SYTYCD 14 Top 8 Perform – Live Blog and Performance VIDEOS

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE: TOP 8 TO 7: Top 8 contestant Kiki Nyemchek (R) and all-star Jenna Johnson (L) perform a Jazz routine to “Pop Hd” choreographed by Travis Wall on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE airing Monday, August 28 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX. ©2017 FOX Broadcasting Co. Cr: Michael Becker

Join me here tonight for the Top 8. Who goes home tonight? Make your predictions in the comments.

Tonight the Top 8 will dance with each other.

Top 8 and All- Stars- Call Me Mother
A RuPaul number! Wow. This number is so fierce. I love it. These dancers have to show so much personality here. This might be my favorite opening routine of the season. The dancers are just serving so much realness. Whoever that was being dragged out on that cloth… damn. Was that Jasmine? Fabulous. I could watch this number go on forever. This might be the best thing that happens tonight, sadly. If you missed it, rewatch it on youtube when you get a chance.

Mark Kanemura choreographed that. WOW. Awesome. They need to put him in the regular rotation of choreographers. I loved that. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

One more dancer leaves tonight. Our judges are still Nigel, Mary, and Vanessa (who is wearing an unfortunate blonde wig). Mary looks fabulous tonight.

1) Koine and Marko- Jazz by Mandy Moore-Handclap
NO STORY! God. It’s this song. There’s something about this number that feels like there needs to be more people on stage. It feels weird as a duet. And Honestly, I think the choreography isn’t fast enough or energetic enough for the music. I normally like Mandy Moore’s choreography, but I didn’t like it here. I thought Koine and Marko did fine with what they were given… they just weren’t given much. Mary says it was so much fun, and well synchronized. Mary loves Koine’s spirit, and says she made it look easy. Simply fabulous! Nigel says it was fun and energetic. She thinks Koine has great lines, and the routine showed off her personality. Vanessa thinks they have great chemistry, and Koine has crazy control, and she’s a performer with dimensional performances. Koine says Marko is the best partner. She wouldn’t want anyone else. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO
You can SUPERVOTE for Koine!

2) Taylor and Robert- Hip Hop by Luther- Bodak Yellow
Taylor says she has to find her inner “ratchet”. You’d think after so many seasons as an All-Star, Robert would be better at Hip Hop. Like, Taylor is out performing him. Not because she’s particularly good at hip hop, but because she’s really unleashing her sexuality this time, and it kinda works in this dance. Robert looked awkward. Nigel says this is Luther’s season. Nigel thought Taylor was a nice quiet dancer, and says who are you tonight? He thinks she danced it brilliantly. Vanessa says she thinks they were hard on Taylor last week, and that Taylor brought the fire this week. She thinks she was fierce and really brought it. Mary says its a wonder she didn’t burn the whole place around. She says no one saw this coming, and Taylor took another step up the ladder. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO
You can SUPERVOTE for Taylor!

3) Lex and Gaby- Contemporary by Mandy Moore-Work Song
Lex is finally in his style. He’s very giggly. Lex Nation! Lex’s movement is crazy. Like. Good lord man. He’s basically an All-Star in this style. He’s easily in the top 5 best Male Contemporary dancers we’ve ever had. Ever. And I don’t mean that in the way Mary says it every week, I honestly believe he’s like right up there with people like Travis and Robert. I loved that. Vanessa says she was happy that Mandy choreographed an insane routine hin his style. She was so sucked in and pulled into the world. She loved it. Mary says she knew Lex would annihilate it. His strength, balance, the leaps…his performances come up every week. The turn on one foot. It went from one great moment to another. Someone who is headed toward the finale. Nigel liked the low spin into the arabesque. Nigel says no matter what happens, Lex will be a highly respected dancer. He thinks Lex is mindblowing. ETA: “Work Song” is by Luke Wade from The Voice season 7! – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO
You can SUPERVOTE for Lex!

4) Kaylee and Cyrus- Cha Cha by Val- Respect
Oh god. I’m scared that Kaylee is doing CHa Cha with Cyrus. Cyrus is playing a house husband. I gotta say… this number is a lot of fun. Sure, the technique isn’t perfect, but Kaylee and Cyrus are bringing a ton of personality, and there are some really cool looking moves in there. That floor drop was pretty awesome. Kaylee was pretty sexy in that too. I liked that way more than I thought I would. Mary says she’s been hard on Kaylee the past few weeks, but is so surprised and blown out of her mind. She loved the confidence and how grounded Kaylee was. Mary thought Kaylee was amazing tonight. NIgel praised Val for using Kaylee’s strengths, and it came across really well. Nigel thinks Cyrus should be on Dancing With The Stars. Good try. Vanessa says Kaylee crushed that. Her confidence, and she made cha cha like she’s never seen it before. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO
You can SUPERVOTE for Kaylee!

5) Mark and Comfort- Broadway by Spencer Liff- Criminal
Comfort is a criminal of love. Mark starts the dance tied to a chair. Man we’ve had a LOT of super sexy numbers tonight, and this is another. Mark and Comfort are just SLAYING the sex appeal, and chemistry. Honestly, Mark is pretty good in this style. Comfort is just great at creating a character and owning it. I really liked this one too. Nigel says Spencer was living out his fantasies through this routine. Nigel notes we’re getting a little raunchy tonight, and thought Mark was great in that routine, and had great lines. He doesn’t think anyone would have thought he was a hip hop dancer in that, and says Mark had a vast improvement this week. Vanessa says they crushed it, and she wasn’t expecting it. Mary says Comfort is a hot cup of tea. She says Mark has become quite and actor, and grows every week, and says Mark has become a Broadway baby. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO
You can SUPERVOTE for Mark!

6) Kiki and Jenna- Jazz with Travis Wall-Pop HD
Kiki got Travis. The story is that they got into a fight before Kiki went to work, but he got a promotion, and Jenna wants his check. Props to the hair and makeup team on this dance. And the set designers. This number looks great. A very weird dance. I wish there was more dancing and less posing. There are some really cool tricks thrown in, and Kiki does about a thousand lifts with Jenna. I didn’t love the choreo. I normally love Travis’s work. I think he swung for the fences here, and he just got to first base. Vanessa says Bravo to Travis Wall for memorable performances and routines. Vanessa says Kiki’s amazing, but Jenna does something to her. She loved Jenna’s eyes. Vanessa says she’s been seeing Kiki grow. She loved it. Mary agrees. THere were some crazy moments int he routine. She loved the stop and start movement. She thought Jenna was very strong, and Kiki keeps blowing her mind every week. Mary says Kiki is emerging as a star. Nigel says it’s a memorable routine, and incredible to see how angled they were. He calls Jenna one of the best dancers we’ve ever had on the show. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO
You can SUPERVOTE for Kiki!

7) Dassy and Fik-Shun- Contemporary with Jaci Royal- Breathe
Jaci says Dassy has to find muscles she hasn’t activated before. Fik-Shun calls this the bounce back week. DAssy looks incredible in that one piece. There are some really cool moves here, and imagery created through positioning. I like this choreography, even if it seems somewhat easy for Dassy. There are moments that are just really cool to look at. That spin was incredible. Kinda creepy, actually. Mary says it was interesting choreography, and says they made it look so easy. She thought the wheelbarrow lift was fabulous. She thought the ending was out of this world. Nigel says they both did a good job. Vanessa says Dassy blew her away, and says she wowed her and made it look effortless. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO
You can SUPERVOTE for Dassy!

8) Logan and Allison- Lyrical Hip Hop with Chris Scott- Say You Won’t Let Go
Chris wants to find room for Logan to show off. They’re playing husband and wife in this. I know that Logan is a contemporary dancer, but he really can move like a hip hopper. He does a lot of B Boy moves in this. I would say that they do seem more like brother and sister in this dance, but I think they still killed the choreo. That’s just a connection thing. Nigel says it was beautiful, and doesn’t remember his marriage being like that. Maybe that’s why he’s divorced. Nigel says Logan is a brilliant dancer who will go a long way no matter what happens on the show. Vanessa says Logan is an insane dancer, and thought it was so sweet, and he has he talent to back it up. Mary says it was sweet, innocent, playful, and he was born to do this. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO
You can SUPERVOTE for Logan!

The All-Stars- Truth
The All-Stars come together for a Jaci Royale piece that includes glass. That was a cool routine. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

9) Lex and Taylor- Jazz by Spencer Liff- An American In Paris
Lex and Taylor met a year ago at the National Dance Awards, and they were both hired for the same tour. Spencer wants this to feel like a fantasy dream sequence. They’re both birds. One caged, one wild. These two are almost a power couple. Lex has incredible movement, again, and Taylor looks fantastic. Her lines are incredible. She’s also still owning her newfound sexuality. It’s like a truly caged beast has been set free. We’ve now got a super confident and sexy Taylor every routine now. I love it. This was an adorable routine. Standing O from the judges. Vanessa says she’d pay good money to see that on Broadway. She says it’s an insane duo, and it’s kinda mindblowing that they’re paired together. She says they transformed, so dynamic and grounded. So beautiful and gorgeous. Mary says there’s nothing to hate, nothing but love. Taylor’s legs go on forever. Lex… so strong coming out. It reminded her of Hok and the hummingbird routine. Nigel says one of the best routines ever on the show. One thing is for sure, neither of these two are going home tonight.  – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

10) Koine and Kiki- Salsa with Val- Danca Molengo
Apparently #DaddyKiki is a thing. Koine is out of her style, but Kiki is not. That should really help Koine. Kiki may not be great at every style, but he is a fantastic ballroom dancer. I think he’s probably a future DWTS pro. Koine is doing better than I expected here, no doubt due to her partner basically being an All-Star in this style. She’s also someone who has really started to embrace this sexual beast inside her, and it shows in this dance. A pretty good routine. Mary screams. She says it was hot, and was expecting it from Kiki, but Koine had an authentic feel too. So much cuban motion she looked like a ballroom dancer. She puts them on the hot tamale train. Nigel says Val is bringing a different level to ballroom on the show. Nigel says Koine looked like a natural. Really good job. Vanessa says they were absolute fire together. It was insane. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

11) Logan and Kaylee- Contemporary with Travis- Shadows
Kaylee thinks it’s cool that they got paired up because they’re known for both being so unique. Travis wants to bring a shadow to life. Kaylee is Logan’s shadow in this. Kaylee is wearing blue face paint. This is an incredible pairing because both dancers are so unique and weird. Kaylee is really embracing this dark shadow thing. She’s so creepy and intense at times. Logan is great, but Kaylee stole that for me. Nigel says Travis is a creative genius. Nigel says Kaylee had a tough job being Logan’s shadow. He says Logan was brilliant. Vanessa says Logan’s control is mindblowing, and Kaylee was entrancing. They killed it. Mary says it was absolutely brilliant, and Kaylee took it to another place again. She says Kaylee is having a great night tonight. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

12) Mark and Dassy- Hip Hop with Chris Scott- Tilted
These two were both in the bottom last week. They’re both hip hoppers and they’re in their style now. Chris says he wanted to give them a challenging routine. They play discarded mannequins. They have umbrellas in this. DAssy broke 3 umbrellas. lol. Another great routine. A lot of fun. I love Chris Scott’s choreo, and he made both dancers shine here. Very fun dance that I’ll actually remember. Damn. This elimination is going to be BRUTAL. Everyone deserves to stay after tonight. Vanessa says she hasn’t seen an umbrella routine since Singing In The Rain. She says it was so great, and she says they crushed it. Mary says it was the cutest thing ever. She loved the number, the hair, the outfits. Nigel thought it was a great fun routine. Nigel says the last four routines made him miss the old days when we had a top 20 and says it was beautiful to see them all together. – Click to Watch Performance VIDEO

RESULTS. I’m not looking forward to this. I’m scared.

THE BOTTOM THREE ARE: Kaylee, Dassy, and Koine. Wow. Damn.

I hate to say it, but I think it has to be Dassy. Two weeks in a row in the bottom. Koine and Kaylee haven’t been in the bottom yet. I’m afraid Nigel doesn’t love Kaylee that much, but the fair thing is to send Dassy home.

Nigel says they are unanimous. Nigel has Kaylee step forward first. He says she’s unique, and strong. He has her step back. Oh no. Dassy comes forward. He says she has a magical presence, he says she’s made her country proud. Koine comes foward. Nigel says whatever she’s been given to do, she’s brilliant at. Nigel doesn’t know why she’s in the bottom three. Nigel saves Koine first. It’s down to Kaylee and Dassy.

Nigel says that we’ll see them again on the tour. The person leaving is Dassy. Dassy is eliminated. Kaylee is saved for another week. I thought Fik-Shun would take Dassy deeper in the competition, but the talent this season is just crazy. I think they made the right call. Even though I love Kaylee, if she’s in the bottom again next week, I’d say the most fair thing would be to send her home (or Koine, if she was in the bottom two weeks in a row). – Click to Watch Elimination VIDEO

So who is going home next week? I have no idea. I thought tonight was so amazing… I can’t even imagine what the bottom three will be next week. Fik-Shun says Dassy ended on a high.

Join me next week, which is Labor Day. I’ll be here. Will you?

About SirMac 241 Articles
Contributor to mjsbigblog.com. EIC of macthemovieguy.com, Contributor at houseofgeekery.com. Holds a BA in Film from the University of Central Florida.