Four talented dancers have already been cut, and now it’s time for the SYTYCD Season 9 Top 16 to perform. Afterwards, the judges will send two more dancers home. It’s the SYTYCD Season 9 Top 16 Recap. Find out who was saved from elimination.
If you missed the recap of last week’s Top 20 perform again, be sure to check it out.
Tonight, joining Nigel and Mary is Tony and Golden Globe nominated actress, Christina Applegate. She’s hilarious on “Up all Night”, but I think most can agree she will always be Kelly Bundy in our eyes.
Here’s your SYTYCD Season 9 Top 16 Recap:
The SYTYCD Top 16 open up the show to a Charlie Chaplin inspired Tyce Diorio Number. I loved the use of black and white, with a red umbrella for accent.
Truth be told, my favorite part of the show are the group numbers, and with this new once a week format I feel the rest of the show is unable to match the intensity and grandness of the opening. Anyone else agree?
A reader mentioned last week that she was feeling kinda blah about this season, and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve actually felt that for the last couple of seasons. I wonder how much longer this show will keep going, or will it quit before it truly jumps the shark. (I’m thinking of you American Idol)
Since the contestants have been in their partnership for a few weeks now, the writers thought it would be “hilarious” if they told the viewers something we didn’t know about them. These intros are the worst part of this show. It’s so ridiculous and far from funny, so I will save you from having to read all the ridiculous “facts”.
My Top Performances of the Night:
(*I am not a trained “dancer”, so my opinion is based on entertainment value, appearance of dance technique, and flashy dance moves)
Amber and Brandon
Amber Jackson and Brandon Mitchell dance a Ray Leeper Jazz routine set in the hot south. True, it wasn’t on the same level as Sasha and Twitch’s “Misty Blue” performance last season, but it was still a sexy number that was very entertaining. Plus, it was the first time in 3 weeks that I actually understood why Amber and Brandon were in the Top 20. Of course Nigel puts it this way,
That was baby making choreography
Lindsay and Cole
Lindsay Arnold and Cole Horibe dance Mandy Moore Contemporary piece. Combine some great choreography, with amazing lighting (hey did you know SYTYCD has been nominated for a lighting emmy? No? Either did I, until Nigel oh so subtlely told us), and an amazing version of “Wild Horses”, and you got yourself a winner. Now, if we can just get Cole to stop acting so weird and creepy.
Eliana and Cyrus
Eliana Gerard and Cyrus Spencer dance a NappyTabs Hip-Hop number based on ballerina and robot. I am no fool, and know this dance was totally tailored for Cyrus’ strengths, but I thought it was super cool, and am willing to overlook it. Eliana was also super strong in her performance, but I was happy to see Cyrus carrying his share of the load this week.
Worst Performance of the Night:
Janelle and Dareian
Janelle Issis and Dareian Kujawa dance a Cha-Cha choreographed by Pasha to “Call me Maybe“. Yes, you read that right. They did a cha-cha routine to perhaps the most poppy (and dang catchy) song of the year. It was a weird fit to say the least. I had such high hopes for these two in the beginning of the season, but they have failed, and this weeks’ performance was no where near as entertaining as those Harvard boys. (and they were sitting down in a van)
Biggest fall from grace:
Audrey and Matt
Audrey Case and Matt Kazmierczak dance a Salsa routine by Liz Lira. These two have been the “little darlings” of the show thus far, but last night the Salsa proved too difficult for them to successfully dance. I thought maybe I was only one that thought the music and the movements were off sync, and that their dance movements seemed about half as fast as they should be, but then Nigel commented with
“Salsa is a cocktail mix of sex and energy and fun” but this felt like “a margarita mix on quarter speed”
Sorry judges I have to disagree:
Amelia and Will
Amelia Lowe and Will Thomas dance a jazz number choreographed by Mandy Moore. And although Nigel and Mary had less than stellar reviews of the performance, I really thought it was good. I did miss Mandy Moore’s usual choice of some 80’s pop song for her jazz numbers, but I thought the dancing, costuming, and music all made for an entertaining and memorable number.
Witney and Chehon
Witney Carson and Chehon Wespi-Tschopp perform a Stacey Tookey Contemporary piece. A standing ovation? really? I thought this was a B- version of the Melanie/Neil “Total Eclipse of the Heart” routine from last season. Same lighting, same outfits, same use of a well known power ballad. The judges may have loved it, but I don’t think it deserved a standing ovation. Nice dance though.
Good/But Not Good Enough:
Tiffany and George
Tiffany Maher and George Lawrence II dance a NappyTabs hip-hop routine about the
“adventures in babysitting“. In the dreaded first performance slot, with a lackluster number, means that these two will probably be in the bottom 3 next week. I didn’t hate the performance, but I thought that George definitely showed some weakness this week, while Tiffany surprised me with her ability get low, and not rock the typical “white girl doing hip hop face“.
(Side note: Did anyone else catch Cat’s odd attempt at humor at the end? “There’s no movement in the crib. I might have to call social services.” Really Cat?)
SYTYCD Season 9 Top 16: Bottom 3
Again these results are based on last week’s performances, which makes no sense, cause now we have seen them dance again, and maybe our opinions have changed. This ceremony seems awfully anti-climatic, with absolutely no reaction from the audience when the bottom 3 are revealed.
Bottom 3 girls: Amber, Lindsay and Eliana. These girls all had excellent performances this week, so it is crazy that one of them will go home. Nigel does’t even give Lindsay a chance to dance for her life, so I’m assuming, that she is definitely safe. I don’t understand this new format.
While Eliana’s solo was graceful and athletic, showcasing her abilities, Amber’s solo was frantic and unorganized, and I felt like she was trying to do every move she could think of in order to impress the judges. They weren’t impressed.
Bottom 3 guys: George, Brandon and Dareian for the guys. George doesn’t get to dance for his life, meaning he is safe(?), so it’s between Brandon and Dareian for the cut. Brandon has done a consistently good job, and really did well this week, so it’s his to lose.
Dareian really stepped in up in his solo, and obviously out danced Brandon, who, to his credit, tried really hard to make a stomping solo look cool.
Gone: Amber and Brandon. Brandon is starring in the Step Up movie, so I think he’ll be just fine. And Amber always has her hair styling career. At least they got goodbye recap videos!
this season is making me loose respect for the show. Fox didnt want to bring it back for the 9th season, and by the looks of it, they sold themselves. Fox is clearly using the show to promote other projects it is involved in. (Do all the guest judges really have the qualifications to judge these dancers?)
I have been looking all over the web for a forum that may have discussed what I was thinking — that the Witney/Chehon dance most certainly did NOT deserve a standing ovation. I though the music was horribly edited and I think the judges were responding to the fact that it was a Whitney Houston song and she died earlier this year. The dance certainly did not deserve those accolades.