So You Think You Can Dance – Season 5 – Top 8 Results – VIDEO

I have a feeling that is the closest I am going to get to see Evan do a Broadway piece. :down_tb: I know he did a Fosse type of Broadway I mean this type of Broadway.

Damn Melissa is safe. :thumbdown_tb:

Well, there it is. Melissa’s safe because of breast cancer. That’s the unfairness of pimping a dance so heavily based on linking it to an extremely emotional subject. To me, Melissa doesn’t come within miles of the other three women, on either technique or versatility, (though I do like her — I like all eight of them) and I’m pretty sure that she got those votes on the strength of cancer choreography and not her dancing. Since last week she was in the bottom two, and she hadn’t done that execrable cha cha.

I’m sorry. There is something terribly wrong with Melissa being safe and Janette in the bottom 2. Favourtism was shown last night when Melissa and Ade were given the cancer piece to dance. Either all contestants should get a chance to dance something like that or it should be an exhibition piece only.

Booo for Melissa being safe. Janette does not belong there.

Wow Jaime is AMAZING. She has such technique, control, star quality. She moves like water.

that Highlight reel really pointed out how weak this season has been. Not sure if its the dancers, the choreography, or both.

If Evan survives this week, I hope he gets a Tyce Broadway or even a Wade piece. The hummingbird piece reminds me how Wade uses a dancer’s strengths and incorporates it into his routines. Something that none of the choreographers (save Mia) have done with Evan.

Course, there is always the hope that for the 100th episode, no one goes home. Slim hope, but it’s there.

oh no. i don’t like this at all.

Poor Janette she does not deserve to be in the bottom

oh, but jeanine is safe, so maybe i LOVE it!!

EVAN SAFE!! YES!!

OMG OMG OMG Evan is Safe and Brandon is in bottom two. This could be the upset I predicted.

BRANDON

Evan is teflon boy. The guy is going to end up robbing better dancers. He’s just so mediocre compared to the rest.

Brandon in the bottom 2 before Evan?
Haha poor SYTYCD.
It’ll be Evan and Ade in the final 2.

Maybe this year we’ll get a Pocket Idol AND a Pocket Dancer?

Good year to be short!

ETA: Okay, Nigel. Give us Evan-Broadway or Evan-Wade and maybe we’ll let him go home. Maybe.

This could be the year of Pocket winners. :lol_wp:

OMG OMG OMG Evan is Safe and Brandon is in bottom two. This could be the upset I predicted.

Yeah, the upset of the superior dancer for this competition by the cute little hat-boy who can’t dance a harsh, sexy, Latin, hip-hop or otherwise non-40s-musical dance if his life depends on it. Great. That’s what we need in a competition that’s supposed to be all about versatility.

I kind of expect Jason to be the one who goes, though. I don’t see how his zombie is going to beat Brandon’s battle dance. But at this point, anything could happen, I suppose. Melissa is safe, after all. Nuts.

Evan is teflon boy. The guy is going to end up robbing better dancers. He’s just so mediocre compared to the rest.

Aw, but it’s to find America’s ‘favourite’ dancer not necessarily the ‘best’ dancer. If it was the for the best dancer, the judges would be involved. It’s no different than Idol.

It’s a travesty that Melissa is safe and Janette isn’t as well. Melissa got sympathy vote and that sucks.

Melissa was brilliant last night, so I’m glad that she’s safe. I really hope Kayla isn’t gone. She’s such a good dancer and the only girl that nailed both of her routines.

So, what will the strategy be now?

They could:

1)Continue to attack Evan (which hasn’t worked out so well up to this point);

2)Change their collective tune and start giving him praise when it is warranted and cease with the humiliating comments (i.e. “milkshake” or “droopy eyes.”);

or

3)”Arrange” a dance that works with Evan’s style (because if Evan could win this thing – and it looks like he could – they need to start showing off his strengths)

Again, he is my favorite, but I don’t think he is the best dancer of the group.

I usually don’t powervote for these shows. I’ve only power-voted once and that was to make sure someone didn’t get in (to keep Danny out of the Top 2). It’s looking like I’ll need to Powervote next week.

“Aw, but it’s to find America’s ‘favourite’ dancer not necessarily the ‘best’ dancer. If it was the for the best dancer, the judges would be involved. It’s no different than Idol.”

True, but if that’s the case, nobody should have been outraged that Sanjaya made it as far as he did on Idol.

Evan has the girls-who-don’t-care-how-he-dances-they-just-think-he’s-sooooo-cute vote.

It’s weird but I do think the bottom 4 dancers out-performed the top 4. Jason and Kayla were the best as a couple and Janette rocked everything. Brandon’s only weakness was the waltz but his solo rocked and he out-danced Jeanine. Whatevs.

I’d like to see Melissa and Evan go but alas that will not happen. Better dancers are being sacrificed IMO. What are people thinking?

It’s weird but I do think the bottom 4 dancers out-performed the top 4. Jason and Kayla were the best as a couple and Janette rocked everything. Brandon’s only weakness was the waltz but his solo rocked and he out-danced Jeanine. Whatevs.

Just what I was thinking. I guess that’s not surprising when you think about it. Americans are famous for being anti-elitists. Like electing W pres because we’d like to have a beer with him, and those other guys seemed too smart and thus boring or uppity or something, lol. The fact that they might know a lot more about government and the world situation we deemed generally unimportant. Competence doesn’t impress us that much, so why should it be different for dancing?

Wade is incredible

Yeah, the upset of the superior dancer for this competition by the cute little hat-boy who can’t dance a harsh, sexy, Latin, hip-hop or otherwise non-40s-musical dance if his life depends on it. Great. That’s what we need in a competition that’s supposed to be all about versatility.

Well this is your opinion and I respect it but I think Evan is Versatile. I do think though it should have been Ade and Jason in the bottom two. Evan has a coolness when he dances that none of the others have. Also he is the only non contemporary dancer of the guys. I think him being there will make it more interesting.

With all this being said I really think it came down to Brandon shares the same type of fans as Ade and Jason. I think people assumed Brandon to be safe so voted to keep either Ade or Jason. Evan’s style is different and therefore people who appreciate his spectacular dance style would not be swayed to vote for one of the others.

Oh no Katie

Kayla and Jason better be leaving…

So, Katie Holmes can’t sing, she can’t lip sync, and she can’t dance. She is the triple threat.

Katie, that was not dancing. That was stylized walking. Even I could do that – and I have two left feet!

Did Katie Cruise do any actual dancing?
There was lots of choreographed walking
And a kick or two.
But did she really dance?
I’m not convinced.

So, Katie Holmes can’t sing, she can’t lip sync, and she can’t dance. She is the triple threat.

Don’t forget she can’t act

It’s weird but I do think the bottom 4 dancers out-performed the top 4.

Yeah. So true. I couldn’t agree with you more.

So that dance was in Summer Stock and Judy Garland was dressed almost just like Katie Holmes was in this one, perhaps the only real similarity…I’m sure she had a great time though. Kind of a bummer that is was filmed.

And they were all excited about Katie Holmes singing and dancing. lmao. that isn’t dancing and the singing sounded like crap. lol.

Worked hard… is it that hard for her to walk from place to place

Lauren Shanchez, the first MC of the show, says in the very first episode of S1 that the show is looking for, and I quote, “The most dynamic dancer”.

Somewhere along the way it digressed into “America’s Favorite Dancer”.

Sad.

And yes Wade is incredible.

Geez……..that is soooooooo wrong on so many levels!!!!

Janette left! Cruel! X(

Travesty.

wow. I’m shocked. I didn’t think Janette would go.

Janette.. the Daughtry of SYTYCD

Jeanette going very sad very sad.

At least Brandon is Safe.

argh!!! Not fair!! Seriously… Kayla is so forgettable, why so much love for her by the judges?

Woe Jeanette was such a good sport. She remained stoic and classy on that stage. She didn’t shed a tear because she knew that she left everything on that stage and it wasn’t because she wasn’t the best female in the competition BECAUSE SHE WAS! The voting public just got it wrong.

Oh well I will always love you Jeanette and look back on your dances with great appreciation. Nigel was right this put a significant damper on the 100th episode show. The right girl did not go home this time.

argh!!! Not fair!! Seriously’ ¦ Kayla is so forgettable, why so much love for her by the judges?

I’ll take her over Melissa……..

Aw Jason…….love you!

Yay! My favorite is Kayla. Janette is a fabulous dancer but a bit too frenetic for my taste.

You would think after 100 episodes that they would change the horrible theme song….

WTF America?

Well, Nigel, that’s why the manipulative dances, like the cancer dance are a bad idea.

Exactly.

Both my favorites out in one fell swoop means I don’t care anymore. Hope Nigel learns from his manipulation.

I’m done with this show for the season. Y’all have fun.

Matt, I kind of think Evan has the grandma and middle age mom vote (I speak as a middle-age mom) too. I don’t know if he appeals to teen girls so much. Hmmm.

Janette was very gracious in her defeat. I am sorry to see her leave the competition – she definitely added something special.

And Wade IS incredible.

Nerinab, I meant girls (or women) in general. My fault for not being more specific.

Well, Nigel, that’s why the manipulative dances, like the cancer dance are a bad idea.

So much word. It’s extremely manipulative and automatically puts every other dancer at a disadvantage.

But whatever. TV show.

Wow! I got both bonus points and both voted off points, sad, but I cant believe I picked them right. I loved seeing the old dances, they were great. Wades group dance was awsome, but whats with the zombie theme with him. But over all great show.

The elimination of Jason and Janette was the first result this season that I thought was…..off.

I was a fan of Janette and, aside from last week’s hip hop, I thought she was precise and fierce. I am sorry to see Jason go when he was progressing while some other dancers are not digging deep. The zombie hip hop better be on the tour.

Well, Nigel, that’s why the manipulative dances, like the cancer dance are a bad idea.

That pretty much sums it all.
Nigel is as much to blame for her going home as the american public is.

Nigel is as much to blame for her going home as the american public is.

He sure is.

ugh!! if it wasn’t for that cancer dance, melissa and ade would have gone home.

my two favorites have gone home. bah! this sucks.

Evan gets my votes (as a 20-something female) because he’s a different type of dancer. I’m so sick of contemporary domination and you had 3 dancers (Brandon, Jason, Ade) in the same speciality. It gets stale.

I also hate all the criticism at Evan for being short or his appearance. If that was going to be a problem, why did you put him in the top 20 to begin with? It’s the fault of the choreographers, imo, for not adapting the styles to fit the dancers, or for not incorporating the strength of the dancers into the style.

Is Evan the “best” dancer? No. I think Brandon is. But Evan has the most personality of the boys, imo, and when given the opportunity to use it in dance, is far better at telling stories. His solos are always a treat to watch.

I’m sad to see Jeanette go. I like diversity in my dancers – and not since Lacey have we had a ballroom get into the top 4. Bah.

I love Janette and am seriously in shock. She was the best one in my opinion and I thought she would win the whole thing. She has shone every single week. Kayla is the more experienced dancer but she seems so cold. Melissa is a good dancer too but doesn’t exude charm like Janette and Jeanine…….I just don’t particularly get the Jeanine love. She seems middle of the road to me.
The problem for Brandon is that he probably splits votes with Ade. They are very similar in style. Evan stands out because he is unique and yes, he is a good dancer.

I’m super happy that Jeanine is safe, but Evan being the only member of the top 6 never hitting the bottom confuses me a bit. But I love him (and all three top guys for that matter) so much that it doesnt really bother me. As long as Melissa goes home next week all is well in my world. I hope she gets krump next week. and a jive, or something similar.

i loved the episode, although i still dont quite understand katie holmes being involved, im glad to see its for a great cause.

and i loooooove Cat. so much

congrats nigel & co!

Janette was unfortunately a victim of the cancer dance. IMHO that’s the obvious reason that Melissa didn’t get sent packing last night. She’s probably going to sale right on into the final 4 without any problem.

Evan and Jeanine should’ve gone. Just another popularity contest.

silverwings Jul 23rd, 2009 at 10:14 pm

Evan gets my votes (as a 20-something female) because he’s a different type of dancer. I’m so sick of contemporary domination and you had 3 dancers (Brandon, Jason, Ade) in the same speciality. It gets stale.

I also hate all the criticism at Evan for being short or his appearance. If that was going to be a problem, why did you put him in the top 20 to begin with? It’s the fault of the choreographers, imo, for not adapting the styles to fit the dancers, or for not incorporating the strength of the dancers into the style.

Is Evan the ‘best’  dancer? No. I think Brandon is. But Evan has the most personality of the boys, imo, and when given the opportunity to use it in dance, is far better at telling stories. His solos are always a treat to watch.

:clap_tb:

Very well said and I am in total agreement (only I am not a 20 something female, More like a 40 something male)

I thought Melissa and Evan were the weakest two left. Is Evan the only one left who never hit the bottom 2/3 or did he go early in the competition once?

Katie Holmes has not aged well from her Dawson’s Creek days. That was just really strange and seemed really out of place on that show. Especially with some of those fabulous routines from past years.

Is Evan the only one left who never hit the bottom 2/3 or did he go early in the competition once?

Yes. Evan is the only one left that has never been in the bottom 2 or 3.

If you’re wondering if Evan appeals to teenage girls, the answer is yes. I’m a teen, and every week about fifteen of my friends and I watch SYTYCD together, and all the girls say Evan is their favorite guy, but all have different girl favorites. I think it’s just because Evan is so personable and sweet, and comes across as such a nice guy. Not that Brandon and Ade don’t – but Evan embodies the concept of boy next door.

Wow just wow! I’m so sad Janette is gone, she’s amazing!! I think Jason did well last night too! I really like Evan and his style, but truly expected him to be in the bottom. I also agree that Ade and Melissa should have been in the bottom.

However, that dance last night was amazing and I’m glad they did it. Not only was it beautiful, but the trust level on Melissa’s part spoke volumes.

Of the three girls left, I like Jeanine best, but I can not see anyone topping Janette. Nope, nodda.

NOOOOOO JANETTE

Well, their best dancer just got eliminated. I am in total shock and sad that Janette is gone. Actually, I felt a girl would win; and I felt that girl was Janette. What a major disappointment.

The Breast Cancer routine was so intense and special. It is the reason Melissa is still on the show. The fawning over Kayla will probably land her in the final four. Jeanine better not go hope next week.

I did predict that Jason would go home.

Janette should have been final four. She was never in the bottom until she danced with Evan. She goes home and he gets to stay. Evan should have went before Jason. I fear this means that Evan will win. It doesn’t matter how he dances he is still safe.

Janette?!?! What the HECK happened??? Well, I’m soooo GLAD that Kayla is SAFE but I’m expecting Melissa to be eliminated. Oh Gosh, this was like JENNIFER HUDSON being eliminated before on AI Season 3.

Does this has something to do with the “JASON & JANETTE = DATING” thing? Did it hurt Janette’s chances because of this issue?

And I think, I agree with most of here that the cancer routine made a huge impact with the voting. Sympathy votes made Melissa SAFE.

Oh well, I’m glad KAYLA is safe. WOOHOO!

Yes, Katie was not a triple threat, but she has one thing going for her–she can donate and she knows other people who can. I do admire those long legs. Janette got robbed big time.

People voted for the cancer dance last night and threw everything off, stupid Nigel, it’s your fault ‘America got it wrong’ dumb arse.

I am SO sad that Jason is gone, I loved watching him dance from the start and he was really starting to come out of his shell since Caitlin left, too late I guess. Gonna hope Brandon makes it to top 2 now, he’s the only guy I like left.
I really hope Melissa goes home next week, I had thought she was TCO earlier in the season but then changed my mind, now after the ‘random’ pairing of her and Ade PLUS the cancer dance who knows. I like Kayla and Jeanine, i’d rather see one of those two win.

Cannot even comment. Just too dang disappointed. Janette was a fabulous dancer. I’ll miss her

I hate that Janette was voted off – she was my favorite, BUT I think it is wrong to blame the “Cancer Dance” for the reason it happened. It’s not Melissa and Ade’s fault that they got that dance and it is wrong to blame them, Tyce or the producers.
There have been plenty of dances in the past that centered around some special topic/theme and they haven’t been blamed. I just don’t agree with that sentiment here.

In my opinion Janette got paired with Evan and that was the kiss of death for her. He made her look ordinary (the first time all season). I thought he was by far the weakest male last night. I enjoy his solos, but for me he leaves a lot to be desired in the partnering department. He’s getting the “Clay Aiken” votes. Sadly, I’m worried that he might win it all.

It’s the fault of the choreographers, imo, for not adapting the styles to fit the dancers, or for not incorporating the strength of the dancers into the style.

I disagree. The premise of the show is to get dancers adapting to different genres. Also a dancer’s ultimate job is to perform the choreographer’s vision. If the dancer can’t be authentic to the genre/choreographer’s vision then they really should be shown the door IMO. They certainly won’t get far in the real world of dance. These kids need to be able to adapt to whatever the choreographer dishes out. At least that’s the only way they’ll be able to make a living dancing. Just trying to be real…..

Just what I was thinking. I guess that’s not surprising when you think about it. Americans are famous for being anti-elitists. Like electing W pres because we’d like to have a beer with him, and those other guys seemed too smart and thus boring or uppity or something, lol. The fact that they might know a lot more about government and the world situation we deemed generally unimportant. Competence doesn’t impress us that much, so why should it be different for dancing?

Good point. I can’t blame those who vote based on likeability however. Favorite dancer, personal connection and what not. What gets lost in translation is the effort it takes to make it look easy. I think that Janette, Brandon and Kayla, for example, danced with ease and such strong technique. In tonight’s solo, I marveled at how light, light, light Kayla danced. That’s extremely hard to do requiring a lot of flex in her feet and ankles. That’s the kind of thing the judges notice, same with the spring and power Brandon executes with such short preparation. I appreciate things that I know I cannot achieve personally as a dancer. Different criteria for me.

I’m glad I’ll get to see two of these dancers again next week at least.

sigh

Miss Chaos said

Wow! I got both bonus points and both voted off points, sad, but I cant believe I picked them right.

Quick! What are tomorrow’s lottery numbers?

Oh Gosh, just as I feared, Janette went home. I knew this would happen when she got Evan as a partner. He can’t keep up, and makes the routine forgettable. The worst part is, that he didn’t go home. Just not fair.

Loved Wade’s group routine. Was this an old routine he brougt back? He did something similar to this on Dancing with the Stars. He sure likes his zombies!!!

I can not believe how lame Katie Holmes was. For all the advance pimping she got. She didnt even dance. Just walked around and kicked and lip synched the song so terribly.

I literally screamed at the TV when Janette was eliminated! I completely agree with Mia and Nigel-she was my favorite dancer by far and she could do anything, anything, ANYTHING. Sure Kayla is good, but she isn’t as fun and quirky and you only recognize her for her grandparent’s and Mary’s love of her long lines. Booooring every week. Her hip hop dance did surprise me last night but either way she deserved to go home despite the tears Grandpa would have cried.

As for the guys, I expected Evan to go home. I don’t think he is that personable, he just has a cute Broadway style and that’s about it. Like Kayla, he’s good, but not that good, and you get tired of it after awhile. Why he wasn’t in danger, I’m not sure but I wanted Jason to stay. Like someone else stated, Ade and Brandon are similar but Ade stands out sooo much more and has a lot more strength therefore a better dancer. I would have liked to see Brandon go home instead of Jason but it is a very hard choice so I probably would have frowned at either of them.

Sigh. I predict Melissa and Brandon will be eliminated next week. Melissa is a fabulous dancer, but I don’t see her being in the top 4. And I would say Evan would be eliminated, but he appears to have a large fan base since he has not been in danger yet, so I’m sure that will stay true. I guess we’ll have to find out!

So, Katie Holmes can’t sing, she can’t lip sync, and she can’t dance. She is the triple threat.

See, the thing is that Katie is deeply involved in the DizzyFeet organization. She has given time and money so that dance and music will be available for all children by use of scholarship money. Her performance was mediocre at best, but she did have the guts to perform.

Judy Garland was one of the most talented entertainers of the 20th Century! I expected more.

What I would have like to have seen is Carrie Ann, Adam, and Nigel perform a routine which included Katie Holmes.

Now, that would have been something to see. Alas, we got to see a Judy Garland tribute which was inadequate.

In my opinion Janette got paired with Evan and that was the kiss of death for her. He made her look ordinary (the first time all season). I thought he was by far the weakest male last night

I disagree. All of Evan’s other partners all were safe. Randi was safe until she no longer was with Evan. Kayla who has been in the bottom week after week was only safe the week she danced with Evan. Honestly I thought Jeanette looked and did amazing last night. I think the problem was her and Evan had the least exciting dances. Went 1st. and Melissa had the cancer dance which though she did dance it very well the power of the piece and back story made everyone forget her bad cha cha and solo. And If you are going to blame Evan for her going home people have the right to blame the Cancer dance.

I loved the group number at the beginning and seeing Wade dance in Ramalama but the Katie Holmes segment was so unimpressive after all the pimping it got, she hardly danced at all just strutted around with her butt cheeks showing. Didn’t Tyce say she’d been working really hard on that for months? And it wasn’t even live! What a waste of time, i’d rather have seen another great routine from a previous season than that.

Janette saved this season for me and now that she’s gone… everything seems so BLAH.

I don’t think he is that personable, he just has a cute Broadway style and that’s about it. Like Kayla, he’s good, but not that good, and you get tired of it after awhile

I know this is your opinion and I respect it but obviously there are many people who thought differently. I am one of those people and I don’t get tired of him.

I’m so pissed!!!!! Janette IS by far the best dancer (among the girls at least) she has this likablility factor none of the others have, she was always fierce and flawless in her performances, I just don’t get it, this season is ruined for me, she should at least have been top 4. It’s also sad to see Jason go home, he was growing and growing every week.

Melissa should go next week or I’m done with this show. In the boys side, I still don’t get what you see in Evan, he’s so average, and he’s only good in Broadway because he’s goofy, he has no credibility in sexy or more serious dances. He also has to go next week.

Now I don’t have a favorite, but I like Jeanine the most for the girls and Ade for the boys, Hopefully they’ll make top 2.

I’m so mad, Damn you America, damn you.

WOW!!! Sad to see Janette go…especially over Melissa ( whom I absolutely adore) I just felt Janette really brought it every week! But… it is a competition! It’s obvious that Tyce D’s routine helped save her this week..but, It doesn’t change the fact that they put their heart and soul into that dance last night. smh @ all the Nigel hate… Those two deserved those votes!!!

However, I say Jeanine or Kayla FTW!

I liked Katie Holmes. It is obvious she prepared for this and took it seriously.
Evan is a great dancer. He did not bring Jeanette down. It is tough for her style of dance to make it far, the solos tend to be uninteresting. The cancer piece really helped Melissa, Janine also had a memorable night. This leaves Kayla and Jeanette. I believe it came down to their solos. Kayla’s was better.

I disagree. All of Evan’s other partners all were safe. Randi was safe until she no longer was with Evan. Kayla who has been in the bottom week after week was only safe the week she danced with Evan. Honestly I thought Jeanette looked and did amazing last night.

You just proved a point. As long as American was voting for couples, Evan’s partner was safe. Once that was no longer true, the women he was partnered with suffered (I think he’s pretty much bulletproof due to his fanbase).

For sure, being partnered with Evan on a night when someone else had the cancer dance was death to Jeanette. It was a bad night to have a less than stellar showing.

I don’t hate Evan–I actually like all of them quite a bit. But he and Jason are the least versatile dancers and should have been in the bottom two.

You just proved a point. As long as American was voting for couples, Evan’s partner was safe. Once that was no longer true, the women he was partnered with suffered (I think he’s pretty much bulletproof due to his fanbase).

I proved nothing. You are wrong. Kayla was last week and America was not voting for couples and she was safe. Prior to that she was always in the bottom 3 and this week she was in the bottom two even though she actually dance the best last night. So her dancing with Evan saved her even though America was voting individually. On top of that she was not a fan favorite being in the bottom most of the time so Evan did help keep her safe.

You just proved a point. As long as American was voting for couples, Evan’s partner was safe. Once that was no longer true, the women he was partnered with suffered (I think he’s pretty much bulletproof due to his fanbase).

Great observation. I agree.

Catching up. Well….that was bullshit.

I was really hoping for Kayla to go home, and as much as I like Evan, he’s reached his maximum potential and needs to go. Poor Janette…

I like the final three guys a lot. Each one of them. Next week will be my sad week.

Well that was shocking. Or was it?

I’ll be honest, I love Janette, but her solos were pretty boring and her consistency throughout the season may have hurt her. For whatever reason, people at home love a story arc where the contestant “grows” or “develops” over the course of the season. And Mia calling Janette out as her personal favorite was probably the kiss of death. I think it was voter complacency as much as anything.

I don’t think that cancer dance saved Melissa. I think a lot of people just love a beautiful ballet dancer. I know I do. What can I say? I guess I will stand firmly in the minority here. But I actually love all four of the women who made it this far, and I didn’t vote last night, so don’t blame me!

One last observation then I’m truly done – if freaking Janette, as awesome and versatile as she is, can’t win this show, they’re never gonna have a ballroom winner.

I hope Jeanine kicks all their asses the next two weeks, but I’ll rely on watching MJ’s videos of her to see if she does. I’m so over this season. Tonight was the last straw for me.

Tyce said that he had been working with Katie Holmes for about a year. I bet I could do that with some flips, spins, and piss and vinegar if I had a year to practice. lol. Poor Katie, the triple threat just turned into the triple disaster.

jeanine

and janette was my least favorite so uh…heyheyhey! i would have preferred melissa though. much more.

jason. no big shocker.

Janette’s oust reminds me of Chelsea’s shock boot last season too. I guess ballroom dancers don’t pull that much voters? It seems like the contemporary ones tend to last longer at least for the girls. I bet DWTS will get Janette.

Well my opinion will NOT be popular, but I’m not terribly sad to see Janette go…yeah she was terrif every week and blah, blah freakin blah, but who cares! Kayla was better and she proved it last night. Janette has two moves only in all her solos, the hip shake and leg extensions. BFD. She is very good and has personality, but she puts me off for some reason. I prefer the more understated and graceful Kayla. And whomever said Jeanine should’ve gone…uh NOT! She’s better than Janette and Melissa combined and SHOULD win it all! Shame on you Nigel for saying you wanted Janette to win! Jeanine and Kayla SHOULD be in the Finale…no question about it.

I was sad for Jason leaving…I just don’t care enough about Brandon as I didn’t for Janette. Jason has a certain charisma and quite good technique. Brandon is just a great hip hopper and I’m not that impressed to be honest.

I bet DWTS will get Janette

:clap_tb: YES YES YES I HOPE I HOPE

Seriously. people! We’re going to blame Evan, Kayla, Nigel, Tyce, Mia, or whoever else for Janette’s elimination? The bottom line is that Janette is gone because we didn’t vote-vote-vote for her. If you are a fan and you gave up after a few calls, split votes with another contestant, or DIDN’T VOTE AT ALL – well, look in the mirror. The dancers do their best – the rest is up to us.

TopCatDC Jul 24th, 2009 at 12:35 am

Seriously. people! We’re going to blame Evan, Kayla, Nigel, Tyce, Mia, or whoever else for Janette’s elimination? The bottom line is that Janette is gone because we didn’t vote-vote-vote for her. If you are a fan and you gave up after a few calls, split votes with another contestant, or DIDN’T VOTE AT ALL – well, look in the mirror. The dancers do their best – the rest is up to us.

So THIS^^^^ :thumbup_tb:

At this point, voting is based on who connects with the audience, not who is or isn’t a great dancer. For me, Evan is the most appealing (and I’m in my sixties), partly because I’m so sick of contemporary dancers–where were the B boys this year?

Poor Katie Holmes. Posing and an occasional kick isn’t dancing, and even her lipsyncing was off.

Disclaimer: I am bitter.

So, explain to me why the “cancer dance” was so special? If you start off ANNOUNCING it is a dance about breast cancer, play some emotional music….well, duh! I just don’t see anything magical about that dance.

Also, I love Ellen, but what is she doing on the judging panel? Her pimping of Evan is why he got voted for. I admit, I voted for Brandon because I was more fearful he would get voted off…I just never DREAMED it would be Janette…

I bet DWTS will get Janette.

Now THAT I would like to see.

Several hours after the fact, and I’m still pissed off.

I’m too addicted to these competitive shows. I need a break.

* Ramalama featuring a slew of SYTYCD alums and choreographer Wade Robson – VIDEO

Ramalama was the Top 10 dance in Season 2 (although, it only featured 9 dancers at the time because one was slightly injured).

This time, Ryan was replaced by Wade leaving 8 of the Season 2 dancers:

Guys: Travis, Benji, Ivan, Dmitry (and Wade)
Girls: Donelle, Heidi, Martha and Allison

Wade won an Emmy for choreographing this piece (tied for the win with Mia and the Bench Routine that Travis and Heidi performed).

After watching Janette’s solo, no doubt that she was eliminated. She should’ve stepped up with her solo. It was just plain simple. Kayla’s solos were getting even stronger, Jeanine’s solo were as usual consistent but same steps all the time and Melissa doing a ballet tricks and stuffs. Janette should have danced it like Chelsie’s, Heidi’s and Lacey’s of the past seasons. Remember, it’s America’s fave DANCER. Janette should have offered more though.

Well, I voted like crazy for Jason, and clearly my votes went for nothing, so don’t blame me.

if freaking Janette, as awesome and versatile as she is, can’t win this show, they’re never gonna have a ballroom winner.

Benji Schwimmer was a ballroom winner. He was certainly not my cup of tea (if we had to have a ballroom boy win, what was wrong with PASHA?? I love Pasha. I voted like crazy for him, too.)

And that brings up something *I* care about — Pasha was not the best at hip hop or contemp, but he was so far above everybody else at anything ballroom it wasn’t funny. Plus he did pretty darn well with everything else. No, he wasn’t as good as Danny at contemporary stuff. No one has ever been as good as Danny at contemporary stuff. And he wasn’t as good at hip hop as Hok. But Pasha’s ability at the Latin dances, especially, and also the waltz and quickstep and other dances not really in his playbook, for me, meant he would’ve been a credible winner. Danny, too. No, his jive wasn’t as good as Pasha can do. But his contemp… Sublime. Oh, and his fox trot, too.

Besides, we all get to decide what the important factors are to us. I love what Jason and Evan bring to their dances, and I don’t care if Philip Chbeeb is better at hip hop and Max was better at the ballroom stuff.

Meanwhile, Brandon, Janette and Jeanine have shown they’re good at everything that I love them, too.

Kayla, Melissa and Ade, not so much. And if anyone is a partner killer, I think it’s Kayla. She lost Max early and now Jason. Kupono is the only other one in the top ten to be the kiss of death for two partners, and one of those (Randi) took him out too, so I’m not sure that counts. Janette is the first partner Evan’s had who left the week he danced with her, Jeanette gets the kill for Phillip, Jason gets the kill for Caitlin, and Ade, Melissa, Brandon and Janette have never lost a partner.

So, will Ade and Melissa get each other again next week? Will Mia create yet another contemporary piece for the two of them wherein he is blind and Melissa is deaf and they have to communicate with each other by signs he can’t see and music she can’t hear and everybody weeps over how sad it is and how we should all get all choked up over the problems of the blind and deaf in the world?

And their other dance will be another waltz, because heaven forfend Melissa should have to do hip hop or quickstep or mambo.

Sorry. I’m bitter.

Re: solos — Melissa’s solo was definitely the worst of the night to me. Among the girls, I would say Jeanine had the best solo and Janette was second. Kayla’s looked kind of limp and unformed. Girl has talents, but choreography is not among them.

Ah! No wonder Natalie wasn’t on the Ramalama routine. She wasn’t on the original one. I forgot about that.

Janette was good, but I never really got the impression that she had a huge following. I would love to have her at the finale though. Kinda reminds me of Allison’s boot the same week 3 seasons ago.

I wanna see Jeanine, Kayla, Evan and Brandon on the finale. Melissa and Ade need to go.

Now that Janette’s gone, it means Jeanine has a bigger chance of winning! Jeanine FTW!

Matt, I kind of think Evan has the grandma and middle age mom vote (I speak as a middle-age mom) too. I don’t know if he appeals to teen girls so much. Hmmm.

Yes. He does. I’m a teen girl and I love him. :razz_wp: I’d go into a lengthy spiel as to why, but I’m too shocked at the Janette oust to say much right now.

I love Pasha. I voted like crazy for him, too.)

^^ Me too.

Janette was the ONLY one who I could see winning. She had the talent, the charisma, and has the most memorable dances. Keep in mind that there has only been 1 female winner, so Janette would fit in great as the ballroom female winner. I am now torn for Kayla and Melissa, whom I don’t care for. I suppose Melissa should go just because she is less boring to watch than Kayla, in my opinion. Final 2 girls should have been Janette and Jeanine. I’m peeeeessed.

i dont think jeanine’s ballroom can touch chelsie’s.

Can I vote Katie Holmes off?

Sad for Janette, but that girl will do okay for herself.

And with Jason, well it was matter of time, he is not in the league of Ade or Brandon I am afraid. And well Evan is being saved by his fan base, surely?

First of all, I was sooo glad to see “The Hummingbird and the Flower” again. It is still my favorite routine in 100 episodes, and the reason I went from casual SYTYCD watcher to addict. It’s my Fantasia/Summertime moment of SYTYCD. Plus, Hok rocks Also loved seeing “The Bench” again, and thought it was incredibly cool to see Wade Robson be a part of his Ramalama number!

About the elimination….well, I feel conflicted. Janette was my favorite girl and my favorite to win, so I’m sad/in shock……but Ade is my sentimental favorite (I LOVE his solos!), which, combined with the fact that I actually really liked the “cancer dance”, makes it hard for me to find someone to blame. Was SYTYCD the appropriate platform for Tyce’s dance? maybe, maybe not, but (to me) it was a powerful piece and I am glad I had the chance to watch it.

Anyway, I guess I can’t complain too much since I didn’t get to vote because I was at a Coldplay concert.

With Janette gone, I think Jeanine will win, and deservedly so. Well, unless one of the guys sneaks in, which is possible seeing Evan’s tremendous popularity, but since this has been such a strong season for the girls, I really hope a girl (Jeanine, now that Janette is out) wins. As for the guys, I know Evan is popular and Ade/Brandon probably split votes, but my ideal top 2 guys would be Ade and Brandon.

I disagree. The premise of the show is to get dancers adapting to different genres. Also a dancer’s ultimate job is to perform the choreographer’s vision. If the dancer can’t be authentic to the genre/choreographer’s vision then they really should be shown the door IMO. They certainly won’t get far in the real world of dance. These kids need to be able to adapt to whatever the choreographer dishes out. At least that’s the only way they’ll be able to make a living dancing. Just trying to be real’ ¦..

And I understand that, trust me, but this is also a reality show and it needs to be entertaining. Watching some of the highlight reels and seeing the repeats of “The Hummingbird” and “The Bench” just shows you how different the choreographers work now. They would pull in the dancer’s strength or personality into the style or into the dance. I just haven’t seen any choreographer really do that this season, especially for Evan.

Again, maybe they didn’t have to because we had like, what 70% contemporary for the top 20? There was no diversity.

As of right now we have two contemporary guys (Ade/Brandon) and two contemporary girls (Jeanine/Kayla) with one “other” per gender (Melissa/Evan). Melissa may get some votes for being “different” if she can get her solos up to snuff. Evan doesn’t vote split with the other guys, either. So we’ll see what happens next week.

I hate that Janette was voted off – she was my favorite, BUT I think it is wrong to blame the ‘Cancer Dance’  for the reason it happened. It’s not Melissa and Ade’s fault that they got that dance and it is wrong to blame them, Tyce or the producers.
There have been plenty of dances in the past that centered around some special topic/theme and they haven’t been blamed. I just don’t agree with that sentiment here.

Nobody’s blaming Melissa or Ade. But there’s a HUGE difference between a dance centered on “a topic or theme” and one that’s centered on such a gigantic, emotional button-pusher as breast cancer, and is then followed up by a long period of extended weeping into the camera by all the judges. The world is full of “topics.” But only a few of them really really push our buttons to the point that virtually everyone loses all judgment. And one of those is cancer.

Simply. Not. Fair.

Now, that would have been something to see. Alas, we got to see a Judy Garland tribute which was inadequate.

It was so inadequate that it didn’t occur to me until it was over that it had *been* a Judy-Garland tribute. Even though when I was watching it, I thought, Hey, they sure stole that choreography. I didn’t actually realize what was going on until Nigel said he was glad that Joey Luft was there to see it. Well, I guess it was probably good that he was — showed him that compared to some big stars of today, his mom truly was spectacular, lol.

I guess this is the “pay to dance” aspect. And “pay to sing.” Sorry, Katie, but if you’re hoping this will get you some musical roles…ain’t gonna happen.

Actually, since she’s a professional (supposedly) I would think she’d be embarrassed to take up national air time doing something so embarrassing and boring, especially when there were so many truly talented dancers right on site who could have entertained the world with something spectacular and gotten some much needed exposure for themselves in the process. *That* would have been “helping young dancers” as I guess she wants to do with her donations.

Should have had Suri dance and sing. That would have been cuter, at least.

er and Evan had the least exciting dances.

In my opinion, the only reason the “shut up!” dance was unexciting was because Evan was either unable or unwilling to carry it off. (Maybe he thinks that being anything but twist-your-bare-toe-in-the-dirt-adorable will mess up his boy-next-door image or something?) Janette was dancing “shut up” with all her might. And he wasn’t dancing that at all — he was just doing steps, not portraying the intended character of the dance at all, and looking darned boring doing it. …

Same for the Latin. Again, I don’t know whether he can’t do Latin or whether he just won’t sacrifice his boy-next-door image to put on any real sexy smoulder. That slow Latin dance with no smoulder was a killer. But obviously he has many fans who are determined to vote for him no matter what and couldn’t care less whether he takes on the *dance’s* character because they’re so enamored with Evan’s own persona. That would be all very well in some circumstances, but it seems to me that being in this contest — and being a professional dancer — is all about taking on the choreographer’s/director’s vision, albeit while putting a bit of your own stamp on it. I don’t see him taking on the character assigned to him ever, except in the cases where it’s exactly in his own wheelhouse. That’s not the point of the show, in my opinion.

Also, it makes no sense to use Randi’s failure to depart early as evidence that Evan doesn’t hurt any of his partners. At that point, people were voting for the couples, and with Evan in that couple, they never ended up in the bottom two so that she *could* get voted off. And the Evan vote is based on Evan as a person and a solo dancer on his own, in my opinion, not Evan as he fits into the premise of this particular contest.

If Janette was Nigel’s and Mia’s favorite, why the hell did they load on the waterworks to keep the infereior Melissa? They were bound to know that would save Melissa at the expense of a more well-rounded dancer. Now what was a great season is ruined for me. I can’t wait for Melissa (and Ade, for that matter) to GO HOME!

And Katie Holmes stunk. Joey Luft’s head must be spinning.

In related news, Heartless is up to 40 on the pop iTunes charts!

The only thing I want to say is that I am still SO HAPPY to have seen Ramalama again. It’s been my favorite ever since it was performed the first time and it was really nice to have Wade(!!!!!) added to the dance.

That, my friends, is GOOD choreography. Something that has been severely lacking this season, in my opinion.

Ade and Brandon are both contemporary dancers, so they will no doubt split votes next week, which means Evan should make the finals based on that alone.

I always had Janette in the finals, so now I’m not quite sure….. I think Melissa will be in the finals, as she is the only non contemporary dancer left (other than Evan). Jeanine and Kayla will split votes.

So I am guessing Melissa and Evan in the finals for sure. The question is who will join them?

Though I’m sad to see Janette go, and I thought she was the best girl left, I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of them leave at this point in the game – this may be the most even match-up of any SYTYCD season – much more so than in previous seasons. I didn’t even bother voting, because I really liked them all, but knew someone had to go, so it seemed kind of pointless.

Seeing Brandon in the bottom though may inspire me to vote for him – he is the best guy left, by a mile. The girls are more even, though Jeanine and Kayla are both stronger than Melissa.

My pick would be Brandon to win the whole thing, with Kayla coming in 2nd and being the top girl. But I have a feeling Jeanine will do it instead, and may even win the whole thing.

I also agree with mj’s comment about the cancer piece – that pretty much guaranteed Ade and Melissa a free pass. It was very manipulative. EW’s commentary made a point of how manipulative it was, too, though it was, nevertheless, a well done dance routine.

And I know Evan is very sweet and likeable, but I think he has gotten way too many free passes on this show. And he totally got the sympathy votes last night after the judges attacked him.

First of all, I was sooo glad to see ‘The Hummingbird and the Flower’  again. It is still my favorite routine in 100 episodes, and the reason I went from casual SYTYCD watcher to addict. It’s my Fantasia/Summertime moment of SYTYCD. Plus, Hok rocks Also loved seeing ‘The Bench’  again, and thought it was incredibly cool to see Wade Robson be a part of his Ramalama number!

Completely agree! Hummingbird and Flower is my fav routine – I just love the way the music and dance go together so brilliantly and beautifully in it. Also loved The Bench (which I didn’t appreciate as much the first time around, but loved it for its simplistic intricacy this time), and Ramalama is just all sorts of crazy Wade Robson awesomeness Those three moments were definitely the highlights for me!

Uncle Nigel isn’t happy about all the picking on Katie that’s going on (from twitter):
2.
I’m trying to figure out why Katie is being judged as a dancer. When a star throws out the opening pitch no-one says “ooh crap pitcher!”about 6 hours ago from TwitterFon

Actually, they do.

3.
@brandonlk she’s not in competition and she’s not a dancer. She’s a charity worker. Don’t be ignorant!about 6 hours ago from TwitterFon in reply to brandonlk

True, but you’ve been raving about her for weeks. You should have set the expectations better. A few “Katie Holmes is going to dance for us, and bless her heart, she’s doing it for charity and we think that’s just so brave of her” and we would have been prepared.

5.
I’m going to ban all the Katie haters. You make me sick. Your attitude stops ‘stars’ doing charity work. Understand why she did it CHILDRENabout 6 hours ago from TwitterFon

Nigel is going to have a busy week banning that many people.

6.
Why hate on Katie? She’s had no dance training and did this for publicity for the charity. Everyone lip synchs when they’re dancing. MJ tooabout 6 hours ago from TwitterFon

Yes, but MJ was talented at lip-synching and dancing. And you got Katie for the freak factor, so what do you expect?

1.
Maybe we could get DVD music re-written so that it sounds similar? Diane Warren called me she has written a goodbye song for season 6!about 6 hours ago from TwitterFon

Okay, now he’s just being mean.

Okay, we’ll stop picking on Katie if he stops threatening us with Diane.

Meanwhile, Ramalama was the best thing about last night. They need to get Wade to do more choreo. They should bring back past contestants for more often to dance on the results show. That’s fun. Katie dancing? Not really fun.

Besides, we all get to decide what the important factors are to us. I love what Jason and Evan bring to their dances, and I don’t care if Philip Chbeeb is better at hip hop and Max was better at the ballroom stuff.

Yes.
People vote for all sorts of reasons. I program my Dial Idol before I even watch the show, so specific performances don’t even enter into my votes. I vote for my favorite/s, plain and simple. Once in a while something moves me to get up and change my vote percentages but it takes something really strong. And yes- Evan is one I vote for. I am so tired of contemporary flailing I could spit and I love what he brings to the stage.

Katie Holmes was pathetic and I think suffered greatly from all the hoopla build up this performance received. Had they not gushed about it so effusively for so long we likely wouldn’t have paid as much attention to it.
IMO she is the money behind Dizzyfeet Foundation and she must have paid a hell of a lot to be allowed to exhibit that. Nigel is livid on his twitter as I guess a lot of people felt very disappointed.

Not everyone lip synchs when they dance but they should have least put on a headset mic to make it look plausible….Especially since that was hardly breaking a sweat

Katie dancing? Not really fun.

I thought Katie’s “routine” was passable. It wasn’t much, certainly not very difficult, but then my expectations were pretty bare minimum to begin with (her last theater role was in a play, and I don’t really know much about her musical theater background, in either dance or singing).

I thought the lip-syncing was clearly a move to make sure she didn’t suck too much live – sort of like a security blanket. Sure, a lot of performers do it (Paula, anyone?) But the performers then have to understand that, by not taking the risk of singing live, we, the audience are going to be underwhelmed by the level of talent on display, because that talent wasn’t really technically on display, live.

Similar to when I hear Britney Spears – I know she always lip-syncs, so I have a very low opinion of her actual singing ability. Sing live, and sing well, and maybe I’ll change my opinion.

I think you have many different types of groups watching this show and depending on which group has the most viewers will determine the outcome.

You have dancers watching and they are the ones who know about technique and performance and can see past or through personalities and appreciate dance for dance.

You have non-dancers who have no knowledge of technique (I count myself among this group) except what they have learned on DWTS or SYTYCD and they connect more to the people who are the dancers.

Some people watch for choreography and vote for the best choreographed dance (even if they don’t especially care about the actual dancers).

You have the casual viewer (of which I’m sure there were many on Wednesday night due to President Obama’s press conference) who found themselves very moved by the BCD (and it WAS moving and beautifully danced).

Yes, this is a dance competition, but as Silverwings said, it is a reality show too and the producers have created this monster that may have gotten away from them this year. Popularity is definitely a factor. We can see from the comments above that Evan appeals to many people of all ages/genders.

And in the end, it is JUST a television show. It isn’t curing cancer (though it gave some exposure to it this year) or helping to disarm Iran. It is entertainment pure and simple. If Evan had gone home last night, I would have been disappointed, but I would have tuned in next week to see how this all ends up.

I don’t consider myself a simpleton or an anti-elitist ( I have two college degrees, thank you very much). Painting the public as stupid because Janette got voted off is laughable and doesn’t present the person saying it in a favorable light.

Were we just Punk’d by Katie Holmes..? I could tell it was going to be a trainwreck — it was obvious that the producers didn’t want her “performing” in front of a live audience.

It’s commendable that she donated her fee to the Foundation, I’ll give her that. It’s just a shame that she phoned in her “performance.”

I would much rather have had the winners of the past seasons do a group dance than to have sat through the ill-conceived mess of a music video that was Katie Holmes “performance.” Or why not bring in some of the kids who might benefit from the proceeds of the Dizzy Feet Foundation — show us what your organization will be doing!

Great idea SilverLeMay, it would have been far better to bring in some of the kids that have excelled as a result of the Dizzy Feet Foundation or even have Katy do a number with them – that could have brought the house down.

I think the “problem”was they hyped this performance for so long people were expecting something on the level of the competitors which wasn’t Katie’s fault

It’s commendable that she donated her fee to the Foundation, I’ll give her that. It’s just a shame that she phoned in her ‘performance.’ 

Fee my hiney! I think TomKat ‘paid’ the producers by way of a huge donation to showcase Katie.

Too bad Nigel doesn’t see the irony in the situation–he gets mad at Ameriker for voting off the best dancer, but he’s pissed at Ameriker for calling bullshit on Katie’s performance.

I have nothing against Katie–I feel sorry for her, if anything–but they did her no favors by hyping her performance like that. I so agree with the poster above that they could have framed her performance differently and people would have taken it in the appropriate spirit.

Is there any “Masterclass Lady” counterpart for this show?

Oh I miss me some Judy Garland. I grew up on the Judy Garland Mickey Rooney lets put on a show in the barn old black and white movies…my bonding time with my Mom…and this little tidbit from Katie was just so NOT respectful.

I am sure everyone’s intent was good but I wish someone would have had the courage to say…no way. There will never be another Judy, just like there won’t be another Liza (and Liza never copied her Mom).

Nigel is so often full of himself and thinks that he likes it therefore the world should follow. So WRONG. He, and the show, laid a huge egg with this one.

I also want to say that I think Nigel is a horse’s patoot concerning his men shouldn’t look “gay” when they dance. If they are gay and have effeminate mannerisms that is who they are…no one needs to “hide” who they are, ever.
Go suck, Nigel.

“”"Right now, my two favorite dancers are Brandon and Jeanine. I hope they make it to the finals.”"”

Me to me too me too – I was getting so nervous as my sister sent me a text telling me that Brandon was in the B2 – you kinda predicted it Mj and that same dance that lost Janette to us, almost lost Brandon. I would have been so sad

“”Painting the public as stupid because Janette got voted off is laughable and doesn’t present the person saying it in a favorable light.”"

I do not think anyone has painted the public stupid, just easily swayed by tears and sadness. It shows the public really has a heart, not that they are stupid. It is sad that Janette was voted off when she has done so well, but really, Mel has done very well herself.

Hey Nigel — way to make Jason feel special.

I found Janette passable. Her ballroom dancing was better than everyone else’s this season (since she was the only ballroom dancer other than Max), but she has been vastly out-ballroom-danced by other ballroom dancers in previous seasons (Anya/Pasha/Dmitri/Chelsea all better ballroom dancers.) Really don’t understand Nigel’s reaction.

Brandon=Ade=Brandon — please, enough of the technically training contermporary dancers already.

Why hate on Katie? She’s had no dance training and did this for publicity for the charity. Everyone lip synchs when they’re dancing. MJ tooabout 6 hours ago from TwitterFon

Yes, but MJ was talented at lip-synching and dancing. And you got Katie for the freak factor, so what do you expect?

Plus, they had to keep shifting to camera shots that didn’t have her face in them while she was singing, so you wouldn’t notice how bad her *lip synching* was.

I don’t think Nigel would get so defensive if Katie (read: Tom) hadn’t given him a gazillion dollars for his foundation in return for Katie getting a chance to not sing and not dance and not impersonate Judy Garland on tv. If she paid for the opportunity to do this, why not just say in the beginning that she’s an amateur and a big Judy Garland fan and she was thrilled to be doing this as a way to publicize the DizzyFeet Foundation….instead of talking up for weeks how great it was going to be … Oh, I forgot, Tom probably paid for the pre-performance talk, too.

Wow, didn’t expect this. If Evan make the finals I’m not watching. I hope Jeanine and Brandon make it all the way. Now I wish they give Melissa a crump routine, and pair her up with Evan. Everyone else has had to do something way out of their style.

Here’s the real Judy Garland doing “Summer Stock” (“Get Happy”) back in the day.

The whole thing last night probably would have gone over better if they’d used Judy’s hologram with the live male dancers (who were terrific). Katy could have done the introduction and left it at that, and she’d be being celebrated today instead of vilfied. Why in God’s name did they over-hype her the way they did? Maybe she and Gokey can go on the road together.

Lucy, the following comment has the undertone of labeling people as stupid:

“I guess that’s not surprising when you think about it. Americans are famous for being anti-elitists. Like electing W pres because we’d like to have a beer with him, and those other guys seemed too smart and thus boring or uppity or something, lol. The fact that they might know a lot more about government and the world situation we deemed generally unimportant. Competence doesn’t impress us that much, so why should it be different for dancing?”

I agree with Nigel. Don’t get this reaction to Katie either. The fact she highlighted a charity I never heard of, for a cause I have strong feelings about is enough for me.

Well, now that Janette (boo) and Ade are gone, here is my final four:

Brandon (best boy)
Jeanine (best girl, should win)
Kayla
Ade or Evan. Ade is a better dancer, but Evan is adorable and has a huge fan base.

And the only thing that bothered me about last night, (because I lurrrved all of the past moments and dances–TRAVIS! WADE), aside from Katie Holmes, is that Nigel actually came out and said that Janette’s ouster ruined the night for him. Are you KIDDING ME? Way to make Jeanine, Kayla, and Melissa feel like crap.

I guess that’s not surprising when you think about it. Americans are famous for being anti-elitists. Like electing W pres because we’d like to have a beer with him, and those other guys seemed too smart and thus boring or uppity or something, lol.

Well I would argue the guy running, Mr. Flip Flop vs W the second time, was not any more competent.

I think America does go for the underdog in many situations and in terms of reality TV competitions, going for the underdog is a reaction to blatant pimping which is in fact a sign of intelligence, that people realize they are being manipulated and don’t like it. Most Americans also prefer a level playing field and the concept of fairness or at least perception of fairness.

Hence the fact Evan is still in the race and Kris Allen won American Idol.

On Canadian Idol I’ve never perceived any blatant pimping or any pimping at all by the judges or the producers, the contestants have pretty much won or lost on their performances and their ability to grow a fanbase, but Canadians do vote regionally which well is exactly the way our federal elections go, bwah.

Like I wonder what would happen if people just voted on the performances and the judges made no comments for just one show.

I think America does go for the underdog in many situations and in terms of reality TV competitions, going for the underdog is a reaction to blatant pimping which is in fact a sign of intelligence, that people realize they are being manipulated and don’t like it.

Not voting for someone or disliking someone because they are better at what they do then others is not a sign of intelligence to me. As an American I want the best to win, we are a capitalist society afterall. The US of A is all about compeition. Grant it, there are different ideals of what is “best”. Some people put more value in an outgoing personality or style (Evan), versus unmatched technique (Brandon). But to vote for someone just because Nigel said not to is kind of childish in my opinon.

Unless Melissa got ousted despite the cancer dance, I was going to be disappointed by the female ouster. I think that all four are strong, and that Melissa is the least strong of the group.

On the guys, I literally was watching Jason during the performance show and thinking, you know, I’m enjoying this, but I just don’t think that he can win. So I felt fine about that result.

I rather like Evan, btw. I don’t get the vibe off of him that I sometimes got off of Randi, that he was unwilling to stretch himself to try new styles or different vibes, and he’s drawn a lot of dances that are way outside of his comfort zone, and generally done well with them. I also think that the judges are screwing up by being too harsh on him—people clearly like him, and they are risking a backlash.

I like Jeanine and Kayla both a heck of a lot more than I did Janette. I found Janette boring, frankly. That said, she was better than Melissa (who’s solo sucked) should have been safe last night.

Maybe its just me, but I think Jeanine dancing with Brandon hurt her. They are only like 1 year apart, but he just exposed all of her flaws during that pop jazz routine. The judges were so right when they said she just “kept up with him”. BUT as we know, ability is not what makes one win a reality show….. sooo……… I dunno… lol I do think the fact that Brandon has the best technique will probably hurt him in the end, so I’m thinking either Melissa or Evan will win since they are the only non-contemporary dancers left.

I agree with Nigel. Don’t get this reaction to Katie either. The fact she highlighted a charity I never heard of, for a cause I have strong feelings about is enough for me.

I think its a general bias against the Cruises. I saw one twitter that brought Tom Cruise into it for what reason I have noooooo idea…….

I’m pissed that Janette got voted off, but not so much about Jason. I think Ade and Brandon are better dancers.

I’m also annoyed about the Katie Holmes “performance”. After I watched her, I turned to my husband and said “Was that it? Did she dance? Did I miss it?” At best, it could be described as “rhythmic walking”. And positioning her performance as a tribute to Judy Garland was particularly silly. Judy Garland was a great singer, and she could really dance, too. Rent “Summer Stock” (or any of her other movies), and you’ll see that she could go toe-to-toe with the likes of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. I’m sure her son was rolling his eyes in the audience last night.

It would have made more sense to have Katie come on the show, speak (live) about her commitment to Dizzyfeet, aand then have a real singer/dancer do the tribute. It’s nice that Katie wants to get involved in this organization, but she should do it in a way that makes sense.

Lucy, the following comment has the undertone of labeling people as stupid:

‘I guess that’s not surprising when you think about it. Americans are famous for being anti-elitists. Like electing W pres because we’d like to have a beer with him, and those other guys seemed too smart and thus boring or uppity or something, lol. The fact that they might know a lot more about government and the world situation we deemed generally unimportant. Competence doesn’t impress us that much, so why should it be different for dancing?’ 

Well, that’s your judgment of what I said.

Let me reiterate what I meant (which is kind of silly, since it was really a sort of throwaway statement about — Hey, maybe this is analogous! … but still).

As Americans, we have a pretty strong record of preferring somebody likable to somebody who may appear more competent but less likable. And we are anti-elitist to the core, for the most part. And maybe that extends beyond politics.

When it comes to SYTYCD, plenty of people are describing their votes for Evan in terms I consider analogous to this.

Although some(like dhunken, for example) argue that Evan definitely *is* the most competent, in my reading those folks are few. Mostly, I’ve read again and again that people vote for him because he’s the cutest and the most likable, and many writers explicitly state that they don’t care that he’s not as versatile or as widely competent a dancer because they *like* him best. A lot of people flatly state that they are not voting for the most competent but for their favorite, the one they deem most likable.

You’re the one who’s stating that because I’ve said that a lot of us voters are “anti-elitist” and “vote based on likability,” I mean voters are “stupid.”

Does being an anti-elitist or voting for people based more on likability than on skills — which many people acknowledge that they do, both in politics and on SYTYCD — make you stupid? I don’t know. I think it means that people like the likable and are anti-elitist enough to consider superior competence as only a secondary criterion. That seems pretty indisputable to me. I may disagree with voting on the basis of likability, but I disagree with lots of people about lots of things, and that doesn’t mean that I automatically think they’re all “stupid”!

i think ellen, mia’s fawning over evan’s imperfect face and their speeches about him being ‘Special’ was as much of a BS emotional farce as giving the cancer piece to Melissa and Ade. if anything, you have to blame evan for bringing down Jaenette….if not for his luckluster dancing, she would have been able to create memorable dances for the viewers. instead kayla was on fire w. jason and thus able to connect. bottom line: evan is to blame LOL

ummm, Katie should stick to promoting this wonderful foundation w. her speaking , not dancing/singing…or whatever the hell that was last nite. after she was done, i turned to my mom and said “realy?”. all this hoopla surrounding her appearance and she basically embarasses herself. in an evening where we saw two emmy winning pieces and great solos by some terrific dancers…..we got stuck w. dawnson’s creek the musical. yawn.

As Americans, we have a pretty strong record of preferring somebody likable to somebody who may appear more competent but less likable. And we are anti-elitist to the core, for the most part. And maybe that extends beyond politics.

Though I agree with your basic premise, likability is an important factor in choosing someone especially in a reality competition. If you just picked the most technical winners who are boring you would lose viewer and bottom line it’s about money. Many times you hear people say that person has the “it” factor. Most of the time those people are not necessarily the best. Evan has that It factor. Which goes beyond just his talent. I do think Evan is competent in his dancing (outstanding in his style of dance) but what makes me see him as my favorite over the other is he draws me in when he dances. His charm, humor and his ability to connect to the to me when he dances is something that the others don’t do for me. (Except Jeanette, who was my favorite girl)

There is something to be said that Evan has a strong fan base and it goes beyond the aw sucks aura that he possess. He is also a great dancer (IMHO) and the fact that he is outstanding in his own style which is something unique and different then I have seen on SYTYCD make me that much more drawn to him as a dancer.

I hear the judges constantly say dancing is more then just technique. It is about connection, emotion, and style. I believe what Evan lacks in technique compared to the other dancer he more then makes up in connection, emotion and style and that’s where his is superior to the others. Again IMHO

btw, im not getting the whole “evan has personality thing”….his solo dancing is very cutesy jazzy but he’s not much of a talker, joker, etc……is it his face? since when did being short and unattractive equate to having a personality?

if you want to talk about personality….see Janette…now SHE had it

okay my rants against evan are done…for today

Lucy,

I appreciate your clarifications.

I certainly didn’t mean to condemn you personally or to ascribe those views to you. When I read that statement, it seemed to imply that people voting for Evan were, in fact, being stupid. i.e. people who voted for W didn’t appreciate intelligence, the people voting for Evan are the same type of people who vote for W, therefore, people voting for Evan don’t appreciate intelligence/competence. Perhaps my logical jump was to big and for that I do apologize.

As you said, it was my interpretation of your comment. That’s all. On the TWOP boards there are some very strong comments about Evan’s voters and I resent some of the implications. Again, I apologize. And it is just a TV show and I’ll keep that in mind, too.

That’s all. On the TWOP boards there are some very strong comments about Evan’s voters and I resent some of the implications. Again, I apologize. And it is just a TV show and I’ll keep that in mind, too.

And just as an FYI: My guidelines here are very similar to the TWOP guidelines.

At TWOP you can’t react in a defensive manner to posters who criticize your favorites. Same rules apply here. And I ban posters too.

What goes on at TWOP has nothing to do with the topic at hand, so please stick to the subject.

Please read my guidelines:

http://mjsbigblog.com/?page_id=1172

PS: Posts that will get you banned at TWOP WILL GET YOU BANNED HERE AS WELL.

I agree with you, MJ, that the “Breast Cancer” dance was what kept Melissa and Ade in. I’m pretty sure that there was ZERO chance of either of them going home last night after the judges going on and crying the way they did. Which is why I voted for the first time ever. For my girl, Kayla! And I am SO glad I did, since she was so close to going home!

I just started watching the show this season because one of my online friends is a really big fan and so she has gotten me hooked. I adore Kayla! Janette was a great dancer, too…but there’s just something about Kayla that just draws me in.

As far as the Breast Cancer dance goes, I thought it was a good dance, but it didn’t really grab me the way it seemed to grab everyone else. Personally, I was MUCH more affected by Kayla and Kupono’s “Addiction” dance a couple of weeks ago. Mannnn, I got CHILLS while watching that one!

Nerinab,

No problem.

I work in Washington. If I went around branding everybody and everything I disagree with as “stupid,” I would very soon have nothing to say and nobody to talk to!

For the record — I love Evan! I would pay money to see Evan dance (not Latin, or hip-hop, or contemporary, but, you know, that thing that he does so well). I don’t want him as one of the top two on this particular show. But,

dhunken

, I’m quite sure he’s going to be!

(Wish I would have actually hit the “bold” symbol instead of the “quote” symbol….Oh, well.

lets be honest…ANY emotional piece (father dying, cancer, dead daughter etc) and any Wade/Mia Michaels routine will land you SAFE.

was it fair that the judges faves Janette and Brandon got Wade’s cool routine this season????

was it fair kayla got Mia’s addiction piece right before the top ten, when she had been in the bottom 3 for weeks straight ??

that’s just how the show rolls….any given week, somebody has an advantage

For the record ‘” I love Evan! I would pay money to see Evan dance (not Latin, or hip-hop, or contemporary, but, you know, that thing that he does so well). I don’t want him as one of the top two on this particular show. But,

dhunken

, I’m quite sure he’s going to be!

Believe it or not I would be happy with any of them winning!

Spoilers are up at TWoP. They include dance pairings and styles.

I’m not sure if we are allowed to spoil here outside of the SYTYCD spoiler thread, so I won’t.

Kirsten Jul 24th, 2009 at 2:11 pm

Spoilers are up at TWoP. They include dance pairings and styles.

I’m not sure if we are allowed to spoil here outside of the SYTYCD spoiler thread, so I won’t.

Thanks! The only comment I will make until the spoiler thread comes up is….interesting!

MJ,

I did read your posting guidelines before I posted, and I was undecided. I know you like debate, and you don’t like trolling. I didn’t intend to be defensive, but I guess I came across that way. My apologies to you, too.

I bet DWTS will get Janette.

I was just thinking this earlier today before coming back to this thread. If they do, I guess I’ll have to start watching DWTS! LOL.

Not voting for someone or disliking someone because they are better at what they do then others is not a sign of intelligence to me. As an American I want the best to win, we are a capitalist society afterall. The US of A is all about compeition. Grant it, there are different ideals of what is ‘best’ . Some people put more value in an outgoing personality or style (Evan), versus unmatched technique (Brandon). But to vote for someone just because Nigel said not to is kind of childish in my opinon.

As you said it depends on what your definition of great dancing is as well – that varies greatly depending on whether you have a favourite genre and your knowledge about each – same applies to singing.

In the case of Cook and Archuleta for example you had 2 equally talented singers but in different genres – my favourite was already gone and so my 2nd choice was Cook – I voted for Cook because I wanted to make sure he won because Simon’s blatant pimping of Archie was pissing me off. In that case Idol would have been well served with either winner and so would Idol have this year.

And I thought maybe sending a message to Simon to stop this garbage and make the field at least appear level would benefit him in the long run as well as me as a viewer. Apparently that message was not received loud and clear. In the end we are all arguing about reality shows and not voting in an election on important issues. This is entertainment to forget about the important issues for an hour or two. Sadly some of us probably put more thought and analysis into this than important issues, bwah.

Now in terms of the SYTYCD, and I have been a critic of Evan, but if the people want a Broadway dancer to win, in part because some people just like Broadway dancing or they like Evan for both his dancing and his persona and you really can’t dismiss the persona from the dancing in terms of the kinds of dancers who make it to that next level, and/or because people feel Evan has been unfairly criticized whilst other dancers who did not necessarily dance better or may have even been worse got high praise aka pimping, in an otherwise very talented bunch of dancers, why not. This is not like voting for Paris Hilton to win over Celine Dion. Or voting for some clutz to win over Baryshnikov.

Evan could surprise everyone at the end of the day. Being a recent fan to the show, what has the record been vis a vis winners vs those dancers others thought should have won and where their careers went after that.

The only alum I know about, besides Travis, is that cutie Blake who is now part of Canada’s SYTCYD and doing a great job at it too.

For example if Evan is that popular and charismatic with a great percentage of the audience, that means the tour should sell quite well.

As for this season, I really can’t pick who I want to win at this point so it will be fun to watch and that’s fine I can’t vote anyway.

Evan could surprise everyone at the end of the day. Being a recent fan to the show, what has the record been vis a vis winners vs those dancers others thought should have won and where their careers went after that.

The only alum I know about, besides Travis, is that cutie Blake who is now part of Canada’s SYTCYD and doing a great job at it too.

This is about the epitome of what happens to any of them, winners and other finalists.

I don’t think there’s much distinction between the winners and the others when it comes to getting jobs. So far, I haven’t noticed the winners doing much better.

What they do after seems to depend quite a bit on what their specialties are and, I expect, how versatile they can be. Quite a few seem to get work in various shows and films hither and yon and roundabout or as choreographers if they have talent and ambitions in that area. The choreographers who work on the show tend to call on quite a few of the finalists to work on their stuff — so they call on the ones who they’ve decided are good at their styles.

A significant chunk — three — of the handful of ballroom dancers who’ve been on the show have gotten the DWTS gig. They’ve all been finalists but not winners.

Winning gets you some cash, but really it seems that the exposure and contacts you get from being on the show is what really makes the difference — plus whether whatever it is you do is in high or low demand in the very low-rent, limited-opportunity world of professional dance.

I expect Evan to get some of whatever good gigs come up in the Broadway style that he does, just as the hiphop specialists have gotten gigs in their area.

I would have put all my $ on Janette to win the whole thing so big surprise.That said, her solo was really, really weak. I like Kayla alot and didn’t want her to leave either. While no personality, she has the best technique of all the girls.I like Brandon and was happy to see Jason go. Evan is the only one with that extra something so I can see him making it pretty far.

Best dancers: Brandon, Kayla
Most unique: Evan
Underdog: Jeanine

Blake provided my fav moment ever on both Idol and SYTYCD when he told off one of the judges. I can’t remember if it was Wade, Tyce or ? but man what a moment. I thought the judge was going to deck him. I always like the runner up the best – Danny, Katie from last year. I have never had my fav win this show. ;(

Blake provided my fav moment ever on both Idol and SYTYCD when he told off one of the judges.

I agree I also think he had one of the most spontaneous emotional moments on the show when he danced in Mia’s class and broke down and had the whole class crying. There was no back story no pimping just him dancing. The emotion came from the dance itself. Now that is dancing at it’s best.

One last observation then I’m truly done – if freaking Janette, as awesome and versatile as she is, can’t win this show, they’re never gonna have a ballroom winner.

Benji was ballroom. His specialty is West Coast Swing, which falls in the ballroom genre.

We’ve had 2 contemps, a ballroom, and a hip hop, so that about covers all the genres. However, we’ve only had 1 girl and I think a girl will probably win this year too. I’m starting to think that Kayla is going to win.

For whoever posted that Katie Holmes didn’t have any dance training……I do not think that that is true. I believe she has been dancing since high school. Tyce said he has been working with her for almost a year so that is also dance training. She doesn’t have good dance training but I know that I have read that she has been dancing for years.

Uhm, the show has stressed many times before that the winner gets the title of “America’s Favorite Dancer”, so what’s the problem?

Uhm, the show has stressed many times before that the winner gets the title of ‘America’s Favorite Dancer’ , so what’s the problem?

THIS^

I realize I’m checking the pulse of a long dead horse but I’ve watched the Mellissa and Ade’s contemporary piece again several times. I’m sorry, if you took her scarf off and skipped the whole background story you really wouldn’t get that it was about breast cancer. You could just as easily interpret it as a couple in love…she’s crushed that he cheated on her … couple gets back together again. Nary a tear in the audience for that.

It was all manipulated to get Tyce an Emmy nod next year.

I have stayed out of the Evan debate but I had been thinking about a quote:

David O. Selznick said of Fred Astaire, ‘I am a little uncertain about the man, but I feel, in spite of his enormous ears and bad chin line, that his charm is so tremendous that it comes through even in this wretched screen test, and I would be perfectly willing to go ahead with him [in a movie then in the planning stage].’ 
Excerpted from Fred Astaire, by Joseph Epstein

Unlike some, I don’t find Evan cute in terms of what I think a cute guy is. He is somewhat balding already. Yet there is something about him that makes you want to watch. I am not sure if he could be a leading man on Broadway, but I believe there is a career in musical theater.

It wouldn’t hurt if Evan took some singing lessons. The charm of Mr. Astaire could be a learning tool for him.

Having said what I did, Istill do not want Evan to win.

Thx for getting the katie holmes dance. I don’t watch this show, but I have been curious about what people have been talking about.

Was her hair longer in the dance than in the interview part? What’s up with that? She filmed the dance bit, then got a hair cut, then returned and put on a sleeveless dance leotard for the interview, even though the dancing part was over?

Frankly, I don’t see the logic of actors who can sorta sing and sorta dance doing those things unless they can use their acting talent too. There are so many people who could have done a tribute to Judy Garland, and sang live, better than that. She has no power to belt, like Judy did, at all. It wasn’t horrible; it just wasn’t noteworthy. She walked around a lot and showed her legs in sheer black hose, and sometimes she got carted around a bit. the singing was decent but nasally. And you are so right about the lip synching.

It reminded me of Christina Applegate doing a song from Sweet Charity on the Tonys. Okay dancer, mediocre singer. But you know that in the actual show she was awesome at the acting part. Katie?