SYTYCD Season 4… And Then There Were Four (Wait, Its Still Six!)

OMG The show starts at eight PM and it is a recap! Terpsichore tells us there are eight dancers left! What? I guess they really wanted to show Comfort again!
Seeing this show again I realize that Toni Basil REALLY liked Courtney’s hat from her last Hip Hop routine, but… I am not going to annoy you with another punchy review of a repeat show. However, I just cannot resist (or I can)…
OK, only one thing: upon seeing that Contemporary Ballet Pas de Deux again (Balanchine’s “Who Cares”, choreographed to “The Man I Love”) I found it a little sloppier than the first time I saw it, and was bothered by the plastic shoes of the ballerina, reminding me why I do not like that type of Pointe shoes: They really do not look naturally made to mold to the dancer’s foot, do not enhance the arches and they look fake on stage. And one more thing… Twitch’s solo was actually very good! (better than Will’s).

When we go to the 4REAL show tonight, Cat is in 70’s Disco mode in a silver gown, and Mary is close behind. Except Cat is wearing Greek sandals! She is actually wearing the little winged sandals of Hermes, the trickster Greek god! Were they not ready last week? Take a look! (Although I think the real trickster in the show is Nigel).

All the dancers as they come out look very nervous, as they should be! The adrenaline will be pumping tonight! So, lets go to the dances:

Courtney and Mark – Viennese Waltz: A beautiful number with smooth moves and lifts, the most romantic dance of the evening, which later brings us all sort of aggressive and conflict ridden dances. Mark impresses the jidges, and is better than Courtney, but their “chemistry” together is impressive for this first timer couple. Nigel, never relenting in his unbridled commercialism (a good thing, I guess – makes him successful after all), plugs American Idol (his other show) and David Cook (last season’s winner) in a very non-contextual way. When it comes to the Jazz, I have to say, Sonya has given us great numbers all throughout the season and this one is not a let down. The matching between Mark the dancer and Sonya the choreographer is (the) one made in dance heaven, with her out-there brain images, and his unique moves. Courtney and Mark: A great couple tonight!

Katee’s and Joshua – Contemporary: Not as good as I thought it could be, it reminded me of one that I thought was better, their own previous contemporary by Miss Double M. The arrested or caught-in-mid-air leap that Mary mentioned was interesting, seeming almost like a captured bird in flight, stopping the leap (and repeating, once again, a similar move from the aforementioned Mia M choreography). I am not sure that I liked it as a smooth move, though. Nigel perpetuates the lie that Joshua has not had any classical training, something that Joshua admitted to already in the past albeit saying it was to improve his football playing. I guess Nigel’s animosity towards training has to be somehow manifested when trained dancers get near the top of the competition. Their Paso Doble: A great number, it deserves a Nigel-eye-popping-Mary-scream. Almost impeccable, I cannot say I saw fault in it. Would it have been better with a different couple? Hard to say: Katee and Twitch? Katee and Mark? Just imagine it and score it (hint: 10 with all… but some 10s are more equal than others).

Chelsie and Twitch – First for the Mambo: Adam Shankman’s comments are right on target: the eyes kept on getting drawn to Chelsie, in that (Mary’s words) Hot Tamale red dress. A good team player, she distracted away from the weak partner, but Nigel showing off Twitch’s weaknesses in slo-mo really called him on it. Not Twitch’s best number, she did very well. When it comes to their Hip Hop, a great number once again, and once again led by Chelsie. Chelsie deserves to be on top, demonstrating her versatility and her style. Twitch does good, but it is not as powerful as Chelsie, who is “outside of her style”. I must say, this number and Sonya’s Jazz by Courtney & Mark were the ones I wanted most to see, after learning about them and posting them on my spoiler blog . This number, like C & M’s does not disappoint, is entertaining and well conceived, and it is also a 10 this evening (that is, if I was still scoring).

During a commercial break we are informed that now the panties that Wal-Mart offers don’t ride up (label says: wedgie free!). I guess they are improving their quality product selection! But, wait... shouldn't this commercial have been on Dancing with the Stars instead?

The Solos:

Chelsie: She came out fighting a little hip-hoppish at the start and, but for her last smooth moves and final split, I was not particularly impressed. Maybe it was that song once again “When I Grow Up” by the Pussycat Dolls.

Twitch: The best part of Twitch’s solo was Cat putting on his grills! (eeugh!). Enough to forget everything that just happened and for her to win the Emmy’s next year as best, outstanding, over the limit and beyond the call of duty TV Host.

Katee: Good for a night at the club, is she too full of herself? She is not the underdog in this competition, but she did not kick it up a notch with this one… I do like that she did no floor and that it was a happy dance, though.

Joshua: Better than Twitch’s, maybe borrowing some of his moves. After all, Twitch did borrow his grills.

Courtney: Not especially memorable, it was well executed, showing what Contemporary technique is all about. She is a top six dancer but, is she a top four?

Mark: Apparently he finally went to the waxing salon, and gives us a different image in this number. His quirkiness shows off, a little better than his (not) (and not spray tanned) six pack.

So, you may have noticed, there was no show of hands in hats pulling out partners or dances… either Nigel has realized that we know there really are no random parings and dances, or well… I am at a loss for words. In any case, if you think about it Chelsie and Twitch was a new couple, and so were Mark and Courtney. But Katee and Joshua were one of the original couples! Change it to Mark and Katee (a pairing we would like to see) and we would have seen all dancers dance with each other (except for Courtney & Mark, oh well). Courtney and Joshua had danced together before, remember Bridezilla?. Now, if Mark is kicked out, we will not have seen him dance with Katee (though it was good to see him with Courtney). Is this a good thing for Joshua over Mark? Or is it a good thing for Courtney over Chelsie? Tomorrow we’ll see… as the $250K for “America’s Favorite Dancer” gets within reach of the Final Four.