So You Think You Can Dance season 9 has made it to the Top 10! After what seems like only a few weeks of competition (thanks, Olympics…), 10 dancers have already left. With these lower numbers, we also move on to the All-Stars — performers from earlier seasons back to show the new kids how it’s done. What will such a combination bring? Which So You Think You Can Dance eliminations will we get? Keep reading this So You Think You Can Dance recap to find out!
Who do we have left in the SYTYCD competition to pair with the All-Star performers?
Witney Carson
Will Thomas
Tiffany Maher
Lindsay Arnold
George Lawrence II
Eliana Girard
Cyrus Spencer
Cole Horibe
Chehon Wespi-Tschopp
Audrey Case
As for the All-Star pairings, they’ll be announced as we go. So let’s get to it!
The group dance for the week has one of those old-time movie-musical themes going on. Apparently, Eliana is the star of this movie. You know, kind of like she just might be on So You Think You Can Dance. We also have sailors, janitors and at least one director. It’s all very jazzy.
After last week’s frilly concoction of loveliness, Cat Deeley has gone simple and sparkly.
The reason for that Hollywood dance? Tomorrow is Gene Kelly’s 100th birthday. Except that he’s not alive anymore. His (obviously much younger) widow is in the audience though.
As for the judges(!), Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy are joined by Benjamin Millepied. Hey, isn’t that Mr. Natalie Portman? He’s the Black Swan choreographer anyway.
First up for the dancers
Tiffany Maher with All-Star Brandon
Choreographer: Doriana Sanchez
Style: Disco
Fun and very party-style. The big deal seems to be roughly a million lifts performed throughout the dance. The performance seems to be well-executed, but the important point is… FUN!
Nigel referred to Tiffany as “sensational” and “fantastic.” Mary was excited about the lifts. Benjamin (who has the least amount of accent ever) was happy too.
Witney Carson with All-Star Nick
Choreographer: Travis Wall
Style: Jazz
Considering her use of the prop, Witney might have considered dancing just with the microphone. That would have been cool. Nothing against Nick, of course. The actual dance seems rather minimalist in style. Well-danced and precise but not quite a flashy as others.
The judges thought she was sexy.
Cole Horibe and All-Star Anya
Choreographer: Dmitry Chaplin
Style: Cha-cha
You can’t say Cole doesn’t get himself in character for his dances. Nor can you say the guy isn’t athletic. He might be a little too precise (is that possible?) for a dance like the cha-cha. But that’s OK. He’s still kind of insane and awesome to watch.
Mary got to do some “hot tamale” shrieking, although she still found footwork to criticize.
Lindsay Arnold and All-Star Jacob
Choreographer: Spencer Liff
Style: Broadway
Shadow dancing. That’s pretty cool. It’s also pretty impressive when they manage to be in sync. More than most Broadway dances, this looks like something from a musical. And it was awfully cool to watch.
After Nigel spent time admiring Jacob’s feet, he got around to praising Lindsay. Mary put Lindsay on the train instead of Cole.
Will Thomas with All-Star Kathryn
Choreographer: Nakul Dev Mahajan
Style: Bollywood
The dance involves a snake charmer and his snake girl. Of course. The result is a lot of fun. As yo would expect when Will dances. Not knowing anything about the specifics of Bollywood dancing, this looks awfully good to me. You can’t accuse them of not committing anyway!
Mary referred to Will as an “Energizer bunny.” Benjamin made a lot of positive comments sound like insults by his tone. Weird. In spite of himself, Nigel liked Will’s personality.
Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer and All-Star Jaimie
Choreographer: Travis Wall
Style: Contemporary
The dance starts in front of some back-lighting. That looks cool, but it’s hard to see what they’re doing. The lighting improves soon though. I think Cyrus’ footwork during the lifts isn’t quite what the judges would want. The style and emotion, however, is incredible. It’s quite a believable dance.
Benjamin talked about raw energy. Nigel mentioned how people sent him angry letters about Glitch. He was offended by this opinion. Mary mentioned the bad feet and legs but insisted that the passion made up for it.
Chehon Wespi-Tschopp and All-Star Lauren
Choreographer: Dave Scott
Style: Hip hop
The clash of styles in rehearsal is amusing. Chehon is always a good dancer, but the style isn’t quite right. He still looks like a ballet dancer in many of his moves. This isn’t a flashy piece either, so the style stuff might hurt Chehon.
Nigel mentioned that the stick usually up Chehon’s backside was missing. Mary used the words “slinky groove-hop.” Benjamin went with “spontaneous.”
George Lawrence II and All-Star Allison
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Style: Jazz
Shucks. I wanted the train to be a prop in the dance. Oh well. This music reminds me of the theme music from Austin Powers. As for the dance, it tells a good story and features some impressive dancing. Honestly, this might be one of my favorite George routines so far.
Mary thought the dance was a lot of fun. Benjamin praised while sounding critical again. Nigel had trouble breathing and claimed to not believe the character.
Eliana Girard and All-Star Alex
Choreographer: Stacey Tookey
Style: Contemporary
The spotlights are back. As are the winding movements. This one should have enough sexiness for Nigel anyway… That’s practically all it is. I don’t know if Eliana is being too pretty or not, but she looks incredible to me. Also, her wild hair somehow suits this dance perfectly.
A triple standing ovation pretty much summed up the judges’ reactions. Nigel claimed Eliana as his favorite girl too. It was Mary’s favorite routine.
Audrey Case and All-Star Twitch
Choreographer: Dave Scott
Style: Hip hop
This is supposed to be a 400-year-old couple. Sure. Why not? Ah, vampires! Hip-hop vampires. The key to this dance may be to focus on Audrey and ignore Twitch. He’s too good at this stuff to be with anyone else. Audrey’s actually doing pretty good in her own right too.
The judges agree with the unfairness of dancing with Twitch. Nigel wanted to see Helena Bonham-Carter in the dance.
Who’s in Danger?
Witney Carson and Audrey Case are the bottom-two girls.
Chehon Wespi-Tschopp and George Lawrence II are the bottom-two guys.
Nigel doesn’t sound like he cares about the solos, but he leaves it to the audience. Thus, there will be solos.
Eliminations
In a non-unanimous decision…
Audrey Case has been eliminated!
As for the guys…
George Lawrence II has been eliminated!
No one can resist the power of a Chehon solo!
Did the right two dancers go home? Who would you have eliminated? Leave your comments below!
(Images courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
