By David Valdes
Oh, Vegas, you’re a tricky, tricky beast. You push hundreds of dancers to their physical limits, then pare them down to a group of 20. Are they the best dancers in America? Well, no, but SO YOU THINK YOU DANCE makes a point of reminding viewers they are in search of “America’s favorite dancer.” And, by “America’s favorite dancer,” they mean America’s most winning reality TV show personality —- who can also dance!
What a difference a couple of hundred miles makes. In Vegas, the judges are more vicious with their critiques and the choreographers are almost delusional with their ultra-demanding choreography classes. OK, I’m generalizing. Shane Sparks’ and Mary Murphy’s choreography classes each feature tough routines but neither compares to Mia Michaels’ absurdly intricate contemporary routine. She’s so earthy and wise-seeming that when she snaps into dictator choreographer mode, the dancers and America know IT’S ON.
If the harder-than-ever choreography and mean judges did not put enough stress on the dancers’ bodies and souls, the format for choosing Season 3’s Top 20 was a brutal one, with some dancers getting the ax after only a few hours in Sin City. The dancers would perform choreography by Shane, Mary or Mia and then stand in rows of 10 to hear if they would be proceeding.
A few times, the judges even let go entire lines of dancers at a time. One such elimination was even more shocking because it included Oliva Usey, a dancer many thought to be a front-runner because of her (1) sad backstory (2) attractiveness and (3) dance skill. Seriously, this girl almost got more screen time than Nigel. Watching her break down during her group dance rehearsal was oddly gratifying, but seeing her get cut so hastily only moments into the episode was a shock. Until, of course, she turned into a sore loser and begun bashing the audition process.
Faina, the short-haired ballroom dancer extraordinaire, collapsed after her solo freestyle in front of the judges. I found it odd and strangely amusing how she seemed to be having some sort of attack in the middle of the stage. She seemed to be off somewhere no one would find her, and the cameraman sure wasn’t helping. Way to up the dramatic ante before the Top 20 is even selected, Faina. She does make it into that coveted group, by the way.
Another Top 20 qualifier is Danny Tidwell, the adopted brother of Season 2 runner-up Travis Wall. Mia Michaels tells Danny he has a reputation of excellence in the dance world and that, on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, he has failed to live up to it. There were some harsh words, yes, but apparently that is how one must approach The Danny Tidwell. We learn that Danny, aside from being a remarkable lyrical dancer, has a big ego and an attitude that sucks. Funny how there is no room for ego on a show called SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, no?
A curly-haired brunette named Ashlee made the Top 20 cut. She was mega-bubby as she approached the panel to learn her fate. Mia gave Ashlee the good news right after telling her to not approach everything with the same energy. Translation: “Your peppy attitude is annoying and it will get old fast.” That might seem like a lot to glean from Mia’s comments, but trust me, this is the lady who took Season 2’s ray of sunshine, Heidi, and broke her spirits in half.
A couple of other moments of Mia Michaels brilliance: (1) Mia tells extraordinary contemporary dancer Ricky that he is “odd” and “strange” and “perfect,” before giving him his spot in the Top 20. Mia Michaels has such a dynamic personality that you can tell it’s even a thrill to be insulted by her; (2) Mia tells the large group of dancers to not be “such needy dancers” and to “figure it out.” Even an insult from the enigmatic Mia Michaels is a thrill for these hopefuls.
Who else noticed that Vegas had all of the judges on their fake-out A-games? No contestant gets a straight “You are in the Top 20” from the judges. Rather, Shane, Mary, Mia and Nigel try to outdo each other in confusing the contestants before revealing whether they are in the Top 20. I got a big kick out of how much Crazy Mary Murphy sucked at this, though.
Consider the way she tells ballroom dancer, Ania, that she made the cut. “I’m sad to say,” Mary begins slowly, before adding a dramatic pause and finishing off with, “that you are IN OUR TOP 20!”
On the topic of fake-outs, how about the way Jessie Peralta held off on telling the other contestants in the holding room that she made it? She walks through the curtain crying and shares a somber hug with the same dude who has been consoling all of the other didn’t-make-its. After a couple of seconds of crying and hugging, she coyly reveals, “No, I made it.” I was sitting on my couch thinking, “Who the hell do you think you are, Jessie Peralta, milking this for both sympathy hugs AND celebration hugs?
Lauren Gottlieb (the one who helped Tyce choreograph routines last year) had an interesting encounter with the judges’ panel. Nigel voiced concerns about appearing to show favoritism toward her, which seemed perfectly legit to me. I mean, this girl was on the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE payroll a year earlier, teaching contestants how to dance. Now, she gets to compete too? That’s about as fair as letting Paula try out on IDOL. Wait, no it’s not.
With only one spot left for the guys and one for the girls, the judges brought two groups of two before them. There was really no suspense though, because both pairings consisted of one camera-hogging all-star and then another guy or girl. Hok and Twitch were up for the male spot; it went to Hok. Benji’s sister, Lacey, was up for the last girls’ spot against someone named Kristin. Or is it Kristin? Doesn’t matter; the spot went to Lacey.
And there they are, America, your Top 20: Anya, Cedric, Ashlee, Danny, Faina, Dominic, Jamie, Hok, Jessie, Jesus, Lacey, Jimmy, Lauren, Kameron, Sabra, Neil, Sara, Pasha, Shauna and Ricky.