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Will the Di Lello husband and wife team make Top 10 on SYTYCD?
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.”
“I am pretty sure right now, you are going to end up with your wife in the top 10″, Adam said.
Do you agree? Who’s time is up and who will survive one step closer to the top 10?
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(Top) Ashleigh Di Lello (L) and Jakob Karr (R) perform a Hip Hop routine choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon Dumo. © 2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Mathieu Young/FOX
(Bottom) Ryan Di Lello (L) and Ellenore Scott (R) perform a Contemporary routine choreographed by Travis Wall. © 2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Mathieu Young/FOX
Will the lawnmower racer and the “dream team” survive to top 14 on SYTYCD?
The Season 5 dancers were in the house, taking a break from their North American tour. Was it really only this past summer that Jeanine Mason was crowned?
Before the show hustled down to business, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe and the other judges plugged the Dizzy Feet Foundation Show, telling viewers that dancers from the “dance reality TV trifecta” (SYTYCD, Dancing With The Stars and America’s Best Dance Crew) would all be performing.
Karen Hauer and Kevin Hunte kicked off the dancing, but not before Karen told the world that she and her husband — who auditioned with her — were getting a divorce. Awkward pause. The judges praised their Maria Torres hustle number, with Nigel telling Karen she was “going to go a long way in this competition.”
Ashleigh “nerd” Di Lello and Jakob Carr pulled a jazz routine with Mandy Moore, which judge Adam Shankman called an “incredibly elegant and mature and studied, but fiery performance.” Judge Mary Murphy said Ashleigh was improving week to week, while Jakob was called “brilliant” and a “stunning dancer”.
Pauline Mata and Peter Sabasino took on the “dreaded quick step” (choreographed by JT and Tomas) and managed to avoid a trainwreck. The performance was technically poor, but as Nigel put it, “did I care? Absolutely not.”
Kathryn McCormick and Legacy Perez charmed with a broadway routine by Andy Blankenbuehler, but it was hip-hop dancer Legacy who really impressed the judges. Mary thought he was growing by “leaps and bounds” and said so twice, adding that it could take him into the top 10.
Jeanine Mason takes the title of “America’s Favorite Dancer”
It was a night of celebration and tears at the Kodak Theater as contemporary performer Jeanine Mason was crowned “America’s Favorite Dancer” on season five of Fox’s summer hit “So You Think You Can Dance.”
“I never ever imagined this,” the 18-year-old said following the announcement, adding she never thought she would be giving an acceptance speech on the same stage that hosts the Academy Awards.
More than 3,000 screaming dance enthusiasts packed inside the iconic Hollywood theater to hear the fate of the final four — Mason, Evan Kasprzak, Kayla Radomski and Brandon Bryant – after what was the largest vote in the show’s history.
Judge Mary Murphy and executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe were joined by a full panel of guest judges including film producer Adam Shankman, krump master Lil C and dance legend Debbie Allen.
“I was absolutely delighted and I think it is justly deserved,” Lythgoe said of Mason’s win, which he said he learned of early Thursday afternoon.
But before the confetti and standing ovation, the finale revisited the judges’ favorite performances from this season, including the energetic Bollywood number “Jai Ho,” performed by Jason Glover and Caitlin Kinney, the “Butt Dance,” performed by Randi Evans and Kasprzak, and a Matrix-inspired Paso Doble, performed by Mason and first-runner up Bryant.
Special guests took to the stage, including Talia Fowler — the winner of “So You Think You Can Dance Australia” — and the junior dance troupe Rage Boyz Crew. The judges themselves couldn’t resist the draw of the bright lights either as they donned white top hats and tails for a surprise appearance at the end of a top-eight performance of “One” from the iconic musical “A Chorus Line.”
Yes, America got it right. Brandon and Kayla are excellent dancers, and maybe some aspects better than Jeanine, but her charisma and ability to adapt to any role, on top of her talent, is what made people gravitate to her. It is, as they say, America’s favorite dancer. And those poeple that voted are the same ones that will be buying tickets to her shows in the future…so yes, they got it right.
Down to the final four on “So You Think You Can Dance”
The “dreaded quickstep” was once again the kiss of death as ballerina Melissa Sandvig was eliminated on Fox’s fifth season of the popular “So You Think You Can Dance.”Comments from the judges on Wednesday night were mixed for Sandvig’s challenging ballroom number as Mary Murphy said she was “disappointed” with Melissa and Evan Kasprzak‘s performance while Nigel Lythgoe raved, “it’s routines like I just watched now that started me dancing.”And in what was probably the biggest shock of the season, Ade Obayomi failed to inspire voters to pick up the phone, sending him packing rather than to the finale. Ade and Jeanine Mason got down and dirty with a well-received Tabitha and Napoleon hip hop number, but their samba failed to impress due to technical shortcomings.“It started to fall apart for me. Ade, you were hopping around that floor,” Murphy said on Wednesday, adding the routine had a novice feel. The panel agreed the couple physically looked great but it wasn’t enough to keep the critiques at bay. “We were hoping to get an explosion of excellence and it really fell short for me,” crump choreographer and guest judge Lil C said of the performance. Despite the elimination of two dancers, Thursday’s show managed to retain somewhat of a celebratory feel as past finalists and winners took to the stage to perform Emmy-nominated numbers from last season, including “Bleeding Love,” “Silence” and “A Los Amigos.”This week’s competition got under way with Wednesday night’s performance show, which was a hotbed of sexy samba, high-flying disco and infidelity-inspired contemporary.After fielding some scathing critiques for his Tyce Diorio-choreographed Broadway number, Evan managed to inspire the judges during his quickstep routine, prompting Lil C to say,”I’m going to commend you for dancing bigger than you’ve ever danced on the show for me.”Judge favorites Brandon Bryant and Kayla Radomski continued their ride on the coveted hot tamale train with two first-class tickets doled out by Murphy. Their “beyond intense” contemporary number, choreographed by Canadian Stacey Tookey, was a technical feast for the eyes. Kayla shone as an abused mistress in the adultery-inspired performance. “You have never taken a wrong step for me Kayla,” Murphy said, “That was perfection up there on the dance floor.”Lil C continued the compliments saying Kayla, who he described as “a beast,” has a tendency to outdance her partners, but her coupling with Brandon was the first time she was evenly matched.Kayla and Brandon will join Evan and Jeanine in the final four, competing for a chance to win $250,000 and the title of “America’s Favorite Dancer.” Did the final four come as a surprise or did the top dancers make the cut?Captions: (Right) Melissa Sandvig, 29, is a ballet dancer from Los Alamitos, CA. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Mike Ruiz/FOXAde Obayomi,20, is a contemporary dancer from Chandler, AZ. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Mike Ruiz/FOX
Jeanine is my favorite for the win! She deserves it!! Brandon is next and he could win it too! Kayla is a great dancer but she didnt have the same effect on me as Jeanine or Brandon. Evan does not deserve to be there. Melissa, Ade, or even Janette deserved it way more!
Karla and Vitolio get the “kiss of death” on “So You Think You Can Dance”
Judge Mary Murphy hit it on the nail when she said, “This competition is probably the closest competition in ‘So You Think You Can Dance‘ history.”
The race on the fifth season of Fox’s summer hit has been incredibly tight from the beginning and this week’s bottom couples exemplified that.
Despite a good performance choreographed by Jean Marc Genereux, a third time in the bottom was not a charm for Karla Garcia and Vitolio Jeune, who could not escape the curse of the quick-step — a.k.a. the “kiss of death.”
The company they kept at the bottom this week may have made a tough decision easier, as the other two couples performed memorable and distinctive routines praised by the judges.
Phillip Chbeeb and Jeanine Mason, who performed a unique Tabitha & Napoleon hip hop routine that literally chained the dancers together, found themselves in the bottom for the first time. Voters may have agreed with guest judge and choreographer Mia Michaels, who found the chain distracting, despite the unique and difficult routine. It was perhaps a blessing in disguise as their solos reminded judges and viewers why they deserved to be on the show. “I know it’s entirely selfish, but I’m so glad you got to perform your solo,” host Cat Deeley told Chbeeb.
Kupono Aweau and Kayla Radomski‘s bottom three placement also came as a surprise. Michaels called their “Twilight”-inspired number by Sonya Tayeh “perfection.” “Everything about it was absolutely tremendous,” she said. “To me, you were the best performance last night.”
“So You Think You Can Dance” roars into season five with first cut
The hot tamale train has rolled back into town as the search for America’s favorite dancer begins anew on the fifth season of the hugely popular “So You Think You Can Dance.”
Thursday’s elimination show was a visual feast for dance lovers with the opening number conjuring images of a hip-hop zombie apocalypse.
Paris Torres, a contemporary funk dancer, and Tony Bellissimo, a story-telling hip-hop performer, met their demise — a unanimous decision by the judges.
Paris failed to measure up in the deep talent pool of contemporary dancers while Tony took a risk by attempting to lock his way through his solo “but not very well,” judge and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe said.
Despite disarming charm and enormous support on Twitter, as noted by guest judge Adam Shankman, personality took a back seat to strong technical skills on Thursday.
The top 20 — an eclectic mix of seasoned veterans, starry-eyed youngsters, breakers, ballerinas and Broadway buffs — set the bar high on Wednesday’s first performance show, prompting Lythgoe to exclaim it was an “absolutely fabulous night.”
Tell those damn camera people to stop tilting the cameras and stop with the close-up shots on a group dance…we miss so much and who the hell cares if the shots are “ARTSY” and I’m an artist but tame the cameras
