So You Think You Can Dance 4: Round of Twenty Overview
After watching the first round of finals competition on this season’s So You Think You Can Dance, I have to agree with the judges that the dancers have been getting increasingly solid out of the gate as the years have gone by. Of particular note are the hip-hoppers, who now seem to have virtually no trouble at all with dance styles different from their own. What a refreshing and welcome change.
Almost everyone did a good job last night, too, and nobody danced badly enough to warrant a lot of criticism. As a result, judges Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and Dan Karaty offered mostly positive commentary, with few exceptions. Still, I had my favorites among the bunch of paired performers, and you can learn who they are after the jump.
COUPLE #1
Rayven Armijo & Jamie Bayard
Performed a hip-hop routine that Dan correctly described as “cotton candy” with “no funk at all.” The choreography by Napoleon and Tabitha D’umo didn’t turn me on, but the judges received it well. To the dancers’ credit, they delivered an effective performance that didn’t make it immediately obvious they’re not hip-hop specialists.
COUPLE #2
Susie Garcia & Marquis Cunningham
All of the judges went wild over their ballroom routine, a Smooth Waltz choreographed by Hunter Johnson; yet it bored me to death. Next!
COUPLE #3
Kourtni Lind & Matt Dorame
I really, really wanted to love Mandy Moore’s jazz routine set to a favorite song of mine, Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” but not even the dancers’ cool black leather outfits did it for me. The performance was nice but not dazzling. At least one of the judges, Dan, agreed with me.
COUPLE #4
Chelsea Traille & Thayne Jasperson
This is the performance that finally woke me up. Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin’s Cha-Cha was smashing, and so were the performers. Of course, the judges knew I was right.
COUPLE #5
Chelsie Hightower & Mark Kanemura
Mia Michaels’ wedding reception contemporary routine was predictably weird, and I didn’t care for the choreography all that much. The dancers did a good job nevertheless and got heaps of praise from the judges, as did Mia.
COUPLE #6
Kherington Payne & Stephen “Twitch” Boss
Tyce DiOrio’s Broadway routine was okay, but the dancers did nothing for me during their performance. In fact, Kherington weirded me out with a ridiculously huge smile that refused to go away. Not surprisingly, the judges loved it so much I thought they had watched a different routine than I did.
COUPLE #7
Comfort Fedoke & Chris Jarosz
Whew! Based on personality alone, Comfort is my pick for winner, thanks to her natural vivaciousness. Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin’s Jive routine was one of my favorite pieces of the night, and I loved, loved, loved the way the dancers executed it. You could not tell Comfort is a hip-hopper at all, and Chris’ excellent effort made Nigel eat his former assessment that the dancer has the personality of a tree sometimes.
COUPLE #8
Katee Shean & Joshua Allen
Napoleon and Tabitha may have disappointed me with the first routine of the night, but they regained all of my love with this one. The dancers knocked it out of the park, too, making it hard to believe that Katee isn’t a hip-hopper. Of course, the judges agreed.
COUPLE #9
Jessica King & William Wingfield
Since ballroom isn’t normally my thing, Hunter Johnson’s Tango stood out for me because it actually made me thoroughly enjoy what I was watching. The dancers easily delivered one of the best routines of the night, and Mary thought their work made them the couple to beat.
COUPLE #10
Courtney Galiano & Gev Manoukian
Who doesn’t love disco, especially Doriana Sanchez’s version? Unfortunately, these particular dancers just couldn’t make it as fun and carefree as it ought to be. Both I and the judges thought the performance wasn’t awful, but not very good either.
It’s a close call for my absolute favorite performance of the night. Couples 4, 7, 8, and 9 all wowed me, but I’m giving top honors to the eighth, Katee and Joshua. Check out their hip-hop routine choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha right now. As for who should be voted off — I’m sticking with positive commentary for the present, too.
Photos: Joe Viles/FOX
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