So You Think You Can Dance - Top 20

Well, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for – the competition gets serious. Top 20 round is a chance to showcase the best of the thousands who have auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance, which is currently dominating the ratings. What am I looking for? Some more awkwardness from our hostess, some bitter judging and some fiery dancing, which should make for an entertaining night in front of the couch.

The regulars are shown to us after a quick be-bopping group number from the dancers. Everybody’s favourite host Natalie Bassingthwho is resplendent in a black one-strap number, with hair that looks as if she’s spent her entire day with her face directly in front of a high-powered fan. Paddle Pop Lion can be called Paddle Pop Lion no longer, as he’s finally got rid of that Rod Stewart hair for a more regulation crop. Bonnie Lythgoe is as cringe worthy as usual, while “little brother” Matt Lee has ditched his angled cap for a more grown up (and more bogan) pork pie. Hostess Nat explains the competition rules and it’s game time.

Bundle of trouble Rhiannon is up first, picking hip hop and scoring hip hop specialist JD as a partner. Well, that’s likely to be quite a recipe for quality, although it might have been more interesting to watch the pair of them squirm through a salsa or something. Never mind. We’re shown a quick montage (they really do love their montages on this show, don’t they?) of the contestants’ backgrounds; Rhiannon is 18 from a disadvantaged suburb in Sydney, whose parents appear to have sacrificed a great deal for her to dance. Sob story much? Well, it doesn’t end there, as we learn that JD was abandoned by his parents in the Philippines at the age of four, before coming to Australia and being adopted by loving mother Julie. I do appreciate the backgrounds of these kids – but it does seem like you’re not the complete package unless you’ve got some particular story behind you on this show.

Never mind – it’s on to choreography now with Manuela Oliveira, who announces they’ll be dancing to “Kiss Kiss”, some American hip hop dirge. “The lift’s really hard and we might not actually be able to do it,” quips Rhiannon, which bodes well for some Dominic/Sabra-style entertainment. The dancers get grumpy with their choreographer, who in turn appears disappointment at their “narrow-minded” nature.

Unfortunately for the cynics among us the lift comes off and they actually do rather well. Mind you, remember my knowledge of dance technique is almost zero. Rhiannon impressed me a little more than JD, which was surprising, given his status as an early favourite. She might have looked space-age in that plasticky-leather-style crop top with cravate, but I liked it anyway. Bassingthththththwaite leads the pair through a breathless interview Tour-de-France style, where the interviewees can barely get a word in through their own panting. “Have you arrived?” Nat asks somewhat puzzlingly, and I begin to wonder whether we’ve been watching holograms for the past two minutes. The judges love it, and “Miss Bonnie” agrees that Rhiannon was the stand out. Paddle Pop Lion has some quibbles with the “unison” of the dancers, but who cares – average Joe Blow doesn’t care about what part of the beat they’re dancing on. Certainties to get through to next week is my verdict.

Next up is Courtney who picks “Lyrical Jazz” and is paired with Hilton. Again, another pair who appear to be well within their comfort zone. Amongst the brief montages, Courtney appears to be the spitting image of her mother, who both must still get their perms together. Hilton, on the other hand, is rooting for the tweenage girl vote, stomping around on the beach shirtless. Kelly Aykers provides choreography, announcing the theme of “Romeo and Juliet”. Cue more crying from Courtney, probably. It’s all very wishy washy, which is how this style always appears to me, and doesn’t excite me the way the hip-hoppers did. Bonnie found the chemistry, which I thought was inherently missing. Courtney is told her technique ain’t up to scratch by Matt, while Bonnie thinks they’ll both go a long way. Paddle Pop Lion gives an extended spiel that sounds as if he’d typed it up on his little laptop during the performance. Give us some spontaneous quips, Jase. Nat goes through the numbers and it’s the ads again.

It’s Vanessa up third, the Cindy Pan look-alike with the most high-pitched, twee voice ever heard. She’s paired with Henry, a Latin specialist. Why can’t we have someone look completely awkward…how will I ever be scathing if the dancing is so good?!! Vanessa apparently had a hiatus from dance for three years, which honestly amazes me – her flexibility is quite incredible. Henry, who gets those arms a-jiggling Latin-style, likes windsurfing. Go figure.

Anyway, Luda and Oliver, five-times world salsa champions, are the choreographers – Luda of Strictly Dancing and Dancing With The Stars fame. It’s supposed to be tough choreography – and as the dance begins, that proves to be true. Henry is exuberant and energetic, while Vanessa is slightly lacking in that…je ne sais quoi. I don’t blame her, however, as she’s whirled around Henry’s head, spun around like a spinning top and then dragged in circles across the floor, all while Henry does some arm wiggling, with hairy chest thrust out. The judges agree that Vanessa looked out of her comfort zone – yet they still agreed it was pretty good – and I’m with them. The routine of the night at this point.

Camilla is the fourth girl to pick her style and she gets “musical theatre”, whatever that means dancing-wise. She’s paired with Sermsah, and this should certainly be interesting. Camilla’s the country girl, Sermsah the humble, sole-indigenous contestant. They’re choregraphed by Adam Williams, who announces they’ll dance to a modern remix of “Hey Big Spender”. Self-confidence issues for Sermsah are still there, apparently. The routine starts and Camilla is all slicked-hair and lycra, while Sermsah is dressed ninja-style with war paint across his eyes. I’m not exactly sure how the routine is “musical theatre” – the burglary theme is lost on me. Anyway, they do it rather well, although there was a noticeable stuff up in one of the lifts. Matt concurs with me (am I a good judge or what?), Bonnie waffles for a while about nothing in particular, asking them questions rather than judging herself, and Jason gives Sermsah an obscure metaphor about saddles and bridles and horses manes and eventually decides that it was “hot hot hot”. Not bad, I thought, but then again, nothing has been particularly bad so far.

Fifth up is Jemma, who gleefully shows her wonky teeth when she picks waltz as her style. Her partner is Rhys, a man more feminine than half the females on the show. Jemma’s another sob story – she had breathing problems early on in life and was in and out of hospital. Rhys, on the other hand, sports one of those hideous Ben Cousins plunging V-necks before getting dolled up in eye shadow and women’s earrings. Kiddies, look away now. Interestingly his Dad is completely supportive of Rhys’ “lifestyle”… “he’s still my son”, he says plaintively. Ocker as ever. A glimpse of Rhys in drag is surely enough for Oxford Street residents to get their phones out.

Jason Gilkinson is the choreographer; his partner is another girl I’m sure I’ve seen on another dancing program. Errors in practice are bad signs for the pair, but to their credit, it appears flawless, at least to me. The only problem I had with it was the atrocious music (which sounded suspiciously like Celine Dion) that seemed to start and end abruptly. “You did great”, says Matt the kid. “Stunning,” says Miss Bonnie. It’s Jason’s favourite routine of the evening so far – and I concur, actually. Neither of these were my favourites coming in to the night, but both are more than deserving of a spot next week.

Up next is Laura, a mysterious girl who we haven’t seen a great deal of in the early audition shows. She’s partnered with Anthony, brother of a rugby league player and another early favourite. Adelaide resident Laura is flying the flag for her state, who apparently chose dance over tennis, an interesting decision. Never mind, her family are well and truly behind her. Anthony, an aerobics champion, didn’t start dancing proper until seventeen – Sabra anyone??. “Jet” is the choreographer for their routine, which is “contemporary lyrical”. Laura fails to impress while Anthony struggles to emote.

The routine begins, Anthony typically topless, with Laura not wearing much either. It’s “lyrical”, punctuated by a spectacularly high lift, but “Jet” was right – Laura is far too blah while Anthony’s incredible acrobatics make him the stand out. The judges aren’t with me – Laura was “exceptional”, according to Miss Bonnie. (What is with this Miss Bonnie thing anyway– another Natalie foible, I suppose…). “Excellent”, said Paddle Pop Lion, and Anthony’s sailing through to the next round, while Laura may have to dance for her life. Anyway, what would I know.

Sexy Stephanie is seventh, paired with another unknown, Marko. They’re given jive, an unknown dance for Marko but something that should be plain sailing for Steph. Jason Gilkinson is choreographing again, and both of them appear rather perturbed by the high-kicking style. Stephanie has troubles with concentration, while Marko is like a rabbit in the headlights. They’re dressed bizarrely – Stephanie a gothic Imogen Heap, Marko all plaid, dog collars, boots and mesh. They seem to have shaken off their cobwebs from rehearsal, because they seem, again, pretty damn good (apart from the Veronicas music, of course). Some effortless lifts and nice acrobatics make it another terrific routine. A very different jive, the judges say, but “fabulous” all the same. Jason hated it, however – the first totally negative judgement of the show. Go away, Jason – I actually liked it. No chemistry, he claims, and no correlation between music, costume and dance. Bonnie reinforces her view and gives Paddle Pop Lion a bit of Miss Bonnie attitude, to rapturous applause. “Each to their own,” says Nat, her first intelligent comment ever. Anyway, they may have to dance for their lives tomorrow night, but they don’t deserve to.

Kate, a dancer I’d never heard of until the Top 20 was announced, is paired with Khaly, a b-boy with piercings littered all over his face. They’re given “contemporary jazz”, which should be interesting for Khaly at least. Kate is another one who has gone through medical trauma – a hole in her spine meant she was only given a 10% chance of walking. Is this supposed to be Camp Quality or something? Khaly, on the other hand, describes himself as “family-orientated”. Too bad, Khaly, you’ve got no sob story – will you get beyond this week?? They’re dancing to that bizarre Silverchair track, “If You Keep Losing Sleep”, which is certainly a “left of centre” choice, as Kate describes it. Khaly struggles with the style during rehearsal, which at last bodes for some theatrics. It doesn’t help their cause that Khaly is much shorter than Kate – this is possibly the oddest pairing of the night. They come out dressed in a fifties style, which is all well and good, until the music starts. Now, I love Silverchair, but they could not have made a more bizarre song choice for this style. Khaly puts his head into his hands as if he is pained for some reason, but the flamboyance of the music kills the mood. Probably the worst of the night, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were slaughtered here. But no – my non-existent dancing expertise doesn’t hold up here. Kate is “the finest female dancer in the competition”, which makes me wonder why we’ve never seen her before. Bonnie loves it too, as my eyebrows furrow even further. Surely Paddle Pop Lion has something negative to say – and yes, he does, thank god. But in the end he says they did a great job…hypocritical much?? Anyway, the numbers are announced, it’s ads time and surely, the end is nigh.

“Couple Number Nine” is energetic Demi, who draws “Boogaloo” out of the bucket. What on earth that is, I’ve no idea, but she seems rather excited about the whole thing. She’s up with Jack, who was subject to torment from his older sisters, who liked dressing him up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. The strangely named Nacho Pop choreographs the routine, which appears to be some sort of hip-hop style. They come out dressed like gangsters, and I expect something jazzy, but the routine instead consists of a series of robotic movements which succeed in making both dancers look like they have extremely short arms. Okay, I’m being dreadfully cynical here – that was actually quite incredible – and Demi, particularly, shone brightly. Matt “felt the funk”…he’s turning out to be the Marcia of the show – he rarely offers abrasive comment. Bonnie loved it and offers one of her now idiosyncratic spiels, complete with waffly hand movements. Paddle Pop Lion announces they’re a huge thread and have likeability that’s off the scale. One of the best of the night, and they’re sailing through to Top 18 week.

The final couple to dance is blonde bombshell Kassy, who’s paired with the only dancer left – young Sydneysider Graeme. Kassy is the third girl of the night to have had medical difficulties in the past…I sense a theme here. Graeme used to be a musician, which is interesting, and got a hard time at school when he took up dancing. “The girls’ll love him”, say his ocker mates. Yannus takes them through a lyrical hip hop routine, and as with nearly all other couples, they have difficulty coping with tough choreography. And, as with nearly all other couples, they appear to nail it on the night – Kassy looks stunning, while Graeme sorts his problems out. Again the music is dreadful though – I really am quite sick of Leona Lewis. Another terrific routine and I’m finding it awfully difficult to write acerbic criticism. I think I’ve picked the wrong show to blog. It’s Bonnie’s favourite of the night, while Paddle Pop Lion thought it was “art”. Another pair of certainties through to next week.

So, after all that – some summary. Well, Jack and Demi impressed me, I liked Marko and Stephanie, Rhys and Jemma was surprisingly good and Kassy and Graeme were very classy. Rhiannon is now one of my favourite girls, while Sermsah remains my favourite guy despite some troubles tonight. My picks to go? Khaly, who really struggled outside of b-boying, and Laura, who despite her beauty was just too “meh” for me tonight. Importantly, I think the dancers proved that there is enough Australian talent to compare it to the American show...just. :P

And that’s over and out…I’ve really been typing and watching this for far too long! Tonight we eagerly await elimination…and the Veronicas! (yuck).

;) peace