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SYTYCD Season 7 Top 8

frau sally benz

Spoilers below!

This week on SYTYCD: injuries, tears, Nigel learns how to use the internet, and Cat talks back. Jump over to the recap and discuss with me.

So last week, Melinda FINALLY left, and I cheered even though we all expected it at that point. The real news this week was Alex’s injury… I felt bad, of course, especially because I want to see if his hip hop last week was just a fluke and what he’s like in other styles. But, really, it’s not that serious. Injuries are bad and, ok, he’ll be in the bottom 3 but they’re not going to get rid of him if there’s any chance in hell that he can dance next week. So having them spend so much time talking about it kind of annoyed me and at one point I actually said to my t.v. “get the hell over it, let’s move on.” So that’s what I’m going to do now – on to the show!

Oh, and sorry for the lack of videos, most of them have been taken down – I shall keep looking!

Lauren & Pasha – A cha cha by Jean-Marc and France. I have to say, I really liked it and suspect that Mary would’ve put them on the hot tamale train. There were some slip-ups, but she has totally matured and she shined in this dance.

Jose & Lauren – Contemporary by Mandy Moore. This was his best dance in the competition so far, but, really, Lauren is a great partner (as much as I hate her) so I’m not sure how much of that was him actually being good…

Kent & Comfort – A Dave Scott hip hop routine. This routine suited Kent and I’m glad he took the critique from last week and fixed his face. Definitely better than Billy’s hip hop, it was good.

AdéChiké & Courtney – A jazz routine by Mandy Moore. Ok, I think the choreography (also in Mandy’s other routine) is the real problem, not him. I think he danced it well and he’s good at the sexy routines because he can open up a bit more and have fun, but the choreography just wasn’t that great. There wasn’t much to work with and I was annoyed that the judges took it out on him.

Billy & Katie – Broadway by Spencer Liff. Poor Allison was injured, but I was glad to see Katie back. I… didn’t enjoy this as much as the judges. He danced it incredibly well, but I couldn’t tell what character he was playing which is the point of Broadway, no?

Ashley & Dominic – Hip hop by Tabitha & Napoleon. The concept was strange, but she did really well, and good for her after everyone doubting she could do something other than contemporary. Great job.

Robert & Kathryn – A Sean Cheesman jazz number. 1) Nigel, it’s not about whether or not Robert actually IS arrogant, it’s that something about his personality seems a bit fake and can be taken as arrogance. 2) THIS ROUTINE WAS NOT THAT GOOD! He almost dropped her and he wasn’t there for her at all. Yes, personality-wise he got it, but Robert is a much better dancer/partner than he was in this routine so please shut it, judges.

AdéChiké – Bollywood by Nakul. Serious question, are there no other Bollywood choreographers? As for the dance, he wasn’t as sharp as he could’ve been, true, but Nigel made it seem like he bombed and I was ecstatic that Cat stood up to them, which made Mia defensive. Drama.

Lauren & Kent – A Travis contemporary piece. This routine was really nice, and I couldn’t help think that Mollee & what’s-his-name from last season wouldn’t have danced this as well and as maturely as Lauren & Kent, which shows how much they’ve grown.

Robert & Ashley – Quickstep by Jean-Marc & France. The dance of death, but they survived. They were a bit bouncy and their steps could’ve been lighter, but Ashley looked lovely and Robert was okay.

Jose & Billy – Sean Cheesman’s African jazz. So, this was not wonderful, and there’s really not much more to say than that lol.

I really want to comment on the judges for a bit. Every season, they have their faves and try to suggest who should get the votes and who shouldn’t, but it’s out of control this season. Robert’s first performance didn’t even get critiqued because it was a love-fest; don’t know what the hell AdéChiké did to piss off the judges, but they’re gunning for him to leave; Jose only got real criticism after Cat talked back to the judges – this is getting ridiculous! Jose doesn’t deserve to be here no matter how much he smiles. Yes, he embraces the competition, but so do other dancers who take critique and grow the next week (like Lauren), but the judges still critique her every week. I don’t even really like AdéChiké that much, but I still recognize his growth. I don’t get it…

Anyhoo, Lauren & Ashley were the best of the night while Jose & Robert were the weakest. I hope Jose gets the boot.

Thoughts? Predictions? Gripes about the judges? Let it all out!

14 thoughts on SYTYCD Season 7 Top 8

  1. Re: bad choreography: The judges don’t really like to criticize the choreographers, though I wish they would. Also, can we get rid of Mia? Or at least prevent her from wearing things like that ridiculous gold headband she had on last night?

  2. Mia can wear whatever she wants as long as she promises to stop making up words and playing favorites. I thought Ashley’s hip hop dancing was as good as Alex’s although the choreography itself was not. She did super well and I felt like she didn’t get nearly enough credit. Also, how could the judges fail to call out Robert on dropping his partner? And why did Nigel assume AdeCheke was angry at their criticisms? Although he had a right to be, he looked to me like he was just trying really hard to make sense of what they were saying. The judging is just really poor this season. Fortunately the dancing is still great.

  3. I think my favorite person right now is Cat. I didn’t use to like her, but this season, she’s grown! I like that she’s engaging with the judges on their opinions.

  4. Now, maybe you and I watched different shows last night, but I am fairly positive that Nigel said Alex would, AT BEST, miss this week, and that it was suspected that Alex RUPTURED his Achille’s tendon. Not sprained his ankle, pulled a muscle, or over exerted himself requiring a week’s rest. They suspect that he ripped his tendon right off his bone, requiring a surgical repair, three month’s non-weight bearing on that leg, and most likely ending his career as a professional ballerina.

    While you might be unimpressed, that sounds like a pretty fucking big deal to me. And considering his career is probably over before it really had time to blossom, I’m sure it’s a pretty big deal to Alex, as well.

  6. I totally agree about AdéChiké! For both of his dances they made it seem like he didn’t get anything right & I thought he did pretty well (or at least better than Robert–who definitely blew that barbie/ken routine). And I thought it was super crappy how the judges (Mia?) knocked AdéChiké again by lamenting the fact that Alex hadn’t been there to (of course) save the day on the Bollywood routine.

    Side note: is it a rule that Nigel must comment on the attractiveness/sex appeal of each female dancer after every single dance? It’s so uncomfortable to listen to.

  7. Could we also comment on the ridiculous backhanded racist comments that we’ve been hearing here? Did anyone else feel a bit uncomfortable when Nigel said that Jose depicting a hunter in an African jazz routine was an animalistic “creature”? Or how there’s something that just doesn’t sit right with Mia about AdeChike, perhaps all too similarly to how she felt about Brandon at the beginning of his season? Or how he somehow made his Bollywood look “funky” and “African”? (let’s keep in mind he is a contemporary dancer who has defined his personality as slightly geeky, definitely not “funky”)

    I love the dancing but can’t even stand to listen to judges anymore. As obnoxious as she was, I actually prefer Mary Murphy to Mia, who is downright rude.

  8. Wow – I had the same top two and bottom two as you did! This was the first show in which the girls just killed it! Lauren was smokin’ hot in the Cha Cha and Ashley gave an amazing hip hop performance. I don’t think Robert is arrogant, I think he is phony and too smarmy to be likable. Alex’s injury is a catastrophe. I missed his dancing this week. (And will miss it for the rest of the season).

  9. @notafanofnigel: I feel the same and I think okay, am I just overanalyzing here? But, I feel they make a lot of racist and sexist comments and I really hate how they harp on Kent for not being “a man.” And loved how Mia apologized and didn’t last night. She couldn’t have just owned up to it and said I was out of line, nope had to justify it by saying this is really for you that I’m a bitch. Whatever. I am getting fed up with the judging, as well. They won’t critique Jose because “he has heart.” What a load! The other dancers are giving it all they got too and they can keep up!

    And why was Ashley in the bottom two?!

    I just see Robert as nerdy and awkward.

  10. Just out of curiosity, *why* do you hate Lauren so much that you’ve made a point of mentioning it in all but I think one of these write-ups?

  11. I don’t understand why Jose is still on the show; it really bugs me that the first three cuts were all girls. Jose is just not that great; they keep giving him snaps for personality and trying, then thump the others for technical work.

    The over-the-top praises are so unlike any other season; what’s up with that? The judges never used to spend so much time saying “this is the best ever”, and it gets old fast. They talk less about steps, lines, and technique, and more about nebulous things. One of my favorite things about the show was that the judges taught the dancers and the audience with the critiques, so the votes were the most intelligent of all the “reality” shows. “You were so–wow” doesn’t make it.

    I wish they’d take Mia off the judges’ table and put her back into choreography. Now there’s only Sonya to do the really interesting, out-there stuff. And I wish they would get rid of Mandy, whose routines are so commonplace–all the blahest bits of contemporary. And where’s Lil C this year?

    I love Cat. She’s gotten up the judges’ noses before in defense of her “little ones”, and she looks after them backstage, too.

  12. A couple of cents to toss in here:

    The racism is over the top. Mia has a long, long history of being anti-Black–aimed especially at Black men–oh wait, they don’t feature Black women other than tokenising Comfort.

    The hetero/sexism has always been over the top on this show. I don’t grin, and I bear it, because of the reasons we watch the show. It dovetails in vile ways with the racism.

    Mia must go, and choreograph. She’s brilliant at it and I agree she’s awful as a judge.

    Yes, bring back Mary, or get Debbie Allen on board, or, well, anyone other than Mia, except it better not be another white man. Enough with the whites judging people of color week after week–and I’m talking about more than this show (U.S. America’s Not Got Talent comes to mind)–that alone is messed up.

    Robert’s love of his mom endears me to him, but I LOLed at the description of him as “phony and smarmy” and feel it is spot on. I had thought he was just quirky, and quirky isn’t bad in my book, but smarmy and phony… yeah, not so good! Thanks poloprincess for pointing out that he’s not arrogant, and for noting what he is!

    This thread and the other Feministe SYTYCD discussions from this season, and the awesome analysis of the show click here to be brought to it over at Racialicious needs to be sent to the producers. Seriously.

    And, finally, I agree that it is truly devastating that Alex is off the show/is severely injured. I wish he hadn’t gotten that particular number because to extend your legs out in a jump split AND keep your feet bent in (try doing that while sitting on the floor, very slowly to get what a tug that is), is about as Achilles tendon-injuring a “dance move” as it gets. It shouldn’t have choreographed it in the first place–particularly so many in a row. The show has suffered a huge loss, imo. I felt for him, a lot. I also like the out gay men being there to counterbalance the gross heterosexism of the judges. On what other show do we get to see anyone who is gay and Asian-American? And, I think Alex is one awesome dancer and hopefully he will fully recover and be back. What a journey.

  14. dirtybird, I didn’t like her in her season. I didn’t think she was good enough to go as far as she did, and I always found her a bit annoying and smug. It’s one of those things where if she had left right away, it’d have been no problem, but the annoyance just piled on. Much how I’ll probably start hating Jose if he stays much longer, although that’s more the judges’ fault than his.

    And I agree with everyone, Mia needs to not be a judge. It was one thing to make Adam permanent rather than have the rotating judge, but Mia’s critiques are just productive.

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