‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy and Dan Karaty get real

On Thursday night, “So You Think You Can Dance” lost its first pair of dancers: Jamie Bayard and Rayven Armijo. I caught up with the judges backstage after the show, to find out more about their unanimous decision. 

Is it possible that performing first was the kiss of death for Jamie and Rayven?

Dan Karaty: I think being first can work for you and against you… If your performance is great, everyone’s gonna remember it… I don’t think it was placement. I think they screwed it up.

Nigel Lythgoe: Placement is really important.  As soon as you’re No. 1, you’ve got to be outstanding so people remember you and hold that thought. As I said tonight, the only memorable thing is when [Rayven] pulled [Jamie's] pants down, and what worries me a little about that is that we all remember what happened to Janet Jackson, and how that affected everything that happened on television … it was only a bit of fun, however, I recognize that that feeling is there in the country at the moment. You need to be very, very careful. 

Which couples from Wednesday’s show were the most memorable?

Nigel Lythgoe: Certainly I thought that Joshua and Katee were. Joshua and Katee were that beautiful routine to "No Air." It was absolutely beautiful. It’s one of the first times I’ve ever had an emotional experience with a hip-hop routine.

Dan Karaty: Chelsea and Thayne doing their cha-cha. Wow. I just didn’t expect the two of them to come out and blow away the audience like they did. The other one I’d say was Joshua and Katee…. They just had it, and wow. I knew Josh was that good. I didn’t know Katee could do that. She was phenomenal.

Mary Murphy: For me I think Twitch and Will … and Joshua. Joshua is killin’ it. 

When one contestant has a great personality and the other contestant has great technique, how do you decide who gets to stay?

Dan Karaty: It’s always a tough decision when you’re talking about technique versus personality. Both are so important to the show, and we always tell everyone, ‘This is America’s favorite dancer, not necessarily America’s best dancer.’ So which way do you go? It’s so difficult. We just felt like Matt was really just that much of a stronger dancer than Jamie this week, and that’s why we went that way.

Nigel Lythgoe: We do believe in growth on the program, and for me and the other two judges, we believe that Matt will find personality sooner than Jamie’s technique will come up to Matt’s technique. It really is subjective and a balancing act.

Will and Jessica got rave reviews from the judges. Why do you think they landed in the bottom three?

Nigel Lythgoe: I honestly don’t know. Their position in the show was good. She lost her balance a couple of times, and it may have been that, where people said, ‘It wasn’t good enough.’ Maybe they don’t like that style of dance. Maybe neither Will nor Jessica has gotten over their personality for their audience.

Mary Murphy: It’s so early that the public hasn’t latched on to the personalities yet, or how extraordinary they are. A lot of it is just not aired, so we know as judges, but the public just doesn’t have a grasp on how extraordinary Will is. 

Dan Karaty: I was really shocked to see them dropped into the bottom three. I don’t know why it happened. The public votes. Hey, ya know, maybe they know better than me, but I don’t think that was necessarily the right decision. They’re both phenomenal dancers, and Will especially.  He stands out above the rest. I really feel he does.

-- Stephanie Lysaght

Comments

[Zara]

I really enjoyed this backstage insight, especially because it was after a results show, so it gave us more clarity as to how the judges reached their decision tonight. That being said, I believe the judges made the best decision they could, so good luck to Jamie and Rayven in their future endeavors.

I also agree that Katee and Joshua were the night's standout couple. However, I completely disagree that Jessica and Will were as good as the judges made them out to me (a small appraisal of my friends and family who also watch showed the same opinion about them). As for the rest, time will tell.

[Ann]

I agree Rayven and Jaime weren't memorable, but their routine was sub-par as well. Part of the responsibility goes to the choreographers, in my opinion.
I wonder if it occurs to Dan that people vote for a couple, not individuals. Maybe voters knew Will would not be in trouble if he had to be in the B-three and that you would not let him go. He's obviously very skilled. Maybe they wanted Jessica there. She was more than a "little wobbly" in the paired dance and her solo was awful. By the way, Nigel, to many of us, the dancing is more important than personality and "personality" can sometimes be a calm, collected demeanor, not just a gerbil on a Red Bull high.

[Gerrit]

I sometimes think a couple is voted in the bottom three in the hope that one of the dancers (the weaker hopefully) will be let go and the remaining dancer (the stronger) will get the opportunity to dance with a better partner.

Maybe not everyone is that impressed with Jessica and they could have been hoping that Will would survive and find a better partner.

[Laura]

I agree that Will is exceptional, but do the judges even want to entertain the possibility that he and Jessica were put in the bottom 3 because America thinks that Jessica sucks, and we want Will to have a new partner? That's why I didn't vote for them.

They did the same thing last year with Cedric. He kept landing in the bottom 3, and they kept getting rid of his partners, rather than him! Maybe America gets it right, and can identify the weakest dancer - in this case, that would be Jessica. I can't believe they passed over Kelly for her! Jessica has the skills of an intermediate 12 year old competition dancer - at best! Kelly is a phenomenon. We're really not that stupid, judges. Get a clue!

[Bo]

Holy crap can Mary Murphy be any more annoying? She may be THE MOST annoying person in all of television. Her voice makes me want to kill myself.

[Brian]

I am relatively old as I have children the same age as the contestants. I enjoy watching the show but the screaming by little girls which is needlessly loud and long, drives me crazy. Also they switch on and off on cue for every little event.
If the show goes on the road, it will be mostly older people who will pay for the tickets. Why don't you control the screaming. Clapping seems to be adequate.

[Nancy Trejo]

Nigel, did you know that chicago and a lot of the surrounding area did not get to see the finale, becasue FOX had on a pre-season football game. What a crock!!! If you are wondering why your ratings were down for the midwest area, ask Chicago Fox. thanks