'SYTYCD' Season 7 Week 8 - Top 5 Perform

July 28th, 2010 10:56pm EDT

Lauren and Alison teamed up for a Broadway number After a two week hiatus due to conflicting schedules and no access to a TV or DVR, the profile of the latest season of 'So You Think You Can Dance' is back. Within the past two weeks we lost another stellar dancer to injury as Ashley went home to rest her injured rib cage. We also saw the first no-elimination week with no warning last time. It seemed like Billy, Robert or Jose was in trouble – and Billy even declined to perform due to another injury! Nigel obviously saw the mix of fan favorites and talented competitors and made an executive decision. No one went home last week. Which means we’ll lose two people this week.

Ouch. With so few dancers left, I’m casting my votes for Jose and Billy to be leaving us this week based on lack of talent and lack of fan support. I’d much rather see the departing pair be Jose and Adechike, but that’s personal preference talking.

This week’s show opened with a lively Kent and Anya cha-cha number that turned innocent small town Kent into a wanna-be man slut. It was dirty. It was different for him. It was good enough for now. After that we were treated to a contemporary piece with Robert and Katherine about someone going off to war. It was beautiful and touching with a lot of partner lifts and acrobatics, but the entire time I was pissed because of course it’s always the man going off to war. What the hell – it’s 2010! Women have been leaving behind husbands and entire families…oh wait, when the dance ended and Katherine picked up the prop bag and fatigues. Touché, choreographer Stacey Tookey. Well done. I was supremely happy with the performance and message.

After a quick Jose solo that didn’t change my mind about him we were given another gem via a Tyce-choreographed jazz number with Courtney and Adechike. My favorite part was that they used ‘Manteca,’(it’s pronounced man-TAY-kah Adechike, come on!) a Latin song that you should download right now. Or even better, learn to play it on something loud and made of brass. The dance wasn’t spectacular. With that style and that music I expected something more powerful. It fell flat on its’ face for me. I found that Lauren’s solo immediately after was more interesting. She used the music of Aretha Franklins’ ‘Natural Woman’ well with many pauses and controlled changes in the pace of her movements. She needs to pull her damn hair back though. It was worse than that girl in the Vegas auditions with the distracting Marge Simpson ‘do.

Jose lucked out and paired up with Comfort for a hip-hop routine set to Otis Redding’s ‘Try a Little Tenderness,’ which you may recall Donkey sang one line of to Shrek in the first installment of that series. That’s all I thought of as they performed. It was a terribly weak excuse for a hip-hop number. I really think given 3 hours I could perform it better than Jose – but not Comfort. Pass.

Billy gave a flexible and fragile performance that jumped from ultra masculine to feminine and ultimately smartass with the lazy ending. Hehehe, it was the best solo of the night due to that lighthearted finale. Poor Kent followed him with a solo filled with chest grabbing and pirouettes. Meh, he has done better but he’s a fan favorite so he’s totally safe.

Lauren and Alison teamed up for a Broadway number. They were synchronized and played off each other well. Lauren needed to channel Kent a bit more in her face for Broadway. She still has the confident and understated look that’s been on her face for weeks. In this routine a little cheesiness would’ve been welcomed. I think that’s the last time I’ll ever ask for more cheese in a Broadway number.

Robert performed his solo, nothing new was showcased, and then Billy hit the floor. He and Ade performed a contemporary piece to the haunting ballad ‘Mad World.’ Ade cloaked in business professional and Billy dressed like a mentally challenged hobo was damn stirring. The characterization was impressive – far more so than the actual movements. The dance was still stellar but the message and thought behind it was grounding and enjoyable. It was a grown up routine and Stacey Tookey gets another gold star for the night.

Adechike’s solo was to Maxwell’s ‘Pretty Wings’ and filled with leaps and level changes. It was great and included a lot of interesting and painful-looking moves. Hm…this double elimination week is going to suck no matter what.

Jose and Kent took on a Broadway routine that reminded me of why I hate Broadway. It was filled with flips in order to make it challenging – not much technique-based dancing. Perhaps I hate the ‘50s style movie musicals. Whatever it was, I didn’t like it. The personality Kent put forth fit the obnoxious style perfectly and Jose did a great job. The judges enjoyed it while I had to find a barf bag.

Lauren and Adechike brought a fox trot to the stage. It looked weird with the lack of spine being thrown into the piece. Both dancers looked as though they held back and interpreted the style incorrectly. The judges saw that as well and, should anybody in the voting audience care, these two could be in trouble.

Finally we arrived at the anticipated all-male Bollywood routine featuring Billy and Robert. It wasn’t spectacular. I thought Robert performed best, but the ultra smiley faces were not doing a thing for me. Bollywood routines have usually come across as joyous but this seemed to come across more like an ecstasy trip. Dances yanked from vastly different cultures sometimes entertain me but don’t move me. This was one of those times.

Before the show concluded Cat let everyone know Lauren was being checked out by the medics. This season has been so plagued by injuries already it’s going to be a battle of the most resilient, not the most talented. See you tomorrow night…

Photo Credits: Mathieu Young/FOX

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