‘So You Think You Can Dance’: The Best And Worst Dances From The Top 10

Erika Brooks Adickman | June 24, 2010 7:27 am

Last night we watched our Top 10 dancers try to booty shake their way into our hearts. While both Christina and Ashlee compared the complex lifts in their routines being on a roller coaster, the show as a whole felt more like a ride on the merry-go-round. It was fun, but nothing really exciting was going on. Jump below to see our picks for the best and worst numbers of the night, the train wreck of the evening (and it isn’t Billy Bell’s krumping), and wonder if Tyce will ever choreograph anything other than a Fosse inspired Broadway number.

Before we dive into the the best and the worst, let’s touch on some other highlights of the evening. We saw that Adechike and Lauren took the judges notes from last week to heart, and really upped the ante with expressing their emotions while dancing. The judges felt that both Robert and Kent were “eaten alive” by their female All-Star partners. And while the judges found much to critique with technically perfect dancers like Alex Wong and Billy Bell, it seems that ability does not factor in when Jose Ruiz is dancing. It’s understandable that his great energy puts a spell on both the SYTYCD audience and judges alike, but we’re not sure that makes it okay that he clearly is not up to par in this competition. Mia even told Jose, “You were so wrong, but you were so wrong that you were so right.” Billy, Adechike, or Alex would never get a pass on a performance like that.

THE BEST: Ashlee and Mark to Annie Lennox’s “Wonderful” (choreographed by Travis Wall) We’re not sure if it was the music, the choreography, or the fact that Mark danced this number with his shirt unbuttoned; but this totally worked for us. We don’t care if Nigel said this dance didn’t really fall under its intended category of Jazz. We do think that for Ashlee to stay in the game she’s going to have to be a bit more memorable. When she’s not on camera, we forget she’s in the competition. Does anyone else have this problem?

THE RUNNER UP: Alex and Lauren’s Broadway routine, choreographed Tyce Diorio. Tyce, we thought we told you a few weeks ago to give Fosse a rest!

Why isn’t this number one? Yes, Alex is a top notch dancer, but when you watch actual Fosse choreography, Alex is definitely lacking in what the judges called “containment”. If you have never seen Bob Fosse’s routine from The Little Prince mentioned on tonight’s show, have a look. You’ll never be able to look at Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” the same way again. For further Fosse reference (and enjoyment), do check out Fosse’s infamous Rich Man’s Frug dance from Sweet Charity if you have the time.

THE WORST: Billy and Comfort Krumping (choreographed by Lil C). We actually don’t blame Billy who, for a classically trained dancer, gave 100% in this dance. We felt the problem lied first and foremost with the choice of song, “So You Think You Can Krump”. It was static, it didn’t build or go anywhere. Therefore, the dance didn’t hit any sort of crescendo and the choreography felt flat. We’re just glad that Billy and Comfort made it through the dance okay. That graffitied picnic table looked like it could collapse at any moment!

THE RUNNER UP: Melinda with Ade (choreographed by Stacey Tookey). We’ve nicknamed this Mother Earth/Mankind routine “The Giving Tree”. While the judges seemed impressed with Melinda’s technique, the real train wreck (of possibly the entire night) was Melinda’s dress. It reminded us of something out of the Project Runway Grocery Store Challenge.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT went to judge Mia Michaels who ragged on Melinda’s Mother Earth dress by saying, “This dress is a lot of things for me, but then again I’m wearing a bedspread.”

WHO MIGHT BE DANCING FOR THEIR LIFE : We believe Christina will definitely be in the bottom three again, as will Melinda.

Do you agree? And who do you think will be unlucky number three? Talk to us! Comment below.

(photo via FOX)