The seventh season of "So You Think You Can Dance" (SYTYCD) continued on Thursday, July 8, 2010, with the Top 8 Elimination Episode. Results of the audience's vote will put two dancers in the bottom, to join ballet dancer Alex Wong who suffered an injury in rehearsals on Tuesday and was not able to perform.
Opening Group Number
The episode begins with a group number featuring eight dancers: the Top 7 competitors and All-Star Ade Obayami. Alex is sitting in the audience. They perform to "When We Dance" by Sting, and host Cat Deeley tells the audience that the piece was choreographed by judge Mia Michaels.
Emmy Award Nominations for SYTYCD
Judge and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe is happy to announce some Emmy nominations for the show -- choreographer Stacey Tookey was nominated for her contemporary piece, "Fear", with Legacy Perez and Kathryn McCormick in Season 6. Choreographer and Season 7 judge Mia Michaels was also nominated for her three pieces in Season 6.
In addition, Adam Shankman received a nomination for his choreography on the Oscars telecast, and was one of the producers of the show, which received the most nominations this year in the history of the Oscars.
Top 8 Dancer Results
The first two dancers are brought out on stage: contemporary dancers Billy Bell and Lauren Froderman. Lauren had a good performance night, with praise from the judges on her maturity and growth. Billy had some mixed reviews regarding his connections with the pieces and his partners, although the judges enjoyed his first routine. Lauren is safe, and Billy is in the bottom. Adam advise Billy to focus on connecting with the audience and bringing joy to his pieces, and not worrying so much about the competition.
The other five dancers are then brought to the stage. Contemporary dancer Kent Boyd is safe; the judges enjoyed his performances and think he is also growing and maturing in the competition. Street dancer Jose Ruiz is also safe, as well as contemporary dancer Robert Roldan.
Contemporary dancers AdeChike Torbert and Ashley Galvan. In a surprise result, AdeChike is safe this week and Ashley is in the bottom. Mia tells Ashley that she doesn't understand why she is in the bottom, but Mia advises that Ashley knows what to do now. Mia also apologize to AdeChike for some of her comments last night. She insists that she was disappointed in AdeChike's performance level after such a growth in the previous week, but she should not have insulted him in her critique. This may be why AdeChike had such a strong response from the voters.
All-Star Performance Revisit: Pasha and Anya
Following last week's All-Star performance with Mark Kanemura and Courtney Galiano reprising their roles in "The Garden", this week the audience is treated to a performance by ballroom dancers Pasha Kovalev and Anya Garnis. Pasha and Anya first auditioned for the show as a couple; but since then, they have never danced as partners on the So You Think You Can Dance stage. They perform what Cat calls their original audition piece, to "Magic Carpet Ride (No Comprende Edit)" by Mighty Dub Katz.
Guest Performance: In the Heights
While the bottom two dancers prepare for their dance-for-your-life solos, there is a guest performance by the cast of "In the Heights", now on Broadway. They perform "96,000" with Emmy-nominated choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler.
Bottom Two Solos
Since Alex is not able to dance, there are two solos. Billy performs his contemporary solo to "To Build a Home" by The Cinematic Orchestra. Ashley performs her contemporary solo to "Lost (Acoustic)" by Anouk. The judges are then asked to go off stage and deliberate.
Guest Performance: Natasha Bedingfield
While the judges come to their final decision, pop singer Natsha Bedingfield performs her new single, "Touch". She is joined onstage by some of the All-Stars. It isn't mentioned in the show who choreographed this piece.
Top 8 Elimination Results
With Billy, Ashley, and Alex on stage (with crutches), Nigel tells the audience that their decision was unanimous. Unfortunately, it was a decision that was made for them by Alex's injury. The MRI results showed a lacerated achilles tendon, which means it has detached from the bone and will need to be surgically repaired. Alex's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, July 13, and he will need to rest for approximately three months following the operation.
Because of this, Alex will be out of this year's competition. Nigel does mention that he would be invited back to audition next year, but Alex does not comment on this.
Mia declares Alex "beyond special", and says that he has left an indelible mark on the competition. Adam tells Alex that everyone on the show is better for having him there. Alex's shirt reads "I'm Grateful", and he indicates this to the audience through tears.
The remaining five guys and two girls, including Billy and Ashley, will return to perform next week.
Terry Finch - Terry Finch is a dance teacher and choreographer in Central PA with an extensive training and teaching background in many forms of ...
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