Fan Fare
Entertainment behind the scenes
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.”
But while Kathryn and Jakob are both extraordinarily strong dancers, the big obstacle standing in their way on the quest for the top prize comes in the form of krumper-turned-jack-of-all-dances, Russell Ferguson.
Russell also performed much of the show topless, but oddly enough, Nigel did not object. And judge Mary Murphy was once again rendered to tears by his journey from auditions through to the top 6.
“You are just someone special,” she said. “I have never seen someone grow, in six season (of SYTYCD), as much as you have.”
Injuries won’t stop krumping Santa on SYTYCD
It was crunch time for the competitors of So You Think You Can Dance as they vie for the final six spots in next week’s finale. Dancers had three chances to win audiences over — twice in choreographed routines with partners and once in a solo.
In spite of — or was it because of? — the pressure, there were more injuries this week in an already injury-plagued season. First, Napoleon and Tabitha tweeted about Ellenore Scott tearing her rotator cuff and posted a picture of her arm in a sling.
Then Ashleigh Di Lello showed up with her arm in a sling, having dislocated her shoulder (and popped it right back in) during rehearsals. With Ashleigh not allowed to dance, poor Russell Ferguson, who was previously paired with injured Noelle, was left to once again dance with stand-ins.
But Russell wasn’t about to be held back by the revolving door of partners. He delivered one of the strongest (and most entertaining) solos of the evening as a krumping Santa. And he proved himself again hitting it hard in a Nakul Dev Mahajan bollywood piece.
“You have got a magnetic quality that draws the audience,” judge Nigel Lythgoe said, noting that Bollywood is the complete opposite of krumping.
The judges were somewhat mixed on Ryan Di Lello and Kathryn McCormick ‘s energetic disco, but the pair blew everyone away with a difficult and “unbelievable” cha cha by Jason Gilkison.
“That was soooo hot!” Judge Adam Shankman gushed, praising Gilkison for creating “one of the best ballroom routines” they’d ever had on the show.
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.”
