It was a mixed bag on So You Think You Can Dance this week as some dances were simply sublime and others left me flat. Sure, week to week there are always a couple dances that don’t rise to the level of excellence, but this week there were ones that failed because the dancers didn’t make a connection with me, and ones because the choreography wasn’t up to snuff.
This week’s top three, however, were easy to pick although difficult to rank… hence the tie in the top spot.
#1 (tie) – Zack & Jacque – (Lyrical) Hip Hop – Choreographed by Keone and Mari Madrid
and
Ricky & Valerie – Viennese Waltz – Choreographed by Lacey Schwimmer: These were both sublime and exemplify why I love this show. The artistry in both of these routines is simply extraordinary.
Zack and Jacque opened the couple portion of the show with this beautiful hip hop number. Yes, the show called it hip hop, but it’s much more in the lyrical hip hop category. It reminds me, as it did Mary, of Mark & Chelsea’s “Burning Love” from season 4. Zack and Jacque hit all of the intricate movements, gave us tons of emotions and excelled in every way. Watch the clip and watch how in sync they are when they need to be, but how they also end up interlocking with each other when they come back together from doing separate movements. Amazing!
I love everything about the movement of Viennese Waltz, the rise and fall as the dancers cross the floor, the flourishes that are worked in. It’s romantic and beautiful. Ricky and Valerie nailed it and it made me swoon. In particular the musicality of this dance is incredible as their moves match to the music so well. This couple continues to be my week-to-week favorite, and I expect them to stay there.
#3 – Casey & Brooklyn – Jazz – Choreographed by Bonnie Story: Not only is this a super fun and bouncy number, but Casey does a couple of amazing turns in here. In the clip you’ll see him spin while holding his leg (at 25 seconds) and then spin himself into a drop (at 1:05). Those moves, plus their bubbliness sent this dance right into the top three for me.
Some other random thoughts for the week:
- The show opened with a great group number this week from Chris “Pharside” Jennings. It had an LXD feel to it and I liked that a lot.
- Warren Carlyle choreographed a great Broadway routine for Rudy and Tanisha that showed how to do Broadway without being too derivative. Rudy and Tanisha also performed it fantastically.
- In terms of what was disappointing this week: Marcquet and Jourdan fell short on chemistry. Stanley and Jessica got saddled with a bad jazz routine that they went on to not perform well. Serge and Carly had the same problem with their hip hop number. With Stanley and Jourdan out, Marcquet and Jessica get to form a new partnership next week. Hopefully they’ll rebound and have a stellar performance. This is the second week I’ve not liked Serge and Carly, I wouldn’t mind seeing them eliminated next week.
- I did like Bridget & Emilio’s jive and Teddy & Emily’s contemporary. Hopefully both couples will continue on next week.
