Tea and Krumpets -- Top 6 Recap

Check out Television! You Black Emperor for more Top 6 thoughts later in the week.

Lizzie and Robbie - Broadway
I was all ready to hate this because it hewed so closely to the Cheesy Oreo School of Nauseatingly Cloying Broadway, but Lizzie and Robbie both submerged themselves into their performances so well that by the end, I can't help but smile and admit that this was an awesome routine.

Charlie's solo
Choosing a faster song to dance to to try to make it seem like she's doing more?

Alastair and Mandy - Contemporary
It's hard to tell if this charming tale of domestic abuse could've used more emotional investment -- there weren't many closeups of either dancer, so I couldn't read their faces -- but otherwise, YES. I will note that it referenced no fewer than three other routines from across the pond (Bench, Table, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith). (I didn't catch who the choreographer was, but I'd guess it's Baldo Italian.)

Lizzie's solo
Even though she hardly used any of the stage, her musicality was pretty good and I particularly liked the move where she threaded herself through her arm and leg.

Tommy and Charlie - Jazz
The Cheeseman cometh. And this one, Charlie aside, was straight righteous. And although he was wearing pants that were remaindered from Sonya's number for Legacy and Kathryn, Tommy's flip off the prop was B-A-N-A-N-A-S? Like, he took two steps off that thing? Think about that: HE TOOK TWO STEPS OFF THE PROP. (The negative: whenever Charlie wasn't in a lift or tossing her hair, which is to say, whenever she had steps to perform, she fell out of time, and bless Arlene for calling her out on that tip, as little good as it did.)

Alastair's solo
Paso matrix music, except Alastair didn't dance to this at all. Completely devoid of musicality, which makes me think that his Top 10 solo was an anomaly. He also seemed to be riffing off of Ryan Di Lello's cheesiest moves, especially double fist-pump/drop to the knees.

Lizzie and Robbie - Hip Hop
Keeping in mind that, again, this isn't really hip hop, I rather enjoyed this routine, too, if only for the trippy vertigo-inducing use of the prop, though once they got out of bed, Lizzie seemed to be underused. A question about the styling: do Britishes have letterman jackets and cheerleaders?

Tommy's solo
This is a solo. (And, apparently, Tommy's night.) His downrock was fast, tight, and inventive, and the way he transitioned into the two big power moves were eye-popping. The part where he looked like he was going to be a kip up but instead does a handspring back up (and then into a back somersault)? WHAT. His pirouettes into a windmill? WAHT.

Alastair and Mandy - Paso Doble
Reminded me of Legacy and Kathryn's paso, but with the volume turned waaaay down. Neither Alastair nor Mandy managed to look anything but tepid.

Robbie's solo
I can't pay attention to his dancing -- which I'm sure is another series overwrought tricks -- because he's wearing another Stars and Bars tee? Huh? Arlene seems to have decided to be awesome and brings the truth again by saying that all he's been doing was repeating his audition solo.

Tommy and Charlie - Quickstep
Really poor job of coordinating the stage and costuming -- Tommy kept disappearing in his black vest and pants against the, wait for it, black backdrop. Anyway, from my layman's perspective, I didn't see a lot of actual quickstep, but Tommy looked great. The most technical I can/dare to get is that his frame slipped occasionally, but otherwise, brother is fearless in all these dances.

Mandy's solo
Again, she does little for me.

Top 8 Recap

Cross-posted to Television! You Black Emperor.

Best performance show so far.

Girls - Broadway
Zzzz.

Yanet and Robbie - Lindy Hop
I think you can officially call me a Lindy Ho because I actually liked this routine to no small degree -- it's my kritikal kryptonite, you kould say. Yeah, it was a mess of flailing limbs with a protracted section of labored lifts and some pointless tricks (Robbie's spin-kicks over Yanet's head), but I found the mad scientist conceit was fresh (even if we'd already had the Bride of Frankenstein hip hop from season 4, and never you mind). I also felt that this was the most tolerable Robbie's been for a while.

Sisco calling Yanet as the weakest girl left? Dick move, on top of being wrong. I'm glad that in the end, she got a chance to tell him off scathingly (and if she had flashed attitude like this throughout the show, I would've loved her ten times more).

Alastair's solo
Not as hot as his previous solo (e.g. weaker transitions). Perhaps not coincidentally, he wore a shirt this time.

Lizzie's solo
This was fun; she showed some nice variety (popping, locking, even a little bit of b-boy down-rock). I wouldn't say she mastered any of those styles, but I'd call her a Jill of All Trades. Also, wow? She is like, jacked?

Drew and Charlie - Lyrical Hip Hop
I was expecting to hate Charlie in this, but she had so little to do that she barely made an impression, so kudos to her for being so toxic that the choreographers actively minimize her presence in a routine. Drew, on the other hand, had the lion's share of dancing to do in it, and as long as we keep in mind that this routine was basically jazz, he did fabulously well. And the part where he walked on his hands? Boss. He's also easily the best male dancer at raising and adapting his performance quality to fit all the different routines, and he was no different here. I didn't mind the prop overload either (i.e. anything to distract me from Charlie -- I will admit that she charmed me just a little when she received the balloons and her face simply lit up).

Tommy's solo
A nice locking routine! Infectious and fun.

Mandy's solo
So so.

Lizzie and Alastair - Contemporary
Can I just ask first off: how adorable was Lizzie's package when she and Alastair visited her dance studio?

Alastair: Who wants to dance ballet?
(Crickets chirping.)
Lizzie: Who wants to dance street?
Kids:: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!
(Alastair cries in shame.)

Anyway, the pair's contemporary was probably the strongest piece to date on the UK show, and it came courtesy of Baldo Italian Short Guy AKA Rafael Bonachela again. Chemistry well in evidence, and Lizzie showed real grace. A small quibble is the slight hesitation when she lifted Alastair (and what hey, Baldo Italian sure likes to put female lifts in his routines).

Robbie's solo
Cat introduced this as a completely new solo. Really? That double turn into the splits was impressive, sure, but man, I just don't care for his style at all.

Yanet's solo
One of her better solos -- she threw in some yoga poses -- but, you know, it's a ballroom solo.

Mandy and Tommy - Broadway
Great fun. GREAT fun. Tommy has been fearless in all of his partner routines, and he committed enough to this number that he brought great energy and personality to it. Meanwhile, Mandy danced like she had a weight lifted from her shoulders, and was the freest I've seen her on the show.

(By the by, Tommy's package broke my heart.)

Drew's solo
During his pirouettes, he was spotting by looking straight at the camera -- the camera that was rotating around him, i.e. "Aw come on, now he's just showing off!" I tend not to care for solos that feature a prop telephone, but Drew completely justified it -- totally camp, totally awesome.

Charlie's solo
Her best solo to date -- not saying much, clearly -- but compared to all the other remaining non-ballroom dancers, she's still cloyingly immature.

Guys - Ballet
Arresting -- great choreography, though I'd say the execution was a little ragged.

---

The idea that Charlie and Robbie were gifted the cancer dance (sorry for the crude term </unwedges underwear>) was kind of mooted this week, considering that they've both got a far better boon that'll last them till the finals -- i.e. they're both pets of the judges. Whether or not they fall into the bottom next week, they'll have Nigel et al to save them unless they completely tank their performances. In other words, the cancer dance (sorry!) was less a way of getting Robbie and Charlie to the next week as it was a way to burnish their body of work so that they or the judges could point to it and justify keeping either of them over better competition.

---

So the Top 8 Shocker made its way to the UK too, I see.

---

Louise Redknapp is a poor, poor, poor man's Cat Deeley. In fact, she is what I, all those years ago, initially thought Cat was going to be: a talentless blond English totty.

Top 10 Recap

Girls' group routine - Bollywood
Kind of shambolic, wasn't it? The camera work was terrible to boot, which perhaps was meant to cover up how unsynchronized the dancers were.

Lizzie and Drew - Disco
Alternate headline: Drew kills, Lizzie spills. Drew drew (haw) on his manic musical theater (I suppose I ought to spell it theatre) persona to great effect here; Lizzie didn't pull off the same feat, though, because she looked terribly uncomfortable in the number, especially with that costume they had her in. The choreography itself was, sadly, a lot like the American version, with too many wobbly lifts. That said, a vastly entertaining routine carried and sold by Drew with great aplomb.

I do want to note that between the two of them, Lizzie is more convincing at bin-diving for classic wax than he is.

Charlie's solo
The childish, mawkish stuff you'd expect from Mollee, topped off with Jaimie Goodwin's hair.

Robbie's solo
I'm a little stunned by how artistically immature his solo is -- some decent technique joined by pointedly lazy transitions. And what was up with the t-shirt he wore?

Mandy and Mark - Contemporary
An afterthought of a number, both in terms of the dancers and the choreography. I didn't get much from Mark at all, largely because his lack of technique (especially a stiffness in his shoulders -- the unpointed toes were not his biggest crime) limited his expressiveness. Mandy didn't light up the stage, either; I had a lot of trouble getting much from her aside from peremptory steps. The best thing about the performance was that it used Mark's hair in a novel way.

Hayley's solo
Has the benefit of not being Charlie's, but I think it showed that she's not the most athletic of the girls (her back handspring looked labored). Also, too much hair-dancing.

Alastair's solo
OK, wow. In some places, his musicality is a little loose but generally worked extremely well with his control to create a lovely flow. I loved his backwards roll into that inclined handstand (which was pretty swag for a ballet dancer).

Yanet and Tommy - Salsa
Tommy's gotten a much-needed haircut, though it still doesn't entirely hide the fact that he's got something of a comb-over except with his bangs (a style which the internet seems to call an emo comb-over). ANYWAY, another surprisingly fun routine. It didn't have a lot of partnering, which is de rigeur for SYTYCD when at least one of the dancers isn't a ballroom expert, but Tommy brought a lot of confidence and energy, and Yanet was a downright vision. My biggest gripe, though, is that it didn't incorporate a hand-to-hand fight scene, given that both of them are trained in the martial arts.

Lizzie's solo
Her audition solo, and I'm enthralled that we got to see the whole thing this time. I didn't much care for the locking interlude (it didn't quite fit the tone of the song, and I don't much care for locking to begin with) but her popping was exquisite. I haven't much to add to what I originally said about it.

Drew's solo
Do you think he just happened to have a jacket with a sequined heart on the back? I suppose for a self-confessed Judy Garland fan, he's always had that in his wardrobe. Anyway, not as good as his first solo.

Hayley and Alastair - Hip hop
Hayley's "gymnastics" complaint in the rehearsal package made me think they were performing Charlie's solo, but no. (I don't know if the routine was any different in rehearsals, but her comment was something to take offense over.) Anyhow, I wonder if the fact that they were physically isolated from each other by the wall was a problem -- at one point they fell so far out of unison that they were syncopated, a cool effect but probably not what they were trying to do. Of the two of them, Alastair was better, but about as good as you'd expect a ballet dancer to be here. That said, I liked it a lot -- made me realize, oddly, how badly I yearned to see some baggy pants on the show.

Mandy's solo
I have a hard time telling apart the solos of female contemporary dancers.

Mark's solo
In addition to locking, I don't much care for lyrical hip hop.

Charlie and Robbie - Lyrical
Oh look, Tasty Oreo! And a free pass for Charlie and Robbie! You know, I actually preferred this version of the cancer dance to the original, in no small part because Janette wasn't around to get shafted by it this time. I've actually softened to it, though -- Robbie was nothing on Ade, but as much disdain as I have for Charlie, she brought more maturity and technique (!) to it than I thought she would. That said, I haven't changed my mind about either of them.

Yanet's solo
About what you'd expect from a ballroom solo. There's also something about her... her eyes always read sad to me, and coupled with the way her mouth is almost always open when she dances, she rarely looks like she's enjoying herself.

Anyway, why are all the ballroom experts on SYTYCD from the past several seasons trained specifically in Latin rhythm rather than smooth styles? Answer: We've run out of Schwimmers.

Tommy's solo
He starts off with a bang -- he transitions from one freeze to that same freeze but on the other hand = pimp. But the rest of his solo is kind of routine, albeit with nice groundwork, because for a b-boy, he seems to have unflatteringly short legs, which are not helped by wearing shants.

Guys' group routine - Broadway
Yes, if there's one thing that the UK needs to raise its SYTYCD quality, it's to recycle Tasty performances.

Top 12 Recap

A different version of this post is cross-posted to Television! You Black Emperor.

And with that, the top 10 is already upon us, which couldn't have come soon enough given the rather modest choreography we've suffered through all season (i.e. last week), though the top 12 performance got off to such a sorry beginning that you kind of had to wonder if the UK was just going to sink under the weight of its mediocrity.

Robbie and Yanet, Hip hop
I'm stunned that there have been opinions about this number that do not involve the words "worst" and "ever," in that precise order. OK, maybe I'm overstating things -- my memory of the first season, with its in-bloom Karaty-ness and hip-hop challenged dancers, is pretty murky -- but Robbie and Yanet easily surpassed the recent low-water mark (Evan and Randi). Mostly, Robbie's at fault; I thought Yanet did ok, but I can see where she might be seen as too wild. But Robbie nearly biffed on the back somersault, not to mention the kip-up that he whiffed on.

Gavin and Chloe, Broadway
Another mess. Neither of them have the prototypical dancer's body -- they're both stocky with short limbs -- so they were really going to have to fight uphill rather than getting intimidated (Gavin) or getting paired with an intimidated partner.

Hayley and Drew, Contemporary
Right then, a glimmer of life. Really excellent choreography -- the female lifts weren't done for the sake of a woman lifting the man, it had a purpose and it looked great. Hayley and Drew weren't perfect in this -- emotion was lacking, first and foremost -- but they were better than competent, and I'd take that. (I have to think that half of the contemporary dancers from the US SYTYCD could've managed the same level of dancing, though.)

Alasdair and Mandy, Cha-cha
I don't know how to appreciate fastish Latin dances, so I'll just say that they avoided the ignominy of Nathan/Mollee salsa status.

Tommy and Charlie, Pop Jazz
Maybe I'm an utter imbecile, but I thought that Tommy actually had some decent choreography. I can see, however, his point -- what he's managed to show would seem to indicate that he can bite off much more challenging routines.

Lizzie and Mark, Viennese waltz
Not the disaster I was expecting. Lizzie looked smashing with her hair all glammed up, while Mark was quite dashing. (And I liked how the stylists tried to make a pompadour out of Mark's tuft.) I watched her more closely, no surprise there, and though she could've extended herself more, she avoided the heavy-footed stomping that she seemed perfectly capable of back in Vegas.

A New British Invasion: Top 14 Recap

An older version of this post is cross-posted to Television! You Black Emperor.

First and foremost, the British dancing we saw it on the opening week of competition isn't noteworthy compared to the other Anglophone versions of SYTYCD. It's not terrible -- though I couldn't wait for Mandy/Alastair's Broadway (are they even allowed to still call it Broadway when it's on a completely different continent?) to be over -- but it's also not great, at least through the first week. I was somewhat under the impression that the UK would have strong classically trained dancers, because, you know, I once watched a couple ballet performances on DVD that involved British companies. And to make matters even more unimpressive, the wrong female dancer went home. Anabel's solo struck me as deft and lovely, a far cry from the typical contempogirl stringing together développés and jetés and other decadently French techniques. But instead, she was eliminated, which put a premature end to the number of different celebrities people think she looks like (Penelope Cruz, Uma Thurman, and Anne Hathaway by last count).

I'm not a complete Negative Nelly, fortunately; I liked Lizzie and Mark's lyrical hip hop, simply for not being CrappyTabs (pardon the French, the UK has laxer language standards), and because I'll immediately like anything a pretty hip-hop lady performs. I have to wonder, though, if a country that produces mediocre hip-hop music (there's, what, Roots Manuva and Dizzee Rascal? MIA? Is Lady Sovereign good?) can produce better-than-mediocre hip-hop dance.

The production also has second-rate written all over it. More than once, the show cut to an extreme long shot of the stage in the middle of the dance, but the stage isn't raised all that high so the heads of all the audience members blocked the view of the dancers' feet. Still, chintzy production isn't a dealbreaker for me, as I have a soft spot for the aesthetics of low-rent reality shows. As the Orbitz stewardess says saucily, "Smashing!"

Nevertheless, the episode was engrossing as reality spectacle, which is to say, Cat. She immediately increases the watchability of anything she's on a hundredfold, and seeing her on her stomping grounds is good fun. Momo made a similar observation: "Have you noticed that Nigel speaks differently when surrounded by folks who speak like he does? he seems more relaxed, more fluent, doesn't enunciate so clearly for us yanks." Just judging by this first week, the entire show -- Nigel and the judges, Cat, the camera-people -- seems more relaxed and looser, and there were moments when the banter between host and judges got downright rowdy compared to the more genteel American (hah) production.

And lots of weird British in-jokes that flew over my head.

And, hell, whatever deficiencies the contestants have as dancers, they more than make up for with personality. (And vaguely Gothy hip-hop girls, but that's neither here nor there.) Personality was something that sorely lacked from Canadance season 2, at least as far as I was concerned, and no amount of good choreography could get me over my hump of apathy -- narrative reared its head, unexpectedly. The UK crew has had as long a history with reality tv as Americans (if not longer), so they know what plays in front of a camera, and SYTYCD, being fundamentally a tv show, is improved by it.

SYTYCD Britain Introduction

Official Site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pj22l

So You Think You Can Dance Press Pack:

Nigel Lythgoe is returning to British shores to find the nation's hottest dancing talent on BBC One with the award-winning So You Think You Can Dance, starting on Saturday 2 January 2010.

Fresh from six seasons of the hit show in the US, Lythgoe will take up his position as head judge along with renowned choreographer Arlene Phillips and a third judge to be announced, to critique finalists competing for the title of Britain's Favourite Dancer.

The culmination of a national audition tour which dancers from all disciplines attended, the top 14 have been selected for the live Saturday night studio shows.

The series winner will receive a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hollywood where they will get to perform live on the US version of the show, plus £100,000. But, in order to get there, the top 14 will be pushed right out of their comfort zones.

Each week they'll be challenged to dance different styles like hip-hop, jazz, Broadway, lyrical and contemporary, with a new routine taught by world-renowned choreographers and mentors.

And it won't be just the judges they have to impress: viewers will have the ultimate power to vote for their favourite dancer at the end of each live show.

How it works

Seven girls and seven boys made it through the auditions to be selected for the live shows. Of these 14, one will be crowned the winner of So You Think You Can Dance and win the opportunity to dance in Hollywood plus £100,000.

Following the launch show on 2 January, the live shows will begin on 9 January. Each Saturday for six weeks there will be a live main show followed by a separate live results show.

Voting

Each week until the final, one boy and one girl will be eliminated.

In week 1 and 2 viewers will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite couple. Out of the lowest scoring four contestants, the judges will select one boy and one girl to be eliminated. All four (two boys and two girls) will have their last opportunity to dance in the results show in a 30-second solo.

In the remaining shows, viewers will vote for their favourite individual dancers and the judges will lose their power to make the final decision, only giving critiques. From the third live show, couples will be changed. The dancers will all dance solo, in group routines, and as couples in a variety of different styles.

Auditions Show
Showing the search for the Top 14 dancers, and introducing them ahead of the first live show.

Live Show 1 – 9 January
Fourteen dancers. Audience votes for couples. Judges eliminate one girl and one boy of the lowest scoring four dancers.

Live Show 2 – 16 January
Twelve dancers. Audience votes for couples. Judges eliminate one girl and one boy of the lowest scoring four dancers.

Live Show 3 – 23 January
Ten dancers. Audience votes for individual. The girl and boy with the least votes are eliminated.

Live Show 4 – 30 January
Eight dancers. Audience votes for individual. The girl and boy with the least votes are eliminated.

Live Show 5 – 6 February
Six dancers. Audience votes for individual. The girl and boy with the least votes are eliminated.

Live Show 6 – 13 February
Four dancers. Audience votes for individual. The winner is the dancer with most votes.

SYTYCD Britain

This site is dedicated to the BBC One program So You Think You Can Dance Britain. For the official press release and audition information, see the forum.

The "Social" is designed to be a quick (read: fast loading) and friendly place to socialize about SYTYCD Britain. You can join the discussions in the open threads and in response to the news and opinion posts, and share links to news, blogs, videos, images and other notable SYTYCD stuff posted elsewhere on web. We don't pretend to be the only fan site, much less official, so really--if you find something that's worth sharing, or you're responsible for something that's worth sharing (webmasters and bloggers, that means you), share it here.

SYTYCD Britain Social is modeled after its American parent. Its lifeblood is the contributions of British fans like you. SYTYCD Canada Social was similarly conceived, and as you can see, the Canadian fans are taking full advantage. So if you're a fan of SYTYCD and would like your opinions to matter more than most, you can do so by becoming a contributor to SYTYCD Britain Social.