I’m not sure how Tanisha ended up in the bottom three women on this week’s So You Think You Can Dance. Tanisha and Ricky were both excellent in the Broadway number last week (sure, they didn’t make my top three, but I did call them out). Yet, there she was stuck in the bottom.
She certainly rebounded from that during the show last night with a killer number with Ricky as well as standout moments in the Sonya Tayeh choreographed mini group number. It was the right time to shine as it made sending her home nearly impossible.
That we lost Brooklyn and Marcquet was not too surprising. Marcquet wasn’t doing great in the past weeks and Brooklyn certainly hit rock bottom last night in an abysmal hip hop routine, which, at least for me, did little to make her worth saving.
Here’s my top three for this week:
#1 – Ricky & Tanisha – Hip Hop – Choreographed by Dave Scott: Probably not surprising based on my comment above, Tanisha shows up here. This number was incredible and Tanisha owned every aspect of it, from her character, to the super sexy outfit to hitting every move with sharp power. Ricky was no slouch either exuding power and attitude of his own. This number rocked in every possible way.
#2 – Emilio & Bridget – Contemporary – Choreographed by Travis Wall: This was gorgeous. Emilio and Bridget sold the story completely and the dancing was incredible. They different ways Bridget kept pulling Emilio back was so powerful. Emilio was so surprising too. He’s a hip hop guy looking so confident in complex contemporary. This number reminded me a bit of Kupono and Kayla’s addiction routine that Mia Michaels choreographed a few seasons ago.
#3 – Zach & Jacque – Jazz – Choreographed by Sonya Tayeh: This was a surprise too. I’m liking Zack better every week. This was a complex number, as Sonya’s often are, and both of these dancers were excellent. It had a little bit of quirky and a whole lot of emotional impact. I loved every second of it, and especially Zack excelling so far outside his style.
Some other notes from the evening:
- The mini-group numbers from Sonya and Travis were great. I liked seeing Travis pushing his style too as his piece didn’t have the feel of a Travis Wall group number.
- There were two dances that did not work for me at all: Ricky and Valerie got stuck with Bollywood and I didn’t like despite their best efforts to sell it. I wish SYTYCD would get another choreographer for this style because I haven’t liked Nakul Dev Mahajan’s work for a few seasons now. WIlldaBeast’s hip hop number was a mess. I’m not sure if I didn’t like the choreography or just how it was done. Casey and Brooklyn were, for sure, not approaching hip hop correctly as it was too clean and perfect.
- Marcquet and Jesscia’s fox trot was very enjoyable. I know the judges didn’t care for it, but I thought it was lovely.
- Serge and Carly did their best dance yet with what Mandy Moore gave them (Moore, by the way, also delivered my favorite opening number of the season).
Next week is going to be rough because four dancers go home in order to create the top 10. My picks to go: Serge, Casey, Jessica, Carly.
Also…. Saturday is National Dance Day…. so hope you have a happy NDD!
