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‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Woo, child!

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Well! Who said change was bad? The top 10 dancers were reshuffled on tonight’s episode and overall the results were favorable: Toss a little Debbie Allen and two group dances in the mix and you’ve got a very strong night.

The episode began with the top five girls dancing a Nakul Dev Mahajan Bollywood number that you could tell ahead of time was going to be lots of fun. Who doesn’t like Bollywood? It’s sexy, joyous and feels slightly familiar at the same time (there seems to be a bit of crossover between Bollywood and hip-hop). The judges came up with two corny puns to describe how much they loved the happy, feminine dance: ‘Nakul: You’re cool!’ Nigel Lythgoe told the choreographer, and Mary Murphy weighed in with ‘Bolly-wow!’ Groan.

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The first new couple of the night was Kayla Radomski and Evan Kasprzak, who danced a Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin Viennese waltz, he in lifts and she barefoot to make up for their height discrepancy. I thought they danced it nicely and Kayla was beautiful and elegant as always, but the couple didn’t have the best chemistry. Mary took issue with Evan’s lack of power and problems with gliding, but Debbie Allen praised him for ‘handling’ his ‘big woman,’ whom Debbie referred to as ‘white lightning.’ Though I agreed with Mary, I liked Debbie’s words more.

Also new this week: The judges cannot eliminate anyone -- only America can, voting on individuals, not couples. Each dancer performed a solo, which I found hard to evaluate one by one without the situation of ‘dancing for your life.’ Some of the dances, like Brandon Bryant’s, I knew were technically good but they didn’t elicit much emotion from me. Those I liked the most were Evan’s snazzy Broadway dance (you could absolutely envision him onstage in a musical) and Ade Obayomi’s incredibly gymnastic routine, which, probably because it was set to the Righteous Brothers, reminded me of ‘Dirty Dancing’ (only I would probably enjoy ‘Dirty Dancing’ more if Ade were in it).

Janette Manrara and Ade Obayomi got together to do a Tabitha and Napoleon D’Umo hip-hop number in which, with his hair pick, he hypnotized her into becoming funky. A pretty silly premise, but they were very cute together onstage. I think the two of them have the potential to have some great chemistry (Ade especially seems as if he wants to lighten up a little bit, maybe). I enjoyed the dance but didn’t think it was the most amazing ever (if indeed the gloves are coming off, as Mary claimed) -- but the judges were all enthusiastic. Debbie’s two cents: ‘WOO honey these children wore me OUT!’

I wasn’t watching ‘SYTYCD’ when Travis Wall was on as a performer, but I think it’s safe to say that his new job as choreographer on the show is secure. He choreographed Jeanine Mason and Jason Glover in a contemporary dance about two friends coming together as lovers. It was a very physical dance, with great storytelling and character illustration, but moreover the new pairing really strengthened the new dancers. I feel like I haven’t seen this sort of passion from Jason up until this point, and as Nigel noted, it was the first time on the show that Jeanine was dancing with someone at her level. It was beautiful, definitely one to watch again.

I have to admit I didn’t have high hopes for Randi Evans and Kupono Aweau as a couple when I heard they were matched up. Randi seems fairly serious and Kupono not so much. They were assigned a Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin paso doble that they struggled with through rehearsal and it didn’t get much better on stage. It didn’t help that Randi wore an unflattering costume and wig but moreover they lacked chemistry, confidence, and what’s worse the dance felt like it took forever. After Nigel gave his criticisms, nobody booed. Ouch.

For the last duet of the night, Melissa Sandvig and Brandon Bryant performed a Tyce Diorio Broadway dance from ‘Hair.’ Melissa to me looked the most beautiful she has all season, in bare feet with her hair down. The hippie-ish dance varied from looking like a frolic in the park to a two-person orgy, but believe me, it was a lot of fun to watch. I was somewhat surprised by what a great pairing Melissa and Brandon were, I think because of the joy they both conveyed, but their technical prowess was not unexpected. The judges adored it.

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We closed out the evening with the boys doing a group number, an African dance choreographed by Jeffrey Page. A dancer friend of mine told me that she once tried African, and it felt as if her arms were being ripped out of their sockets, and I can believe it. The dance had a LOT of arm thrusting, gymnastics and atypical rhythms, and the guys looked exhausted and as if they were having the time of their lives. The judges adored it and gave Evan some props for being the one shorty white boy in the crowd who didn’t stand out too badly for his differences.

After the show I looked at Nigel Lythgoe’s Twitter and found this message: ‘I am basically very happy and I know we have a very strong top 10, technically! But I think there are a few who don’t have star quality?’

I wonder who he means by that, and if America is on the same page as he is?

-- Claire Zulkey

(Photo: Fox)

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