So You Think You Can Dance Canada 2, October 6: What, Do I Have To Go Out There Again?

In the last Elimination episode, Amy and Austin were eliminated. You can read my version of events here if you missed out.

In the show opening, series host Leah Miller promises us, “You’re going to see our most spectacular show yet!” Well, Leah has occasionally exaggerated …

She then brings out the top eight dancers and the four judges. Familiar faces Mia Michaels and Dan Karaty are here again this week, along with principal judges Jean Marc Genereux and Tré Armstrong. Mia has almost no hair, adding to her “eerie” factor, if that’s possible.

I haven’t written about the prizes in a while, so here goes: besides the title of “Canada’s Favourite Dancer,” the winner gets $100,000, and the top two both get a 2010 Mazda3 Sport automobile.

Each dancer will dance four times tonight. Besides two duets with their partner-of-the-week, each will present a solo, plus the top-four guys and top-four girls will dance as quartets. Wow, that’s 18 dances! No wonder they’ve slipped this two-hour episode into the schedule. But first, Leah seeks the judges opening comments.

Mia wants to see them take it to the next level, including showing us their personalities. Dan says they should enjoy every moment of this. Tré expects a lot tonight. Jean Marc reveals that Everett was kicked in the nose twice by his partner and bled a lot, while Emanuel sprained an ankle.

The top four guys dance first, to “Beggin’,”a number from the Jersey Boys show. It’s quite athletic at times – too bad Austin missed out. They do fairly well, though the sync wasn’t perfect. The young ladies in the audience don’t seem to mind, though.

Mia tells them it was very cool. Dan says that seeing all four guys together is “a winner.” He admits that although he’s said all season that the girls might be stronger than the guys, now he sees that the guys are coming into their own. Tré says the boys look fine and enjoys when they did their own tricks. She notes applause for all four was even. Jean Marc calls for applause for choreographer Melissa Williams. He enjoys seeing “guys dance like guys.”

Leah reveals what she calls “fantastic news.” Last week, the top ten got to promo their upcoming tour on the U.S. version of this show’s current tour. I’m going to assume this was in Toronto at the ACC.

The first to draw his partner for the week is Tara-Jean, and she’s drawn Vincent. They will dance a rhumba, choreographed by Eric Caty. This is the fifth time Tara-Jean has drawn a ballroom style! In rehearsal, though, one of the lifts gives them problems.

The song is “Hero” by Enrique Iglesias. It’s well done. The tough lift is flawless, as are all the rest. At one point, Vincent swirls Tara-Jean around like it’s a hammer throw and he’s going to park her in the balcony. It ends with some acrobatic tricks, and then a kiss.

Mia says the last position was “very Kama Sutra.” The dancers “filled the space” and were “inside of it, not on top of it” (which is good). She reiterates that Vincent is “the king of this stage” and adds that Tara-Jean is his queen. Dan also enjoyed the piece, even though he’s not a romantic. To him, it looked like this couple has been dancing together for a long time.

Tré says Tara-Jean is unstoppable and has magnetism, while Vincent was there for his partner. Jean Marc says she captured the nature of rhumba with her leg action and her breathing, and only trained ballroom dancers can dance rhumba like Tara-Jean. He tells Vincent that he understands the mechanics of the body and this makes their dances look easy. Both are named “V.I.D.’s.” That’s Very Insane Dancer, his highest compliment.

So you’re pre-warned, the pre-dance videos this week air before the dancers perform their solo. The topic is, “What impact dance has had on their lives?”

First to dance solo is Jayme Rae. Although she has always liked dancing with her sister, she feels she has come into her own person. She intends to make dance her career. Her contemporary solo to Jill Scott’s “Getting’ In The Way” exhibits controlled strength.

It’s time for the next couple, and Kim draws Cody for her partner. The two hip-hoppers hit the jackpot and get to dance a throwback ‘90s hip-hop with Luther Brown. I see Lil C is there, too. Both dancers admit they are tired after rehearsal

The music is Bobby Brown’s “Humpin’ Around.” There’s backside grinding and caressing of all body parts. Cody says it was fun. It was certainly a high-energy performance, well executed, and I like it aplenty!

Mia says it was “way dope” and is glad Cody didn’t look down at the floor, but danced hard, with no inhibition. She adds that Kim is consistent and has the “It” factor. Dan agrees it was a great performance by both.

Tré liked the sexuality and thinks Cody is commanding when he dances. He was sharp and smooth where each was required. Kim hears she is “mad sexy” and “mad tomboy” when she needed to be. Jean Marc likes the vibe and the way they merged their similar-but-different styles of hip-hop.

Leah has more “exciting news.” She announces that Tyce Diorio is the choreographer of tomorrow night’s group number, from the musical “All Shook Up.” It’s a version never seen on TV before.

Melanie is next to pick her new partner, and she draws Emanuel. They will dance a contemporary number with ballet tones, from the mind of Sabrina Matthews. Emanuel loves the prospect of dancing ballet. The storyline is a love story, where the man wants a second chance, but she doesn’t want to give it to him.

The music is Coldplay’s “The Scientist.” There are some nice technical moves and spins, especially on his part. Both do well, though.

Mia says it felt real. She tells Melanie, “I love you hard!” That one gave me a shiver! Mia says Melanie is the kind of female dancer she likes to work with, because she is strong, technical, available, vulnerable, powerful, and humble. Emanuel has amazing moments because he’s so committed to every step, however, technically, he has some limitations. She says he runs funny. But she ends it by saying, “because you’re so there, it mutes the problem areas.”

Dan says contemporary leaves a lot of memorable moments, but these moments were not here. It’s not the dancing. Melanie was amazing, but Emanuel was forcing it instead of letting it happen.

Tré says Emanuel danced it well, but was missing the emotion, so she didn’t get the story. Melanie did give her the story, and overall, was amazing and rocked it out of the ballpark. Jean Marc lauds Melanie’s movement and emotion, and how she adjusted to Emanuel’s injuries. To Emanuel he says, don’t let anything get in your way. He adds that Melanie is “a rising star,” and he expects that star to rise in the final.