'So You Think You Can Dance': Woo, child!

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. 

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. 

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)

On Friday, the latest eliminated dancers from "So You Think You Can Dance," Phillip Chbeeb and Caitlin Kinney, chatted on a conference call with journalists about their experiences on the show and more. Here are a few excerpts:

Phillip Chbeeb on engineering and school: Engineering, the major itself, is so stressful that I really needed an outlet of some sort and I feel like dance has provided that easily whenever engineering gets too stressful. But at the same time, it held me in my dance because my dance was more mathematical-minded than human emotion-driven. So it’s been a really interesting relationship between the science and the dancing.

I’m taking a little bit of time off [from school] and surprisingly, this worked out perfectly because I was going through a lot of money issues before the show happened. It’s amazing how things work out.  It’s a blessing. The minute money problems got in the way of my college education, I got on the show and get on tour. So I’m definitely, hopefully going to save up with this tour and I’ll be back in school within a semester of that, well, whenever the tour ends, so that will be great. I’ve already seen my school and they’re excited to have me back.

On what's next: I just got cut but I’m going back to Houston and I’m going to start choreographing, because that’s truly my passion, is choreography. So I’ll be doing that and then hopefully in a year or two you’ll see me choreographing for the show and at the same time I’ll be following my physics ambitions.

Caitlin Kinney on when the judges questioned her chemistry with partner Jason Glover: I think Jason and I always struggled when they said that to us because we’re thinking, "My God, with all the couples, we really bonded as friends." We hung out probably the most of any other couples, and I think we did have great chemistry. I think my boyfriend was probably thrilled that they kept saying they see no chemistry. But I don’t know what the deal was with that. I don’t know. It’s not something we really.…  At some point you’re like, “Oh my God.  We’re putting our heart and soul into this. We’re in it together.  We’re doing it together.” And you can only do so much. They either see it or they don’t. 

With the Bollywood routine; obviously we had to kiss at the end. So it started off with such a bang that there really was nowhere to go from there. There wasn’t any growing on the chemistry. It was always expected to be so intense and so emotional, whereas some of the pieces didn’t really call for that. The alien piece, you weren’t supposed to have any sort of lovey-dovey chemistry, that’s for sure. But I think Jason and I are great friends. I just had a wonderful time working with him. We got along so well. I wouldn’t have had any other partner.

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

I was half right about tonight's elimination. The half that I didn't predict was a surprise, but I think a good choice by the judges.  But let's save that for the end.

The dancers led off with a very sharp military-inspired hip-hop dance set to the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo, that was quite reminiscent of Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation" video.  Speaking of which, after acknowledging his 60th birthday, judge Nigel Lythgoe broke the sad news that there would be no Michael Jackson tribute, as the powers-that-be wouldn't release the music. Ah well, maybe it's for the best: Even though a "So You Think You Can Dance," tribute would have been amazing, after this week's emotional memorial, perhaps it's good just to let it rest for a bit.

Cat brought out the couples to be sent to the bottom three. I predicted accurately last night that Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover would be in trouble, plus, after their amazing tango and jazz routines, it was no surprise that Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant were safe. Mary Murphy supposed that Caitlin and Jason's problem was that they could never surpass their original, popular Bollywood dance. 

The audience was shocked when Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb were sent to the bottom three, but I think it would have been just as surprising if Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak were put down there as well, since each couple performed a dance that the judges really liked and another that they were slightly lukewarm about, and each has a powerhouse girl and a popular but somewhat limited guy. 

Before they went on with the first cuts, Nigel let everyone know that pretty much everybody on tonight's episode would be going on tour, since the show would need swing dancers, so that took a little bit of the drama out of the whole top 10 thing. 

Finally, Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi were sent to the bottom three, in lieu of Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau. It's possible that Kayla and Kupono's Mia Michaels dance saved them, but moreover I'm  glad not to see them in the bottom three for once, just for the sake of some new scenery.  I thought it was a little odd of Tyce Diorio to call Ade out for his energy level allegedly dropping last night: I didn't agree, and it seemed a little cruel to blame one half of a couple for being in the bottom three. 

We got to the solos. Caitlin's was quite adorable and showed off her personality, but I wasn't sure if it was going to be enough to keep her in the competition (I assumed that either she or Melissa would be eliminated). Jason threw a ton of stuff into his solo once again, and I predicted, incorrectly, that the judges would call it "desperate" and say that he didn't connect with his audience. Jeanine's solo was, like last week's, both more technically proficient and serious than what you expect from someone who comes off so cute in her choreographed dances. Phillip was just fun to watch -- he makes boring things like elbows and wrists look cool. I felt like I was getting a workout watching Melissa's solo, as she performed in her toe shoes: She really is an amazing physical specimen of a human.  And Ade received a standing ovation for his solo, which contained a lot of explosive moves and gymnastics that moved him all over the stage. 

Before the eliminations, David Guetta and Kelly Rowland performed a song called "When Love Takes Over" that sounded like a mashup of Coldplay's "Speed of Sound" and Jordin Sparks' "No Air."  For those of you keeping track at home, she did appear to sing live, for better or for worse. 

Nigel kept the eliminations short and sweet, not giving Caitlin much of a reason why she was sent home instead of Melissa or Jeanine. Poor Caitlin seemed very shook up about the news. I was surprised that Phillip, and not Jason, was going home. However, looking back, there wasn't an episode where the judges didn't want more from Phillip, so I think it was a good choice, although we'll all miss him. Good news for those of you following the "So You Think You Can Dance" tour, though: Both will be appearing!

Next week: new couples! 

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

After tonight’s edition of “So You Think You Can Dance” only 5 couples will remain – and they’ll all be going on tour!

 

Which 10? You’ll have to tune in to watch Ade, Brandon, Caitlin, Evan, Janette, Jason, Jeanine, Kayla, Kupono, Melissa, Phillip, and Randi battle it out for the slots.

 

The 2009 "So You Think You Can Dance" nationwide tour kicks off Sept. 20 in Manchester, N.H. Tickets go on sale July 25.

 

The official schedule follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the top six couples performing two dances apiece, we had a LOT of show tonight, so let's get right to what happened on the dance floor.  Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi kicked the evening off with a Doriana Sanchez disco.  Ade was worried about looking "wack" if they didn't have the proper amount of disco "swagger," but he had nothing to worry about. I thought he looked great handling the genre.  Melissa, I thought, could have given herself in a little bit more to the snap and crackle of disco, but the judges were very forgiving, because she's a ballet dancer and disco is way outside her comfort zone. 

Next, Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau danced a Mia Michaels-arranged contemporary number about addiction -- Kupono playing the poison, Kayla the addict. Was there any doubt it would be a memorable dance?  Kupono controlled Kayla, she tried to escape him, he threw her around.  I really liked Kayla's acting in the performance (although Nigel claimed it was hard to see her face) but my favorite detail of the dance was how Kayla began it all by running to Kupono.  Finally, I feel like I am on board with how much the judges (who adored the performance) worship Kayla.

Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover performed a Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin foxtrot, one that was choreographed so as to have a little more female strength and sexiness in it than usual.  It was a very cool, suave dance, with Jason and Caitlin looking like they were performing in some 1930s nightclub.  I wish their performance had, to steal Ade's word, a tiny bit more swagger in it, but I enjoyed it. The judges were impressed by how easy Jason and Caitlin made it look, although guest judge Tyce Diorio wanted a bit more out of Caitlin's eyes (she looked lovely, incidentally).

I was laughing at the happy head-bopping Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb did before the commercial in their traditional Russian costumes.  And, before their Youri Nelzine and Lilia Babenko-choreographed Russian folk dance, I did get excited for it, per Jeanine's instructions.  I must be a sucker for the power of suggestion because while their dance, as Nigel said, was very "folky," I enjoyed it and thought it was fun and different, but the judges seemed to hate the dance (even though they liked the dancers).  I felt bad for Phillip and Jeanine: It seemed like there wasn't anything they could have done to make the judges like the performance, so it was confusing why the dance was included as one of the genres. 

Next, Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak danced a hip-hop routine designed by Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo wherein they portrayed a young couple that just discovered a baby was on the way.  I rolled my eyes a little bit at the beginning of the performance, as Evan hid a prop engagement ring (sometimes Nappy-Tabs' dances are a little too literal for me), but it was a good performance, especially because, as Nigel pointed out, neither Randi or Evan tried to BE hip-hop, they just danced it. Randi especially did an excellent job emoting terrified elation, and I liked her dancing through Evan's arms.  Nigel declared them one of his favorite couples, and Mary was pleased and gave a mini-whoop, even though she admitted she had been expecting a trainwreck. 

I discovered a small theme with tonight's episode, and that for me involved the less-high-profile member of a few couples becoming the standout star.  That happened with Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant, who danced Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo's Argentinian tango.  I couldn't take my eyes off Janette the entire time: she was sexy, she emoted a perfect tango attitude, and her legs were on fire.  I knew that Brandon was doing a good job as well because he was there for her every step of the way, but for me Janette just stole the show.  After the performance, Nigel was silent for a few tense moments before he stood to give the dancers an ovation and the other judges joined in.  Tyce expressed his appreciation by unrolling some complicated metaphor about fresh-squeezed orange juice, and I pondered my new theory that Tyce is related to Jeff Goldblum. 

Before we got to the second round of dances, Cat Deeley announced that next week the partners would be broken up, so the dancers discussed what they'd miss most about their partners. It was touching to see Melissa cry when she talked about what she'd miss about Ade.  They danced a Ron Montez traditional waltz, which was lovely, pretty without being fusty: I especially loved Ade's turns toward the end.  In some ways it gave me the same feeling as their pas des deux from last week. The judges liked it a lot, although Tyce thought that Melissa can work harder at dances like that since she's such a natural, she makes it look a little easy.  I wonder how Melissa will fare next week without Ade: I think he really brings out the best in her and she might be a little boring without him.

Fresh off their adored Mia Michaels routine,  Kupono and Kayla danced a Joey Dowling Broadway number, striving to capture the love at first sight feel from "West Side Story."  This was one of those dances where everything LOOKED fine, but I wasn't feeling a certain magic, but I couldn't tell if maybe it was just me.  It wasn't: Nigel said that the dance lacked the danger of those from "West Side Story" and that Kupono and Kayla didn't get into character enough.  "I could say you danced it well, but I need more now," he said, which summed it up perfectly.

I am worried for Caitlin and Jason after tonight. I feel like this was the episode where they really needed to grab the judges and audience by the ears and make them pay attention, but they didn't quite get there.  Their bodies looked beautiful together in Mandy Moore's lyrical jazz dance but, as Mary said, it wasn't magical, and Nigel worried about their chemistry.  I don't have anything bad to say about Caitlin and Jason, but they haven't given me goosebumps.

Again, while I think Phillip was the audience darling of his couple, Jeanine has emerged as the true star of the duet.  They danced a jive as choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin  Nigel pointed out that Phillip was a little nervous and slipped during his dance but otherwise lauded him for doing well outside his genre.  Jeanine however was, as the judges pointed out, the star of the performance, adding a little Broadway drama to her sexy jive. She looked a little like a living Vargas girl to me, and the judges guaranteed that she'd be back next week. 

Randi and Evan didn't fare quite as well with their ballroom routine, a sexy samba choreographed by Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev of season three of the show.  As she tends to do, Randi expressed trepidation over whether she could portray a sexy beast, and of course she totally nailed it. Evan, on the other hand, looked a little scared during the performance, and he looked like he was working a little too hard during the lifts.  The judges loved Randi's heat but didn't think Evan (who, again, I used to consider the audience favorite of the two) was dynamic enough. It will be odd when this petite pair is broken up. 

The best (or one of the best) was saved for last in this long night of dancing, as Janette and Brandon danced a Wade Robson jazz routine. They played jewel thieves, Janette impulsive, Brandon thoughtful.  I loved their mod costumes with the white sunglasses--they reminded me of Johnny Depp's getup in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."  It was a highly stylized routine and this was just one of those dances where the performers hit their moves hard and were snappy where they needed to be.  As Mary said, with every move the pair painted clear pictures.

Like I wrote above, I predict Caitlin and Jason will be in trouble tomorrow night, although who knows who else will make up the bottom three with them.

--Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

Karla on her week with Vitolio:
It was really hard, because after [former partner ] Jonathan [Platero] got eliminated I was really emotional, because we got attached and then all of a sudden I got paired up with a brand-new partner. I had to find an emotional connection in very little time, plus had an added layer of the hardest dance style to work with, so it was a challenge, but we're both professionals and we both had that motivation to show America that we could attack this kiss of death. That's what brought us together, and that made it easier.

On the quickstep being known as the "kiss of death" on "SYTYCD":
I think I was already practicing my solo when I opened that card that told us we'd be doing that dance,  especially when everyone else around us had a genre in their comfort zone. I felt almost defeated, but there was motivation to attack the dance's hard style. The blessing was having Jean-Marc [Généreux] as a choreographer. He was very involved and invested in us, and he knew it would be a difficult task and that it's a hard dance to learn: Your feet have to work very fast, and you have to work intimately with your partner, and that was an additional challenge. I think Jean-Marc guided us a lot with the analogies he used to help us with frame and finding that connection physically. He gave us a great routine choreographically to make it easier because there were other things to focus on, like the story and acting, so we weren't too focused on doing the quickstep perfectly.

What's next:
Relaxing and spending time with family. I got a few offers the day after the elimination episode to teach and to perform and to do the Radio City Rockettes show and maybe get into acting. 

Vitolio on how dancing saved his life:
I saw a Michael Jackson video in early age and that inspired me: Once I got out of an orphanage [in Haiti] I used dance as a way to survive and make money in the street and take care of myself and my grandma.  

How it felt to be in the bottom three the third time:
I was a little surprised because, from the judges' critiques the night before, we thought we had done an awesome quickstep. I knew we were somehow going to be in there because America had its favorites and wasn't going to put its favorites aside to vote for us, but I was hoping for a miracle still.

What's next:
I'm back in Miami and I'm looking for an agent in L.A., so I'm planning on moving to L.A. and keep on dancing and choreographing and getting into acting and modeling, and maybe writing a book about my life story.

— Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

Way to go, America and judges: Last night I couldn't figure out who on "So You Think You Can Dance" should go home, but I couldn't agree more with the decision.

Before we got to the unpleasantness, the dancers performed a group number to "A Brand New Day" from "The Wiz" as choreographed by Tyce Diorio, and it was a joyous Broadway number (and probably a mini Michael Jackson tribute). 

As we got to the first part of eliminations, I was surprised to learn that Karla Garcia and Vitolio Jeune were in the bottom three instead of Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak. The judges were lukewarm for Randi and Evan's frug, and I expected the fun factor of Vitolio and Karla's quickstep and the novelty of her quick-change dress would have had the calls rolling in. 

The judges were shocked, next, to learn that Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau were in the bottom three, and I was surprised in that I thought their creepy vampire dance from last night went over well. But when they were up against Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant and Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi, somebody in that crowd had to be in the bottom three and it would be a shock no matter who it was. 

Finally, Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb were the last couple sent to the bottom three: I was really glad that America dialed in and saved Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover after their unusual alien dance. Moreover, I was glad that finally Phillip had to dance for his life, since his solos are probably the most fun to watch in the entire competition. 

Continuing the routine of guest dance performances, Desmond Richardson and Patricia Hachey performed a pas de deux. Let's just forget the dance for a second: These two dancers' bodies and the things they did with them were just sick.  And the dance, of course, was beautiful.  But ogling Desmond's thighs and watching Patricia bring her thigh up to her ear, well, I was filled with awe.

We got to the solos and began with Karla. I enjoyed her dance, which I thought was much more quirky and interesting than she is on the show (which turned out to be good for her solo, but the fact that the rest of her time on the show was not quite memorable was bad for her overall).  Vitolio danced next, and my reaction was, "I'm sick of seeing Vitolio do solos." As Nigel said, he brings a presence through the stage, but doesn't quite deliver beyond that.  When Kayla danced, I wrote "I'm going to wait to see what the judges say about this. Meh," and actually was backed up by Nigel, who said her solo was "static."  Kupono's solo was, well, annoying: Set to a well-known ukelele version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" he emoted more than he danced. Sure, he seemed overjoyed to be alive, but he didn't really dance. I thought for sure Kupono's time was up when he said, "Going home wouldn't be that bad."  Finally, Jeanine showed off a much more classical, serious and technically skilled side than I expected from her in her solo, which I thought was a good move (it paid off: Nigel called it the best solo of the night) and Phillip did his amazing freestyle that was as fun as I expected -- half the entertainment in watching Phillip perform is the character her brings onstage, an ironic sort of goof.

Before we got to the actual eliminations, Kelly Clarkson sang "I Do Not Hook Up." I adore Kelly: She can actually sing, she makes it look easy and she seems like she is both a professional and yet has fun onstage.  She made most of the prior musical guests this season look like chopped liver. 

Finally, Nigel delivered the news: Jeanine and Phillip were both saved, and when pitted against Kayla, Karla had no chance. I thought she did a good job last night, but trying to come up with a memorable performance of hers, I blanked, so I think it made sense that she would go home next.

I'm not sure exactly why Vitolio got sent home instead of Kupono, except that maybe the judges were just, like me, slightly more sick of seeing Vitolio dance for his life than Kupono.

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

This has been the episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" that I've been waiting for all season. While I liked some performances more than others, I really enjoyed parts of every dance, which means I'm growing closer to the contestants, which means eliminations will be more difficult, which means the dancers are going to have to step it up more and the show can only get better.  Thank goodness.

I knew it would be a good episode with Mia Michaels sitting on the judges' panel. Cat Deeley (wearing a fun, flirty fuchsia dress with a black studded belt) asked Mia if she had anything to say since the last time she was on the show, and Mia rubbed her hands in anticipation and said, "Without naming names, my opinion has changed for the better." She was obviously talking about Brandon Bryant, who she took to task last time she was on the show for his "attitude," but Nigel Lythgoe egged her on by saying, "Would this be for a small male dancer? Were the initials Brandon?" 

So Brandon and his partner Janette Manrara got to show off for Mia with a cha cha cha choreographed by Jean-Marc Généreux.  I feel like in his auditions Brandon portrayed a strong, dignified contemporary dancer, but he can really show off fast and fun dances like this and disco. And I really like Janette: There's something about her (probably her hair) that just reminds me of another era, and I like that about her. Their chemistry is really coming together on stage as well. All the judges were effusive in their praise of the dancers, with Mary (who was actually rather subdued this evening compared to others) screaming at the top of her longs. Mia also took the moment to tell Brandon that she's hard on him because she knows how good he can be. So the evening was off to a great start. 

After being sent home on "So You Think You Can Dance," contestants Jonathan Platero and Asuka Kondoh talked with journalists about their experiences on the show and as dancers:

Jonathan Platero

On his dance inspirations:
Michael Jackson was an inspiration to me: I grew up watching his videos and trying to learn his movies. Janet Jackson too: I was a fan of '80s dance.  I've always loved music videos, and I'd love to be a dancer for her.

How it felt for Nigel Lythgoe to bet he'd be in the bottom three after his Wednesday night hip-hop dance:
It hurt a little bit. I didn't think he'd be as tough as he was, but each judge is entitled to his own opinion. It was a tough style for me, so I couldn't blame him.

On any dance opportunities he wished he'd been able to experience on the show:
I was really looking forward to working with Sonya [Tayeh] for jazz -- that would have been awesome. 

Asuka Kondoh

On her choice of footwear during her solos:
I'm most comfortable dancing in heels because I'm a ballroom dancer, and that shows off best what I do.  If my solo looked strange it's because I didn't have a partner -- I was imagining I was holding my partner's hand.

On whether she was worried her number would be up when fellow ballroom dancer Max Kapitannikov was eliminated last week:
I knew that I had to try even harder because I'm a ballroom dancer -- I think it's a little bit harder for us to show our ability because it is a partner dance, but I didn't think just because he went home I would be.

On her "SYTYCD" partner, Vitolio Jeune:
We had our ups and downs but learned to have some chemistry and connect with each other. I hope that I can have the same kind of relationship I had with Vitiolio with every partner I get because it was wonderful. 

The most difficult genre to learn:
Jazz, because it was so against what I normally want to do as a Latin dancer: level changes, trying to dance in jazz shoes, being on bent knees, being lifted.

On whether her audition partner, Ricky Sun, will be trying out for Season 6 of the show:
 I have no idea -- you'll have to find out and watch!

-- Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

So! It was a little hard to focus on tonight's show thanks to some goings-on in the showbiz world, but after a sultry Latin/hip-hop group dance choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin and Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo, "So You Think You Can Dance" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe addressed it all.  He paid a classy tribute to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and of course Michael Jackson.  Of all the shows on TV right now, I think "SYTYCD" could best pay tribute to Jackson since his dancing was such a large part of his talent. I got goosebumps watching their clip of the "Thriller" video and my only complaint was that they didn't show the whole thing. 

As for narrowing the dancers to the bottom three couples, it wasn't a surprise to me that two couples, Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune and Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero, were asked to perform solos.  While the judges liked Asuka and Vitolio's jazz dance, I think it was the kind of dance that didn't translate that well to the audience at home. The judges practically hated Karla and Jonathan's hip-hop routine, meanwhile, and I think America listened. The third couple put in the bottom three was Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover, which was somewhat surprising to me: I thought the audience would have been more in favor of their paso doble. But personally I think that for a while Phillip Chbeeb is going to be a spoiler in the competition (which I have no problem with -- I just think that he's an audience favorite and that will affect things). 

Before we got to the solo performances, we saw a performance from a group called the Rage Boyz Crew, which was basically a group of about 20 boys ranging in age from maybe 7 to 17 doing hip-hop en masse, wearing cute uniforms and tossing an adorable tot in the air. Host Cat Deeley clearly wanted to put the tiniest one in her pocket (if she had one in her sultry jungle-themed jumpsuit). A band called the Veronicas also performed, and for a while I thought they were the Donnas, only slimmed down to a frightening extent. The Veronicas actually seemed to sing their song, I think, which means they're a step up in terms of musical acts for the season.

Asuka kicked off the solos: I thought her ballroom routine was fine but basically I thought to myself, "If Max went home, then she should, too." The judges didn't seem to find Vitolio's solo that great, but I admire the way he uses his body onstage: He just brings life to the stage when I see him do solos.  Nigel claimed that Karla was trying too hard in her solo, but I found her to be a more interesting dancer than she's been throughout the competition. I didn't find Jonathan's solo especially remarkable in terms of emotion or technique, however, and the judges agreed with me. Caitlin threw some impressive gymnastics into her solo, which the judges loved: that particular solo didn't speak to me much but I like Caitlin in the competition and hoped she'd stay. And finally, I really liked Jason's solo -- I thought it showed off elements of him that we haven't seen in the paired dancing, but Nigel thought it reeked of desperation. 

In the end, though, Asuka was eliminated for not growing enough throughout the competition, and Jonathan was deemed the weakest of the boys who performed solos tonight. Sorry, girls!  Now this means that Karla and Vitolio will be dancing together next week. 

Tomorrow I will be chatting with Asuka and Jonathan about their time on the show: if you have any questions you'd like me to try to ask them, please let me know in the comments section.

-- Claire Zulkey

(Art: FOX)

'So You Think You Can Dance': Final thoughts from Phillip Chbeeb and Caitlin Kinney

On Friday, the latest eliminated dancers from "So You Think You Can Dance," Phillip Chbeeb and Caitlin Kinney, chatted on a conference call with journalists about their experiences on the show and more. Here are a few excerpts:

Phillip Chbeeb on engineering and school: Engineering, the major itself, is so stressful that I really needed an outlet of some sort and I feel like dance has provided that easily whenever engineering gets too stressful. But at the same time, it held me in my dance because my dance was more mathematical-minded than human emotion-driven. So it’s been a really interesting relationship between the science and the dancing.

I’m taking a little bit of time off [from school] and surprisingly, this worked out perfectly because I was going through a lot of money issues before the show happened. It’s amazing how things work out.  It’s a blessing. The minute money problems got in the way of my college education, I got on the show and get on tour. So I’m definitely, hopefully going to save up with this tour and I’ll be back in school within a semester of that, well, whenever the tour ends, so that will be great. I’ve already seen my school and they’re excited to have me back.

On what's next: I just got cut but I’m going back to Houston and I’m going to start choreographing, because that’s truly my passion, is choreography. So I’ll be doing that and then hopefully in a year or two you’ll see me choreographing for the show and at the same time I’ll be following my physics ambitions.

Caitlin Kinney on when the judges questioned her chemistry with partner Jason Glover: I think Jason and I always struggled when they said that to us because we’re thinking, "My God, with all the couples, we really bonded as friends." We hung out probably the most of any other couples, and I think we did have great chemistry. I think my boyfriend was probably thrilled that they kept saying they see no chemistry. But I don’t know what the deal was with that. I don’t know. It’s not something we really.…  At some point you’re like, “Oh my God.  We’re putting our heart and soul into this. We’re in it together.  We’re doing it together.” And you can only do so much. They either see it or they don’t. 

With the Bollywood routine; obviously we had to kiss at the end. So it started off with such a bang that there really was nowhere to go from there. There wasn’t any growing on the chemistry. It was always expected to be so intense and so emotional, whereas some of the pieces didn’t really call for that. The alien piece, you weren’t supposed to have any sort of lovey-dovey chemistry, that’s for sure. But I think Jason and I are great friends. I just had a wonderful time working with him. We got along so well. I wouldn’t have had any other partner.

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

I was half right about tonight's elimination. The half that I didn't predict was a surprise, but I think a good choice by the judges.  But let's save that for the end.

The dancers led off with a very sharp military-inspired hip-hop dance set to the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo, that was quite reminiscent of Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation" video.  Speaking of which, after acknowledging his 60th birthday, judge Nigel Lythgoe broke the sad news that there would be no Michael Jackson tribute, as the powers-that-be wouldn't release the music. Ah well, maybe it's for the best: Even though a "So You Think You Can Dance," tribute would have been amazing, after this week's emotional memorial, perhaps it's good just to let it rest for a bit.

Cat brought out the couples to be sent to the bottom three. I predicted accurately last night that Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover would be in trouble, plus, after their amazing tango and jazz routines, it was no surprise that Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant were safe. Mary Murphy supposed that Caitlin and Jason's problem was that they could never surpass their original, popular Bollywood dance. 

The audience was shocked when Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb were sent to the bottom three, but I think it would have been just as surprising if Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak were put down there as well, since each couple performed a dance that the judges really liked and another that they were slightly lukewarm about, and each has a powerhouse girl and a popular but somewhat limited guy. 

Before they went on with the first cuts, Nigel let everyone know that pretty much everybody on tonight's episode would be going on tour, since the show would need swing dancers, so that took a little bit of the drama out of the whole top 10 thing. 

Finally, Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi were sent to the bottom three, in lieu of Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau. It's possible that Kayla and Kupono's Mia Michaels dance saved them, but moreover I'm  glad not to see them in the bottom three for once, just for the sake of some new scenery.  I thought it was a little odd of Tyce Diorio to call Ade out for his energy level allegedly dropping last night: I didn't agree, and it seemed a little cruel to blame one half of a couple for being in the bottom three. 

We got to the solos. Caitlin's was quite adorable and showed off her personality, but I wasn't sure if it was going to be enough to keep her in the competition (I assumed that either she or Melissa would be eliminated). Jason threw a ton of stuff into his solo once again, and I predicted, incorrectly, that the judges would call it "desperate" and say that he didn't connect with his audience. Jeanine's solo was, like last week's, both more technically proficient and serious than what you expect from someone who comes off so cute in her choreographed dances. Phillip was just fun to watch -- he makes boring things like elbows and wrists look cool. I felt like I was getting a workout watching Melissa's solo, as she performed in her toe shoes: She really is an amazing physical specimen of a human.  And Ade received a standing ovation for his solo, which contained a lot of explosive moves and gymnastics that moved him all over the stage. 

Before the eliminations, David Guetta and Kelly Rowland performed a song called "When Love Takes Over" that sounded like a mashup of Coldplay's "Speed of Sound" and Jordin Sparks' "No Air."  For those of you keeping track at home, she did appear to sing live, for better or for worse. 

Nigel kept the eliminations short and sweet, not giving Caitlin much of a reason why she was sent home instead of Melissa or Jeanine. Poor Caitlin seemed very shook up about the news. I was surprised that Phillip, and not Jason, was going home. However, looking back, there wasn't an episode where the judges didn't want more from Phillip, so I think it was a good choice, although we'll all miss him. Good news for those of you following the "So You Think You Can Dance" tour, though: Both will be appearing!

Next week: new couples! 

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

After tonight’s edition of “So You Think You Can Dance” only 5 couples will remain – and they’ll all be going on tour!

 

Which 10? You’ll have to tune in to watch Ade, Brandon, Caitlin, Evan, Janette, Jason, Jeanine, Kayla, Kupono, Melissa, Phillip, and Randi battle it out for the slots.

 

The 2009 "So You Think You Can Dance" nationwide tour kicks off Sept. 20 in Manchester, N.H. Tickets go on sale July 25.

 

The official schedule follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the top six couples performing two dances apiece, we had a LOT of show tonight, so let's get right to what happened on the dance floor.  Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi kicked the evening off with a Doriana Sanchez disco.  Ade was worried about looking "wack" if they didn't have the proper amount of disco "swagger," but he had nothing to worry about. I thought he looked great handling the genre.  Melissa, I thought, could have given herself in a little bit more to the snap and crackle of disco, but the judges were very forgiving, because she's a ballet dancer and disco is way outside her comfort zone. 

Next, Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau danced a Mia Michaels-arranged contemporary number about addiction -- Kupono playing the poison, Kayla the addict. Was there any doubt it would be a memorable dance?  Kupono controlled Kayla, she tried to escape him, he threw her around.  I really liked Kayla's acting in the performance (although Nigel claimed it was hard to see her face) but my favorite detail of the dance was how Kayla began it all by running to Kupono.  Finally, I feel like I am on board with how much the judges (who adored the performance) worship Kayla.

Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover performed a Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin foxtrot, one that was choreographed so as to have a little more female strength and sexiness in it than usual.  It was a very cool, suave dance, with Jason and Caitlin looking like they were performing in some 1930s nightclub.  I wish their performance had, to steal Ade's word, a tiny bit more swagger in it, but I enjoyed it. The judges were impressed by how easy Jason and Caitlin made it look, although guest judge Tyce Diorio wanted a bit more out of Caitlin's eyes (she looked lovely, incidentally).

I was laughing at the happy head-bopping Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb did before the commercial in their traditional Russian costumes.  And, before their Youri Nelzine and Lilia Babenko-choreographed Russian folk dance, I did get excited for it, per Jeanine's instructions.  I must be a sucker for the power of suggestion because while their dance, as Nigel said, was very "folky," I enjoyed it and thought it was fun and different, but the judges seemed to hate the dance (even though they liked the dancers).  I felt bad for Phillip and Jeanine: It seemed like there wasn't anything they could have done to make the judges like the performance, so it was confusing why the dance was included as one of the genres. 

Next, Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak danced a hip-hop routine designed by Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo wherein they portrayed a young couple that just discovered a baby was on the way.  I rolled my eyes a little bit at the beginning of the performance, as Evan hid a prop engagement ring (sometimes Nappy-Tabs' dances are a little too literal for me), but it was a good performance, especially because, as Nigel pointed out, neither Randi or Evan tried to BE hip-hop, they just danced it. Randi especially did an excellent job emoting terrified elation, and I liked her dancing through Evan's arms.  Nigel declared them one of his favorite couples, and Mary was pleased and gave a mini-whoop, even though she admitted she had been expecting a trainwreck. 

I discovered a small theme with tonight's episode, and that for me involved the less-high-profile member of a few couples becoming the standout star.  That happened with Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant, who danced Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo's Argentinian tango.  I couldn't take my eyes off Janette the entire time: she was sexy, she emoted a perfect tango attitude, and her legs were on fire.  I knew that Brandon was doing a good job as well because he was there for her every step of the way, but for me Janette just stole the show.  After the performance, Nigel was silent for a few tense moments before he stood to give the dancers an ovation and the other judges joined in.  Tyce expressed his appreciation by unrolling some complicated metaphor about fresh-squeezed orange juice, and I pondered my new theory that Tyce is related to Jeff Goldblum. 

Before we got to the second round of dances, Cat Deeley announced that next week the partners would be broken up, so the dancers discussed what they'd miss most about their partners. It was touching to see Melissa cry when she talked about what she'd miss about Ade.  They danced a Ron Montez traditional waltz, which was lovely, pretty without being fusty: I especially loved Ade's turns toward the end.  In some ways it gave me the same feeling as their pas des deux from last week. The judges liked it a lot, although Tyce thought that Melissa can work harder at dances like that since she's such a natural, she makes it look a little easy.  I wonder how Melissa will fare next week without Ade: I think he really brings out the best in her and she might be a little boring without him.

Fresh off their adored Mia Michaels routine,  Kupono and Kayla danced a Joey Dowling Broadway number, striving to capture the love at first sight feel from "West Side Story."  This was one of those dances where everything LOOKED fine, but I wasn't feeling a certain magic, but I couldn't tell if maybe it was just me.  It wasn't: Nigel said that the dance lacked the danger of those from "West Side Story" and that Kupono and Kayla didn't get into character enough.  "I could say you danced it well, but I need more now," he said, which summed it up perfectly.

I am worried for Caitlin and Jason after tonight. I feel like this was the episode where they really needed to grab the judges and audience by the ears and make them pay attention, but they didn't quite get there.  Their bodies looked beautiful together in Mandy Moore's lyrical jazz dance but, as Mary said, it wasn't magical, and Nigel worried about their chemistry.  I don't have anything bad to say about Caitlin and Jason, but they haven't given me goosebumps.

Again, while I think Phillip was the audience darling of his couple, Jeanine has emerged as the true star of the duet.  They danced a jive as choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin  Nigel pointed out that Phillip was a little nervous and slipped during his dance but otherwise lauded him for doing well outside his genre.  Jeanine however was, as the judges pointed out, the star of the performance, adding a little Broadway drama to her sexy jive. She looked a little like a living Vargas girl to me, and the judges guaranteed that she'd be back next week. 

Randi and Evan didn't fare quite as well with their ballroom routine, a sexy samba choreographed by Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev of season three of the show.  As she tends to do, Randi expressed trepidation over whether she could portray a sexy beast, and of course she totally nailed it. Evan, on the other hand, looked a little scared during the performance, and he looked like he was working a little too hard during the lifts.  The judges loved Randi's heat but didn't think Evan (who, again, I used to consider the audience favorite of the two) was dynamic enough. It will be odd when this petite pair is broken up. 

The best (or one of the best) was saved for last in this long night of dancing, as Janette and Brandon danced a Wade Robson jazz routine. They played jewel thieves, Janette impulsive, Brandon thoughtful.  I loved their mod costumes with the white sunglasses--they reminded me of Johnny Depp's getup in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."  It was a highly stylized routine and this was just one of those dances where the performers hit their moves hard and were snappy where they needed to be.  As Mary said, with every move the pair painted clear pictures.

Like I wrote above, I predict Caitlin and Jason will be in trouble tomorrow night, although who knows who else will make up the bottom three with them.

--Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

Karla on her week with Vitolio:
It was really hard, because after [former partner ] Jonathan [Platero] got eliminated I was really emotional, because we got attached and then all of a sudden I got paired up with a brand-new partner. I had to find an emotional connection in very little time, plus had an added layer of the hardest dance style to work with, so it was a challenge, but we're both professionals and we both had that motivation to show America that we could attack this kiss of death. That's what brought us together, and that made it easier.

On the quickstep being known as the "kiss of death" on "SYTYCD":
I think I was already practicing my solo when I opened that card that told us we'd be doing that dance,  especially when everyone else around us had a genre in their comfort zone. I felt almost defeated, but there was motivation to attack the dance's hard style. The blessing was having Jean-Marc [Généreux] as a choreographer. He was very involved and invested in us, and he knew it would be a difficult task and that it's a hard dance to learn: Your feet have to work very fast, and you have to work intimately with your partner, and that was an additional challenge. I think Jean-Marc guided us a lot with the analogies he used to help us with frame and finding that connection physically. He gave us a great routine choreographically to make it easier because there were other things to focus on, like the story and acting, so we weren't too focused on doing the quickstep perfectly.

What's next:
Relaxing and spending time with family. I got a few offers the day after the elimination episode to teach and to perform and to do the Radio City Rockettes show and maybe get into acting. 

Vitolio on how dancing saved his life:
I saw a Michael Jackson video in early age and that inspired me: Once I got out of an orphanage [in Haiti] I used dance as a way to survive and make money in the street and take care of myself and my grandma.  

How it felt to be in the bottom three the third time:
I was a little surprised because, from the judges' critiques the night before, we thought we had done an awesome quickstep. I knew we were somehow going to be in there because America had its favorites and wasn't going to put its favorites aside to vote for us, but I was hoping for a miracle still.

What's next:
I'm back in Miami and I'm looking for an agent in L.A., so I'm planning on moving to L.A. and keep on dancing and choreographing and getting into acting and modeling, and maybe writing a book about my life story.

— Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

Way to go, America and judges: Last night I couldn't figure out who on "So You Think You Can Dance" should go home, but I couldn't agree more with the decision.

Before we got to the unpleasantness, the dancers performed a group number to "A Brand New Day" from "The Wiz" as choreographed by Tyce Diorio, and it was a joyous Broadway number (and probably a mini Michael Jackson tribute). 

As we got to the first part of eliminations, I was surprised to learn that Karla Garcia and Vitolio Jeune were in the bottom three instead of Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak. The judges were lukewarm for Randi and Evan's frug, and I expected the fun factor of Vitolio and Karla's quickstep and the novelty of her quick-change dress would have had the calls rolling in. 

The judges were shocked, next, to learn that Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau were in the bottom three, and I was surprised in that I thought their creepy vampire dance from last night went over well. But when they were up against Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant and Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi, somebody in that crowd had to be in the bottom three and it would be a shock no matter who it was. 

Finally, Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb were the last couple sent to the bottom three: I was really glad that America dialed in and saved Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover after their unusual alien dance. Moreover, I was glad that finally Phillip had to dance for his life, since his solos are probably the most fun to watch in the entire competition. 

Continuing the routine of guest dance performances, Desmond Richardson and Patricia Hachey performed a pas de deux. Let's just forget the dance for a second: These two dancers' bodies and the things they did with them were just sick.  And the dance, of course, was beautiful.  But ogling Desmond's thighs and watching Patricia bring her thigh up to her ear, well, I was filled with awe.

We got to the solos and began with Karla. I enjoyed her dance, which I thought was much more quirky and interesting than she is on the show (which turned out to be good for her solo, but the fact that the rest of her time on the show was not quite memorable was bad for her overall).  Vitolio danced next, and my reaction was, "I'm sick of seeing Vitolio do solos." As Nigel said, he brings a presence through the stage, but doesn't quite deliver beyond that.  When Kayla danced, I wrote "I'm going to wait to see what the judges say about this. Meh," and actually was backed up by Nigel, who said her solo was "static."  Kupono's solo was, well, annoying: Set to a well-known ukelele version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" he emoted more than he danced. Sure, he seemed overjoyed to be alive, but he didn't really dance. I thought for sure Kupono's time was up when he said, "Going home wouldn't be that bad."  Finally, Jeanine showed off a much more classical, serious and technically skilled side than I expected from her in her solo, which I thought was a good move (it paid off: Nigel called it the best solo of the night) and Phillip did his amazing freestyle that was as fun as I expected -- half the entertainment in watching Phillip perform is the character her brings onstage, an ironic sort of goof.

Before we got to the actual eliminations, Kelly Clarkson sang "I Do Not Hook Up." I adore Kelly: She can actually sing, she makes it look easy and she seems like she is both a professional and yet has fun onstage.  She made most of the prior musical guests this season look like chopped liver. 

Finally, Nigel delivered the news: Jeanine and Phillip were both saved, and when pitted against Kayla, Karla had no chance. I thought she did a good job last night, but trying to come up with a memorable performance of hers, I blanked, so I think it made sense that she would go home next.

I'm not sure exactly why Vitolio got sent home instead of Kupono, except that maybe the judges were just, like me, slightly more sick of seeing Vitolio dance for his life than Kupono.

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

This has been the episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" that I've been waiting for all season. While I liked some performances more than others, I really enjoyed parts of every dance, which means I'm growing closer to the contestants, which means eliminations will be more difficult, which means the dancers are going to have to step it up more and the show can only get better.  Thank goodness.

I knew it would be a good episode with Mia Michaels sitting on the judges' panel. Cat Deeley (wearing a fun, flirty fuchsia dress with a black studded belt) asked Mia if she had anything to say since the last time she was on the show, and Mia rubbed her hands in anticipation and said, "Without naming names, my opinion has changed for the better." She was obviously talking about Brandon Bryant, who she took to task last time she was on the show for his "attitude," but Nigel Lythgoe egged her on by saying, "Would this be for a small male dancer? Were the initials Brandon?" 

So Brandon and his partner Janette Manrara got to show off for Mia with a cha cha cha choreographed by Jean-Marc Généreux.  I feel like in his auditions Brandon portrayed a strong, dignified contemporary dancer, but he can really show off fast and fun dances like this and disco. And I really like Janette: There's something about her (probably her hair) that just reminds me of another era, and I like that about her. Their chemistry is really coming together on stage as well. All the judges were effusive in their praise of the dancers, with Mary (who was actually rather subdued this evening compared to others) screaming at the top of her longs. Mia also took the moment to tell Brandon that she's hard on him because she knows how good he can be. So the evening was off to a great start. 

After being sent home on "So You Think You Can Dance," contestants Jonathan Platero and Asuka Kondoh talked with journalists about their experiences on the show and as dancers:

Jonathan Platero

On his dance inspirations:
Michael Jackson was an inspiration to me: I grew up watching his videos and trying to learn his movies. Janet Jackson too: I was a fan of '80s dance.  I've always loved music videos, and I'd love to be a dancer for her.

How it felt for Nigel Lythgoe to bet he'd be in the bottom three after his Wednesday night hip-hop dance:
It hurt a little bit. I didn't think he'd be as tough as he was, but each judge is entitled to his own opinion. It was a tough style for me, so I couldn't blame him.

On any dance opportunities he wished he'd been able to experience on the show:
I was really looking forward to working with Sonya [Tayeh] for jazz -- that would have been awesome. 

Asuka Kondoh

On her choice of footwear during her solos:
I'm most comfortable dancing in heels because I'm a ballroom dancer, and that shows off best what I do.  If my solo looked strange it's because I didn't have a partner -- I was imagining I was holding my partner's hand.

On whether she was worried her number would be up when fellow ballroom dancer Max Kapitannikov was eliminated last week:
I knew that I had to try even harder because I'm a ballroom dancer -- I think it's a little bit harder for us to show our ability because it is a partner dance, but I didn't think just because he went home I would be.

On her "SYTYCD" partner, Vitolio Jeune:
We had our ups and downs but learned to have some chemistry and connect with each other. I hope that I can have the same kind of relationship I had with Vitiolio with every partner I get because it was wonderful. 

The most difficult genre to learn:
Jazz, because it was so against what I normally want to do as a Latin dancer: level changes, trying to dance in jazz shoes, being on bent knees, being lifted.

On whether her audition partner, Ricky Sun, will be trying out for Season 6 of the show:
 I have no idea -- you'll have to find out and watch!

-- Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

So! It was a little hard to focus on tonight's show thanks to some goings-on in the showbiz world, but after a sultry Latin/hip-hop group dance choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin and Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo, "So You Think You Can Dance" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe addressed it all.  He paid a classy tribute to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and of course Michael Jackson.  Of all the shows on TV right now, I think "SYTYCD" could best pay tribute to Jackson since his dancing was such a large part of his talent. I got goosebumps watching their clip of the "Thriller" video and my only complaint was that they didn't show the whole thing. 

As for narrowing the dancers to the bottom three couples, it wasn't a surprise to me that two couples, Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune and Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero, were asked to perform solos.  While the judges liked Asuka and Vitolio's jazz dance, I think it was the kind of dance that didn't translate that well to the audience at home. The judges practically hated Karla and Jonathan's hip-hop routine, meanwhile, and I think America listened. The third couple put in the bottom three was Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover, which was somewhat surprising to me: I thought the audience would have been more in favor of their paso doble. But personally I think that for a while Phillip Chbeeb is going to be a spoiler in the competition (which I have no problem with -- I just think that he's an audience favorite and that will affect things). 

Before we got to the solo performances, we saw a performance from a group called the Rage Boyz Crew, which was basically a group of about 20 boys ranging in age from maybe 7 to 17 doing hip-hop en masse, wearing cute uniforms and tossing an adorable tot in the air. Host Cat Deeley clearly wanted to put the tiniest one in her pocket (if she had one in her sultry jungle-themed jumpsuit). A band called the Veronicas also performed, and for a while I thought they were the Donnas, only slimmed down to a frightening extent. The Veronicas actually seemed to sing their song, I think, which means they're a step up in terms of musical acts for the season.

Asuka kicked off the solos: I thought her ballroom routine was fine but basically I thought to myself, "If Max went home, then she should, too." The judges didn't seem to find Vitolio's solo that great, but I admire the way he uses his body onstage: He just brings life to the stage when I see him do solos.  Nigel claimed that Karla was trying too hard in her solo, but I found her to be a more interesting dancer than she's been throughout the competition. I didn't find Jonathan's solo especially remarkable in terms of emotion or technique, however, and the judges agreed with me. Caitlin threw some impressive gymnastics into her solo, which the judges loved: that particular solo didn't speak to me much but I like Caitlin in the competition and hoped she'd stay. And finally, I really liked Jason's solo -- I thought it showed off elements of him that we haven't seen in the paired dancing, but Nigel thought it reeked of desperation. 

In the end, though, Asuka was eliminated for not growing enough throughout the competition, and Jonathan was deemed the weakest of the boys who performed solos tonight. Sorry, girls!  Now this means that Karla and Vitolio will be dancing together next week. 

Tomorrow I will be chatting with Asuka and Jonathan about their time on the show: if you have any questions you'd like me to try to ask them, please let me know in the comments section.

-- Claire Zulkey

(Art: FOX)

'So You Think You Can Dance': No Jackson tribute

I was half right about tonight's elimination. The half that I didn't predict was a surprise, but I think a good choice by the judges.  But let's save that for the end.

The dancers led off with a very sharp military-inspired hip-hop dance set to the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo, that was quite reminiscent of Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation" video.  Speaking of which, after acknowledging his 60th birthday, judge Nigel Lythgoe broke the sad news that there would be no Michael Jackson tribute, as the powers-that-be wouldn't release the music. Ah well, maybe it's for the best: Even though a "So You Think You Can Dance," tribute would have been amazing, after this week's emotional memorial, perhaps it's good just to let it rest for a bit.

Cat brought out the couples to be sent to the bottom three. I predicted accurately last night that Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover would be in trouble, plus, after their amazing tango and jazz routines, it was no surprise that Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant were safe. Mary Murphy supposed that Caitlin and Jason's problem was that they could never surpass their original, popular Bollywood dance. 

The audience was shocked when Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb were sent to the bottom three, but I think it would have been just as surprising if Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak were put down there as well, since each couple performed a dance that the judges really liked and another that they were slightly lukewarm about, and each has a powerhouse girl and a popular but somewhat limited guy. 

Before they went on with the first cuts, Nigel let everyone know that pretty much everybody on tonight's episode would be going on tour, since the show would need swing dancers, so that took a little bit of the drama out of the whole top 10 thing. 

Finally, Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi were sent to the bottom three, in lieu of Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau. It's possible that Kayla and Kupono's Mia Michaels dance saved them, but moreover I'm  glad not to see them in the bottom three for once, just for the sake of some new scenery.  I thought it was a little odd of Tyce Diorio to call Ade out for his energy level allegedly dropping last night: I didn't agree, and it seemed a little cruel to blame one half of a couple for being in the bottom three. 

We got to the solos. Caitlin's was quite adorable and showed off her personality, but I wasn't sure if it was going to be enough to keep her in the competition (I assumed that either she or Melissa would be eliminated). Jason threw a ton of stuff into his solo once again, and I predicted, incorrectly, that the judges would call it "desperate" and say that he didn't connect with his audience. Jeanine's solo was, like last week's, both more technically proficient and serious than what you expect from someone who comes off so cute in her choreographed dances. Phillip was just fun to watch -- he makes boring things like elbows and wrists look cool. I felt like I was getting a workout watching Melissa's solo, as she performed in her toe shoes: She really is an amazing physical specimen of a human.  And Ade received a standing ovation for his solo, which contained a lot of explosive moves and gymnastics that moved him all over the stage. 

Before the eliminations, David Guetta and Kelly Rowland performed a song called "When Love Takes Over" that sounded like a mashup of Coldplay's "Speed of Sound" and Jordin Sparks' "No Air."  For those of you keeping track at home, she did appear to sing live, for better or for worse. 

Nigel kept the eliminations short and sweet, not giving Caitlin much of a reason why she was sent home instead of Melissa or Jeanine. Poor Caitlin seemed very shook up about the news. I was surprised that Phillip, and not Jason, was going home. However, looking back, there wasn't an episode where the judges didn't want more from Phillip, so I think it was a good choice, although we'll all miss him. Good news for those of you following the "So You Think You Can Dance" tour, though: Both will be appearing!

Next week: new couples! 

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

After tonight’s edition of “So You Think You Can Dance” only 5 couples will remain – and they’ll all be going on tour!

 

Which 10? You’ll have to tune in to watch Ade, Brandon, Caitlin, Evan, Janette, Jason, Jeanine, Kayla, Kupono, Melissa, Phillip, and Randi battle it out for the slots.

 

The 2009 "So You Think You Can Dance" nationwide tour kicks off Sept. 20 in Manchester, N.H. Tickets go on sale July 25.

 

The official schedule follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the top six couples performing two dances apiece, we had a LOT of show tonight, so let's get right to what happened on the dance floor.  Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi kicked the evening off with a Doriana Sanchez disco.  Ade was worried about looking "wack" if they didn't have the proper amount of disco "swagger," but he had nothing to worry about. I thought he looked great handling the genre.  Melissa, I thought, could have given herself in a little bit more to the snap and crackle of disco, but the judges were very forgiving, because she's a ballet dancer and disco is way outside her comfort zone. 

Next, Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau danced a Mia Michaels-arranged contemporary number about addiction -- Kupono playing the poison, Kayla the addict. Was there any doubt it would be a memorable dance?  Kupono controlled Kayla, she tried to escape him, he threw her around.  I really liked Kayla's acting in the performance (although Nigel claimed it was hard to see her face) but my favorite detail of the dance was how Kayla began it all by running to Kupono.  Finally, I feel like I am on board with how much the judges (who adored the performance) worship Kayla.

Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover performed a Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin foxtrot, one that was choreographed so as to have a little more female strength and sexiness in it than usual.  It was a very cool, suave dance, with Jason and Caitlin looking like they were performing in some 1930s nightclub.  I wish their performance had, to steal Ade's word, a tiny bit more swagger in it, but I enjoyed it. The judges were impressed by how easy Jason and Caitlin made it look, although guest judge Tyce Diorio wanted a bit more out of Caitlin's eyes (she looked lovely, incidentally).

I was laughing at the happy head-bopping Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb did before the commercial in their traditional Russian costumes.  And, before their Youri Nelzine and Lilia Babenko-choreographed Russian folk dance, I did get excited for it, per Jeanine's instructions.  I must be a sucker for the power of suggestion because while their dance, as Nigel said, was very "folky," I enjoyed it and thought it was fun and different, but the judges seemed to hate the dance (even though they liked the dancers).  I felt bad for Phillip and Jeanine: It seemed like there wasn't anything they could have done to make the judges like the performance, so it was confusing why the dance was included as one of the genres. 

Next, Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak danced a hip-hop routine designed by Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo wherein they portrayed a young couple that just discovered a baby was on the way.  I rolled my eyes a little bit at the beginning of the performance, as Evan hid a prop engagement ring (sometimes Nappy-Tabs' dances are a little too literal for me), but it was a good performance, especially because, as Nigel pointed out, neither Randi or Evan tried to BE hip-hop, they just danced it. Randi especially did an excellent job emoting terrified elation, and I liked her dancing through Evan's arms.  Nigel declared them one of his favorite couples, and Mary was pleased and gave a mini-whoop, even though she admitted she had been expecting a trainwreck. 

I discovered a small theme with tonight's episode, and that for me involved the less-high-profile member of a few couples becoming the standout star.  That happened with Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant, who danced Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo's Argentinian tango.  I couldn't take my eyes off Janette the entire time: she was sexy, she emoted a perfect tango attitude, and her legs were on fire.  I knew that Brandon was doing a good job as well because he was there for her every step of the way, but for me Janette just stole the show.  After the performance, Nigel was silent for a few tense moments before he stood to give the dancers an ovation and the other judges joined in.  Tyce expressed his appreciation by unrolling some complicated metaphor about fresh-squeezed orange juice, and I pondered my new theory that Tyce is related to Jeff Goldblum. 

Before we got to the second round of dances, Cat Deeley announced that next week the partners would be broken up, so the dancers discussed what they'd miss most about their partners. It was touching to see Melissa cry when she talked about what she'd miss about Ade.  They danced a Ron Montez traditional waltz, which was lovely, pretty without being fusty: I especially loved Ade's turns toward the end.  In some ways it gave me the same feeling as their pas des deux from last week. The judges liked it a lot, although Tyce thought that Melissa can work harder at dances like that since she's such a natural, she makes it look a little easy.  I wonder how Melissa will fare next week without Ade: I think he really brings out the best in her and she might be a little boring without him.

Fresh off their adored Mia Michaels routine,  Kupono and Kayla danced a Joey Dowling Broadway number, striving to capture the love at first sight feel from "West Side Story."  This was one of those dances where everything LOOKED fine, but I wasn't feeling a certain magic, but I couldn't tell if maybe it was just me.  It wasn't: Nigel said that the dance lacked the danger of those from "West Side Story" and that Kupono and Kayla didn't get into character enough.  "I could say you danced it well, but I need more now," he said, which summed it up perfectly.

I am worried for Caitlin and Jason after tonight. I feel like this was the episode where they really needed to grab the judges and audience by the ears and make them pay attention, but they didn't quite get there.  Their bodies looked beautiful together in Mandy Moore's lyrical jazz dance but, as Mary said, it wasn't magical, and Nigel worried about their chemistry.  I don't have anything bad to say about Caitlin and Jason, but they haven't given me goosebumps.

Again, while I think Phillip was the audience darling of his couple, Jeanine has emerged as the true star of the duet.  They danced a jive as choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin  Nigel pointed out that Phillip was a little nervous and slipped during his dance but otherwise lauded him for doing well outside his genre.  Jeanine however was, as the judges pointed out, the star of the performance, adding a little Broadway drama to her sexy jive. She looked a little like a living Vargas girl to me, and the judges guaranteed that she'd be back next week. 

Randi and Evan didn't fare quite as well with their ballroom routine, a sexy samba choreographed by Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev of season three of the show.  As she tends to do, Randi expressed trepidation over whether she could portray a sexy beast, and of course she totally nailed it. Evan, on the other hand, looked a little scared during the performance, and he looked like he was working a little too hard during the lifts.  The judges loved Randi's heat but didn't think Evan (who, again, I used to consider the audience favorite of the two) was dynamic enough. It will be odd when this petite pair is broken up. 

The best (or one of the best) was saved for last in this long night of dancing, as Janette and Brandon danced a Wade Robson jazz routine. They played jewel thieves, Janette impulsive, Brandon thoughtful.  I loved their mod costumes with the white sunglasses--they reminded me of Johnny Depp's getup in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."  It was a highly stylized routine and this was just one of those dances where the performers hit their moves hard and were snappy where they needed to be.  As Mary said, with every move the pair painted clear pictures.

Like I wrote above, I predict Caitlin and Jason will be in trouble tomorrow night, although who knows who else will make up the bottom three with them.

--Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

Karla on her week with Vitolio:
It was really hard, because after [former partner ] Jonathan [Platero] got eliminated I was really emotional, because we got attached and then all of a sudden I got paired up with a brand-new partner. I had to find an emotional connection in very little time, plus had an added layer of the hardest dance style to work with, so it was a challenge, but we're both professionals and we both had that motivation to show America that we could attack this kiss of death. That's what brought us together, and that made it easier.

On the quickstep being known as the "kiss of death" on "SYTYCD":
I think I was already practicing my solo when I opened that card that told us we'd be doing that dance,  especially when everyone else around us had a genre in their comfort zone. I felt almost defeated, but there was motivation to attack the dance's hard style. The blessing was having Jean-Marc [Généreux] as a choreographer. He was very involved and invested in us, and he knew it would be a difficult task and that it's a hard dance to learn: Your feet have to work very fast, and you have to work intimately with your partner, and that was an additional challenge. I think Jean-Marc guided us a lot with the analogies he used to help us with frame and finding that connection physically. He gave us a great routine choreographically to make it easier because there were other things to focus on, like the story and acting, so we weren't too focused on doing the quickstep perfectly.

What's next:
Relaxing and spending time with family. I got a few offers the day after the elimination episode to teach and to perform and to do the Radio City Rockettes show and maybe get into acting. 

Vitolio on how dancing saved his life:
I saw a Michael Jackson video in early age and that inspired me: Once I got out of an orphanage [in Haiti] I used dance as a way to survive and make money in the street and take care of myself and my grandma.  

How it felt to be in the bottom three the third time:
I was a little surprised because, from the judges' critiques the night before, we thought we had done an awesome quickstep. I knew we were somehow going to be in there because America had its favorites and wasn't going to put its favorites aside to vote for us, but I was hoping for a miracle still.

What's next:
I'm back in Miami and I'm looking for an agent in L.A., so I'm planning on moving to L.A. and keep on dancing and choreographing and getting into acting and modeling, and maybe writing a book about my life story.

— Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

Way to go, America and judges: Last night I couldn't figure out who on "So You Think You Can Dance" should go home, but I couldn't agree more with the decision.

Before we got to the unpleasantness, the dancers performed a group number to "A Brand New Day" from "The Wiz" as choreographed by Tyce Diorio, and it was a joyous Broadway number (and probably a mini Michael Jackson tribute). 

As we got to the first part of eliminations, I was surprised to learn that Karla Garcia and Vitolio Jeune were in the bottom three instead of Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak. The judges were lukewarm for Randi and Evan's frug, and I expected the fun factor of Vitolio and Karla's quickstep and the novelty of her quick-change dress would have had the calls rolling in. 

The judges were shocked, next, to learn that Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau were in the bottom three, and I was surprised in that I thought their creepy vampire dance from last night went over well. But when they were up against Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant and Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi, somebody in that crowd had to be in the bottom three and it would be a shock no matter who it was. 

Finally, Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb were the last couple sent to the bottom three: I was really glad that America dialed in and saved Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover after their unusual alien dance. Moreover, I was glad that finally Phillip had to dance for his life, since his solos are probably the most fun to watch in the entire competition. 

Continuing the routine of guest dance performances, Desmond Richardson and Patricia Hachey performed a pas de deux. Let's just forget the dance for a second: These two dancers' bodies and the things they did with them were just sick.  And the dance, of course, was beautiful.  But ogling Desmond's thighs and watching Patricia bring her thigh up to her ear, well, I was filled with awe.

We got to the solos and began with Karla. I enjoyed her dance, which I thought was much more quirky and interesting than she is on the show (which turned out to be good for her solo, but the fact that the rest of her time on the show was not quite memorable was bad for her overall).  Vitolio danced next, and my reaction was, "I'm sick of seeing Vitolio do solos." As Nigel said, he brings a presence through the stage, but doesn't quite deliver beyond that.  When Kayla danced, I wrote "I'm going to wait to see what the judges say about this. Meh," and actually was backed up by Nigel, who said her solo was "static."  Kupono's solo was, well, annoying: Set to a well-known ukelele version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" he emoted more than he danced. Sure, he seemed overjoyed to be alive, but he didn't really dance. I thought for sure Kupono's time was up when he said, "Going home wouldn't be that bad."  Finally, Jeanine showed off a much more classical, serious and technically skilled side than I expected from her in her solo, which I thought was a good move (it paid off: Nigel called it the best solo of the night) and Phillip did his amazing freestyle that was as fun as I expected -- half the entertainment in watching Phillip perform is the character her brings onstage, an ironic sort of goof.

Before we got to the actual eliminations, Kelly Clarkson sang "I Do Not Hook Up." I adore Kelly: She can actually sing, she makes it look easy and she seems like she is both a professional and yet has fun onstage.  She made most of the prior musical guests this season look like chopped liver. 

Finally, Nigel delivered the news: Jeanine and Phillip were both saved, and when pitted against Kayla, Karla had no chance. I thought she did a good job last night, but trying to come up with a memorable performance of hers, I blanked, so I think it made sense that she would go home next.

I'm not sure exactly why Vitolio got sent home instead of Kupono, except that maybe the judges were just, like me, slightly more sick of seeing Vitolio dance for his life than Kupono.

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

This has been the episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" that I've been waiting for all season. While I liked some performances more than others, I really enjoyed parts of every dance, which means I'm growing closer to the contestants, which means eliminations will be more difficult, which means the dancers are going to have to step it up more and the show can only get better.  Thank goodness.

I knew it would be a good episode with Mia Michaels sitting on the judges' panel. Cat Deeley (wearing a fun, flirty fuchsia dress with a black studded belt) asked Mia if she had anything to say since the last time she was on the show, and Mia rubbed her hands in anticipation and said, "Without naming names, my opinion has changed for the better." She was obviously talking about Brandon Bryant, who she took to task last time she was on the show for his "attitude," but Nigel Lythgoe egged her on by saying, "Would this be for a small male dancer? Were the initials Brandon?" 

So Brandon and his partner Janette Manrara got to show off for Mia with a cha cha cha choreographed by Jean-Marc Généreux.  I feel like in his auditions Brandon portrayed a strong, dignified contemporary dancer, but he can really show off fast and fun dances like this and disco. And I really like Janette: There's something about her (probably her hair) that just reminds me of another era, and I like that about her. Their chemistry is really coming together on stage as well. All the judges were effusive in their praise of the dancers, with Mary (who was actually rather subdued this evening compared to others) screaming at the top of her longs. Mia also took the moment to tell Brandon that she's hard on him because she knows how good he can be. So the evening was off to a great start. 

After being sent home on "So You Think You Can Dance," contestants Jonathan Platero and Asuka Kondoh talked with journalists about their experiences on the show and as dancers:

Jonathan Platero

On his dance inspirations:
Michael Jackson was an inspiration to me: I grew up watching his videos and trying to learn his movies. Janet Jackson too: I was a fan of '80s dance.  I've always loved music videos, and I'd love to be a dancer for her.

How it felt for Nigel Lythgoe to bet he'd be in the bottom three after his Wednesday night hip-hop dance:
It hurt a little bit. I didn't think he'd be as tough as he was, but each judge is entitled to his own opinion. It was a tough style for me, so I couldn't blame him.

On any dance opportunities he wished he'd been able to experience on the show:
I was really looking forward to working with Sonya [Tayeh] for jazz -- that would have been awesome. 

Asuka Kondoh

On her choice of footwear during her solos:
I'm most comfortable dancing in heels because I'm a ballroom dancer, and that shows off best what I do.  If my solo looked strange it's because I didn't have a partner -- I was imagining I was holding my partner's hand.

On whether she was worried her number would be up when fellow ballroom dancer Max Kapitannikov was eliminated last week:
I knew that I had to try even harder because I'm a ballroom dancer -- I think it's a little bit harder for us to show our ability because it is a partner dance, but I didn't think just because he went home I would be.

On her "SYTYCD" partner, Vitolio Jeune:
We had our ups and downs but learned to have some chemistry and connect with each other. I hope that I can have the same kind of relationship I had with Vitiolio with every partner I get because it was wonderful. 

The most difficult genre to learn:
Jazz, because it was so against what I normally want to do as a Latin dancer: level changes, trying to dance in jazz shoes, being on bent knees, being lifted.

On whether her audition partner, Ricky Sun, will be trying out for Season 6 of the show:
 I have no idea -- you'll have to find out and watch!

-- Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

So! It was a little hard to focus on tonight's show thanks to some goings-on in the showbiz world, but after a sultry Latin/hip-hop group dance choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin and Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo, "So You Think You Can Dance" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe addressed it all.  He paid a classy tribute to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and of course Michael Jackson.  Of all the shows on TV right now, I think "SYTYCD" could best pay tribute to Jackson since his dancing was such a large part of his talent. I got goosebumps watching their clip of the "Thriller" video and my only complaint was that they didn't show the whole thing. 

As for narrowing the dancers to the bottom three couples, it wasn't a surprise to me that two couples, Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune and Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero, were asked to perform solos.  While the judges liked Asuka and Vitolio's jazz dance, I think it was the kind of dance that didn't translate that well to the audience at home. The judges practically hated Karla and Jonathan's hip-hop routine, meanwhile, and I think America listened. The third couple put in the bottom three was Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover, which was somewhat surprising to me: I thought the audience would have been more in favor of their paso doble. But personally I think that for a while Phillip Chbeeb is going to be a spoiler in the competition (which I have no problem with -- I just think that he's an audience favorite and that will affect things). 

Before we got to the solo performances, we saw a performance from a group called the Rage Boyz Crew, which was basically a group of about 20 boys ranging in age from maybe 7 to 17 doing hip-hop en masse, wearing cute uniforms and tossing an adorable tot in the air. Host Cat Deeley clearly wanted to put the tiniest one in her pocket (if she had one in her sultry jungle-themed jumpsuit). A band called the Veronicas also performed, and for a while I thought they were the Donnas, only slimmed down to a frightening extent. The Veronicas actually seemed to sing their song, I think, which means they're a step up in terms of musical acts for the season.

Asuka kicked off the solos: I thought her ballroom routine was fine but basically I thought to myself, "If Max went home, then she should, too." The judges didn't seem to find Vitolio's solo that great, but I admire the way he uses his body onstage: He just brings life to the stage when I see him do solos.  Nigel claimed that Karla was trying too hard in her solo, but I found her to be a more interesting dancer than she's been throughout the competition. I didn't find Jonathan's solo especially remarkable in terms of emotion or technique, however, and the judges agreed with me. Caitlin threw some impressive gymnastics into her solo, which the judges loved: that particular solo didn't speak to me much but I like Caitlin in the competition and hoped she'd stay. And finally, I really liked Jason's solo -- I thought it showed off elements of him that we haven't seen in the paired dancing, but Nigel thought it reeked of desperation. 

In the end, though, Asuka was eliminated for not growing enough throughout the competition, and Jonathan was deemed the weakest of the boys who performed solos tonight. Sorry, girls!  Now this means that Karla and Vitolio will be dancing together next week. 

Tomorrow I will be chatting with Asuka and Jonathan about their time on the show: if you have any questions you'd like me to try to ask them, please let me know in the comments section.

-- Claire Zulkey

(Art: FOX)

Exclusive: 'So You Think You Can Dance' 2009 tour dates

After tonight’s edition of “So You Think You Can Dance” only 5 couples will remain – and they’ll all be going on tour!

 

Which 10? You’ll have to tune in to watch Ade, Brandon, Caitlin, Evan, Janette, Jason, Jeanine, Kayla, Kupono, Melissa, Phillip, and Randi battle it out for the slots.

 

The 2009 "So You Think You Can Dance" nationwide tour kicks off Sept. 20 in Manchester, N.H. Tickets go on sale July 25.

 

The official schedule follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the top six couples performing two dances apiece, we had a LOT of show tonight, so let's get right to what happened on the dance floor.  Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi kicked the evening off with a Doriana Sanchez disco.  Ade was worried about looking "wack" if they didn't have the proper amount of disco "swagger," but he had nothing to worry about. I thought he looked great handling the genre.  Melissa, I thought, could have given herself in a little bit more to the snap and crackle of disco, but the judges were very forgiving, because she's a ballet dancer and disco is way outside her comfort zone. 

Next, Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau danced a Mia Michaels-arranged contemporary number about addiction -- Kupono playing the poison, Kayla the addict. Was there any doubt it would be a memorable dance?  Kupono controlled Kayla, she tried to escape him, he threw her around.  I really liked Kayla's acting in the performance (although Nigel claimed it was hard to see her face) but my favorite detail of the dance was how Kayla began it all by running to Kupono.  Finally, I feel like I am on board with how much the judges (who adored the performance) worship Kayla.

Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover performed a Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin foxtrot, one that was choreographed so as to have a little more female strength and sexiness in it than usual.  It was a very cool, suave dance, with Jason and Caitlin looking like they were performing in some 1930s nightclub.  I wish their performance had, to steal Ade's word, a tiny bit more swagger in it, but I enjoyed it. The judges were impressed by how easy Jason and Caitlin made it look, although guest judge Tyce Diorio wanted a bit more out of Caitlin's eyes (she looked lovely, incidentally).

I was laughing at the happy head-bopping Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb did before the commercial in their traditional Russian costumes.  And, before their Youri Nelzine and Lilia Babenko-choreographed Russian folk dance, I did get excited for it, per Jeanine's instructions.  I must be a sucker for the power of suggestion because while their dance, as Nigel said, was very "folky," I enjoyed it and thought it was fun and different, but the judges seemed to hate the dance (even though they liked the dancers).  I felt bad for Phillip and Jeanine: It seemed like there wasn't anything they could have done to make the judges like the performance, so it was confusing why the dance was included as one of the genres. 

Next, Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak danced a hip-hop routine designed by Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo wherein they portrayed a young couple that just discovered a baby was on the way.  I rolled my eyes a little bit at the beginning of the performance, as Evan hid a prop engagement ring (sometimes Nappy-Tabs' dances are a little too literal for me), but it was a good performance, especially because, as Nigel pointed out, neither Randi or Evan tried to BE hip-hop, they just danced it. Randi especially did an excellent job emoting terrified elation, and I liked her dancing through Evan's arms.  Nigel declared them one of his favorite couples, and Mary was pleased and gave a mini-whoop, even though she admitted she had been expecting a trainwreck. 

I discovered a small theme with tonight's episode, and that for me involved the less-high-profile member of a few couples becoming the standout star.  That happened with Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant, who danced Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo's Argentinian tango.  I couldn't take my eyes off Janette the entire time: she was sexy, she emoted a perfect tango attitude, and her legs were on fire.  I knew that Brandon was doing a good job as well because he was there for her every step of the way, but for me Janette just stole the show.  After the performance, Nigel was silent for a few tense moments before he stood to give the dancers an ovation and the other judges joined in.  Tyce expressed his appreciation by unrolling some complicated metaphor about fresh-squeezed orange juice, and I pondered my new theory that Tyce is related to Jeff Goldblum. 

Before we got to the second round of dances, Cat Deeley announced that next week the partners would be broken up, so the dancers discussed what they'd miss most about their partners. It was touching to see Melissa cry when she talked about what she'd miss about Ade.  They danced a Ron Montez traditional waltz, which was lovely, pretty without being fusty: I especially loved Ade's turns toward the end.  In some ways it gave me the same feeling as their pas des deux from last week. The judges liked it a lot, although Tyce thought that Melissa can work harder at dances like that since she's such a natural, she makes it look a little easy.  I wonder how Melissa will fare next week without Ade: I think he really brings out the best in her and she might be a little boring without him.

Fresh off their adored Mia Michaels routine,  Kupono and Kayla danced a Joey Dowling Broadway number, striving to capture the love at first sight feel from "West Side Story."  This was one of those dances where everything LOOKED fine, but I wasn't feeling a certain magic, but I couldn't tell if maybe it was just me.  It wasn't: Nigel said that the dance lacked the danger of those from "West Side Story" and that Kupono and Kayla didn't get into character enough.  "I could say you danced it well, but I need more now," he said, which summed it up perfectly.

I am worried for Caitlin and Jason after tonight. I feel like this was the episode where they really needed to grab the judges and audience by the ears and make them pay attention, but they didn't quite get there.  Their bodies looked beautiful together in Mandy Moore's lyrical jazz dance but, as Mary said, it wasn't magical, and Nigel worried about their chemistry.  I don't have anything bad to say about Caitlin and Jason, but they haven't given me goosebumps.

Again, while I think Phillip was the audience darling of his couple, Jeanine has emerged as the true star of the duet.  They danced a jive as choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin  Nigel pointed out that Phillip was a little nervous and slipped during his dance but otherwise lauded him for doing well outside his genre.  Jeanine however was, as the judges pointed out, the star of the performance, adding a little Broadway drama to her sexy jive. She looked a little like a living Vargas girl to me, and the judges guaranteed that she'd be back next week. 

Randi and Evan didn't fare quite as well with their ballroom routine, a sexy samba choreographed by Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev of season three of the show.  As she tends to do, Randi expressed trepidation over whether she could portray a sexy beast, and of course she totally nailed it. Evan, on the other hand, looked a little scared during the performance, and he looked like he was working a little too hard during the lifts.  The judges loved Randi's heat but didn't think Evan (who, again, I used to consider the audience favorite of the two) was dynamic enough. It will be odd when this petite pair is broken up. 

The best (or one of the best) was saved for last in this long night of dancing, as Janette and Brandon danced a Wade Robson jazz routine. They played jewel thieves, Janette impulsive, Brandon thoughtful.  I loved their mod costumes with the white sunglasses--they reminded me of Johnny Depp's getup in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."  It was a highly stylized routine and this was just one of those dances where the performers hit their moves hard and were snappy where they needed to be.  As Mary said, with every move the pair painted clear pictures.

Like I wrote above, I predict Caitlin and Jason will be in trouble tomorrow night, although who knows who else will make up the bottom three with them.

--Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

Karla on her week with Vitolio:
It was really hard, because after [former partner ] Jonathan [Platero] got eliminated I was really emotional, because we got attached and then all of a sudden I got paired up with a brand-new partner. I had to find an emotional connection in very little time, plus had an added layer of the hardest dance style to work with, so it was a challenge, but we're both professionals and we both had that motivation to show America that we could attack this kiss of death. That's what brought us together, and that made it easier.

On the quickstep being known as the "kiss of death" on "SYTYCD":
I think I was already practicing my solo when I opened that card that told us we'd be doing that dance,  especially when everyone else around us had a genre in their comfort zone. I felt almost defeated, but there was motivation to attack the dance's hard style. The blessing was having Jean-Marc [Généreux] as a choreographer. He was very involved and invested in us, and he knew it would be a difficult task and that it's a hard dance to learn: Your feet have to work very fast, and you have to work intimately with your partner, and that was an additional challenge. I think Jean-Marc guided us a lot with the analogies he used to help us with frame and finding that connection physically. He gave us a great routine choreographically to make it easier because there were other things to focus on, like the story and acting, so we weren't too focused on doing the quickstep perfectly.

What's next:
Relaxing and spending time with family. I got a few offers the day after the elimination episode to teach and to perform and to do the Radio City Rockettes show and maybe get into acting. 

Vitolio on how dancing saved his life:
I saw a Michael Jackson video in early age and that inspired me: Once I got out of an orphanage [in Haiti] I used dance as a way to survive and make money in the street and take care of myself and my grandma.  

How it felt to be in the bottom three the third time:
I was a little surprised because, from the judges' critiques the night before, we thought we had done an awesome quickstep. I knew we were somehow going to be in there because America had its favorites and wasn't going to put its favorites aside to vote for us, but I was hoping for a miracle still.

What's next:
I'm back in Miami and I'm looking for an agent in L.A., so I'm planning on moving to L.A. and keep on dancing and choreographing and getting into acting and modeling, and maybe writing a book about my life story.

— Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

Way to go, America and judges: Last night I couldn't figure out who on "So You Think You Can Dance" should go home, but I couldn't agree more with the decision.

Before we got to the unpleasantness, the dancers performed a group number to "A Brand New Day" from "The Wiz" as choreographed by Tyce Diorio, and it was a joyous Broadway number (and probably a mini Michael Jackson tribute). 

As we got to the first part of eliminations, I was surprised to learn that Karla Garcia and Vitolio Jeune were in the bottom three instead of Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak. The judges were lukewarm for Randi and Evan's frug, and I expected the fun factor of Vitolio and Karla's quickstep and the novelty of her quick-change dress would have had the calls rolling in. 

The judges were shocked, next, to learn that Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau were in the bottom three, and I was surprised in that I thought their creepy vampire dance from last night went over well. But when they were up against Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant and Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi, somebody in that crowd had to be in the bottom three and it would be a shock no matter who it was. 

Finally, Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb were the last couple sent to the bottom three: I was really glad that America dialed in and saved Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover after their unusual alien dance. Moreover, I was glad that finally Phillip had to dance for his life, since his solos are probably the most fun to watch in the entire competition. 

Continuing the routine of guest dance performances, Desmond Richardson and Patricia Hachey performed a pas de deux. Let's just forget the dance for a second: These two dancers' bodies and the things they did with them were just sick.  And the dance, of course, was beautiful.  But ogling Desmond's thighs and watching Patricia bring her thigh up to her ear, well, I was filled with awe.

We got to the solos and began with Karla. I enjoyed her dance, which I thought was much more quirky and interesting than she is on the show (which turned out to be good for her solo, but the fact that the rest of her time on the show was not quite memorable was bad for her overall).  Vitolio danced next, and my reaction was, "I'm sick of seeing Vitolio do solos." As Nigel said, he brings a presence through the stage, but doesn't quite deliver beyond that.  When Kayla danced, I wrote "I'm going to wait to see what the judges say about this. Meh," and actually was backed up by Nigel, who said her solo was "static."  Kupono's solo was, well, annoying: Set to a well-known ukelele version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" he emoted more than he danced. Sure, he seemed overjoyed to be alive, but he didn't really dance. I thought for sure Kupono's time was up when he said, "Going home wouldn't be that bad."  Finally, Jeanine showed off a much more classical, serious and technically skilled side than I expected from her in her solo, which I thought was a good move (it paid off: Nigel called it the best solo of the night) and Phillip did his amazing freestyle that was as fun as I expected -- half the entertainment in watching Phillip perform is the character her brings onstage, an ironic sort of goof.

Before we got to the actual eliminations, Kelly Clarkson sang "I Do Not Hook Up." I adore Kelly: She can actually sing, she makes it look easy and she seems like she is both a professional and yet has fun onstage.  She made most of the prior musical guests this season look like chopped liver. 

Finally, Nigel delivered the news: Jeanine and Phillip were both saved, and when pitted against Kayla, Karla had no chance. I thought she did a good job last night, but trying to come up with a memorable performance of hers, I blanked, so I think it made sense that she would go home next.

I'm not sure exactly why Vitolio got sent home instead of Kupono, except that maybe the judges were just, like me, slightly more sick of seeing Vitolio dance for his life than Kupono.

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

This has been the episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" that I've been waiting for all season. While I liked some performances more than others, I really enjoyed parts of every dance, which means I'm growing closer to the contestants, which means eliminations will be more difficult, which means the dancers are going to have to step it up more and the show can only get better.  Thank goodness.

I knew it would be a good episode with Mia Michaels sitting on the judges' panel. Cat Deeley (wearing a fun, flirty fuchsia dress with a black studded belt) asked Mia if she had anything to say since the last time she was on the show, and Mia rubbed her hands in anticipation and said, "Without naming names, my opinion has changed for the better." She was obviously talking about Brandon Bryant, who she took to task last time she was on the show for his "attitude," but Nigel Lythgoe egged her on by saying, "Would this be for a small male dancer? Were the initials Brandon?" 

So Brandon and his partner Janette Manrara got to show off for Mia with a cha cha cha choreographed by Jean-Marc Généreux.  I feel like in his auditions Brandon portrayed a strong, dignified contemporary dancer, but he can really show off fast and fun dances like this and disco. And I really like Janette: There's something about her (probably her hair) that just reminds me of another era, and I like that about her. Their chemistry is really coming together on stage as well. All the judges were effusive in their praise of the dancers, with Mary (who was actually rather subdued this evening compared to others) screaming at the top of her longs. Mia also took the moment to tell Brandon that she's hard on him because she knows how good he can be. So the evening was off to a great start. 

After being sent home on "So You Think You Can Dance," contestants Jonathan Platero and Asuka Kondoh talked with journalists about their experiences on the show and as dancers:

Jonathan Platero

On his dance inspirations:
Michael Jackson was an inspiration to me: I grew up watching his videos and trying to learn his movies. Janet Jackson too: I was a fan of '80s dance.  I've always loved music videos, and I'd love to be a dancer for her.

How it felt for Nigel Lythgoe to bet he'd be in the bottom three after his Wednesday night hip-hop dance:
It hurt a little bit. I didn't think he'd be as tough as he was, but each judge is entitled to his own opinion. It was a tough style for me, so I couldn't blame him.

On any dance opportunities he wished he'd been able to experience on the show:
I was really looking forward to working with Sonya [Tayeh] for jazz -- that would have been awesome. 

Asuka Kondoh

On her choice of footwear during her solos:
I'm most comfortable dancing in heels because I'm a ballroom dancer, and that shows off best what I do.  If my solo looked strange it's because I didn't have a partner -- I was imagining I was holding my partner's hand.

On whether she was worried her number would be up when fellow ballroom dancer Max Kapitannikov was eliminated last week:
I knew that I had to try even harder because I'm a ballroom dancer -- I think it's a little bit harder for us to show our ability because it is a partner dance, but I didn't think just because he went home I would be.

On her "SYTYCD" partner, Vitolio Jeune:
We had our ups and downs but learned to have some chemistry and connect with each other. I hope that I can have the same kind of relationship I had with Vitiolio with every partner I get because it was wonderful. 

The most difficult genre to learn:
Jazz, because it was so against what I normally want to do as a Latin dancer: level changes, trying to dance in jazz shoes, being on bent knees, being lifted.

On whether her audition partner, Ricky Sun, will be trying out for Season 6 of the show:
 I have no idea -- you'll have to find out and watch!

-- Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

So! It was a little hard to focus on tonight's show thanks to some goings-on in the showbiz world, but after a sultry Latin/hip-hop group dance choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin and Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo, "So You Think You Can Dance" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe addressed it all.  He paid a classy tribute to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and of course Michael Jackson.  Of all the shows on TV right now, I think "SYTYCD" could best pay tribute to Jackson since his dancing was such a large part of his talent. I got goosebumps watching their clip of the "Thriller" video and my only complaint was that they didn't show the whole thing. 

As for narrowing the dancers to the bottom three couples, it wasn't a surprise to me that two couples, Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune and Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero, were asked to perform solos.  While the judges liked Asuka and Vitolio's jazz dance, I think it was the kind of dance that didn't translate that well to the audience at home. The judges practically hated Karla and Jonathan's hip-hop routine, meanwhile, and I think America listened. The third couple put in the bottom three was Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover, which was somewhat surprising to me: I thought the audience would have been more in favor of their paso doble. But personally I think that for a while Phillip Chbeeb is going to be a spoiler in the competition (which I have no problem with -- I just think that he's an audience favorite and that will affect things). 

Before we got to the solo performances, we saw a performance from a group called the Rage Boyz Crew, which was basically a group of about 20 boys ranging in age from maybe 7 to 17 doing hip-hop en masse, wearing cute uniforms and tossing an adorable tot in the air. Host Cat Deeley clearly wanted to put the tiniest one in her pocket (if she had one in her sultry jungle-themed jumpsuit). A band called the Veronicas also performed, and for a while I thought they were the Donnas, only slimmed down to a frightening extent. The Veronicas actually seemed to sing their song, I think, which means they're a step up in terms of musical acts for the season.

Asuka kicked off the solos: I thought her ballroom routine was fine but basically I thought to myself, "If Max went home, then she should, too." The judges didn't seem to find Vitolio's solo that great, but I admire the way he uses his body onstage: He just brings life to the stage when I see him do solos.  Nigel claimed that Karla was trying too hard in her solo, but I found her to be a more interesting dancer than she's been throughout the competition. I didn't find Jonathan's solo especially remarkable in terms of emotion or technique, however, and the judges agreed with me. Caitlin threw some impressive gymnastics into her solo, which the judges loved: that particular solo didn't speak to me much but I like Caitlin in the competition and hoped she'd stay. And finally, I really liked Jason's solo -- I thought it showed off elements of him that we haven't seen in the paired dancing, but Nigel thought it reeked of desperation. 

In the end, though, Asuka was eliminated for not growing enough throughout the competition, and Jonathan was deemed the weakest of the boys who performed solos tonight. Sorry, girls!  Now this means that Karla and Vitolio will be dancing together next week. 

Tomorrow I will be chatting with Asuka and Jonathan about their time on the show: if you have any questions you'd like me to try to ask them, please let me know in the comments section.

-- Claire Zulkey

(Art: FOX)

'So You Think You Can Dance': Double the dancing

With the top six couples performing two dances apiece, we had a LOT of show tonight, so let's get right to what happened on the dance floor.  Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi kicked the evening off with a Doriana Sanchez disco.  Ade was worried about looking "wack" if they didn't have the proper amount of disco "swagger," but he had nothing to worry about. I thought he looked great handling the genre.  Melissa, I thought, could have given herself in a little bit more to the snap and crackle of disco, but the judges were very forgiving, because she's a ballet dancer and disco is way outside her comfort zone. 

Next, Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau danced a Mia Michaels-arranged contemporary number about addiction -- Kupono playing the poison, Kayla the addict. Was there any doubt it would be a memorable dance?  Kupono controlled Kayla, she tried to escape him, he threw her around.  I really liked Kayla's acting in the performance (although Nigel claimed it was hard to see her face) but my favorite detail of the dance was how Kayla began it all by running to Kupono.  Finally, I feel like I am on board with how much the judges (who adored the performance) worship Kayla.

Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover performed a Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin foxtrot, one that was choreographed so as to have a little more female strength and sexiness in it than usual.  It was a very cool, suave dance, with Jason and Caitlin looking like they were performing in some 1930s nightclub.  I wish their performance had, to steal Ade's word, a tiny bit more swagger in it, but I enjoyed it. The judges were impressed by how easy Jason and Caitlin made it look, although guest judge Tyce Diorio wanted a bit more out of Caitlin's eyes (she looked lovely, incidentally).

I was laughing at the happy head-bopping Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb did before the commercial in their traditional Russian costumes.  And, before their Youri Nelzine and Lilia Babenko-choreographed Russian folk dance, I did get excited for it, per Jeanine's instructions.  I must be a sucker for the power of suggestion because while their dance, as Nigel said, was very "folky," I enjoyed it and thought it was fun and different, but the judges seemed to hate the dance (even though they liked the dancers).  I felt bad for Phillip and Jeanine: It seemed like there wasn't anything they could have done to make the judges like the performance, so it was confusing why the dance was included as one of the genres. 

Next, Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak danced a hip-hop routine designed by Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo wherein they portrayed a young couple that just discovered a baby was on the way.  I rolled my eyes a little bit at the beginning of the performance, as Evan hid a prop engagement ring (sometimes Nappy-Tabs' dances are a little too literal for me), but it was a good performance, especially because, as Nigel pointed out, neither Randi or Evan tried to BE hip-hop, they just danced it. Randi especially did an excellent job emoting terrified elation, and I liked her dancing through Evan's arms.  Nigel declared them one of his favorite couples, and Mary was pleased and gave a mini-whoop, even though she admitted she had been expecting a trainwreck. 

I discovered a small theme with tonight's episode, and that for me involved the less-high-profile member of a few couples becoming the standout star.  That happened with Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant, who danced Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo's Argentinian tango.  I couldn't take my eyes off Janette the entire time: she was sexy, she emoted a perfect tango attitude, and her legs were on fire.  I knew that Brandon was doing a good job as well because he was there for her every step of the way, but for me Janette just stole the show.  After the performance, Nigel was silent for a few tense moments before he stood to give the dancers an ovation and the other judges joined in.  Tyce expressed his appreciation by unrolling some complicated metaphor about fresh-squeezed orange juice, and I pondered my new theory that Tyce is related to Jeff Goldblum. 

Before we got to the second round of dances, Cat Deeley announced that next week the partners would be broken up, so the dancers discussed what they'd miss most about their partners. It was touching to see Melissa cry when she talked about what she'd miss about Ade.  They danced a Ron Montez traditional waltz, which was lovely, pretty without being fusty: I especially loved Ade's turns toward the end.  In some ways it gave me the same feeling as their pas des deux from last week. The judges liked it a lot, although Tyce thought that Melissa can work harder at dances like that since she's such a natural, she makes it look a little easy.  I wonder how Melissa will fare next week without Ade: I think he really brings out the best in her and she might be a little boring without him.

Fresh off their adored Mia Michaels routine,  Kupono and Kayla danced a Joey Dowling Broadway number, striving to capture the love at first sight feel from "West Side Story."  This was one of those dances where everything LOOKED fine, but I wasn't feeling a certain magic, but I couldn't tell if maybe it was just me.  It wasn't: Nigel said that the dance lacked the danger of those from "West Side Story" and that Kupono and Kayla didn't get into character enough.  "I could say you danced it well, but I need more now," he said, which summed it up perfectly.

I am worried for Caitlin and Jason after tonight. I feel like this was the episode where they really needed to grab the judges and audience by the ears and make them pay attention, but they didn't quite get there.  Their bodies looked beautiful together in Mandy Moore's lyrical jazz dance but, as Mary said, it wasn't magical, and Nigel worried about their chemistry.  I don't have anything bad to say about Caitlin and Jason, but they haven't given me goosebumps.

Again, while I think Phillip was the audience darling of his couple, Jeanine has emerged as the true star of the duet.  They danced a jive as choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin  Nigel pointed out that Phillip was a little nervous and slipped during his dance but otherwise lauded him for doing well outside his genre.  Jeanine however was, as the judges pointed out, the star of the performance, adding a little Broadway drama to her sexy jive. She looked a little like a living Vargas girl to me, and the judges guaranteed that she'd be back next week. 

Randi and Evan didn't fare quite as well with their ballroom routine, a sexy samba choreographed by Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev of season three of the show.  As she tends to do, Randi expressed trepidation over whether she could portray a sexy beast, and of course she totally nailed it. Evan, on the other hand, looked a little scared during the performance, and he looked like he was working a little too hard during the lifts.  The judges loved Randi's heat but didn't think Evan (who, again, I used to consider the audience favorite of the two) was dynamic enough. It will be odd when this petite pair is broken up. 

The best (or one of the best) was saved for last in this long night of dancing, as Janette and Brandon danced a Wade Robson jazz routine. They played jewel thieves, Janette impulsive, Brandon thoughtful.  I loved their mod costumes with the white sunglasses--they reminded me of Johnny Depp's getup in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."  It was a highly stylized routine and this was just one of those dances where the performers hit their moves hard and were snappy where they needed to be.  As Mary said, with every move the pair painted clear pictures.

Like I wrote above, I predict Caitlin and Jason will be in trouble tomorrow night, although who knows who else will make up the bottom three with them.

--Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

Karla on her week with Vitolio:
It was really hard, because after [former partner ] Jonathan [Platero] got eliminated I was really emotional, because we got attached and then all of a sudden I got paired up with a brand-new partner. I had to find an emotional connection in very little time, plus had an added layer of the hardest dance style to work with, so it was a challenge, but we're both professionals and we both had that motivation to show America that we could attack this kiss of death. That's what brought us together, and that made it easier.

On the quickstep being known as the "kiss of death" on "SYTYCD":
I think I was already practicing my solo when I opened that card that told us we'd be doing that dance,  especially when everyone else around us had a genre in their comfort zone. I felt almost defeated, but there was motivation to attack the dance's hard style. The blessing was having Jean-Marc [Généreux] as a choreographer. He was very involved and invested in us, and he knew it would be a difficult task and that it's a hard dance to learn: Your feet have to work very fast, and you have to work intimately with your partner, and that was an additional challenge. I think Jean-Marc guided us a lot with the analogies he used to help us with frame and finding that connection physically. He gave us a great routine choreographically to make it easier because there were other things to focus on, like the story and acting, so we weren't too focused on doing the quickstep perfectly.

What's next:
Relaxing and spending time with family. I got a few offers the day after the elimination episode to teach and to perform and to do the Radio City Rockettes show and maybe get into acting. 

Vitolio on how dancing saved his life:
I saw a Michael Jackson video in early age and that inspired me: Once I got out of an orphanage [in Haiti] I used dance as a way to survive and make money in the street and take care of myself and my grandma.  

How it felt to be in the bottom three the third time:
I was a little surprised because, from the judges' critiques the night before, we thought we had done an awesome quickstep. I knew we were somehow going to be in there because America had its favorites and wasn't going to put its favorites aside to vote for us, but I was hoping for a miracle still.

What's next:
I'm back in Miami and I'm looking for an agent in L.A., so I'm planning on moving to L.A. and keep on dancing and choreographing and getting into acting and modeling, and maybe writing a book about my life story.

— Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

Way to go, America and judges: Last night I couldn't figure out who on "So You Think You Can Dance" should go home, but I couldn't agree more with the decision.

Before we got to the unpleasantness, the dancers performed a group number to "A Brand New Day" from "The Wiz" as choreographed by Tyce Diorio, and it was a joyous Broadway number (and probably a mini Michael Jackson tribute). 

As we got to the first part of eliminations, I was surprised to learn that Karla Garcia and Vitolio Jeune were in the bottom three instead of Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak. The judges were lukewarm for Randi and Evan's frug, and I expected the fun factor of Vitolio and Karla's quickstep and the novelty of her quick-change dress would have had the calls rolling in. 

The judges were shocked, next, to learn that Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau were in the bottom three, and I was surprised in that I thought their creepy vampire dance from last night went over well. But when they were up against Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant and Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi, somebody in that crowd had to be in the bottom three and it would be a shock no matter who it was. 

Finally, Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb were the last couple sent to the bottom three: I was really glad that America dialed in and saved Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover after their unusual alien dance. Moreover, I was glad that finally Phillip had to dance for his life, since his solos are probably the most fun to watch in the entire competition. 

Continuing the routine of guest dance performances, Desmond Richardson and Patricia Hachey performed a pas de deux. Let's just forget the dance for a second: These two dancers' bodies and the things they did with them were just sick.  And the dance, of course, was beautiful.  But ogling Desmond's thighs and watching Patricia bring her thigh up to her ear, well, I was filled with awe.

We got to the solos and began with Karla. I enjoyed her dance, which I thought was much more quirky and interesting than she is on the show (which turned out to be good for her solo, but the fact that the rest of her time on the show was not quite memorable was bad for her overall).  Vitolio danced next, and my reaction was, "I'm sick of seeing Vitolio do solos." As Nigel said, he brings a presence through the stage, but doesn't quite deliver beyond that.  When Kayla danced, I wrote "I'm going to wait to see what the judges say about this. Meh," and actually was backed up by Nigel, who said her solo was "static."  Kupono's solo was, well, annoying: Set to a well-known ukelele version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" he emoted more than he danced. Sure, he seemed overjoyed to be alive, but he didn't really dance. I thought for sure Kupono's time was up when he said, "Going home wouldn't be that bad."  Finally, Jeanine showed off a much more classical, serious and technically skilled side than I expected from her in her solo, which I thought was a good move (it paid off: Nigel called it the best solo of the night) and Phillip did his amazing freestyle that was as fun as I expected -- half the entertainment in watching Phillip perform is the character her brings onstage, an ironic sort of goof.

Before we got to the actual eliminations, Kelly Clarkson sang "I Do Not Hook Up." I adore Kelly: She can actually sing, she makes it look easy and she seems like she is both a professional and yet has fun onstage.  She made most of the prior musical guests this season look like chopped liver. 

Finally, Nigel delivered the news: Jeanine and Phillip were both saved, and when pitted against Kayla, Karla had no chance. I thought she did a good job last night, but trying to come up with a memorable performance of hers, I blanked, so I think it made sense that she would go home next.

I'm not sure exactly why Vitolio got sent home instead of Kupono, except that maybe the judges were just, like me, slightly more sick of seeing Vitolio dance for his life than Kupono.

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

This has been the episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" that I've been waiting for all season. While I liked some performances more than others, I really enjoyed parts of every dance, which means I'm growing closer to the contestants, which means eliminations will be more difficult, which means the dancers are going to have to step it up more and the show can only get better.  Thank goodness.

I knew it would be a good episode with Mia Michaels sitting on the judges' panel. Cat Deeley (wearing a fun, flirty fuchsia dress with a black studded belt) asked Mia if she had anything to say since the last time she was on the show, and Mia rubbed her hands in anticipation and said, "Without naming names, my opinion has changed for the better." She was obviously talking about Brandon Bryant, who she took to task last time she was on the show for his "attitude," but Nigel Lythgoe egged her on by saying, "Would this be for a small male dancer? Were the initials Brandon?" 

So Brandon and his partner Janette Manrara got to show off for Mia with a cha cha cha choreographed by Jean-Marc Généreux.  I feel like in his auditions Brandon portrayed a strong, dignified contemporary dancer, but he can really show off fast and fun dances like this and disco. And I really like Janette: There's something about her (probably her hair) that just reminds me of another era, and I like that about her. Their chemistry is really coming together on stage as well. All the judges were effusive in their praise of the dancers, with Mary (who was actually rather subdued this evening compared to others) screaming at the top of her longs. Mia also took the moment to tell Brandon that she's hard on him because she knows how good he can be. So the evening was off to a great start. 

After being sent home on "So You Think You Can Dance," contestants Jonathan Platero and Asuka Kondoh talked with journalists about their experiences on the show and as dancers:

Jonathan Platero

On his dance inspirations:
Michael Jackson was an inspiration to me: I grew up watching his videos and trying to learn his movies. Janet Jackson too: I was a fan of '80s dance.  I've always loved music videos, and I'd love to be a dancer for her.

How it felt for Nigel Lythgoe to bet he'd be in the bottom three after his Wednesday night hip-hop dance:
It hurt a little bit. I didn't think he'd be as tough as he was, but each judge is entitled to his own opinion. It was a tough style for me, so I couldn't blame him.

On any dance opportunities he wished he'd been able to experience on the show:
I was really looking forward to working with Sonya [Tayeh] for jazz -- that would have been awesome. 

Asuka Kondoh

On her choice of footwear during her solos:
I'm most comfortable dancing in heels because I'm a ballroom dancer, and that shows off best what I do.  If my solo looked strange it's because I didn't have a partner -- I was imagining I was holding my partner's hand.

On whether she was worried her number would be up when fellow ballroom dancer Max Kapitannikov was eliminated last week:
I knew that I had to try even harder because I'm a ballroom dancer -- I think it's a little bit harder for us to show our ability because it is a partner dance, but I didn't think just because he went home I would be.

On her "SYTYCD" partner, Vitolio Jeune:
We had our ups and downs but learned to have some chemistry and connect with each other. I hope that I can have the same kind of relationship I had with Vitiolio with every partner I get because it was wonderful. 

The most difficult genre to learn:
Jazz, because it was so against what I normally want to do as a Latin dancer: level changes, trying to dance in jazz shoes, being on bent knees, being lifted.

On whether her audition partner, Ricky Sun, will be trying out for Season 6 of the show:
 I have no idea -- you'll have to find out and watch!

-- Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

So! It was a little hard to focus on tonight's show thanks to some goings-on in the showbiz world, but after a sultry Latin/hip-hop group dance choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin and Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo, "So You Think You Can Dance" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe addressed it all.  He paid a classy tribute to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and of course Michael Jackson.  Of all the shows on TV right now, I think "SYTYCD" could best pay tribute to Jackson since his dancing was such a large part of his talent. I got goosebumps watching their clip of the "Thriller" video and my only complaint was that they didn't show the whole thing. 

As for narrowing the dancers to the bottom three couples, it wasn't a surprise to me that two couples, Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune and Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero, were asked to perform solos.  While the judges liked Asuka and Vitolio's jazz dance, I think it was the kind of dance that didn't translate that well to the audience at home. The judges practically hated Karla and Jonathan's hip-hop routine, meanwhile, and I think America listened. The third couple put in the bottom three was Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover, which was somewhat surprising to me: I thought the audience would have been more in favor of their paso doble. But personally I think that for a while Phillip Chbeeb is going to be a spoiler in the competition (which I have no problem with -- I just think that he's an audience favorite and that will affect things). 

Before we got to the solo performances, we saw a performance from a group called the Rage Boyz Crew, which was basically a group of about 20 boys ranging in age from maybe 7 to 17 doing hip-hop en masse, wearing cute uniforms and tossing an adorable tot in the air. Host Cat Deeley clearly wanted to put the tiniest one in her pocket (if she had one in her sultry jungle-themed jumpsuit). A band called the Veronicas also performed, and for a while I thought they were the Donnas, only slimmed down to a frightening extent. The Veronicas actually seemed to sing their song, I think, which means they're a step up in terms of musical acts for the season.

Asuka kicked off the solos: I thought her ballroom routine was fine but basically I thought to myself, "If Max went home, then she should, too." The judges didn't seem to find Vitolio's solo that great, but I admire the way he uses his body onstage: He just brings life to the stage when I see him do solos.  Nigel claimed that Karla was trying too hard in her solo, but I found her to be a more interesting dancer than she's been throughout the competition. I didn't find Jonathan's solo especially remarkable in terms of emotion or technique, however, and the judges agreed with me. Caitlin threw some impressive gymnastics into her solo, which the judges loved: that particular solo didn't speak to me much but I like Caitlin in the competition and hoped she'd stay. And finally, I really liked Jason's solo -- I thought it showed off elements of him that we haven't seen in the paired dancing, but Nigel thought it reeked of desperation. 

In the end, though, Asuka was eliminated for not growing enough throughout the competition, and Jonathan was deemed the weakest of the boys who performed solos tonight. Sorry, girls!  Now this means that Karla and Vitolio will be dancing together next week. 

Tomorrow I will be chatting with Asuka and Jonathan about their time on the show: if you have any questions you'd like me to try to ask them, please let me know in the comments section.

-- Claire Zulkey

(Art: FOX)

'So You Think You Can Dance': Karla Garcia and Vitolio Jeune, future Rockette and author

Karla on her week with Vitolio:
It was really hard, because after [former partner ] Jonathan [Platero] got eliminated I was really emotional, because we got attached and then all of a sudden I got paired up with a brand-new partner. I had to find an emotional connection in very little time, plus had an added layer of the hardest dance style to work with, so it was a challenge, but we're both professionals and we both had that motivation to show America that we could attack this kiss of death. That's what brought us together, and that made it easier.

On the quickstep being known as the "kiss of death" on "SYTYCD":
I think I was already practicing my solo when I opened that card that told us we'd be doing that dance,  especially when everyone else around us had a genre in their comfort zone. I felt almost defeated, but there was motivation to attack the dance's hard style. The blessing was having Jean-Marc [Généreux] as a choreographer. He was very involved and invested in us, and he knew it would be a difficult task and that it's a hard dance to learn: Your feet have to work very fast, and you have to work intimately with your partner, and that was an additional challenge. I think Jean-Marc guided us a lot with the analogies he used to help us with frame and finding that connection physically. He gave us a great routine choreographically to make it easier because there were other things to focus on, like the story and acting, so we weren't too focused on doing the quickstep perfectly.

What's next:
Relaxing and spending time with family. I got a few offers the day after the elimination episode to teach and to perform and to do the Radio City Rockettes show and maybe get into acting. 

Vitolio on how dancing saved his life:
I saw a Michael Jackson video in early age and that inspired me: Once I got out of an orphanage [in Haiti] I used dance as a way to survive and make money in the street and take care of myself and my grandma.  

How it felt to be in the bottom three the third time:
I was a little surprised because, from the judges' critiques the night before, we thought we had done an awesome quickstep. I knew we were somehow going to be in there because America had its favorites and wasn't going to put its favorites aside to vote for us, but I was hoping for a miracle still.

What's next:
I'm back in Miami and I'm looking for an agent in L.A., so I'm planning on moving to L.A. and keep on dancing and choreographing and getting into acting and modeling, and maybe writing a book about my life story.

— Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

Way to go, America and judges: Last night I couldn't figure out who on "So You Think You Can Dance" should go home, but I couldn't agree more with the decision.

Before we got to the unpleasantness, the dancers performed a group number to "A Brand New Day" from "The Wiz" as choreographed by Tyce Diorio, and it was a joyous Broadway number (and probably a mini Michael Jackson tribute). 

As we got to the first part of eliminations, I was surprised to learn that Karla Garcia and Vitolio Jeune were in the bottom three instead of Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak. The judges were lukewarm for Randi and Evan's frug, and I expected the fun factor of Vitolio and Karla's quickstep and the novelty of her quick-change dress would have had the calls rolling in. 

The judges were shocked, next, to learn that Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau were in the bottom three, and I was surprised in that I thought their creepy vampire dance from last night went over well. But when they were up against Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant and Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi, somebody in that crowd had to be in the bottom three and it would be a shock no matter who it was. 

Finally, Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb were the last couple sent to the bottom three: I was really glad that America dialed in and saved Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover after their unusual alien dance. Moreover, I was glad that finally Phillip had to dance for his life, since his solos are probably the most fun to watch in the entire competition. 

Continuing the routine of guest dance performances, Desmond Richardson and Patricia Hachey performed a pas de deux. Let's just forget the dance for a second: These two dancers' bodies and the things they did with them were just sick.  And the dance, of course, was beautiful.  But ogling Desmond's thighs and watching Patricia bring her thigh up to her ear, well, I was filled with awe.

We got to the solos and began with Karla. I enjoyed her dance, which I thought was much more quirky and interesting than she is on the show (which turned out to be good for her solo, but the fact that the rest of her time on the show was not quite memorable was bad for her overall).  Vitolio danced next, and my reaction was, "I'm sick of seeing Vitolio do solos." As Nigel said, he brings a presence through the stage, but doesn't quite deliver beyond that.  When Kayla danced, I wrote "I'm going to wait to see what the judges say about this. Meh," and actually was backed up by Nigel, who said her solo was "static."  Kupono's solo was, well, annoying: Set to a well-known ukelele version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" he emoted more than he danced. Sure, he seemed overjoyed to be alive, but he didn't really dance. I thought for sure Kupono's time was up when he said, "Going home wouldn't be that bad."  Finally, Jeanine showed off a much more classical, serious and technically skilled side than I expected from her in her solo, which I thought was a good move (it paid off: Nigel called it the best solo of the night) and Phillip did his amazing freestyle that was as fun as I expected -- half the entertainment in watching Phillip perform is the character her brings onstage, an ironic sort of goof.

Before we got to the actual eliminations, Kelly Clarkson sang "I Do Not Hook Up." I adore Kelly: She can actually sing, she makes it look easy and she seems like she is both a professional and yet has fun onstage.  She made most of the prior musical guests this season look like chopped liver. 

Finally, Nigel delivered the news: Jeanine and Phillip were both saved, and when pitted against Kayla, Karla had no chance. I thought she did a good job last night, but trying to come up with a memorable performance of hers, I blanked, so I think it made sense that she would go home next.

I'm not sure exactly why Vitolio got sent home instead of Kupono, except that maybe the judges were just, like me, slightly more sick of seeing Vitolio dance for his life than Kupono.

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

This has been the episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" that I've been waiting for all season. While I liked some performances more than others, I really enjoyed parts of every dance, which means I'm growing closer to the contestants, which means eliminations will be more difficult, which means the dancers are going to have to step it up more and the show can only get better.  Thank goodness.

I knew it would be a good episode with Mia Michaels sitting on the judges' panel. Cat Deeley (wearing a fun, flirty fuchsia dress with a black studded belt) asked Mia if she had anything to say since the last time she was on the show, and Mia rubbed her hands in anticipation and said, "Without naming names, my opinion has changed for the better." She was obviously talking about Brandon Bryant, who she took to task last time she was on the show for his "attitude," but Nigel Lythgoe egged her on by saying, "Would this be for a small male dancer? Were the initials Brandon?" 

So Brandon and his partner Janette Manrara got to show off for Mia with a cha cha cha choreographed by Jean-Marc Généreux.  I feel like in his auditions Brandon portrayed a strong, dignified contemporary dancer, but he can really show off fast and fun dances like this and disco. And I really like Janette: There's something about her (probably her hair) that just reminds me of another era, and I like that about her. Their chemistry is really coming together on stage as well. All the judges were effusive in their praise of the dancers, with Mary (who was actually rather subdued this evening compared to others) screaming at the top of her longs. Mia also took the moment to tell Brandon that she's hard on him because she knows how good he can be. So the evening was off to a great start. 

After being sent home on "So You Think You Can Dance," contestants Jonathan Platero and Asuka Kondoh talked with journalists about their experiences on the show and as dancers:

Jonathan Platero

On his dance inspirations:
Michael Jackson was an inspiration to me: I grew up watching his videos and trying to learn his movies. Janet Jackson too: I was a fan of '80s dance.  I've always loved music videos, and I'd love to be a dancer for her.

How it felt for Nigel Lythgoe to bet he'd be in the bottom three after his Wednesday night hip-hop dance:
It hurt a little bit. I didn't think he'd be as tough as he was, but each judge is entitled to his own opinion. It was a tough style for me, so I couldn't blame him.

On any dance opportunities he wished he'd been able to experience on the show:
I was really looking forward to working with Sonya [Tayeh] for jazz -- that would have been awesome. 

Asuka Kondoh

On her choice of footwear during her solos:
I'm most comfortable dancing in heels because I'm a ballroom dancer, and that shows off best what I do.  If my solo looked strange it's because I didn't have a partner -- I was imagining I was holding my partner's hand.

On whether she was worried her number would be up when fellow ballroom dancer Max Kapitannikov was eliminated last week:
I knew that I had to try even harder because I'm a ballroom dancer -- I think it's a little bit harder for us to show our ability because it is a partner dance, but I didn't think just because he went home I would be.

On her "SYTYCD" partner, Vitolio Jeune:
We had our ups and downs but learned to have some chemistry and connect with each other. I hope that I can have the same kind of relationship I had with Vitiolio with every partner I get because it was wonderful. 

The most difficult genre to learn:
Jazz, because it was so against what I normally want to do as a Latin dancer: level changes, trying to dance in jazz shoes, being on bent knees, being lifted.

On whether her audition partner, Ricky Sun, will be trying out for Season 6 of the show:
 I have no idea -- you'll have to find out and watch!

-- Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

So! It was a little hard to focus on tonight's show thanks to some goings-on in the showbiz world, but after a sultry Latin/hip-hop group dance choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin and Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo, "So You Think You Can Dance" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe addressed it all.  He paid a classy tribute to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and of course Michael Jackson.  Of all the shows on TV right now, I think "SYTYCD" could best pay tribute to Jackson since his dancing was such a large part of his talent. I got goosebumps watching their clip of the "Thriller" video and my only complaint was that they didn't show the whole thing. 

As for narrowing the dancers to the bottom three couples, it wasn't a surprise to me that two couples, Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune and Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero, were asked to perform solos.  While the judges liked Asuka and Vitolio's jazz dance, I think it was the kind of dance that didn't translate that well to the audience at home. The judges practically hated Karla and Jonathan's hip-hop routine, meanwhile, and I think America listened. The third couple put in the bottom three was Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover, which was somewhat surprising to me: I thought the audience would have been more in favor of their paso doble. But personally I think that for a while Phillip Chbeeb is going to be a spoiler in the competition (which I have no problem with -- I just think that he's an audience favorite and that will affect things). 

Before we got to the solo performances, we saw a performance from a group called the Rage Boyz Crew, which was basically a group of about 20 boys ranging in age from maybe 7 to 17 doing hip-hop en masse, wearing cute uniforms and tossing an adorable tot in the air. Host Cat Deeley clearly wanted to put the tiniest one in her pocket (if she had one in her sultry jungle-themed jumpsuit). A band called the Veronicas also performed, and for a while I thought they were the Donnas, only slimmed down to a frightening extent. The Veronicas actually seemed to sing their song, I think, which means they're a step up in terms of musical acts for the season.

Asuka kicked off the solos: I thought her ballroom routine was fine but basically I thought to myself, "If Max went home, then she should, too." The judges didn't seem to find Vitolio's solo that great, but I admire the way he uses his body onstage: He just brings life to the stage when I see him do solos.  Nigel claimed that Karla was trying too hard in her solo, but I found her to be a more interesting dancer than she's been throughout the competition. I didn't find Jonathan's solo especially remarkable in terms of emotion or technique, however, and the judges agreed with me. Caitlin threw some impressive gymnastics into her solo, which the judges loved: that particular solo didn't speak to me much but I like Caitlin in the competition and hoped she'd stay. And finally, I really liked Jason's solo -- I thought it showed off elements of him that we haven't seen in the paired dancing, but Nigel thought it reeked of desperation. 

In the end, though, Asuka was eliminated for not growing enough throughout the competition, and Jonathan was deemed the weakest of the boys who performed solos tonight. Sorry, girls!  Now this means that Karla and Vitolio will be dancing together next week. 

Tomorrow I will be chatting with Asuka and Jonathan about their time on the show: if you have any questions you'd like me to try to ask them, please let me know in the comments section.

-- Claire Zulkey

(Art: FOX)

'So You Think You Can Dance': The kiss of death!

Way to go, America and judges: Last night I couldn't figure out who on "So You Think You Can Dance" should go home, but I couldn't agree more with the decision.

Before we got to the unpleasantness, the dancers performed a group number to "A Brand New Day" from "The Wiz" as choreographed by Tyce Diorio, and it was a joyous Broadway number (and probably a mini Michael Jackson tribute). 

As we got to the first part of eliminations, I was surprised to learn that Karla Garcia and Vitolio Jeune were in the bottom three instead of Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak. The judges were lukewarm for Randi and Evan's frug, and I expected the fun factor of Vitolio and Karla's quickstep and the novelty of her quick-change dress would have had the calls rolling in. 

The judges were shocked, next, to learn that Kayla Radomski and Kupono Aweau were in the bottom three, and I was surprised in that I thought their creepy vampire dance from last night went over well. But when they were up against Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant and Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi, somebody in that crowd had to be in the bottom three and it would be a shock no matter who it was. 

Finally, Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb were the last couple sent to the bottom three: I was really glad that America dialed in and saved Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover after their unusual alien dance. Moreover, I was glad that finally Phillip had to dance for his life, since his solos are probably the most fun to watch in the entire competition. 

Continuing the routine of guest dance performances, Desmond Richardson and Patricia Hachey performed a pas de deux. Let's just forget the dance for a second: These two dancers' bodies and the things they did with them were just sick.  And the dance, of course, was beautiful.  But ogling Desmond's thighs and watching Patricia bring her thigh up to her ear, well, I was filled with awe.

We got to the solos and began with Karla. I enjoyed her dance, which I thought was much more quirky and interesting than she is on the show (which turned out to be good for her solo, but the fact that the rest of her time on the show was not quite memorable was bad for her overall).  Vitolio danced next, and my reaction was, "I'm sick of seeing Vitolio do solos." As Nigel said, he brings a presence through the stage, but doesn't quite deliver beyond that.  When Kayla danced, I wrote "I'm going to wait to see what the judges say about this. Meh," and actually was backed up by Nigel, who said her solo was "static."  Kupono's solo was, well, annoying: Set to a well-known ukelele version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" he emoted more than he danced. Sure, he seemed overjoyed to be alive, but he didn't really dance. I thought for sure Kupono's time was up when he said, "Going home wouldn't be that bad."  Finally, Jeanine showed off a much more classical, serious and technically skilled side than I expected from her in her solo, which I thought was a good move (it paid off: Nigel called it the best solo of the night) and Phillip did his amazing freestyle that was as fun as I expected -- half the entertainment in watching Phillip perform is the character her brings onstage, an ironic sort of goof.

Before we got to the actual eliminations, Kelly Clarkson sang "I Do Not Hook Up." I adore Kelly: She can actually sing, she makes it look easy and she seems like she is both a professional and yet has fun onstage.  She made most of the prior musical guests this season look like chopped liver. 

Finally, Nigel delivered the news: Jeanine and Phillip were both saved, and when pitted against Kayla, Karla had no chance. I thought she did a good job last night, but trying to come up with a memorable performance of hers, I blanked, so I think it made sense that she would go home next.

I'm not sure exactly why Vitolio got sent home instead of Kupono, except that maybe the judges were just, like me, slightly more sick of seeing Vitolio dance for his life than Kupono.

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

This has been the episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" that I've been waiting for all season. While I liked some performances more than others, I really enjoyed parts of every dance, which means I'm growing closer to the contestants, which means eliminations will be more difficult, which means the dancers are going to have to step it up more and the show can only get better.  Thank goodness.

I knew it would be a good episode with Mia Michaels sitting on the judges' panel. Cat Deeley (wearing a fun, flirty fuchsia dress with a black studded belt) asked Mia if she had anything to say since the last time she was on the show, and Mia rubbed her hands in anticipation and said, "Without naming names, my opinion has changed for the better." She was obviously talking about Brandon Bryant, who she took to task last time she was on the show for his "attitude," but Nigel Lythgoe egged her on by saying, "Would this be for a small male dancer? Were the initials Brandon?" 

So Brandon and his partner Janette Manrara got to show off for Mia with a cha cha cha choreographed by Jean-Marc Généreux.  I feel like in his auditions Brandon portrayed a strong, dignified contemporary dancer, but he can really show off fast and fun dances like this and disco. And I really like Janette: There's something about her (probably her hair) that just reminds me of another era, and I like that about her. Their chemistry is really coming together on stage as well. All the judges were effusive in their praise of the dancers, with Mary (who was actually rather subdued this evening compared to others) screaming at the top of her longs. Mia also took the moment to tell Brandon that she's hard on him because she knows how good he can be. So the evening was off to a great start. 

After being sent home on "So You Think You Can Dance," contestants Jonathan Platero and Asuka Kondoh talked with journalists about their experiences on the show and as dancers:

Jonathan Platero

On his dance inspirations:
Michael Jackson was an inspiration to me: I grew up watching his videos and trying to learn his movies. Janet Jackson too: I was a fan of '80s dance.  I've always loved music videos, and I'd love to be a dancer for her.

How it felt for Nigel Lythgoe to bet he'd be in the bottom three after his Wednesday night hip-hop dance:
It hurt a little bit. I didn't think he'd be as tough as he was, but each judge is entitled to his own opinion. It was a tough style for me, so I couldn't blame him.

On any dance opportunities he wished he'd been able to experience on the show:
I was really looking forward to working with Sonya [Tayeh] for jazz -- that would have been awesome. 

Asuka Kondoh

On her choice of footwear during her solos:
I'm most comfortable dancing in heels because I'm a ballroom dancer, and that shows off best what I do.  If my solo looked strange it's because I didn't have a partner -- I was imagining I was holding my partner's hand.

On whether she was worried her number would be up when fellow ballroom dancer Max Kapitannikov was eliminated last week:
I knew that I had to try even harder because I'm a ballroom dancer -- I think it's a little bit harder for us to show our ability because it is a partner dance, but I didn't think just because he went home I would be.

On her "SYTYCD" partner, Vitolio Jeune:
We had our ups and downs but learned to have some chemistry and connect with each other. I hope that I can have the same kind of relationship I had with Vitiolio with every partner I get because it was wonderful. 

The most difficult genre to learn:
Jazz, because it was so against what I normally want to do as a Latin dancer: level changes, trying to dance in jazz shoes, being on bent knees, being lifted.

On whether her audition partner, Ricky Sun, will be trying out for Season 6 of the show:
 I have no idea -- you'll have to find out and watch!

-- Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

So! It was a little hard to focus on tonight's show thanks to some goings-on in the showbiz world, but after a sultry Latin/hip-hop group dance choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin and Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo, "So You Think You Can Dance" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe addressed it all.  He paid a classy tribute to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and of course Michael Jackson.  Of all the shows on TV right now, I think "SYTYCD" could best pay tribute to Jackson since his dancing was such a large part of his talent. I got goosebumps watching their clip of the "Thriller" video and my only complaint was that they didn't show the whole thing. 

As for narrowing the dancers to the bottom three couples, it wasn't a surprise to me that two couples, Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune and Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero, were asked to perform solos.  While the judges liked Asuka and Vitolio's jazz dance, I think it was the kind of dance that didn't translate that well to the audience at home. The judges practically hated Karla and Jonathan's hip-hop routine, meanwhile, and I think America listened. The third couple put in the bottom three was Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover, which was somewhat surprising to me: I thought the audience would have been more in favor of their paso doble. But personally I think that for a while Phillip Chbeeb is going to be a spoiler in the competition (which I have no problem with -- I just think that he's an audience favorite and that will affect things). 

Before we got to the solo performances, we saw a performance from a group called the Rage Boyz Crew, which was basically a group of about 20 boys ranging in age from maybe 7 to 17 doing hip-hop en masse, wearing cute uniforms and tossing an adorable tot in the air. Host Cat Deeley clearly wanted to put the tiniest one in her pocket (if she had one in her sultry jungle-themed jumpsuit). A band called the Veronicas also performed, and for a while I thought they were the Donnas, only slimmed down to a frightening extent. The Veronicas actually seemed to sing their song, I think, which means they're a step up in terms of musical acts for the season.

Asuka kicked off the solos: I thought her ballroom routine was fine but basically I thought to myself, "If Max went home, then she should, too." The judges didn't seem to find Vitolio's solo that great, but I admire the way he uses his body onstage: He just brings life to the stage when I see him do solos.  Nigel claimed that Karla was trying too hard in her solo, but I found her to be a more interesting dancer than she's been throughout the competition. I didn't find Jonathan's solo especially remarkable in terms of emotion or technique, however, and the judges agreed with me. Caitlin threw some impressive gymnastics into her solo, which the judges loved: that particular solo didn't speak to me much but I like Caitlin in the competition and hoped she'd stay. And finally, I really liked Jason's solo -- I thought it showed off elements of him that we haven't seen in the paired dancing, but Nigel thought it reeked of desperation. 

In the end, though, Asuka was eliminated for not growing enough throughout the competition, and Jonathan was deemed the weakest of the boys who performed solos tonight. Sorry, girls!  Now this means that Karla and Vitolio will be dancing together next week. 

Tomorrow I will be chatting with Asuka and Jonathan about their time on the show: if you have any questions you'd like me to try to ask them, please let me know in the comments section.

-- Claire Zulkey

(Art: FOX)

'So You Think You Can Dance': Chains, aliens and ballet shoes

This has been the episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" that I've been waiting for all season. While I liked some performances more than others, I really enjoyed parts of every dance, which means I'm growing closer to the contestants, which means eliminations will be more difficult, which means the dancers are going to have to step it up more and the show can only get better.  Thank goodness.

I knew it would be a good episode with Mia Michaels sitting on the judges' panel. Cat Deeley (wearing a fun, flirty fuchsia dress with a black studded belt) asked Mia if she had anything to say since the last time she was on the show, and Mia rubbed her hands in anticipation and said, "Without naming names, my opinion has changed for the better." She was obviously talking about Brandon Bryant, who she took to task last time she was on the show for his "attitude," but Nigel Lythgoe egged her on by saying, "Would this be for a small male dancer? Were the initials Brandon?" 

So Brandon and his partner Janette Manrara got to show off for Mia with a cha cha cha choreographed by Jean-Marc Généreux.  I feel like in his auditions Brandon portrayed a strong, dignified contemporary dancer, but he can really show off fast and fun dances like this and disco. And I really like Janette: There's something about her (probably her hair) that just reminds me of another era, and I like that about her. Their chemistry is really coming together on stage as well. All the judges were effusive in their praise of the dancers, with Mary (who was actually rather subdued this evening compared to others) screaming at the top of her longs. Mia also took the moment to tell Brandon that she's hard on him because she knows how good he can be. So the evening was off to a great start. 

After being sent home on "So You Think You Can Dance," contestants Jonathan Platero and Asuka Kondoh talked with journalists about their experiences on the show and as dancers:

Jonathan Platero

On his dance inspirations:
Michael Jackson was an inspiration to me: I grew up watching his videos and trying to learn his movies. Janet Jackson too: I was a fan of '80s dance.  I've always loved music videos, and I'd love to be a dancer for her.

How it felt for Nigel Lythgoe to bet he'd be in the bottom three after his Wednesday night hip-hop dance:
It hurt a little bit. I didn't think he'd be as tough as he was, but each judge is entitled to his own opinion. It was a tough style for me, so I couldn't blame him.

On any dance opportunities he wished he'd been able to experience on the show:
I was really looking forward to working with Sonya [Tayeh] for jazz -- that would have been awesome. 

Asuka Kondoh

On her choice of footwear during her solos:
I'm most comfortable dancing in heels because I'm a ballroom dancer, and that shows off best what I do.  If my solo looked strange it's because I didn't have a partner -- I was imagining I was holding my partner's hand.

On whether she was worried her number would be up when fellow ballroom dancer Max Kapitannikov was eliminated last week:
I knew that I had to try even harder because I'm a ballroom dancer -- I think it's a little bit harder for us to show our ability because it is a partner dance, but I didn't think just because he went home I would be.

On her "SYTYCD" partner, Vitolio Jeune:
We had our ups and downs but learned to have some chemistry and connect with each other. I hope that I can have the same kind of relationship I had with Vitiolio with every partner I get because it was wonderful. 

The most difficult genre to learn:
Jazz, because it was so against what I normally want to do as a Latin dancer: level changes, trying to dance in jazz shoes, being on bent knees, being lifted.

On whether her audition partner, Ricky Sun, will be trying out for Season 6 of the show:
 I have no idea -- you'll have to find out and watch!

-- Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

So! It was a little hard to focus on tonight's show thanks to some goings-on in the showbiz world, but after a sultry Latin/hip-hop group dance choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin and Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo, "So You Think You Can Dance" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe addressed it all.  He paid a classy tribute to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and of course Michael Jackson.  Of all the shows on TV right now, I think "SYTYCD" could best pay tribute to Jackson since his dancing was such a large part of his talent. I got goosebumps watching their clip of the "Thriller" video and my only complaint was that they didn't show the whole thing. 

As for narrowing the dancers to the bottom three couples, it wasn't a surprise to me that two couples, Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune and Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero, were asked to perform solos.  While the judges liked Asuka and Vitolio's jazz dance, I think it was the kind of dance that didn't translate that well to the audience at home. The judges practically hated Karla and Jonathan's hip-hop routine, meanwhile, and I think America listened. The third couple put in the bottom three was Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover, which was somewhat surprising to me: I thought the audience would have been more in favor of their paso doble. But personally I think that for a while Phillip Chbeeb is going to be a spoiler in the competition (which I have no problem with -- I just think that he's an audience favorite and that will affect things). 

Before we got to the solo performances, we saw a performance from a group called the Rage Boyz Crew, which was basically a group of about 20 boys ranging in age from maybe 7 to 17 doing hip-hop en masse, wearing cute uniforms and tossing an adorable tot in the air. Host Cat Deeley clearly wanted to put the tiniest one in her pocket (if she had one in her sultry jungle-themed jumpsuit). A band called the Veronicas also performed, and for a while I thought they were the Donnas, only slimmed down to a frightening extent. The Veronicas actually seemed to sing their song, I think, which means they're a step up in terms of musical acts for the season.

Asuka kicked off the solos: I thought her ballroom routine was fine but basically I thought to myself, "If Max went home, then she should, too." The judges didn't seem to find Vitolio's solo that great, but I admire the way he uses his body onstage: He just brings life to the stage when I see him do solos.  Nigel claimed that Karla was trying too hard in her solo, but I found her to be a more interesting dancer than she's been throughout the competition. I didn't find Jonathan's solo especially remarkable in terms of emotion or technique, however, and the judges agreed with me. Caitlin threw some impressive gymnastics into her solo, which the judges loved: that particular solo didn't speak to me much but I like Caitlin in the competition and hoped she'd stay. And finally, I really liked Jason's solo -- I thought it showed off elements of him that we haven't seen in the paired dancing, but Nigel thought it reeked of desperation. 

In the end, though, Asuka was eliminated for not growing enough throughout the competition, and Jonathan was deemed the weakest of the boys who performed solos tonight. Sorry, girls!  Now this means that Karla and Vitolio will be dancing together next week. 

Tomorrow I will be chatting with Asuka and Jonathan about their time on the show: if you have any questions you'd like me to try to ask them, please let me know in the comments section.

-- Claire Zulkey

(Art: FOX)

'So You Think You Can Dance': parting thoughts from Jonathan Platero and Asuka Kondoh

After being sent home on "So You Think You Can Dance," contestants Jonathan Platero and Asuka Kondoh talked with journalists about their experiences on the show and as dancers:

Jonathan Platero

On his dance inspirations:
Michael Jackson was an inspiration to me: I grew up watching his videos and trying to learn his movies. Janet Jackson too: I was a fan of '80s dance.  I've always loved music videos, and I'd love to be a dancer for her.

How it felt for Nigel Lythgoe to bet he'd be in the bottom three after his Wednesday night hip-hop dance:
It hurt a little bit. I didn't think he'd be as tough as he was, but each judge is entitled to his own opinion. It was a tough style for me, so I couldn't blame him.

On any dance opportunities he wished he'd been able to experience on the show:
I was really looking forward to working with Sonya [Tayeh] for jazz -- that would have been awesome. 

Asuka Kondoh

On her choice of footwear during her solos:
I'm most comfortable dancing in heels because I'm a ballroom dancer, and that shows off best what I do.  If my solo looked strange it's because I didn't have a partner -- I was imagining I was holding my partner's hand.

On whether she was worried her number would be up when fellow ballroom dancer Max Kapitannikov was eliminated last week:
I knew that I had to try even harder because I'm a ballroom dancer -- I think it's a little bit harder for us to show our ability because it is a partner dance, but I didn't think just because he went home I would be.

On her "SYTYCD" partner, Vitolio Jeune:
We had our ups and downs but learned to have some chemistry and connect with each other. I hope that I can have the same kind of relationship I had with Vitiolio with every partner I get because it was wonderful. 

The most difficult genre to learn:
Jazz, because it was so against what I normally want to do as a Latin dancer: level changes, trying to dance in jazz shoes, being on bent knees, being lifted.

On whether her audition partner, Ricky Sun, will be trying out for Season 6 of the show:
 I have no idea -- you'll have to find out and watch!

-- Claire Zulkey

Photo: Fox

So! It was a little hard to focus on tonight's show thanks to some goings-on in the showbiz world, but after a sultry Latin/hip-hop group dance choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin and Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo, "So You Think You Can Dance" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe addressed it all.  He paid a classy tribute to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and of course Michael Jackson.  Of all the shows on TV right now, I think "SYTYCD" could best pay tribute to Jackson since his dancing was such a large part of his talent. I got goosebumps watching their clip of the "Thriller" video and my only complaint was that they didn't show the whole thing. 

As for narrowing the dancers to the bottom three couples, it wasn't a surprise to me that two couples, Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune and Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero, were asked to perform solos.  While the judges liked Asuka and Vitolio's jazz dance, I think it was the kind of dance that didn't translate that well to the audience at home. The judges practically hated Karla and Jonathan's hip-hop routine, meanwhile, and I think America listened. The third couple put in the bottom three was Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover, which was somewhat surprising to me: I thought the audience would have been more in favor of their paso doble. But personally I think that for a while Phillip Chbeeb is going to be a spoiler in the competition (which I have no problem with -- I just think that he's an audience favorite and that will affect things). 

Before we got to the solo performances, we saw a performance from a group called the Rage Boyz Crew, which was basically a group of about 20 boys ranging in age from maybe 7 to 17 doing hip-hop en masse, wearing cute uniforms and tossing an adorable tot in the air. Host Cat Deeley clearly wanted to put the tiniest one in her pocket (if she had one in her sultry jungle-themed jumpsuit). A band called the Veronicas also performed, and for a while I thought they were the Donnas, only slimmed down to a frightening extent. The Veronicas actually seemed to sing their song, I think, which means they're a step up in terms of musical acts for the season.

Asuka kicked off the solos: I thought her ballroom routine was fine but basically I thought to myself, "If Max went home, then she should, too." The judges didn't seem to find Vitolio's solo that great, but I admire the way he uses his body onstage: He just brings life to the stage when I see him do solos.  Nigel claimed that Karla was trying too hard in her solo, but I found her to be a more interesting dancer than she's been throughout the competition. I didn't find Jonathan's solo especially remarkable in terms of emotion or technique, however, and the judges agreed with me. Caitlin threw some impressive gymnastics into her solo, which the judges loved: that particular solo didn't speak to me much but I like Caitlin in the competition and hoped she'd stay. And finally, I really liked Jason's solo -- I thought it showed off elements of him that we haven't seen in the paired dancing, but Nigel thought it reeked of desperation. 

In the end, though, Asuka was eliminated for not growing enough throughout the competition, and Jonathan was deemed the weakest of the boys who performed solos tonight. Sorry, girls!  Now this means that Karla and Vitolio will be dancing together next week. 

Tomorrow I will be chatting with Asuka and Jonathan about their time on the show: if you have any questions you'd like me to try to ask them, please let me know in the comments section.

-- Claire Zulkey

(Art: FOX)

'So You Think You Can Dance': Paying respect

So! It was a little hard to focus on tonight's show thanks to some goings-on in the showbiz world, but after a sultry Latin/hip-hop group dance choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin and Napoleon & Tabitha D'umo, "So You Think You Can Dance" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe addressed it all.  He paid a classy tribute to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and of course Michael Jackson.  Of all the shows on TV right now, I think "SYTYCD" could best pay tribute to Jackson since his dancing was such a large part of his talent. I got goosebumps watching their clip of the "Thriller" video and my only complaint was that they didn't show the whole thing. 

As for narrowing the dancers to the bottom three couples, it wasn't a surprise to me that two couples, Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune and Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero, were asked to perform solos.  While the judges liked Asuka and Vitolio's jazz dance, I think it was the kind of dance that didn't translate that well to the audience at home. The judges practically hated Karla and Jonathan's hip-hop routine, meanwhile, and I think America listened. The third couple put in the bottom three was Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover, which was somewhat surprising to me: I thought the audience would have been more in favor of their paso doble. But personally I think that for a while Phillip Chbeeb is going to be a spoiler in the competition (which I have no problem with -- I just think that he's an audience favorite and that will affect things). 

Before we got to the solo performances, we saw a performance from a group called the Rage Boyz Crew, which was basically a group of about 20 boys ranging in age from maybe 7 to 17 doing hip-hop en masse, wearing cute uniforms and tossing an adorable tot in the air. Host Cat Deeley clearly wanted to put the tiniest one in her pocket (if she had one in her sultry jungle-themed jumpsuit). A band called the Veronicas also performed, and for a while I thought they were the Donnas, only slimmed down to a frightening extent. The Veronicas actually seemed to sing their song, I think, which means they're a step up in terms of musical acts for the season.

Asuka kicked off the solos: I thought her ballroom routine was fine but basically I thought to myself, "If Max went home, then she should, too." The judges didn't seem to find Vitolio's solo that great, but I admire the way he uses his body onstage: He just brings life to the stage when I see him do solos.  Nigel claimed that Karla was trying too hard in her solo, but I found her to be a more interesting dancer than she's been throughout the competition. I didn't find Jonathan's solo especially remarkable in terms of emotion or technique, however, and the judges agreed with me. Caitlin threw some impressive gymnastics into her solo, which the judges loved: that particular solo didn't speak to me much but I like Caitlin in the competition and hoped she'd stay. And finally, I really liked Jason's solo -- I thought it showed off elements of him that we haven't seen in the paired dancing, but Nigel thought it reeked of desperation. 

In the end, though, Asuka was eliminated for not growing enough throughout the competition, and Jonathan was deemed the weakest of the boys who performed solos tonight. Sorry, girls!  Now this means that Karla and Vitolio will be dancing together next week. 

Tomorrow I will be chatting with Asuka and Jonathan about their time on the show: if you have any questions you'd like me to try to ask them, please let me know in the comments section.

-- Claire Zulkey

(Art: FOX)