Monday, February 18, 2008

So You Think You Can Dance - Elimination Night and now there were 18

Well my ability to predict the bottom three appears to have continued from my Australian Idold form with only one of my predicted couples, Khaly and Kate, in the bottom three.

It was the first elimination night, and Natalie again appeared to be having difficulty between the balance of being sad about two dancers going and trying to have fun. Nat it is meant to be a fun show. Also Natalie was curling lip, sighing out loud and rolling her eyes at times. On the positive side her hair looked good.

Bonnie as well was keeping with the sleeveless, plunging clevage look in a ruffled blue taffeta top, however teamed with white pants I would have to give the outfit the thumbs up.

Matt Lee continued to be as bland as blamange. With Jason Coleman the only judge at the moment really stepping up to the plate.

The opening group dance sequence was a standout. It was choreographed by Kelley Abbey and it was up there with the top routines from the US series. Kelley was also a guest judge during the top 100 week. They need to bring her on again as a guest judge as well she was straight talker.

The weird thing was Demi the B-Girl from Melbourne was dancing with the boys dressed in a suit, whereas the rest of the girls were in the short mini dresses. At one stage I thought Rhys was going to emerge in drag to balance things out.

However it did make me think what is Demi going to do when she will inevitably have to do the sultry female in ballroom? I think she will struggle with a rumba.

It was bottom three time, with the usual showing of clips dancing from the previous nights show and generally dragging it out to ensure it will run at least 10 minutes over time.

The dancers were brought up on stage three at a time. It was at this point I realised I had forgotten to vote. Duh. I would have voted for Rhys and Gemma, as Rhys is my favourite at this point, closely followed by Jack Chambers. Though the boogaloo routine was not my fave of the night.

I am unsure which of the girls is my fave.

The first to be announced in the bottom three were Hilton and Courtney. So there goes my theory that Hilton would pull Courtney through. She was dragging him down.

Henry and Vanessa also were bottom three, as were Kate and Khaly (the one couple I predicted).

Just an aside, no wonder Anthony and Laura were put as partners together as they are about a head taller then anyone else. Khaly would come up to her breasts.

It was time for them to dance for their lives. They had 30 seconds to dance their own style to their own music.

Courtney wearing a skimpy top and shorts, I have seen more coverage by bikinis was out first and did an unspectacular routine.

Hilton - came out doing flips and then did a kind of hip hop routine which I thought was risky as he is stronger in other styles.

Vanessa was just beautiful to watch, but is she going to be diverse enough to dance the other genres? Hip hop could be her death knell.

Henry danced well considering he was a ballroom specialist and he managed to sizzle again showing his chest hair. I wish he would shave the designer stubble off his face though.

Then it was Kate's turn, and this was the first time I had really seen her dance, as she has had limited air time. I thought she was good, but she is lacking a bit of charisma.

And last was the popular Khaly who got a huge cheer with his head spins and tricks.

After a break where The Veronicas played (those girls look liked they had not eaten carbs in months) it was time to see who was a eliminated.

Jason Coleman is obviously the lead judge as he did all the talking. The decision for the girls was unanimous.

He said decision was based on growth and potential. Kate was the first to be made safe. Then Courtney was told we don't think you are going to get better considering you danced in your genre jazz lyrical last night.

This decision was not a surprise. She said she was "Feeling disappointed", and then whined that her genre is not "lyrical jazz, but hip hop jazz". Jason kindly slapped her down and said it's jazz. For god sake girl you were just not as good as the other girls. There were tears and lots of them from her.

Now it was time for one of the boys to go.

With Hilton, Henry, and Khaly standing there it was the equivalent of seeing either Danny, Pasha or Hok being eliminated the first week in the US version. Yeah it sucked, they were all great dancers. Please note Henry is not as hot as Pasha.

The judges did not say whether this decision was unanimous. Hilton was first to be made safe - no surprise there. Khaly was eliminated as they were not sure if he had more to give us.

There were boos from the audience, and Natalie reminded us if we wanted our favourites to stay we need to vote. Also Fremantle media makes more money if we do....

The plus side out of these eliminations is that the new pairing will be Kate and Hilton, and they should be great together.

Just a thought when will the Australian Idol past contestants start being guest stars on the Monday night shows? Or will Delta Goodrem wearing one of her signature caftans beat them to it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here's my theory about the judges/judging...

There has been a network decision to go easy on the competitors early on to ensure maximum longevity over the life of the series.

Why do I say this? A comparison with Australian Idol tells the tale. If one looks at the last season of Australian Idol, right from the first judging show the judges got stuck in to the contestants. Now I'm not saying that this wasn't deserved but simply, if you think about it, it undermines the integrity of the whole series. An "overjudged" first show where flaws are studiously highlighted sends a message to the audience that the judges have picked a pack of duds and hence why would any discerning reality viewed bother? On the contrary, a "gently gently" approach in the first show (or perhaps first couple) does two things. It bolsters the confidence of the participants thereby (perhaps) improving their performances over time and secondly, creates a vibe that the talent is "good" and worth watching rather than the opposite. The fact is that Sunday night's show could have been FAR more harshly judged but to what end? To the uneducated viewer of SYTYCD (like me) I may not have bothered next week if the clear message from the judges had been "these people just aren't very good".

Anyway, I'm hoping that I'm right about this and that this is a deliberate early on strategy by the producers. Even if it isn't, they should now take the hint and pinch my theory and turn it into practice. Week after week of Bonnie smiling inanely will inevitably turn me away. Not that I'm suggesting they come out punching next week but glossing over problems that even a Toowoomba twostepper like myself can see for the candidates they are supporting to go further is a sure fire credibility drainer...

Thoughts?

Go Rhys !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go Hilary !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reality Raver said...

Anon are you a life coach?? All very pertinent points.

But at times I thought it was too obvious about some of the missed steps dropped lifts, and I was glad when Jason had a go at the choreographer.

I think there is a cultural cringe that the Aust version is not going to be as good as the US version so are pumping it up.

As far as I can see all the male dancers would hold their own in the US competition, and the majority of the girls would as well. The choreographers are the problem, however Kelley Abbey's routine last night was sensational.

I think Rhys has got a better chance of winning then Hilary.

Reality Raver said...

Not sure about what has happened to Demi's girlfriend. I had guessed they were, but was not 100% sure.

I think unless you look like Portia De Rossi, that lesbianism is not going to be as appealing to the masses as the funny camp gay guy ie. Rhys.

Hopefully we will get to see her in the audience at one of the shows.

Onadrought they are now casting for Farmers Wants a Wife, maybe you should check them out and see if you can get on.