‘So You Think You Can Dance’ review: Jade Zuberi injured; Aaron Turner shines
Before we even got to the performances on Tuesday night’s “So You Think You Can Dance” episode, we had some sad news. Jade Zuberi was leaving the competition due to an injury, which is going to require surgery. That news is always sad, especially when you consider how nice a guy he seems to be and no one ever wants to leave like that.
There were some great routines tonight, and we were surprised to see that Erin Andrews, who is apparently a big fan of the show, did a great job as guest judge. Paula Abdul, meanwhile, was Paula; if you love her normally, you loved her here.
1. Amy Yakima and Fik-Shun, paso doble – A great way to start the show, no? These two faced off in a ballroom war that had enough intensity to make us fall on the floor. Who knew that Fik-Shun is an animator after watching this? We learned through Paula’s critique that he was actually a part of her short-lived CBS show “Live to Dance” a few years ago.
2. Jasmine Harper and Aaron Turner, Broadway – Hooray, someone found use for “Smash” music! We really dig this pair, since they are both so versatile in what they do. Aaron may be our favorite guy in the whole competition right now: He doesn’t really look like a dancer on the surface, and that’s part of why we really dig him.
3. Makenzie Dustman and Paul Karmiryan, contemporary – What a way to start this show, right? Three great dances in t a row. Makenzie has been our favorite female of this season, and we felt every movement that she made while playing a terminally-ill woman. Paul also held his own, which is hardly a surprise given what we have seen out of him already.
4. Jasmine Mason and Alan Bersten, jazz – The idea of a weird king / queen dance was interesting, but there were two things that hampered this routine that weren’t quite the dancers’ faults: Going after such a powerful routine, and having music that took away from the playfulness of the choreography at times.
5. Jenna Johnson and Tucker Knox, hip-hop – Probably the worst routine these two have done. The music felt dated, there wasn’t really that much of a concept to it, and we don’t really agree with Nigel Lythgoe’s assessment that it was one of the night’s best routines. We weren’t captivated like we were with the first three.
6. Malece Miller and All-Star Marko Germar, contemporary – Thanks to Jade’s injury, Marko came in at the last minute and reminded us how season 8 was one of the best seasons ever. Malece finally got into the darker side in this routine with his help, and maybe she needed someone like him to take her to the next level.
7. Hayley Erbert & Curtis Holland, samba – Curtis was all right in this dance, but Hayley was the star and it really was not even close. Her moves were gorgeous, and she looked like she was in complete control of the stage in her lime green “Fern Gully”-esque outfit.
8. Alexis Juliano and Nico Greetham, jazz – Probably their best routine all season. Nicole had some nice movement in here, and the two worked together well on what was in many ways a weird (but enchanting) routine.
9. BluPrint and Mariah Spears, hip-hop – Let’s be honest here: BluPrint is really surviving right now in this competition because of his unique hairstyle and Dragon House connections. This was his style, and he still didn’t look like he was having a ton of fun here. Meanwhile, Mariah brought the energy and personality, which is great considering this was such a strange routine.
The elimination was only for the women this week thanks to Jade’s injury, and we can’t say that Jasmine Mason’s exit was a shock. She was one of the least-memorable of the female dancers, but we still don’t know why Jenna was in the bottom.
What do you think about this “So You Think You Can Dance” episode as a whole? If you do want to read even more news related to the show (including our pre-show rankings), you can do so just by visiting the link here.
Photo: Fox