Audience voting now means that some of the better dancers can be put
into jeopardy. As Nigel clearly stated, it’s not about being the best
dancer but the most popular, which can be two very different things;
case in point, Nathan and Molly who escaped being in the bottom six
due to their audience teen appeal. The judges also made it clear that
it’s now not enough to dance well. The dancers must lift the
choreography up to a higher level; they’re responsible to take the
dance beyond the steps, to make something of the dance and to make it
more. It is also the choreographer’s job to make their dancers look
good. The smart choreographer melds the individual talents of each
dancer with the choreographic intent. In doing so, a unique and
exciting hybrid is created, which shines a light on both dancer and
choreographer.

This week’s best choreography was the jazz dance with Ashleigh, Jakob
and cane. The cane allowed new and extended choreographic
possibilities rather than limiting them as we saw last week with the
tennis racket. The cane, used inventively, extended the line and
height of legs, and off-balance postures.

Weakest choreography was the Ellenore and Ryan’s hip-hop number. The
dancers just were not able to embody the style and as a consequence
looked uncomfortable and awkward. They were too nice. As Nigel said,
the dancers must be able to transcend their own style; it shouldn’t
matter what genre they’ve trained in.

Best dancing came from Jakob and Legacy. Jakob had great clarity,
style, personality and character. Legacy, who danced circles around
his partner Kathryn, was athletic, clear, and also danced with great
personality.

Weakest dancing came from Ellenore, Ryan, Kevin, Mollee, Nathan and
Noelle.  Kevin, who looked uncomfortable, just did the steps compared
to his partner who lived them. For Molly and Nathan, their lifts and
partnering were awkward and the chemistry between them missing.
Noelle suffered dancing next to Russell, who danced better and was
given more interesting things to do.

No surprise to see Ryan, Ellenore, and Kevin in the bottom six. Kevin
brought Karen down with him though it was interesting that Nigel
thought that Karen’s maturity and sexuality might be intimidating for
young female voters. I was surprised to see Peter and Pauline in the
bottom six. Though they were not my favorites, they danced better
than some of the others. Nathan and Mollee escaped the bottom because
they’re popular, not better dancers. The judges made it uncomfortably
clear to them that they should have been in the bottom. Certainly the
joy of avoiding elimination was wrest away from them.

Based on their solos, Pauline and Peter should have been and were
eliminated. She danced with too much effort and there was nothing
particular about her choreography. As one of the judges said, it
looked like steps learned in a dance class; it was conventional. For
Peter, tap comparatively just does not sell to a mass audience.

While the dancing this week was fine, as expected, I thought the judges were better, who constantly threw out sagely pearls of insight and knowledge. Adam had the most to say. Though not an exact quote, I loved that he said it’s not enough to dance well and get the steps. To be a great dancer, you need to lose yourself in the choreography, to transcend the movement. Adam didn’t want to be aware that the dancers were trying to dance. Mary said she wanted more abandonment in some of the dancing/dancers. Both Adam and Mary wanted more play, fun, life, joyousness and party in the dancing. Yes dance is serious and hard work but that is not necessarily what you want to broadcast to your audience. Several of the routines could not capture the wanted transcendent spirit and suffered for it. The waltz danced by Ashleigh and Jakob lost much of its magic by showing us all the preparations for the lifts plus all the little fixes to stay on task. The samba danced by Channing and Phillip was not good. The dancing was effortful, particularly in the lifts. They were the opposite of losing themselves in the choreography and having fun, life and “partying” in the dance.
The best dancers of the evening were Karen and Legacy. She sells the movement, earning your attention with full commitment, confidence and involvement. Legacy was incredibly clear and fearless in his dancing, and such a dependable, trustworthy partner for Kathryn, who knew he would always be there for her. Legacy also went deeply into his part and character. The weakest performances came from Noelle, Channing, Phillip and Peter. Noelle was fine, but her partner, Russell, was sharper, cleaner and more aggressive in this dancing. Also, dancing with a tennis racket was distracting and made the dancing just that much harder. I’ve already mentioned Channing and Phillip who struggled through their choreography. Peter was a victim of the production elements. The video backdrop completely overwhelmed the dance; I couldn’t see the dancing. I also felt he tried too hard.
So, I was not surprised to see Noelle and Phillip in the bottom four. Bianca and Victor suffered more because of the choreography than their dancing. Their dance was a rip-off of Alvin Ailey’s Revelations, perhaps one of the greatest modern dance pieces made to date. Most anything, which so directly references Ailey’s dance, would pale in comparison.
Of the bottom four dancers, Bianca and Phillip’s solos were the weaker ones and therefore I’m fine that they were eliminated. Both were at a disadvantage. Though personal opinion, tap just does not come across with the dynamic, full-bodied energy of the other styles. While I appreciate tap and know firsthand how impossibly difficult it is, it is not a style that is going to win mass audience favor and votes. Let’s see how long the final tapper Peter can last. He’s not one of my favorite contestants, particularly when his machismo comes into play.

You might think art is created from a grand vision that seamlessly progresses to its desired end. While vision is required, art equally reflects circumstances that have nothing to do with the master plan. Run out of yellow paint and the painting becomes predominately blue. Run out of time and the play becomes two acts instead of three. A dancer gets injured and a trio suddenly becomes a duet; the show must go on. Fate shapes art and its outcomes.

This was certainly true in this week’s show. Contemporary dancer Billy Bell left the show due to illness. So much for my prediction of him winning the competition. I’m truly sad he’s gone and I have no one to replace him as a clear front-runner. Jakob, also a contemporary dancer who reminds me a bit of Billy, could do well. He certainly has the technical ability that Billy had but with a bit less personality, brilliance, originality and talent. Noelle was injured and did not dance. This does not bode well for her.

Fate also plays its part in what style the dancer picks and choreographer. Ballroom I feel puts most dancers at a disadvantage. It strengths, which are its elegance, control and precision in footwork, rhythm and body posture, often do not excite as much as some other styles. Also any mistakes or missteps are transparently apparent. Russell, who I think is great, did well in ballroom for a crumper, showing line and style, but the routine did not show off his strengths and magnified his weaknesses; dancing without his partner also didn’t help. Pauline, Brandon, Kevin and Karen also suffered by dancing ballroom. Getting choreographer Sonya can also be a disadvantage. I find her routines inane, with too much of a contrived and unnecessary story line going on; just get into the dancing. The best routine of the night was the contemporary number danced by Bianca and Victor. They had great connection and chemistry, which is interesting since the dance was about ignoring each other. They also gave the choreography beautiful flow.

I was not surprised to see Brandon and Pauline in the bottom four. Russell and Aniana were a surprise, though I don’t know whom else I would have chosen. Brandon was an obvious elimination. The waltz was to be light and flowing but instead I saw a postural rigidity and marching feet. His solo was fine, but compared to Russell, it lacked choreographic complexity, richness and style. I felt the judges were very gracious though in allowing him to audition for the next season, having come back to the show disadvantaged, with little time to work with partner Pauline. Ariana had nothing overly captivating in her hip-hop number, and her solo was too frenetic and desperate. Trying to capture the judges’ favor simply by using as much energy possible and doing as many steps and tricks as you can in the allotted time, won’t cut it and gets you eliminated. There was little artistry in her solo.