Season 1, Episode 5: Yakety Yak (Don't Talk Back)

The first performance show of SYTYCD is a bit of a roller coaster. The highlights, for me, mostly came from interviews with some of the contestants (more on that later). The dancing was adequate, but felt somewhat contrived in performance quality. The dances are about moves, not concepts or emotions, and I can practically hear Ethel Mermen shouting, “smile baby” during every dance. The judges, however, acted like judges instead of overly-caffeinated cheerleaders, and they offered constructive criticism on nearly every piece. (The judges, by the bye, were Nigel, Mia, Dan Karaty, and Brian Friedman).

Season 1, Episode 4: Meet the Top 16

Well, after a very long hiatus, I am back – and writing about one of the most boring episodes SYTYCD has ever produced. There was zero dramatic tension, since most of the dancers who got air time in previous episodes had already gone home.

So instead of commenting on the episode itself, I thought I’d write about which of the top 16 I think are good enough to make it on to the show now. I’m making the judgment solely on what little dancing I’ve seen them do so far – which in many cases admittedly is just a minute or two. I’m also going to ignore everything I know about how good some of these dancers are now (particularly Nick, who is amazing in a Travis Wall piece set to Rolling in the Deep).