe Theisman a compound fracture on Monday Night Football almost a quarter of a century ago).

 

[Citizen87645]

It was low-res video taken from the seats. I'm assuming it was shot with a mobile phone, so there wasn't a lot of detail. I think he was doing those high jumps from the Bollywood number, and after one of his landings he stopped and grabbed his leg in pain.

 

[kickasskatie]

i just have to rant about mia's behavior. i usually love her, but this week with adechike;s bollywood she was compleately out of line. i agree with what all the judges have to say about jose. he is really likeable and always brings a joy and positivity to any performance. that being said, adechike did a WAY better job at bollywood! and no one recognized the hard work and great techniqe he had! all she wanted to do was tear him down when he did a great job. and furthermore,to add insult to injury she had to go on by saying just how much she missed alex in that performance! like adechike wasnt even standing there! it was just wrong. we all miss alex and it would be dreadful for the show if he had to leave,but dont take it out on a guy that did a great job.

 

[kickasskatie]

robert, yes is a huge dork! but hes so great at what he does. such an original dancer, but i agree about ashley. she is a great soloist, but something is missing when she has a partner.

 

[Citizen87645]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I actually prefer Mary to Mia. I roll my eyes every time Mia goes to an extreme, whether it's her cloying praise or her cocksure criticism. One could argue she's actually giving input, but it's not worth much when her behavior devalues her own commentary.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Well, Mia did say she was a "cutter" when it comes to evaluating dance talent, perhaps she's really taking her critique to that level without realizing she might have that reverse-psychology thing going on by galvanizing Adechikie's voting fan base.


Was anyone disturbed by Nigel calling out Domenic pawing Cat?

 

[kickasskatie]

im just still pissed that they kicked off the salsa dancer (sorry i forgot her name ) to save melinda when it was clear no one liked her. then ended up kicking her off anyway! they lost a good dancer 4 nothing.

 

[Carl Miller]

Call me cynical, but the minute they showed Robert rehearsing the Travis Wall routine, I knew exactly what was coming....the dance of the season, one of the best ever, teary eyed judges blah blah blah....It just seemed completely manufactured to prop Robert up and make sure he ended up safe for the week.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Adechike - had a tough time with the salsa, rough around the edges, not too smooth. Much better dancing with Kent in the 2nd number.


Lauren - nice crowd-pleaser booty-shaker Tahitian number, but I think Billy outdanced her in their number together.


Jose - fish out of water in the first number, but totally in a small pond in the second number, but even so, I thought Domenic had the slight edge.


Robert - got an emotional number, and was solid throughout it, with but one stumble, but he recovered nicely, Allison did a slightly better job in the first number. The disco number was fun/exhausting to watch, but I was mainly focused on Kathryn, and since she didn't get dropped, I guess Robert did okay.


Billy - had a good night with both number, though I thought he was running out of gas in the first number towards the end, but dominated his number with Lauren in the second one.


Kent - seemed to be outdanced a bit by Neil in the baseball number (but still got a lot of praise by the judges. It was a draw in the second number with Adechike.

 

[Spero D]

Originally Posted by Carl Miller

Call me cynical, but the minute they showed Robert rehearsing the Travis Wall routine, I knew exactly what was coming....the dance of the season, one of the best ever, teary eyed judges blah blah blah....It just seemed completely manufactured to prop Robert up and make sure he ended up safe for the week.

+1


My favourite routine, funnily enough, was the Mandy Moore- Billy & Lauren routine.

 

[Citizen87645]

It was commendable for Adechike to make it through such a difficult salsa routine, so he won points for effort but not so much execution. Not surprisingly the roughest spots were the most difficult tricks, and though he got through them, it's kind of like saying a meal is edible - not really the praise you're going for. I couldn't help thinking of some of the past male contestants who had real power behind them - who made tricks like that horizontal flip look easy. Adechike mostly made the routine look every bit as difficult as it was.


Lauren has definitely grown on me over the last few episodes. She's managed to keep a nice balance of athleticism and grace to most of her routines, where previously she was known for being athletic and provocative.


The judges were spot on with their comments for Jose, and I almost put a finger down my throat with his copping that sad look. Genuine feelings or no, you need to be professional. I too think he was outdanced by Dominic in his second number.


The Travis Wall routine did nothing for me. I was disappointed with the literalism of the piece (which made me think of that three phases of man number from early in the season) and expected more from him than that. The dancing of it was fine I suppose. Robert did OK in the disco, but, as Mia said, lacked some masculinity to his movement. Kathryn again garnered more of my attention.


Billy is doing better in terms of performing and his number with Lauren showed he's starting to let go a little and enjoy himself.


I really have nothing to say about Kent. He seemed to do fine in his numbers and probably won't be bottom three.


And as a sign of my ambivalence about Ashley, I didn't even realize she was missing from the intro until Cat brought it up.