So You Think You Can Dance 14×06 was a whirlwind of heartbreaking eliminations
The second round of So You Think You Can Dance’s Academy week was a touch more slowed down than last week, but not at all less heartbreaking. We saw many fan favorites go home, including Chaz Wolcott and Alexis Gilbert, the latter of which fell Victim to Jenna Johnson’s decision to save Kevin Davis Jr. from elimination after Allison chose him to go home.
RELATED | So You Think You Can Dance Roundtable 14×05
Jenna’s decision is a surprising one. This format is so new that we were only just getting accustomed to the rules when the All-Stars began changing them! Luckily, no further shake ups happened and many of our favorites remain safe. Both Lex Ishimoto and Inyoung “Dassy” Lee have survived to fight again next round.
Here to discuss this heartbreaking episode is our roundtable!
Austin (@theaustinmayor) – Dancer, choreographer, and teacher
Janine (@J9DH) – Mom of 2 and fan of talent shows like SYTYCD and American Idol
Terry (@rockinchick66) – Asset Manager by day, Wife, Kitty Mama and SYTYCD super fan by night!
Tracy (@tjohn68) – Dance fan, TV fan, Superhero fan
Kiamesha (@SimsKdsims96) – 21-year-old who loves writing, reading, music, and animals.
Brandon (@indigo_15) – Writer, dance enthusiast, lover of pop culture. Supporter of imaginations running wild.
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1. Which dancer stood out the most to you this week?
Austin (@theaustinmayor): I’ll go with Havoc because his solo that he did to dance for his life was absolutely incredible! He struggles in other dances, but I think he can improve that.
Janine (@J9DH): Can I say Dmitry Chaplin? Lol. I continue with my criticism of the speed with which we progress through the show- I feel like I am watching the dance version of speed dating. There are so many exceptional dancers, and so few are featured, many in montage segments. I think Taylor Sieve stood out from the few dancers featured in the contemporary segment. Jensen Arnold stood out in the ballroom segment. Zachary Downer stood out in the group segment..
Terry (@rockinchick66): Even though we only saw her briefly, Dassy Lee continues to impress! So glad she’s still in the competition!
Kiamesha (@SimsKdsims96): My favorite dancer was the most consistent dancer of the remaining dancers. She has beautiful technique and can make each dance her own. It’s amazing to see her dance!
Brandon (@indigo_15): ‘Havoc’ was a big standout for me this week, as were Alexis Gilbert and Taylor Sieve. Also, as a side note, it was nice to see Taylor break Robert Roldan’s bad luck streak when it came to picking people for his team!
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2. From what we’ve seen, which All-Star has the best team?
Austin: Team Allison! I mean…did you see that group number?! I did!! Rewatched it 4 times!!
Janine: Allison Holker most definitely had the most talent on her team. However, several other all Stars have individuals who could win this competition, including Gaby, Fik-shun, Marko and Cyrus.
Terry: Hard to pick just one! Gaby, Alison, Cyrus and Fikshun all have great teams!
Kiamesha: I’m not really sure. However, I believe when the pressure comes and the competition starts we’ll see who shines.
Brandon: Right now, I really like Cyrus’ team of Kaylee Millis, ‘Havoc,’ and Peyton Albrecht (who was a favorite of mine a couple of seasons ago), though Allison clearly has a strong team as well, even though they’re all the same style.
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3. Did you disagree on any of the All-Stars’ eliminations tonight?
Austin: It’s tough to say because not everyone was shown, but I didn’t expect Jensen to be eliminated already! And Chaz! I wanted him to move on and be on Gaby’s team soooo bad!!! And Arielle! She was so good!!!
Janine: I didn’t think Jensen Arnold deserved to go home, although I do agree she may need a little more time to develop into winner’s potential. I also disagreed with Jenna sending home Alexis Gilbert at this point. With the footage shown, she was the most well rounded dancer on her team.
Terry: I disagreed on LOTS of the all-stars eliminations tonight! I can’t believe that Chaz Wolcott got eliminated! And I thought Jensen was fantastic! Other notable eliminations for me were Dustin Payne, Mathew Deloche and Alexis Gilbert!
Kiamesha: I disagreed that they let Jensen go. I believe that she has great potential. Hopefully, we see her again.
Brandon: It was hard to see people like Chaz Wolcott, Matthew Deloch, and Alexis Gilbert go home. I thought they were all strong enough to go on to the next round. Chaz’s elimination stung a bit more since it’s the last year he’s eligible to be on the show.
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4. Which team’s choreography was the best?
Austin: Hands down, Team Allison! But not all of the team dances were shown, which sucks, but I’d still have to go with Allison.
Janine: Most definitely Allison’s!
Terry: I think Team Alison rocked the group number! So impressive!
Kiamesha: I think Allison’s team was the best. They had passion, technique and the song fit the choreography.
Brandon: Of the teams we saw, I feel that the obvious winner was, Team Allison. Their group piece was beautiful, emotional, and gripping, and was in a different league to the others that were shown.
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5. In likely the most controversial decision of the night, Jenna chose to save Kevin at the expense of eliminating two of her own dancers. This resulted in early favorite Alexis Gilbert going home. Would you have made the same decision, or do you disagree with this choice?
Austin: No I wouldn’t have. Especially then knowing that you have to eliminate two of your own dancers BEFORE you have even watched what they have come up with! That doesn’t seem fair to me.
Janine: I was ok with Jenna keeping Kevin, but I would have kept Alexis over either of the other two on her team.
Terry: I was so confused when Jenna chose Kevin! He was mediocre at best during the group number. Maybe she originally wanted him on her team? I can’t recall if she asked him. I felt bad for her team. I don’t think I would have made the same decision unless I had really really really wanted him on my team but lost out to Alison earlier.
Kiamesha: believe that Alexis should have not went home. Again, hopefully we’ll see her again. Kevin was good but not my cup of tea.
Brandon: It’s hard to say, because I think both Alexis and Kevin, though miles apart when it comes to their respective genres, are both incredibly special and entertaining dancers. It broke my heart a bit to see Allison cut Kevin, though, and I was thrilled that Jenna stepped in to save him, but I also think she should have kept Alexis as well, because she was on fire this whole episode.
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6. Are any of your initial favorites from auditions still around?
Austin: Oh yeah! Lex! Kaylee! Mark! Logan!
Janine: Yes!! Several, including Dassy Lee, Koine and Zachary Downer.
Terry: My absolute fave was eliminated (Chaz Wolcott) which really made me so sad! Many of my other faves are still around though! Dassy Lee, Lex Ishimoto, Logan Hernandez and the dancer with the blue hair (her name escapes me).
Kiamesha: I have a new favorite every week to be honest.
Brandon: Yes! I’m very happy to say that quite a few of my early favorites are still around, including Kaylee Millis, ‘Dassy’ Lee, Lex Ishimoto, Kevin Davis Jr., Koine Iwasaki, Logan Hernandez, Ramita Ravi, and Kiki Nyemchek.
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7. If you were an All-Star picking from all the dancers we’ve seen, which four dancers would be on your team?
Austin: Tough one! Hmm… Well I’d go with Lex, Mark, Logan, and Chaz! Lex is a master of all trades, Mark has such a unique movement and he’s like contemporary-hiphop style, Logan is super flexible and a beautiful dancer, and Chaz is a tap dancer that was in Newsies and I need him on my team!
Janine: Dassy Lee, Koine, Zachary Downer and Kristina
Terry: Chaz Wolcott! Dassy Lee, Lex Ishimoto, Logan Hernandez.
Kiamesha: IDK. It’s too hard to choose.
Brandon: It must be so difficult for the All-Stars to pick from this year’s pool of talent. There are so many I really like, but I think my final choices would be Kaylee ‘Impavido’ Millis, Inyoung ‘Dassy’ Lee, Lex Ishimoto, and Kiki Nyemcek. Even as I say this, it causes me actual physical pain to not include dancers like Logan, Kevin, Koine, and Alexis, because I think they’re amazing, too.
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Final Verdict: So You Think You Can Dance continues to break our heart, but we keep coming back for more!
Even though it hurts to see our favorites cut so early, we can’t get enough. And with many fan favorites continuing in the competition, as well as new faces to root for, we already can’t wait for next week’s episode. Academy Week is down to the wire with the live shows now only two weeks away! The live shows, and the audience power they bring with them, can not come soon enough! Especially in light of the recent controversial eliminations.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE returns next MONDAY, JULY 31st at 8/7C on FOX.
Season One Verdict: “The Resident” [Fox]
Scene Stealer- Matt Czuchry [The Resident, S1]
