So You Think You Can Dance 4: Round of Sixteen Overview
I learned two things on last night’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance. First, this season, we don’t have three independent judges assessing each performance but rather a tripartite unit that thinks in unison for the most part. This is why they all say basically the same things at the end of each and every performance. It gets old fast, doesn’t it? Worse, the judges also seem to have already picked their favorites, and their comments show they’re intent on having those dancers advance to the final stages of the competition.
Secondly, the judging panel also appears to have a covert agreement that states, “Thou shalt not call out crappy choreography; blame it on the dancers instead, preferably those we don’t like as much.” The most recent episode featured guest judge Adam Shankman joining Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, and he played right along with the “rules,” agreeing with everything they said, only using slightly different, more scatterbrained words.
My greatest hope is that viewers start to see through the bogus nature of the judges’ commentary and vote based on what they like, regardless of what the judges say. Now on to the dancing couples after the jump…
COUPLE #1
Kherington Payne & Stephen “Twitch” Boss
They tackled hip-hop choreography from Napoleon and Tabitha D’Umo. I thought it was blah and give it a score of about 4, primarily because of Kherington’s inability to execute the moves convincingly and sharply; she relied on “cutesy” instead. Since the judges are in love with this pair, though, they (unbelievably) used adjectives like “brilliant,” “hard-hitting,” and “beautiful” in their comments.
Good heavens — what were they huffing during the commercial breaks?! Whatever it was, while this is my first choice for the Bottom Three during eliminations, the judges think otherwise.
COUPLE #2
Courtney Galiano & Gev Manoukian
The judges and I actually agreed on this one — Courtney and Gev’s performance of Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin’s Rumba routine was in character and sizzling. No Bottom Three here, unless they just haven’t struck a chord with viewers.
COUPLE #3
Comfort Fedoke & Chris Jarosz
In the Bottom Three last week, Comfort and Chris really needed to wow to make up for it. Unfortunately — at least according to the judges, who don’t love them as much as some of the other dancers — their performance of Tyce DiOrio’s jungle Jazz routine was “too soft” (Nigel), “fell short” (Mary), and lacked music in “their face” (Adam). Yet, Kherington supposedly hit hard during that hip-hop number… Yeah, right!
Instances like this are why I think the judges this year are deliberately trying to influence viewers’ votes by dishing out questionable, often contradictory commentary. If Comfort and Chris needed to be more “animalistic” during this routine, then the star of their eyes, Kherington, sure as hell needed some (or, if you believe me, lotsa) work hitting harder during the earlier hip-hop routine. Comfort and Chris will be in the Bottom Three tonight because that’s the outcome the judges have orchestrated, not necessarily because they should be.
COUPLE #4
Jessica King & William Wingfield
More disagreement is evident when it comes to Jessica and William’s execution of Doriana Sanchez’s always impressive Disco choreography. I thought William was fantabulous, but Jessica could not have been stiffer in her upper body if she were in a titanium cast. It was distracting, to say the least.
The judges adored both dancers, however, and I’m actually happy for the couple since they’ve endured some fairly heavy criticism on previous episodes. Still, they are my second choice for the Bottom Three, though I doubt that will happen.
COUPLE #5
Kourtni Lind & Matt Dorame
Shockingly, the judges and I saw Kourtni and Matt’s performance of new choreographer Sonya Tayeh’s contemporary routine in the same light: hideous costumes (it seems appropriate to ask what the folks in the wardrobe department are huffing, as well — they completely miss more often than they hit when outfitting the competitors), terrific dancing.
All three judges did note Matt’s tendency towards stiffness, and they encouraged him to work on it even more. Even so, if the pair ends up in the Bottom Three, I’ll be surprised.
COUPLE #6
Chelsea Traille & Thayne Jasperson
Poor Chelsea and Thayne. They’ve gone from being judge favorites during the first round to continual magnets for criticism ever since, which landed them in the Bottom Three last week, undeservedly in my opinion. All I have to say is their efforts on Heather Smith’s Quickstep routine made the number one of my three favorites of the night.
But they will be in the Bottom Three since the judges went on and on about stuff like lack of personality and falling short and not looking comfortable. Yet, Kherington hit that hip-hop routine hard at the top of the show… Sure…
COUPLE #7
Chelsie Hightower & Mark Kanemura
To borrow a signature line from Mary — Whooooo! Now Chelsie and Mark *did* hit this hip-hop routine from Napoleon and Tabitha hard, plus the choreographers gave it a very nice concept about the difficulty couples have dividing time between work and home.
As Adam observed, the performance made Chelsie and Mark the couple to beat. Too bad there was still one couple left, my personal favorite, and their performance next made this one look like grade-school assembly filler.
COUPLE #8
Katee Shean & Joshua Allen
I’ve got to start calling this duo Old Reliable because you can always depend on them to deliver. They danced Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin’s Samba magnificently; there’s not much more to say except the judges called this one right by agreeing. The only way Katee and Joshua will end up in the Bottom Three is if somebody rigged the phone lines or there’s massive viewer backlash against the obvious frontrunners in the competition thus far.
Both the judges and I have only two spots in our Bottom Three filled. I select Kherington & Twitch and Jessica & William, while they’ve chosen Comfort & Chris and Chelsea & Thayne. It’s going to be very interesting to see how things turn out now that the competition is getting tighter. Meanwhile, below are my personal picks for the Top Three performances of the show, in order of first, second, and third best.
Original Air Date: June 25, 2008
Photos: Joe Viles/FOX
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Recaps, So You Think You Can Dance, Videos
0 opinions for So You Think You Can Dance 4: Round of Sixteen Overview
No one has left a comment yet. You know what this means, right? You could be first!
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: