Well, we’ve finally made it to the Final Four – and the
second to last episode of Season 1 – just in time for Season 9 to start airing.
As a rule, I am not going to comment on the Season 9, as the whole point of a
rewatch is that I am re-watching the episodes. That being said, I will
immediately break that rule and observe that dancers auditioning for Season 9
had dances that were noticeably longer than the dances performed by dancers on
Season 1 (which are generally under a minute).
Before we get into the episode proper, we see that Kamilah
and Blake got sent home. More on them, as always, at the end of this post.
Part of what I love about the finale is that everyone dances
with everyone else. Not only does that let you compare dancers side by side, it
means we get pairings that are more interesting than the standard "guy +
girl = love story" formulation. Each of the four dancers also performs
solo, none of which were worth extended discussion.
The show opens with Melody and Nick performing a paso doble
choreographed by Mary. Mary need to start choreographing again! The
chorgeography was really good and really smart. It focused on flamenco steps
and creating an atmosphere of crisp, aggressive energy, which both dancers were
good at. Of course, there were like 3 seconds of something that may have been
close hold, but whatever.
The next two performances (Ashlé and Jamile do an Alex da
Silva salsa, and Jamile and Nick do a Dan Karaty hip hop) are clunky, and then
Ashlé and Melody perform a Mia Michaels piece. The choreography itself isn't my
favorite, but it's the type of choreography that Mia says she would normally
give two male dancers. What makes the piece so interesting to me is that I
don't think anyone feels the need to make a comment like this ever again. It
starts to be accepted that the girls hold their own athletically with the boys.
In season 8, no one ever said that Melanie could handle the same choreography
as a guy, and in season 4, no one said "Wow, Katie, you can really keep up
with Joshua and Twitch." It was just assumed that they could. That being
said, I didn't particularly care for this dance. It was very high energy and
the dancers threw themselves around the stage like they were immune to bruises
(they weren't) – but both girls have great control, and I wish Mia had also
taken advantage of that.
Dance number five features Melody and Jamile performing a
Brian Friedman jazz piece. Unsurprisingly, Melody is significantly better, but
both dancers get screams from Mary. Mary's screams prompt Nigel to comment:
"You know what, next season we're not giving her a microphone, she doesn't
need one." Oh why, oh why did Nigel forget he said this?
The final dance of the evening is a Shane Sparks hip hop
performed by Ashlé and Nick. It's ok, but it's nice to see a different style of
hip hop that's less bubblegum. And that's it – wait, there's more! Are you
super excited for a surprise bonus round? Yes? Then prepare to be disappointed.
All four dancers improvise while dancing to a piece of music they've never
heard before. It's pointless and mediocre. No wonder they never did this again.
And that really is it for Season 1 performance shows! Next
up – our first ever SYTYCD results show.
Where Are They Now?
Kamilah Barrett:
I had some trouble finding information about
Kamilah. According to her bio on this site, she's toured with a number of major
hip hop artists, is working on recording an album, and does some acting on the
side.
Blake McGrath:
Blake's been very busy since Season 1 air. Canadian
by birth, he was a judge on the recently cancelled SYTYCD Canada. He was in the
film versions of both Chicago
and Rent, recorded one album (the music video of his song Relax was choreographed by Mia!!!!), and is currently working on
his second album. You can learn more about his music career here: http://www.blakemcgrathmusic.com/
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