First up, as you might have noticed I didn’t submit a recap for the two Vegas Callback episodes. No, I didn’t forget. It’s just that I didn’t find a purpose in doing so. They didn’t really show enough complete performances to review/rate them and, while there was some fun dancing, I generally find the Callbacks to be the least interesting part of the season. But I’m back with weekly recaps until the end of the season.
In case you missed it, the Top 20 was chosen last week and features: Yorelis Apolinario, Virgil Gadson, Megan 'Megz' Alfons, Burim 'B-1' Jusufi, Jessica ‘JJ’ Rabone, Jaja Vancova, Ariana Crowder, Asaf Goren, Eddie 'Neptune' Eskridge & Liliana Frias (for Team Street) and Jim Nowakowski, Darion Flores, Gaby Diaz, Edson Juarez, Hailee Payne, Marissa Milele, Kate Harpootlian, Moises Parra, Alexia Meyer & Derek Piquette (Team Stage). It’s worth noting that audition favorite Alain 'Hurricane' Lauture was injured in the break and replaced by Hebrew B-Boy Asaf.
Like I’ll do each week, I will write a recap of each dance and give it a rating of zero to five stars. Feel free to comment below with your favorite/least favorite routine of the night.
Team Street: Megz, Neptune & JJ, Hip-Hop – * * * ½
Dave Scott debuted Team Street with a down and dirty, superhero-esque hip-hop number. There were a few great moments – I loved that interlocking arm section – but it felt ultimately underwhelming. The group’s synchronization was off at times and both Megz and Neptune suffered in the personality department. Good news was that JJ, formally Jessica, shined bright like a diamond and brought out Scott’s choreo the best out of the trio.
Team Stage: Moises , Gaby, Derek, Contemporary – * * * *
The antithesis to Dave Scott’s gritty piece of street dancing, Stacy Tookey’s ethereal, angelic contemporary routine was beautiful and serene and…maybe just a touch boring. OK, just wait a minute before you throw the hypothetical tomatoes. All three dancers showed exceptional skill and technique here – great extensions and feather-light footwork all the way. If Gaby can move so effortlessly from tap to contemporary, it’s a sure bet she’ll be a fan favorite this season. But something in the piece was just lacking to me. Maybe it was that the slow moving routine didn’t have anything in the way of a storyline to follow, maybe it was the swooping camera blocking that made it hard to focus on the piece as a whole or maybe it was just that these incredible dancers are still green and nervous. If this was performed in a few weeks, when they were more comfortable throwing themselves into the material, there’s a good chance it could have been a total home run.
Team Street: Lily, Jaja, Asaf, Burim, Hip-Hop – * * * ½
There’s a chance that the winner of SYTYCD will be from this routine and there’s an even better chance that person will be either Jaja or Lily. Both of them showed bucketfuls of personality and unique but highly technically proficient dance chops. They are both effervescent and incredibly entertaining performers who have a great tenure on the show ahead of them. I’m not so sure about this disjointed routine though which, to me, felt unorganized, piecemealed and failed to prove that Asaf isn’t a talented-but-cocky one trick b-boy-ing pony.
Team Stage: Alexia, Hailee & Marissa, Jazz – * * * *
In this neo-noir jazz piece, part Chicago and part Rihanna video, Brian Friedman choreographed three fierce dancers and competitors. Yes, it could have been a little more playfully coy rather than all out femme fatale knockouts, but to be honest that lack of flirtation actually worked, creating a harsher but nevertheless wildly entertaining piece. If this is week one, there’s no telling where these ladies will go.
Team Stage: Darion & Jim, Contemporary Ballet – * * * * ½
There has been – and will continue to be – comparisons between Jim and Alex Wong. Yes, both are tremendously talented Asian male ballet dancers. But both have the distinction of being some of the finest dancers ever to grace the SYTYCD stage, a fact that’s easily deciphered after only a few moments on stage. It’s clear from this ridiculously difficult contemporary ballet routine that Jim is something very, very special. With grace, agility and the muscle definition of a pro wrestler, it was hard to take your eyes off Jim. Not that Darion wasn’t good, but this might just be Jim’s competition to loose.
Team Street: Yorelis, Virgil, Ariana, Hip-Hop – * * *
In a fun (if a bit overly literal) reenactment of “Locked Out Of Heaven,” three members of Team Street strutted their stuff and yet failed to be all that memorable. While it’s true we’re still learning names at this point, nothing in this enjoyable but somewhat bland routine makes me want to go out and research the individual dancers. Well, that’s definitely true of the girls who were serviceable but lacked the playful acting chops to pull of playing the proverbial Angel and Devil. Virgil, on the other hand, was charming and showed the energy and personality of a killer street dancer. If he can channel that into an actual character in the future, though, is unknown.
Team Street: Edson & Kate, Contemporary – * * * * ½
It’s odd. I really enjoyed this routine. On first viewing, I found it the most mature and complete performance of the night. A gorgeous and emotional duet scored by a song I need to download ASAP. Edson and Kate are wonderful dancers, with a beautiful dance vocabulary and emotional maturity. Truth is, while I generally agree with the judges (or at least understand their comments), I didn’t seem to see the same routine the judges did. Perhaps this is the difference between watching a live performance, where you can see emotions up-close and feel the energy in the room, versus a televised routine. Perhaps.
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