"So You Think You Can Dance": How to stand out in the crowd?

Once again, tonight I considered my issues with "SYTYCD"'s new format.  I really respect the show's producers for trying to switch things up but I'm not sure this is working out to be a positive change, especially for a show that strives to showcase the talents' personalities.  Without the ongoing story of how the partners work together to learn new genres, I think certain contestants are going to get the short end of the stick if they can't show us who they are in the short amount of time they have onscreen each week.  For instance, I still don't at this point feel like I know much about what Cristina, Alex or Billy are like as people and not just dancers.  Some other performers, like Lauren and Kent, are blessed with strong personalities that are self-evident but especially in Kent's case I'm not positive I need THAT much personality. At the same time it still feels strange to see the All-Stars barely interacting with the show. What has Pasha been up to? What parts of the Broadway dance are hardest for Lauren? What does Ade think of Melinda?  Instead of hearing these things, the All-Stars are sent away mutely. We hear more from the partners on "Dancing With the Stars."  Plus, while I love most of the All-Stars, it is strange knowing that their side of the dances doesn't really...count.

Tonight I thought Melinda, Jose and Lauren stood out from the crowd for their performances. Despite the lukewarm reaction she received from the judges last week, I think Lauren is a favorite, as is Jose, so it's not surprising that their dances went over well. Lauren paired really well with Dominic, I thought, for their Tessandra Chavez lyrical hip-hop routine on abusive relationships.  The judges were especially pleased with the way she approached the dance after what they perceived to be a somewhat unserious performance last week. And Jose nailed Bollywood, which isn't really a surprise: it's a genre that always goes over well with the judges and audiences and seems to be a fairly easy one for dancers with hip-hop background to pick up.

I don't think Melinda is a dancer who has really sold herself yet to America, but she danced beautifully with Ade to a contemporary routine by Stacey Tookey about the perilous state of the planet.  The judges praised her lines and called her a word I don't know how to spell but is pronounced "gorge-wah" (Mia Michaels was a little free-flowing with the English language tonight.) My only complaint was that Melinda's dress, blue silk decorated with flora, was a bit too literal and thus cheesy for me. 

I think the other dancers (with the aid of the show) just need to keep working on convincing us they're more than just solid dancers, that they're contestants we need to care about. I don't think Robert, who at least has a chest and face the audience loves, will have a problem getting votes for now but while he might have the audience's love, tonight he didn't have the judges, with what they perceived to be a somewhat chill-less, stressed-out tango.  Same with Billy Bell, who might get sympathy votes for his valiant attempt to krump tonight.

Who do you see in the bottom three tomorrow night? I'll guess Cristina, Adechike and Ashley.

--Claire Zulkey

Ade Obayomi, left, and Melinda Sullivan   credit: Kelsey McNeal/Fox

Comments

[Karen Harper]

Personality is all important in dance as is ease of movement.
If you have limited personality your dancing will be poor. Just like having a singing voice with personailty, it may not be like Elvis but it will inspire people with it's own talent and charm.
Saying that I can't dance to save my life but I love criticising those who try!!

[WP]

I think the judges under-evaluated Alex's performance a lot. His routine was definitely the best execution late night. In terms of style, it was not Alex's problem, Tyce was the choreographer. I would say to Alex (borrowed from Mia): " it was the best, hands down, a piece of work ever danced in the SYTYCD stage to date!"

Melinda got praised by pointing her toes, which a minimum requirement for a contemporary dance, but watching her dance movement, I had to wince a lot, it was a pain.

[Lady Jane]

When two competitors danced together in the older format, they were more likely to relate to the partner as someone also in a learning mode and for whatever reason, that would boost their chemistry and their collaboration. It was a case of two kids getting it on together, dance-wise. They were in it together.

With one contestant dancing with one all-star, it does feel as if the one on the hot seat is trying too hard to equal the technical prowess of the all-star who has already arrived at a success point on the show. So we get dancers who hit their moves, probably better in the early weeks than under the older format, but their routines are lacking in that kind of youthful "look at us" joy you got in days of yore.

It's very hard, also, not to just watch the more polished all-star who gets into the performance more readily, having been on that stage and done so many routines from scratch.

Dancers like Alex who already have performance careers shine in these early rounds, as do dancers with show off personalities.

The new judges Mia and Adam add a new dimension of seriousness to the proceedings. So nice not to hear those hot tamale shrieks in lieu of critique.

[Mathew]

Billy should SO be in the bottom three. That Krump was aweful.

Also, loved Alex and Allison's piece. Might have been my favorite of the night.

Finally I notice you didn't mention Cat's comment about Dominic wanting to go deep??? Did you see how red she got after that, rofl.

[Mathew]

Oh, and yes loved Lauren's bit. IMO, she was hitting harder than comfort was in the krump piece.

[Romney HUMPHREY]

The new format is ill advised. We miss the struggle and journey because of the 'pros'. It makes for milk toast viewing with no chemistry for ANYONE.

[Kristal]

I hope a guy goes home (Adechike, specifically). I just don't want there to be down to to the Top 5 and have it all be male.

[Anthony]

Enough people have nailed the format problems, I'll leave that alone this week. Claire, I'm pretty sure it's spelled "gorg-eous" with the "eous" pronounces as though it were the "geois" in "bourgeois." A tacky joke, but the judges' humor runs in that vain, er, vein.
Frankly, we thought the worst dances of the night were given by the best dancers in the competition. Billy's "krump" was brilliantly taken apart by Adam. I got the feeling Billy thought, "it's krumping, not real dancing," and blew off the routine. Alex "doesn't know Fosse," and can't remember what he watched to prepare. If you can't remember what Fosse you watched, you didn't watch Fosse. And Robert's tango wasn't as convincing as Kent's cha-cha the week before. However, I think they are all brilliant dancers, who looked worse because the new format matches them with way more experienced dancers in the genre. (oops, wasn't going to menetion the format.
Anyway, that's our bottom three at my house. On TV, it will be Cristina, Melinda, and
Ashley with Melinda going home. SYTTHC.

[Captain Sora]

I thought that the judging was very off last night. Alex did a great job - yes, he could have had more of the Fosse smolder, but he danced beautifully. They've set expectations far higher for him than for anyone else. I would have much rather seen him perform again than see some of the other contestants who got praised more highly.

Lauren did better this week, but overall, she was still not good. That dance could have been much more meaningful and hard-hitting than it was. I got the impression that the judges were afraid to criticque her again, and didn't want to criticize a dance about domestic violence.

Billy was also overly criticized. Yes, he didn't get down to the floor enough and his emotion was a bit off, but the shellacking that he got was unjustified.

Cristina also got overly criticized for the fact that her choreography was more contemporary than jazz. She did a solid job, but she got no credit for it.

While Melinda did a sorry job with the contemporary - it was rather listless and I found myself imagining how past contestants would have danced it. And yet she was praised to the sky.

Very disappointing night.

[Mathew]

Yes the new format does have some problems, then again it gives us a chance to see some of our favorite dancers again, and for that I'm grateful.

It does mean that the contestants though have to try even harder to shine, but that's not a bad thing IMO

[kate]

I will quote my daughter who said, last night, "The biggest mistake SYTYCD has made was bringing Mia Michaels in as a judge," and I couldn't agree more. Pompous windbags, all three .. but Nigel and Mia really take the cake.

I loved the dances, particularly Travis Wall's piece, which was among the most beautiful I have ever seen on the show. And I loved the dancers, especially Lauren, Adechike and whoever it was that did Travis' dance (sorry I can't remember who it was .. I only remember the costumes, set and BEAUTIFUL flow of it).

The whole show, for me, though, has lost most of its enjoyment. From now on I will fast forward every word the judges say .. we'll see if that helps ..

[Markus H.]

Wait, wait, wait. Jose most certainly did NOT "nail" Bollywood in any way, shape or form. And I didn't need the judges (all three of them) to tell me that. Still, all of the judges thought what he did was "so wrong," and he only skated by on his charm and charisma (of which there is admittedly plenty). And I thought even that was being generous. Jose looked amateurish at best trying to dance outside his genre. Try at least to get what the dancers did correct.

[Kristin]

Personally, I am a fan of the new format. I got really sick of good dancers carrying (no pun intended) bad ones in prior seasons (Ashley?), and bad ones bringing good ones down. It's like Anya said, she looked good because of Robert's support. I think it levels the playing field. That being said, I think the judges are really off the mark this season, and it is upsetting me (I want Mary back!!). It is not Little League; no trophy just for trying. Jose should have been ripped to shreds for hacking his way through the Bollywood number. Time to focus again on the technical performance, regardless of background. I'm sick of hearing, "That was great for a tapper"...I want to hear "That was great for a dancer". Right??