‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Battle of the sexes
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Will America elect its first female favorite dancer this week? In a special Monday results show, six contestants were narrowed to four, and with the sight of Lauren Gottlieb, Lacey Schwimmer and Sabra Johnson lined up against Pasha Kovalev, Danny Tidwell and Neil Haskell, the girls vs. boys dichotomy seemed clear. Although each of the dancers has his or her particular strengths and weaknesses, the top three of each sex seemed to represent the contrasts.
Lauren predicted in this column that a girl would take the prize this year, and the women certainly have the chops. With their dark hair and toned physiques, they share similar physical characteristics. Sabra and Lacey danced consistently well throughout the competition, and Lauren and Sabra established their own particular dance personalities as the show progressed. In individuality and on the floor, the three brought loads of spark and fun to their performances.
Danny, Neil and Pasha never seemed to have much in common until they stood next to each other for the cut. They’re all muscled, lean and tall (which became obvious when they stood next to host Cat Deeley, who is as tall as a redwood). At first glance, all three seem rather stoic compared to Energizer bunnies such as Lacey and Lauren or goofballs like Dominic Sandoval, but they’ve all had their passionate, funny moments on the show. All three specialize in genres that require a balance of grace and masculinity.
After a dramatic ‘lockdown’ (in which the studio audience was banished from the theater to prevent any leaks because the live show was postponed, believe it or not, for preseason football -- seriously, Fox, preseason football?), the final four were revealed. Although it will be sad to see them go, who got eliminated wasn’t a complete surprise.
According to some Internet message boards, it appears that America didn’t take Lauren to its collective breast the way it did Sabra and Lacey. She’d always been something of a dark horse in the competition, but ‘SYTYCD’ has been slightly predictable this season.
Pasha’s never suffered a lack of fans, especially those who enjoy a charming, shirtless Russian, but the ballroom dancers on the show are never at an advantage. Danny and Neil have a different sort of self-possessed power in their dancing, where there’s more of a ‘show’ in Pasha’s performances. America seemed to be voting for the dancers and not the dancing.
It was strange to see the two go without the typical studio audience chorus of aaws, boos and applause, but it was sweet to see that, without the muffling of the applause, the group seemed legitimately tightly-knit as the final four said goodbye to Pasha and Lauren. The Monday night pretaped show felt a little strange, so it was nice to watch a moment of true emotion from the contestants.
-- Claire Zulkey