Welcome back, So You Think You Can Dance fans! At least I think that’s the name of the show. It’s been so long I’ve kind of forgotten. Laurel Brown is on vacation, so I’m taking over for tonight.
The show took some time off during the Olympics, but now it’s back and I’m going to have to relearn everyone’s names. Seriously, now that So You Think You Can Dance is only on once per week, taking two whole weeks off in the middle of the season isn’t such a good idea. I vaguely remember an adorable Swiss Mister named Chehon and a super pale chick named Amelia. But I’m not going to waste too much time getting attached since FOUR more dancers are going home tonight.
The entire night is devoted to Mia Michaels as everyone will perform some of her most memorable routines from the past. AWESOME! No stupid ballroom. And the promise of the Bench routine. Why haven’t they done this before, and why don’t they do this every week?
When I can find one, I will add the videos of the original routines so you can compare them.
The guest judges for tonight are the Ballet Boyz. Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt. They admit that they’ve never seen any of these dancers or the choreography, which makes me wonder why they’re even here. Worst guest judges ever?
Then we get to meet London Riley D’Umo! Yes, Nappy Tabs had their insanely cute baby who Cat Deeley says will win season 27. I agree.
And to kick things off the Top 14 perform an original Mia Michaels routine with ropes that is just kind of ridiculously cool. This is going to be one great night.
Eliana Girard and Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer
They’re doing season 4’s Door Routine originally done by Katee Shean and Stephen “Twitch” Boss. Obviously every routine tonight is going to have great choreography, which lets us focus on the actual dancers. Eliana really dominates it for me and Glitch just kind of blends into the background, almost like he’s a second prop. It’s obvious that Glitch is not Twitch. Nigel Lythgoe agrees that she just kind of blew him out of the water.
Tiffany Maher and George Lawrence II
Here’s another season 4 routine originally done by Katee Shean and Joshua Allen set to Adele’s “Hometown Glory” (before Adele was the biggest thing ever). Tiffany wins points by saying her favorite SYTYCD moment was Ellen DeGeneres redoing the iconic Therapist routine, replacing Alex Wong. That was awesome. This routine is perfect for them and I think it’s even better than the original. They both “murder” it, as Mary Murphy says. Nigel thinks this is the best George has ever been. The only criticism is that there was too much overperforming.
Amelia Lowe and Will Thomas
It’s the Butt Dance! Who could ever forget this Emmy-winning routine from season 5 with Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak? And this is easily the PERFECT routine for this couple. Oddly enough, I feel like they didn’t go far enough with the goofiness and Nigel agrees that it wasn’t up to par with the original. Nigel admits that he still thinks about Randi’s butt and, at the same time, mentions that the opening group number was inspired by 50 Shades of Gray. Wow, Nigel has sex on the brain.
Janelle Issis and Dareian Kujawa
Clearly season 4 was the best for Mia Michaels cuz this is the third routine from that year. This is the bed routine by Kherington Payne and Stephen “Twitch” Boss Dareian just surprised the crap out of me, because he owned every single minute of this routine. His movements and execution were flawless and I didn’t even notice Janelle. The stupid Ballet Boyz judge doesn’t even know their names. Ugh, shut up, useless British judges. Then they call Twitch “Titch.” This has to be incredibly embarrassing for Nigel and everyone involved in this show, to have these absolute morons on the judging panel.
Audrey Case and Matthew Kazmierczak
Wow, they’re taking on the routine about Mia’s dad dying from season 3 with Lacey Schwimmer and Neil Haskell. This is one of those routines so strong and painful and beautiful that it’s almost impossible to criticize. It’s not the BEST performance and the judges comment on Matthew not quite being in the moment. It gets VERY awkward when Nigel asks them about Mia’s personal life and what her dad did, which they don’t seem to know.
Witney Carson and Chehon Wespi-Tschopp
Th Bench Routine, quite possibly the most iconic routine associated with Mia Michaels, is a double-edged sword. It’s from season 2 with Heidi Groskreutz and Travis Wall and it won Mia her first Emmy. I pity Chehon, getting compared to Travis, who is easily the most beloved former contestant of all-time. It’s not as good as the original, but there was no chance it would be. Nigel tells us the detailed story of Mia falling in love with a gay man who could never love her back the way she loved him. It’s a decent version of the routine, and I think Witney does a more successful job than Chehon. He’s so controlled and talented, but he lacks the passion and emotion that Travis has.
Lindsay Arnold and Cole Horibe
This is the third Emmy-winning routine of the night, “Addiction” from season 5 with Kayla Radomski and Kopono Aweau Wow, just watching it reminds me of how unbelievable Mia Michaels is. And Cole is fantastic at being creepy and terrifying without overplaying the sinister act. The dude really is the best actor of the season. Nigel wisely says that he’s been disappointed tonight because a lot of the couples didn’t stand up to the originals, but dancers should be able to step into any choreography even if it’s not done specifically for them.
RESULTS
Now that the dancing is over it’s time to see who’s in danger.
Eliana is…SAFE
Audrey is…SAFE
Tiffany is…SAFE
Witney is…SAFE
Cyrus is…SAFE
Will is…SAFE
Chehon is…SAFE
Cole is…SAFE
George is…IN THE BOTTOM
Dareian is…IN THE BOTTOM
Matthew is…IN THE BOTTOM
Amelia…IN THE BOTTOM
Janelle is…IN THE BOTTOM
Lindsay is…IN THE BOTTOM
The judges want to see everyone do solos, but I’m not really sure why. Since they can only save one guy and one girl, I think it looks very good for Lindsay and Dareian. My guess is that they’ve already made their decision, but since they have 20 minutes to fill, we get solos.
Amelia: She does a solo to “Falling Slowly,” which gives her a huge advantage since that is the song equivalent of getting Travis Wall as your choreographer.
Janelle She does some belly dancing, which won’t save her.
Lindsay: She rocks her ballroom stuff and gets the loudest applause from the audience. She’s definitely the one who will be safe.
George:The only amusing part is when Cat calls him “Gorgeous George” at the end.
Dareian: The judges may not like his feet, but everything else is just stunning.
Matthew: He gets the loudest applause and does an equally great solo. This is definitely hard, but I think the tie-breaker goes to their performances tonight, and the judges took Matthew to the woodshed on his routine while they loved Dareian.
Lindsay is saved..
AMELIA LOWE AND JANELLE ISSIS ARE ELIMINATED!
George is saved.
MATTHEW KAZMIERCZAK AND DAREIAN KUJAWA ARE ELIMINATED!
What? I did not see that coming at all. I was sure George was a goner. I guess feet really do matter.
Next week we get our Top 10 who will get to dance with the All-Stars! I’m very happy because it means one routine, one vote and you don’t need to decide which person from your favorite routine you should vote for..
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
