So You Think You Can Dance doubled the ante this week with each of the top seven couples dancing not one, but two routines. Everything became twice as clear: Who’s brilliant and who ought to go home pronto; who’s holding their partners back (and I don’t mean just Jessica); and whose technique ain’t going to cut it. The hip hoppers are at a growing disadvantage now, training-wise, and yet, two of them are emerging as serious contenders, while the other two have probably stretched their crossover talents to the limit.
Another times-two: Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo as two-for-one judges alongside Mary and Nigel. The choreographer couple couldn’t be nicer, but they also couldn’t be more useless in their comments, unless the number in question happened to be hip-hop, their native form. I’ve never been so grateful for chiding Nigel and his dance history mini-lessons. Paging Adam Shankman!
The rundown:
-- Will Wingfield and Jessica King in a jive. Choreography, 7. Performance, 6.
And in jazz. Choreography, 4. Performance, 6.
In an illustration of the magic of low expectations, I found myself thinking, “Hmm, Jessica’s chemistry with Will seems a little better in this jive. Gee, she’s not as plodding as I thought she’d be,” but it’s time to stop cutting this gal slack. Self-confidence crisis, laziness, whatever the cause—she’s proven three times now that she doesn’t want it enough. Take, for a moment, Will’s tremendous combination of talent, charisma and fine training out of the picture and Jessica would be one of the bottom contestants. That she’s allowed to keep holding Will back is practically criminal. True, neither had the springy technique to do a real jive, but Will was selling it while Jessica looked pulled along for the ride. And in Mandy Moore’s jazz routine, where Will’s sculptural clarity reigned supreme, check out the difference in their energy and intention. On the first toss, when Will threw her into the air, instead of bursting with determination, Jessica flopped half-heartedly. She doesn’t even look like she wants to be here anymore. As for Mary’s Hot Tamale Train: Will must be the engine and Jessica, the caboose. Prediction: bottom three.
--Comfort Fedoke and Thayne Jasperson in a Broadway number. Choreography, 3. Performance, 4.
And in a smooth waltz. Choreography, 6. Performance, 5.
Recasting West Side Story’s” explosive group number "Cool" as a sexed-up duet makes no dramatic sense, and Comfort and Thayne don’t pull it off. Hip-hopper Comfort gets big points for attitude and will-power, but when it comes to jazz choreography she literally doesn’t have a leg to stand on: Witness her hopping about as Thayne supports her in an arabesque. She does what she can, which is make faces, and she knows how to strut. She has better continuity between movement phrases and doesn’t let her presence drop, but this is where lack of basic technique starts showing. She doesn’t know how to push through the floor on relevé * to create that straight supporting line of energy through the leg and she’s not going to be able to pick that up fast enough for this competition. Of course, Thayne does have that technique, but he’s working overtime to partner Comfort.
The judges went easy on her in the smooth waltz, and her mostly convincing mimicry of an arabesque line is impressive (extra credit for the lovely arch through her back), but, again, even in the highlight they played during the judges’ comments, check out how she wobbled coming out of that lift onto one leg. She’s adaptable. A ballet barre bootcamp would teach her a lot, but can she do that much catch-up? Tabitha is too hard on Thayne, criticizing his final gaze at the camera as “phony.” It looked very Broadway-actor to me. Good dancer, wrong partner, but, unlike Will, Thayne has yet to stand out from the other men as an individual. Will he get a chance to? Prediction: bottom three.
--Kourtni Lind and Matt Dorame in hip hop. Choreography, 5. Performance, 6.
And in a mambo. Choreography, 7. Performance, 3.
Matt earns the pair an extra two points for me in their opening hip-hop routine. Who would have thought he could dig in and dance like that? He was smooth, he was hard-hitting. He was crouched and down in his knees—shockingly credible. I wonder if he felt safer with that hat obscuring most of his face. He had rhythm, he had groove. Who would have thought that dependable Kourtni would be the one to pull them down? She blurred through everything, barely marking the steps. Then, in the mambo, total reversal and total disaster! Kourtni tried to power through with her trademark huge extensions and managed some half-convincing hip action, while Matt looked as buttoned up as a chorus boy in Showboat. Mary says it: “I did not believe the chemistry.” Prediction: bottom three.
Mark Kanemura and Chelsie Hightower performing the foxtrot.
--Chelsie Hightower and Mark Kanemura in jazz. Choreography, 5. Performance, 8.
And in a foxtrot. Choreography, 7. Performance, 8.
Now for some dancing! Chelsie and Mark shape a story out of anything, even Mandy Moore’s vapid, step-poor, kissy-kiss routine. It’s a terrific style for Mark’s quirky fluidity and Chelsie’s hips steal the show. I like Nigel’s breakdown: Chelsie’s hips plus Mark’s upper body equal magic. But I like, even more, how absolutely confident, assured, and effortless Chelsie is in the foxtrot, even when she’s hidden in that awful cloud of blue feathers. She dances like a real woman, totally present, without artifice, and she brings Mark right along with her. They’re completely absorbed in one another, completely attuned. Mary gives Mark more credit than Nigel; to me this pair can’t earn credit enough. Prediction: safe.
--Kherrington Payne and Twitch Boss in a paso doble. Choreography, 8. Performance, 7.
And in contemporary. Choreography, 7. Performance, 7.
I like this pair. I really do, but let’s get real, Nigel, are they one of the top three couples? Twitch comes alive halfway through the paso doble, as Tabitha correctly diagnoses, and, finally, we get to see Kherrington in a new light: All grown up and Sharon Stone-like with her hair in a twist, the toothpaste-ad smile replaced by a fierce, but never overdone grimace. Unlike Jessica, you pull for Twitch because he’s clearly doing his best, but Nigel is right. He’s “wearing his shoulders like earrings;” “this woman demanded a lot from you and I’m not sure you gave it to her.” In Mia Michael’s mattress routine, Mia choreographs to flatter him, letting his six-pack take center stage, giving him simple, arching poses. There was great presence from both Kherrington and Twitch, and Mia’s gift for odd theatricality is so unfailing that I wish she’d use real music. A pleasure to watch—but is Twitch really a contender? Prediction: safe.
Katee Shean and Joshua Allen in a contemporary dance.
--Katee Shean and Joshua Allen in contemporary. Choreography, 9. Performance, 10.
And in West Coast swing. Choreography, 10. Performance, 8.
Katee and Joshua, the can-do professionals, become full-fledged artists in Mia Michael’s deceptively simple, intense piece. It is some of her best choreography, packed with rich gestures, gritty details, and dare-you-not-to-watch inventions like that amazing slink-through-his-arms lift. I’d love to watch this again and see Katee and Joshua making such a concentrated, poetic statement in it. I like Napoleon’s comment: “It’s so much more than dancing and you guys get that week in and week out.” The pair scores again with more of the best choreography of the evening in a playfully musical West Coast swing. I thought Joshua looked more relaxed than Katee in this one, and wondered if she could go a bit more sex-kitten. Joshua’s fleet feet keep drawing my eye. This hip-hop guy can do anything. Prediction: safe.
--Courtney Galiano and Gev Manoukian in hip-hop. Choreography, 9. Performance, 9.
And in a Broadway routine. Choreography, 7. Performance, 9.
Every week these two pop up and I think, “Courtney and Gev, I almost forgot about them,” and every week, after they tear up the floor, I wonder how on earth these two powerhouses could have slipped my mind. Nigel is right, they’re the underdogs, but if they keep charging like this, they may be top dogs soon. Courtney goes street in a super-funked hip-hop routine, while Gev works his stillness and stops. I like them so much individually that I almost hate to note the contrast in styles: Courtney is indeed bouncy, as Tabitha puts it, and this overpowers the tighter control of Gev’s style and leaves him underappreciated. Something none of the judges note, though: I love their interaction and sense of spontaneity onstage. I loved them even more in the show-closing routine from Bernstein’s On the Town (more ersatz Robbins, curiously). Nigel finally says what I was thinking: The choreography uses the whole stage, and Courtney and Gev do, too, in a refreshing respite from the side-by-side steps so much of the show serves up. Sure, Gev could open up more through the chest, and Courtney is under-powering her extensions, but these are small fixes for these two spitfires. I won’t be forgetting about them next week. Prediction: safe.
My leading dancers:
Men: Will, Mark, Joshua.
Women: Chelsie, Katee and Courtney
Best Technique: Will and Chelsie.
Best Personalities: Courtney and Gev.
Send Home: Jessica and, despite his surprisingly good hip hop, Matt.
Then send home: Comfort and Thayne.
Rachel Howard is the dance correspondent of the San Francisco Chronicle. Her website is www.rachelhoward.com.
* relevé means to rise from a flat foot to half or full point either smoothly rolling through the foot or with a slight spring. Click here to see a relevé performed en pointe by Rebecca Massey of American Ballet Theatre.
