I found the whole season to be disappointing from start to finish, and Jim’s elimination was just the cherry on top of the whole sorry mess.There were too many lesser-trained dancers, insufficient ballroom, and an awful lot of really mediocre choreography. Nigel’s insistence that “street” dance is equivalent to “stage” dance, which he blathered on about again last night instead of critiquing a routine, isn’t convincing anyone and is just a desperate attempt to save the show. I used to adore SYTYCD, even went to a tour performance when Danny Tidwell danced, but except for Cat Deeley’s presence, the show I loved is pretty much over, and I won’t shed any tears when the final cancellation notice is announced.
After talking to my daughter who is a dancer I was okay with Jim leaving. Though is ballet/contemporary dancing is exquisite (he is already a professional, after all!), he was NOT good at hip hop, and his partnering in the piece with Gabby last night was not great. He just can’t pull off strong-leading-man-type roles, it seems. I will be very happy with any of the 4 remaining dancers winning…though Gabby remains my favorite.
Yes, a dance with Jim and Alex would have been a nice treat.
I can’t remember. Will there be both a street winner and a stage winner, or just one overall winner? Gaby is my favorite, but I agree a dance with Jim and Alex last week might’ve changed last night’s elimination.
MommaJ, I also feel like Nigel keeps pumping up street dancers as a way to keep up interest. I do like JaJa and Virgil’s fun (but so small I thought Jasmine totally overshadowed him) but neither is as good as Gabby or Hayley. Of course it’s a competition for favorite dancer, not best, but at some point they need to stop giving street dancers a pass on technique while picking on stage dancers for same.
Well that was disappointing. I don’t remember if there will be two winners or just one. I’m guessing one and it will be Virgil. That is what the judges seem to want.
It’s my understand there will be one winner. Next week is the “performance finale”, according to Cat Deeley, and I guess there will also be a final results show bringing back most if not all of the dancers and some of the judges favorite pieces…
I do not think they are really giving the street dancers a pass. They have come down pretty hard, at one time or another, on all of them for different things. And, rightfully, on Jim when he was unable to get the style of the street dancing…it’s very true he looked awkward doing yet. And I did not think the judges seemed to be really gunning for Virgil to win—I don’t get where you got that particular idea.
How does someone of Jim’s caliber go home? I’m tired of the favorite dancer winning out over the best dancer. The street versus stage theme, as others have already mentioned, was a way for the show to get two of their shining stars, Travis and Twitch, more involved. Now that the purist forms of dance are diminished I, too, lost interest. Mary Murphy just might be getting some pleasure out of this, having left while the show was still on top.
This show has jumped the shark.
Well, predictions ?
Wow, it doesn’t say much for the future of this show that no one has commented after the last performances.
I hope it’s Gaby, but who knows how America voted. Virgil has never been in the bottom, so he obviously has his fans.
No I think it says more about this forum…people are more interested in bashing the Duggars than anything else, apparently.
I loved the show! I am so glad they saved Gabby’s tap piece for last…she is by far my pick to win, though I like all 4 of these finalists. I think the order of my favorites would be Gabby, then Virgil and then probably Hailee and Jaja. Jaja is fun and, if she truly has never had “training”, her progress has been amazing. But she is definitely not the best dancer on the show…as they pointed out, her lack of technique did show. Plus that piece she did with Cyrus just did not do it for me at all.
The other piece that struck me, choreography-wise, was Gabby and Phillip’s duet. I had actually run across that choreography in a video that featured him and another female dancer on a subway platform. Such innovative and beautiful moves! I did not recognize Phillip when I first saw that video, but surely did recognize the choreography when I saw it last night!! Breathtakingly beautiful.
I am a former dancer and enormous dance fan. I stopped watching as there are no more compelling contestants I was looking forward to seeing perform. I think the choreographers were a bit lackluster as well.
I actually think paula Abdul was way more suited for this than American Idol. I missed Adam shankman and the guy from modern family and Christina Applegate and Mia Michaels, etc. I think everyone grew weary of the show.
I don’t think my lack of comments have anything to do with the Duggar thread.
I agree @eyemamom. Other forums where people regularly commented on SYTYCD used to be filled with posts and now are also relatively empty. I think the show is just on its last legs and the lack of reaction to each episode is proof of that. Every series has its natural lifespan; at some point we all get bored. Even American Idol is ending!
I used to love the show, but I miss the same elements @eyemamom cited and have found myself getting irritated by the endless parade of hair-flinging “lyrical” dancers, the silly stories behind every piece of choreography (X is a dying poodle and Y is her master who is deciding what kind dog breed to get next), the umpteen varieties of “street” dance that I found too hard to distinguish, etc. The gradual demise of ballroom and the firing of judge Mary really finished things off for me. I used to watch rapt with attention, now I do the dinner dishes and pay bills while glancing up occasionally. But I can still watch my favorite routines from past seasons on Youtube, which is a consolation.
I also agree that Paula Abdul has really redeemed herself on SYTYCD after becoming a laughingstock on Idol. Her comments seem to be based in a deep knowledge of dance and her dance vocabulary is sophisticated. (She’s also amazingly ageless for a 53-year-old. Not sure if its good genes or good surgery, but it’s working for her!)
I want to draw a parallel. Remember when ice skating was in its heyday? Tonya and Nancy, Michelle Kwan, etc. Ice skating was on constantly. Then it just fizzled a bit and is no longer prime time entertainment. I think the dance craze is following the same trajectory.
I didn’t even watch Idol, but I just can’t endure Paula. She could be giving the most profound critique in the history of dance and I’d fast forward. (Likely others felt the same way about Mary M.)
I’ll take Paula any day over Jason Derulo. Every show he loses another few IQ points. Totally useless.
If the show comes back, I’d love to see Mia/Adam, tWitch, and Paula as judges, and Lythgoe off the panel. I realize that isn’t going to happen, but I can wish.
I have just not engaged much with the show this season, and I found very few of the performances really memorable. I did really like Phillip Chbeeb’s haunting choreography last night, and the tap routine at the end could easily have come right out of a Broadway show.
LOL, I’ve also been fast forwarding through Jason.
I agree that I am not as engaged with the dancers or the dances this time around.
I agree that Paula was better suited to this show but I thought the overall chemistry of the judges was awful. The street v. stage theme was awful. Even Nigel had his worst season ever. Not having Mary Murphy as a judge was a big blow to the show for me. Even though I absolutely hated her shriek, everything else about her was spot on.