So You Think You Can Dance Canada: Top 14

This episode was full of surprises:

· The wardrobe department finally stepped up to the plate and outfitted the dancers in costumes that were appropriate to the routines, enhancing the choreo rather than distracting from it, as has happened no less than twice and frequently more in every previous episode.
· The final word from the judges, which I complained about at length in last week’s recap, was cut in its entirety (which is preferable to the wishy-washy nonsense we heard last week - but not as edgy as true critiques would have been).
· Some of the front runners stumbled.
· The judges did step up in at least one case and flatly told a dancer that this is likely the end of their stay
· And one routine redeemed my least favorite choreographer with a brave interpretation of a great song that brought tears to the eye and a healing touch to the heart.

Oh – and host Leah Miller wore a dress that fit like the case for a fine musical instrument, leaving no doubt that she is built with hips that could pop out babies with the ease of any of the Irish Catholic girls of my youth.

Here we go:

Luther Brown and Blake McGrath are choreos again this week. Their seats at the judges’ table are taken by scream queen SYTYCD-U.S. judge and champion ballroom dancer Mary Murphy (who was featured prominently during the audition rounds) and National Ballet of Canada artist-in-residence and Canada Walk of Fame member Rex Harrington.

Lisa and Vincent earned my vote last week for their Afro-jazz-ballet-theatre fusion performance. Both Lisa and Vincent are contemporary dancers and have danced shoeless in every performance. Choreographer Dimitry Chaplin asks them how their samba skills are and both dancers reply that they have none. Dimitry informs us that the samba is considered the most difficult of all South American dances – a region known for difficult dances. Not only that - the samba requires shoes.

Can they pull it off? The song is Skip to the Bip and the short answer is no. It wasn’t ugly, but it was sloppy enough that I will be voting for another couple for only the second time. The judges are kind. They know what artists these two are. But this is a competition and this week they were not crisp and clean enough to deserve my vote. Good luck in the dance for your life segment tomorrow night. I will hate the judges if they eliminate you. Judge Mary says straight out – no, the routine wasn’t good, but she will not vote them out in the final 6. Rex is aware the shoes were an issue, so I hope I’m right and Lisa and Vincent stick around. But it’ll be up to the judges to save them, and the judges let us down two weeks ago when they dumped Dario despite Jean Marc's assurances that that wouldn't happen.

And costume department: – loved Lisa’s outfit. I asked a woman how to describe it and she said “Christmasy Galaxy Quest porn.” Works for me.

Lara and Myles do a Benji Schwimmer choreoed West Coast Swing routine. Keep in mind, Benji follows dance styles rather loosely. The story is it’s payday for two kids working McJobs (again, good job wardrobe). They start dancing to the O’Jays’ Livin’ for the Weekend in uniform, as if they are dancing behind the counters at work; hestitant, slightly clumsy. The song kicks into high gear, the Velcro rips and we have Lara in a sparkly bra and black stretch pants, Miles in black pants, stripe dress shirt and tie and the two of them ripping it on a club dancefloor.

I don’t know if it was the choreography or Lara and Myles finally reaching the edge of their envelope, but, like Vincent and Lisa, the performance was not up to their usual high caliber. Rex mentions “the in between bits” were awkward and hesitant, showing they didn’t have a firm grasp on the piece as a whole.

Nico and Arrassay do a Luther Brown Hip-Hop routine to Busta Rhymes’ Don’t Touch Me. They are dressed in camouflage outfits that are stiff and not flattering at all. That said, these two are so vibrant they still make you want to rip their close off and get them in bed. Crisp, sharp, totally in sync. Nice bit was when we saw them in rehearsal and Luther asked each dancer, “What can you give me?” Loved that respect for the dancer. And loved Luther’s confidence in getting his dancers to show him their best moves and incorporating those moves into his routine. Mary called it buck, Rex waxed eloquent on the sensuous connection these two have even under stiff military uniforms, Tre pointed out ones native tongue is Spanish, the other’s is French, their choreographer spoke English and for all that, they have mastered the language of hip-hop. Best routine so far.

Caroline and Jesse do the Hustle in the night’s second Schwimmer choreod routine. Odd thing is Jesse is supposed to be a womanizer (they dance to Britney Spear’s Womanizer), but the routine has him playing subservient to Caroline. With that said, I think it’s one-trick-pony Jesse’s best routine to date and am a little taken aback by the hammering he takes from the judges. One after the other they tell him that, at this point in the competition, he is still unable to show “partnering” skills outside of the parallel partnering in his core strength of break dancing – an essentially solo dance genre. It is the same dilemma that got Tamina eliminated last week. And it’s true – the intricate, multi-directional spins of the Hustle are not for the novice. The judges make it clear to Jesse and to us that they think he has gone as far as he should.

It’s harsh, but that’s what these judges should be doing. They compliment Caroline quite highly, and you have to wonder, if Jesse goes and she stays, which of the other women will go?

Jesse impresses with how he takes the raking over the goals. He thanks the judges and says he will use their critiques to become a better dancer. I have a feeling Jesse will be back next season.

Danny and Allie dance a contemporary routine to Someday, John Legend’s song of lost love and the faint hopes we cling to as a way of enduring heartbreak. I’ve always interpreted the song as speaking of a failed relationship between adults with the narrator comforting himself with the unlikely belief that one day, in some uncertain future, he will be reunited with his beloved. Here choreographer Paul Becker, who I have not been impressed with to date, takes the risky, brave step of choreographing a routine that tells the story of his mother, who gave up her first born for adoption at birth, and the mother and child reunion that occurred 26 years later.

Danny, nude save for flesh colored tights, lies on the stage, apparently asleep. Far in the background a dim spot lights Allie, standing, nude save a flesh colored leotard. She walks down stage, apparently unaware of the sleeping form. Danny rolls forward, she steps over him. He rolls and curls around her ankles. She notices him. He rises and the pas de deux begins. It is one of the most moving routines I have ever witnessed, with the dancers fully cognizant of the meaning of each move as they come together, part, dance in their own spaces and finally come together again.

Paul – I take nothing back. You are not a consistently good choreographer. But now I know that doesn’t mean you are a consistently poor one. This piece was great art. The difference between craftsmen and artists is that artists get better. You’ve shown me you deserve my respect, and I assure you that now you have it.

As for the judges, Tre sums it up: “You guys,” which I hope includes Danny, Allie, Paul and Mr. Legend and even Paul’s mother and brother, who are in the audience, “are brilliant.”

Natalli and Francis do a Theatre number, choreographed by Sean Cheesman to Cell Block Tango by Countdown Singers, a fun tune with a spoken intro reminiscent of the Shangri-Las and Leader of the Pack (vroom-vroom).

Last week these two made a surprise appearance in the bottom three and I sympathize with Francis when he says, “I don’t know what more I can do.” The rumba was hot. So I implored the wardrobe department to rescue him from his dated, cheesy look, which I described as a parody of a Hull, PQ, disco stud circa 1975. This week, for the first time in the competition, he is not dancing in a long sleeve dress shirt unbuttoned to his navel. His hair has also been restyled in a short, clean look; he is dressed all in black with shiny purple highlights on his sleeveless tee that make the outfit dressy rather than greasy. Natalli starts in red silk baby doll, which gets ripped off to reveal a black slip when the spoken word intro ends. The choreo is over the top – kicks, pushes, hair pulling and throws – all done clean and crisp.

Mary gushes over Nattalli, telling her she has a “wild and crazy” edge to her sexuality that no one else in the competition has. Rex seconds the motion and Tre tells them (i.e., us) “I don’t think this competition can afford to lose you.” Jean Marc points out the Bob Fosse influence, which is spot on, but then he spoils it with unnecessary hype, claiming choreographer Cheesman brought it, “to another level.” On a good day Theatre choreographers reach Bob’s level, Jean. Nobody has ever or will ever take it beyond Fosse. He’s like punk. Thirty years after the dawn of punk, it remains unchanged and unsurpassed as an expression of adolescent alienation and angst. There is no level beyond it. Fosse’s the same.

And oh yeah –Francis, ever the gentlemen, is the first dancer to include the choreographer’s dancing partner in his thanks, so I’ll do it too: hey Cheri – good job.

Last are Kaitlyn and Izzak. Izzak was in the bottom two last week and was essentially told that, gay though he may be, he had to find a way to perform a believable sexual connection with his female partner or he would be eliminated. Blake McGrath does the choreo and I believe he designed his Jazz-Funk routine to Riahanna’s Breakin’ Dishes specifically to force Izzak to either overcome his one weakness or be forced out.

The piece is highly theatrical, with Kaitlyn as a waitress in a diner serving bespectacled nerd Izzak. Like all of Blake’s choreography the dancing is aggressive, with lots of small, fast moves and close-in turns, spins and head snaps. The money shot of the piece is Kaitlyn leaping from the diner table and Izaak catching her; one of her legs over his shoulder, the other against his chest inner thigh first, her crotch pressed against his lface. She leans back, grinding her pussy against his lips and they let her momentum spin them around and down to the floor, where they finish with a passionate, lingering kiss.

Blow me away. Maybe blow me, period. Loved that Blake pitched Izzak high hard and inside and love that the nineteen year old refused to bail. Dances are one thing – guts are something else. Great television.

So, as I mentioned 4 pages back, no last word from the judges. For me, Lisa and Vincent, Myles and Lara, and Jesse and Caroline are the bottom three. And of those Jesse and Caroline should be eliminated. And, much as I loved the other 4 couples, my vote goes to Danny and Allie, and by extension, to Paul, John Legend and Paul’s mother and brother.