I’ve had enough of the dancer who can’t lay it all on the floor, get emotional about his pieces and show some kind of real growth. As part of the judging panel on So You Think You Can Dance this week, Tyce hit the nail on the head when he said that AdéChiké should be knocking this dances out of the part and he just isn’t and he rarely has across these weeks of competition. He was outdanced by both of his All Star partners last night–Lauren in the Sean Cheesman Afro Jazz number and Kathryn in the Desmond Richardson & Dwight Rhoden piece (and that’s one he really should’ve knocked out because Desmond is one of his inspirations). Lauren and Kathryn both fully committed to the pieces and you could tell the dance and the music was flowing through them. While AdéChiké is technically good, until he can figure out how to stop holding back in the performance area he will not be a dancer worthy of this show, especially in the final weeks. It’s very disappointing that America keeps passing him through (and since I do vote, I feel completely justified in criticizing the other voters…last night Robert got 30 minutes of voting from me because I think he’s the one in the most peril of AdéChiké moves on).
Now that I’ve said my piece on that, let’s talk about some dancing joy… last night’s top three:
- Lauren (Miriam Larici & Leonardo Barrionuevo Argentine tango): Partnered with Pasha Lauren delivered an exquisite Argentine tango full of passion and fire. The way she bent her body for the lifts was incredible and fluid and the footwork was dazzling.
- Lauren (Sean Cheesman jazz): Another stunning performance. This time partnered with Ade, Lauren seemed like a James Bond villain (a compairson one of the judges made that I completely agree with). This was very strong and powerful for her and the connection with Ade was just perfect. Hopefully this number makes the tour.
- Robert (Napoleon & Tabitha D’umo hip hop): Once again NappyTabs delivers! Robert absolutely nailed this piece with Dominic. I had no idea that Robert could keep up with this All Star and he did so and then some. Of course, Robert delivered on the performance aspect as well. This is another dance I hope makes the tour lineup.
Here are the rest of the numbers (minus AdéChiké’s that I think I’ve said enough about):
- Group number (Tyce Diorio Broadway): What a disappointing number for the dancers to be stuck with in a performance show. It didn’t showcase anyone’s talent well and was another classic example of Tyce’s poor Broadway numbers (he does other things so well, let’s leave the Broadway to someone else).
- Robert (Jonathan Roberts Viennese waltz): Simply gorgeous. Robert has really embraced the ballroom dances. Jonathan, one of my favorite DWTS dancers, delivered beautiful choreography and Robert and Anya absolutely nailed it.
- Kent (Doriana Sanchez disco): I disagreed with the judges here. Kent’s bubbly take on this number was right on the money. This was fun and peppy and a delight to watch. Kent managed to strike just the right amount of Kent-face here without going overboard.
- Kent (Travis Wall contemporary): Stunning. It’s to bad that I only do a top three because this deserved top recognition as well (as did the majority of the dances last night). Not only did Travis deliver his usual incredible choreography but Kent left Kent-face totally behind and dug deep into this performance. Where I thought Neil outdanced him in their earlier baseball routine, they were perfectly matched here. This was a great way to end the night.
If there’s justice out there, the top three revealed tonight will be Kent, Robert and Lauren.
Results Update: Yes, I admit, I let out a loud “YES!” when Robert was announced as the final member of the top 3 and finally sending AdéChiké packing. I like this top 3 a lot and look forward to seeing what they put on the stage for the finale. Each of them is deserving. I suspect Kent will win because of the following he seems to have, but any of them will be an excellent choice. I’m on vacation next week, so I probably will be a week behind commenting on the finale (as much as I love the show, I can’t see spending a night in to watch it while away).