'So You Think You Can Dance': Getting more and more 'four' real

  Nigel Lythgoe couldn't stop talking about how great tonight's episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" was, and it was, but with each show lately it becomes clearer and clearer who the front-runners of the show are, and those who can't keep up simply fall away.

Far and away the best couple of the night was Katee Shean and Twitch Boss, two dancers who have always been a boon to their partners, whomever they might be.  Both have versatility, energy and personality, and it just so happens that the two of them were friends prior to the show, which made their partnership seem almost a little unfair.  Add Mia Michaels to the mix and it's barely a competition.  Their first dance, a contemporary number by the divine M.M., started with a bang, literally, as Katee kicked down a door and portrayed an angry, insane girlfriend.  Katee really is a hell of a performer as well as a dancer and the number, with its explosiveness and humor and clever use of the doorway, was eminently re-watchable.

Unfortunately, Comfort Fedoke and Mark Kanemura were the clear losers of the night (of course, they're not losers in reality, but you know what I mean).  Their fox trot was lacking but I actually didn't think their hip-hop routine, which was lauded, was so great.  Choreographers Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo gave them a number about kids acting up during detention, but other than at the very beginning and end of the routine, nothing in their dance seemed to indicate the freedom and rebellion of what happens when a teacher is out of the room. Plus, thanks to the judges' comments on previous shows, I noticed that they barely used up any of the stage space.  Comfort's been dancing on borrowed time, and Mark is fabulous and all, but he can't match up to the other guys any longer. 

Other lesser losers of the night:

Mary's 'fake-outs'.  I'd rather listen to her scream for five minutes straight than for her to continue to pull this "I didn't like it... ... ...  I FREAKING LOVED IT!" routine over and over again. 

Toni Basil.  The lady is a legend, and she looks great, but unfortunately, as a judge, she's not so fine nor does she blow my mind. She talked a lot about the street, and funk, and groove, but didn't use too many specifics when actually addressing the dancers. 

Will's solo.  I love "Get Up Off of That Thing" and was psyched to see what Will would do with it, since we rarely see him be funky, but thanks to time restrictions, the dance was over before it even began, which made his use of a wig and comb look much too hacky. 

Other dippy props:  The sign that Katee held up during her "Sweet Georgia Brown" number and the hourglass that Courtney Galiano briefly gazed at during the lyrical hip-hop routine that she did with Joshua Allen -- that stuff is for the old guys on "Dancing With the Stars" who don't have the necessary dancing or acting chops.  They need to be put away unless they can be used in a Mia Michaels capacity.

-- Claire Zulkey

Comments

[kerouac9]

Claire! No chat this week?

I couldn't disagree with you more about Will's solo. It basically stole the night, in my view. Rarely do the dancers take their choreographers' sense of play into their solos, but tonight both Joshua and (especially) Will did exactly that. My wife HATES Will (because I love him), but even she couldn't deny that his solo was awesome.

I think they should just stop giving Disco out. All disco performances are measured against the incomperable number performed by Dominic and Sara last season, and are found lacking. I think that if I didn't know what disco was capable of, Joshua and Chelsea's number would have floored me. Joshua is CRAZY strong.

Courtney was dancing with Will last night, not Joshua. I liked the lyrical hip-hop routine they did, but Will is such a presence as a dancer that I can't help thinking that he overshadowed Courtney in their first dance.

I think that Mark and Comfort go home tonight, but that's what I thought last week, so what do I know?

[pocket]

Courtney danced with Will, not Josh.

[Craig]

Comfort finally came through with a killer hip-hop routine. I was beginning to wonder if she had the chops they kept talking about. Next to her, Mark looked soft and imprecise through much of it. My fiance and I got a good laugh at Mark's supposedly tough screwed-tight street face. He took ridiculousness to its extreme this time. Even worse than Benji, trying to look "ghetto" in his hiphop with Donyelle. Didn't quite pull it off.

[Angela Mitchell]

Wow, were we watching the same show? I totally disagree with this article. I loveTwitch, but he barely did any dancing last night -- he certainly wasn't one of the best dancers of the night.

Meanwhile, I continue to feel that poor Mark is underappreciated (here and by the Judges). He's the best remaining partner among the male dancers, and I thought his foxtrot was actually really striking, elegant, and sharp. Sure, there were problems in hold but they were far more due to Comfort I think than Mark (Comfort can go anytime now, sorry). Since I would love to see Mark and Katee partner, I really hope he survives tonight. Fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, I was shocked at how bad Will's samba was (of course the judges were too busy tongue-bathing him as always to notice) -- no hip action at all. And I thought Joshua was terrible in the disco (he almost fell, and looked noticeably clunky the whole time).

I also hated Will and Courtney's labored 'slow hip hop' and felt it really fell flat. Of course the judges screamed over it as always. The pointed favoritism of the judges this season really gives the show a bitter feel for me -- they should basically just hand Will the damn trophy so we can all go home.

Oh and that stupid "four real" stuff by the dancers can stop anytime now. It's annoying.

[Stephanie Lysaght]

Yes, Claire! What was with that hourglass!?

[Dana]

I can't believe that Will went home tonight. It just goes to show that the voting is NOT based on talent. Why do we even bother to watch and get involved in the show if its not taken seriously? Its called "So you think you can dance" so let's vote for who can actually dance and not who you have sympathy for.

[Dana]

I can't believe that Will went home tonight. It just goes to show that the voting is NOT based on talent. Why do we even bother to watch and get involved in the show if its not taken seriously? Its called "So you think you can dance" so let's vote for who can actually dance and not who you have sympathy for.

[Catherine]

I have not quite known how to take Will all season. At first I thought he was being highly touted b/c of his relationship to Debbie Allen and it seemed the judges were praising him b/c of their relationship with her. When he did the pas de deux with KATEE a few weeks ago though I was won over. But I agree with some of the comments above.. Katee is a wonderful partner and makes everyone she dances with look really good!

Remember that most of the voters on all these reality performance shows consist of hordes of teenagers and they choose based more on coolness and looks than talent. And how many 12 and 13 year olds know who James Brown is? Not too many..... for them Mark is quirky and Josh is cool and dances really cool.... though I'd think the same thing about Twitch.... so who knows? Certainly Will will have a marvelous career.

[Dac]

Was just watching Dance Flick comedy movie by the Wayan brothers, I think Legacy was actually one of the backup dancers. His real name is Jonathan "Legacy" Perez. Hilarious movie!