SYTYCD Season 12 Top 20 Perform #2 + Eliminations

A New Deru-low

Monday night's show reminded everyone of this season's issues, and the issues it will continue to copulate if the producers don't listen to the fanbase feedback and re-adjust. Here's the thing; the stage vs. street format is probably not bringing in a new viewership, so in order to survive, the show has got to cater to the loyal one it's got. In the first real show of the season we were introduced to another gimmick, a few disastrous trios, an unjust elimination system, and one shining reason to remember why we all love the show in the first place. Shall we get into the specifics?

(Also, I am very very proud of my pun in this week's title.)

This week, I decided to amalgamate my rankings and my recap - all performances are ranked in order from most cringe-worthy to most nostalgia-inducing;

7. HAILEE, YORELIS, AND DARION - Bluctu
Urban Salsa
Choreography by Jonathan Platero and Oksana Dmytrenko

WHO GREENLIGHTED A LATIN BALLROOM ROUTINE WITH A TRIO?? There's only so many formations and combinations a choreographer can think up with three people. What should have been a sensual, exciting routine became one riddled with sloppy transitions (what was that lift with Darion and Hailee?) Darion's movement was far too effeminate. Yorelis barely made it out alive while Hailee faded into her typecast of being overtly sensual. And what the hell is "urban salsa"?

6. GABY, LILY, BURIM AND EDSON - Dhol Baaje
Bollywood
Choreography by Nakul Dev Mahajan

Here came the easiest-looking Bollywood routine I have ever seen on the show. I usually LOVE Nakul's pieces because they're so high-energy that they render you breathless just watching them, but this one fell really flat for me. Edson's gonna be in huge trouble with the voters if he isn't given a piece that highlights his abilities more. Lily and Gaby definitely shone more than the boys, but they were also given more movement. It was nice to see a quartet instead of a trio, though.

5. KATE, ASAF, AND NEPTUNE - All About That Bass
Broadway
Choreography by Spencer Liff

Here's the thing - I really do believe Kate is a very skilled performer, and she lands in the bottom this week because of an entirely different reason than last. Last week her chemistry with her partner was a flop; this week, the choreography she was given was far too easy. The hardest technical step she had to perform was perhaps a double chainé. Kate and Neptune definitely took the piece, with Neptune stepping into his own and making your body into a trombone look cool. Asaf just got lost, but not without effort - he prepped way too early for lifts and fell behind in the quicker transitions.

4. ARIANA AND DEREK - Cry Me A River
Jazz
Choreography by Ray Leeper

Neat premise, decent execution. Derek and Ariana both caught the intricacies of the movement but fell flat when it came to chemistry and partnership. These two are too used to being solo performers, but the piece worked because they were more or less equal in terms of technical ability in this performance.

3. JJ, MARISSA, AND MOISES - I'm So Sorry
Jazz
Choreography by Ray Leeper

This reminded me of a Sonya-Tayeh-esque hard-hitting jazz routine. It was awesome except for the STORYLINE! This is the SECOND performance episode of the season and I am already so so tired of the two-girls-one-guy dominatrix shtick. JJ and Marissa were pretty equalled in this piece, which I'm really happy to see because I was afraid JJ would get lost next to Marissa's dominating presence. Moises seemed a little uncomfortable in his role of being thrown around by the girls, but managed to shine between the cracks of the storyline.

2. ALEXIA, MEGZ, AND VIRGIL - Until We Go Down
Contemporary
Choreography by Dee Caspary

This piece is a prime example of the creative use of an unlucky hand - getting a trio. Alexia definitely proved her prowess in the more technical genre of contemporary. Despite Megz's lines being quite a bit worse than Alexia's (*cough* hunched shoulders *cough*), she did NOT get lost in this piece and managed to pull off an awesome performance. Virgil continues to soar as Team Street's best male dancer.

1. JIM AND JAJA - No Woman, No Cry
Hip Hop
Choreography by Chris Scott

Amidst all the trainwrecks came Jim and Jaja descending onto the stage from the heavens. The performance reminded me of a Season 5-era hip hop - pure in the way that it was 100% focused on the movement and the establishment of a connection. No huge distracting set pieces or cumbersome storylines. Jaja demonstrated surprising vulnerability and softness in her movement, compared to her usual beastly krump. Jim continues to soar up slots in the competition after demonstrating his incredible versatility. This is why duets matter on this show. Now give me an Alex-and-tWitch style hard-hitting routine with these two and I'll be set.

As for the group routines; Travis's Team Stage piece was AWESOME (a reminder of his genius and his creative prowess), Chris Scott and Phillip Chbeeb's Team Street piece started out exciting but faded away once Asaf and Burim were once again given windmills, and Pharside and Phoenix's Top 20 piece was insanely high-energy but got a little lost within the crazy costumes.





Individual Rankings (all my personal opinion :)

Team Street
1. Jaja. Hands down.
2. Virgil
3. Neptune
4. JJ
5. Megz
6. Ariana
7. Lily
8. Yorelis
9. Burim
10. Asaf

Team Stage
1. Jim
2. Marissa
3. Alexia
4. Moises
5. Derek
6. Kate
7. Gaby
8. Edson
9. Hailee
10. Darion

My bottom 6 predictions were terrible last week, but here goes:

Team Street
1. Burim
2. Ariana
3. Asaf

Team Stage
1. Hailee
2. Edson
3. Kate

Why the Twitter Fan Save gimmick would be a good idea is beyond me. Lily going home this week was a travesty, but Darion getting eliminated was the correct choice. This anxious game of russian roulette as to who is saved thanks to the Twitter Fan Save will probably see a few more casualties of very skilled performers.

Lily Frias



















Darion Flores