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So You Think You Can DanceSeason 11 of So You Think You Can Dance is down to the final two weeks now that the final four have been revealed: Ricky, Zack, Valerie and Jessica. I’m not thrilled that Jessica made it through as I think Jacque is the better competitor, but otherwise I’m pleased with who’s in the top four based on the top six (I’m still bitter than Rudy and Tanisha were voted out early).

The show this week was a mixed bag. It follows the pattern SYTYCD has were there’s one show, late in the season, that usually hits a wall. That happened this week. Yes, there were still many good numbers but there were several that also just didn’t connect.

Here’s my top three for this week

#1 – Ricky & All-Star Anya – Cha Cha – Choreographed by Jean Marc Genereux: Unless you’re Pasha, it can be stressful to dance with Anya because she’s fierce, powerful and a force of nature. Ricky, however, was excellent with her. It looked like he was leading her, as the man should, and he matched her fierceness. Male partners can often be lost next to Anya as she does her thing, but Ricky kept up and matched her fierceness.

#2 – Ricky & Valerie – Broadway – Choreographed by Spencer Liff: Part of the price package for this season’s winner is a role in the upcoming Broadway revival of On The Town. This might as well have been Ricky’s audition, and he nailed it. Plus he and Valerie had to deal with that swing, which we saw from rehearsal footage had tried to eat Valerie’s dress. This was a smooth delight.

#3 – Jacque & All-Star Will – Contemporary – Choreographed by Sean Cheesman: So Ricky and Valerie had to deal with the swing, Jacque and Will and the red ball. I was dubious when I saw the rehearsal footage with the ball, but what an extraordinary prop it made. In the opening movements, Will and Jacque roll over the ball, and that quality of movement is persistent in the dance, even once the ball is no longer used. It was a beautiful, touching performance. I’m glad Jacque got to go out on such a high note.

Here are other notes from this week’s show:

  • This is the second week the group dance was a downer. In this case, I liked neither the song or the dance and was glad when they were over. Hopefully for the performance finale next week the group number is spectacular.
  • Ricky and Valerie had some kick-ass solos this week. I loved the musicality in both of them.
  • I loved what Zack was doing this week. His foxtrot with Jacque was old-school movie magic. His hip hop with Fik-Shun was even more impressive because he matched Fik-Shun move for move. Like Anya, keeping up with Fik-Shun isn’t easy, but Zack made it look like it was.
  • Among the clunkers this week: Twitch and Valerie’s wedding day hip hop, Jessica and Ade’s technicolor jazz,  and Casey and Mackenzie’s contemporary were okay, but I expect far more than okay this late in the game. These dances should’ve all left me speechless.

Next week is the performance finale and after that the final votes will be tallied. As I have been from the start of the season, it’s all about Ricky for me. So I leave with two words:

GO RICKY!