A sense of dread hung over the So You Think You Can Dance top six competition Wednesday night. With just two dancers to be cut before next week’s top four finale, the elimination this week is bound to be painful—though the most painful cut was already made when Will was sent packing far too early. So was that also a mood of grief darkening the judges’ faces? Even normally curt and candid Adam Shankman had nothing but anxious, almost protective praise for all the dancers, while Nigel devoted most of his commentary to SYTYCD self-promotion and plugging the products of sister show American Idol.
The showering of superlatives for the top six performances was mostly deserved and I, too, am now finding the decisions to be made unpleasant. I hate to see any of these three fiercely talented ladies go. On the men’s side, alas, I find the choice obvious: Twitch does not stand up—in technique, versatility, or artistic expression—to Joshua or Mark. But it’s all in the audience voters’ hands, and the results, as we saw too clearly with Will, can be shocking. So, this week, no predictions! Only the rundown:
--Courtney and Mark in a Viennese waltz. Choreography, 8. Performance, 9.
And in a jazz routine. Choreography, 7. Performance, 9.
Courtney and Mark are a dream in Jason Gilkison’s classy Viennese waltz. It’s teamwork that makes the dance float, but my attention goes to Mark, who is more stylized than Courtney, with his beautifully rounded lines and smooth energy. He is the surprise of the season for me: I agree with Mary when she says he’s really grown and “come alive to another level.” Or has he always been at this level and simply slipped under the radar because he refuses to be a flashy technician? Whatever the case, he’s a style chameleon who is always perfectly in character, and quietly in the moment. Another under-the-radar weapon: his telegenic face, which looks so perfectly princely in this number, so deliciously devious in others. Courtney fades next to his star power, especially in Sonya Tayeh’s weird jazz routine, tailor-made for Mark with those hunched-shoulder gargoyle skips.
Courtney’s solo: Ho-hum. She has a small bobble out of the opening turns, a weak extended leg in her finale of fouettes. She’s having to do her solo after pouring all her energies into both routines, though. Not her best outing, but I’ll never forget her in her samba. Probably, she should be the lady to leave this week—but how it pains me to say that!
Mark’s solo: Wow. He makes a shrewd move playing up his growing sex appeal with his t-shirt strip tease, and stays true to his inimitable physicality with those weird bird walks. Will taking off his shirt make his salivating female fans pick up the phone? I think yes.
--Katee and Joshua in contemporary. Choreography, 7. Performance, 9.
And in a paso doble. Choreography, 8. Performance, 10.
The only thing that could shock me more than Will going home would be if Katee and Joshua failed to make it to the finals. Tyce Diorio’s flailing routine to All By Myself doesn’t leave a lasting impression—and certainly isn’t, as Adam would have it, the best Tyce has done all season—but Katee and Joshua are powerful in it. Joshua has discovered that he possesses a lofty jump, and though his lines don’t match his velocity when he’s airborne, they’re passable. In the meantime his powerful arms work overtime once more zooming Katee around the stage in those seamless lifts. Katee is quietly perfect, as usual. The choice between her and Chelsie is an interesting one. Chelsie looks good, no matter her partner, while Katee always makes her partner look good, no matter who he may be. She’s fabulous in Jason Gilkison’s paso doble, looking gorgeous in that strappy dress, prowling the stage with confidence, but never overplayed sensuality. Joshua’s legs and feet are startlingly swift and precise. I agree with Adam: Is it really possible this hip-hopper has never had technique class?
Katee’s solo: Ho-hum. I’d love to see Katee slow down in one of her solos and show us a more lyrical side and more of her depth.
Joshua’s solo: Wow! Tight, controlled moves, that fabulous karate jump with moments of flashy technique and moments of just getting down. Once again, Joshua takes us on a wild ride in a single minute. As a hip hopper—in all ways, really—far superior to Twitch.
--Chelsie and Twitch in a mambo. Choreography, 10. Performance, 6.
And in hip hop. Choreography, 5. Performance, 7.
Is this the “mercy for Twitch” night, or what? The judges go outrageously easy on him in Toni and Melanie’s fabulous mambo number, deflecting attention from his stilted performance by saying they couldn’t take their eyes off Chelsie. Chelsie was a firecracker in that dress, with those mind-boggling hips. But in my eyes, the undefeatable Chelsie was finally defeated here by an abysmal partner—I could not take my eyes off of Twitch. His was the hip-hop version of mambo, the shoulders more spastic than shaking, but that’s not the worst of it. He reached for Chelsie tentatively and looked uncomfortable in the moment that should have been a showstopper. When she slid through his legs, he made decidedly unsexy faces—and no, Nigel, not only in the moments when he lost the steps.
Chelsie holds her own in Tabitha and Napoleon’s hip hop routine, but the costumes are cheesy and so is the dueling-maestros conceit, set to a low-energy string-quartet version of Janet Jackson’s Control. Could this routine—and Twitch’s decidedly uninspired partnering in the mambo—keep Chelsie out of the top four?
Chelsie’s solo: Wow! Like Mark, she goes for pure sex appeal, strutting to the Pussycat Dolls. I don’t know if that will pay off for her, but there’s no arguing with those legs and feet.
Twitch’s solo: Ho-hum. Cute, groovy…fun props, but he doesn’t have any surprises for us at this point. Joshua’s solo obliterates him.
I said no predictions, but having run through everyone’s performances, I can’t resist some handicapping. I think the competition might ultimately be between Katee and Mark. She’s solid, sweet, and non-threatening—not unlike Sabra last season. Meanwhile Mark is the heart-throb—the guy the show’s predominantly female, predominantly younger fans will want to vote for. The question may be whether fans vote for someone they relate to, or someone they have a crush on. This isn’t to diminish any of the remaining six as dancers; they’re all (with the exception of Twitch) tremendous. But this is a competition for “America’s favorite dancer,” not “America’s best dancer.” The best dancer was Will, and I never thought he’d be gone by now.
My leading dancers: Mark and Chelsie Best Technique: Chelsie and Katee.
Best Personalities: Mark (but could he stop with the disingenuous surprise when the judges praise him?)
Send Home: Courtney (it pains me to say it!) and Twitch.
Rachel Howard is the dance correspondent of the San Francisco Chronicle. Her website is www.rachelhoward.com.
.jpg)
