SYTYCD Season 12 - Top 20 Perform

Here we go! First live show of the season. I'm currently overseas and trying to keep up with the show is pretty difficult - I only watched the clips of every performance and not Monday night's show in its entirety, so bear with me!

The Top 20 showcase can make or break a dancer's season on SYTYCD. Of course, there are some exceptions, but usually a strong performance in the showcase is a prelude to a strong performance in the season overall. As I recap each performance, I'll point out which dancer specifically stood out to me.

Oh, and Asaf Goren is back after Hurrikane had to bow out because of an injury. Spoiler: he won't last long.

TEAM STAGE's Group Performance - Body Language
Choreography by Warren Carlyle

This performance was pretty awesome. Very intricate, very classy, and a handful of very strong showings from individual dancers. It kind of reminded me of Christopher Scott's Architect of the Mind Top 20 group routine in Season 9. Loved Gaby and Moises's little tap cameo, although Gaby is stronger by a hair - don't look at your feet, Moises!

Standouts: Gaby Diaz, Jim Nowakowski, Moises Parra

Jason Derulo's musical performance - meh. It was most exciting to see some All-Stars (FikShun! Jasmine!), and when Jason joined in in their Thriller-type combination it was pretty cool. I hope that there won't be a musical guest every week because it completely feels like the show is grasping at straws to stay alive. It was neat to have Christina Perri and A Great Big World on the show because of their respective song's history on the show, but PLEASE, more dancing!

TOP 20 Group Performance - Revolt
Choreography by Chris Scott

Well, I suppose it was high-energy if anything. Chris Scott sometimes likes to play it safe by giving dancers choreography that's their "strong suit". Kind of disappointed with the amount of coffee grinders the B-Boys were doing in this performance. It was interesting to see who got placed in front, though.

Standouts: Gaby Diaz, Yorelis Apolinario

TEAM STREET's Group Performance - Ready Or Not Here I Come
Choreography by NappyTabs

This performance was ALL about Team Street's girls. After B1 and Asaf's third or fourth windmill, I pretty much gave up watching them all together. Also not sure why Asaf slid off the stage and waited out the choreography crouched in the back for a good twenty seconds. Jaja and Lily's popping and krumping gave me life. Count on those two to last a good long time.

Standouts: Jaja Vankova, Lily Frias, Virgil Gadson

Megz, JJ & Neptune - The Illest
Choreography by Dave Scott

Dave Scott, I always have such high hopes for you! This was quite a yawner, and it's hardly the dancers' fault when they were given such lazy choreography. What is with that "ball of energy" move where only one person dances at a time to kill a few counts of eight? The most interesting parts of this routine is when the three of them did synchronized choreography.

Standout: Megz Alfonso

Lily, Jaja, Asaf & B1 - Easy (Switch Screens)
Choreography by Dave Scott

Definitely more interesting choreography than Dave Scott's earlier piece. Lily's waacking had me on the verge of tears it was so amazing. Asaf had the tween girls in the audience shrieking - bad news since I'm convinced they make up the large majority of the show's voting base. The piece played out like a sped-up silent film and I loved it.

Standouts: Lily Frias, Jaja Vankova

Gaby, Derek, & Moises - Luminous
Choreography by Stacey Tookey

Very pretty, dependable choreography from Stacey Tookey. For most of the piece, I couldn't tell Derek and Moises apart unless I really concentrated, which is a definite positive for the two's synchronization and energy considering their physical differences. Gaby demonstrated her versatility. I thought this piece was beautiful and pretty creative considering it's only the showcase episode. All three had perfect rotation on their turns. No standouts, as this was a flawless execution of dancing as a team, in a trio.

Jim & Darion - Blood and Stone
Choreography by Benoit Swan Pouffer

I LOVE two-men duets, and this one didn't disappoint. Compared to the rest of the performances, this one was definitely the most technically rigorous. Jim has a lot to prove in this competition, given his comparisons to Travis Wall and Alex Wong, and so far he's living up to the big name he's been given. I found Jim to be a hair stronger than Darion in this routine; a little bit sharper, fuller rotation compared to Darion under-rotating in almost every turn, his legs extending a little bit higher. Both need to work on dancing with another person because at times it felt like two solos dancing on the same stage. All in all, though, a very impressive showing by both men.

Standout: Jim Nowakowski

Hailee, Marissa & Alexia - New Dorp. New York
Choreography by Brian Friedman

The choreography was really neat, but giving these three girls, who are all vying for exposure, a "sexy" number in the showcase episode is disastrous. Any of the three of them could be typecast from now on - I guess we'll find out how that plays out. This performance would have been monumentally better had the trench coats not come off to reveal the dominatrix-like garters. Props to the girls for dancing in those six-inch high boots, though. Apparently they got clocked by the judges for over-playing the sensuality in this piece and I definitely agree. No standouts.

Ariana, Yorelis & Virgil - Locked Out Of Heaven
Choreography by Pharside and Phoenix

Despite playing the tired storyline of two girls vying for the same guy, this piece was pretty cool. I'm very very happy to see Pharside and Phoenix are back this season. Virgil is definitely emerging as the strongest of the guys on Team Street, given he can actually execute choreography and not just coffee grinders and wind mills. Not sure which girl stood out to me - maybe Ariana popped a little harder? Also, how much did that enormous golden gate cost?

Standout: Virgil Gadson

Kate & Edson - Shaped Like A Gun
Choreography by Travis Wall

So, I definitely thought Kate and Edson would have gotten a leg up in terms of exposure with this lucky draw. Getting a girl-guy duet, the last performance slot of the show, and Travis as a choreographer should all have spelled success for these two. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a really unmemorable piece. We ALL know how amazing and creative and breaktaking Travis's choreography can be, so this was hugely disappointing. Edson got next to no movement, simply supporting Kate with her extensions, turns, and jumps, which were executed without emotion. The amount of contemporary "reaches" in this piece was almost hilarious. Travis, I love you, but I probably won't remember this piece come this time next week. No standouts.

Overall, this was a solid showcase week. I'm very interested in how people vote after these performances. There's a few contestants who have a very strong fanbase already, and those whose name recognition will let them sail past the first few weeks of the competition. I can't wait to see these guys paired up in different styles.

RANKINGS (all my personal opinion! :)

Team Street Performances
1. Jaja, Lily, B1 and Asaf
2. Ariana, Virgil and Yorelis
3. Megz, JJ and Neptune

Team Stage Performances
1. Jim and Darion
2. Gaby, Derek and Moises
3. Hailee, Marissa and Alexia
4. Kate and Edson

Individual Rankings - Team Street
1. Lily
2. Jaja
3. Virgil
4. Megz
5. Ariana
6. Yorelis
7. Neptune
8. JJ
9. B1
10. Asaf

Individual Rankings - Team Stage
1. Gaby
2. Jim
3. Darion
4. Derek
5. Moises
6. Hailee, Marissa, Alexia (honestly can't justify placing any of these three above or below each other)
9. Kate
10. Edson

Bottom 6 Predictions
1. B1
2. JJ
3. Asaf
4. Edson
5. Marissa
6. Hailee (Alexia's strong fanbase will probably tide her over this week).

xx