‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Season 11’s top twenty group photo. Credit: FOX/ Creative Commons
Last week season 11’s top twenty performed for the very first time and this week will be the last time they all dance together. “So You Think You Can Dance” opened the show with a theatrical Broadway performance to “New York, New York” by On The Town.
Joining our panel of experts, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe, was legendary ballerina Misty Copeland. The judges showed up wearing their baseball gear supporting their teams to cross-promote FOX covering the baseball league but not to worry, they did a quick costume change after commercial.
This weeks bottom six dancers were: Brooklyn, Casey, Jourdan, Nick, Marlene and Serge.
Tineesha and Rudy performed a sort of dark Moulin Rouge cotemporary dance to Bengsons’ “You Need” choreographed by Sonya Tayeh. Misty called it “fluid” and “sexy.” Mary warned Rudy again about keeping those shoulders down during his lifts but Nigel argued that his lifts were flawlessly strong.
Valerie and Ricky performed a contemporary dance about the one who got away to Gossling’s “Oh Darling” choreographed by Travis Wall. Mary said it best when she said, “Travis created a fantasy world filled with artistry and athleticism” in which Valerie and Ricky live in.
Bridget and Emilio gave a hip-hop performance to Iggy Azalea’s “Work” choreographed by Luther Brown. All the judges were impressed with Bridget’s hip-hop skills. Nigel’s only issue was with Emilio’s outfit.
There was a bit of a scare when Jessica dislocated her shoulder during rehearsal, but after getting medical attention, she was back to practice. Jessica and Nick performed a fun jazz routine to Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” choreographed by Benji Schwimmer. The judges found the performance very entertaining but still had a few critiques to make. Nigel simply expected more from the two of them.
Carly and Serge performed a contemporary dance about an unbreakable love to Sam Smith’s “Latch” choreographed by Sonya Tayeh. The performance brought Mary to tears and Nigel said it was the first time of the season where he felt a real connection between the partners. Simply put, Misty said, “That’s dancing.”
Emily and Teddy gave a flirtatious hip-hop performance to Ed Sheeran’s “Don’t” choreographed by Dave Scott. The judges said they needed to see more of a connection but still enjoyed the routine.
Marlene and Stanley performed a jazz dance to Nancy Wilson’s “I’ve Got Your Number” using telephones as props, choreographed by Spencer Liff. Mary adored the first twenty seconds of it but wanted to get rid of the phones half way through. Nigel said, “I think you got the wrong number,” and went on to explain that the style didn’t fit their abilities at all. “You could have been on the telephone with somebody else,” Nigel went on, “because there was no chemistry on stage.”
Jourdan and Marcquet performed a sexy jazz routine to Britney Spears’ “Work Work” choreographed by Sean Cheesman. The judges said Marcquet was strong the whole way through and Jourdan used her ballet technique in the best way possible. But both dancers were warned to watch their facial expressions.
Brooklyn and Casey did the tango while telling the story of a toxic relationship to Luis Bravo’s “Gallo Ciego” choreographed by Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo. Mary said Brooklyn went from being a cutesy girl to a woman. Misty said Casey took a big step out of his comfort zone and did fabulous.
Jacquie and Zack performed an African jazz routine to Danny Tenaglia’s “Dibiza” choreographed by Sean Cheesman. Mary was on her feet praising the routine and put these two on the “hot tamale train.” Nigel called it one of his favorite routines of the night.
As the night came to and end, Nigel shared some final words of encouragement with the contestants then proceeded on to the elimination. In the end it was Marlene and Nick who got the first cut. Needless to say Rudy took it pretty hard to see his best friend go so quickly.
