So You Think You Can Dance: A Line Has Been Drawn, Let the Separating Begin
A new level of competition is what it was. You could feel it through the television. Working with a new partner and dancing solo’s a lot was exposed within the group of ten dancers. Weaknesses and strengths was the name of the game and for some dancers the sifting began and America began to see the great from the good.
Because I am not a professional dancer, have not taken any dance lessons, and have really no idea what they are doing out there I sometimes I find it hard expressing what I have to say. But me, like many other Americans out there know what I like and what I don’t like when it comes to these final 10 dancers and it doesn’t take Mia Micheals for me to “get it” if someone just isn’t up to par.
As the couples exchanged partners for the evening I was very interested to see how the new match ups would fare. First up were Pasha and Lauren who pulled out the card to dance Hip-Hop. We all knew Lauren could do it but could Latin ballroom dancer Pasha pull it off? It only took me a few seconds to exclaim in my mom’s recliner that they were totally hot. I may have had jet lag last night from my cross country travels but even traveling alone with children syndrome couldn’t keep my eyes off of those two. Their chemistry was just fantastic and Pasha? He proved that he can pretty much partner dance with anyone to any style of music. Lauren was fantastic as usual.
Interspersed throughout the night were all ten dancers performing the Wade Robson choreographed solo routine about peace, war, and anti-war. In the end the judges gave a final critique so we’ll touch on that later on. First we’ve got to dissect the new couples.
The next mixed-up couple to take the stage was Sabra and Kameron. This was going to show a thing or two about Kameron. Could Kameron stay in it without Lacey as his partner? Surprisingly the new partnership had chemistry and was very, very good. Kameron in my mind stepped it up a little bit. Maybe it’s because he wasn’t under the explosive shadow of Lacey. However Sabra is nothing to sniff at as a dancer. I think after one night with Sabra I liked him better already. Now with that being said Mia Micheals educated me a little bit and this is why I’m very glad we have the judges. She said that the piece they danced exposed Kameron. His style and technique were like one of a young dancer. It was honestly hard for her to watch because it was basically bad. Well, I guess I’d better get me some dancin’ lessons so I can see that kind of stuff in the future. I trust her though and just as quickly as Kameron had stuck his toe above the line drawn in the sand he was commanded to remove it until further dancing was observed.
Dancing the samba were the newly partnered Lacey and Danny. Now this I had to see. Both of them are great dancers and I wasn’t disappointed. They were smokin’ hot with really great chemistry and a more evenly matched partnership. Unfortunately for Kameron this exposed him even more seeing his old partner Lacey dance with Danny because it made it more apparent to me at least that although Kameron dances well there are better dancers out there. In the end Danny got a few negative critiques about technique but saved himself with performance. Lacey on the other hand had Mary Murphy telling her she was blowin’ her way into the finals.
Then it happened. Here is where I cringed. Here is where I silently screamed (since my children were sleeping) “Nooooooooooooooooo!!!”. It was Jaimie and Dominic. Personally, I’ve never “felt” Jaimie and her dancing like Nigel has. He is her champion but the connection for me hasn’t been there. I love Dominic. I love who he is and am amazed that every week the kid gets some funky dance he’s never done pulled out of the hat and impresses me every time. Well, not tonight. It was awful and I couldn’t believe it was as bad as it was. The music was bad, the costuming was bad, and there was no chemistry between them. To me it seemed a little sluggish, behind the beat, and something I might see on that cruise I want to go on so badly (hopefully next summer oh please oh please). The judges only confirmed my inner turmoil. It was hammy, over-the-top, cartoonish, not believable, overplayed, the technique wasn’t good. Again the piece was exposing to Dominic just as it was to Kameron. Not good for Dominic. Not good for him at all.
Finally it was Sara and Neil’s turn. These are two of my favorite dancers, Neil just jumping on my favorite bandwagon in the past two weeks! They danced a disco routine and wow did they have a great partnership. It was awesome, fun, alive, and entertaining. I absolutely loved it. Neil’s trick where he back flipped was stunning. What a delightful routine! I smiled through the whole thing. Their energy came through the screen and infected me. The judges agreed and with that the night was over except for the solo dance critiques.
Briefly here is where the chips fell after a very charged and important night. Jaimie. She hit a plateau emotionally and needed to rise above it. Dominic. Lacked technique but had the emotion. Sara. Needed to dance bigger because she is so small but the women judges absolutely connected and Mia got misty. Pasha. Mixed reviews. One said he was out of his league, the other said they were surprised that he pulled it off and another thought it was too dramatic and awkward. Lauren. Terrific, wonderful, fabulous. The girl got all around praise. Neil. Beautifully danced but needed more emotion. Sabra. She’s a small gal but she filled up the stage. Mia Micheals crowned Sabra her favorite dancer. Wow. Kameron. They thought he was great and showed great emotion. Huh? Lacey. She was tremendous. She could have had a little bit more emotion though. Danny. Smooth and terrific but needed more emotion. Mia told him he has the potential to be in the books of history because he is beyond, beyond, beyond. He needs to break through his wall and let the emotion pour out. Wow. Write that one down Danny, which I’m sure he did. Dance has been an outlet for him and I totally believe he can channel his history into his future and find himself written in those history books Mia so eloquently spoke about.
In the end with the line being drawn the dancers who stand firmly above it are Lauren, Sabra, Lacey, Danny, Neil, and Sara. Pasha stands on it and Kameron, Jaimie, and Dominic hover below it. Pasha is brilliant with a partner but can he be a solo dancer? Kameron lacks so much technique can he grow fast enough? Jaimie needs to grab us but can she let her bucket of emotions out to connect? And Dominic. My beloved Dominic?? One more dance like he danced tonight and he may be finding himself rehearsing for the tour instead of the weekly challenges on the show. I hope Pasha doesn’t go home. Kameron and Jaimie really should be the ones to exit the stage but it is America’s votes that count and it’s not about the best dancer, it’s about their favorite dancer.
© Copyright 2007 Blindigo Magazine | Article written by Niki Tschirgi
