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August 7, 2008

'So You Think You Can Dance': Katee has strongest night

Cat Deeley, adorned in an extra-shiny golden mini dress, begins her nightly spiel about the long road that the contestants have taken to get to the finals. She then tells the audience that the contestants will be paired in different combinations. Courtney and Katee will dance as a couple; and so will Joshua and Twitch.

The judges for the night are choreographer Mandy Moore, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe.

Courtney and Twitch first dance a hip-hop routine choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo. They dance to "Church" by T-Pain. The routine is about a couple who gets into a fight in a club. They are off at parts and not mirroring each other. I'm not a huge fan of the song. And I swear that there was a malfunction on the last lift.

Mandy Moore says the routine was awesome. She says Twitch was hysterical. Mary says she felt the routine. She calls the routine a knockout. "You guys were really hitting it," she says. She lets out her legendary scream. She predicts good things during the rest of the episode. Nigel says Courtney captured the role perfectly. "The characters were fantastic. It [tended] to lose a little energy at the end. But as soon as you put her on her head … it all came right back." Then, Nigel calls the routine "fun" and "perfect."

Cat is back with a sit-down interview with Courtney. Courtney says she knows she's not the best dancer on the show. She also says she has chemistry with Gev, without any romance. Her routine of the season was a jazz routine choreographed by Sonya Tayeh. Courtney then dances a solo to "They Weren't There" by Missy Higgins. It's nice, but it's nothing really spectacular. Sorry Courtney.

Mandy says Courtney has grown so much. Mary agrees. "You have really been a surprise. … You are a strong young woman, and an inspiration to a lot of women out there." Courtney begins to cry. Nigel says she is inspirational. "You're just such a beautiful girl. You energize everyone around you."

Katee and Joshua are next with a Wade Robson lyrical jazz routine. They dance to "Slow Dancing in Burning Room" by John Mayer. These two are definitely the "A Team." They're in complete unison with each spin, leap, twist and turn. The passion is there. The emotion is overflowing. It's so beautiful.

Mandy says: "That was beautiful." She says it was honest. "Technically, it could have used more work." She says it was exactly what lyrical should be. Mary says the routine was magical. "That was an amazing routine." Nigel says there are many remarkable things about the routine. "This for me was particularly great," he says. Katee dances the routine brilliantly, according to Nigel, and Joshua is a brilliant dancer. "Between the pair of them, they are two of the best dancers we've ever had on the show," he says.

Katee and Courtney are dancing a Broadway routine choreographed by Tyce DiOrio. They dance to "The Trolley Song" by Rufus Wainwright. Mandy says it was "cute." She says it reminded her of Old Hollywood. Mary says it had great chemistry. "You guys pulled it off. You guys looked effortless." Nigel says it is a happy routine. Nigel says that Katee finishes the moves a little better than Courtney does. "You have that extra little bit that makes me go wow," he says.

Twitch sits down with Cat for an interview. He says he grew up in Alabama and got his name because he had a lot of nervous energy as a child. He says his favorite routine of the season was the Viennese waltz by Jean-Marc Genereux. (But, I think, he has been much better in his hip-hop routines.)

He dances his solo to "It Was All In Your Mind" by Wade Robson. Mandy says he's the Little Engine That Could. Mary says she's speechless. Nigel says Twitch has left his mark on the competition. "I could watch you all night," Nigel says. He calls him a great entertainer.

Joshua and Twitch are next with a Youri Nelzine Trepak routine. They dance to "Trepak" from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. The routine is filled with huge tricks. Mandy says the routine was insane: "It was really, really, well done." Mary says she's excited that there are two hip-hop dancers in the finale for the first time. "There was so much energy and power," she screams. Nigel says he expects them to be good at it because it is essentially "street dancing." He praises Joshua's elevation.

Cat sits down with Katee. They talk about Katee almost not making the Top 20 for saying that she wouldn't try out again. She says her favorite routine was the hip-hop routine to "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown.

Her solo is to "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap. She's more explosive than Courtney. She's so good. Mandy tells her to keep dancing. She tells her to continuing working on her knees and feet. Mary says she will cherish Katee's routines throughout the season. Nigel agrees.


Twitch and Katee are next with a foxtrot choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin. They dance to "Feeling Good" by Michael Buble. They look very elegant. But I think they are kind of slow. There is a wonderful lift toward the end that causes the crowd to cheer enthusiastically. Mandy says it was very romantic. She loved the lift at the end. Mary and Nigel agree that he looks like James Bond. Mary says that Twitch was "nice, smooth and controlled." She praises the way he's grown during the season. She says "bravo" to Katee. Nigel says Katee is "splendid." He says Twitch improved as the routine unfolded. Nigel adds that the contestants have spoiled the choreographers all season long.

Cat interviews Joshua next. He says he grew up poor. Cat makes fun of him for being so emotional on the show. He says his favorite routine was a samba with Katee in the beginning of the season.

Joshua dances to "(Not Just) Knee Deep" Funkadelic. He jumps off the stage. He then gyrates in front of the judges and ends with a bang: He drops to the floor in a split, while somehow managing to kick his shoe off and pretend to use it as a phone to get people to call and vote for him. It’s brilliant. Mandy says he was smooth and that he hit each move. Mary says he's been on the hot tamale train from the beginning until the end. Nigel says Joshua has set the standard for untrained dancers. "You've been absolutely superb," he says.

Joshua and Courtney are next with a jive routine choreographed by Jason Gilkison. They dance to "The Dirty Boogie" by Brian Setzer Orchestra. They have so much energy. Mandy says they moved their feet 90 miles an hour. Mary says the routine is "so difficult." She says she has to bow down to both of them. Nigel says he is disappointed with the routine: "It wasn't brilliant. It was tired." (Ouch!)

The final four dance a contemporary routine by Mia Michaels. They dance to "Hallelujah" by the Vitamin String Quartet. They all wear Scottish garb and look like they are part of a professional dance troop. Some of the moves are a bit stiff and sloppy, but overall it is a good effort. Mandy says she's at a loss of words. "It was magical," she says. "That was beautiful." Mary says Twitch was a standout in the routine. She says the quality of Courtney's work dropped. She says Katee was flawless. Nigel says the two guys are "so wonderful." Nigel says America was right when Will was eliminated. (Wow!) He says that the two women are shining beacons, and that the routine shows the finalists' athleticism.

In my opinion, Katee has the best night of all the competitors. Joshua is slightly ahead of Twitch. Courtney receives the harshest comments of the evening. I think she should finish fourth.

 

Posted by John-John Williams IV at 3:08 PM | | Comments (0)
Categories: So You Think You Can Dance
        

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About Sarah Kelber
Sarah Kickler Kelber, an editor in the features department since 1999, got sucked into reality TV with the first episode of MTV's The Real World in 1992. Then came Survivor and American Idol, and suddenly, the genre was everywhere. She started blogging about it for The Baltimore Sun in January 2006 and has logged more hours watching and writing about such shows as Dancing With the Stars, Big Brother and, of course, Idol, than she'd like to admit.
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