Heidi Becomes Queen of ... Afro Pop?

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Heidi Becomes Queen of ... Afro Pop?; So You Think You Can Dance 8/2/06
Topic Started: Aug 3 2006, 11:34 PM (2,997 Views)
jlyl	Aug 3 2006, 11:34 PM Post #1
ARTsy Posts: 650 Group: Writer Member #240 Joined: July 14, 2005	We’re down to the top six: Heidi, Travis, Natalie, Benji, Donyelle, and Ivan. Tonight, they perform for your votes. They start off with their little solos and production number where Benji displays his new talent in booty shaking. Soon, our hostess Cat Deeley enters the stage and tries to dance with them. Please, please don’t! The plan for tonight is that couples will again be paired up randomly to dance two routines together and dancers will also perform a solo. The judges for tonight are Nigel, Mary, and Mia. It’s the guys’ turn to pick partners again, and Ivan draws Natalie. She’s very excited to finally be paired with Ivan and they learn that they will be dancing contemporary and jive. As they start their jive routine, the arduous schedule that they’ve been following is starting to catch up with them and they’re both tired. They get their energy back for the performance, though, and they have good chemistry. Ivan is starting to look a little more like a dancer, but he still needs to master the art of looking graceful. He’s just lanky. Natalie looks great, but her facial expression is a little overdone. Nigel says he isn’t going to hold back and that Ivan was dying towards the end and that rather than looking like a GI, he looked like a Boy Scout. Nigel also didn’t think that the two had chemistry. Mary loved the ending but she agrees that Ivan had some problems with being too heavy on his feet. Mia was most to the point when she said that it was no fun, it was fake fun. She didn’t feel it. I agree that the routine should have been better for this point of the competition, but Natalie and Ivan said, and I agree, that they were having a great time. The first solo dancer of the night is Travis, who performs a contemporary routine to a ballad. His technique is great, but I have to admit that by this point in the competition, all of the contemporary routines are starting to look the same to me. Some turns, some leap-type things, and a lot of reaching with the hands towards the audience and/or sky. I guess I just don’t get it. Luckily for us all, Benji and Donyelle are reunited this week for hip hop and Broadway. The fun is back! Their Broadway routine this week is reminiscent of Austin Powers and Foxy Cleopatra, they say, but it’s actually a number from Victor/Victoria. As usual, they’re larger than life. When I see the two of them, I can see Mia’s point about Ivan and Natalie not having a “fun” enough routine because they just don’t compare to these two. The routine is choreographed a little oddly, so they don’t always seem to be dancing together. Nigel tells Donyelle that Benji is starting to out dance her because she isn’t following through with her movements enough. Benji has a little bit of an extra spark that lasts until the end of every movement. Mary says that she can see Nigel’s point, but she really enjoyed the performance. She calls Benji a force to be reckoned with. Mia, however, says that they got by on their personality and that Donyelle’s movements don’t snap enough and that Benji dropped to her level rather than bringing her up to his. At this point, it’s time for the judges to lay it all on the table. Natalie performs her solo next and she’s back to the sex kitten thing. She definitely is a fabulous dancer, though, and it seems that she’s claimed one particular type of turn as her trademark. It’s hard to describe, but it takes her from standing to kneeling on the floor repeatedly and looks very, very difficult. The last couple, Heidi and Travis, will be dancing pop and smooth waltz. Their waltz is first and they enter rehearsals where they endeavor to have grace and romantic interaction. Travis says that the waltz may be a little boring, but that they will make us all want to fall in love. Travis carries himself very well in the waltz and Heidi looks amazing, as though she’s floating across the stage. They definitely make a very good pair. The second that Travis takes the floor I feel sure that Ivan’s time is up here and I think that Natalie should be worried too, because while she has always been strong, she hasn’t grown to the degree that Heidi has. The waltz ends with Heidi looking like a princess and Travis looking like a perfect gentleman. Nigel loves that Travis has been able to use his contemporary skills in ballroom and says also that Heidi is the most improved girl in the competition. Mary calls Heidi elegant, powerful, and right on cue. Last week, Mary tore Travis to pieces in his quick step, but he has redeemed himself this week with his technique in the waltz. Mia says that Travis has a presence and charisma that cannot be taught and agrees that Heidi has improved more than anyone else in the competition. Our next soloist, Ivan, performs in his hip hop style. One detraction is that he’s wearing a jacket that sometimes flies around his arms, but he certainly is good at what he is most comfortable with. He’s very cute, too, but I really haven’t seen him translate his talents into the other styles of dance. He just seems (but not in a bad way) more like a street performer than a professional dancer. Benji and Donyelle’s next routine is hip hop and they promise us some booty dancing. Benji looks rather silly in his gangsta outfit with a sideway baseball cap, but their dancing is incredible and their chemistry is infectious. We get the booty shaking that we were promised, even from Benji. All in all, it’s a fun and impressive performance. Nigel said that the performance was fun and that they danced well, Mary said that she loved it and that Benji has it all. He has backbone, wishbone, and funny bone. Mia thought that it was great, but she said that it did make her giggle when Benji acts like he’s in the hood. As for Donyelle, Mia wants to join with her in a coalition of big booty dancers. Heidi dances her solo next, which is a hot salsa-ish number performed to “I Like it Like That.” She has a great blue fringed outfit and tons of attitude. This girl has arrived. Natalie and Ivan’s next performance is in contemporary, which could be very interesting. In the choreography, they have to be tender and sweet, and I’m wondering if Ivan will be able to pull off anything besides cute and silly. As they start, though, I do think that Ivan has adapted his style appropriately. I still see a little hip hop in some of his movement, but overall I’m impressed with the performance. Natalie is beautiful and impassioned and overall I think that the two have displayed the charisma and chemistry that was a little off in their first number. Nigel, though, says that he didn’t believe it and that he didn’t feel the emotions. Nigel says that Ivan has grown a lot, but that it is still apparent that he hasn’t been trained. He also said that Natalie didn’t capture him with her performance as she usually does. Mary says that it was a “feel good” performance, but that it wasn’t extraordinary. She says that the little extras were missing that they need to get them into the finals. Mia says that Natalie’s dancing feels false even though her technique is amazing. She describes Natalie’s face as contrived. As for Ivan, Mia also saw his lack of training and technique. I suppose that it’s just harder tonight when the judges are actually critiquing people that should or should not be in the finals. For me, though, as a non-expert, it was an enjoyable performance. I looked more at how far Ivan has come than how far he still needs to go. Benji dances his solo next, which is as fabulous as you would expect. I don’t know how he does it. He’s talented and full of personality – I’ve said it all before, and I saw it again tonight. Next up is a pop routine performed by Travis and Heidi. The choreographer is Wade Robson and Travis describes the routine as “dirty earth.” Heidi calls it an animalistic vibe. Myself, I call it weird. I don’t know how this is pop – I was expecting more Britney Spears than African ritual dance. It’s interesting, though, and definitely requires a lot of talent. I’m not quite sure how to evaluate it except that I sure as heck would never be able to do it. Nigel calls them the best couple of the night and acknowledged that they had very tough choreography. Mary said that they were amazing and that they did exactly what the choreographer wanted them to do. Mia started off by complimenting Wade Robson, and then says that Heidi wouldn’t have been able to handle this dance a few weeks ago. Mia has been telling Heidi for awhile to ground herself and she says that tonight, Heidi was the earth. The final dance of the night belongs to Donyelle, who unleashes her personality and talent in a way that’s amazing. She pours herself out onto the stage, so much so that she seems to be overcome with emotion when she finishes. She really gave it her all and it showed in both her technique and her energy. So this is it before the finals and it seems as though Heidi and Travis are going into the vote on top while Ivan and Ivan and Natalie should be worried. Benji and Donyelle, as always, are solid. However, it’s up to America at this point as to who will perform next week.
	I Heart Phil


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