So You Think You Can Dance 9 – Recap Live Blog – Top 8 via Rickey.org
7:36 – Hello and welcome back to another episode of So You Think You Can Dance Season 9. The Top 8 will be performing tonight, and I still think the judges will be deciding on who is going home after the Bottom 4 has been determined. Hopefully, if they are still deciding who stays and goes, that will end this week and it will ultimately just be in America’s hands. Also, Season 8′s winner Melanie Moore(!) will be dancing tonight as an All-Star, so get excited to see her back on the stage! I know I am.
7:42 – Apparently I was mistaken last week when I figured George going home was not that big of a deal. A lot of people expressed their disappointment in seeing him leave, so it was nice to see that George did build a fan base for himself. As for Audrey, well, nobody said anything. So make sure you sound off in the comments if you hate tonight’s decision, otherwise I will assume the people leaving are unloved! Like poor, poor Audrey.
7:57 – So now that we are getting close to the finals, who do y’all think is going to take it all? I still think it is between Cole Horibe and Cyrus Spencer for the guys, with Cole having the edge. If Will Thomas keeps having the stellar performances like he has been the past couple of weeks, he could be a dark horse for the finals too. As for Chehon Wespi-Tschopp, I just do not see him getting there after his Bottom 6 and 4 appearances. As far as the girls are concerned, who knows? After last week’s brilliant performance and Nigel’s remarks about her being the favorite, I figure Eliana Girard has to be considered the favorite. Still, outside of their troubles with the Bottom 6 and 4 as well, Lindsay Arnold and Witney Carson have had some standout numbers this season as well and could come for her. Even though she is the only girl not to be in danger all season, I just do not see Tiffany Maher taking it for the girls. She just has not been memorable for me. With all that said, somebody is obviously voting for her so I would not count her completely out.
7:59 – My vote for going home tonight is going to be Chehon and Tiffany. Of course it will be Cole and Eliana now that I said that, but we will see.
8:02 – Within the first few seconds of the group routine I would have sworn it was a Sonya Tayeh piece. Instead, it turned out to be by a new choreographer to the show by the name of Peter Chu. It was interesting enough, but it felt like it was building to something more momentous and big and never seemed to get there. I was expecting more out of the Top 8 to be honest, and either the choreographer or their skill level (cough Cyrus cough) could not deliver. Killer music though.
8:05 – DAMN CAT! Sometimes, as shocking as it might seem, I forget how world-class gorgeous Cat Deeley really is. Then, she goes and wears something like that and styles it like that and I am reminded oh so well. In other words, that is the best Cat has looked this season and damn, she looks fine. Fiiiiiiiiine.
8:07 – So Jesse Tyler Ferguson is the guest judge tonight. I have never really been a fan of the whole celebrity guest judge thing the show has embraced this past seasons, but Jesse Tyler Ferguson has been my favorite of all of them. Honestly, however, no matter how great he is I would rather have Debbie Allen up in that chair. Bring her back for the live shows, Nigel!
8:09 – I figure I will wait to talk about the solos until the end of the night, just to see if there will be any dance-for-your-life ones. I will say though, the thing I have most hated about losing the result show is that it cuts down on the number of performances the contestants have for the performance shows. It is Top 8 week, and we are still only getting one couple performance a night.
8:15 – Witney and tWitch start off the show with a Luther Brown Hip-Hop routine. I automatically hate this routine because it made the whole panel decide to act “urban” and “gangsta” and so on. Sigh. Just stop it Nigel, just stop. Anyways, Witney actually did a very nice job here. Sure, if you were to compare her skills to tWitch that would not be fair for obvious reasons, but given what she was asked to do I think she attacked it quite well. Also, her performance quality was especially good, and had all the sass and spark I would want. I wish her upper body would not have been as stiff, but that looseness is something she needs to work on in a lot of her numbers. Nicely done overall, but she better hope she is not in the Bottom 4 or she is heading home.
8:26 – Allison and Cole are next to take the stage with a Contemporary routine by Sonya Tayeh. As far as I am concerned, that was the most physically impressive dance the show has ever had. It was not just the way they were throwing their bodies around, but the absolute control that Allison and Cole had that truly impressed me. The pure physical ability they had to have to execute some of those moves and hold them simply boggles my mind. As far as the number is concerned, I thought it was an interesting and memorable piece if not a favorite of mine. Sonya did her standard thing on that stage, and I think she was helped by having two people that are just phenomenal dancers both when it comes to movement and performance. Cole is going nowhere tonight, even if he is in the Bottom 4.
8:40 – Eliana and Ryan from Season 6 dance the dreaded Quickstep choreographed by Jonathan Roberts. If you know anything about the history of this show, the Quickstep tends to ruin even the best of dancers when they draw it, so I was definitely nervous to see how Eliana did. Luckily, she nailed it. Full disclaimer from the upfront, I have absolutely no technical knowledge about this dance, but you did not need any to see that Eliana danced the hell out of it. She was light and quick and did not seem wary or shaky at all. The tricks were fantastic, especially that waterfall one as Mary called it, and I am so happy she has been shining these past few weeks. It really is a shame she got Cyrus for the first five, because I think Eliana could have been the star of Season 9 if she had had a better partner.
8:50 – Lindsay and Alex dance another Sonya Tayeh number, this time Jazz. I really cannot disagree with the judges here. Great, fluid dancing, but nothing when it comes to chemistry. They moved quite well, but gave nothing really performance wise. I wonder why that is, because both dancers have proven in the past with multiple partners that they can emote and connect. Clearly, there is just nothing between them. Also, you can all but guarantee Lindsay is in the Bottom 4 tonight and probably going home. This would be her third time there, and Mary almost let the cat out of the bag with her critique all but admitting Lindsay was heading home.
9:02 – Will and Lauren are next with a Christopher Scott Hip-Hop number. I find it interesting that Lauren has become the go to All-Star girl for Hip-Hop without Comfort being on the show. She really has impressed me since her season. As for the routine, I thought it was really good. It was crisp, clean and well executed. Also, Will truly brought out another side of him performance wise, and it was great to see him deal with something on the more serious side. I will say, I thought it was interesting that they never partnered, not even once, throughout the entire routine. As a dance concept, it was something different for sure, but I would have liked to see some connection in someway. Just stating from the beginning that Lauren was a part of Will’s psyche was not enough in my opinion. After the comments, however, I do not think Will is going anywhere that is for sure.
9:13 – Melanie and Cyrus take on a Mandy Moore Jazz number next. Ugh, why is Melanie’s return being wasted on Cyrus? I really am done with the Cyrus love. I am so absolutely over the excuses offered up for him and his lacking skills. The fact of the matter is, he cannot really do anything outside of his style, and he drags down the level of dance of everyone who partners him. Every single dance he performs, he is physically partners the other dancer for at least half of the dance, because that is all he can really execute outside of his style. Clearly, people are voting for him and he very well might win this show for the guys. Personally, I think that would be a huge slap in the face of everything this show is supposed to represent. As for the dance, it was middling from him. Melanie stole the show, but that is no surprise. The woman is easily one of the best dancers the show has ever seen, it is just such a shame she had to be with somebody who cannot even attempt to match up to her. Of course Cyrus will be safe, but he has no right to be.
9:27 – Anya and Chehon have a Tango choreographed by Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo. Now that was captivating. There was something so strong but elegant about the way Anya and Chehon danced that number that, as Cat said, you could have heard a pin drop. The control was beautiful, the connection was gorgeous, basically everything was perfect about their execution and performance. Chehon and Witney must have not connected or got along, because ever since moving to different partners it is like they are different dancers. I still think Chehon might be going home tonight, but now I am really not sure. If we assume Cole is safe, I think Chehon goes home if he is the Bottom 4 with Will but stays if he is with Cyrus.
9:40 – Tiffany and Ade dance a Contemporary number, Mandy Moore’s second routine of the night. Like everything that Tiffany does, I thought it was very good, but nothing to write home about. She benefited a lot by having Ade as a partner, who could really partner her to an amazing level. I thought the dance was flowing and technically impressive, if a little standard. For me, at this stage in the competition I expect just a little more. I cannot really define what I am missing from Tiffany’s dance, but there is definitely something. I am willing to bet Tiffany is safe after that critique, but I am not positive.
9:47 – Witney and Lindsay are in the Bottom 4 for the girls.
9:48 – Cole and Will are in the Bottom 4 for the guys.
9:49 – Just like expected, their solos tonight will be treated as their dance-for-their-lives one. Both Lindsay and Witney seemed to get the memo that the ballroom solos are all about performance, since they have nobody to partner. In other words, they both brought something sultry and engaging, which really means their solos are a wash. As for the guys, Will really danced something wonderful. Earlier in the season I commented on the fact that he never extended himself fully when he danced, and his solo tonight did that quite well. As for Cole, I thought he brought something different and powerful like all of his solos. I am thinking Lindsay and Will are heading home, and I am truly sad to see them go.
9:53 – WITNEY IS SAVED! Lindsay is going home.
9:54 – COLE IS SAVED! Will is going home.
9:56 – I am honestly pissed. Will absolutely deserved to stay over Cyrus, and I am really upset to see him go. I swear, if Cyrus wins this year for the guys I do not know what I am going to do.
10:00 – As for the other solos tonight, I thought they were really good. Tiffany had something nice, if a little standard. Eliana brought something different with her ballet, which was nice. Chehon had quite the routine, and his mother being in the audience teared me up a little bit. I might not like Cyrus for the show, but I will not deny his amazing talent in his own style. In that, he is unbelievable.
10:04 – So there you have it. At this stage, dancers are definitely going to leave that it is tough to see go. I will miss Lindsay and Will, and I think they acquitted themselves nicely this season. How about y’all?
