In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

SYTYCD Season 7 Top 4

frau sally benz

Spoilers below!

This week on SYTYCD: I was so overjoyed about last week’s results, that I didn’t mind the forgettable dancing so much. Jump over to the recap and discuss with me.

Jose’s finally gone, but I’m surprised/bummed Billy went home. I know I predicted he would be next a couple of weeks back, but he had such a great night last week and his solo on elimination night was my absolute fave. Whatevs, this is just clearing the way for Lauren to hopefully win.

Group dance – Broadway by Tyce. For me, Lauren was the best and Adechike wasn’t so great. The routine itself wasn’t all that exciting, though, so that was the real let-down here.

Lauren & Pasha – A tango by Miriam Larici & Leonardo Barrionuevo. I have to say, I thought Lauren did an incredible job in this dance. I was surprised that she pulled off the sultry seductress thing.

AdéChiké & Lauren – A Sean Cheesman African jazz number. I thought AdéChiké did a really good job. There were some points where he didn’t completely loosen up, but compared to how he usually is, it was very loose. I don’t know why the judges hate him so much.

Robert & Anya – A Viennese waltz by Jonathan Roberts. Usually, these bore me, but I really liked it! He didn’t drop her or anything, which is always good, and I think he really pulled it off.

Kent & Courtney – Disco (!!) by Doriana Sanchez. First of all, how depressing is it that Kent doesn’t know diddly squat about my favorite thing EVER?! He… was okay. I didn’t think it was the worst of the season, but not his best.

Lauren & Ade – Jazz by Sean Cheesman. I loved this! IMO, this was the closest a competitor came to outdancing an all-star this season. Lauren was great in it.

AdéChiké & Kathryn – Contemporary by Desmond Richardson & Dwight Rohden. I don’t understand why everyone hates him so much. Is he perfect? Should he win? No. But he’s much better than they give him credit for, including in this dance.

Robert & Dominic – Hip hop by Tabitha & Napoleon. It was… weird. I have no idea why they think Robert was better than Dominic. Robert did a good job, but it wasn’t THAT good.

Kent & Neil – A contemporary piece by Travis. I’m not sure why Mia was crying. I watched it twice and was not moved to tears. That said, I really liked it and it was my favorite of the night.

This night was not all that exciting, especially considering how close we are to the end. I already forgot what most of these dances looked like, which is usually a bad sign. Anyhoo, I’m sure AdéChiké will go home tonight. What did you all think?

7 thoughts on SYTYCD Season 7 Top 4

  1. Delurking because I can’t figure out the judges’ attitude towards AdéChiké. I thought his performances last night weren’t as strong as Lauren and Ade or Kent and Neil, but I enjoyed them more than Kent’s disco and Robert’s hip hop clown. I don’t understand why the judges were so much harsher in their criticism of AdéChiké than anyone else last night – other than the fact that it’s been their pattern all season. The dancers are all at such a high level that I don’t know if I can really speak to the difference in quality between AdéChiké and Robert’s dancing, but AdéChiké’s solos and a number of his partner routines have taken my breath away. I can’t say the same about Robert. That could be because I never really warmed up to him.

    Dance ability aside, tonight it’s all up to the viewers. AdéChiké has never been in the bottom three, so the audience likes him. Robert’s been in the bottom three at least 3 times, so I think there’s a good chance he could go home tonight. I don’t understand why the judges gave AdéChiké such a send off last night. Even if Robert is the better dancer, that doesn’t necessarily draw the most votes. In fact, their treatment of AdéChiké could assure his place in the finale.

    Am I missing something?

    P.S. I’ve enjoyed your SYTYCD posts. I wish I’d joined the conversation earlier.

    P.P.S. I’m rooting for Lauren (if SYTYCD tradition is upheld, that means she’ll lose). I’ve just hated seeing the judges treat AdéChiké so harshly all season while ignoring poor dancing from other contestants.

  2. My theory about the Kent/Neil dance was that it was moving to see *finally* a gay dance. While the official story of that dance was two dude friends, I think it was definitely a gay breakup, and it came across that way. And it made it poignant.

  3. Good point, Courtney! Yes, given the personal story that wasn’t expanded upon by Travis Wall. I agree with your assessment, and it’s about time. And… when will we see a lesbian or gay love story in dance without a break-up. I’m reminded of us gay males waiting for Hollywood to figure out how to tell a major story without someone dying of AIDS. As if all gay men died or die of AIDS. Right.

    And I’m glad Adam OFFICIALLY came out of the closet, too.

    And I honestly think the deal with AdéChiké is simple: HE’S BLACK. The current batch of judges, in combo, are blatant in their racism, in a variety of ways, not just about their assessments of his dancing. If their heterosexism and sexism can be so damned blatant, why not the racism?

    Now it’s the white-off finale. So the judges are happy as can be. And, I agree with you so much, Frau Sally–AdéChiké’s solos have been so wonderful, and Robert’s are so utterly NOT. Robert can maneuver his body around and stuff, but there’s virtually no emotion or spirit in them. AdéChiké is poetic and spirited in his movements. He’s expressing something that is deep within in him that also transcends him. Robert is… I just don’t really know what Robert is doing in his solos, to be honest.

    I see Robert being good at formal elements–posture, extension, finishing out his moves, and so on. He’s crisp. But surely GREAT dancing is more than that.

    I hope Lauren wins but think the votes will be for Kent. Lauren, to me, has been the most consistently fabulous, rising superbly to every occasion, and really never disappointing. So she deserves to win. (I agreed with Mia that Kent’s disco was not good, at all. Like week-one level dancing.)

    I liked Tyce as a judge this week: he’s so emotive and passionate and engaged with the dancers–probably because he’s worked with them all this season.

    And Cat–she’s so wonderful with the dancers. They must all adore her.

    Anyway, next week: la grande finale.

  4. The thing is, they usually go out of their way to praise the black contestants. Of course, it’s mostly in an incredibly disturbing way, but still, it’s what they do. Russell was praised even when he wasn’t great, Josh and Twitch were both fantastic and deserved it, but still. Maybe each season, they only have enough energy to hype up one dancer of color and this season they chose Jose?? Or maybe they only praise black people when they’re hip hop dancers…

  5. I really like Billy and I completely agree that he always had the best solos, but just never saw him as a great partner dancer.

    And I did not like the Broadway number, because Lauren who as they consistently point out his a strong, athletic female (God forbid!) and she just kinda sashayed about, rather then actually dancing and showing off her formidable dancing ability. Yeah, it suited the number, but I still hated it.

    I was sad to see Adechike go, besides the obvious racism, I sometimes feel he judges also dislike him because he’s a bit more restrained than the other dancers. This is my first season to watch, but they seem to like the males with the more off-beat personalities.

    I loved the Robert and Dominic number! I like the looseness of Robert’s dancing, but yeah he ain’t the best in comparison to the others. I still like his weirdness though.

    And I also loved the Kent and Neil number, because it was clearly a break-up number (and either Nigel was clueless or being “delicate” for primetime television). I thought they showed the love and hurt beautifully and I hope this paves the way for less heteronormative attitudes on the show.

    Again, Lauren is my favorite and clearly the best dancer of the bunch, but I have a feeling it will go to Kent, as well. And I just want to throw in that I hate Kent’s solos. Choreography does not look to be in his future. As far as solos go, Billy and Adechike always had the best in my opinion.

  6. Thanks for the posts! It is nice to read an alternative review of the show. I find other that others often repeat the judges’ opinions – boring!

    In my view, the judges purposely spoke about Adechike’s performances as if it was his last show. Possibly, to give the impression to voters that, in their expert opinions, he wasn’t deserving of being in the finale. This is unfortunate for me because I like seeing personality and emotion in the dances, and I think Adechike has be brought those elements to his routines lately.

    But, after all, it is a TV show. Even though it is “reality”, I am sure that there is a fair bit of planning that goes on by the producers. This season they really seem to like the young contestants, which may or may not be a good thing (except when they don’t know what disco is, lol).

    Anyways, I cannot wait to read your finale review.

  7. I wondered, with Adechike (I’d add he accents if I knew how), whether he has lordosis — his spine is deeply indented at the spine at his lower back and his upper back is inflexible.

    This is the only point the judges called him on repeatedly, and on re-watching all his pieces via youtube, it’s true, but I don’t think it’s his dancing that is at fault, but possibly his spine.

    Not that that takes away in any way from his expressiveness and talent as a dancer. I thought he was wonderful, and I hated that the lighting chosen for his partner work always seemed to accentuate white skin and not allow us to see his beautiful movement clearly.

Comments are currently closed.