(S04E06) The first night of performances and we've got a lot to consider. Nigel and Mary were joined by hip-hop choreographer Dan Karaty at the judges table and they led us through ten couples. We saw everything from smooth waltz to Broadway. And only one thing is for certain: it's going to be a tough competition. As Dan said in the beginning of the show, there are no front runners.
But after the ten couples strutted their stuff, the pack of ten had some leaders. Find out what happened last night on So You Think You Can Dance after the jump.
The Performances
1. Rayven & Jamie danced a Napoleon and Tabitha hip-hop piece to "American Boy" by Estelle featuring Kanye West.
2. Susie & Marquis danced a Hunter Johnson smooth waltz to "Dark Waltz" by Hayley Westenra.
3. Kourtni L. & Matt danced a Mandy More pop jazz number to "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell.
4. Chelsea T. & Thayne danced a Tony Meredith and Melanie cha cha to "Oye Como Va" by Celia Cruz.
5. Chelsea H. & Mark danced a Mia Michaels contemporary piece to "Beautiful" by Me'Shell Ndegeocello.
6. Kherington & Twitch danced a Tyce DiOrio Broadway number to "Too Darn Hot" from Kiss Me Kate.
7. Comfort & Chris danced a Tony Meredith and Melanie jive to "Boom Boom" by Big Head Todd and the Monsters.
8. Katee & Joshua danced a Tabitha and Napoleon hip-hop routine to "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown.
9. Jessica & Will danced a Hunter Johnson tango to "Tango" from Cirque de Soleil.
10. Courtney G. & Gev danced a Doriana Sanchez disco number to "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind, and Fire.
BEST OF THE NIGHT
In my opinion, the best piece of the night was the second Tabitha and Napoleon hip-hop number. After that first routine with Rayven and Jamie, I was having serious doubts about Tabitha and Napoleon's hip-hop style. But, Katee and Joshua's performance to "No Air" was fantastic. When Katee danced alone, she was forgettable. But once Joshua joined her, it was electric. He has such control of his body. It's really extraordinary. Furthermore, when they danced together, Katee and Joshua were almost perfectly in sync. As Dan Karaty mentioned, it's extremely difficult to hit every movement at the same time. I was surprised that the piece was over so quickly. It was the one number last night that got me excited about the show.
WORST OF THE NIGHT
For me the worst performance of the night was Kourtni L. and Matt's Mandy More piece to "Tainted Love." I adore Mandy More's choreography. I think many people will agree with me that her piece last year to Queen's "Body Language" was one of the best of the season. Also, "Tainted Love" is such a great song. It combines the smooth lyrics with the harder-sounding synthesizer so there's a lot of room for stylization. The dancers just didn't do it for me. Maybe the song was too big for them. Maybe the choreography was too hard for such tall dancers. But whatever the reason, I found myself very disappointed. These two are trained dancers and they should have delivered. The lift was horrible too. Kourtni, while very tall for a dancer, is not a heavy girl. Yet, you would have thought she weighed 200 lbs. from the way Matt lifted her. There was one redeeming quality in the dance: they hit those double pirouettes beautifully. 
LINE OF THE NIGHT
The line of the night came after Chris and Comfort's jive routine. The comedianne of this season, Comfort, said of her outfit: "You ain't never seen me in no bra and panties and beads." Cute. But that wasn't the line of the night. Chris defending his personality (or lack thereof) was brilliant. "I'm not a tree everybody," he announced nervously to the audience. And that's the proof that he in fact does have a personality.
OUTFIT OF THE NIGHT
I loved Susie Garcia's blue dress. She looked lovely during all those lifts. And it's nice to see her wearing more clothes and less make-up. She's rather attractive but we didn't see it until tonight. Whose outfit did you like the best?
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
- I think Cat Deeley might be pregnant. She looks like she's gained some weight in the middle region. She could've just gained some weight too.
- Did Mary Murphy contribute anything worthwhile tonight? My sister watched the show with me and she said, "It's just the same formula every time with that one." And she's right. Mary sets it up like she's going to say she hated it then screams like a banshee that she loved it.
- From the opening of the jive number with Chris and Comfort, I thought what would follow would be much better. I was not as in love with that number as the judges. I am, however, in love with the couple. Here's to Chris and Comfort staying another week!
- Twitch and Kherington's Broadway performance was my second favorite last night. Both of them are so comfortable on stage--they truly look like they enjoy what they do.
- From the initial performances, I feel like last season's dancers were better. I think we got spoiled last season. Am I right?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-12-2008 @ 12:32PM
Orangecrush said...
My favorite was the Mia Michaels piece. They built it up to be a possible trainwreck and it was great. It got an instant replay.
For the first half of the night, I kept thinking how much the guys were getting out danced. And then Twitch performed and I changed my mind. I think Rayven is going to be a force.
Mary Murphy is a much better judge during auditions than the actual show.
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6-12-2008 @ 12:52PM
Tori said...
I thought some of the pairings were a bit uneven and I'd find one part of the couple a lot stronger than the other (Marquis, Will, Courtney). As far as couples go I was impressed by Chelsie T./Thayne, Joshua/Katee and surprisingly Kherrington/Twitch.
I find Mia Michael's pieces run really hot and cold. I like that she's edgy but sometimes I want a routine to be accessible as well as artistic. Last night's routine was a little too experimental for me and Chelsie H's dress was not the greatest for showcasing them.
I completely agree about Mary. What was her deal last night?
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6-12-2008 @ 12:59PM
Erin said...
About the dress....that is exactly what I thought while they were performing. Half of the time, you couldn't even see her she got lost in the dress. Completely ruined the piece for me.
6-12-2008 @ 1:11PM
fowak said...
I gotta be honest. Kristin I wish you would have touched on all the dances a little. But I did enjoy reading what you did have to say about the ones you mentioned.
Here's my big, long rundown...
Of course, it’s hard to move on from last year’s dancers. Oh, how I miss Neil and Kamcey, so… But, it’s time to be open-minded to a new crew…
Rayven & Jaime: I think Brooke and I might be the only ones who liked that dance! Every blog I’ve read this morning seems to not have liked it too much. But I thought they were adorable, especially him! It reminded me of Neil & Lauren’s hip-hop last year, kinda quirky.
Susie & Marquis: Egh. I went into this one already not liking Susie and her desire to inspire her STUDENTS with her half-naked dancing. And unfortunately for Susie Q, she did nothing to win me over. Which is a bummer for Marquis. He was really good, I thought. Maybe we can get rid of her and see him shine with a new partner…
Kourtni L & Matt: I really, really wanted to be blown away by Kourtni because of her earlier footage in the season. And Matt seems like a sweet guy, so I wanted this to be great. For me, it wasn’t so much great… It wasn’t bad. And I watched it again later on and liked it more… but I still was left wanting more :(
Chelsea T &Thayne: I thought Thayne was a ton of fun. And Chelsea is definitely a little ball of energy when she dances. Although, Thayne’s teeth kinda scare me :\ I wish he’d shut his mouth more. Overall, a really entertaining dance.
Chelsie H & Mark: Aaahhhh… contemporary :) with Mia Michaels :) such a strange breath of fresh air. She is so out-there, but her routines almost always move me. This one was no exception. I’ve read some complaints about Chelsie’s dress being to fluffy, but to me it added to the routine. I loved it. She looked like a little cotton ball floating around the stage. I could watch that again, easily.
Kherington & Twitch: Twitchington!! What a fantastically fun couple! I thought they were loads of fun. For me, though, Kherington really stole the show. I love Twitch and all, but she is TOO CUTE.
Comfort & Chris: I think Chris is adorable and Comfort needs to shush so we can actually focus on Chris a bit more. And I really thought he was the better dancer in their number. I hope he gets to stick around for a while.
Katee & Joshua: Okay, so I really, really didn’t want to like Katee. I loved her roommate Natalie and thought she should have been the one to make the Top 20, so I was bitter – still am a wee bit. And Joshua, I wasn’t quite as smitten with him as everyone else seemed to be. But that routine was awesome. I couldn’t help but love it. I’m not sure I can love them that much with another routine, but last night they were fabulous.
And side-note, I’m thrilled we have Tabitha and Napoleon as choreographers this year. I loved their style.
Jessica & Will: I really like Will. I miss Debbie Allen, but I really like the guy. I don’t really feel like I know enough about Jessica (other than the fact that she can’t spell) to say much about her. I thought he was great. She was pretty good. Overall, a pretty good tango. I’d like to see what else they can do, though…
Courtney G & Gev: I think this couple has a lot of potential. They were given a really difficult routine for week one, so I’d like to see what they do next week. And as a pair, I really like them together. I was hoping all night that they would end up together, and they did!! Wahoo!!
So to sum up, my Top 3 were: Jaime and Rayven, Chelsie H and Mark, Joshua and Katee.
Bottom 3 for me would be: Susie and Marquis, Kourtni L and Matt, Jessica and Will
I have no clue who will go home, though. No one really just clearly bombed…
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6-12-2008 @ 2:33PM
Kristin Sample said...
I thought about giving my rundown of each dance but I didn't want it to get too lengthy. Jason will be doing Wednesdays and I'll be doing Thursdays so maybe he will give more feedback.
I hope Jessica and Will get something faster next week. I think they'd be great at something with a bit more pep.
6-13-2008 @ 3:22PM
a said...
I think Will is a talented dancer but did he get preferential
treatment in the Judges voteing???? based on Debbie Allen being his teacher. Just a thought
Best of the nite Mia Michaels piece
6-12-2008 @ 1:56PM
David said...
Convinced by my fellow TVSquadders to come back and watch this show once the top 20 started, I tuned-in last night with an open mind.
In no particular order:
- I *loved* the waltz choreography and performance, the costumes, and the lighting for Susie & Marquis. My favorite dance of the night.
- The judges speak for waaaayyyyy too long and don't seem to say much of substance.
- Mary was unbearable for me. In traditional TV-land, the EPs would get a note from the network telling them to make her disappear from the show. I guess that won't happen here since FOX isn't likely to confront Simon, Cecile, and Nigel.
- The hostess seemed nice and relatively humble. Wow, she's a tall one! Standing next to some of the dancer couples she had a good 6 inches on some of them.
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6-12-2008 @ 2:33PM
Kristin Sample said...
Yeah, Cat Deeley is totally better than Seacrest.
And the judges were a little soft last night. They usually have very specific corrections.
6-12-2008 @ 2:12PM
Bas said...
While I agree that some of the dancers were fantastic last season, I think this season is way more evenly matched in talent. Usually there's a total bomb or 2 in the first couple of shows, and there wasn't one performance that sucked. Granted, some were better than others, but none were BAD - not like in prior seasons.
I also really liked the waltz - and I didn't want to, because Susie totally creeped me out in the auditions.
I don't see why the first hip hop routine was getting such a "meh" from people - I thought it was cute and fun, and I thought they executed it well.
Katy and Joshua's hip hop was my favorite of the night - predominately because of him.
Too close to call to see who is going home.
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6-12-2008 @ 3:35PM
Isabelle Carreau said...
About Cat maybe being pregnant, I had the same though but mostly because she kept putting her hand on her belly. Time will tell.
I enjoyed the dances and think it's a nice crop of dancers.
Mary was not at her best last night and, as many of you pointed out, provided nothing useful to the dancers. At this stage of the show, dancers need to know what they need to work on in order to stay in the game. Yes, tell them they get a ticket for the hot tamale train, but also tell them what they need to do to get upgraded to first class!
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6-12-2008 @ 4:00PM
I miss my stars! said...
Chelsea and Mark were my favorties last night. Does anyone besides me think she looks like a Jamaican Liza Minelli?
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6-12-2008 @ 9:02PM
Karen said...
I sure wish that when the shows are in their early stages that you post pictures of the dancers next to their names/dance reviews. I made the same request of Idol and when pictures were added, it helped tremendously. It is too early for me to associate names with the dances.
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6-12-2008 @ 9:19PM
Laura said...
just a quick comment about Cat being pregnant..
she was on regis and kelly a few days ago and she said that she is single and willing to date any guy who asks her so i doubt that she is pregnant based on those comments.
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6-12-2008 @ 10:56PM
Michelle said...
has anyone else noticed that shane sparks has been absent this year? he's one of our favorite choreographers and we miss his routines. anybody got the scoop?
our top 2 couples are twitchington (great chemistry together & just fun to watch) and katee & joshua. I so didn't want to root for katee because of the audition process but I absolutely loved their hip hop routine!
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6-13-2008 @ 7:16AM
jayr2345 said...
Shane Sparks probably isnt on all that much this year because he is doing the second season of MTV's Randy Jackson presents America's Best Dance Crew, which is a really great show if no one has checked it out. I thought the dances were all pretty good, with my favorite being Joshua and Katee. I had a few doubts about Joshua in the beggining but this made me shut my face hole. Did anyone else notice a couple of dancers from last season helping out the choreographers in the rehersals. I know I saw Pasha in the Mia Michals routine, and their was another girl that looke familiar but I dont think she was on this dance show but the above mentioned ABDC. Just wondering if anyone else noticed.
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6-21-2008 @ 12:26AM
Marielle said...
I love the show. My favorite dancers so far are Joshua Rayven and Chris. Lots of personality from those last two! I don't know what Nigel was thinking at Chris' audition telling him he had the personality of a tree! Not the case, and Nigel realized that last night. Watch Chris perform and look at his face! He does a great job of partnering too being very gracious to Comfort.
The choreography for Katee and Joshua's piece was great! I am not quite sure why Carrington is in the top 20. Hopefully she shows something impressive in the weeks to come. Definately a pretty girl, but her dancing does not wow me yet. Neither does Courtney G.
Also everyone is right. That dress for the "tIM bURTON" wedding of sorts was too overdone. You couldn't see the movements (and sweet partnering) at all :P
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6-22-2008 @ 7:53AM
miriam said...
katee is my fav dancer..Is she japanese or korean
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6-26-2008 @ 8:48PM
Duke said...
Joshua has been my fave since the Vegas selection of the top 20. The hip-hop routine with Katee was amazing. They both are great dancers. I also love the broadway routine this week. Will is also a great dancer but I want Joshua to win the competition
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