Reality Roll Call

by Lakiya Emerson

I know I’m a week late and 10 dollars short, but America? Comfort over Kherington? Really? My fellow SYTCD-ers, I was out of town last week with limited access to a computer, but I found a television, and as much as I like Comfort, I was exceptionally disheartened to see Kherington go. My 52-year-old Dad can point his feet better than Comfort. I know this because he tried, though he didn’t quite follow through on that pirouette. But that’s not the point. The point is you folks need to rock the vote. I’m not anti-Comfort, just anti-limitations in talent and Comfort hit a brick wall several shows ago. Okay, enough of my tirade, and on to this week’s Top 8.

Tonight, every dancer performs twice and does a solo. They also tell the story of how they began dancing. Toni Basil, an award winning choreographer who is working with Bette Midler, rounds out the judges’ panel in this episode. All she needs is fruit headgear and she’d look like the Chiquita lady, but I respect her.

Will and Courtney open tonight’s performances with a samba choreographed by Jean-Marc Generoux. They dance to “I Fell In Love with the DJ” by Che’Nelle, and wardrobe continues to dress Courtney in such a way that she is vertically naked. This time she looks like Big Bird’s pole-dancing cousin. Nigel says they were great and that their performance made him feel high. He also says that Will look like something out of 300. Mary said they have great chemistry and Toni says she enjoyed it.

Will and Courtney’s second dance is a slow hip hop routine choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha. Its theme is based on getting a second chance to see someone who has died. Will is like Patrick Swayze in Ghost and Courtney is Demi Moore. They dance to “Like You’ll Never See Me Again” by Alica Keys, which is one of my favorite songs. The problem with favorite songs is you tend to be hyper-critical of what other people do with them, and consequently I’m probably one of the few people in the world who didn’t like the choreography. However, the judges disagreed with me. Nigel said he felt emotionally touched by the performance. Mary says they blew her expectations. Toni says she started as an original pop and locker, and that she’s glad to see street dancing becoming an accepted dance form.

Will was inspired to take up dance lessons because he had to lift Chelsea at least ten times. Debbie Allen saw him in L.A. and gave him a scholarship to her dance school. Let us all do a silent bow to Debbie Allen for such a profound find. Will’s solo is set to “Get Up Offa That Thing” by James Brown. He wears a black pin-striped suit and a wig, and proceeds to execute a few of James Brown’s signature moves. He was so convincing I bet he could join the long line of people who claim that they are owed money from Brown’s estate because he was their father.

Courtney started dancing when she was very young and since, according to her, a dancer’s window of opportunity is very short she decided to take the plunge and audition for SYTYCD. Her solo was good, just not particularly memorable.

Twitch and Katee knew each other before the show, though Katee said she never thought they would be partners. Their first performance is a contemporary routine choreographed by Mia Michaels. It is danced to the song “Mercy” by Duffy and involves a door which Katee, playing a crazy ex-girlfriend, tries to break down. She is seriously in character and Twitch, who plays the cool cucumber boyfriend, just keeps slamming it in her face. They even kiss in the beginning. I’m sure Joshua was livid.

Nigel said their performance was so fantastic that it was hard to critique the dancing. He said they did their best work, and that they’re wonderful characters. Mary says they’re two of the best dancers on the stage. Of course all the gushing could not go on without mention of Mia. I seriously think this woman stands in her mirror and practices the facial expressions she gives for when people tell her how awesome her choreography is. I mean, she must know that we know that she knows that most folks think she’s one of the top contemporary choreographers ever. I think she might have faces “one”, “two”, and “three” that she cycles in and out of rotation, according to the level of adoration she is receiving from her colleagues.

In Katee and Twitch’s second routine, Katee plays a woman on the hunt for a man, and she’s got Twitch on the menu, though he has no interest in her. Tyce Diorio choreographs this Broadway routine set to Sweet Georgia Brown for them. It’s fun and upbeat. Nigel loved it and said that he felt like it could be done on Broadway. He also points out the Twitch is the least trained dancer but is consistently able to follow through on routines. Nigel goes on to tell Katee that there isn’t one routine that he hasn’t enjoyed watching her perform. Mary agreed with Nigel and said they were terrific. Toni said that Twitch dances from the inside out, but that Katee didn’t dance up to the sound of the singer’s voice.

The two dancers’ solos are great. Twitch reveals that he didn’t start seriously dancing until his senior year of high school. He went on to dance in L.A. and in some Korean videos. Katee started out tap dancing at age four, but she was awful. She stuck with her training, eventually finding her niche in contemporary dance.

Mark and Comfort get together to perform a hip hop routine by Tabitha and Napoleon. First off, can I take a moment to point out that Comfort appears to be wearing a Howard University jacket, which is my alma mater, where I attempted to audition for the dance department and the dance squad, and was soundly rejected. But that’s neither here nor there, and I still make up dance routines in my living room when no one is looking. But back to the performance: Comfort reveals why she was picked for the show in this performance. The dance is fast and intricate, and they do a lift where he flips her over his head from a seated position on the floor. Nigel points out what many of us have noticed—that Comfort dances so much better when she’s given choreography. Mark was also great. Mary says they did a great job, and that Comfort is a great dancer and that she didn’t care that she can only do one style. Really? I thought that the point of the show was to choose versatile individuals, but then again, I’m not part of the judging panel.

Tina says that Mark and Comfort were rooted in the music and the beat.

Their next routine is a Foxtrot performed to the song “Lady Luck”. Mark is actually more graceful than Comfort, though Nigel called their performance amateurish. Nigel said Lady Luck walked out of the room when they got the Foxtrot. Mary agreed and called it the worse foxtrot she’d ever seen on the show. Toni reiterates their hip hop routine was fabulous

Comfort attempts to convince America that she has some technical training before she does her solo. Apparently, her father put her in a performing arts school. Unfortunately for her, she played a little too much in class and didn’t soak in enough. Her solo is dry to say the least. Mark tells us that he was as a weird of a child as he is an adult. He started dancing after seeing a musical and ended up being the only boy in his musical theater school. His solo was as amazingly odd as usual, and he really danced like he wanted America to know that he needed to be there.

Joshua and Chelsea first performance is an Argentine Tango choreographed by DMitry Chaplin, who was a top 10 finalist in Season 2 of SYTYCD. The dancers perform to the song “A Los Amigos” from Forever Tango and once again Joshua’s bottom is a lead character in the performance. Nigel asked Mary if Joshua needed to tuck his bottom, but Mary informed him that Joshua’s butt was tucked. Nigel said they chose the most technical of the dances and that Chelsea has the best legs. He found it enjoyable. Mary says it translated in the right way and that Joshua’s flicks were believable instead of looking silly. She said their chemistry was great. Toni says the tango should look spontaneous and torrid and that they had accomplished just that. Their next dance is a disco to “Everlasting Love” by Gloria Estefan. Joshua’s strength was front and center in this performance as he had to lift Chelsea at least ten times. He’s tired at the end, and I was pretty sure he was going to drop her in the last movement, where he swung her over his head and she ended up upside down. They also do a Superman Lift where he lifts her straight up in the area from a standing position. Nigel talks at length about the length about how fabulous it is that he’s so strong, since many dancers cannot do what he does. Mary agrees with Nigel. Toni said that Joshua captured the spirit of the disco era

Chelsea, who turned nineteen last night, started dancing because she was shy and wanted some friends. At fourteen she began competing in the junior ballroom. She danced to “Damaged” by Danity Kane. Usually the ballroom dancers are pretty boring soloists, but she did some interesting moves that kept my attention. Joshua started dancing because he wouldn’t stop dancing in his third grade classroom. His teacher Mrs. Wyatt had to kick him out of class because he wouldn’t sit still. She sent him home with a permission slip to audition for Pepito’s Story, which his mother signed.

That’s it folks. I’m off to vote. Now that the judges aren’t mediating, everything’s up for grabs and you’ll really have to come back tomorrow for the results, as anyone could be unceremoniously cut from the show.