SYTYCD? Best of the Best: Top 10

Posted by Kim on August 19th, 2007 filed in So You Think You Can Dance, TV

Bonus Video: Favorite Group Dance

Season 3 – Top 10, “The Moment I Said It”

I’m sure I’m the only one who won’t name Ramalama as their favorite group dance. Nope, there’s just something about this one that resonated with me. The music is absolutely hypnotizing, the costumes and lighting set the mood, and overall it was just sort of disturbing, but in a good way. It really reminds of The Lion King meets The Matrix (the movies…I swear I wrote this before I saw either of those routines), with Danny playing the leader of some post apocalyptic tribe (at least that’s my interpretation) which seemed to be a good sequel to Wade’s anti war solos the night before. I’d love it if Mia gave us some insight as to what was going through her head when she created this.

Oh, and Danny was F-E-I-R-C-E. Homeboy was totally in character; he seriously deserves an award or something for this. None of the other dancers could’ve played that part not only because of his skills but just because he’s taller than all of them to begin with.

The only thing I didn’t like about this initially was that I couldn’t tell who anyone was, except Danny, and Sabra because she’s so short. If you look closely everyone is paired with their originalish partners, which is cool. In he two pictures I posted above (care of Pasha’s myspace) you can see what their costumes looked like a little bit better; they even made some of their hair black. Don’t get any drool on the Kameron picture, please.

Seriously, you guys have no idea how many times I’ve watched this. In a row.

10b. Season 3 – Lacey & Danny, Samba

Mia said this was the sexiest dance of the season; I would go so far as to say it was the sexiest dance ever! And I give much of the credit for that to Dmitry who did an amazing job choreographing the piece. Seriously, after seeing that, he should be hired as a full time choreographer on the show. And Lacey and Danny sizzled on stage together, even if their chemistry didn’t feel 100% authentic.

There are so many moments in this routine that I love….the poses, when they reach behind and grab hands, that arm thingy they do in the middle, all of Lacey’s footwork, and of course the crawling. I could name more but I have to stop sometime.

10a. Season 1 – Artem & Melissa, Paso Doble

Okay, I had to renumber this list SO many times and I still got it wrong! This was supposed to be number 10, and the Samba was supposed to be #11. Oh well, they can share the same spot. Moving on to the performance…..

This is the BEST Paso (and the first, if I recall correctly) I have ever seen on this show, or any show at that. Sure, other couples have cool lighting and dramatic opening choreography, but the Artem and Melissa didn’t need any of this. And this performance was ALL ABOUT ARTEM. She wasn’t bad, but she looked like she was struggling to keep up with him at times. But just look at his poses and stances throughout this performance, especially the hip rotation that Mary always talks about. This is the standard for latin dance on the show, if you ask me. And you can tell, especially when you compare this to some of Artem’s other performances, he put blood, sweat and tears into this. And the result, as Mia put it, was absolutely stunning.

Face of the bull fighter. Gotta love it!

 

9. Season 3 – Neil & Danny, Contemporary

Meet the reason why the numbers on this list are screwed up. I started working on this about three weeks before the finale so I already had a top 10 in place when this happened! But I think Neil & Danny’s contemporary by Mia is very much worthy of a spot in the top 10. As soon as I heard the concept of this routine I knew I would love it and it even surpassed my expectations. It’s kind of like a medieval dance off….THOU HAST BEEN SERVETHED! *bites thumb*

Remember in the first part of this series when I mentioned there seem to be two types of Mia Michaels routines? Well, this doesn’t fit either one to me. And it still reminds me more of something Wade would do, expect his probably would’ve been weirder. I absolutely love the music she chose for this piece. I love the thrones, their costumes, just about everything. But what I love the most are the little nuances like their hands on the canes, the looks on their faces, and of course Danny’s annoying clapping.

If you watch it closely, they seem to be playing different parts. Danny is that really regal, proper prince and Neil is more of the angry, soon to be dictator, send ‘em all to the guillotine, Machiavellian type. Some people mentioned that there wasn’t enough dancing in the piece, but what they’re doing while they aren’t gyrating around is important to the story being told. And does anyone else think it looks like they’re doing ballet at times?

As much as I didn’t want Neil in the finale, this routine wouldn’t have been the same if it wasn’t the two of them.

 

Season 2 – Heidi & Benji, Black Mambo

 

Watching this was like being on a ride. They just didn’t. stop. moving. Ever. Alex DeSilva’s choreography was awesome, as usual, but the routine was only fully realized because Benji and Heidi were the ones to execute it. This performance pretty much shows why I loved them both on the show and why they did as well as they did in the competition; on top of being great in their fields technically, they’re great entertainers because they have so much personality and put so much pizazz into every single thing they do. Honestly, there are routines I prefer on a personal level from both of them. BUT this routine was perfection and the most professional out of all three seasons and probably the most technically challenging ballroom dance ever done on the show.

The only part I don’t like is when he starts looking all oogly at her boobs. Yeah, um, that’s your cousin.

Oh and the opening to this dance was impressive! They did that death drop so well!

 

8. Heidi & Ryan – Sex Bomb

Yup, more Heidi. Call me weird, but I loved her! Heidi and Ryan are a good example of how much a couple can do despite having absolutely no chemistry. They had one bad performance when they were first paired together, but after it was one home run after another. Of all of their performances, their routine to “Sex Bomb” by Alex DeSilva  Jean Marc Generoux was THE bomb! Sorry, I couldn’t help but say that! Heidi is amazing at Latin, and even Ryan pulled off a lot of the jumps and more acrobatic stuff in the routine.

The whole dance is kind of about them playing back and forth to each other and teasing each other across the stage. The choreography isn’t all in synch and they’re not even together for most of the time; that’s what I love about it, it makes the dance not so typical/predictable. Most of all, it’s just FUN. I’ve probably watched this routine on repeat more times than most of my favorites (save two or three).

Who would’ve thought that a couple with no chemistry could pull something off to “Sex Bomb”, of all songs?

 

6. Season 2 – Alison & Ivan – Argentine Tango

This performance was a part of Alex DeSilva’s domination of the latin genre on Season 2. Don’t know what happened to him this year, but that’s another subject entirely. But yeah, I remember this being one of the first routines of S2 to blow me away. Who knew sweet lil’ Alison could be so ….smokin!? From the barely there dress to the whole pouty, breathy thing she did with her mouth, she was definitely in character. And she totally danced her way around him, but I thought Ivan did a good job in this too. He was very non descript and it worked.

My favorite moments: the footwork right before the end, and the way she slides around his leg towards the middle of the routine.

 

5. Season 1 – Blake & Ashlee, Smooth Waltz

I think I fell in love with this performance from the very first few seconds of it. I remember watching it for the first time, just absolutely mesmerized and enchanted. Ashlee and Blake are two of the best and most versatile dancers ever on the show, but they’re not ball room dancers. But they were both so graceful throughout this routine and the whole thing flowed perfectly.

They chose a great classical piece for this routine, and one of my favorite parts is when the music sort of slows down, Blake holds out his hand and Ashlee tentatively placed her fingertips in his. Wow! Don’t ask me why but that’s one of the most memorable moments from any performance for me; it’s all about the details, folks. It also goes a long with the fairy tale and dare I say Disney (but not in a cheesy way!) feel that the routine has. The ending pose was gorgeous as well! I’ve yet to see a Smooth Waltz top this.

 

4. Season 1 – Jamile & Destini, Hip Hop

Wow, hip hop? In my top ten?? Yes, I surprise myself here. I’m honestly not a big hip hop fan because I tend to gravitate towards performances with more of an emotional connection, and also because of a person named Dan Karaty. I’m not a fan of most of Shane Sparks‘ work either, but this routine OWNS THE WORLD. I am so proud to be able to say that I saw them perform this live. The audience response was edited out; it went on a lot longer and people started stomping and just wouldn’t stop. The judges all stood up. I don’t think any dance has gotten such a great reception since.

 

3. Season 3 -Kameron & Lacey, Contemporary

I still have such a hard time believing we got a routine of this caliber on the very FIRST episode of the season. Crazy. I’m not just talking about the dancing itself, which was phenomenal considering Lacey is a ballroom dancer. But more importantly how well Lacey and Kameron worked together. They seemed to create this really deep connection out of nowhere and that’s the one ingredient that made the routine work. Some people said their chemistry was “forced” but hey, we’re all wrong at some points in our lives.

One of the things that made the choreography stand out to me was the arm extensions that we did. Especially the parts where it looks like they’re being electrocuted (sorry, that’s the best way I can explain it) just because it didn’t look like anything else we’d seen on the show. The whole routine kinda sorta reminds me of Mia Micheal’s other masterpieces, “Why” and “The Bench Routine”, except a bit darker, a tad bit grittier and just more real because this whole theme of a rocky relationship is something a lot of people can relate to. Again, Mia did a great job interpreting that into dance.

And I have to disrespectfully disagree with Dan Karate calling Kameron a prop. It was all kind of a double edged sword for him because I think the choreographers exploited his strength, and that did nothing for him because that’s not something you can see. And, well, some people prefer to see than think, just to put it nicely. Lacey benefited a lot from his partnering skills, and that’s all I’m going to say of the matter.

I can’t help but wonder how many times Kameron got kicked in the face practicing that jump.

One last thing! If you haven’t heard all of “Dancing” by Elisa, give it a listen! It’s an absolutely gorgeous song.

 

2. Season 2 -Heidi & Travis – “The Bench Routine”

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but this routine made me cry. Or at least made me tear up, I don’t remember. The bench routine is the most emotional routine we’ve ever seen on the show, and that’s why it will ALWAYS be remembered. One of the things that stands out the most about this is the way Heidi and Travis play their parts. Mia told them not to get too melodramatic, and they didn’t. There’s something very simple, almost mime like about the way they move and the way they look at each other. It’s all very innocent, and that totally worked for the routine.

As you guys have noticed by now, I’m sure, I pay a lot of attention to detail, nuances and those special little moments in a routine. The first time I watched this and saw Travis and Heidi try to reach each other through the grates of the bench I just got CHILLS all over. And a lot of routines have given me chills, but nothing like that! There’s just something so genius and so emotional about that moment and how it happened right as the music crescendos. Props to Mia. This was also the first and only time I ever felt something from Travis’ dancing.

The part when Travis refuses to look at Heidi and scoots away from her on the bench, and the ending when he doesn’t take her flower and walks away just break my heart! Never mind So You Think You Can Dance…this is one of the best performances I have ever seen on TV, period.

And still it’s my #2.

 

Alright, here it is, my #1 choice! I bet you already know what it is……

 

1. Season 3 – Jaimie & Hok, “The Hummingbird Routine”

For those of you who have read my past SYTYCD? recaps, my #1 choice is probably no surprise to you. I remember after I saw this performance, I thought “that was the best performance of the night!” a few seconds later I thought “that was the best performance of the season!” well, it was only the third week, but we had already seen some amazing stuff. And after thinking it over for a few minutes I thought “that seriously, probably was, the best performance out of all three seasons”.

I’ve watched it and a lot of other performances several times, and I still hands down believe that.

I do think my second and third favorites evoked a bit more emotion, but someone described this as “moving art” and I couldn’t possibly put it better than that. The way Hok moves in the beginning just looks otherworldly. He doesn’t even look human. Wade Robson’s choreography is so genius that all of the movements convey the characters perfectly. But I can’t give him credit alone, because Jamie and Hok showed MAJOR skills in this routine. The way Jamie rises from the ground in the beginning is just….wow. That takes SO much control. And I know because I’ve tried it!

I could probably talk forever about this piece, but I’ll sum it up in two words: visually stunning. We would all be very, very lucky to ever see a performance top this, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Ranking The Choreographers
Just the ones I remember.

1. Mia – Contemporary, Lyrical
Duh. I feel obligated to rank her first, but the woman really is a genius. I still have issues with the contemporary piece she did for Neil & Lacey. And I still hold a grudge against her for telling Heidi she didn’t deserve to be in the final 4. Just thought I’d mention that. A whopping six of her routines made my list, including the group routine, and three of those are in the top 10.

2. Mandy Moore – Jazz
Her routines might not consist of dancers pretending to be like animals, and they might not make Mary cry, but she certainly has brought fresh and unique concepts to the stage. She’s the baby of the choreographers. Can’t wait to see what she does next year. Two of her routines made my list; not a bad start!

3. Wade – Jazz
Surprised? The more I thought about it, the more I had to bump him down; he was hit or miss this year. Like Mia, he’s also a genius, but sometimes genius turns to madness. I think he relies a bit too much on theatrics (lights, costumes, make up, etc) and he was pretty hit or miss this year. But when he gets it right, he gets it right. Surprisingly only two of his routines made my list.

4. Brian Friedman – Pop, Jazz, Pop Jazz
I miss him; his routines were fluffy and fun. Four of his routines made my list.

5. Tony Meredith – Rumba, other Latin stuff
I didn’t even pay attention to him until recently. His work stood out more this year than Alex DeSilva. Two of his routines made the list.

6. Tyce – Broadway, Contemporary
It may seem like I ranked him kind of low, but I like Tyce a lot and I think his routines are solid for the most part. But he primarly does Broadway and most of those routines don’t stand out. Two Three of his routines made my list and several others were honorable mentions.

7. Alex DeSilva - Club Salsa, Tango, Cha Cha, etc.
I’ve said it before, he OWNED in season 2. He did Heidi & Ryan’s Cuban Rumba and Ivison’s Argentine Tango on the same episode! But he also struck out twice in one episode this year. Ouch. Two of his routines make the list.

8. Shane – Hip Hop
Shane did some great stuff in season 1, some okay stuff in s2, and s3 was just…..baaaad. Personally, I think they should replace him. Two of his routines made my list.

8. Dan
This man couldn’t create a decent routine if someone held a gun to his head.

9. The Lady Who Thought Giving A Vienesse Waltz A Paso Feel Was A Good Idea
Burn.

I left out Jean Marc Generoux and that french guy because I can’t really remember anything they did.

Special thanks to Liz and Nobody over on IDF for the vids!

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