So You Think You Can Dance-Week One

My take on last night's show: My early favorites this year are Evan and Jason but we'll see what pans out over the next few weeks.

After Last Night's show, my current favorites are:
Favorite Male-Evan
Favorite Female-Kayla

1.Evan and Randi-THAT was awesome. Absolutely gorgeous jazz routine for the pair of them and I thought the music fit Evan's 'traditional hollywood' style really well. Even still, she outdanced him. I felt the romance of this smoky number more than any other so far. She moved so fluidly but also so passionately and Evan really surprised me with his ability. He really shows his Gene Kelly influence in every step. Wowie!

2.Kupono and Ashley-I was utterly amazed by this Cirque De Soleil style jazz routine by Wade Robson~but really, all of Wade's routines for this show have been memorable. This was no less impressive. The story of the broken down Crash Test Dummy and the 'Peppy' new model Crash Test Dummy was so well constructed that the ludicrous nature of this tale was unimportant. Both performers did a wonderful job but Kupono really stole the show. Unlike Asuka and Vittorio, they both dove right into their characters and WERE those beings until the end of the performance. It was painfully and sweetly strange.

3.Kaitlin and Jason-I was moved from the first moment the Bollywood style routine started. It was so joyful and energetic...and they both danced it beautifully. You would never guess that the couples' history in jazz/contemporary style dancing could lend itself to such deliberate and sharp movement or that they would both have the strength to keep that mood alive for the full performance. It was my favorite choreography of the night so far. It really did give the same feeling as the fun dance routine at the end of the movie, Slumdog Millionaire.

4.Kayla and Max- It was SO HOT! Kayla struck me as an especially large dancer when she auditioned, but a great one nonetheless. And Max seemed a bit 'sleezy' to me...heh heh. However, when they attacked this Samba ( and it WAS an attack!), they were absolutely incredible. Max is a ballroom dancer so I naturally assumed he would do well but I actually found myself watching her more than I watched him. Her sex appeal was just undeniable and the performance was high voltage all the way through. Stuff like this is why I love this show!


5.Phillip and Jeanine-Jeanine is a lyrical dancer and Phillip is a hip hop PHENOM. Hip Hop routine choreographed by Tabitha and Nepolean was EASY for them. They made it emotional in spite of the insipid Ne-Yo track(ack). I was especially impressed by Jeanine's fluid movements outside of her own style. It will be a routine everyone remembers.



6.Brandon and Jeanette-Their histories as a contemporary and salsa dancer, respectively, made this foxtrot routine, a bit of a stretch. I am especially partial to this style since I am a HUGE fan of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Though Brandon and Jeanette had difficulty with capturing the grace of those iconic figures, they still did a credible and uplifting (pun intended) job. It is impossible for me NOT to be moved to tears when this dance is performed well and they did that. Still, I was distracted by Brandon's slight effeminate air and Jeanette's big smile. Ginger did not cast goofy grins at the audience when she was dancing. The smiles should have been reserved for her partner and they should have involved less teeth.

7.Melissa and Ade-Melissa is a straight up ballerina and Ade is a very strong contemporary dancer. Their performance of the Mandy Moore choreographed contemporary piece was lovely, no doubt. But I HATED the song choice and it completely distracted from the choreography. It was-let's face it-dated. And frankly, I find all of Mandy's numbers equally yawny. The talent of these two dancers was oveshadowed by the blatantly eighties song choice that ended up playing out like a Richard Marx video, instead of a showcase for modern dance. Sometimes I blame the dancers and sometimes I blame the one who created the piece. In this instance, my distate for the routine was entirely the fault of Mandy and her inability to pick inspiring music.

Bottom three:
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8.Paris and Tony-Tony's hip hop style stood out to me from the auditions (he was funny!) and I love the fact that Paris (lyrical/jazz) has come back from a horrible accident to be a great dancer again. This hip hop routine was really well done and alot more 'gritty' than the first one. It needed hard hitting and lots of attitude. Tony was obviously far more successful at this aspect and it was difficult NOT to watch him. But when I made myself watch Paris, she did pretty well-though I feel she was a little too delicate with her movements. Either way, I liked it more than the judges did.

9.Karla and Jonathan-His skills as a contemporary dancer and her jazz skills were evident in their performance of this Cha Cha routine. That said, I hated the music choice (Lady Gaga....really?) and thought Jonathan was way too 'shiny happy' for this sexy number. He seemed almost like a male cheerleader, to me. She was fantastic, however, and has a very memorable quality to the movement of her legs. Like Anne Miller.

10.Asuka and Vittorio-These two were some of my favorites during the audition weeks. I did NOT think they brought enough to the table. It was a huge broadway routine w/ lots of potential to BLOW the audience away but they lacked energy throughout and seemed unsure of one another. The music from Chicago was far too fast paced for their lackluster movement and lack of 'acting' ability. Her ballroom skills and his gorgeous balett/lyrical technique should pull them through, however.

Results show edit: The opening number was STUNNING. Tony especially stood out to me and I was hoping that would save him alone, if he ended up in the bottom three. The 'International' guest performance was a tango, which was also phenomenal. So passionate...LOVED it.
I hit the bottom three dead on the head (yay!) and their performances were really good. I felt Vittorio and Asuka stood out more than the others. But I still would have chosen Karla and Jonathan to go home over Paris and Tony; their solos seemed a bit 'throwaway' to me. Ah well.