So You Think You Can Dance 5, August 5: Everybody Dance Now

First, a bit of housekeeping: to the lovely reader who e-mailed to talk about Joshua’s new look, I accidentally deleted your e-mail before I could respond. Please write back! I was going to say that I think I was unsure about his shaved head because he was wearing nice clothes for the tango. If he’d been wearing something more casual, it probably would have looked better.

Now, on to the first two hours of this week’s four-hour finale extravaganza. (Saying it like that makes it seem less exhausting.) We’re in the Kodak Theater, so the stage is huge and the judges are farther away than usual. Adam Shankman is the third judge tonight – yay! He says that there were people he saw in Vegas who he thought would be there, and others who he didn’t expect to be here, but the final four have all worked really hard. He gushes over the fact that so many people are in the audience and tuning in to watch dancers.

Cat asks Mary what the dancers can expect tonight, since they’re not always in the spotlight. Mary says dancers feed off of energy, so it’s going to be a good night. She wants the audience to bring it, since she knows the audience will. Bring what? Nachos? Nachos would be good right now. Nigel tells the final four to leave excuses off the stage. If this were the old west, this would be the part where they duel. No one’s going to just hand over the title – the winner has to earn it.

The final four are doing a group dance with Wade and Amanda Robson. The guys are football players and the girls are cheerleaders who are more than the guys can handle. The moves are fast and have to be in sync. Kayla thinks they’ll entertain everyone.

They dance to Lady Gaga’s “Boys Boys Boys,” and can we call a moratorium on Lady Gaga songs, please? There are other singers out there. The guys try to get the girls’ attention with their dance moves, but the girls are busy chatting and primping. Then they grab their pompoms and do a little cheer routine. Kayla and Jeanine are really into their characters. They use their jackets as props while moving around with the guys. The guys end up with the pompoms, literally doing backflips to win over the girls. Instead, the girls come out on top.

Jeanine & Evan – jazz – Sonya Tayeh

This is the week where everyone dances with everyone else, and Evan and Jeanine are up first as a couple that’s breaking up. Evan reveals that Jeanine has a violent side. She shoves him around and asks Sonya if she gets to kick him. Evan says that in a real fight, Jeanine and Sonya would win because he’s a gentleman.

They dance to “Heartbreaker” by MSTRKRFT, and Jeanine attempts to get Evan out of her life, but he won’t go. He chases her all over the stage, but she just wants to dance. There are some great flips and throws here, some with Jeanine just using one arm. In the end, she’s confident in her decision and he won’t let go of her.

Adam says that he never saw Jeanine coming, but she’s dominated week after week. He never saw Evan in the top four, but the season wouldn’t be the same without him. He’s like the molehill that became the mountain. Adam praises Sonya, saying that it’s important not only to entertain the audience but to choreograph to the dancers’ strengths so the voters will pick up their phones for them.

Mary thought Jeanine and Evan would make good partners, and they delivered. However, she thinks Jeanine stood out more. Evan wasn’t a punching bag, though. Nigel notes that the performances have to live up to the size of the stage. Jeanine has the strength to do this sort of thing. Nigel doesn’t want to see Evan thrown around the stage any more tonight. He needs to be responsible for his own destiny. If he brings enough of a personality, he can win. The routine really showcased Jeanine’s strengths, both in dancing and personality-wise.

Brandon does an interview with Cat, telling her that he’s had a great time all season, but the experience has been painful. He misses Janette the most out of the eliminated dancers because of her positivity and what she’s brought out of him. His favorite routine was their tango. Cat addresses the Mia situation, and we get a clip of her telling Brandon that she basically doesn’t get it. Brandon thinks it’s tough love. I think it’s being irritating, but that’s just me. He’s proud of himself for proving to both of them that he loves dancing and isn’t going anywhere.

Cat asks if he’s always known what he wanted to do. He admits that he didn’t think he would make the show. He inspires others but doesn’t always see it in himself. Brandon thinks that if he stays focus, keeps the drive, and has fun, he can make it. He has to remember to have fun and worry only about himself, not what other people think of him,

Brandon does a solo to “Dies Irae,” continuing my theory that they’ve run out of music and are just repeating stuff from earlier in the season. Also, way to pick the part of the song that’s the same four bars over and over. That’s not tortuous at all. It’s the same stuff we’ve seen before.

Adam says that was competing. It was a take-no-prisoners performance. Brandon is awe-inspiring. The routine was a little frantic, but it is a competition and Brandon is trying hard. Mary says that Brandon gave her goosebumps. He’s athletic and dynamic, and sometimes defies gravity. He was born to dance. Nigel agrees with Mia about Brandon – he’s amazing. His solo last week was outstanding and showed everyone where he’s coming from. He just wiped out the opposition (in his board shorts). 1 2 3 4 Next-->



View Printable version of this article