SYTYCD: Everybody Loves Travis
I’m gonna choose to ignore the fact that this season fails to deliver the memorable moments of previous seasons, and just take it for what it is. Here’s what I don’t get. I don’t get that the judges actually thought Ellenore’s performance in the Travis Wall dance was amazing and that she did a great job of taking on the character. Ellenore played the same quirky character she always plays when she’s dancing, and not only did I think it lacked the maturity that I would expect of someone who’s reuniting with a man who broke her heart 10 years ago, but to be frank, the quirks are getting old. That performance lacked the emotional connection that I usually see in a contemporary piece, and I’m sure even Travis expected more. Here’s the deal, though. The judges worship Travis Wall. The way they fawn over him you would think that he was the only former contestant on the show to go on to choreograph for them. What about Benji and Dmitri? They’re routines have been great too. But the judges clearly have a different opinion than myself and they feel that everything Travis touches turns to gold, even if that gold comes in the form of an emotionally lacking performance laced with random odd twitches. So, note to the contestants of SYTYCD: pray for a Travis Wall routine and the judges will love you by default.
Separate note: Hope for a hip hop routine. Because now that we have 3 judges who don’t know the first thing about hip hop (save Adam Shankman’s knowledge directing the Step Up movies which features, mediocre street dancers who probably learned their “underground” moves at a prestigious and expensive dance school) it seems that the definition of “hard hitting” has changed drastically. Now, I’m no expert on hip hop dancing, or dancing in particular so I’ll just go ahead and get that out there now. However, I do know a thing or two about what the style looks like. And I was not impressed with Ashleigh and Jakob’s performance on Tuesday night. I thought it was okay but not incredible and definitely not hard hitting, nor was it grounded enough. Call me crazy but I thought it looked like two contemporary dancers who pulled off a decent hip hop number. I didn’t think it came close to Katie and Josh’s “No Air” performance or Legacy and Kathryn’s caveman performance a few weeks ago.
But I can’t complain too much because at the end of the day I still got the outcome I wanted. Because for the longest time I’ve been feeling similarly about Channing. The judges seem to love her while she bores me to death. She’s all strength and no grace, and when they make comments about her becoming more womanly, it makes me want to get my eyes checked because I clearly just saw a different performance. So, as much as I would love to feel bad about Channing going home tomorrow… I don’t. Not in the least bit. And as far as Kevin? The hip hop dancer who’s mediocre even in his own style? I think he’s the most unimpressive hip hop dancer we’ve had on the show thus far. I think the only reason he made it in the top 20 is because they had to fill their hip hop quota. And as much as I can’t truly hate Kevin because his most memorable performance was a tribute to the King of Pop, I still don’t want to have to look at his manicured eyebrows and made up face anymore. There was only one man who could pull that off, and he’s gone. So, while I might not have agreed completely with the judges comments on Tuesday night, I think America got the bottom 3 correct and the judges sent the right 2 home. And maybe now, Karen and Victor can really shine with each other as partners. Or maybe that’s just my idealism talking.
Separate note: Hope for a hip hop routine. Because now that we have 3 judges who don’t know the first thing about hip hop (save Adam Shankman’s knowledge directing the Step Up movies which features, mediocre street dancers who probably learned their “underground” moves at a prestigious and expensive dance school) it seems that the definition of “hard hitting” has changed drastically. Now, I’m no expert on hip hop dancing, or dancing in particular so I’ll just go ahead and get that out there now. However, I do know a thing or two about what the style looks like. And I was not impressed with Ashleigh and Jakob’s performance on Tuesday night. I thought it was okay but not incredible and definitely not hard hitting, nor was it grounded enough. Call me crazy but I thought it looked like two contemporary dancers who pulled off a decent hip hop number. I didn’t think it came close to Katie and Josh’s “No Air” performance or Legacy and Kathryn’s caveman performance a few weeks ago.
But I can’t complain too much because at the end of the day I still got the outcome I wanted. Because for the longest time I’ve been feeling similarly about Channing. The judges seem to love her while she bores me to death. She’s all strength and no grace, and when they make comments about her becoming more womanly, it makes me want to get my eyes checked because I clearly just saw a different performance. So, as much as I would love to feel bad about Channing going home tomorrow… I don’t. Not in the least bit. And as far as Kevin? The hip hop dancer who’s mediocre even in his own style? I think he’s the most unimpressive hip hop dancer we’ve had on the show thus far. I think the only reason he made it in the top 20 is because they had to fill their hip hop quota. And as much as I can’t truly hate Kevin because his most memorable performance was a tribute to the King of Pop, I still don’t want to have to look at his manicured eyebrows and made up face anymore. There was only one man who could pull that off, and he’s gone. So, while I might not have agreed completely with the judges comments on Tuesday night, I think America got the bottom 3 correct and the judges sent the right 2 home. And maybe now, Karen and Victor can really shine with each other as partners. Or maybe that’s just my idealism talking.
