More Thanh Words

"My name is Thanh and I'm a Blogger". Now that I have admitted to that, I can say that I'm a stereotypical "geeky" Engineer who enjoys sci-fi books and movies and into all things technological. I also love music and have a passion for FOOD. I'm a social person and like to talk to people. I hate people who are fake or overly aggressive. If you're also into some serious discussion, with a pinch of sarcasm and a dash of real emotion, then please read on.

Monday, March 31, 2008

So You Think You Can Dance Australia - Top 5 Live Show

After last weeks break, I couldn't wait for this weeks show. This week, instead of doing two routines like the American series, the dancers did one routine with a randomly chosen partner and a solo routine. The solo routine is good and bad. The good part is that they get to shine and not blame anyone else for their failing. The bad part is that the solo routines aren't as exciting as a partner routine. You just simply cannot do as many moves by yourself.

When Natalie told the contestants they would be doing solos, she said they could choose their own song from a movie soundtrack. Also, they would have the choice of three choreographers, Nacho Pop (Hip Hop), Paul Green (Ballroom) and Kelly Akyres (Jazz). I thought the choreographers would be choreographing the whole routines. But looking at the quality of the routines and the comments the judges made, it appears more that the contestants did their own choreography with some help from the experts. That's what I think anyway, because Jason was saying how he liked the way Jack decided to do a theme and stick with it and how Graeme decided to add a lot of tricks into his routine.

I'm going to adjust my scoring system slightly to rate both routines. I will rate each routine out of 5, and give a likeability out of 5 too, giving a total of 15.
Previous posts about the shows are here
Top 10 Live Show
Top 10 Verdict Show

Top 9 Live Show
Top 9 Verdict Show

Top 8 Live Show
Top 8 Verdict Show

Top 7 Live Show
Top 7 Verdict Show

Top 6 Live Show
Top 6 Verdict Show

Vanessa and Jack
Vanessa chose Jack randomly out of a hat this week. The routine they got was a contemporary routine, with a lyrical emphasis. I really enjoyed the routine and thought they were a great pairing. They are both great technicians and excuted the kicks and moves really well. I liked the fire between them as well.

Vanessa

For her solo, Vanessa picked the soppy ballad "How Can I Live", the Trisha Yearwood version rather than the Leanne Rimes version. As an aside, despite Trisha's version having way more success, I actually prefer Leanne's version, which is a bit edgier and less soppy. Vanessa's routine was ok, with a lot of her nice extensions throughout the routine, but it didn't really catch me.
Partner Routine: 4.5/5
Solo Routine: 3/5
Likeability: 4/5
Overall: 11.5/15

Jack

Jack's solo routine was performed to the "Mission Impossible" theme. His solo was one of two that I thought was good and entertaining. All the others I was a bit ho hum about. I didn't really like the rest or hate them. Jack's solo was dynamic and truly entertained. He kept the spy theme throughout the routine and I was engrossed in it for the whole minute.
Partner Routine: 4.5/5
Solo Routine: 4.5/5
Likeability: 5/5
Overall: 14/15

Kate and Rhys
Kate and Rhys performed the best routine of the night for me. I know that the judges thought Rhiannon and Henry's routine was the best, which I thought was really good, but I thought this was better. It's easy to think the other routine is better because the dancers were crying at the end and emotional sad pieces tend to catch the audience more. However, for me, joyous routines can be great too. Kate and Rhy's hip hop routine by a British choreographer called "Supple" is probably the best hip hop routine of the whole series. It was smooth at times, intricate and also sharp when needed. Kate and Rhy were dynamic in it.

Kate

Kate's solo to Whitney Houstons "Queen of The Night" was good in part and ok for most of it. Her kicks were good, but there were an awful lot of them and at times it just seemed to be an exercise in how many kicks she could fit into the routine.
Partner Routine: 5/5
Solo Routine: 3.5/5
Likeability: 3.5/5
Overall: 12/15

Rhys

Rhys performed his solo to "Born Slippy" by Underworld from the Trainspotting soundtrack. His solo was the other one that caught my attention. It was a very strong performance indeed and suited the song I thought.
Partner Routine: 5/5
Solo Routine: 4/5
Likeability: 4.5/5
Overall: 13.5/15

Demi and Graeme
Demi and Graeme did a really interesting contemporary routine. I thought it was so funny when they chose contemporary from the hat and Graeme breaks out in tears because he's worried the audience will pigeon hole him since he has done so many contemporary routines. If I were him, I would be ecstatic becuase you get to do something you are strong in and show your best each week. Their routine of insect movements was very dramatic and their moves really were out of this world. Demi was so good and showed how she can learn new things. I guess this style is new to Graeme too and he did great also.

Demi

Demi's solo to "Sex Machine" by the father of soul himself James Brown started off good, but then sort of just went into a typical break dancing routine. It started off so well with Demi doing this cheeky/sexy bend to pick up the hat and then she launched into all her tricks, without really linking it all together.
Partner Routine: 4.5/5
Solo Routine: 3/5
Likeability: 4.5/5
Overall: 12/15

Graeme

Graeme did his solo to "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. I thought this song would provide heaps of material to work with but his routine was another solo from the night that I don't really remember. It lacked any real highlight.
Partner Routine: 4.5/5
Solo Routine: 3/5
Likeability: 3.5/5
Overall: 11/15

Jemma and Anthony
Jemma and Anthony did a Cha Cha for their routine. Jemma actually did this after her solo and she was much better in this. Obviously as the judges said, this is her field and they expected more. She was good but not great. Being partnered with Anthony hasn't brought out the best in her. She must trust Rhys more and that connection was lacking. Anthony did a good job in the cha cha but again, no real highlight.

Jemma

Jemma performed her ballroom solo to "Shake a Tail Feather" by the Blues Brothers. It looked like a really lame jive. All her kicks lacked vigour and energy. It must be strange doing a solo as ballroom dancers always work in pairs, but this routine was really bad. She was on the verge of tears when the judges were criticising her. I've been a massive fan of Jemma's the whole series and its such a shame both her routines were bad.
Partner Routine: 3.5/5
Solo Routine: 2.5/5
Likeability: 4.5/5
Overall: 10.5/15

Anthony

Anthony performed his solo to "The Blower's Daughter" by Damien Rice. It's one of my favourite songs and I thought since the song is already so emotional, his contemporary routine would be great. It was pretty good but lacked the absolute smooth flow of an emotional contemporary routine.
Partner Routine: 3.5/5
Solo Routine: 3.5/5
Likeability: 3.5/5
Overall: 10.5/15

Rhiannon and Henry
Rhiannon and Henry did a jazz piece by Kelly Akyres. Kelly choreographed the piece about her own personal loss of a soul mate. When a choreographer does that, it tends to bring out a lot of emotions from the dancers. When Mia Michaels choreographed a piece about her own father who passed away in the American series, that brought out so much emotion from everyone. So it was fairly safe to assume that this routine would be good. It did turn out to be good and both Rhiannon and Henry were either in tears or near tears at the end. Rhiannon was great for me, more subdued compared to normal. Henry was also really good, bringing both the technical and emotional side to the routine.

Rhiannon

Rhiannon's solo to Amerie's "One Thing" was fun but a lot like the stuff she normally does in her dance for your life part. She's really good at that type of dancing but we haven't seen her do other things in her solos.
Partner Routine: 5/5
Solo Routine: 3/5
Likeability: 2.5/5
Overall: 10.5/15

Henry

Henry did a pose doble type dance to the theme from the movie "300". It was strong but seemed too rushed and a bit messy. He tried to cram too much in and instead of seeing the strong moves from the softer moves, it was a bit of a blur.
Partner Routine: 5/5
Solo Routine: 3.5/5
Likeability: 3.5/5
Overall: 12/15

It will be sad to see any of the dancers leave as they are all so great. But I hope my favourites of Jack, Demi, Rhys, Vaness and Jemma stay in the competition.

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