So You Think You Can Dance – It’s plainly clear, isn’t it?

Let me start off by saying I’m not grouchy. Really. Truly. Honestly.

Ready? Then let’s go.

Begin rant:

Christopher “Lil’ C” Toler is full of shit.

Look … I like the guy and the goofy manner in which he mashes up words and sentences, his passion for the contestants on So You Think You Can Dance when they do well. But if he’s going to toss out statements like he did last night, I’m going to call him on it:

“Hip hop is an extension of those that have grown up in the ghetto.”

The way he meant it in critiquing Melanie and Twitch’s routine was almost an affront. It was akin to him stating, “You’re no product of the ghetto, so how can you possibly relate?” Come on, dude. That’s like saying you can’t get wet ’cause you’re not water. It’s like saying, “If men were meant to fly, they’d’ve been given wings.” It’s like saying our own Mr. West can’t get into reality television. (Hokay … so maybe that last one was a bad example …)

The point being: It was a stupid comment. Everyone who saw the routine witnessed Melanie’s chameleonic ability to adapt to Nappytabs‘ routine and that form of dance. And it was terrifical.

End rant.

Sasha and all-star runner-up Kent’s piece about a couple hitting a wall was just as terrific and engaging as Melanie and Twitch’s above. It wasn’t so much a dance (as there was very little dancing in it), but it was an excellent story-telling vehicle. It’s one of the things Tyce DiOrio and his routines do best. While watching their performance, I wondered to myself “Damn … have they ramped up the routines this week or what?” Not only was this one nifty, I wouldn’t know who’d win out in a battle for the better of the first two dances — Melanie and Twitch or Sasha and Kent. Forced to vote, I’d vote it a tie.

Marco and his paso doble are up next. In his first little jump we saw him stutter step, so he was off balance to begin the routine … and his follow though looked awkward throughout the remainder of the the piece. He never looked sure of himself; if there’s ever a dance where you need to look certain of what you’re doing, it’s the paso doble.

Ricky solo. *meh*

Sonyah Tayeh period piece with Tadd … very strange. The music lent to a weird vibe.

Caitlynn does a solo routine. Lots of bowing … lots of bowing. Lots of high leaps. *meh*

Next, Ricky and all-star Jamie do a contemporary routine with sticks. *huh boy* Sticks don’t belong in contemporary routines. That is all.

Marko solo routine.  He’s a wily one, he is. At least he made it tons more interesting than those who came before him.

*sigh* Sasha solo routine. *meh*

I “McWowZah’d” at Caitlynn and Pasha’s pairing. She was outstanding in keeping pace with Pasha’s moves.

Tadd solo. With leaps and dives. S’aight.

Melanie solo. Holy crap! What was that … ?!? Were the other contestants watching when she performed that solo? It was soaring and magnificent. When you do a solo, that’s what you do. You put it all out on the table, you don’t leave a single stone unturned. Exactly as Melanie did. Wow. Better, she did it on the fly as she hadn’t a concrete idea of what she was going to do. Double wow.

Now we come to “whacking” with Ricky and Sasha. “Whacking” … ??? I thought I’d never heard of it, but I was wrong. I remember that one gal (New York auditions?) who whacked with dangerous flail. Done as a choreographed routine, Ricky and Sasha weren’t “dangerous” by any means, but it worked. And it was rather enjoyable.

Melanie and Tadd’s duo wasn’t bad. Didn’t light the house on fire … but not bad.

Sonya Tayeh’s direction is  given to Caitlynn and Marko for the finale of the evening.  Awful nice lifts by Marko with a lot of really precarious tosses and more thrown in for good measure. Theirs was a savage dance.

Conclusion? Best show of the season.

For me, the weak link in the program is Ricky … who isn’t that weak if you think about it. He’s in the Top 6, for crying out loud! But he’s overshadowed by the other guys. Girl who’s going? That would be Caitlynn.

Notes: What other trouble can I get into today? Oh, let’s just get the rest of the monkey business out in the open and done with.

• Cripes, Mary Murphy! You were practically falling out of that dress. Glad you didn’t stand up and “Hot Tamale Train” anybody or we would have gotten a whole lot more bang for our buck.
• Christina Applegate? Nice to see her contributing as a guest judge, but Powers That Be? Let’s think something like her appearance through a little more carefully next time, okey dokie?

Quotes:

• “I feel like you were speaking to me the whole time.” — Lil’ C  (Nice to see him give an honest, no-made-up-words critique.)
• Christina Applegate wanted Marko’s crotch “dropped down a few inches more.” Nice.
• “This routine was double hashtag buck. So reckeless, so ‘convictive’.” — Lil’ C on Caitlynn and Marko’s routine

Clacked by Michael Noble
on Aug 04, 2011 @ 12:55 EST5EDT