SYTYCD Play By Play: Part Four

Wendy Garofoli | Jul 11, 2008 | 0

Final 12 dancers

Welcome back, my dancer friends, to this week's edition of SYTYCD Play By Play. Wednesday night's performances were not as favorable to some of our favorite couples, who end up having to dance for their lives. Do the judges forgive one bad night and let them go? Will we lose a dancer who's never been in the bottom three couples? Read on after the jump to find out!

9:05: It's the opening number, and my first thoughts go back to one of my own performing experiences. To be honest, Tabitha and Napoleon kind of bit their theme from Decadancetheatre, an all-female dance crew I used to dance with. We had a number in our "Gamon" hip-hop ballet that was all about the light-up jackets. You can check it out on their site: decadancetheatre.com. At the end of the day, I think the similarity is a compliment, since the movement itself was not copied. It's very possible Tabitha and Napoleon never saw the piece, or were simply inspired by Deca's dance and wanted to showcase their own interpretation. Still, I've got to give credit where credit is due, and Deca's AD Jenn Weber, came up with it first.

9:07: Comfort and Thayne shouldn't be in the top three couples. They really weren't impressive last night.

9:08: Katee and Joshua are a joy to watch. Period. Joshua may not have hit it perfect in the Viennese Waltz, but he gave it his all, as he does every time. And the Bollywood number was awesome.

9:09: As expected, Comfort and Thayne are in the bottom three. I think they are in the most danger of the competition, if my expectations of the other bottom two couples are correct. I'd be surprised if they made it through. So that means Katee and Joshua will join the tour! Well done, guys. You deserve it.

9:13: Jessica and Will. I really enjoy Will, but Jessica grinds on my nerves. She just doesn't have that love, that glow on the stage. If you work too hard and let it show, it's not going to be enjoyable for us.

9:14: Chelsie and Mark were phenomenal last night. They were on fire! I'm sure America kept them. Let's find out...

9:15: Congrats to Chelsie and Mark! Welcome to the tour, luvs.

9:22: Gev and Courtney are truly entertaining. If you could combine Jessica's technique with Courtney's passion, you'd have one amazing dancer.

9:23: Hmmm, methinks Kherington and Twitch are dancing for their lives tonight. They just didn't have the best routines last night.

9:24: Yup. I was right! So, that means I hope, hope, hope, hope, hope that Thayne and Comfort go home. Because the other four are fantastic. Especially Will, Twitch and Kherington.

9:26: Three of Alvin Ailey's dancers are here to perform for the company's 50th anniversary. Excellent! It's so fantastic to see a professional dance company on this stage. They really need to do this more often, instead of bringing in random pop stars to lip synch for no reason. If you want to be a dance show trying to showcase all styles of dance, and trying to educate mainstream audiences about this artform, then bring in Alvin Ailey more often. Bring in American Ballet Theatre. Bring in Alonzo King's LINES Ballet. Bring in Rennie Harris' Puremovement, or Jason Samuels Smith (which they have already, but bring that man BACK!) This makes more sense to me than Katy Perry, who I love, but really...what does she have to do with dance? She's got a hit single. Big whoop.

9:34: Now for the solos. After this performance, Comfort has got to be going home. She ran around the stage, got down on her knees, and flipped her hair around. Not impressive. Not worthy of being in the top 10. Sorry.

9:35: Thayne is great but there's something about his upper body that's not working for me. I think his head feels a little disconnected from his spine. His technique is lovely, but I don't feel like he commits 100 percent, and I think it's because he doesnâ€^TMt release hims head completely.

9:36: I loved Jessica's dance, but it just illustrated exactly what I've been feeling. This girl had no expression. Just blank faced. She's a gorgeous brilliant dancer with no heart.

9:37: Without question, Will is staying. Holy crap he just put everything out there. It was intense. Wild. Raw. Loved it. The judges better not let me down again this week.

9:42: Kherington was not as perfect technically as Jessica, but I felt her dancing for her life. She's beautiful to look at, and is a beautiful dancer.

9:43: Twitch is too awesome. I loved the conductor character he had going on and I was sad when his time was up. It was an inspired routine. After that, he's absolutely got to stay. Please judges, please! Keep this man. He's a star.

9:46: Go ahead, Katy Perry. She's got a great voice. Love the yellow dress, too. What's up with all the dumb faces, though? She looked like a psycho competition kid.

9:52: Oh boy. Judgment time. Kherington is staying. Thank God! But Nigel, what the hell are you saying about Comfort bringing it up a notch in her solo? Her solo was a whole lot of nothing, and Jessica's was lovely. I'm starting to get nervous but...phew! They keep Jessica. Judges, you are slowly coming back in my good graces.

9:55: Here come the boys. This makes me nervous. Twitch, thank goodness, is staying. No brainer. Not even a question. Nigel says Will's work is up there with the Alvin Ailey dancers, and I completely agree, so he stays too. Which means...they got it right this week! Thayne is a great dancer, and he has a bright future ahead of him. But he was the man to go tonight.

Okay, kids! Hope you enjoyed this week's Play By Play installment. Stay tuned for next week, when the judges whittle down the top ten.

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