Summer has been upon us for a while, though I'm not really enjoying it as much as I should be as I'm battling away with The Dissertation of Doom. Well, meant to be. Naively enough I thought that it would be easier what with the million-and-a-half shows I watch going on break till September. However, what I didn't anticipate was the now-dreaded SUMMER TV. True Blood, Mad Men, Pretty Little Liars, Drop Dead Diva....it makes me cringe to think how much time I spend watching TV.
Anyway, So You Think You Can Dance is yet another summer show I love and adore. Having trained in dance for 13 years when I was younger, it's always been something I've enjoyed - not necessarily something I'm good at, but anyway! I've been watching the US version since the dawn of Season 3 and I've loved it ever since. It's time well spent on screaming with the TV audience through the best routines, insulting the judges in several languages when they're nasty about the dancers and going into Sicilian-mourner-like-fits whenever someone is eliminated.
Season 7 hasn't been as much fun as I anticipated it would. This year, they've changed the format - instead of twenty top dancers, they've got ten dancing with a team of 'All-Stars', i.e. dancers from previous seasons. This in itself is an awesome idea as I love seeing all the old faces - Alison! Pasha! Neil! Twitch! Mark! Courtney! I could go on and on! Somebody stop me! Anyway, as exciting as it's been having them on, the new format isn't working out and it's pretty obvious that Nigel Lythgoe, judge/producer/HBIC of SYTYCD feels the same way.
Firstly it's important to point out that SYTYCD has a reputation for loving the boys. Six seasons in and only 2 girls have ever won the show. There are times when this has made me incredibly sad, mostly because you get dancers like Alison on Season 2 who should have won the entire frigging season. This year however, this has been abused beyond belief. Whereas once one guy and one girl were eliminated each week (because it was couples rather than individuals being voted off), things have changed drastically this year. The eleven dancers consisted of five girls and six boys. Three girls were eliminated in a row before one of the guys - Alex - was, and this was only because he was injured (he could have won the entire competition, but more about that later). As of right now three boys and one girl remain on the show, with two guys having been eliminated last night.
But love for the boys isn't my biggest problem with the format because, hell, the boys are pretty much all amazing dancers. My other big problem with the show is the amount of pressure the new format has exerted on these poor newbies. Three routines per episode is no joke and has thus led to the notorious 'Curse of Season 7' - with three injured dancers in a row. As aforementioned, the first guy to go was Alex, who tore his Achilles' tendon during rehearsals for a Bollywood routine - this was particularly tragic as it was pretty damn obvious he was going to go on to win it. Then Ashley got injured and she was cut, and then Billy got injured, and even poor Lauren suffered dehydration. These dancers are obviously exhausted. Three routines per episode was once a format saved for the finale of the season, and now it goes on every week.
My other massive problem with the show has a name, and that name is Mia Michaels. I used to love Mia when she just choreographed. She was a funny, quirky lady with a lot of insane ideas that transcended into some amazing choreography. She only judged occasionally and even then I was willing to overlook the fact that she always sounds like she's hiding a thesaurus under the judges' table. Now she's replaced Mary Murphy - who I still love and adore, no matter what anyone says - and she's nothing but a pretentious bitch. It doesn't help that she holds a grudge against my favourite, Adechike, but anywho. She seems to enjoy finding new ways to insult the dancers/choreographers every week and to be frank, it's becoming ridiculous. Also, if she refers to herself as an artist one more time, I may have to reach through the screen and strangle her to death.
Anyway, rant over. We're down to the Top Four dancers which means there isn't much time left before America's favourite dancer is crowned. These are my Top 10 routines so far.
10. Lauren and Pasha, cha cha by Jean-Marc Genereux - Telephone
Cha cha + Pasha = instant love. Oh, and Lady GaGa of course, being a GaGaista and all. This was definitely worthy of the hot tamale train - MARY MURPHY I MISS YOU!!!!
9. Ashley and Ade, contemporary by Dee Caspary - Cosmic Love.
They had me at Florence + the Machine. It's too bad Ashley was eliminated so soon because she was so damn fantastic. She makes this look effortless...and it's anything but (cough cough). Epic.
8. Kent and Neil, broadway by Tyce Diorio - Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO.
I hate the embedding rule. So much. Anyway, anything Neil does is magic for me and seeing him and Kent dance together was just wow.
7. Lauren and Allison, broadway by Tyce Diorio - Who's Got The Pain?
This song came from the same musical as the song that Neil and Kent danced to in the routine before this one. First all-girl dance of the season. And it was awesome!
6. Adechike and Comfort, lyrical hip hop by NappyTabs - Fallin'
I'll be honest, this routine made me a little weepy. All of us have been through this. When they showed Adechike crying after, that just made the waterworks even worse. This rivals Mark and Chelsea's Bleeding Love from Season 4 for me. Just incredible.
5. Billy and Ade, contemporary by Stacey Tookey - Mad World
The judges revelled in this one. It's upsetting that Billy was eliminated right after he did this routine, it just went on to prove what a gorgeous, unique dancer he is. The contrast between him and Ade is incredibly stark throughout this routine - the stuff Billy can do with his body is just ho em gee. Love it. Sniff sniff.
4. Robert and Allison, contemporary by Travis Wall - Fix You
EMBEDDING DISABLED BY REQUEST, FUUUUUUU. Anyway. Let it be known I hate Coldplay with a passion despite all this. But Travis made me love this damn overplayed song, mostly because he dedicated this routine to his mum (who is currently suffering from cancer). The emotion in it is just incredible, everything about it is absolutely beautiful. Also, I hate you Season 2 - ALLISON WAS ROBBED!!!!
3. Kent and Anya, cha cha by Jean-Marc Genereux - My First Kiss.
Mia called it 'crunchy', which made me love it even more because IHU, Mia. As obvious as it is that the judges are kissing Kent's ass, he is a bloody fantastic dancer. And Anya. Just Anya. ANYA. I love that woman, she can do no wrong. This was just fun and sexy and everything a cha cha should be. Love it! Also, Kent: your facial expressions rock (no matter what that witch Mia Michaels says - I do know how to hold grudges, don't I?).
2. Adechike and Kathryn, jazz by Travis Wall - Addicted to Love
None of the judges liked this as much as I did. But I don't really care what they think (ESPECIALLY YOU, MIA. YEAH!). This routine was smooth and gorgeous and beautiful and AAAAAAAAAARGH Travis is such a fantastic choreographer. AND FLORENCE + THE MACHINE! This routine officially made Adechike my favourite dancer on the show. He's just so damn sexy. It also proves that Kathryn definitely deserved to be part of the Top 4 last season. Just fantastic.
1. Alex and Twitch, hip hop by NappyTabs - Outta Your Mind
AAAAAARGH I HATE 'Embedded by request'!!! SO. DAMN. MUCH. CLICK. AND WATCH THE MAGNIFICENCE. Remember Alex is a ballet dancer. This is the best damn routine I have ever seen on the show...and not only because it's Twitch and I want to marry him...Mrs Jenny Boss. Mrs Jenny Twitch. I love the sound of it, really. Anyway, watch it. You will love it even if you're not a dance fan. it is that much fun. The tragedy is that Alex was injured the week after this routine, when it was made absolutely clear that he would go on to win the show.
All of the routines I've posted involve the All Stars as you can see, which gives a lot of credit to the new format. However, someone needs to intervene before one of these dancers gets killed. In conclusion, Adechike is my favourite, but I want Lauren to win for the girls' sake. However, if Alex were still around...I'd want him to win. He'd kill it.
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