So SYTYCD sucked me back in. I have been watching, just mostly on fast-forward. The episode 2 weeks ago pissed me off, and then the elimination made me apoplectic. So I kind of skimmed last week's episode (which was fine, because the dancing kind of sucked) and we're down to the final 4.
Here's the super-fast recap of the episode 2 weeks ago. Jeanette kicked butt and got kicked off (probably because the judges were too fawning both of her and of another routine). Ade and ballerina-girl got a contemporary routine about breast cancer that pissed me off so very badly. It was actually a very nice routine - that did NOT need a backstory, let alone have the girl dancing in a headscarf to make her look like a chemo-patient. Then of course all the judges cried and made it about themselves instead of the dancing (yes, we know your dad died Mia, but why don't you critique the dancing instead of using this show as a therapist). Hate to sound bitter, but I really hate routines like that. Boo.
So anyway, the final 4 are Brandon, Evan, Kayla, and Jeanine. I don't think Evan deserves to be there - he's gotten votes because he's "cute" (kind of like how Benji won Season 2 over Travis, who was a far superior dancer. However, Benji rocked most of the time, whereas I feel like Evan is a cut below the rest of the dancers left). I like Brandon, think Kayla is good, and adore Jeanine. So obviously I'm rooting for Jeanine. Why? Because she infuses her movement - both the big stuff and the transitions, with so much. So much what, you ask? I don't know. She just seems to infuse her dance with life and personality and grace and control. Every single moment. She doesn't stumble, she's never frantic, but her movements are still exciting and fluid.
I missed the start of the show, so I didn't see all 4 of them dance together. Then we have a Jeanine/Evan contemporary routine. Jeanine dances well. Evan kind of flails around the floor. He just doesn't finish any of his movements. Of course, the routine was kind of about Jeanine beating Evan up, so he's supposed to flail a bit, but I think it's supposed to look a bit more like dancing.
Oh, ick, they're individually interviewing the dancers. I think I'll skip that.
Solo: Brandon. Good choice of music, beautiful as always, but just a tad frantic. In fact, some people might call it "desperate". It's not always quite on with the music. I think he does have amazing jumps and tricks and dancing, but he's not very musical in his choreography. He tries, but he just dances all out and I think the choreography needs to be as much in the flow and control of it as in the high parts. His is just at break-neck speed the whole time. But of course, it's stunning.
Kayla/Brandon doing something. I actually liked it quite a bit. Kayla does have the most beautiful extension, but I feel like the choreographers have a tendency to rely on it too much. It's distracting to me when a girl spends half the dance with her legs spread quite that far apart. It's slightly vulgar, even on such a graceful girl as Kayla. There are some neat moves, but when I watch Kayla dance I feel like she never breaks through to the audience, especially when it's supposed to (like in a Broadway routine). The judges, esp. Nigel, go out of their way tonight to tell us that she showed personality, but she didn't. Her dancing is graceful, but thin.
Jeanine solo: Holy sweet jehosophat that was amazing!!! So, I've always like Jeanine's solos, but this was just stellar. She starts out mixing up some contemporary and ballet that goes well with the music (a Tango). She does choreography that is timed beautifully with the music between her jumps and then she does the most amazing pirouette ever. 9 times around. 4 with her leg out, 5 with it in, with the last 2 being excruciatingly slow. As Adam Shankman notes, it was a huge risk to do it because she so easily could have fallen out of it. And before she puts her foot down she even pauses, as if to show completely in control she is. I admit, I watched the solo like 10 times and after watching it I realize that she's correcting herself in the midst of the pirouettes. It's amazing and she gets a standing ovation. I just think she's so much more of a dancer than Brandon. He's more of an acrobat.
Evan and Brandon - do a kind of hard-hitting hip-hop type dance to Janet Jackson's "Nasty". And seeing them dance side-by-side just shows how much better Brandon is. It's uncomfortable to watch.
Jeanine and Kayla - A very beautiful dance by Mia Michaels, I think. Not my favorite contemporary but both girls are gorgeous. Kayla has of course, her stellar lines, but seeing them dance side-by-side, Jeanine just pours life into her dance and my eyes automatically go to her. It's not that Kayla does poorly, it's just that Jeanine adds another dimension to her dancing. If it were music, it would be the difference between a high thin note on the flute, and playing the same note, but opening your throat and blowing from your diaphragm and coming out with a nice round sound. It's obviously difficult to describe, but she just does more somehow. Also, let me take this moment to say that as much as the judges are saying that Kayla is one of the best dancers they've had, I have to disagree. I think that, in moments, she is, but you could say that about a lot of people. She has had flubs. I've seen her fall out of pirouettes, her solos are boring, and sometimes she even looks a little heavy in her jumps, and as opposed to Jeanine, she doesn't help her partners along at all, and rarely has chemistry with them. Also, I did end up watching the interviews and Kayla manages to come off as a little, well, bitchy. Considering that this is one of the few times that people will see her personality, she doesn't come off well.
Kayla solo: Boring. She doesn't use the stage well (they're at the Kodak theatre) and it was just ok. In fact, the judges actually end up judging her on her past performances instead of this one, which seems horrifically unfair.
Evan solo: Didn't watch it. Sorry, Evan bores me. He's done essentially the same solo every week, and it's good and sweet and smooth, but he doesn't belong in the top 4.
Kayla and Evan: Oy. I feel sorry for them. They get some kind of weird couples dance to country. Kayla looks awkward (which I didn't think was possible) and it's just boring and tacky. Boo Tony and Melanie. And Yay to Shankman for pointing that out.
Jeanine and Brandon: Paso Doble. I liked it, but somehow, I wanted more. I liked both of them in it, and the choreography was neat, but I think they took out some of the lifts. They showed them practicing some that didn't make it in. But compared to Kayla and Evan, they knocked it out of the park.
So, as i've made abundantly clear, totally rooting for Jeanine, although I wouldn't be too upset if Brandon won. I think another reason why I like Jeanine so well, is because she seems like she's really worked for this. She's not like Kayla who has the perfect genes for this or Brandon who has the obvious athletic ability (he says he doesn't even work out). She was a dark horse, but only because of her body shape and looks. Every dance she obviously is trying her hardest and just infuses heart into everything she does. I think that's why she has a chance to win too.
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