So You Think You Can Dance Top 8 Perform

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So You Think You Can Dance Top 8 Perform

July 23, 2008 08:45:10 by DA Southern

So You Think You Can Dance enters the zone where few have tread with only eight dancers left in the competition and everybody seems to have their favorites. It quite possibly could be a guy and girl in the finals but we have a lot of dancing to take place in the next several weeks as Cat Deeley tells us that we are only two weeks away from the finale. Welcome to So You Think You Can Dance.

With more group numbers and individual solos, it should be an interesting night as Cat introduced the judges, Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy and guest judge, Toni Basil, after the individual dancers did their thing and they scooted off the dance floor to ready themselves for their routines. Cat announced that the dancers had once again picked new partners and it will be interesting to see who can smoothly adapt to their new partner.

For the first pairing of the night, Will was paired with Courtney and they were given Hip Hop and Samba for the evening’s performances. First up was the Samba with choreographer, Jean-Marc, and Will was worried about his hip action, although Will has never had a problem picking up any dance. Courtney looked stunning and Will certainly held his own during the number. Nigel thought that it was fantastic and said they had great chemistry. Mary, of course, gave a yell of approval and Toni Basil said she had so much fun that she forgot she was judging.

Comfort does her solo,you know, Hip-Hop stuff and tonight they gave each soloist a chance to talk about themselves a bit, which is why this show has so much heart.

Twitch picked himself probably the best partner he could get with Katee and they were headed to Broadway and Contemporary routines for the evening. First up was a Contemporary routine from Mia Michaels, so you know it will be wild. At first, Katee seemed to be doing all of the work, but the routine was extreme Mia Michaels fare and they looked to be really into the routine. Nigel thought the performance was incredible and thought it one of the most entertaining routine on the show. Mary did a knock-knock joke saying that they were two of the best dancers on the show. Toni was also incredibly favorable to the duo and said that it was “Funky,” as well, which suited Twitch perfectly.

Will’s solo was a bit different as he performed in a suit, which was a little old since the last time he performed in a suit, the judges thought it did not suit him. OK,a bad pun, I admit it. In the interviews, Will told America that he was inspired by the movie, “Dirty Dancing” which led him to Debbie Allen being his mentor.

Mark was next seen picking Comfort as his new partner and they were doing Foxtrot and Hip-Hop routines tonight. Tabitha and Napoleon Dumo put them through their paces first for a grand Hip-Hop routine and Comfort was funny saying she was going to teach Mark to be a “Bad child.” This is Comfort’s bag but hopefully Mark can pull it off. Mark did have the routine down fairly well, but there are some things you just can’t teach, but Mark did manage to pull it off. Nigel was amazed how great Comfort was when she is choreographed and complemented Mark. Mary said that they did a great job and that Comfort was “Hittin’ it tonight” and Toni added that it was a great display from them both. You gotta give Comfort credit; she does fight for every moment on the SYTYCD stage.

Next solo was from Katee who was inspired early on to be a Tap dancer and, even though she had changed her style, always was fond of her roots.

Joshua and Chelsie were next up to be paired and were off the studio to practice some Tango and Chelsie proved once again that she is a force to be reckoned with in the competition. Joshua was as strong as ever as he pulled, lifted and gave Chelsie the opportunity to shine. Nigel thought Chelsie was incredible and that the choreography played to their strengths. Mary liked how Joshua set the mood for the routine and that Chelsie was extremely sexy in routine and proclaimed them on the “Hot Tamale train.” Toni said that she really thought it was a great routine and that it looked spontaneous.

Mark was next to solo and we discovered that he was inspired by musical theatre and was always considered different growing up which is always reflected in his solos.

Will and Courtney were next with Tabitha and Napoleon for a slow Hip-Hop and both of them liked the ability to slow down a bit to tell the story. It was kind of a ghost story, of sorts, but it still looked fast to me, but it was very fun to watch. The couple connected beautifully and the audience felt the emotion of the number as did the judges. Nigel said the routine was great and said that he was affected by this Hip-Hop routine and Mary added that the two of them were tremendous dancers who didn’t meet her expectations, but, in fact, “Blew her away.” Poor Toni, always following Mary, added that great Art should make you feel something like this number did.

Chelsie was next to solo and we found out that she loved to dance from an early age and was inspired by her shyness and a way to get friends. The birthday girl, Chelsie was sexy as usual as she moved her legs and used her hips to inspire America to vote for her.

Katee and Twitch were off to the studio to learn a Broadway routine from Tyce Diorio to “Sweet Georgia Brown.” Katee loved the characters that they were doing and, as they strutted across the stage, you could see just how comfortable the couple were performing no matter what routine they were doing or who they were partnered with. Nigel loved the routine saying that he could see both of them on Broadway and said that they light up the stage. Mary screamed that it was terrific and that they “Pulled it off.” Toni added that Twitch brings even more reality to the number than many Broadway dancers and that Katee was excellent as well.

Joshua and Courtney were next to solo and we found that Joshua started dancing in the third grade and made an audition early on and loved the feeling of performing. Joshua did a Popping, Hip-Hop solo and showed great versatility. Courtney, too, started when she was in third grade and spent all of her years doing recitals and said that a dancer’s life is short and is why she ended up on SYTYCD doing a contemporary solo. Twitch was the final soloist of the evening and we learned that he always had danced but got really interested in his senior year and had done some dancing in South Korean videos.

Comfort and Mark had their hands full with a Foxtrot with chorographer, Jean-Marc, and you could tell Comfort was struggling a bit. They both seemed to be having fun and if they were struggling, did not show it, but we could tell they were not as good as they should have been. The judges were not as kind as Nigel said that it really wasn’t that good and it looked really uncomfortable to watch. Toni said it looked like a recital and did not really connect with her, so it looks like Comfort and Mark will be back in the bottom two again tomorrow night.

Chelsie and Joshua finished the night with some Disco with choreographer, Dorianne Sanchez, always a great way to leave the evening, and you could tell that the rehearsal alone looked like fun. Joshua was funny as he tried to lift Chelsie in rehearsal and the actual routine was so much fun. Joshua was great at the lifts and the hard lift came off pretty good after all. Nigel was extremely complementary about the strength of Joshua and though it was fantastic and that Chelsie was extraordinary and a great finale to a wonderful show. Mary agreed with Nigel and Toni finished by saying that the duo pulled together the “Spirit” of the Disco era.

Cat announced that two would be going home tomorrow and it was probably one of the most consistent shows of the season.

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Photo courtesy of Fox Broadcasting

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