Category: so you think you can dance 8

The top 11 were determined in So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 4.

Unable to figure out what to do with this extra night and rather than skip a week or extend the audition shows, Fox has decided instead to show us the top 11 dancers in their own styles. Each contestant is granted 11 seconds to sum themselves up. We will also find out who the all stars are in the twist that hopefully was worth it.

Lauren Froderman & Kent Boyd
with Mark from season 5 & Kathryn from season 6
Song: Paris Is Burning by St. Vincent
Choreographer: Travis Wall
Adam: Yes! I told you so. Kent is this good. Lauren is still amazing.

Alexie Agdeppa & Melinda Sullivan
with Allison from season 2 and Lauren from season 3
Song: There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This from Sweet Charity (Original Broadway Cast)
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Nigel: Sometimes I couldn’t tell the difference between who was the all star and who was the competitor.

Jose Ruiz
with Twitch and Comfort from season 4 and Dominic from season 3
Song: Din Daa Daa (District 78 Remix) by George Kranz
Choreographer: Tabitha & Napoleon Dumo
Adam: Fantastic. Representing a big style so strong.

Christina Santana
with Anya and Pasha from season 3
Song: Work (Freemasons Radio Edit) by Kelly Rowland
Choreographer: Jason Gilkison
Nigel: Fantastic but slightly lazy feet.

Alex Wong & Billy Bell
with Ade from season 5
Song: This Bitter Earth/On the Nature of Daylight by Dinah Washington/Max Richter
Choreographer: Mia Michaels

Adechike Torbert, Ashley Galvan, & Robert Roldan
with Neil from season 3 and Courtney from season 4
Song: Freak by Estelle feat. Kardinal Offshall
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh

Next week the show begins for real.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 6, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

On the final night of auditions in So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 3, we saw Ida Saki and Nicole Knudson, then wasted time in Nashville. Then we headed to Vegas and the cuts began.

Ida Saki has received a final warning: don’t suck again. Rather than bother going to the next round, she has decided to quit instead. Good riddance then.

Tyce Diorio is now taking the contestants through the broadway routine.

Adrian Lee advances after flicking a chick’s dress. Lauren Froderman is also going forward. Melinda Sullivan, Jose Ruiz, and Alexi Agdeppa are, too.

Now it’s time for Ida to face the judges. She denies that the negative criticism has impacted her decision. Nigel isn’t any happier than could be expected.

When we get to day 2, 47 dancers remain, and they are broken into groups. Each group chooses a style at random, and they will have to choreograph a routine to the song on their CD.

Anthony Burrell, Giselle Peacock, and Lauren are in the first group, and the judges love their routine.

Group 2 features, well, a bunch of rambled names that I guess they’ll be mentioned again if they actually matter. Whatever the case, the group is divided. After a difficult night and no sleep, they perform. The judges are unimpressed but will be allowing them through anyway.

Then we quickly fast forward through the other groups. Apparently, a 2 hour show is not enough time.

The final group of the day includes Lexie Contursi, Billy Bell, Ryan Ramirez, and Adechike Torbert. The high expectations the judges have are shattered. After pretending they’re going to cut some of them, the judges opt to keep them all, then throw them off the stage.

Travis Wall is in charge of the contemporary routine, and then everybody is split into trios to perform.

Cristina Santana and Giselle are completely out of their element. Cristina is especially worried because she’s dancing with two contemporary dancers, but she does just fine. Giselle, however, seems to be dancing a different dance than the other two, and she has been eliminated.

Nicole Knudson (sporting her Marge Simpson hair again) has also been cut.

Alex Wong remains a judge favorite, in spite of his lacking contemporary performance. Anthony, sporting an injury since he’s gotten there, continues to impress. Kent Boyd receives praise as well. He’s starting to think that maybe he can make it.

24 dancers have made it to the end of Vegas, and the judges will be choosing from them for their top 10. They are granted one final solo opportunity. Afterward, they head home to their families, and every one of them will be receiving a visit or phone call from the judges, letting them know whether they are in or out, after they double talk and try to fake them out.

Eliminated
Adrian Lee
Anthony Burrell
Anthony Kim
Bridget Krause
Cheryl Smith
Chris Cole
DJ Smart
Jocelyn Orley
Katie Muth
Lexie Contursi
Missy Morelli
Ryan Ramirez
Serge Ornick

Top 5 Girls
Alexie Agdeppa
Ashley Galvan
Cristina Santana
Lauren Froderman
Melinda Sullivan

Top 5 6 Guys
Adechike Torbert
Alex Wong
Billy Bell
Jose Ruiz
Kent Boyd
Robert Roldan

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 5, which airs Thursday at 9/8c on Fox.

So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 2 stopped in LA and Chicago. In LA, we met Lauren Froderman, Rachel Girma, Christina Santana, Alexi Agdeppa, and Ryan Ramirez. Then we met Kent Boyd and Andrew Phillips in Chicago.

The first stop tonight is Dallas, TX. Tyce Diorio and Toni Redpath join Nigel.

Ida Saki chooses some sleepy music that Tyce loves. Her mom was not allowed to dance because she lived in Iran, but Ida’s dancing for them both. The judges are amazed.

Haylee Durbin started dancing when she was two, but she doesn’t want to be mistaken for a frilly girl. Nigel’s not sure about the style or the stank face. She’ll be going to choreography.

Conor “Scooter Rocket” McLaughlin shows up wearing a helmet. Underneath that helmet is Clay Aiken’s little brother, except he can’t sing despite thinking he can. Seems he also missed the memo that this is a dance show because he’s on skates. Pointless.

Nicole Knudson hopes to one day have hair like Marge Simpson. Tyce says this is the kind of talent that comes along every hundred years. She’s everything and also a bag of chips.

Haylee is eliminated.

Deroccius Harris says he tries to be masculine, sexy, poppy, and jazz handy. He fails at all of those things. Nigel tells him he might make the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.

Marcella Raneri is harboring a dark secret. Her father was born into the mob, and he has since been sent up the river. Now she has to work (as a lingerie model for her mom) so she can dance. Visually stunning, but the dancing is somewhat lacking. She will be heading to choreography.

Jordan Johnson comes from a small town of about 1100 people. He’s struggled with depression and addiction. He’s got some gymnastics background in addition to dance. Nigel likes that he never knows what’s coming. Toni wants him to take that he’s not “traditionally handsome” the right way.

Marcella advances to Vegas.

Nashville, TN is the next stop. I don’t really think of Nashville when I think of dancing. Joey Dowling joins Nigel and Adam.

Faith Looney is doing flamenco with her friend Kelsey. They’re the best of friends, although once they didn’t talk to each other for two and a half hours. Joey almost thought she was making fun of the style.

Shanya Vaughn is bringing everything she’s got. She can keep it. Apparently, she’s on the show so she can be a model. That’s not happening any more than the dancing.

Brian Gaynor is back after doing the robot three years ago. Not much point since we know he’s not going any further, but at least he’s better than what we’ve seen so far from Nashville. Nigel promises him he’ll put his group of three dancers on the show.

With that, the auditions are over, and Vegas week begins. Over 100 dancers have made it there.

The bad news: only 10 people will make it to the top. They will be dancing with all stars as their partners instead of newbies. I’d rather see a top 20.

Billy Bell and Alex Wong have come straight to Vegas. Alex was unable to be in the top 20 because of his contract with a ballet company. Billy was eliminated due to illness. A pair of tough acts to follow.

Anthony Burrell pulled a hamstring but has been cleared to dance by the clinic. Then the axes fall on 26 dancers. He is not one of them.

After the cuts, hip hop with Tabitha Dumo is the first test. Rachel Girma and Jose Ruiz are not used to choreography. Jose seems to be catching on, but Rachel’s stressed out. She has been eliminated. Jose, however, will advance to day 2.

26 more dancers are then eliminated.

Sarah Brinson has injured her back, but she’s going to have to hit the stage with Anthony in the last group of the day. She has been cut, but he will go forward.

Ballroom will be their next test, complete with scary drill sergeant choreographer Toni Redpath. She seemed so sweet as a judge. Now she’s a lunatic.

Jordan Johnson is one of the worst of the day and is eliminated.

Nicole Knudson looks a lot better with her hair down. The judges ask her to dance again without the hair in the way. Anybody wanna be her partner? She manages to get ballroom dancer Serge Ornick to dance with her. Will he help her or overshadow her? Her performance is enough to move on to the next round.

Adechike Torbert has been just barely scraping by at every turn, so the judges give him a chance to dance for his life. With only 10 spots, it seems futile, but it’s enough to survive for one more round.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 4, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

The season opened in So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 1 with stops in New York and Miami. New York brought us Giselle Peacock, Henry Byalikov, and Edward Spots, then Miami showed off Michael Petr, Tyrell Rolle, and Henry Rivera.

Tonight we head to Los Angeles. Nigel is joined by Adam Shankman and Hi Hat (I’m going to assume that’s a nickname).

Lauren Froderman just became legal, so it’s time to start the night off with a little heat. She gets numerous wows from the judges, although Hi Hat would like more of a connection.

Hung Van Lam (aka Hella Hung) looks pretty much like a waste of time. I will bill him for the three minutes of my life he just wasted. Not right for this show. Or any other.

Rachel Girma has been dancing for two weeks. Technically. Her theory is that her 9 years of rhythmic gymnastic training will be sufficient. With that said, she may actually be pretty good, and she is. The judges can’t come up with enough compliments. Whether this translates to other styles remains to be seen, but she’s going to Vegas.

Christina Santana and Pepe Alvarez are back for a second season. She got eliminated in Vegas, while he was just there as her audition partner. Needless to say, Christina is returning to Vegas. The judges were unable to pay attention to Pepe, but he will be going to choreography.

Taylor Costello is the final contestant of the day. Her birth mother was murdered when she was 11, so she was never old enough to meet her, but she was allowed to read what she’d written to her, including that her favorite thing was dancing. Nigel calls her almost possessed, but they find out what drives her, so it makes sense after the explanation. The dancing was good, but it needs some focus. She’s going to choreography.

Pepe has opted to quit. Taylor has been cut.

Alexie Agdeppa is another person who almost made it all the way last season and obviously will be advancing again this year. Nigel tries to fake her out and pretend she’s gotten worse, but he can’t pull off the lie for long. Adam just has one thing to say: she’s going to Vegas.

Melinda Sullivan is a tap dancer who has been a member of Jason Samuels Smith’s company since she was 15. The judges look pretty confused. The dancing doesn’t go with the music at all. Their description is “interesting,” whatever that may mean. She’s going to choreography.

Ryan Ramirez met Mia Michaels when she was younger, which inspired her to keep dancing. Adam calls her very, very, very talented, but she did a very bad thing by not connecting. She’s going to choreography.

Melinda is going to Vegas. Ryan is, too.

Next stop, the windy city of Chicago. Stacey Tookey joins Nigel and Adam.

Kent Boyd is from Wapakoneta, a town with a senior high school class of about 33. But he gets out sometimes. Nigel likes his personality, which he feels was lacking in the dancing. He’s going to choreography.

Andrew Phillips has brought along his fraternal twin Tyler, who was born with spina bifida and is in a wheelchair. He dances every day for his brother. Adam doesn’t think he’s completely grown into his body, but what he does is beautiful and inspiring. Nigel wants to see him go to choreography, although he’s not sure he’s going to Vegas.

Malinda Jacobson is here to show us hick-hop, a cross between hip hop, break dancing, line dancing, and square dancing. Really? Also, she has not brushed her hair lately. This is certainly, uh, unique. Adam suggests changing the channel. Malinda’s explanation: she just needs to work on her nerves.

Adrian Lee has the judges buzzing. Stacey calls him the best contemporary dancer of the day by a long shot.

Kent is going to Vegas. Andrew is as well.

Kellen Borchers is a disaster waiting to happen. His ultimate goal is to earn respect. I know that because he says it four times. Might want to set an alternate goal.

Christopher Gilbert walks on stage with a cane and a very good Urkel look. Adam is refreshed; Stacey is entertained. He’s going to choreography.

Jarrod Mayo shocks the judges. He’s going to Vegas, so his mother is gonna have to cut the cord.

The final dancer for tonight is Jarrell Robinson, who is deaf. He’s extremely musical despite his inability to hear the music, but not quite strong enough for this competition. Inspiring nonetheless.

Christopher is eliminated.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 3, which airs Thursday at 9/8c on Fox.

Season 7 auditions begin in New York.

Nigel Lythgoe is joined by Adam Shankman and Mia Michaels. Mary Murphy will be returning this season only as a choreographer and guest judge, while Mia Michaels is her replacement, despite having seemingly quit in season 6.

Sarah Brinson has always been the big dancer, but she says she doesn’t feel self conscious any more. Nigel thought that was amazing. Mia tells her she’s beyond her years, which is very rare. She’s going to Vegas.

Ballroom dancers Giselle Peacock and Henry Byalikov have danced for Burn the Floor. Where do you go from Broadway? So You Think You Can Dance. Smoking. Both get tickets to Vegas.

Mike Perlman got tired of getting kicked out of bars and clubs based on the way he dances. A very small percentage of people despise and loathe what he does. Like the Boston Police Department. For the record, that was not choreographed by Adam Shankman, whoever that is. He’s going to go out right now to get people to remember 1 2 3 Party!… but he won’t be doing so in Vegas.

We get an ever so brief glimpse of the woman lifting her husband that we saw in America’s Got Talent last year. These are judges are unimpressed.

Teddy Tedholm made it to Vegas last season. This year he’s back with a less outrageous outfit. Mia’s reminded of the unpopular kid who just didn’t quite fit, but his emotion is genius. Adam is honored to be able to watch that.

Scott Vogel loves his job cleaning up the stains and so forth following violent deaths. He calls it a biohazard something something something I think. Even after it’s replayed, it’s still entirely unclear. He’s going to have to stick with that rather than country line dancing. Oh, and after he cleans up the bodily fluids, he sells cereal bars.

Kevin “Shockalock” Porter brings his student Chris “Isolock” Dixon, who combines isolations with locking. Nigel’s seen better isolations but not with the locking. The question is what else he can do.

Courtney Galiano from season 4 and Jason Glover from season 5 will be taking the dancers through choreography.

Isolock easily gets the axe after this.

Jamie Greco makes low budget horror films. Depending on the day, he may be a she. This whole female impersonator stripping with fruit routine is just weird. Nigel reaches for the hand sanitizer.

Wadi Jones trains in Parkour (the free running in Prince of Persia). He will be advancing to choreography.

Edward Spots is returning for a second season. Now his dad supports his dancing. After they gush over him, the judges make him go to choreography. Why?

Megan Carter is the final dancer in New York. She’s “thicker” than other dancers. Her performance has Adam and Mia crying. Mia claims that size doesn’t matter, but Nigel is a realist. She will also be advancing to choreography.

Both Wadi and Megan have been cut. Edward, however, is going to Vegas.

Next we’re going to Miami. Bienvenidos a Miami. Jason Gilkison and Sonya Tayeh join Nigel there.

Michael Petr started ballroom dancing after seeing Dirty Dancing. Nigel’s happy to see someone not making (too many) weird facial expressions. He’ll be going to Vegas.

Tyrell Rolle is from the hood, Liberty City, not to be confused with the place from Grand Theft Auto. Contrary to the stereotypes, he’s a contemporary dancer, hoping to use dancing as an exit. Nigel found that to be tremendous. Sonya and Jason also loved it.

Henry Rivera has one first task: composing himself so that he can finish a complete sentence in the interview. But his dancing leaves those worries behind. The judges all agree he’s the best dancer so far in Miami.

Daria Kopylova dances with her dad. Doing a somewhat sexy number with her father creeps the judges out. Next time don’t bring a relative.

Ami Aguiar-Riley has a 6 year old son Donovan. She may be older, but she’s ready to do something for herself. Nigel thinks it was too static, although the technique is nice. After choreography, she’s going to Vegas.

Candace Craig hopes to be sexy, but hopefully not too much that they put a censor over her (this lasts until she swears). Jason thinks she’s a very likeable performer, although she doesn’t make clever choices. The over the top sensualness is a distraction. She’ll be wearing a sports bra for the choreography.

Rose Neptune has an awkward performance, and the partner she’s chosen is not helping matters any. The rest of the day in Miami gets progressively worse.

Jose Ruiz is a B-Boy inspired by Legacy to be on the show. The judges are impressed and relieved that Miami has stopped sucking with the final dancer of the night. He’ll have to get through choreography.

Candace is out. Despite not quite having it, Jose does go to Vegas.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 2, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

The final six competed for America’s vote in So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 Episode 23, and tonight one of them will emerge as the So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 winner.

Ryan di Lello is the first person to be eliminated, finishing in sixth place.

His wife Ashleigh follows him, placing fifth.

Ellenore Scott places fourth.

Kathryn McCormack places third.

That brings us down to a battle of the two guys. Jakob Karr has been the most technically gifted dancer throughout the season, while Russell Ferguson gets the nod for most improved. The So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 winner is Russell.

Mollee Gray and Jonathan “Legacy” Perez were voted off in So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 Episode 22, which brings us down to the final dance off of the season between the final 6.

Kathryn McCormack & Ryan di Lello
Style: Samba
Choreographer: Jason Gilkison
Song: Magalenha by Sergio Mendes
Nigel: Kathryn was fantastic again out there. Ryan was as well.
Mary: Ryan was at home in his style. Kathryn is so into it.
Adam: This show should now be called the rise of Kathryn. Ryan was a fantastic partner… and just so shirtless out there.

Ellenore Scott & Jakob Karr
Style: Broadway
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Song: I Gotcha by Fosse (original Broadway cast)
Nigel: Showed the pair off to their best.
Mary: Ellenore was smoldering out there. Jakob is just tremendous.
Adam: Ellenore has never looked this beautiful on this show. Jakaob’s one of the most selfless partners out there.

Ashleigh di Lello & Russell Ferguson
Style: Lyrical Jazz
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh
Song: Angel Standing By by Jewel
Nigel: Russell was so outstanding.
Mary: Ashleigh is drop dead gorgeous tonight. Helped along that way by Russell, who has grown the most out of anyone.
Adam: Ashleigh did a beautiful job of portraying all of that. Russell kicked that dance’s ass.

Ellenore Scott & Ryan di Lello
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Gary Stuart
Song: Kontact Me by Boys Noize
Nigel: Devoid of emotion. Like a technical exercise.
Mary: Different and unique.
Adam: Can’t imagine watching anyone else in that other than Ellenore.

Ashleigh di Lello & Jakob Karr
Style: Foxtrot
Choreographer: Jean Marc Genereaux
Song: Let the Good Times Roll by Chuck Brown & Eva Cassidy
Nigel: Outstanding chemistry. Not as strong as some of the other routines tonight.
Mary: Ashleigh does this style beautifully. Jakob keeps improving on the ballroom.
Adam: Suited Ashleigh beautifully. Showed each other off.

Ellenore Scott & Russell Ferguson
Style: Paso doble
Choreographer: Jason Gilkison
Song: Village Attack from Blood Diamond (original soundtrack)
Nigel: Russell could have been sharper with some of the steps but still was very good. Ellenore was passionate and fiery.
Mary: Ellenore really fired it up. Russell made up for what he lacked with his passion.
Adam: Ellenore was magnificent dancing completely from within.

Kathryn McCormack & Jakob Karr
Style: Contemporary
Choreographers: Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson
Song: At this Moment by Michael Buble
Nigel: Just stopped the show. Kathryn’s my favorite girl for weeks. Jakob is outstandingly brilliant.
Mary: One of the best performances ever.
Adam: Game changer.

Ashleigh di Lello & Ryan di Lello
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Travis Wall
Song: I’m There Too by Michelle Featherstone
Nigel: Ashleigh’s got better chemistry with Jakob.
Mary: What a memory.
Adam: Incredible tenderness.

Kathryn McCormack & Russell Ferguson
Style: Hip hop
Choreographers: Tabitha & Napoleon Dumo
Song: I Can Transform Ya by Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne and Swizz Beatz
Nigel: Teriffic from Russell in his style. Kathryn was surprisingly gangster.
Adam: Kathryn tore up that dance floor. Russell killed it.

Kathryn: 1-888-TEMPO-01
Ryan: 1-888-TEMPO-02
Ellenore: 1-888-TEMPO-03
Jakob: 1-888-TEMPO-04
Ashleigh: 1-888-TEMPO-05
Russell: 1-888-TEMPO-06

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 Episode 24, when we will find out who the So You Think You Can Dance winner is, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

The top 8 danced in So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 Episode 21, and tonight two more will be sent home. The remaining six will be in next week’s finale.

Russell Ferguson is safe. Jonathan “Legacy” Perez is in danger for the first time this season. Jakob Karr is safe, which puts Ryan di Lello in danger.

Kathryn McCormack is safe. Ellenore Scott is in danger. Despite not having danced last night, Ashleigh di Lello already has enough support to keep her safe. Mollee Gray is in danger. Adam is surprised because he felt that Mollee gave some of the best performances of the season last night.

That leaves Legacy, Ryan, Ellenore, and Mollee in danger.

The girls go first. Ellenore is the last girl to join the finale, and Mollee has been eliminated.

Next up are the guys. Ryan joins his wife in the finale, as Legacy has been voted off.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 Episode 23, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.