So You Think You Can Dance Roundtable 14×07 “Academy Week #3”

After So You Think You Can Dance 14×07, we can’t believe we still have to lose half of these dancers!

The third episode of So You Think You Can Dance’s Academy round was even tougher than the previous ones. After the jazz round knocked out a few contestants (along with nearly literally knocking out Jennifer) we have our top twenty. Normally, that would mean it was time for the live shows. This year, one of So You Think You Can Dance’s number of changes in format means that we still have to cut that number in half before the live shows.

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Before Vanessa Hudges, Nigel Lythgoe, and Mary Murphy can return to our screens, we have to make our top twenty a top ten. Before that decision is made, however, the contestants were given an opportunity to dance with their various All-Stars for one last chance to prove they deserve a spot.

Here to discuss all the action is our roundtable.

Austin (@theaustinmayor) – Dancer, choreographer, and teacher

Janine (@J9DH) – Mom of 2 and fan of talent shows like SYTYCD and American Idol

Tracy (@tjohn68) – Dance fan, TV fan, Superhero fan

Brandon (@indigo_15) – Writer, dance enthusiast, lover of pop culture. Supporter of imaginations running wild.

Terry (@rockinchick66) – Asset Manager by day, Wife, Kitty Mama and SYTYCD super fan by night!

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1. Who do you think made the best pair?

Austin (@theaustinmayor): Koine and Marko! I don’t know if it’s because they are both Asian, but they really connected and dance well together!

Janine (@J9DH): Unfortunately most of the pairs weren’t given.much screen time at all, not even a full eight count, but of the pairs given adequate screen time, Jenna and Kiki were definitely the best pair. They are both so skilled at ballroom dancing, and they had fantastic chemistry together.

Brandon (@indigo_15): Wow, there were quite a few pairs that had great energy and chemistry. If I had to pick just one favorite, it would have to be Jenna and Kiki. Their chemistry was off the charts, and the choreography was incredible.

Tracy (@tjohn68): Marko and Koine. I thought that physically, meaning body shape wise and height, they looked well together and also had a really great connection with each other during that dance. Also, I know we didn’t see a lot of the routine, but I’m hoping to see more Fik-Shun and Dassy, because I thought they had a great connection too.

Terry (@rockinchick66): Fikshun and Dassy Lee! She’s been my fave so far this season and I said early on that a pairing with her and Fikshun would be perfection! They did not disappoint!

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2. Is there any elimination you are particularly disappointed in?

Austin: Not really. I watched the jazz round and who the all-stars eliminated were my choices too for the most part.

Janine: I am disappointed in losing Ramita Ravi from Paul’s team. I think she was a very interesting and hard working dancer. I hope she comes back to the competition in future seasons.

Brandon: It was hard to see Ramita Ravi and Peyton Albrecht go. I felt Ramita brought a fresh and unique style and flavor to the competition that I would have loved to have seen more of in the live shows. And although Peyton wasn’t shown much this season, I remember him from a few seasons ago, and he really stood out to me then. Hopefully they’ll both come back if SYTYCD gets a fifteenth season.

Tracy: Rametha. I didn’t see a whole lot of her at the Academy, but I was hoping to see more of what she could do.

Terry: I was super sad to see Ramita Ravi go! Loved her dance style and she was really sweet!

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3. Do you think it was necessary for Jennifer to leave the competition?

Austin: Well I think it was necessary for her to leave to get stitches…but couldn’t they have waited for her? How long does it take to get stitiches?!

Janine:  I am not a medical professional, but with my experience as a Mom, I think Jennifer absolutely needed stitches. Also, the standard recovery protocol for a laceration is to avoid intense physical activity so blood flow to the area isn’t increased, to allow for proper healing. Jennifer would have further increased her risk of injury to that area if she stayed in the competition. No dancer will leave a competition like SYTYCD unless it is absolutely necessary, so I do feel as though it was in her best interest to leave the competition and focus on her recovery.

Brandon: It’s hard to say. As a non-dancer who is particularly squeamish around deep, bloody gashes, Jennifer’s injury looked pretty nasty to me. That said, I also know that many dancers perform through much worse than that. She made a judgment call for herself, and I respect her for it. Although, my heart aches for Robert yet again. He had a rough time building his team, and now he’s lost a dancer due to events outside his control.

Tracy: That looked like a really bad cut on her head, so I can’t say for sure whether it would have reopened if she danced or not, but she obviously felt that she needed to go the hospital, and I can’t fault her for that.

Terry: It sounded like the medics said she was okay to perform but she made the decision to leave. Was it her way out? Maybe she was feeling overwhelmed and it was her way to leave gracefully? I don’t know but it was her decision to make!

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4. We have our top 20! Normally, that would be it. Time for the live shows. This year, we still have to send half of these guys home. How do you feel about this change?

Austin: I feel like this is going to be one hard time for each of the all-stars because at this stage, all of the dancers are high caliber and pair well with their all-stars! The all-stars will pick who compliments them the best, not the best dancers.

Janine: I am not happy about the move to a Top 10. As a viewer, I love watching how hard the talented dancers work, and a love experiencing their growth arc. We haven’t seen much of these dancers, and a Top 20 is more interesting and allows for the viewers and fans to be more invested in their choices.

Brandon: I’m not a fan of it. As much as I love this year’s crop of All-Stars, I’d rather have twenty diverse dancers pairing up with each other for the first several weeks of live shows, before getting paired with a different All-Star every week after the midway point. It’ll be difficult to watch people who would have made the live shows on any other season go home because of a format change.  

Tracy: I did watch season 13 with the kids, so I’m used to this format already. I will admit, I do miss a top 20 where we have the contestants pair up with each other and see couples grow together, I think that was a really important part of the show in the past, but I love the All-Stars.  I love being able to see how far they’ve progressed in their careers and I’m so excited to see them pass on their wisdom and experience to these new contestants.

Terry: I’m on the fence about this one. I hate that we have to go down to 10 from 20 so soon without seeing them all perform on the live stage but I’m super excited to see the top 10 as they will all be fantastic!

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5. Which choreography did you like the most?

Austin: Team Jenna BECAUSE she had to choreograph 2 separate routines and I think both routines were absolutely great! Although I didn’t enjoy her dancing with Konkrete.

Janine: Sonya Tayeh’s! Lol. From the All-Star’s I found it interesting and impressive that Jenna choreographed two different routines for her two very different dancers, so I definitely enjoyed her choreography the most.

Brandon: I LOVED Sonya’s choreography, and I feel like I’ll be saying that a lot this season, because Sonya can do no wrong in my book. But I also really liked Jenna’s choreography for both of her duets. She and Kiki brought the ballroom fire I knew they would, while her duet with Kevin was a pleasant, unique, and unexpected surprise.

Tracy: Jenna’s. The way she was able to choreograph for two totally different styles than in one hour was amazing, and her connection with both of her partners was incredible.! I couldn’t get enough of either routine!

Terry: Fikshun of course! Both of his top 2 did an amazing job with his choreography. I also loved Jenna’s routines (especially because she had to come up with choreo for 2 different styles!)

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6. If it were up to you, who would be our top ten?

Austin: Kiki from Team Jenna (I didn’t enjoy Jenna dancing with Konkrete tbh), Lex from Team Gaby, Koine from Team Marko, Logan from Team Allison, Kaylee from Team Cyrus, Mark from Team Comfort, Sydney from Team Paul, Taylor from Team Robert (because wouldn’t you want to dance with a girl if you were Robert?!), Dassy from Team Fikshun, and Robert from Team Jasmine.

Janine: Team Gaby: Lex Ishimoto; Team Marko: Koine; Team Paul: Sydney; Team Allison: Zachary; Team Fik-Shun: Dassy; Team Jasmine: Robert; Team Cyrus: Kaylee; Team Comfort: Mark; Team Robert: Taylor; Team Jenna: Konkrete.

Brandon: This is tough, because I feel there are several All-Stars (like Gaby, Cyrus, Paul, Comfort, Marko, Fik-Shun, and Allison) who can’t make a bad decision here because both of their finalists are so good. But if I had to pick one dancer for each All-Star, I guess I’d have to go with Lex Ishimoto (Gaby), Kaylee Millis (Cyrus), Dassy Lee (Fik-Shun), Robert Green (Jasmine), Sydney Tormey  (Paul), Kiki Nyemchek (Jenna), Jonathan Wade (Robert), Logan Hernandez (Allison), Mark Villaver (Comfort), and Koine Iwasaki (Marko).

Tracy: Koine, Lex, Kristina, Taylor, Logan, Kaylee, Robert, Mark, Dassy, Kiki.

Terry: My top 10 (in no particular order): Lex Ishimoto, Sydney Tormey, Koine Iwasaki, Logan Hernandez, Dassy Lee, Kaylee Mills, Howard Johnson, Mark Villaver, Jonathan Wade and Kiki Nyemchek.

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7. If you had to call it right now, which All-Star’s team do you think our winner is on?

Austin: Team Gaby!…but I’m not going to say who it is!

Janine: Fik-Shun with Dassy, Jenna with Konkrete or Allison with Logan. If Lex is able to show more of his personality then he also could win. Dassy had the edge on personality, Konkrete had the edge on potential for most growth and Logan has the potential to be the best all around considering personality and talent.

Brandon: Right now, I think the winner is on Team Gaby.

Tracy: I know a lot of people are probably going to say Lex, but I think if he can’t get out of his head and start connecting, one to his partner, and, two to the audience, he won’t go as far as people think. I really think Robert Green probably has a good chance, and so does Kaylee, and maybe Dassy.

Terry: Hmmmm. It’s hard to choose just one because I have several faves so I’ll pick 3! Team Gaby, Team Fikshun or Team Cyrus!

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Final Verdict: So You Think You Can Dance’s top 20 is as solid as “Koncrete”

With so many fantastic dancers, it’s impossible to predict what will happen next week. Regardless of who the top 10 is comprised of, they will be talented and deserving dancers. It seems the majority thinks the winner lies amongst Team Gaby, but only time will tell if that is an accurate prediction. Especially when the chemistry between Koine and Marko is sure to give Team Gaby some fierce competition.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE returns next MONDAY, AUGUST 7th at 8/7C on FOX.