'So You Think You Can Dance' Recap - Top 14 Perform

This is a big night for So You Think You Can Dance. After tonight we’re in the top ten, which means higher expectations and less wiggle room. No more being “out of your element.” The cream is now starting to rise to the top and we’re at the middle of the live rounds where little missteps can have big repercussions.

Like I 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.

Jim (Team Stage) & Yorelis (Team Street), Jazz – * * * *
Sonya Tayeh is back, y’all! One of SYTYCD’s most controversial, talented and downright weirdest choreographers, Sonya has a great track record of memorable routines and this is no exception. Danced exceptionally well by Jim (clearly the best dancer this season) and Yorelis (who is quickly proving herself a Team Street stand-out), the number was stylish and performed with a technical excellence we don’t often see on this show. Yes, but. Something about this routine bugged me. Between the (purposefully?) blank facial expressions and the lack of a real storyline in either the choreo or the music, I just felt like it was hard to fully emotionally connect with the material. Perhaps that was the point. Perhaps the brilliant technicality overshadows my detachment. But it took this routine down in the ratings department.

Edson (Team Stage) & Jaja (Team Street), Hip-Hop – * * *
I must admit I’m mixed. Sure, Mischa Gabriel’s hip-hop lite routine was fun and energetic. But I must agree with the male judges who found it frothy but ultimately underwhelming. Maybe it was the gold lame jackets, but oftentimes Jaja and Edson reminded me a little too much of those professional dancers/hype performers you see next to the DJ at Bar Mitzvahs. That’s not to say Jaja and Edson did a bad job, just to say that for a big platform like SYTYCD it fell very flat.

Hailee (Team Stage) & Virgil (Team Street), Contemporary – * * * *
Hailee is a force to be reckoned with. A little reminiscent of Melanie before her, Hailee is an original, quirky and wonderfully strong contemporary hoofer. The issue that arises, though, is that she’s a hard person to partner with and not be outshined. While Virgil has the personality to go toe-to-toe with Hailee, the gap between the two technique-wise was considerably wide here. Intense and well-acted, absolutely, and filled with some fantastic Tyce Diorio tableaus, the piece was perhaps more entertaining and emotionally engaging than technically perfect.

Alexia (Team Stage) & Ariana (Team Street), Jazz – * *
This number had a bit of an identity crisis. Part camp and part burlesque with a whole lot of confusion in between, this number felt a bit like if Fosse had been asked to choreograph “The Little Mermaid.” Should they have been more menacing, sexy and dark? Or should it have been sunnier, happier and campier? I don’t know. But what’s worse is that neither Alexia or Ariana seemed to know the answer, resulting in a boring, sloppy, confused mess of a performance from both. While it seemed that at least Ariana was trying at times, Alexia seemed on uncomfortable autopilot.

Derek (Team Stage) & Megz (Team Street), Hip-Hop – * * *
Too often, hip-hop routines on SYTYCD are dark, brooding and hard-hitting, so I quite enjoyed the idea of a goofy, light-hearted hip-hop piece that owed as much to a Roger Rabbit jazz club era style as it does to more typical hip-hop tropes. But while the idea was fresh, the execution was all over the place. Stage dancer Darek looked both uncomfortable and goofily spastic trying to do the pop and locks needed and even Street dancer Megz felt in over her head. Oy.

Gaby (Team Stage) & Neptune (Team Street), Hip-Hop – * * * * ½
What an absolutely friggin’ gorgeous routine! What came across as serenely, stirringly simple was actually an extremely technically challenging routine that tested Gaby and Neptune’s technicality and acting chops. Set to a moving a cappella gospel hymn, this number was timely and beautiful and performed pretty flawlessly.

Kate (Team Stage) & JJ (Team Street), Jazz – * * * ½
Kate and JJ looked ‘20s-tastic in an Andrew Sisters Gone Wild pin-up routine. But while the concept was kitschy fun and it was performed well enough, it felt like the final rehearsal for two talented back-up dancers. Without a Star to lead the way, this routine felt oddly forgettable.

Bottom Six:
Yorelis, Alexia, Ariana, Neptune, Kate, Derek

Who Should Have Gone Home:
Alexia, Ariana, Kate & Darek

Who Actually Went Home:
Yorelis, Alexia, Ariana & Kate