So You Think You Can Dance: Season 14-Top 9 Performance Recap
Monday night was the top 9 performing live on season 14 of So You Think You Can Dance. The dancers had a duet with their all-star in a style picked at random, and a solo in their own. Of course, at the end, we had an elimination.
The night began with an African hip-hop group number. The full cast came out with some really cool costumes and even cooler moves. I really appreciated the fusion of different elements of both, so shout out to Luther Brown for not only choreographing the number, but co-writing the song.
Logan & Allison-Jive to “5 Months, 2 Weeks, 2 Days”, choreographed by Emma Slater & Sasha Farber. Logan was upset to be in the bottom 3 last week, but he and Allison are using this as fuel for the rest of the competition. He also seemed to struggle with Emma’s British lingo. I’m used to it. We all know that Allison can do ballroom, but I thought Logan looked really awkward. His movements could have been a lot tighter and cleaner, but he did perform well. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. The judges love him, so I don’t think he’ll be in any danger unless he’s in the bottom 3 recurringly. Vanessa gave him the little girl vote. Gabriella, little girls don’t watch this show anymore. Nobody does.
Kaylee solo-“Wait for You” by Elliott Yamin. Oh hey, I love this song!!! She slicked her hair back, and did some kind of jerky movements. It was okay, but I think the combination of contemporary and animation was a bit strange. Still, people love her.
Sydney solo-“Bla Bla Bla Cha Cha Cha” by Petty Booka. She came out with fringe pants, I don’t get those things at all, and a bedazzled bra. She went Latin, it was okay, but I’m really not compelled by her. This poor girl is on borrowed time.
Marko & Koine-Hip-Hop to “You Don’t Own Me” by Grace, choreographed by Dave Scott. Koine was excited to do hip-hop, thank God she’s not afraid of it. She was a pageant girl in this number getting ready to give it up, good. She was struggling with popping and tutting, which is definitely fairly intricate. I think Marko was more featured than I wanted him to be. This is supposed to be more about her, but whatever. I thought it was a good performance, though. Their timing was good, her hip-hop technique was good, I liked it. She’s definitely becoming a favorite of mine.
Dassy & Fik-Shun-Jazz to “Bring the Funk Back” by Big Gigantic, choreographed by Ray Leeper. Ray wanted them to be more sexy this week, which shouldn’t be too hard. Dassy’s a beautiful girl and an amazing dancer, so she just has to believe in herself more. I thought this was a great routine, they both did it really well. It was a bit hip-hop-esque in nature, and Dassy could definitely have a future in music videos or concerts. I don’t think these two have anything to worry about for awhile.
Kiki solo-“Love Potion #9″ by The Coasters, some Latin mix. Cat was messing with him a bit before he peformed his solo. Just like with Sydney, he’s got the hardest style to solo. He did an okay job, definitely could have shown more. I didn’t love it overall.
Mark & Comfort-Contemporary to “Ending” by Isak Danielson, choreographed by Talia Favia. They were really pushed hard this week, which is good. They’re really coming together as a duo, which is good. I was nervous for this hip-hop duo to go contemporary, but it was actually pretty good. Their acting and storytelling was great, Mark’s technique wasn’t great, but it wasn’t a disaster. Mark for me is just kind of there. Mary dished out some crocodile tears, it wasn’t that good.
Taylor solo- “Escalate” by Tsar B. I always fear when dancers come out onstage in socks, because it’s really not safe. She survived, though, and showed off that crazy flexibility of hers. I didn’t love the solo as a whole, though.
Next, we got a sneak peek of what Brattie Ziegler is up to these days. She’s in a movie called Leap that comes out on Friday, and claims it was hard for her to play a rude kid. If any of us watched Dance Moms, which I shamefully did, we all saw that she is a rude kid. Little brat, that Maddie. I don’t plan on seeing the movie, I’m not into kiddie movies anymore.
Next, was a contemporary piece from the All-Stars with a dead tree to “Strange Fruit”. This could have gone wrong because the song is a racism protest. That said, the piece was absolutely amazing! They performed with such emotion, told a really powerful story, and with what’s going on in the world right now, it was definitely something that we all need to see. Kudos to Travis Wall for that number, it was so good!
Lex & Gaby-Broadway to “Miss Otis Regrets” by Bett Midler, choreographed by Warren Carlyle. Lex was in a touring theatre production as a kid, so Gaby wanted him to have more fun with this number. It was messy as all heck the first day, but they pulled it together. They had so much fun with this number, and Lex was able to show what he does best. It was pretty good, but I found myself wanting a bit more. The judges gave them a standing ovation, and said that he really does have a personality. Of course he does.
Logan solo- “Otherside” by Perfume Genius. He might be this season’s baby, but he was a leading man in this solo. He’s definitely got something special, but just like with Mark, I feel like sometimes he’s just there. He’s still a judges’ favorite, though.
Sydney & Paul-Hip-Hop to “Really? Yeah!” by Kyle, choreographed by Luther Brown. The girl who should have gone home last week didn’t like being in the bottom 3. Get used to it, girl. They were certainly colorful in their costumes, that’s for dang sure. They were both out of their comfort zones, but they did an okay job. It could have had more swag, but it wasn’t bad. I feel like if this were Comfort and Mark, it would have been very different, but Sydney & Paul were just okay. The judges wanted more stank, I’m with them.
Koine solo-“Confidently Lost” by Sabrina Claudio. She’s so good, even got a bit flirty at times. She did a good job, but I would have liked a bit more. I say that a lot with these solos, but I don’t like them being so short.
Next was a contestants’ jazz group performance to “Hey Pachuco!” Those dudes can jump so high, can’t they? It was pretty good, but one of the girls didn’t land a side aerial very well at one point. Still, it was clean and together. Chris Baldock choreographed that fun routine.
Kaylee & Cyrus-Jazz to “Less Talk, More Art” by Vito Fun & Koil, choreographed by Spencer Liff. Their big fear was losing hats onstage, but that kind of stuff happens all the time. This dance was fairly modern by nature, with a hint of old-school. They both looked good doing it, there were a few troublesome problems technique-wise. No disasters, though, and no fallen hats. Kaylee is definitely growing for me, but I’m not sure if she has a great chance of winning.
Mark solo-“I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran. This was contemporary hip-hop, which I love, and he did so much in his short time. It was my favorite solo of the night, I loved how he made his b-boy moves work with the contemporary style.
Taylor & Robert-Samba to “Bun Up the Dance” by Dillon Francis & Skillrex, Jean Marc Genereux. The apparent front runners decided to use the pressure of being the front runners as motivation, good for them. This was such a hot number, and they looked great doing it. These two are maintaining their front runner status amazingly, I’m not sure if there’s anything she can’t do. Watch, she’ll do hip-hop next week and struggle. Still, this was another great week for these two. Nigel wanted more spark between them, he didn’t really like it. The other judges felt the same.
Dassy solo-“Soundclash” by Flosstradamus & TroyBoi. This girl, such a fierce hip-hopper. Her movements were really intricate, she’s dynamite onstage, I thought she did great. I kind of want to see her duet with Comfort at some point, but that probably won’t happen.
Lex solo-:Trndsttr (Lucian Remix)” by Black Coast feat. M. Maggie. His jumps are so high, it’s crazy!! He did a a good job; I say this a lot, but he’s really good!
Kiki & Jenna-Contemporary to “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by George Michael, choreographed by Mandy Moore. Mandy was pushing them hard this week, I’ve never seen her so tough. I guess it paid off, because this was a really nice routine. Their chemistry was good, the technique was good, I thought it was his best performance by a mile. Vanessa and Mary cried, and Mary even called it the best male ballroom dancer performing contemporary she’s ever seen on the show. That was a mouthful.
Finally, results time. The bottom 3 after last week’s votes were Dassy, Sydney (again), and Mark. Other than Dassy, I wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
The judges had the commercial break to deliberate, and as a non-surprise, Sydney was the one eliminated. She cried, I don’t blame her, but it really was the right decision.
Next week, top 8. More dancing, another elimination, hopefully no Trump. I’m not even sure who it will be at this point. I think Logan could be in trouble, Mark could be, too. I think it will be someone who has been in the bottom before. Who really knows, though.
