SYTYCD 2 Top 20 (Ep. 6) Review The dance off has finally commenced as So You Think You Can Dance 2 moves into the live elimination stages. With 20 extremely qualified contestants vying for the top prize of RM 50,000 & possibly a dance scholarship and various other goodies, the season looks set to sparkle & mesmerize. With the explosive first season culminating into a fairy tale ending for its eventual novice winner Alam and making such a massive mark in the industry while creating the benchmark for all impending seasons of SYTYCD, much is definitely expected of season 2 and its more technically qualified contenders.
The good news is dance fans are equally as supportive and probably more so this year at SYTYCD as they turned up in droves at Ruums KL to support their favorites. In fact they were simply fantastic and certainly more aware of what¡¯s at stake. Even many parents turned up at this early stage as opposed to last year. This fabulous reception augurs well for season 2 and will certainly inspire the Top 20 into bringing out the best out of themselves and to out do each other at every level. The stage has been set, and what a big stage (literally) it is this year, as the contenders race to fill out very large shoes left behind by their predecessors, many of whom have also turned up at Ruums KL to give them moral support.
And to make the perfect start to a new season, who else but Alam, the first Malaysian SYTYCD winner, was invited to do the honours with an almost effortless lyrical hip hop number, which easily had the crowd cheering for more. Before long it was time for the curtain to rise on the brand new Top 20.
The first of the contenders to take the stage and open the competition proper were the pairing of Black & Farah with their contemporary hip hop piece performed to Timbaland¡¯s ¡°Throw It on Me¡±. With their backs facing the audience and draped in boxing robes with the letters F & B emblazoned on each of them, they gave their fans a hint of who was about to perform. The robes came off quickly to reveal them sporting Everlast boxing shorts & sweat tops, as they skipped out fighting with their fists up into their energetic boxing themed showcase. The muscular and physically well defined Black played his part to the hilt with strong moves that were sharp & punchy, with hardly any noticeable flaws. Farah on the other hand was no Laila Ali, although she did match Black blow for blow for energy & vibrancy. Most of her moves unfortunately were too soft (lembut) and lacked the aggression and tough outlook required for their upbeat piece, and she pretty much ran out of stamina towards the end of their performance. Nevertheless it was a fair performance from the pair who managed to entertain the vociferous crowd. Nice themed choreography too, but it could have done with a little more technical partner interaction.
Many (very qualified) quarters were saying that although the championship winning Latin Ballroom dancing Cecelia was always 300% in her execution, she somehow lacked the inner dancer within her. One even went on to say, ¡°it looks like a sports car, sounds like a sports car, runs almost like a sports car but it is still a Proton¡±. Well, the detractors can kiss that theory goodbye as the so called missing ¡°inner dancer¡± in Cecilia seems to have exploded out with loads to spare on stage at Ruums KL as her performance was nothing short of spectacular, sizzling and oozing with the passion of a person driven to dance. Ray & Cecilia¡¯s dazzling display in Ballroom Mambo executed to Duffy¡¯s ¡°Mercy¡± was the epitome of what the other contenders in season 2 should be striving for and was without a doubt the best performance of the night. Ray Redzuan¡¯s near perfect delivery was not any less convincing but he was clearly overshadowed by the sensuous & fiery Cecelia who had every single eyeball in the club trained on her. Nevertheless, Ray is certainly a top contender in this competition, but may suffer the indignation of being overlooked by the audience because of his scrumptious partner with the mile long legs, and as such, needs to work on capturing the audiences¡¯ attention & imagination as well. Cecelia however should not get too complacent with this early victory, as it was, in her signature genre, and as such she still needs to prove herself in whatever else being thrown at her, but we believe she has it in her to take the bull by the horns and deliver the results. She is certainly a Ferrari at the very least.
It was certainly a very believable performance by both Samantha & Chee Wei on their simple yet emotive contemporary piece, as they both delivered the emotional content with the precision & sensitivity that was required of them, and the crowd were certainly mesmerized, listening to the abundance of shrieking oohs & aahs. It was a thoroughly enjoyable performance that sets them as one of the stronger contenders this season. Chee Wei was clearly the more eloquent of the two as he was as supple as he was strong in his execution and was extremely fluid in his delivery. Samantha may have not been as sleek in all her moves but she delivered the most impactful portion of the piece in her facial expressions which clearly tugged at the heart strings on Annie Lennox¡¯s ¡°Why¡±. At this point of time Chee Wei looks destined to end up in the top 4, but Samantha may just be the strongest outsider.
It was a clumsy and uninspiring display of Dance Hall by Fairul & Zen who were merely going through the motions without delivering the passion & sizzle of Bob Sinclair¡¯s ¡°Sounds of Freedom¡±. To be mercilessly honest, there was nothing there. I can still remember crystal clearly how season 1 SYTYCD¡¯s Orange & Vish set the audience on fire last year with their not too perfect yet highly passionate & cohesive performance, which resulted in them being on top of Rentak Sejuta¡¯s weekly ranking, even though there were many technically more sophisticated performances that week. Dancehall is all about engaging the free flowing rhythms and baring one¡¯s soul without any inhibitions on the dance floor. You have to let it all hang out without worrying too much about getting the steps right. Fairul & Zen did neither of it well. Dancing is not just about following pre instructed steps, which neither of them can claim they did well either, but also being immersed in it with abandon. And when the dancers do not enjoy their own performance, the audience will not too. Two ducks out of water, who may be out of luck if they continue this way.
It was a sophisticated & reasonably fluid Malaysian Contemporary performance to Faizal Tahir¡¯s ¡°Gemuruh¡± by the pairing of Zul (Belalang) & Jorida (Jda), although I was expecting a little more technical complexity in the choreography. Without a doubt, Zul was in his element and executed his moves with the precision that was expected of a trained dancer like him, but Jorida was a revelation as she maneuvered herself with conviction and matched Zul, reasonably well without being fazed. They had the crowd eating out of their hands and will certainly be one of the ones to watch out for as the season progresses. But I hope that any more upcoming Malaysian contemporary pieces be choreographed more challengingly. Like the ones we saw last year, especially the ones featuring the petite but athletic Brancy, with partners Sean & later Firul. Those were simply divine.
The performance of Sim & Hanafi (Napi) were certainly not one of my ¡°Favourite Things¡± as their Viennese Waltz was let down by Hanafi¡¯s less than elegant display. He was merely counting steps, lacked any dance sophistication and was unfortunately holding back Sim throughout their entire excruciating 1 minute and 20 seconds on stage. Although Sim did her part admirably, she was severely handicapped by her mannequin like partner. Hanafi was lucky to escape the gallows this week and needs to redeem himself, fairly quickly or he might be out as quickly as Billy.
It was probably the most ¡°U¡± rated tango that I ever seen. It had neither fire nor finesse, and was severely devoid of any passion as the pairing of Sly & Vivian failed miserably to connect with each other on Ning Baizura¡¯s ¡°Tango in Paris¡±. Merely wearing red garments & going through the steps will not raise anyone¡¯s temperatures. Missing were all the swift strokes of a painter in rage, that is normally associated with tango, which these too mismatched lovers failed to deliver. I was expecting so much more from the ballet trained Vivian but unfortunately it did not materialize. At times she seemed to be struggling to stay in touch. Sly didn¡¯t really have much to do as the Mafioso and was adequate at best. The pair really did not have any synergy together and could not even muster an ounce of sizzle even in such a very basic tango routine. It was certainly no surprise to see Vivian in the bottom 4 this week.
Billy & Zefane also failed to ignite anyone with their Jazz number performed to Fall Out Boy & John Mayer¡¯s version of the street fighting themed ¡°Beat It¡±. Their supposed rendition of a gang bust up ended up being a cartoonish version of a cat fight, and left most of us wondering whether that was their actual performance. The hardworking Billy seemed to have left his soul backstage as he pranced about on stage clueless, while Zef did a tab better in realizing her part, although at times her facial expressions bordered on worry rather than being fearsome. Someone in the audience behind me remarked ¡°Why are they just jumping jumping only. When are they gonna dance?¡± I cannot totally disagree with that.
The funky pair of Raymond & Jojo were spot on and delivered exactly what the audience wanted just when things were starting to look a little dim. Their hip hop was energetic, near flawless and was conveyed with so much pizzazz that the audience could have been easily ¡°Love Stoned¡±. They are certainly among the stand out contenders this season and I am sure everyone will be eagerly anticipating their next performance.
Sarah & Tze Hong delivered an uninhibited and sensational Street Jazz performance which was so emotionally charged that it had most of the audiences gasping for air. It was raw, honest & unpretentious and displayed so much synergistic sexual tension between them; it could be cut with a knife. Hong is simply a fabulous dancer and is an absolute delight to watch, as he went through all his moves with so much purity. Sarah is not one of the strongest of dancers and was hardly flawless but what she lacked in technical maturity, she made up loads in sensitivity & characterization. You could feel the moment as they both engaged themselves on stage. In the end it was all heart, as Hong laid a trembling Sarah to rest on the dance floor and I am sure there were many tears in the club that night.
It was really no surprise to find Billy, Hanafi, Vivian and Zen in the bottom four based on their performances, but we found it surprising that the popular Billy, who had a lot of visible supporters, was voted out over Hanafi, who seemed to have a lower profile. The usually reserved Vivian was the other casualty in the voting stakes, against a well supported Zen. This should be a warning to all contenders that no one is really safe even if they had a seemingly large fan base, and the only way to truly avoid elimination is to simply stay out of the bottom by making sure they bring their A-game to the judges¡¯ preview. It is also a reminder to the fans not to assume that their favorites might be safe simply because they have a large fan base. You still have to vote to ensure their safety.
Rentak Sejuta's Ranking (Top 20)1. Ray & Cecelia
2. Zul & Jorida
3. Raymond & Jojo
4. Chee Wei & Samantha
5. Hong & Sarah
6. Black & Farah
7. Fairul & Zen
8. Sly & Vivian
9. Napi & Sim
10. Billy & Zef
Best Male Dancer This Week: Tze Hong
Best Female Dancer This Week: Cecelia