Fan Fare

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.”

“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?

Will the lawnmower racer and the “dream team” survive to top 14 on SYTYCD?

The World Series is over, which means voting for So You Think You Can Dance is back in the viewers hands for this week’s Top 16 dancers.

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?

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.

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

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.

“SYTYCD” pays tribute to Michael Jackson; Asuka, Jonathan go home

Thursday’s elimination show of “So You Think You Can Dance” began on a somber note as executive producer Nigel Lythgoe paid tribute to Ed McMahon, Farrah FawcettandMichael Jackson, all of whom passed away this week. Nigel paid special recognition to the enormous contribution Jackson made to music and dance. “We will not see his like again. He changed the face of music and dance in the world — not just in this country.” He called Jackson’s 1991 “Black or White” music video — which incorporated a number of international dance styles — an inspiration for the show. “This is a life to celebrate. This is a life that remains inspirational for anybody who listens to music, anybody who wants to dance,” Nigel said, noting that many dancers auditioning for the show over the years cited Jackson as the reason why they started dancing. (Last week, contestant Jason Glover was shown doing an impressive Jackson impression when he was four years old.) Of Jackson’s iconic 1982 “Thriller” video, directed by John Landis, Nigel said, “After this, there was nothing ever again that would be the same.” THE SHOW MUST GO ON After the tribute, the voting results were unveiled. It was not a good night for ballroom dancers as Asuka KondohandJonathan Platero were the unlucky ones sent home by judges Nigel, Mary Murphy and guest Toni Basil. Asuka, who performed a Mandy Moore thrash-jazz routine with partnerVitolio Jeune, was the first to go home in an unanimous decision. The judges called her a beautiful and “exciting performer,” but it wasn’t good enough. “You give a little something of yourself with everything that you do, but we do feel that you are not growing in the competition,” Nigel said. The boyish Jonathan was the third male to leave the show. Despite an “outstanding” solo, the judges said his hip-hop performance (choreographed by Dave Scott) was “like a Sunday school picnic outing” despite its “gangsta” theme. “I don’t believe you’ve brought the dancing that is required to be America’s best dancer,” Nigel concluded. The four contestants who escaped the chopping block were Jonathan’s partner, Karla Garcia (despite what the judges called a “desperate” solo), Vitolio, and Caitlin Kinney and Jason, who performed a paso doble by choreographer Jean Marc Genereaux. Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak lived up to the personality and originality of Mia Michael’s charming “butt” routine. And speaking of butts, Phillip Chbeeb ripped his pants during his Tyce Diorio jazz number with Jeanine Mason, sending Mary into hysterics. Nigel felt Phillip still needed to grow, despite his popularity with voters: “I need more than your ass sticking out of your trousers.” The only couple to make it onto Mary’s “hot tomale train” this week was Kupono Aweau and his new partner Kayla Radomski with their performance of a waltz by Genereaux. “I never yell for a Viennese waltz,” said Mary, who preceded to give her signature scream. But Nigel, in a particularly crusty and critical mood on Wednesday, said they weren’t going to make anyone stand up and cheer, even though it was beautifully danced. Voters disagreed. With seven couples left, dancers will face increasing pressure to exceed expectations every week. Who will survive the heat and who will wilt under the glare of the spotlight? Thursday’s elimination show of “So You Think You Can Dance” began on a somber note as executive producer Nigel Lythgoe paid tribute toEd McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, all of whom passed away this week. Nigel paid special recognition to the enormous contribution Jackson made to music and dance. “We will not see his like again. He changed the face of music and dance in the world — not just in this country.” He called Jackson’s 1991 “Black or White” music video — which incorporated a number of international dance styles — an inspiration for the show. “This is a life to celebrate. This is a life that remains inspirational for anybody who listens to music, anybody who wants to dance,” Nigel said, noting that many dancers auditioning for the show over the years cited Jackson as the reason why they started dancing. (Last week, contestant Jason Glover was shown doing an impressive Jackson impression when he was four years old.) Of Jackson’s iconic 1982 “Thriller” video, directed by John Landis, Nigel said, “After this, there was nothing ever again that would be the same.” THE SHOW MUST GO ON After the tribute, the voting results were unveiled. It was not a good night for ballroom dancers as Asuka Kondoh andJonathan Platero were the unlucky ones sent home by judges Nigel, Mary Murphy and guest Toni Basil. Asuka, who performed a Mandy Moore thrash-jazz routine with partner Vitolio Jeune, was the first to go home in an unanimous decision. The judges called her a beautiful and “exciting performer,” but it wasn’t good enough. “You give a little something of yourself with everything that you do, but we do feel that you are not growing in the competition,” Nigel said. The boyish Jonathan was the third male to leave the show. Despite an “outstanding” solo, the judges said his hip-hop performance (choreographed by Dave Scott) was “like a Sunday school picnic outing” despite its “gangsta” theme. “I don’t believe you’ve brought the dancing that is required to be America’s best dancer,” Nigel concluded. The four contestants who escaped the chopping block were Jonathan’s partner, Karla Garcia (despite what the judges called a “desperate” solo), Vitolio, and Caitlin Kinney and Jason, who performed a paso doble by choreographer Jean Marc Genereaux. Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak lived up to the personality and originality of Mia Michael’s charming “butt” routine. And speaking of butts, Phillip Chbeeb ripped his pants during his Tyce Diorio jazz number with Jeanine Mason, sending Mary into hysterics. Nigel felt Phillip still needed to grow, despite his popularity with voters: “I need more than your ass sticking out of your trousers.” The only couple to make it onto Mary’s “hot tomale train” this week was Kupono Aweau and his new partner Kayla Radomski with their performance of a waltz by Genereaux. “I never yell for a Viennese waltz,” said Mary, who preceded to give her signature scream. But Nigel, in a particularly crusty and critical mood on Wednesday, said they weren’t going to make anyone stand up and cheer, even though it was beautifully danced. Voters disagreed. With seven couples left, dancers will face increasing pressure to exceed expectations every week. Who will survive the heat and who will wilt under the glare of the spotlight?

“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.