This week’s So You Think You Can Dance was a different experience for me, as the BBC were kind enough to invite me down to the studio to save me live tweeting from home. And it was a great atmosphere down at TV Centre, and it was great to have the chance to meet Nigel (shorter than I imagined) and Sisco (taller) as well as all the dancers (who are all shorter than I’d thought. Even Robbie, who strides out like a Leviathan in comparison to the others, but is of, I’d say, average height).
But enough of the hob-nobbing (for now, at least) and back to the show. As it was the semi-final, the structure changed slightly again: all three couples, again selected at random, would be dancing two routines as a pair, as well as each dancer doing a solo and, in the results show, all six joining together for a group dance.
As usual, couple dances (and, this week, the group dance) are in the video playlist below. The main show and results show are still available on iPlayer until next Saturday.
The first couple were Robbie and Lizzie, dancing a Vaudevillian Broadway routine choreographed by Karen Bruce. The routine, casting the dancers as a couple of hyperactive bellhops dancing to the Hot Honey Rag from Chicago, contained a large number of personality elements and suited both of them down to the ground. It’s one routine where the height differential between Robbie and whoever he’s dancing with actually worked in the couple’s favour instead of against it.
First solo - Charlie. In the green room before the show, Nigel told us that, while Charlie had developed the most as a dancer since starting on the series, she was apt to throw it away in her solos, reverting to the eyes-and-teeth persona she started out with. And there’s an element of that here, but she has toned that down. I’m still not convinced by her solos — they probably work better at a dance audition than they do a public TV show.
Next up, Mandy and Alastair dancing a contemporary routine created by West End choreographer Lynne Page. Another prop-heavy domestic — people are going to think that all contemporary dance is about damaged relationships and IKEA furniture. I really like the way Alastair and Many worked in unison here, with one or two reservations. Just before they fell backwards over the sofa, Alastair made a curious movement with his arm towards Mandy. It didn’t seem to be an interpretive move, more a logistical one. In a routine packed with well executed moves, though (not least Mandy’s somersault on the table top) I can forgive them that little slip.
Lizzie’s solo was another new routine from her. I think of all the dancers she (and possibly Tommy) have made the best use of these solo spots to showcase versatility and range, while at the same time concentrating on her core strength, which is hip hop.
Next up, some vinyl-clad ‘jazz’ dancing from Tommy and Charlie, choreographed by Sean Cheesman. Possibly the raunchiest of the routines we’ve seen in this series, on first watching it was not to be distracted by Tommy’s impressive dance musculature, which normally remains hidden underneath his baggy hip hop wear. Watching it again, there were a couple of places where Charlie’s form was a little limper than it could have been - but her somersault over Tommy showed how well they work together as a couple. Also while rewatching I tried to see where Arlene’s comments about Charlie being unable to keep time came from, and I couldn’t see it. Her footwork looked fine to me.
Back to the solos, and Alastair - oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear. What looked to be much the same balletic routine as he’s performed in his solos, danced to a much faster paced track than normal, and with nowhere the attack that the music demanded. It very much looked like the dance of someone who’s just too exhausted to continue.
Back to Lizzie and Robbie, dancing a lyrical hip hop routine devised by Simeon Qsyea. And to be honest, in the first sequences the couple weren’t quite as synchronised as they probably would have been if Robbie had Lizzie’s background in this discipline. Things improved a lot once they moved away from the bed prop and onto floor work, where Robbie’s more flowing dance style was able to take flight, which seemed to give him the confidence to attack the synchronised elements with precision. It was a vast improvement on Robbie’s Stargate hip hop disaster with Yanet.
Tommy’s solo to Lloyd Webber’s Variations was a clever choice, with some wise choreographic decisions to pull in a few moves from various disciplines. For a dancer competing in a series where the emphasis on versatility, it was the perfect routine and will undoubtedly have helped win him a few votes.
Ballroom dances haven’t done well in SYTYCD, so it was with some trepidation that I prepared to watch Alastair and Mandy perform a Paso Doble devised by Strictly Come Dancing professional Katya Virshilas. And from where we were sitting in the studio (quite near the back of the banked seating), it did look a great spectacle. Not quite as attacking or ferocious as it could have done, maybe, but Mandy’s huge spin was, to coin Sisco’s favourite word, amazing. And looking back on television, her second dismount from the countertop, falling backwards into Alastair’s arms, looked far more impressive than the TV camerawork implied (although it did look as if the next move was intended to lift Mandy above head height, and looked fluffed). From where we were sitting, we could not see facial expressions, but the TV footage does clearly show that they were concentrating on getting the moves right, and not portraying the character of the dance.
While it wasn’t a great routine, I’m not sure it deserved the absolute evisceration it got from Nigel and the rest of the judges. It certainly got to Alastair — in the bar afterwards, he asked me for a consoling hug. How could I refuse?
Robbie’s solo was, as we’ve come to expect, a combination of great leaps and jumps. It did feel a little as if there was too much gymnastic work in there, and not enough artistry. And was the final action of pulling his T-shirt over his head an attempt to counter the torso effect of Tommy’s jazz routine outfit?
The final couple’s dance was another ballroom routine, with Charlie and Tommy dancing a quickstep devised by Karen Hardy. I loved her choreography here - producing an entertaining romp from start to finish. How much better it would have been, then, if the couple’s dances while in hold had been as clean and effective as they should have been. Their initial out of hold work was vibrant and alive, but in hold there was so much gapping one could expect a London Underground announcer to start issuing warnings. Somewhat bizarrely, Arlene took the opportunity to compliment Charlie on her footwork and timing, when to be honest I felt there was more to criticise in that department in this ruotine than in the jazz one.
The final solo of the evening was down to Mandy. Again, like so many of her fellow contestants it was a solid routine, if not too spectacularly different from previous weeks’. I have been warming to her, though, and of the three girls I’d place her just behind Lizzie, with Charlie in third place.
Although the main body of the results show is live, the first few elements are pre-recorded, inclduing this week’s only group dance, choreographed by Karen Bruce to the Wild Oscar remix of Shirley Bassey’s rendition of Big Spender. At times it was all a bit scrappy, with the three couples not quite being sufficiently in sync — one can only guess how more effective elements of the routine would have been if more rehearsal time could have meant all the girls arched and kicked in unison, for example. Watching back on television, the direction hid a lot of the routine’s weaknesses. Alastair’s one-handed lift of Charlie, though, deserves praise.
After another pre-recorded element — Leona Lewis performing her song twice, lending a powerful vocal to an okay-but-not-anything-special song and then demonstrating that, when she steps away from the microphone, she has no stage presence to speak of — it was time for the results. And with just two guaranteed spots in the final, amongst the boys it was no real surprise to see Tommy sail through. I was quite surprised to see Charlie get the guaranteed slot, though.
Whichever way it worked out, the girls’ solos were good and solid retreads of their previous outings in the main show. And ultimately, I think the judges were right in selecting Lizzie to go through to the final, meaning that Mandy went home.
Out of the boys, Alastair’s routine felt even more tired, I think partly because of the final few seconds he he stopped dancing altogether, merely walking downstage before dropping to his knees. In contrast, Robbie went into overdrive with his. The TV version of his solo doesn’t quite get over just how much higher his downstage leap into a forward roll was in the dance-off compared to his solo in the main show, and adding in a couple of his hop hop flourishes at the end just showed that he wasn’t going to rest on his laurels. It was inevitable, then, that Alastair would end up being sent home, allowing Robbie to go on to compete in next week’s final.
When I spoke to the dancers afterward, Robbie told me, “I had no idea what people meant when they said you’d be dancing for your life. It’s not like they’re holding a gun to your head. But I just knew I had to dance better than I ever had.” He also told me that he threw himself into it so much that he hurt his knee quite badly. He slunk off quite quickly to pack ice on it, so fingers crossed he’ll be okay to take on the rigorous training schedule this week.
As I mentioned before, Alastair was understandably down after the result. He did mention that he’s been struggling all the time because, unlike the other dancers, there are no couple routines that appeal to his core discipline, ballet (“You can’t ask someone to dance ballet in a week”).
So next week’s final will see Tommy, Charlie, Robbie and Lizzie compete for the one winning place. I have to say, on previous performance, I think Tommy has to be the strongest bet. But each of them will be learning five routines, plus they’ll be reuniting with the other eight defeated finalists. So I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion just yet.
