It’s the 250th episode! We’ve got the top 5 tots performing and legendary tapper Savion Glover is in the house. Group routine to techno music with everyone dressed in white with neon face paint. Cat, looking fabulous with her flowy hair and red jumpsuit, tells us Nick Florez & RJ Durrell choreographed the routine. Tonight Maddie and Travis Wall will dance together! And tonight and next week’s scores will determine the winner, so we’re getting close to the end.
Tate & Kathryn are up 1st with a Stacey Tookey contemporary routine (yay Stacey is back!) Sidenote: the tots have been staying mostly in their own genres this season, I’m sure their All-Stars could handle the challenge. As amazing as T&K are, it might get old to keep having an emotional contemporary performance week after week. They’re playing themselves to upbeat music, in cheery costumes with lots of synchronized moves. Not a ton of partnering but enough for the story. It’s good, though we’ve seen them dance better. Everyone is on their feet. Paula loves T’s lines and thinks she’s elegant. Maddie loves their technique and connection. And that they weren’t too deep into a character. Jason thinks it was about a journey, and that we have watched T & K learn from each other week after week. He calls Tate an All-Star (agreed). Nigel liked the choreography and calls out a cool turn. He thinks Tate has a gift and it’s up to her to make the most of it, though IMHO she’s doing a great job so far.
Another Monday, another Tate & Kathryn emotional contemporary routine
They play a track of Kida rapping, and after learning last week he knows sign language I wonder if there is anything this kid can’t do? It’s a hip hop routine by Phoenix and Pharside, and it is very hard hitting. Some crump moves mixed in with animation and popping. I found myself watching Fik-shun who was giving stank face extraordinaire. Maddie thinks P & P are amazing and sometimes forgets who the All-Star is with this pairing. She especially liked Fik-Shun’s back flip over Kida (it was way cool). Jason is excited b/c he’s never seen Kida so “buck”. Ah, a word I learned from Lil’ C way back when. Jason saw crump in it (me too!) but said crump isn’t hot right now. Nigel wanted Kida to go bigger and larger since he was wearing a trench coat that covered his body. Paula admires how he puts his own take on whatever style he does.
Jack of all Breakers
Emma is working with Savion Glover and didn’t realize how huge he was until she saw her mom and Gaby fangirling all over the place. I must say, the guy oozes coolness. The song reminded me of the 1940s and the routine was tap and lots of it. Tight synchronization and they receive a standing O (prob for SG). It is a huge honor to have him on the show. Jason just wants to talk about how it is to work with the living legend. Emma sat in her pockets and he is proud of her. Nigel has been trying to get his tap hero SG on the show for a while. Oh wow: SG was taught by the one-and-only Gregory Hines. Both Nigel and SG worked with Honi Coles and he tells Emma to check him out online. Nigel mentioned it’s hard to tap slower and he adored the routine. Paula thought it was nostalgic and she applauds Emma and tells her to be proud of her Dynamo self. She has grown and tells Gaby she is a dream. Maddie loved the classical, clean style. It sounded like only one tapper with crisp sounds. She likes how Emma was laid back and notes she has wonderful stage presence. The way Gaby looks at Emma you know they’ll stay in touch after the show.
Savion!
JT is up and tells us how his brother stuffed him in a tiny bucket. For realz! Stacey has choreographed a contemporary father and son routine for him & Robert. Sonny is angry with daddy and they dance fight. Daddy lifts him and spins, and lifts and rocks. Then they make up and Robert lifts JT some more. Then he flings him. After yet another lift and father and son are all happy and walk into the spotlight. There’s an advantage to having such a light partner. Standing O – this kid knows how to work a crowd. Nigel is happy that JT is finally pointing his toes. Paula wants to squish the adorable Stacey for the routine. She thinks JT & Robert are extraordinary. She tells JT he’s larger than life, a Picasso in a teeny frame in a bucket. Maddie agrees Stacey is awesome and thought the story was moving. It reminded her how awesome it is to move people with dance. She was moved and thanks them. Jason thinks JT has the perfect measure of maturity and innocence (maturity, really?) He sees how JT treasures Robert’s experience and is always learning and getting to the next level. I hope JT & Robert stay in touch too.
Picasso in a bucket (yes, that is JT recently I think). Bucket Baby Bowtie.
Tahani is doing a Dave Scott tribal hip hop routine with Comfort. It’s got an African vibe, and to me some of the dance moves look like Bollywood, lots of feet moving while arms are doing their own intricate moves. I even saw some “Walk Like an Egyptian” arm moves. The Missy Elliot tune was fast – Paula (and I) are exhausted for them. She calls Tahani a little warrior but wants her to complete her movements. Maddie compliments the hair and makeup. Jason notes how challenging it was to make each move different. Nigel compliments Comfort and wants Tahani’s shoulders to open up more (when she’s doing that arm swing move).
The costumes, hair and makeup were on point
Now it’s time for the tots to choreograph, including the concept, music, costume and the steps. Tate’s piece is called “Unmasked” because she thinks everyone is hiding part of their true selves under a mask. She runs rehearsals with an iron fist. She and Kathryn remove their literal masks to reveal their faces/true selves. Instrumental music, some parallel dancing but also some partnering. At the end they throw their masks off the stage. No standing O from judges. Maddie knew Tate would do great but she amazed her with her quality of movement and detail in the dance. She thinks she’s going to be an amazing choreographer when she’s older (why not now?) and felt as though an adult choreographed the routine. Jason thinks her experience showed in the concept and choreography. Nigel is happy that there wasn’t a leg extension, which Tate did on purpose (smart, since we all know she can do those). Paula thinks she’s a great choreographer in the making. She loved seeing her take control and notes Kathryn was an amazing student. The routine could be in a company right now. That’s high praise.
Creepy cool
Kida’s piece, “Manipulator”, has a concept about robots. Kida wants to teach Fik-Shun how to get funky and loosen up with some animation, popping and locking. The routine has some old school Michael Jackson moves, some disco and old school 80’s hip hop. It is so cute – the catchy music fits the routine perfectly and the synchronization was very tight synchronization. Loved the gold face paint and the (super catchy) music was perfect for this routine. Jason calls out the cool the slide on the floor move (they’re sitting and slowly do a 1/2 turn on their butts). Kida is another great choreographer in the making. Nigel likes that he added humor to the routine. Paula thinks every ounce of him commands their full attention. Maddie (who hasn’t been just agreeing all night) thinks she’s an insane choreographer. The musicality was amazing and it was one of her fave of the season.
Roborable
Group dance choreographed by newcomer Teresa Stone with Jenna, Kathryn, Sasha, Marco, and Paul. It’s a fun, uplifting cool contemporary piece where Jenna gets the spotlight.
I miss you Jenna
JT is doing the “Friendship Dance”, which is self-explanatory. Robert tries to hold it together and not cry during JT’s sweet presentation. JT is happy to be able to boss Robert around in rehearsals. Of course they’re identically clad in bow ties, dancing to Bruno Mars’ “Count on Me”. I love the ukulele type jazzy music as the guys twirl and do leaps and jetés. At the end there is a small mistake and luckily Robert catches JT. No standing O and no one mentioned the minor stumble but you can see in the pic below Cat saw it. Nigel doesn’t like the pants but feels JT is “Just Ten” and it’s annoying how wonderful JT is. Paula babbles something about how awesome they are. Maddie likes the costumes and the details put in. Jason gives them a standing O, even though he didn’t stand after their routine.
I saw you almost drop Bucket Baby Bowtie
2nd All-Star group routine, choreographed by Al Blackstone with Comfort, Gaby, Fik-Shun, Jonathan & Robert (how could Robert dance with JT then dance with All-Stars so quickly? Proof that these group routines are pre-recorded). The guys are waiters and the gals are and classy ladies styled like Audrey Hepburn. The song is Maroon 5’s remake of “Just the Way You Look Tonight” and it’s great. Gaby looks different in each hairdo/routine. Fik-Shun looks like Isaac from The Love Boat. It was really fun.
Separated at birth
Tahani’s piece is “No Flex Zone” and she was inspired by the movie Grease (prob the one with Julianne Hough). Comfort will play the geek and Tahani is the popular girl with the super curly hair. “T Money” is kicking Comfort’s butt in rehearsal. The song is “No Flex Zone” by Rae Sremmurd which I have never heard. Comfort looks adorably geeky with her fanny pack. I love how her ultra red dreads work with all of her looks. The song is repetitive but has a good beat. They do a lot of synchronized dancing and T pulls out her gymnastics that we haven’t seen in a while. No standing O, though Paula thought T rose to the challenge. She loves her determination in paving her own way. She likes C’s look. Maddie thinks she will be an awesome choreographer when she gets older (again, why not now?) Jason likes that he took “Comfort out of her comfort zone”. Heh. I thought Comfort was great in this role. Nigel gives a shout out to Al Blackstone for the great group routine and mentions Fik-Shun’s mustache. Nigel thought T was in a beautiful zone and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Did I do that?
Emma is choreographing her piece, “Here with You”, for an actual past winner of SYTYCD (Gaby). The outfits are ok, sort of tuxedo-like, and exactly what Emma drew out beforehand. The music is kind of cheesy but they do a good job dancing in sync. No standing O. Maddie thought it was so well done, with perfect taps, that she forgot Emma choreographed it. Jason notes she always brings the light and now she is bringing the light to her choreography. Nigel thinks tap is the hardest choreography and Paula thought it was well done.
Eh
Now it’s time for Travis and Maddie. No specific story – just light v. dark, young v. old. Maddie is understandably excited to work with TW. She’s been sitting behind the judges table all season, longing to be dancing. The routine is sooooo good. Lots of lifts including one where he spins her then they both spin onto the floor. Dramatic, heavy music with. Fight dancing and she wins. I’ve never seen her dance and she is phenom. I did not think of her as a child dancer at any point. TW is of course a genius, and his dancing is just as good as I remembered. YAY!
Worth the hype
Tahani and her hair bows are going home (color me surprised). She’s sad. Remember when she puked on Paula? Good times. She seemed so young then. My fave routines of the night: Kida & Fik-Shun’s robot dance and the Love Boat group dance.
Did you think the tots did a good job choreographing? What an amazing thing for their dance resumes. Were you surprised we didn’t get to hear the jidges tongue-bath TW & Maddie’s performance? Sound off in the comments below, thanks for reading and have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
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