(S03E21) I'm still scratching my head over the fact that 'pre-season' football meant we had to wait through the weekend to find out who the top four dancers are, but the results are finally in. Of course, with an hour to fill they couldn't get to the results right away.The show kicked off with another crazy number, to the tune of "2:19" by Tom Waits. It was very inventive and practically screamed "Wade Robson choreographed me!" Production meant that the dancers needed a break for wardrobe and makeup after that, so there was a guest performance. Titus Fotso and the African Dance Ensemble came out to perform. I'm a fan of musical guests on the results show, but I'll take a dance exhibition over that every time, especially one as good as this. It was a great performance, and I would be all for giving Titus a slot as guest choreographer next season.
Each of the final six got a chance to do a solo after that. It occurred to me while watching them that this was probably the best overall collection of solos we have seen so far. It made it hard to pick anyone as a standout. For the girls, I thought Lauren's energy and charisma really came through. And while I appreciated a new and improved Lacey solo, now with less stripper, I thought Sabra was the best of the girls. The guys were equally as good. It was another tough call, but I thought Danny just edged out Neil and Pasha.
There was one more performance before we could get down to the business of results. Lil' C and the Neph Squad came out for a krumping number. It was very good, and like Titus Fotso, a welcome addition to a result show that needed some excitement. But finally, it was time for the much delayed results. Right after the recap...
Cutting to the chase, Cat announced that Lacey and Danny were the first two to make it into the final four. Before she could name the other two, it was time to kick the live audience out. In order to keep the results secret, the final two dancers had to be revealed under what she called a "lock down situation." In the end, Sabra was the other girl to get through, and Neil the other guy. I fully expected Sabra to get through, but I thought the decision between Neil and Pasha was up in the air.
And there we have it. Lacey, Sabra, Danny, and Neil. I've had my issues with some of the eliminations as we have moved through the season, but given what we have seen, while you can make a case for a number of different dancers, this is a very solid group. They should make for a very good final performance show.















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-14-2007 @ 7:50AM
justelise said...
I think Lacey is a talented dancer, but I think she's getting a lot of credit because she's Benjy's brother. Sabra is a much stronger dancer and connects with all of her partners and the crowd in a way that most dancers could never achieve. I'd be very disappointed if Lacey beat Sabra out at this point providing there are no mishaps in the remainder of Sabra's performances. Sabra doesn't have to dress like a stripper and stick her bum in a camera to have her talent come across.
I love Neil's personality, but it's hard to compare him to Danny and not come away choosing Danny as the superior dancer. I think he's opened up a lot over the past three or four shows which is what the judges have been trying to get him to do.
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8-14-2007 @ 8:43AM
wk said...
You know, I cannot deny that Danny is an amazing dancer - but I can't stand him. He's so cocky. And I don't understand how you can think his solo was better than the other two last night. I'll even admit some of his previous solos are true stand-outs, but last night he pretty much ran around the stage for most of his 30 seconds. Whereas Neil and Pasha really stepped it up.
I'm SO thrilled my little Neil made it through!!! I can't imagine the finale without him!!!
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8-14-2007 @ 8:52AM
Ryan said...
Sad that Pasha is not in the Top 4, but all of them are just so uber talented.
Lacey and Danny are both great dancers trying to live up to the hysteria that their respective siblings, Benji and Travis, achieved last season. They made the Top 10 because of this, but it was their skills that propelled them to the Top 4.
Sabra and Neil stepped it up and seemed to become the "audience choice" the past few weeks garnering the loudest cheers from the live-studio audience. Their growth and personality pushed them to the Top 4.
That's not to say Lauren and Pasha didn't deserve it. They all did, which is why this was the most difficult cut and rightly so. Lauren and Pasha were consistently great who had fanbases that weren't as big as the rest.
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8-14-2007 @ 8:58AM
sarah said...
was i the only person who didn't care for the group performance? Wade has done better...
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8-14-2007 @ 9:48AM
Cheryl Smith said...
Sarah, the minute I saw the opening number I knew it was another Wade production. Although I thought it was amazing, it seems like he has a thing for dead people lol. The makeup and wordrobe for that performance was wonderful.
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8-14-2007 @ 11:03AM
Bella said...
The dancers this season have been so amazingly talented and I feel the top 4 deserve their spot!
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/
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8-14-2007 @ 11:46AM
Clara said...
I think we have a good final four. I had some faves that didn't make it- and I was sad to see Lauren and particularly Pasha go- but all four deserve to be there.
My favorite remaining is Danny- and I am glad that he overcame the awful edit that they had of him. Personal accounts of fans who have met him have said that he is a sweet guy. And choreographers- I'm looking at you Sane Sparks- who made assumptions about his personality took them back after actually working with him.
How is Danny declaring in People magazine that he is not that good at hip hop cocky? Danny made this statement about wanting to learn outside of his genere
"I don't know what I can do in other areas and dance and I really wanted to explore that. And I wanted to be with other dancers from other disciplines to see what they could teach me."
How is that cocky? He has said that he has had to learn to break down the reserve that you have in the class and after-performance in ballet. I think what we saw is a reserve and carriage from his training. I don't think he is arrogant.
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8-14-2007 @ 1:39PM
Oreo said...
My mother freaked out when Parsha left, I liked him too, more so than Neil.
I HATE Lacey! I mean hate is a strong word but I need a stronger one to describe Lacey, she's a bitch. If she wins I'll be so mad.
I hope Dannay wins, he's nice too look at and seems like a nice guy. Obviously he can dance too.
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8-14-2007 @ 1:04PM
Televinita said...
I miss the days when everyone thought Danny was annoying and failed to connect to the audience, and he was getting routinely left in the bottom. My opinion of him has remained unchanged throughout the competition - fantastic dancer, most worthy of the top 10, but far from America's Favorite Dancer.
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8-14-2007 @ 1:38PM
Porchland said...
I really liked seeing the show step things up for the finale show by having some guest performances, but Titus Fotso (Fatso?) was ridiculous. If that had been a no-name auditioning at the beginning of the season, the judges would never have put him through to Hollywood. "Dancing With the Stars" does a much better job with the results show.
Cat Deely, fire your wardrobe handler. That dress pulled the amazing feat of making her look pouchy, which she most certainly is not. At least she didn't have a peacock on her head this week.
When did Debbie Allen turn into an even stuffier version of Oprah? Booooo-ring. Was Dan Karaty busy this week? If they want to go the bitchy pontificating route, Mia Michaels will do fine.
Is Lacey Schwimmer phoning it in? I thought she was much better the first few weeks of the season that she has been lately. No personality, no spark, no WOW routines. I'm fine with any of the other three winning.
Neil was great in the Wade Robson opener but bland (as usual) in his solo. Seems like some of the dancers would take a note from the choreographers and do something more interesting for their solos than bland recaps of previous solos?
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8-14-2007 @ 1:53PM
cathy said...
Of course everyone knew it was a Wade number since it is almost identical to all his numbers. He doesnt pick his music and then make the dance fit, he picks music that goes with the only dance moves he does. Boring. Also, who is that woman you have on this review?
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8-14-2007 @ 3:31PM
Porchland said...
cathy: The pic at the top of the review looks like Lacey Schwimmer.
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8-14-2007 @ 6:13PM
Jez said...
Yeahhhh go NEIL & SABRA!
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8-14-2007 @ 6:44PM
Fely said...
I strongly believe that Pasha was one of the best dancers by far, he has so much grace while he dances it is almost like he dances on air, the way he sways across the floor takes your breath away.I think America made a big, big, mistake in leaving him out of the competition. To me, Pasha already is the #1 dancer of America!!!
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8-14-2007 @ 7:08PM
shannon said...
This top four is so solid... actually, the top six were all solid and any of them could have made it into the top four and I would have been happy. What a great season!
Hey, Porchland, do you have anything positive to say? I can't see how anybody could find fault with practically every single person on the show. If you don't like the guest dancers, the wardrobe department, the guest judges, and half the dancers, then why are you watching the show?
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8-14-2007 @ 7:19PM
Ramon said...
This competition, until yesterday, was very interesting and the previous dancers that were sent home, I believe where the right ones to go . Ever since the show began this season, all male dancers were chosen to prove they could do better by sending them to the bottom three, etc. And if we remember, Pasha might have been chosen one time, but these two that were left as finalists, in various occasions, were at risk of being eliminated. Obviously , Pasha showed, a lot of consistency during all the competition in his quality as a dancer. All this, makes me think, after seeing the results of his elimination, that it isn't possible that a national dance competition can be won by a dancer , not born in this country. So Pasha's elimination at this stage, makes it easier for the last two male dancers who went to the finals, to win without having such a hard opponent with Pasha's quality. If it would have been contrary, and Pasha had been in the finals with either one, the Pasha would have been a victorious winner, so the most important news at the end of last nights male competition, would have been the victory of a Russian and not that of an American.
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8-14-2007 @ 8:24PM
justelise said...
I love Benjy, but if Lacey wins this one I'm not going to watch this show moving forward. It's too predictable and Lacey lacks Benjy's charisma. I think that Lacey has done a good job of trying to outshine her partners on purpose to further herself in the competition. I think had she been working harder on developing relationships with her partners, the outcome thus far may have been different. I think, to me, she just doesn't come off as genuine.
As far as the Danny vs Neil debate is concerned.. it's still a valid one. Neil, thanks to brilliant editing, comes off as a nicer guy with a great personality who connects with his partners and the crowd. His dancing up until the last show didn't do much for me, but his personality helped fill in the gaps. Even though he's progressed as a dancer, I'm not seeing it in his solos. I'm still seeing a lot of him relying on tricks, jumps, and aerobatics. Considering he's grown so much according to the judges, I'd expect to see more warmth and vulnerability in his solo.
Danny did not have much to learn as far as dancing was concerned. Yes, he needs more help with hip-hop and more urban styles, but so did the vast majority of the dancers. I think the editing done early on in the show made him out to be some sort of ego driven monster, but I think that he's done a good job of redeeming himself. His partners all seemed to adore him and the other male dancers didn't seem to have any issues with him. I also found it heartwarming when he was mildly embarrassed to dance in front of Travis because he thinks his brother is so much better than him. I found it disconcerting that the judges made negative comments about him so early on in the competition, one having said he was "dead inside" before even they had the chance to know him. Those are the kinds of things that biased the public against Danny which was wrong. Is he entirely humble? I don't think so, but I won't buy into attempts by editors and by the judges to make him out to be some sort of monster. It's clear that this is not the case.
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8-14-2007 @ 9:50PM
CC said...
Well, I don't think I'm watching SYTYCD this season anymore. In fact, I stopped watching the Thursday results show since I could look online to find out who gets booted.
I hope Sabra wins. I personally like Neil the best (of the 4; I wish Pasha was still there - he is extremely entertaining) but I don't think he will get enough votes to win. So either Sabra, Neil, or even Lacey (though i don't think she will win either - nor do I think she's the most entertaining one left). Anyone but Danny.
Are any of the other dancers professional dancers? Anyone know? Not just like getting paid to perform occasionally, but like having a contract in a pro company of some type?
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8-16-2007 @ 12:43PM
caja said...
My vote will go to Lacey...when she rotated that outstanding bum of hers right into the camera on her solo dance every guy watching reached for the phone and himself.
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8-15-2007 @ 12:48PM
La-Di-Dah said...
I wanted Pash to win; but, I will take Sabra. They are both talented, versatile, with fantastic personalities. Heck, I will take Lacey or Danny. But there is no love for Neil the cheerleader here. All he does is cheer, leap, piroutte, leap, leap, cheer, with that horrible hunched form. Pash was such a man, and Neil such a pretty boy who cannot show passion on his face, at all. But the tweenies had to love him. I am extremely disappointed.
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