Episode 9: And the Choreographers are …?

The first thing we are shown is who went home the previous week – in this case, Destini and Ryan. Ryan wins points for telling everyone that America made the right choice in saving Jamile, because Jamile is his best friend. How did I not remember that Ryan is such a sweetie?

Everyone dances twice during the performance show, but they’ve cut the show down to an hour and they’re really tight on time. So there are no rehearsal packages this week, and each couple hears from the judges only after their second dance. I really don’t like this format. While the rehearsal packages can be tedious, they can also be lots of fun. This format also means we have no idea who the choreographer is, because apparently Lauren Sanchez doesn’t have time to announce it.

Episode 8: More Invented Dance Styles

In the pre-recorded bit, we watch Snow and Allan get sent home. No surprises there. During the performance show (judged by Nigel, Mia, Dan, and Brian), we find out that each couple is going to dance twice. Hurray! There is going to be more actual dancing!

The first couple is Melissa and Artem, who will be performing “pop,” choreographed by Doriana Sanchez. Ok, what is up with these random styles? Who makes these things up? And since when does Doriana Sanchez choreograph anything other than disco?

Episode 7: “Beautifully Awful and Odd”

As always, the first thing we find out is which dancers went home the previous week. This time around, it’s Michelle and Craig. I really don’t remember Michelle, so that doesn’t shock me, but I admit I’m stunned about Craig. I remember him very clearly – I can’t believe he went home on the second week of competition.

According to Nigel, Craig is exiting because his dancing was impressive technically but lacked performance. Ok, that critique is fair enough. But Nigel doesn’t stop there. Instead, he delivers a long speech about how America doesn’t care about the technical beauty of dancing. Americans would much rather watch Melody shaking her booty and doing a penchée than watch Melody perform an excerpt from Swan Lake. And anyhow, according to Nigel, we uncultured Americans probably thing a penchée is something Spanish people wear around their shoulders. So thanks, Nigel, for your patronizing comments. It’s a good thing I’m too stupid to understand your condescension, otherwise I would be rather irritated.

Episode 6: 14 Dancers, and Mia’s Little Dog, Too

Why the title, you may ask? Well, for some inexplicable reason, Mia’s brought a fluffy little black puppy with her in the audience. You can't see it too clearly in the shot, but it seems to be a small black poodle. Altogether now, people – awwwww.

The actual show starts with us getting to see who was voted off the previous week. It’s not clear when this was shot, but it was certainly shot soon after the last performance show. It feels really odd – I keep going, oh yeah, that’s what happened last week, can we get to the dancing already? It’s hard to be too invested in watching Sandra and Jonnis leave. Lauren Sanchez’s attempts to draw out the tension feel even more artificial than this kind of thing usually does, and the whole thing’s just kind of boring. Watching this makes me really nervous about not have a results show in the upcoming season. I have no idea how they’ll handle it, but I hope they do a better job, because this method is not good. 

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).