Episode 8, June 21
So You Think You Can Dance 2, June 21: Steppin’ Out and Steppin’ Up by Sting7 -- 06/23/2006 The first week jitters claimed a few dancers last week, but everyone seems cured! One dancer shocks herself, one dancer apologizes, one dancer emerges as more special than anyone guessed, and another is woefully exposed. Musa and Natalie (right) were voted hottest couple, but does Musa’s lack of training drag them down this week? Last week, we said a surprising good bye to Stanislav and an inevitable goodbye to Erin. Only 18 dancers left! Since Stanislav and Erin were a team, no one is joining a new partner this week. That means another week to settle in with the partner you already know. Will it help? Cat intros the 18 remaining dancers. Then Unseen Announcer Man intros Cat. “Hullo!” she says. Cat welcomes tonight’s cadre of judges, Shane Sparks, Mia Michaels (new sleek short do!), and, of course, Nigel. Shane recalls his favorite moment from the Chicago auditions was the dancer who danced herself to a barf. Mia remembers Jamie, the girl with a little something extra. Ahem. Nigel remembers Sex. We all do. Wait, no, the dancer Sex. Nigel wants his Sex! Couldn’t resist. Cat tells us we are down to 18 dancers, or nine couples. Then she reintroduces us to Hawk. What’s he doing here? We see a brief montage of Hawk and his crew’s greatest audition hits. Then she turns him in to immigration. Just kidding. The Six Step Crew, with Hawk and Ryan Conferido from season one, are going to perform! Check that, no Hawk, but the others perform and do things that gravity deemed impossible. They are amazing! No doubt, they will have representation soon! And when Hawk can get a green card, he can come back on the show. Cat begs him to come back next year. Hawk doesn’t really answer with much enthusiasm. He’s done with you, Deeley! Cat tells us the remaining couples will dance to a genre chosen randomly. Then she urges us to vote for our favorites. Time for the dancing! Lil C calls himself the creator of krumping, and he will be choreographing Martha and Travis. Travis calls it “very King Kong.” Martha says it’s very athletic. Lil C says they will need a lot of energy. Travis worries that after last week’s comments, if they slide a little, the judges will make it much worse with their comments. We see what he means! To Ja Rule’s “Clap Back” they give it their level best, but Travis clearly looks uncomfortable. Despite that, they entertain, and as Lil C promised, I’m tired just watching them! At the end, they hug and smile a bit tentatively. Some of those “tag team” moves were a little clumsy and they know it. Shane gives Travis a, “What?” (that’s a good thing) and oozes all over him. “We could do a session tonight if you want, that’s how sick you were!” Oh, and Martha was good, too. Thanks for giving her a little. Mia said it was dirty and raw and ugly and absolutely perfect. Nigel thought it was a little “Lil C-lite,” but he was satisfied. Jaymz and Jessica will be doing the foxtrot. Mary Martin says if she were casting a movie, she would cast these two. It will be a bluesy American foxtrot. Mary thinks Jaymz will shine in this dance. Jessica sighs that foxtrot is challenging. Mary says she was worried about the lifts. It usually takes weeks to learn them, and they only have a fraction of that. Jaymz and Jessica manage to be cool, sexy, and elegant all at the same time. Jessica is a weeeee bit stiff but Jaymz is impressing me. Curious to hear what the judges will think. Cat oozes all over them, oddly. Judges? Shane says it was perfect. Mia thought it was mature and slick, and loved the lines. Bloody beautiful. Nigel just thought Jaymz and Jessica were a beautiful couple, but he is worried. He says they did a great job last week and were in the bottom three, and doesn’t think this was the routine to inspire folks to vote. When Ivan sees that he and Jessica have drawn hip-hop, he comes unhinged. It’s his specialty. Allison says she has done hip-hop, but not the “ghetto styles.” You figure that out. Ivan, though, is impressed with how quickly Allison is catching on. Choreographers Cicely and Olisa say Ivan and Allison will have to be strong in their hip-hop or “they will be lost.” Allison is surprising herself. Cicely says Allison will be the star of the performance because no one expects her to do what she can do. Olisa boldly predicts Ivan and Jessica will be in the top three this week. Otherwise, “I’m gonna get a whole new America!” Ivan and Jessica are charming as anything with this routine with its jerky stops and starts and sudden smooth moves. Jessica is adorable and Ivan is in hog heaven. But dare I say, Busta Rhymes’ “Touch It” is a song that takes some getting used to - not nearly as catchy as “Clap Back,” and I think that will temper the judges. Shane said they got the right choreographers and they both did terrific. Mia wanted more fireworks. They did the steps and did it well, but just not enough for her. Nigel says Ivan is a natural hip-hop dancer and thinks they did a great job considering they had to work with a choreographing pair, which is rare. Dmitry and Joy are doing the samba. Choreographer Mark Weiss promises a moving sort of samba, with heavy but fluid movements. Dmitry basically yawns at the challenge, and Joy is struggling. As a jazz dancer, she’s not getting the heavy. Or the pivots. Or the turns. Dmitry resorts to hoping he can make her look as beautiful as she is. Oh, boy. In the dance, Dmitry is liquid fire but Joy is a log. She just looks woefully unsteady on her feet and does some moves that make you just wince. She manages to bring Dmitry down with her. Bottom three. Count on it. Judges? Shane says they looked great but Joy’s smile made it obvious she was nervous. Dmitry, says Shane, killed, and he commends him on trying to pick Joy up. Mia says it’s a good thing Joy is beautiful because it was absolutely dreadful. She goes on to say that she does not think Joy is ready for this competition. Dmitry was wonderful. Nigel also says Joy is beautiful (uh-oh), but he agrees with Joy. Dmitry was sensational, but Nigel doesn’t think Dmitry did enough to bring up his partner. Hmmmm… Musa and Natalie will be doing contemporary dance. Choreographer Tavares Wilson loves the connection he sees right away, but he doesn’t love much else. Musa’s lack of technical skill is a big issue. Tavares does not sound confident. “The guy has to be a rock. If you miss one step, your partner is on the floor.” In the end, Musa feels he’s improved. Is he right? Well, if no one had told me Musa had no training, I never would have known! He looks completely comfortable up there, and Natalie is luscious, as we knew she would be. Hot! The judges should be prepared to throw posies in Musa’s direction. Let’s see if they will. Shane says Musa was a little shaky in spots, but they did their thing. He loved how Natalie compensated for Musa. Mia says the chemistry between them is amazing. Mia is proud of Musa for trying so hard, and Natalie compensating was fabulous. Nigel says this is a perfect example of the partnering leading to chemistry. It was beautiful to watch. Ryan and Heidi have drawn pop. First, Ryan eats a plateful of crow for his obvious disappointment that he did not draw the lovely Natalie. Then he and Heidi admit they have no idea what pop dancing is. Tavares Wilson, up again already, tells them it is like the dancing they see in music videos. He tells them they only have to bring fire to it. Ryan is fired up, thinking maybe Heidi is “rubbing off” on him. Can they bring the fire to the stage? Dancing to “Walk Away” by somebody named Kelly Clarkson, this dance is all about Heidi slamming the door on Ryan. She has to carry the emotion for the dance to work. Does she? Not sure. Ryan is excellent, but the dance is all about Heidi. I’m a bit worried. Shane says they became the group to beat. Mia thinks it was a cute performance, but she needs Heidi to get more grounded in her movement. Mia believes she can. Ryan is like a stallion, and he and Heidi need to meet somewhere in the middle. Nigel says in comparison to the other couples, he thinks they looked like they were pretending. Ashlee and Ben get American jive, and that inspires an expletive from Ben. Mary is worried, too. From what she saw last week, they weren’t very strong. Ben says he’s sure they don’t know what they are doing yet. Mary says she doesn’t know if they have the stamina. But she says they do have a good connection with each other. Things go much better for Ben and Ashlee this week. Dancing to “Great Balls of Fire,” all that shrieking of “triple-step!” Mary did seems to have sunk it. Their legs are a blur, Ashlee looks incredible, and Ben shows he really is quite an excellent dancer. They don’t quite match some of the other couples, but they definitely take big steps forward. The audience thunders them with applause. But Shane simply says he didn’t like it. Why, demands Cat. He says he felt like he was watching two five-year-olds dancing. Mia says it’s not her choice of dance, but considering they had no training in the discipline, they were great. Nigel says based on the energy, as a couple they improved beyond belief. Jason and Aleksandra wind up with hip-hop. Jason is thrilled. Aleksandra… pensive. She says she knows people don’t think she can do it, but she’s done hip-hop in Chicago. Dammit. Cicely and Olisa wonder if maybe she’s taken a class. A new school class, maybe, but they aren’t that impressed. Jason says the dance is about a lifestyle. Aleksandra is too relaxed and Jason will “eat her up,” the ladies predict. Are they right? No. Jason does not eat her up, but it’s not like he doesn’t try. There are obvious synchronicity issues here, and every time it’s Jason before Aleksandra. Either she is constantly late (she is right on the beat) or Jason is actually trying to show her up! I mean, ugh, what? Judges? Shane says Aleksandra dances hip-hop like a white girl. Jason smashed it. Good job overall. Mia says she expected Jason to be huge, but Aleksandra got it! Nigel invites the boos he knows will come. He loved Jason. To Aleksandra, he says, “If it’s about flava, that was like tofu.” Benji and Donyelle will be doing the cha-cha. Mark Weiss gets to choreograph this charming pair. A lot of time is spent with Donyelle’s technique. Benji keeps things light with levity. But there is serious work to be done. Can this giggling pair get down to serious business? Ben and Donyelle electrify the stage with their cha-cha. Donyelle? Sumptuous. Yes, I would have liked a bit more extension and toe point, but she has such fire! And Benji, just get out of town. Those hips should be illegal. Shane is giving them a standing ovation! “That’s what’s up!” he starts. “That to me was the best performance of the night. I don’t think anyone is going to touch that.” But Shane, they are last. (Or are they? Dancing orders edited for television? Hmmm…) Mia calls them divas and says they were fabulous. Nigel says he told Travis and Martha they were the couple to beat, and Benji and Donyelle just beat them. He goes on that for all the issues Donyelle has had with her weight, she was so comfortable with her body, she was nothing short of sexy. Great night of dancing. Loved them all. But a bottom three is what you want from me. I will say: Dmitry and Joy – Joy was the problem. The dance was joyless when it shouldn’t have been. (See what I did there?) Ryan and Heidi – it just didn’t work. Ben and Ashlee – two-week rule. They won’t go home, though. That will be… Dmitry and Joy. Too bad, because I want to see what else Dmitry can do. Am I right? Join me tomorrow and let’s see!Source: http://www.realitynewsonline.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=1&article=article6209.art&page=1
So You Think You Can Dance 2, June 21: Steppin’ Out and Steppin’ Up by Sting7 -- 06/23/2006 The first week jitters claimed a few dancers last week, but everyone seems cured! One dancer shocks herself, one dancer apologizes, one dancer emerges as more special than anyone guessed, and another is woefully exposed. Musa and Natalie (right) were voted hottest couple, but does Musa’s lack of training drag them down this week? Last week, we said a surprising good bye to Stanislav and an inevitable goodbye to Erin. Only 18 dancers left! Since Stanislav and Erin were a team, no one is joining a new partner this week. That means another week to settle in with the partner you already know. Will it help? Cat intros the 18 remaining dancers. Then Unseen Announcer Man intros Cat. “Hullo!” she says. Cat welcomes tonight’s cadre of judges, Shane Sparks, Mia Michaels (new sleek short do!), and, of course, Nigel. Shane recalls his favorite moment from the Chicago auditions was the dancer who danced herself to a barf. Mia remembers Jamie, the girl with a little something extra. Ahem. Nigel remembers Sex. We all do. Wait, no, the dancer Sex. Nigel wants his Sex! Couldn’t resist. Cat tells us we are down to 18 dancers, or nine couples. Then she reintroduces us to Hawk. What’s he doing here? We see a brief montage of Hawk and his crew’s greatest audition hits. Then she turns him in to immigration. Just kidding. The Six Step Crew, with Hawk and Ryan Conferido from season one, are going to perform! Check that, no Hawk, but the others perform and do things that gravity deemed impossible. They are amazing! No doubt, they will have representation soon! And when Hawk can get a green card, he can come back on the show. Cat begs him to come back next year. Hawk doesn’t really answer with much enthusiasm. He’s done with you, Deeley! Cat tells us the remaining couples will dance to a genre chosen randomly. Then she urges us to vote for our favorites. Time for the dancing! Lil C calls himself the creator of krumping, and he will be choreographing Martha and Travis. Travis calls it “very King Kong.” Martha says it’s very athletic. Lil C says they will need a lot of energy. Travis worries that after last week’s comments, if they slide a little, the judges will make it much worse with their comments. We see what he means! To Ja Rule’s “Clap Back” they give it their level best, but Travis clearly looks uncomfortable. Despite that, they entertain, and as Lil C promised, I’m tired just watching them! At the end, they hug and smile a bit tentatively. Some of those “tag team” moves were a little clumsy and they know it. Shane gives Travis a, “What?” (that’s a good thing) and oozes all over him. “We could do a session tonight if you want, that’s how sick you were!” Oh, and Martha was good, too. Thanks for giving her a little. Mia said it was dirty and raw and ugly and absolutely perfect. Nigel thought it was a little “Lil C-lite,” but he was satisfied. Jaymz and Jessica will be doing the foxtrot. Mary Martin says if she were casting a movie, she would cast these two. It will be a bluesy American foxtrot. Mary thinks Jaymz will shine in this dance. Jessica sighs that foxtrot is challenging. Mary says she was worried about the lifts. It usually takes weeks to learn them, and they only have a fraction of that. Jaymz and Jessica manage to be cool, sexy, and elegant all at the same time. Jessica is a weeeee bit stiff but Jaymz is impressing me. Curious to hear what the judges will think. Cat oozes all over them, oddly. Judges? Shane says it was perfect. Mia thought it was mature and slick, and loved the lines. Bloody beautiful. Nigel just thought Jaymz and Jessica were a beautiful couple, but he is worried. He says they did a great job last week and were in the bottom three, and doesn’t think this was the routine to inspire folks to vote. When Ivan sees that he and Jessica have drawn hip-hop, he comes unhinged. It’s his specialty. Allison says she has done hip-hop, but not the “ghetto styles.” You figure that out. Ivan, though, is impressed with how quickly Allison is catching on. Choreographers Cicely and Olisa say Ivan and Allison will have to be strong in their hip-hop or “they will be lost.” Allison is surprising herself. Cicely says Allison will be the star of the performance because no one expects her to do what she can do. Olisa boldly predicts Ivan and Jessica will be in the top three this week. Otherwise, “I’m gonna get a whole new America!” Ivan and Jessica are charming as anything with this routine with its jerky stops and starts and sudden smooth moves. Jessica is adorable and Ivan is in hog heaven. But dare I say, Busta Rhymes’ “Touch It” is a song that takes some getting used to - not nearly as catchy as “Clap Back,” and I think that will temper the judges. Shane said they got the right choreographers and they both did terrific. Mia wanted more fireworks. They did the steps and did it well, but just not enough for her. Nigel says Ivan is a natural hip-hop dancer and thinks they did a great job considering they had to work with a choreographing pair, which is rare. Dmitry and Joy are doing the samba. Choreographer Mark Weiss promises a moving sort of samba, with heavy but fluid movements. Dmitry basically yawns at the challenge, and Joy is struggling. As a jazz dancer, she’s not getting the heavy. Or the pivots. Or the turns. Dmitry resorts to hoping he can make her look as beautiful as she is. Oh, boy. In the dance, Dmitry is liquid fire but Joy is a log. She just looks woefully unsteady on her feet and does some moves that make you just wince. She manages to bring Dmitry down with her. Bottom three. Count on it. Judges? Shane says they looked great but Joy’s smile made it obvious she was nervous. Dmitry, says Shane, killed, and he commends him on trying to pick Joy up. Mia says it’s a good thing Joy is beautiful because it was absolutely dreadful. She goes on to say that she does not think Joy is ready for this competition. Dmitry was wonderful. Nigel also says Joy is beautiful (uh-oh), but he agrees with Joy. Dmitry was sensational, but Nigel doesn’t think Dmitry did enough to bring up his partner. Hmmmm… Musa and Natalie will be doing contemporary dance. Choreographer Tavares Wilson loves the connection he sees right away, but he doesn’t love much else. Musa’s lack of technical skill is a big issue. Tavares does not sound confident. “The guy has to be a rock. If you miss one step, your partner is on the floor.” In the end, Musa feels he’s improved. Is he right? Well, if no one had told me Musa had no training, I never would have known! He looks completely comfortable up there, and Natalie is luscious, as we knew she would be. Hot! The judges should be prepared to throw posies in Musa’s direction. Let’s see if they will. Shane says Musa was a little shaky in spots, but they did their thing. He loved how Natalie compensated for Musa. Mia says the chemistry between them is amazing. Mia is proud of Musa for trying so hard, and Natalie compensating was fabulous. Nigel says this is a perfect example of the partnering leading to chemistry. It was beautiful to watch. Ryan and Heidi have drawn pop. First, Ryan eats a plateful of crow for his obvious disappointment that he did not draw the lovely Natalie. Then he and Heidi admit they have no idea what pop dancing is. Tavares Wilson, up again already, tells them it is like the dancing they see in music videos. He tells them they only have to bring fire to it. Ryan is fired up, thinking maybe Heidi is “rubbing off” on him. Can they bring the fire to the stage? Dancing to “Walk Away” by somebody named Kelly Clarkson, this dance is all about Heidi slamming the door on Ryan. She has to carry the emotion for the dance to work. Does she? Not sure. Ryan is excellent, but the dance is all about Heidi. I’m a bit worried. Shane says they became the group to beat. Mia thinks it was a cute performance, but she needs Heidi to get more grounded in her movement. Mia believes she can. Ryan is like a stallion, and he and Heidi need to meet somewhere in the middle. Nigel says in comparison to the other couples, he thinks they looked like they were pretending. Ashlee and Ben get American jive, and that inspires an expletive from Ben. Mary is worried, too. From what she saw last week, they weren’t very strong. Ben says he’s sure they don’t know what they are doing yet. Mary says she doesn’t know if they have the stamina. But she says they do have a good connection with each other. Things go much better for Ben and Ashlee this week. Dancing to “Great Balls of Fire,” all that shrieking of “triple-step!” Mary did seems to have sunk it. Their legs are a blur, Ashlee looks incredible, and Ben shows he really is quite an excellent dancer. They don’t quite match some of the other couples, but they definitely take big steps forward. The audience thunders them with applause. But Shane simply says he didn’t like it. Why, demands Cat. He says he felt like he was watching two five-year-olds dancing. Mia says it’s not her choice of dance, but considering they had no training in the discipline, they were great. Nigel says based on the energy, as a couple they improved beyond belief. Jason and Aleksandra wind up with hip-hop. Jason is thrilled. Aleksandra… pensive. She says she knows people don’t think she can do it, but she’s done hip-hop in Chicago. Dammit. Cicely and Olisa wonder if maybe she’s taken a class. A new school class, maybe, but they aren’t that impressed. Jason says the dance is about a lifestyle. Aleksandra is too relaxed and Jason will “eat her up,” the ladies predict. Are they right? No. Jason does not eat her up, but it’s not like he doesn’t try. There are obvious synchronicity issues here, and every time it’s Jason before Aleksandra. Either she is constantly late (she is right on the beat) or Jason is actually trying to show her up! I mean, ugh, what? Judges? Shane says Aleksandra dances hip-hop like a white girl. Jason smashed it. Good job overall. Mia says she expected Jason to be huge, but Aleksandra got it! Nigel invites the boos he knows will come. He loved Jason. To Aleksandra, he says, “If it’s about flava, that was like tofu.” Benji and Donyelle will be doing the cha-cha. Mark Weiss gets to choreograph this charming pair. A lot of time is spent with Donyelle’s technique. Benji keeps things light with levity. But there is serious work to be done. Can this giggling pair get down to serious business? Ben and Donyelle electrify the stage with their cha-cha. Donyelle? Sumptuous. Yes, I would have liked a bit more extension and toe point, but she has such fire! And Benji, just get out of town. Those hips should be illegal. Shane is giving them a standing ovation! “That’s what’s up!” he starts. “That to me was the best performance of the night. I don’t think anyone is going to touch that.” But Shane, they are last. (Or are they? Dancing orders edited for television? Hmmm…) Mia calls them divas and says they were fabulous. Nigel says he told Travis and Martha they were the couple to beat, and Benji and Donyelle just beat them. He goes on that for all the issues Donyelle has had with her weight, she was so comfortable with her body, she was nothing short of sexy. Great night of dancing. Loved them all. But a bottom three is what you want from me. I will say: Dmitry and Joy – Joy was the problem. The dance was joyless when it shouldn’t have been. (See what I did there?) Ryan and Heidi – it just didn’t work. Ben and Ashlee – two-week rule. They won’t go home, though. That will be… Dmitry and Joy. Too bad, because I want to see what else Dmitry can do. Am I right? Join me tomorrow and let’s see!