So You Think You Can Dance- Week 1 Elimination [Guest Post]

June 20, 2008 by Lynn

Or
If you’re classically trained, for God’s sake wear the pointe shoes!!!

Michelle Gagnon is a former modern dancer-turned-crime writer. She danced professionally for a decade in New York before moving to San Francisco. Her next thriller, Boneyard, will be released July 1st. You should check out her web site because she’s also holding a series of drawings this summer for an Amazon Kindle, iPod Shuffles, and other prizes. Thanks, Michelle!

Wow, this is going to be such a great season. I absolutely loved nearly every routine performed by the top twenty (Mia Michaels really is a genius. That duet with Chelsie and Mark was amazing!) A lot of memorable pieces, and all in all the level of technique and talent blew last season out of the water. It was definitely not one of times where you knew exactly who was going home.

I was actually surprised by the criticism the judges leveled at the first number of the night. I thought that Rayven and Jamie performed very well. Yes, the pantsing was a little over the top, but that wasn’t anything they were responsible for, and they both really poured their hearts into the routine. I didn’t think there was any way they’d be in the bottom three (maybe it’s the curse of going first in such a crowded field?)

So far the judging has struck me as somewhat uneven. Nigel in particular has been wowed by pieces that I wasn’t impressed with, and panned others that I thought were well done (the Broadway routine in week 2 by Katee and Joshua comes to mind. It was entertaining, but worth jumping out of your chair for?! Maybe it looked better live and in person).

Anyway, back to the “dancing for their lives.” Jamie’s solo was unimpressive, in fact based on that alone he appeared to be one of the weakest ballroom dancers they’ve ever had on the show. Which really shocked me, since he performed the hip hop routine the week so brilliantly.

Then, I was as surprised as everyone else when Rayven showed up onstage for her solo demi-pointe. I honestly believe that if she’d performed en pointe, she would still be in the running, since Jessica’s solo was so bland. She performed a few tumbles and barely danced at all. A terrible decision on poor Rayven’s part, and such a shame, I was really rooting for her to make the top ten.

I’m anxiously awaiting tonight’s results show!!!

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