#sytycd 16

Nice fun opening number. Nice to see Eddie tapping and the Sosa siblings dancing together. They waited all season to do the walkout??? I love the walkout and wish they did it every week.

The name’s Sandoval. Domino Sandoval. Our very own D-trip has gone all out with a tux.

A montage of Laurieanne’s best lines, plus some memeworthy reactions from Dominic and Mary.

Laurieanne pick #1: Bailey and Mariah’s biker number. I actually don’t remember much about this except for the dirt buggy on stage. But it makes sense that Laurieanne picked this.

Nigel pick #1: Madison and Ezra’s sexy jazz with the chair.

Montage of Dominic being emotional.

Dominic pick #1: Sophie and Eddie’s party girl gone dark number.

Mariah’s favourite: her Slide number with Bailey.

Mary pick #1: Gino and Stephanie’s hive. I still can’t believe they sent Stephanie home after this.

Encore - Sign of the Times group number with the top 10. Powerful Travis Wall dance.

Dom pick #2: Anna and Benjamin’s broadway number. I’m surprised this was put forth by Dom instead of Nigel, but I knew we’d be seeing it again.

Mary pick #2: Gino and Comfort’s sarcophagus hip-hop. Man, I had forgotten about this dance. How? It was great then and great still.

Nigel invited Phoebe, the jazz dancer with down syndrome to perform. She has a blast and can play the audience for sure.

Sophie’s favourite: her contemporary with Gino by KC Monnie about coming out. Good choice, it’s up there in my favourites

Top 10 + Lauren and Cyrus hip-hop new number for the tour. Looks like a more glammed up and sauced up Rocky Horror.

Throwback to Dominic’s audition and a brunette Mary. Hahaha.

Dom pick #3: Madison, Mariah and Sophie’s remix rain number. This is an odd one. I wouldn’t have expected it.

Mary pick #3: Bailey and Koine’s Mambo Italiano number.

Laurieann pick #2: Bailey, Gino and Ezra’s contemporary.

Gino’s favourite: “Trouble” with Sophie. Fantastic choice. When the music picked up, wow that was insane.

Bailey’s favourite: his black leather “Need You Tonight” jazz funk with Mariah. It was a breakthrough for him.

Ok now results time. Bailey and Mariah had a really fast clothes change.

4th: Sophie. Not too surprised there. I must admit I didn’t mind her as much as I thought I would on the live shows. She is good in her style and has very smooth transitions.

Nigel pick #2: Bailey and Gino’s broadway. He already said he was picking this last week so. Probably one of my top top faves.

Nigel says next season maybe they’ll do the top 20 again. YES PLEASE.

Laurieann pick #3: Ezra and Gaby’s contemporary.

More results. 2nd and 3rd place was really close according to Cat.

3rd place: Gino. Huh, I got this one wrong. I guess his more guarded personality made it harder to win people over. Also I think that if he hadn’t been on dance moms people might have been more taken by him, because his talent is outstanding.

And the winner of So You Think You Can Dance season 16 is.........

BAILEY!!!!!!!!

Congrats as well to Mariah in second place. Everyone comes on stage to huddle the two smallest members of the top 10. Cute.

I’m so happy for Bailey. He has a great attitude and puts a 120% into everything.

sytycd is back!

That means it’s Summerrr

(shoo bee do bee do wah)

Well here we are, fellas. The end is nigh.

That wasn’t the most well-rehearsed opening number was it? Saw lots of out of sync moments and unpolished details.

Gino and Sophie Jazz: Okay. Nice dance. Concept showed through - I can totally see this happening in a club. I feel Gino is uncomfortable with the showmance-ish route the show is kinda going with them. It’s by no means a full-out showmance as they’ve done before but the show is being suggestive and Gino is like leaning away from it a little (which is his right if he wants to.) He also didn’t have as much to do in this dance as Sophie. 7/10

Bailey and Mariah Smooth Jazz: So were the flowers a surprise? I love this style. Mariah got all the nuances. Bailey was really close too - he could have been lighter on his feet. But seriously, he has the best classical technique of all the b-boys that I can remember. When Dom said in the auditions that Bailey was the definition of dance, I thought it was a bit hyperbolic, but it’s not. 8.5/10

Really profound solo from Gino.

Sophie and Marko Contemporary: Ouch, coming out of the first spin it looked like Sophie landed on her face. I felt a tad disconnected emotionally from the dance, but there was good technique. 8/10

Bailey and Comfort hip-hop: BAM! That’s what you get with two rad hip-hop dancers. Great first half, then some details started to be slightly different between both of them. That applause!! 9/10

That solo from Sophie felt like she improv’ed it and started running out of ideas after the first few bars. Didn’t seem to feel like ‘her’.

Gino and Mariah Quickstep: Sharna and Artem got slighted by DWTS and immediately came to SYTYCD. Whoo! Props to them, quickstep is NOT easy. Frame was decent enough considering how long they had to rehearse. Footwork not bad too. They broke hold (HA) but Len Goodman isn’t here to harp on that. Lots of fun. 9/10

Bailey and Sophie Bollywood: Bailey’s b-boy background would have helped him with the movement style. He had a bit more bounce in the squat-based steps. What Laurieann said - lacking a bit of detail. For Bailey I think it was in his hands specifically. For Sophie I think it was in general trying to keep up. Lol that ending haha. 8.5/10

Finally started to feel Mariah’s solo in that one. It started out flat but she grew into it quickly and ended strong.

Gino and Melanie Contemporary: Ohhh my god. What a dance. Gino came through with the emotions, even when he confessed to being guarded in the video. I think everyone just kept expecting him to do well that it got to him a bit. Good that he’s had this personal growth, even if it’s not necessarily something translatable on stage all the time. This dance comes at a good time for him 10/10

Awwwww, the production was busy making Gino awkward by hinting at a showmance when Bailey was out here actually having a small crush hahaha. All the little moments they showed of them backstage were so cute though. This boy really knows how to work a crowd. The musicality in that solo was off the charts.

Mariah and Robert Contemporary: Okay. Robert and Mandy. I knew this dance had at least a 50% chance of being very blah to me. Emotionally, I was in and out of this. Sometimes Mariah’s expressions looked overdone (as was Mary’s tears after), but I believe she truly felt this dance. Visually, it was a very beautiful dance. Breathtaking moments. Lovely lighting. Blend of technique and transitory steps. I like this type of contemporary. 9/10

Wait, we’re already sourcing auditions for next year???

Gino and Bailey Broadway: I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DANCE. Now this is the couple to beat. Haha. Sorry girls. These two were so good together. There were some moves that were more up Gino’s alley and some up Bailey’s, but they both held up next to the other and danced TOGETHER. Fantastic storytelling. 11/10

Mariah and Sophie Hip-hop: so they’re mean girls. We’ve all heard of those people. So my one gripe with this dance was the handbags. They felt kinda extra, but also added to the character. I guess I wish they were incorporated better. Both girls really sold their character. 7/10

Alright, those were the last of the dances before the finale next week, and the crowning of a new SYTYCD champion.

My rankings are 1. Bailey 2. Gino 3. Mariah 4. Sophie

Had a busy week, recorded the show and saw it on Tuesday but hadn’t had time to sit down and sort out my notes. Anyway, this episode was really exciting because they had a really good group of guys.

Before we go, some thoughts about prior rounds - Sad to see Jay go. I figured he would never make it to the live shows even competing as himself and not as Estranja, just because this show is stuck in its cis binary gender world. I’m glad he came out here for two years to make a statement

Same as last week, I’ll include the contestant’s home style in brackets and score each dance out of ten.

Bailey Munoz (b-boy) with Lauren Froderman, contemporary - I’m rooting HARD for Bailey. He is so cute and his talent is off the charts!!! I’m curious as to why he was given contemporary in this round, since it seems (at least for the ladies) they were given styles they struggled with but his contemporary round was good. If that was still his weakest style, he’s gonna take this show by storm. Now for his dance with Lauren - wow!! D-trix reps me with his response. Bailey is really powerful and he knows how to use his strengths. He had a great connection with Lauren. Nice to see him taking care of details like pointing his toes. 10/10

Ezra Sosa (ballroom) with Comfort Fedoke, hip-hop - Stephanie’s little brother. He says he isn’t saucy...but I think Latin ballroom has got to have some of the sauciest styles out there. Maybe he’s thinking more swagger? In any case, I liked his performance a lot! Only thing is he might have been in his head a little bit. The judges gave him good comments but didn’t look very enthused which confused me. 9/10

Vlad Kvartin (ballroom) with Melanie Moore, contemporary - So we barely glimpsed Vlad up till this point. I remember at the end of Academy, the judges mentioned his solo was offputting. But he is still here. This dance was a good effort and Vlad made each movement effortless, but he was stuck in his head and so the dance felt very unfeeling. Also didn’t really help that the choreo makes him scarcely more than a prop for Melanie. There was a moment where he smiled at Melanie and I thought he was finally getting into the dance, but it was an isolated event. 7/10

Aleksander Ostanin (tap) with Lindsay Arnold, cha cha cha - Choreo by Sharna. Aye DWTS ladies! from what I’m seeing, Aleksander has been on (won?) SYTYCD Ukraine. So, this was a hard routine and for the most part he looked very sharp. His downfall was the tricks because he’s not as strong upper body wise (not surprising since he’s a tap specialist). Some transitions also looked slow. He looked like he was enjoying himself, but I wanted him to project more energy. At this point I think he is stronger than Eddie if Nigel wants a tap dancer. He’s really charismatic too. 7/10

Benjamin Castro (contemporary) with Koine Iwasaki, salsa - Interesting partner assignment, but in the end Koine looked like she has been doing salsa all her life. This dance was fire. Benji’s footwork was so sharp. If only he wasn’t flat footed. He also needs to be careful not to let his butt stick out, being tall, but even that happened only 1.5 times. Unfortunately for Aleksander this was a better ballroom routine, and right after him too. 8/10

Bryan “Clocks” Volozanin (animation) with Jasmine Harper, jazz - This guy has a great positive attitude and approach, it’s a shame this dance wasn’t stronger. It was honestly kinda basic save for some jumps that Clocks didn’t pull off great (but at least we got a throwback to some of Dominic’s less than stellar ones too). 6/10

Brandon Talbott (contemporary ballet) with Lindsay, cha cha cha - choreo-ed by Emma and Sasha. Shoutout to my DWTS squad today!! I loved the choreography here, especially that cartwheel move at the end. He tried to channel his inner saucy persona, “Brando”, but sadly “Brando” didn’t come through. He still looked very ballet and pulled-up. Lacked hip action. There were some moves he was obviously pushing through. Shame, he looked good in that black jacket. 6/10

Nathan Cherry (hip-hop) with Melanie, contemporary - Haven’t seen him until now, so there ya go. Cheating storyline for an 18-year-old? I feel like that’s setting him up in a bad way. Uh anyway, this dance really really confused me. The performance itself blew hot and cold. Sometimes he was too gangly. Sometimes it almost seemed like he made a connection but the next moment it would be flat and unfeeling. Choreo didn’t give Nathan much to show either. I felt disconnected from this piece. But the judges seemed to really like it. Hence my confusion. 5/10

Gino Cosculluela (contemporary) with Lauren, jazz - first of all, it took me multiple tries to spell his last name. I think Gino’s biggest downfall will be the high expectations people have of him. Like, in this piece he wobbled once and flicked his hands weird once, which for most people would be passable, but I was thinking, this shouldn’t happen for someone of his caliber and background. Gino is very technical. I wanted more sass. The judges were stern in their comments, but Nigel made it sound like it was pretty much given he’d be in the live shows. Or I guess they are calling it studio shows. Don’t get me wrong, I think he deserves a spot. It’s just he still has room to grow and will have to fight greater expectations. 8/10

Eddie Hoyt (tap) with Comfort, hip-hop - Oh, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. I wanted to root for him but the guy’s ballroom routine was really rough and he should have gone home there and then. But Nigel gave him a chance. Then, I actually kinda liked his last solo. It was different, and I liked the way he played with the music/sound. Was it the smartest choice given the stakes? No. In any case, I feel like he has a shot just because Nigel always needs a tap dancer. (And Aleksander hadn’t been shown until this week if that says anything about his chances of making the live shows.) I was sure Eddie would get ballroom in this round, but apparently he was assigned to it during the big Academy group number (which Mandy totally fudged, by the way. Cutting and pasting all your other dances? How original is that? /s) and did better then. Now, I had doubts for this round, but Eddie might have just done it. This was a great dance. He was in the groove. He still had that cute boy face at times but because the theme wasn’t too serious or swaggy I think he got away with this one. He probably had the roughest Academy of the ten remaining guys, but pulled this performance out at just the right time. 9/10

So, before I watched my recording I got spoiled on Twitter about Bailey and Benji getting in. Based on the judges’ reactions and previous rounds, my guesses for the other 3 were: Eddie Gino Nathan

Man, this was hard! I really waffled between Nathan and Ezra for that last spot, because I thought one was good today but the judges seemed unconvinced while the other was meh to me but the judges were positive about. In the end, it’s Ezra, Gino and Eddie joining Bailey and Benji in the live shows.

Lol Mary really pulled one on Ezra. He had convinced himself they were sending him off and was already saying his thanks and goodbyes before Mary even finished what she was saying.

The male talent pool was undoubtedly outrageous this season, though. I feel like a handful of those who didn’t get in could have displaced the top ladies in a mixed pool.

Love me some district 78. Gino slayed that. Ah, so we’re having a travel theme. Each dance inspired by a different country or something like that. Oh boy, this will be 2 hours long?? I rather they have shorter episodes and eliminate 2 people every other week, let us know the dancers longer. Also that is less rehearsal for them each week which is more physically sustainable.

Plus, I record my episodes on an online DVR that tends to buffer a lot the longer episodes are...so its gonna take me like, 3 hours to get through this. Anna and Benjamin Tahitian dance: nice. Bit of stumble in the middle. Benjamin’s Long Limbs were an asset this time as he could accentuate the moves a lot. Whereas Anna would lose the hip and knee action once she had to travel. Don’t know what Nigel was going on about having seen a great Tahitian routine before therefore he couldn’t enjoy this. By that logic, he shouldn’t be able to even glance at the thousands of modern and contemporary bits on this show. 8/10 Sophie has very nice floorwork I’ll say. But I think I saw the same leg lift like 3 times in that solo Madison and Ezra hip hop: damn, that’s one way to enter the stage. I loved this dance and I think the dancers saw the choreographer’s vision through. They were very effortless and floaty in the slow parts but then the beat would drop and they would be hitting it hard. I thought both were good, dunno what the judges were on. 10/10 Is that my first ten of the season??? Insert some dwts gif here. Gino you are fantastic and all but please no more andra day Bailey and Mariah Cha Cha: aww he got her flowers. I like the theme and costuming of this dance. Oof, I wanted this to go better. Dimitry gave them a HARD routine. Bailey was...stiff? Like, he was visibly trying very hard and was stamping the ground really hard with his footwork. Lacked hip action but he had good body rolls. Props to him for doing all the tricks. Mariah has the best ballroom out of all the non-ballroom dancers. He gets her flowers every week!!!!!! They are adorable in a completely wholesome, platonic way. 8/10 Madison has a nice solo then Ezra has a fantastic solo!! That pirouette with his leg in second going into that spinning jump and landing into a roll. Except for his all red costume. You know I’m not a fan of those. I think it’s the red Cuban shoes I can’t get over. Maybe if he had a different colour I could get pass this look. Gino and Sophie contemporary: Gino can cook??? Important skills. Dear Evan Hansen! OH WOW. WOW. TAKE A BOW KC MANNING. if the show suddenly ended here I wouldn’t be mad, because this is the best dance ever. I love the use of the props, setting, and blocking. Holy crap Gino’s leaps...I swear he jumps Sophie’s height. Sophie had such lovely smooth transitions and turns. I like the choreography too. It had lots of technique but also some simple but memorable phrases. 12/10 Oh Mariah, I wonder how she gets her solos because they always feel emotionally disconnected. Benjamin and Anna Broadway: oh man, Anna has that lovely hairdo and dress but why did they give her those shoes? They made her feet look clunky. That said she looked pretty good despite that. I actually think one of her turns was better than Benjamin’s! They got all the nuances of a soft, elegant piece like this perfectly. 9/10 Madison and Ezra Argentine Tango: I’m confused, Madison said Ezra reps death but he is also “giving her little pieces of life” as she is dying?? Madison looked stressed in rehearsal and even Ezra a bit tepid. AT has a different feel from ballroom when you are doing it. Despite how scared they were this was actually a very good dance! They were both so sharp and precise. It might have been better if they had closer body contact, and Madison sometimes was hunching forward slightly. AT is HARD to learn though. 9/10 ps Ezra has decent guyliner. One of the better ones. I’ve had enough of rum boy run but I like the whole ancient warrior theme Benjamin had going on. And then Anna follows up with another piece of music I’m not a fan of. Bailey and Mariah contemporary: slide into your arms/DMs. There are so many innovative routines tonight! Wonderfully done and staged, and beautifully executed by the dancers. Bailey’s feet are as nice as Mariah’s. He is one of if not the best b boys at contemporary. Oh wow. I don’t want to see them apart either, Mary. 10/10 Gino and Sophie Jazz: another good one! This was such fun. Sophie got the character spot on. I feel like she got the mood of the dance more than Gino, though he was moving better (could blame Sophie’s pants though). Did they take out the hat trick (haha, hat trick, geddit? Cos Gino called it a soccer ball). D trix doing the tamale train lol. 9.5/10 Madison Mariah Ben Gino Contemporary: Another song that I’ve had enough of. Ugh. And I thought we were having such a good second half of the show. Okay, music aside, that was fine until they took the guys shirts off. What was the point of that? I felt random and gimmicky. Can’t believe I’m rating Talia Flavia this low. 5/10 Time for some results. Gino and Mariah are safe, so Benjamin and Madison are in danger. Anna Sophie Bailey Ezra Afrojazz: Hmm, I feel like this dance was very short? Like, I was just getting into it and then it ended. 7.5/10 Oh right, we’re we supposed to have a travel theme? I kinda forgot about that in the middle of the show. And the dances did too. Damn, 5 pieces in 6 days. Jeezus. Ezra is in danger again as is Anna. So Ezra or Benjamin, Madison or Anna... I feel like Ezra’s solo might have saved him this week although Nigel might have a soft spot for the broadway routine. Madison had a very strong night especially with that tango routine but Anna was lucky that the show was so long her weak showing in the opening Tahitian routine would have been forgotten by that point. The judges save Ezra. That’s two eliminations he’s survived now. I thought he’d be more popular. They save Madison too, so that pairing gets another week together.

Kaeli Ware & Brandon Talbott Perform To "Torn" | Season 16 Ep. 2 | SYTYCD | Contemporary Ballet

Eep, you have no idea how long these were sitting in my notes on my phone. Okay, at least I’m getting them out here before yet another episode.

Remember, votes from part 1 were used to determine who was on the chopping block in week 2. And I scored everyone out of ten again.

Mary’s bangs were wild both weeks.

Part 1 (two weeks ago)

Bailey and Mariah - Jazz The shorty couple. Okay, very fun-ish routine. Last pose was a bit shaky. This looks like a good partnership with matching personalities. 6.5/10

Stephanie and Gino - Hip-hop The power couple. I hope they didn’t actually have a whole rehearsal in those thick coats. I thought it was good but makes sense that Dominic would have higher expectations. I think Gino just needed a better skank face. 7./10

Benjamin and Anna - cha-cha aka “benana” Anna is quite reserved here and her knees were consistently ever slightly bent. She also needs more hip action. Benjamin improved from his final cut routine but still can be more grounded. That knee slide entrance in the beginning screams Sasha Farber hahaha. 6.5/10

Madison and Ezra - contemporary Ezra can’t play soccer? Might have to disown him...jk. Best dance of the night? The walkover pose onto Ezra’s back looked awkward but now knowing it was unintended, props to Ezra for making something out of it while finding a way to support Madison. Side note, Lost by Dermot Kennedy just sounds like his other song Moments Passed just without the chanting. 8/10

Sophie and Eddie - jazz ok, they had the cutest reactions to meeting each other but tbh, neither of them should be here. But it’s not up to me. I’m glad they didn’t have any appropriative costumes gien the sushi theme (remember the geisha routine?) They both started out strong IMO then kinda lost it after the break in the middle with the phone. Sophie needed a sassy dance like this to get out of the innocent country girl vibe and she did it. Eddie could have used that too but didn’t quite get there, though I think dance wise he was ok. 6/10

Both group routines were pretty nice. Oh god Bailey is tiny. both 8/10

My scores are looking kind of stingy...

Part 2 (last week)

Gino and Stephanie - jive “Rico Suavé” was young Gino’s latin dance nickname, in case anyone wanted to know. I never understand why people love setting dances at a gas station. Gino was told the week prior he needed to show “personality”. I think he was a bit theatrical with it in this dance - might be his background. But he has very clean footwork. Steph shone in her style. 8/10

Sophie and Eddie - contemporary two resounding pieces from Travis Wall, the first being the opening. Very good transitions. Eddie was kinda a prop here but he didn’t put a foot wrong. Good that he could solidly support Sophie through all those tricks. 8.5/10

Benjamin and Anna - hip-hop Remember when Anna kinda flunked the dance in her own style in Academy week? It kinda happened again here. Not as obvious, but Laurieann had a point saying she expected more fire from someone in her home style. I think she started out strong but her energy petered out in the later half. Benjamin was for the most part good, though kinda gangly with his limbs and you could see form time to time he didn’t have as much precision as his partner. 8/10

Madison and Ezra - jazz I think Ezra was a bit uncomfortable in this dance. Maybe if he had a sexier outfit he could have channeled the idea better? I mean, he looked like someone about to crash into bed after a long day at his boring desk job. But also, Madison is very mature and was 100% into the dance so he might have felt awkward either way. 8/10

Bailey and Mariah - hip-hop Soy sauce?? Um okay. Not a very hip-hoppy ingredient if you ask me although as an ethnic asian, I do love cooking with soy sauce. Damn, Mariah can get down. I wasn’t her biggest fan coming into the live shows but I appreciate her commitment to each role she’s given. Bailey’s movement was great, just didn’t have as much character as Mariah had going on. 8.5/10

Alright, so the bottom four are Stephanie, Eddie, Anna, and Ezra. Between the ladies, the judges save Anna, and between the guys they save Eddie. So Stephanie and Eddie are eliminated.