‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Tony’s missteps in the wardrobe department

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It’s always so convenient when the boy and the girl who get eliminated on ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ happen to be in the same couple, isn’t it? No messy re-pairings to deal with, no short girl with tall guy. But joking of conspiracy theories aside, I totally agreed with tonight’s elimination.

We opened with a group hip-hop number choreographed by Shane Sparks (who is back after a hiatus). It was sort of a ‘Hancock’ meets ‘Heroes’ conceit, with the dancers seeming to portray derelict superheroes. Some parts of the routine were cheesy, like the newspaper-strewn stage and the blowing of magical glitter, but the dancers were pounding out their moves and it was fun to watch overall.

I have to admit that since this group is both so new and so large I didn’t have many predictions about who would be safe and who wouldn’t, although I would have been shocked if Evan Kasprzak, who seems to be a fan favorite, would have to dance for his life, and I would have been upset if Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover, after their Bollywood dance, wouldn’t have been safe.

After a very sexy tango performance the bottom three couple danced for their lives. I wasn’t feeling a lot of life or passion from Paris Torres. I cringed during Tony Bellissimo’s performance: between his ridiculous outfit and the sloppy, jokey moves, he was dancing like Rerun from ‘What’s Happening!!’ Asuka Kondoh churned her tiny legs, and she is certainly captivating onstage. Vitolo Jeune seemed to be working harder than Tony did, although I didn’t feel anything from his performance. Karla Garcia’s solo looked a little messy to me, and my only input on Jonathan Platero was ‘he’s cute.’

As the judges deliberated (and Nigel Lythgoe did indeed Twitter during decision time, which you can see here), Sean Kingston performed the song ‘Fire Burning.’ Being 30 and ancient, I’ve never heard the song before. I wasn’t super impressed by Kingston’s performance but I can recognize a catchy summer dance song when I hear one.

The judges came back and gave their feedback, with unanimous decisions on both the boys and the girls. I agreed with Nigel when he said that Asuka’s a little star, and that Paris didn’t bring anything to the stage, and hence she was eliminated. The judges were very disappointed with the boys’ dances, considering none of them very good to keep them in the competition for long. Nigel only liked Jonathan’s gymnastics, not so much his dancing. Nigel didn’t like that Tony chose to pop and lock and moreover didn’t think it was very good, so Tony was sent home. I can’t help but wonder if Tony would have had a better shot had he not literally been dressed like a clown.

So, first elimination down. I’ll miss Tony’s face (because it was nice to look at) but I thought it was a good decision and I’m ready to roll on to the next week!

-- Claire Zulkey

(Art: FOX)