So You Think You Can Dance – Characters and slobbering and praise-spouting judges

Y’know … I watched the very first part of this episode of So You Think You Can Dance in a state of perplexity. Why? Because, in all honesty, I had no idea how one “… ramps up the pressure.”   Least that’s what Cat Deeley said was going to happen. She can sure wind dialog around a microphone at times….

So I thought I would keep an eye out for it. And — lo and behold — I was rewarded, right at the start of the program. By ramping up the pressure, it means we rupture our Achilles tendon and sit out this episode of the competition. Huh. That was easy! (And that’s exactly what Alex Wong did in rehearsals, so he’s benched this week, resting his ankle.)

Getting into the thick of it, Lauren Froderman and all-star Pasha got things moving with a cha-cha routine.  Last week, Lauren got snarked at for not putting enough of herself into the character she was portraying … too much technicality and not enough emphasis on the role being played, she was told. This week, she fulfilled the judges’ wishes. “Pure murderation,” claimed Mia Michaels … in a good way.

Jose Ruiz and all-star Lauren committed to a “whole-lotta-rollin’-’round-the-floor” contemporary routine.  However, despite the opening monkey business, their routine came out smooth, attractive, sensual. Jose’s still in the running for the “most lovable personality” of all the contestants and the judges had nothing but wonderful things to say about him. The kid hasn’t done much wrong thus far.

Kent Boyd and Comfort hip-hopped it on stage, but Kent didn’t cut it this time around. He appeared too casual in his effort. The judges did an about face from last week and outwardly gushed at his “growth.”  Yes, yes, yes … there was growth from him in that he didn’t sheepishly grin all through the performance, but the routine bordered on being goofy. It wasn’t entirely his fault, though; I’m accusing Dave Scott’s “super cool” choreography as the source of my dislike for Kent’s outing this time around. A big *meh* from me.

AdéChiké Torbert and Courtney offered Dinah Washington’s “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby?” with a bar scene bathed in smoldering red light to set the tone. This was a disjointed routine for me; the both of them did their own things and didn’t really connect. This wasn’t a dance coupling; it was a couple dancing solo performances. Yet still, the judges oozed praise.

It’s off to Broadway for Billy Bell and all-star Allison. *sigh* Now, I’m not one for Broadway routines; they’re goofy and dopey. But to be fair, Billy did put technicality into it and performed well. Still, these things just leave me dry. There’s no inspiration in them; it’s the dance equivalent of karaoke for me. You learn your moves and regurgitate them on stage. The characterizations seem wooden. But I guess I’m in the minority, because — again — the judges spewed accolades Billy’s way.

Ashley Galvan and Dominic bring us the second hip-hop routine of the evening.  I really didn’t know what to think of this effort. Sure, it was precise … spiffy … spot on. But I was left with nothing more than a big *meh*. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination … but far from leaving me anxious to proffer any praise.

Robert Roldan gets jazzy with Kathryn. Now, this routine I enjoyed, but one thing really turned me off about it. The piece was a story about toys escaping out of their boxes and getting the opportunity to “play around” a bit, if nothing but for a short while. Fun and sprightly … so … what could possibly turn me off about it? Kathryn’s leg spreads, that’s what. The moves were overly-dramatized — every chance she got she was doing spread-eagle stretches, tossing her heels as far opposite each other as humanly possible. It was off-putting and left me with a bad after-taste. I’m all for the drama, but not this time.

Mixing it up a bit, we get a breath of fresh air as competitors pair up with each other instead of with all-stars this episode. Not a one tripped my trigger:

AdéChiké and Alex were scheduled to do a routine together but, as noted above, Alex nicked his ankle and had to sit out this team-up.  But that’s okay … because as with the Broadway routines, the Bollywood takes don’t do anything for anyone. Again, they’re just dippy … as was evidenced by AdéChiké’s leaping about as if caught in a hot frying pan. And it seems the judges aren’t digging the Bollywood numbers either —  as they bagged on AdéChiké just as much as they did Jose a few weeks back when he took his turn at a “Bollicksy”-wood number.

Kent and Lauren. Contemporary. The Bad:  I kept noting Kent positioning himself to catch or lift or get ready for Lauren during the routine. It was annoying.  The Good: They both dance exceptionally well together — you could feel the chemistry between them. (The obvious gooey “… awe shucks, gee …” feelings they seem to have for one another was not lost in the routine … or during the judges’ comments. Cat Deeley practically needed to shout for a props manager to provide her with a crowbar to pry them apart.)

Robert and Ashley are up next. Quick step time. Supposedly, “the kiss of death” on SYTYCD. And it did seem they were playing it rather safe in their performance, just to make certain they didn’t flub up at any point. It was rather leaded … heavy … thunky.

Jose and Billy take the stage in an African jazz number. Let me tell you something: I’m not certain what “African jazz” is supposed to look like. And after this performance, I still don’t know.  But what I do know is Billy — crouched low and close to the ground, moving about on all fours — can pull out the animal moves. Was there any dancing from Billy? No. Not for me.  And Jose was doing his own thing as well. This is the second routine of the program that paired dancers, but the dancers weren’t paired in their performances with each other. Hey … choreographers? Those are called “solos” …  but you know this, right?

So … what happens to Alex in the mix, sitting the episode out with a bum ankle? Well, by default he automatically ends up in the Bottom Three during the elimination round. But no fear; he’s not going anywhere. The other two spots? No clue.

I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see Robert get the sayonara during elimination, however….

Clacked by Michael Noble
on Jul 08, 2010 @ 12:30 EST5EDT