SYTYCD? Best of the Best: #30-21

30. Season 1 - Ashlee & Artem, Cha Cha

Let’s kick things off with my favorite contestant of all three seasons…Artem. When he was in his element, he just nailed everything he did. I don’t know why the judges ragged on this performance so much….oh wait, I remember; because they didn’t want to pit Nick and Blake against each other. How nice. At least Artem went out with a bang.

29. Season 3 - Lauren & Dominic - Rumba

A lot of dances have really great endings, but this is one of the few with such a stunning opening. I was really surprised at how well the opening lift was executed, especially since Dominic tends to drop his partners. But the way it was choreographed and executed almost looked like a wave because it was so fluid. Props to Tony Meredith. The rest of the dance was just full chemistry that I totally didn’t expect from them either…I’ll admit, they were a hot couple, even though I wasn’t crazy about Lauren.

The kiss at the end almost killed it for me though!

28. Season 1 - Dmitry & Ashlee, Contemporary

This one is a pure guilty pleasure for me. The technique wasn’t there at all, and I can’t not acknowledge that. But I love, love, love anything fantasy/fairy tale-ish and avant garde like this. The storyline with Ashlee playing a doll and Dmitry playing the magician who bring her to life is great, and I liked how it had a complete story arch with him breaking the baton at the end. Great choice of music as well (Dance Dance by Fallout Boy. It’s kind of a shame though because Brian Friedman’s vision could’ve been executed better if with better dancers.

27. Season 3 - Kameron & Lacey, Broadway

First showing from my favorite couple of all 3 seasons! So maybe their broadway routine didn’t have that much “pizzaaz”, but that’s what I love about Lacey and Kameron; they can do this without the cheese. The performance was sexy, fun, high energy, and set any routine to “All That Jazz” and I’m sold.

26. Season 2 - Alison & Ryan, Contemporary

I’ve come to notice that most routines from Mia Michaels either tell an obvious story while grabbing you by the heart strings, or really mesmerize you visually and leave you knowing there was a storyline there even though you just don’t quite get it. Most of her routines on this list fall into the first category, but this falls into the latter. Don’t even ask me to interpret this to you or tell you why I think they were wearing rompers and eyepatches; it might have just been because it looks cool. This routine was really unique and highly overrated. There’s something very Cirque Du Soliel about it.

25. Season 3 - Lacey & Pasha, Hip Hop

I can’t even explain why I absolutely loved this! It reminded me of Weird Science or some 80’s movie like that, where some nerdy loser kid gets stuck in a mall overnight and accidentally brings a mannequin to life as his dream girl. Hmm, kinda sounds like Dmitry & Ashlee’s routine, doesn’t it? Lacey did a fantastic job playing the mannequin, and Pasha was funny dressed up as a nerd. They both moved really well and I was surprised at how well Pasha pulled of hip hop (I wasn’t impressed by his first venture into the style). The whole routine was just so weird and I love weird stuff.

24. Melody & Jamile - Cold Hearted Snake

Let me just say I completely and 100% blamed Jamile for taking Artem out too early. I still hold a little grudge about him being in the finale when he really shouldn’t have been, but this routine kinda/sorta made up for it. With that said, I wasn’t a fan of Melody an her leg lifting either. BUT, this performance was one of my obsessions from season 1. I even have parts of it memorized; that’s how many times I rewatched it. It’s just one of those ridiculously fun, high energy performances. I also think Jamile and Melody were pretty cute together, despite their height differences . Love the pose at the end too.

23. Ivan & Natalie - Everytime We Touch

This is one of those performances I pulled from the wreckage, so to speak. While I was making the list I went back and rewatched a ton of old performances to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Most I didn’t remember for a reason, but I can’t believe I forgot about this! It was just so charming, sweet and almost magical in such a simple way. I don’t think Natalie and Ivan had that much chemistry together but they made it work anyways.

22. Season 2 - Heidi & Travis, Afro Pop

I wasn’t a big Travis fan during Season 3, but he and Heidi were pretty much the super couple of that season. There were a lot of great couples last year, but none had as many showstopping routines as these two. Heck, very few people had as many amazing performances as Heidi! And they’re cute together two, even though watching them is kind of like overdosing on blonde. This was one of Wade’s first routines from the show, and it stood out because it didn’t look like anything else we had seen on the show up to that point. Great choreography, great dancing.

21. Dominic & Sabra - Rumba

Yup, another Rumba starring Dominic! His Rumba with Lauren was sexy, but his Rumba with Sabra was sweet and just a tad bit more genuine. I always thought of this as a really boring style until I saw this performance. And these two were just one of those golden couples.

Bonus: Honorable Mentions

Benji & Donyelle - “Too Much Booty”
Benji & Donyelle - “Cuchi, Cuchi” (what style was that??)
Blake & Melody - Lyrical
Blake & Destiny - Lyrical
Lacey & Pasha - Smooth Waltz
Heidi & Travis - Paso Doble
Heidi & Ryan - Cuban Rumba
Pasha & Sara - West Coast Swing
Artem & Ashlee - “Fever”
Kamillah & Nick - Contemporary

Get ready for performances #20 through #11 tomorrow night after the big finale! And I promise I’ll get it up a lot sooner after the show. Here’s a few clues about what you’ll see…

1. Another appearance from my favorite couple.
2. A non contestant.
3. Two new “power couples” are introduced.
4. Two of my absolute favorites in a style that we didn’t see this season.
5. A performance wasn’t a part of the competition, it wasn’t a solo, nor was it in the finale.
6. S1 =3, S2 =3, S3 =4
7. More bonuses and more pictures!

Special thanks to Liz and Nobody over at IDF for several of the vids!

SYTYCD? Best #20-11 >>
SYTYCD? Best Top  Ten >>