Fan Fare

Shirts optional for Top 6 on SYTYCD

The shirts came off as the top 6 dancers on So You Think You Can Dance performed for votes for the last time before Wednesday’s finale.

Ryan Di Lello led the topless trend, showing up in two of three numbers without a shirt. He tossed on a flimsy top for his third number, but left it open, prompting judge Nigel Lythgoe to say, “I’m pleased you found a shirt, you just need to find the buttons.”

Shirt jokes aside, Ryan was just one of the six extremely talented dancers who left it all out on the floor in a final bid for votes before America chooses its next favorite dancer.

Kathryn McCormick was perhaps the stand-out performer of the evening, with at least one judge proclaiming that the show should be renamed “the rise of Kathryn.” Her gentle contemporary routine with Jakob Karr was called a “game changer” by judge Adam Shankman, who added, “you humbled me.”

Quickstep proves to be a dream on SYTYCD

It may be the first time ever that the dreaded quickstep has proven to be dreamy, with Ellenore Scott and Jakob Carr being crowned the new “Dream Team” on Tuesday’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance.

Previously paired with the respective halves of husband and wife duo Ryan and Ashleigh Di Lello, both Ellenore and Jakob did well with their old partners, but proved to be magical with each other.

SYTYCD shake-up to hurt some, help others

They came, they danced and the judges were almost too positive, especially since two more dancers will be sent packing from So You Think You Can Dance tomorrow, leaving only the all important Top 10, who are expected to go on tour in 2010.

For the dancers who remain after Wednesday night’s elimination, next week will bring new styles and a new partner. So who will the shake-up help and who will it hurt?

Will the Di Lello husband and wife team make Top 10 on SYTYCD?

After some harsh words last week for dancers and audiences alike, it was a veritable love fest on Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance Tuesday night as judges gave high praise to nearly all the dancers. Ashleigh Di Lello and Jakob Carr opened the evening’s competition with a strong Tabitha and Napoleon hip-hop routine. Judges were quite confidant Jakob will secure a spot in the top 10. Ashleigh, however, almost didn’t make it into the top 20 and had elicited speculation whether she’d be riding Jakob’s coattails into the top 10. This week she proved she could hold her own and contribute equally to the partnership: “I could name a number of people who didn’t give you a chance, who are now eating their words,” said executive producer Nigel Lythgoe — judge Adam Shankman admitted he was one of the former doubters.

After placing in the bottom three couples last week, Ashleigh’s husband Ryan and his partner Ellenore Scott were given a second chance and had the other standout routine of the evening, a beautiful contemporary number choreographed by season 2 contestant, Travis Wall. For a few moments, the judges almost forgot this was a dance show as they raved about Travis’ choreography work on SYTYCD. They were equally enthusiastic about the dancers, calling Ryan “the best ballroom dancer that has ever done contemporary.”