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Leaving a Legacy on So You Think You Can Dance
You can feel things coming to a close on So You Think You Can Dance, as season 6 heads into it’s finale next Tuesday.
On Wednesday’s results show there were a couple of odd moments worth noting before getting down to who made it through: A shout out to DJ Samantha Ronson (perhaps best known for her relationship with Lindsay Lohan) for her remix work this week and a performance by the popular South Korean girl group the Wonder Girls (do they sing any other songs aside from “Nobody”?). After last week’s showstopping performance by the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, the filler on Wednesday did not seem to generate quite as much enthusiasm — though the tension of the second last week of competition perhaps kept things more subdued.
Among the male competitors, contemporary dancer Jakob Carr and krumper Russell Ferguson were safe. “You are such an inspiration to so many dancers out there,” judge Mary Murphy told Russell.
It was an emotional Legacy Perez who said goodbye in his first appearance in the bottom. Ryan Di Lello’s spectacular cha cha, along with his heart-felt (and okay, romantic) plea to vote for his wife, likely bolstered his support.
Ryan’s plea may have also spurred viewers to vote for Ashleigh Di Lello, who was safe despite not performing on Tuesday’s show, due to a shoulder injury. The husband and wife team will continue their journey together toward the top in next week’s finale.
Meanwhile, a clearly shocked Ellenore will live to dance another week, while a subdued Mollee Gray bids adieu. Judge Adam Shankman was rendered nearly speechless by Mollee’s placement in the bottom two. “That really blew my mind,” he said, calling her performances this week her best, and adding, “they were some of the best on this season.”
If you followed us on Twitter, our predictions this week were spot on. What are yours picks for the final dance-off next week?
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.
The quickstep was fun, but it was their lyrical jazz number that really got the crowd, and the judges, cheering.
Judge Nigel Lythgoe called the routine his favourite of the season and commended Ellenore on her chemistry with both her partner and with choreographer Sonya Tayeh.
“You and Sonya both probably speak the same language, you’re probably from the same planet,” Nigel said to Ellenore. “And to drag Jakob into your world, that was brillant.”
While Ellenore and Jakob are the new couple to beat, Russell Ferguson and Mollee Gray also stood out as strong contenders with a trick-heavy contemporary and a fun jive.
“I’m feeling so good about this pairing,” said judge Adam Shankman. “You guys are bringing out something really wonderful in each other, something playful.”
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?
Topping the list of those who may feel the squeeze is Ashleigh Di Lello. Last week, we speculated that without her partner Jakob Carr, Ashleigh may find herself in trouble. Jakob‘s strength was certainly evident in their first number, with judge Adam Shankman saying the only flaw was his pants. But Ashleigh got high praises after their second number, a cha-cha, with judge Nigel Lythgoe again saying that those who questioned her abilities in Vegas were eating their words.
“That may have been a cha-cha, but you are waltzing through to the top 10,” said Nigel of the performance.
Mollee Gray may also find herself in a bad place when her partnership with Nathan Trasoras breaks up. The couple seem to have been buoyed by Nathan’s popularity and Mollee may not fare so well with voters on her own. But a more mature partner could prove to give her the push to make it through to the top 4.
Meanwhile, if Karen Hauer makes it through the elimination, she will need to connect with one of the stronger men if she hopes to survive another week. A fresh partner may also prove the right move for Noelle Marsh, who has done well with Russell Ferguson, but may shine with someone else.
As for who will be headed home this week, expect to see Karen and partner Victor Smalley among the bottom three couples. As for the rest – it really is anyone’s game right now.
I thought the can can last night was going to be a horrific night mare, but it was actually quite entertaining and fun. It was the joke that I thought it would be.
The Wonder Girls do have other songs. They have established a great following in not only South Korea but throughout Asia as well. Their most notable songs are: 1)”Irony” with which they debuted in 2007; 2)”Tell Me” which created a dance craze on the WWW and skyrocketed their popularity; 3)”So Hot,” another hit; 4)”Nobody” which was remade into an English version for their US debut. Although the songs mentioned above aren’t all my favorite songs of the group (they have some decent ballads), the Wonder Girls are a well-rounded group that, at this time, seems to have the most chance of ‘making it big’ in the US market out of any other Asian stars. (BoA from SM Entertainment -with a HUGE Asian following, especially in Japan- and Se7en from YG Entertainment are both other Korean stars who have been trying to have success here). You can see some of the Wonder Girls’ work at the end of this post: http://www.examiner.com/x-10507-LA-Danci ng-Examiners~y2009m12d10-SYTYCD-Season-6 -results-The-Wonder-Girls-video