Last night’s 100th episode of “So You Think You Can Dance” left me with a lot of unanswered questions.
At the top of the list: Where can I get a sequined black and gold tiger dress like Cat Deeley’s? (Go RHS Golden Tigers!)
Oh, and I had a few thoughts about the eliminations as well. I’ll cut right to it. Melissa and Ade’s touching breast cancer routine to Maxwell’s version of “This Woman’s Work” pretty much earned them a free pass for the week. I mean, let’s face it. It’s pretty hard to hate a dance about cancer.
Let’s just hope that the other choreographers don’t employ this “social message” strategy for their teams, though. Yes, pieces about child abuse and alcoholism can be very poignant, but they just don’t seem to allow for enough jazz hands or sequins.
My favorite guy, Broadway-style dancer Evan, was safe, as was Jeanine. (Surprising since I would’ve voted her off just for wearing that hideous yellow waltz costume.)
In the hot seat for the guys were Brandon and Jason, each adorable and talented in his own way. I have to say that while the judges raved about Brandon and Jeanine’s pop jazz routine to Jordin Sparks’ Pat Benatar rip-off “Battlefield,” it was Jason and Kayla’s zombie-themed number that really got my attention. Because of clearance issues, it’s probably the closest thing we’ll get to a “Thriller” homage and, well, zombie dances are just so fun. Way more fun than numbers where the choreographer says, “There is no story. The story is you.” (“Battlefield”) What kind of hippy propaganda is that?
Unfortunately, America did not agree with me and sent Jason home.
As for the women, it was tamale against tamale as Janette and Kayla were up for elimination. No one can deny that Kayla is gorgeous and that her leaps and turns are perfection -- but sometimes perfection can be a little boring. Granted, she’s only 18 and she has time to grow a personality, but I’d like to see a little more sparkle (and I don’t just mean on her costumes).
Janette, on the other hand, has mucho personality. Unfortunately, it was not enough to save her. This is, after all, a dance competition. (BTW ... I blame Kris Allen. I found it distracting that they used his version of Kanye’s “Heartless” for their rhumba. My inner monologue went something like this: “Is that Kris Allen? It totally is! I remember when he did this on ‘Idol. ..'")
The episode also featured reprises of Emmy-nominated dances from seasons past, including “The Hummingbird and the Flower” and the “bench” routine. Head and shoulders above both of these, however, was the Wade Robson “Ramalama” group number. Like Jason and Kayla’s Wednesday night piece, this one also had a zombie theme, except these zombies seemed to be out of straight out of “Oliver Twist.” Or maybe “Moulin Rouge.” (It’s hard to tell with the undead.)
It was far more memorable than the Tron-tastic group number from Wednesday night, and it will probably give me nightmares for the next two weeks.
