| Performer Torrent Results:
Top 16 Perform
0 hour(s) and 00 minutes - Movie - 2011
It's time for the Top 16 dancers to perform on "So You Think You Can Dance." Joining regular judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy are guest judge Lil C and celebrity guest Kristin Chenowith, who's putting out a country music album because, well, because that's what famous people do.To help fill two hours, er, to make things more interesting, host Cat Deeley explains that in addition to each couple's regular performances this week, the entire group has been split in half to perform two group routines. They won't be critiques, but the judges will take the dances into consideration when determining who stays and goes.The first of the group routines is a number choreographed by Tyce Diorio.Tonight, the dancers will talk about their first-ever performances, which will be accompanied by embarrassing childhood photos.Sasha & Alexander: Sasha tells us she was a tomboy and never hung out with girls, and her first performance as a child was portraying a frog. She now hates frogs. Alexander wore little bowties as a child, and his first performance was a tribute to "The Lion King" at his sixth birthday party. They get a Dee Caspary contemporary routine. Nigel tells Sasha she was "a tomboy frog who turned into a beautiful princess." He tells Alex he needs to work on his connection with the audience. Mary gives a moderate "I think you did," when answering her own question as to whether they pulled off the routine. Kristin tells Sasha she understands "the frog deal," explaining that she once played a tulip and a frog peed on her. She tells Sasha she doesn't hear a sound when she dances (which is a good thing) and that Alexander has great extensions ("and I'm not talking about the ones on my head.") Lil C throws a lot of big words around to tell them they are two really good dancers who pulled off a complicated routine. Caitlynn & Mitchell: Caitlynn loved playing in the dirt as a kid, but she was always dressed up. Her first performance was a "duck dance" in a funny blue and yellow get-up. Mitchell says he was a ham, always posing for pictures. He was a late bloomer, starting dance at 16, when he "killed" his first performance, playing Leroy in "Fame." Jean-Marc Genereux gives them a sexy samba. He tells them the power and voice of the samba is all in the hips and that's where the voice has to come out, "like speakers." Mary says her ears are ringing because "all the speakers have just been blown out." She says they were "both just really in it and living it." Kristin says, "Shut the front door ... shut the back door, shut the door to the garage." Lil C loved it and says to Mitchell, the late bloomer, "better late than never." Nigel says Mitchell's weakness was exposed in last week's cha cha, but his strengths came out in this samba. He tells Caitlynn "the articulation" in her body is perfect.Miranda & Robert: Miranda says she was very opinionated as a child. Her first performance was tap dancing and she says she was a natural. Robert tells us he loved "playing characters" one of those was Michael Jackson, who inspired him to do his first talent show. Tyce Diorio gives them a Broadway routine in which Miranda is "an upper-class working girl." It's fast and intricate, Miranda says, and they have a move on every beat. Kristin says she's "got nothin'" in terms of things they should work on. She says she wasn't sure when she watched their rehearsal earlier, but they killed it. Lil C tells Miranda she leaves him in awe when she dances, adding, "With legs like that, who needs arms?" He tells Robert he has a perfect personality. Nigel tells Miranda she's grown more than anyone in the competition. He tells Robert, a hip-hop dancer, how impressed he is with his performance. Mary tells Miranda more about her great transformation, and tells Robert he "caught on fire." She tells him he's "a star, and it's getting a little shinier every single week."Melanie & Marko: Melanie says she's been a performer since Day 1. In her first performance, a ballet-tap class, she wore a Little Bo Peep costume. Marko says he was a crazy kid and a big brat, but once he started dancing he calmed down. He did jazz and hip-hop at about 10 years old, and was "very internal" with his performance. They get a lyrical hip-hop routine from Napoleon & Tabitha. Lil C called them "a power couple" and said the beginning, especially, was "extra buck." Nigel says he can't judge them individually because they danced and breathed and their hearts beated together. He says they are "the couple to beat." Mary tells Marko his emotions were believable and his technique was "razor-sharp." She loves Melanie's nuances and asks how hard it was for them to kiss in the middle of the dance, and Nigel leans over and plants a huge kiss on Mary that sends everyone into a tizzy. Kristin says she's so moved she thinks she's going to ... and she leans over and plants a big kiss on Lil C. Ashley & Chris: Ashley says she was loud and obnoxious as a kid. Her first performance was at age 3, wearing a tutu and using a shopping cart as a prop. Chris has six siblings and his first performance was poetry reading. They get a jazz routine from Sonya Tayeh about some half-zombie, half-alive people. Nigel says he didn't connect with it and specifically didn't like the music. Mary understands Nigel's point but says they pulled off a lot of hard synchronization in the routine. Kristin acknowledges that this isn't her thing, but she was enthralled. Lil C explains that Sonya gives the dance movements a character within each of her dances. He calls Ashley a "sleeper cell" in the competition and tells Chris he sees him. Clarice & Jess: Clarice tells us she took every opportunity to perform. She did a "really cutesy" dance that went really well and her mom loved it. Jess says he was a crazy kid and that in his first performance as a child, all he did was wave to his mom the whole time. They get a foxtrot from Jean-Marc about a crooner who's ready to sing but decides to dance with a beautiful woman instead. Mary they did a perfect, gliding, sophisticated foxtrot. She tells Clarice she's great and tells Jess "there isn't a single other dancer that could've done what you just did." Kristin calls it her favorite performance of the night. Lil C tells Jess his "physical artistic expression is the definition of sophistication," which Jess doesn't seem to understand. Nigel compliments the costume designer for a beautiful dress and says Clarice lived up to it.Ryan & Ricky: Ricky shares that he never gave up a chance to dance. He says that in his first performance, he forgot his routine and started doing his friend's choreography and it all went downhill. Ryan says her first performance was at age 4 and she danced to "Animal Crackers" by Shirley Temple. They get a contemporary routine from Sonya Tayeh about a couple who knows their relationship is ending, but they don't know why something is tying them together. Ryan gets emotional just thinking about it and Sonya is on the verge of tears in the crowd. Kristin is in awe as the crowd roars. She says the performance "speaks." Lil C calls them a power couple after praising Sonya's ability to express emotion through dance. Nigel also praises Sonya for using her personal experience to convey a powerful dance. Mary heaps praise on them both and says she "loved every second of it."Jordan & Tadd: Jordan says she was a crazy kid who growled at people. Her first performance was in first grade, dancing to the Spice Girls. Tadd says he was a huge nerd as a kid and his dad taught him martial arts. They get a Napoleon & Tabitha hip-hop routine about a couple waking up the morning after a one-night stand and scrambling to get dressed. Lil C loved the concept and the execution, but told them to dance with their entire bodies. Nigel says the story overwhelmed the dance, but it "was great fun." Mary says they "put the whammy on all of us" and she loved it. Kristin wants all the doors shut again. The night ends with another group dance, a Dee Caspary number about medieval women getting revenge on the men around them by poisoning them. |
