And cut they did.  Holy moly, Wednesday’s Vegas episode was fast and furious.  The judges weren’t playing any games.  But we’ll get to that in a moment.

First, I want to answer for my earlier Top 20 predictions.  I was wrong about Gabi, Sammy, Amanda, Chimeze, and Priscilla.  Oh.  And Natalie.

Natalie!

Weren’t we all wrong about Natalie?  I thought she was a clear lock for Top 20 - heck, to win this whole thing!  So to have her be cut so unmercifully after the Jazz round (choreographed brilliantly by Sonya Tayeh - the few seconds of dance we saw were so fresh!) was a shock to my system - not at all what we saw coming.  Especially after we had seen her do the routine in front of the whole group (with Brandon), at Sonya’s request.  Sonya clearly loved Natalie and saw her genius.  So I am stunned as to why she is now gone - while lots of other, nameless girls remain in her spot.  Natalie handled her dismissal with class.  I don’t think we’ll see her again.  After last year, and now this, it seems SYTYCD is not in the cards for her.

The episode started off with each of the 172 dancers doing their solo routine, one by one, for the panel of judges including Nigel, Mary (unusually subdued tonight), Shanks, Lil C, Mia, and Debbie Allen.  44 dancers were cut right out of the chute, including Travis, the coach’s son from last week.  I didn’t expect him to go far, and it was kind of a relief to see him and other dancers say goodbye without extra time or sentiment.  (Makes me wonder why they get so much screen time during audition episodes, though.  It’s like they want us to get invested early in, and then rip out our hearts the second their plane lands in Vegas.)

They moved on to the Hip Hop round (with NapTab), and 33 more dancers were given the boot.  Fifteen minutes in, and we’re already down to 97!  The ballroom round followed (with Jean-Marc Genereaux & France).  Even though Philip Chbeeb “doesn’t know how to not pop”, according to Adam Shankman, they waved him through.  Also sailing through was Japan’s Nabuya, who cried like a baby and said, “I love here, I really love here.”

I’ve already mentioned Sonya’s jazz routine, and I just want to say again that I think Mia better watch out: she might soon be replaced as SYTCYD’s most beloved choreographer.  Then again, I incorrectly predicted six Top 20 dancers, so whatevs.  I want that song Sonya used for the choreography.  It was super catchy!  It’s what got me through the Natalie Shock.

Among the judges, there seems to be a draw on Brandon’s appeal: Lil C and Mia are unimpressed, but Nigel (and Mary) will stand behind him 100%.  He’s “bloody fantastic” - but not to everyone.  You know who bloody well had everyone stunned, audience included?  Alex Wong, the night’s first auditioner.  His timing, musicality, strength, and talent had Mia literally picking up her jaw.  Me too.  From what I could tell, Wong was still in it by episode’s end.  But the “brilliant technician” spot seems to be filled already by Brandon.  Is there room for two?

Other dancers we’ve never seen before tonight who are close to making it: contemporary dancer Paula (who was lucky after the brutal group choreography round), some dude named Jason, another dude named Vittolio, and a hip-hop performer named Tony Bellisima.  And perform he did.  Tony’s solo contained goofy facial expressions and a near-obsessive amount of Nigel pictures onstage.  But I didn’t see much dancing.  Still, he made it through each round, right up to Mia’s much-ballyhooed choreography.  The adorably emotional kid was asked to do the routine a second time.  The more we saw of him, the more I was reminded of season 2’s Ivan.  I wonder if Cat thought so too, as she certainly worked her charm on him to get him to smile - even though he looked like he might have vomited all over her.  Later, she teased him for all his blubbering.  I think the judges are desperate to have Tony in their Top 20.  He has that “we can mold him and make him better” quality.

Speaking of the choreography round, I loved the Nerdography hip-hop crew, starring none other than my beloved Ryan Kasprzak.  True, the whole nerds-getting-hip act was kind of a ripoff of Benji & Travis’ finale routine from season 2.  But who cares?  He was great in it, and clearly brought the talented bunch together.  Ryan is a star.  I thought he really brought it in his performance of Mia’s choreography, too.  And tonight we saw first-hand why he always wears his jaunty hats: his baldness instantly made him seem much, much older than the other dancers surrounding him.  If it comes down to him & Evan, I think he might lose out to Evan based on age alone.  It pains me to say it.  I love Ryan.  But will America?  That’s probably what the judges will be debating.  P.S.  Love Evan too.  P.S.S.  “Baked beans + contemporary = disaster.”  (Not for those guys.)

Were they even there? Marico “Jukin” Flake, Hawaiian dancer Pono, contemporary twins Lydia and Lauren.

Still there, dukin’ it out: Janette & Romulo, Riki & Asuka (sure would have loved to see Riki do hip hop), Paris (Miss Washington with the black nail polish), Caitlyn, and Kayla.

Amanda’s Response:

I can’t believe Natalie went home! I am glad I waited to make my “I (heart) Natalie” T-shirt. Which is now an “I (heart) Evan” T-Shirt. I liked Evan last year, before his brother. I feel like I would be cheating if I switched to Ryan. Although, Ryan is great too!

I wondered why Natalie didn’t get to dance for her life or even get a second chance. I saw on Twitter that Lil “C” (@KingofKrump) said that Natalie didn’t get a second chance, because the judges were unanimous in their decision. He said, “that option is only offered when the vote is not unanimous…. all judges were in agreeance… And look at the genre as well.”

Dawn, Hawaiian dancer Pono is still there. He shaved his head and I didn’t recognize him at first. He still has a chance!

Nerdography was awesome. I loved it. The people who got Ryan in their group really lucked out.

Of the people who were cut - I was sad for Megan. I am not that impressed with Caitlin. I liked Priscilla too. I thought she was beautiful. Oh - I didn’t care about Gabby. The girl can’t follow choreography and this is what most of this show is about. I was bummed for Bianca, the tapper, but I am not going to miss her.

Of the people staying - GO RYAN and EVAN!!!! You better both make it. Where did Jason come from? He’s the new dark horse. Alex Wong was amazing! If everyone in the Miami Ballet Company is like him,  then Miami citizens better march into their local theater and support their ballet.

I can’t wait to see who gets picked for the Top 20 tomorrow. The nice thing about SYTYCD is that there is still hope for dancers to return in the next season. I read Mary Murphy say that unlike American Idol, singers don’t improve much in their singing ability within a year, but dancers can train and get a lot better in a year. So dancers can come back and do better the next time around. I wonder how many folks of the people that were cut tonight we will see again in the Fall.

Speaking of American Idol. This Vegas Week episode was a 100 times better than AI’s bloated Hollywood week episodes. SYTYCD focuses on the dancing! Not stupid group dynamics. To the SYTYCD Producers: thank you for not focusing too much on the groups making their dances and stupid contestant drama.

Tonight was such a great night of dances. It is just a taste of what is to come next week! I am going to have to watch tonight’s episode again tomorrow.

Oh and Dawn, the song that Sonya used is “The Great DJ” by the Tings Tings. For the record I did guess that SYTYCD would use The Tings Tings. I have been playing my The Ting Tings Pandora station for the last two weeks. Sonya just made me like her more, because of that song.

So what do you think, fellow fans?  Were you as stunned as we were when Natalie got the axe?  Were you rooting for or rolling your eyes at Gabi’s zillion chances to make it?  Did Nigel sign some contract with Philip Chbeeb to ensure he’d be on the show this year?  Is it fair to make the dancers choreograph their own routine and cut them for bad team dynamics?  Does Caitlyn stand a chance?  Of those who remain, who is your favorite?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 11:03 pm and is filed under "That. Was. BUCK.", Cat!, Mia Michaels, Recaps, Season 2, Season 5, Songs/Music, Sonya Tayeh, Tabitha & Napoleon, Vegas Week. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.