SYTYCD Episode 5: The Casting of the Top 20

So, when is Nigel getting a haircut? He’s starting to look more and more like Cat’s ugly twin sister… or maybe Tracy’s (AKA Danielle Chorizo, AKA Travis)? So, who did Nigel punch? What happened to the other guy? Actually, the gossip grapevine has not posted anything yet about Nigel’s arm. Does anybody know? Had it anything to do with his attempts at demonstrating popping and hip-hopping when judging (as shown during yesterday’s episode)?
Anyway, today’s show was all about people talking too much (i.e., Liz, the tapper, whose tongue wagging was more powerful than her legs’ twitching). And, again, it was also all about people having or not having “personality.” Now, I always wonder: what do they mean by personality? In a show that obviously decides who to showcase and who not to showcase, personality seems to me more an issue of a “cast of characters” and what the producers of the show have in mind for this particular season, than an actual “fact.” How can you judge “personality’? If you have the knowledge, you can judge dance technique, but, I’m sorry, you cannot judge “personality.” Personality is a relative concept. In the context of this show, personality is a way to justify what CAST they want for THIS SEASON’S show. Now, I do not mean to imply that the dancers selected for the top 20 are not talented. They all seem to be awesomely good so far. But my point is that in selecting this mix of characters they cut out some very talented dancers that may not have been good for this show (this season’s show) and left some in just to have a balanced cast.

See, for example, Brandon Bryant. He was consistently excellent, even from his first audition in Washington D.C. (although, by the way, he’s from South Florida! Go Brandon!!!). Why didn’t he make it? In our opinion, he just didn’t fit the mix of characters that the producers of the show wanted for THIS season; he might have just reminded them a bit too much of Danny from last season (although they have different dancing styles). Who knows… I can just say that even though I’m not sure that Brandon is or could have been as good as Danny, I hope that he comes back next year to show us all how far he can go.

See, for example, Kelly Baker, whose mom is a well known choreographer. In my opinion, they basically asked her to just keep working hard and come back next year because she wasn’t quite right for this year’s mix of top 20. Nothing wrong with that, by the way, but my point is that people who were not better than Kelly may have made it through as “cannon fodder” and not because they were better dancers. What do you think?

See, for example, Katee, the girl who almost did not make it because she talked too much… I may be wrong but I think she’s going to have a hard time with the judges…and with the audience because the audience is now poisoned against her. Same for several other kids who were not showcased through the audition shows and are now in the top 20. I love SYTYCD, but they obviously manipulate the audience by selecting whose audition tapes they’re going to give air time to. And quite often it seems that the judges have inconsistent standards. For example, “for you being a popper and a hip hop dancer, you did a decent fox trot, so you are on to the next level.” On the other hand, “for a competition studio beauty pageant dancer… you were not elegant enough, so you’re out of the competition.” So… standards change depending on background? Is that fair?!?!

I must say, however, that I think the casting tonight was basically fair. Courtney, the 25 year old (really?) gets cut, crying her way home. Jeremiah, the great but weird dancer, did not make it. Claire, the mom (really?) did not make it this time. The tappers did not make it….

Oh well, here are the top twenty:

Ladies:
1. Kourtni, as we predicted since her original audition. She’ll make it far.
2. Rayven, the Pointe dancer, who was only shown as a flash in the show tonight… Will she make it far?
3. Courtney, the beautiful girl whom we loved at the Charleston, NC auditions (remember her with her proud Italian grandparents?). She’s not just a wonderful dancer, but she reminds me so much of Al Pacino’s Italian bride in The Godfather… I think she’ll make it far in this competition.
4. Katee, already with a handicap after tonight’s scolding…
5. Kherington, the soccer player, will have to kick it up a notch (they asked her to) …but we were not surprised that she made it into the top 20… We think she’ll make it even further…
6. Chelsie Hightower, whom we also highlighted at the auditions. She’s quite good. She’ll make it far…
7. Jessica King has a chance to grow some more...
8. Susie, the high school dance teacher from Miami Florida… A Miami Heat dancer and the only FL dancer in the top 20 since Brandon didn't make it...
9. Chelsea, we did not learn much about her, did we? But she looks quite awesome in this final clip…
10. Comfort, not showcased either, or was she?


Men:
1. Gev, the dancer from Borat’s country, who doesn’t dance as Borat at all (he’s quite good, actually).
2. Joshua, who’s not "just" a hip-hop dancer, obviously…
3. Matt, they did not give him too much exposure…
4. William Wingfield, protégé of DA, gets her fired…
5. Twitch, “Mr. Personality”...
6. Jamie Bell swings it in…
7. Chris, just a tree sometimes, but maybe the best tree ever after he gets the message.
8. Mark, just got a bit of exposure today…
9. Marquis, they did not show him…
10. Thayne, not showcased as far as I can recall…
Overall, I must say that the final solo round clips show that these are all great dancers! If you’re thinking about auditioning for Season 5, just compare yourself with these people and ask yourself: So You Think You Can Dance? If the answer is yes, good for you! If the answer is no, just keep it up! There is no risk here. With dancing, you can only get better!