Great start to 'So You Think You Can Dance' competition

I can't imagine which dancer deserves to be sent home on tonight's "So You Think You Can Dance" (8 p.m. EDT June 16 on FOX). None of the dancers were weak.  None completely messed up their style. None were especially annoying. Here are a few thoughts.

Best choreography: Our own Virginia Beach native Travis Wall had the best overall choreography for the night -- the animalistic jazz dance and the statue dance. He was blessed with my two favorite dancers on the show so far -- Sasha Mallory and Melanie Moore. One of my favorite choreographers, Sonya Tayeh, didn't have her best work for Caitlynn, but it did show nice flexibility and cool lifts. It was also nice to see Robert from Season 7 dance again so soon. I look forward to seeing more of her stuff.

Sasha and Malia Alexander dance starts about 2 minutes in:

Sasha and Alexander: With such a strong field, I'm going to sound like a broken record this season ("X is no doubt a great dancer! ... "), but Alexander is definitely a great dancer. On the other hand, Sasha blew him away in effect and emotional connection. She's just amazing.

Melanie and Marko: The statue dance, the other Travis Wall dance. It was beautiful and graceful, and the Melanie's cuteness factor was overwhelming. Both should last a long time.

Jordan and Tad: Tough opening up the season with the first dance routine, but it was a nice one. Sean Cheeseman is now on my list of favorite choreographers. Jordan had some timing problems, but her movements were more extended than Tad's. Overall, I thought Tad was better, with impeccable rhythm.

Ryan and Ricky: I love Ryan, and they both did a great job. Ryan was more sharp, though. Why so smiley? I kinda understood Ryan, as a spirit in a moment of good times, smiling so much, but Rick needed to carry the melancholy feel more. Then they started talking about why Ryan left the relationship. Wha? Now I'm not sure I got the story. The smiling was so-so, but the song's lyrics needed to be factored in too -- "Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. "

Miranda and Robert: Nice job -- quirky and cute. Can Robert please, please stop channeling Erkel? Please? I still like him, though. Loved Miranda's '60s dress and go-go boots.

Clarice and Jess: Lucky for Jess to get Broadway right off the bat, right? He is an amazing dancer, and I did love that changing-levels pirouette thing. The clips are also making him seem more likeable. Maybe he's just slow to grow on people. With his ability, he should have time for people to like him.

My other favorite dance, Missy and Wadi: This was a fabulous hip-hoppy jazz routine, again by Cheeseman. Incredibly athletic and entertaining. Can't wait for more.

Iveta and Nick: Nice job on the quickstep for the tapper. Maybe it won't be the killer dance for him. Iveta was so good in her element that I barely noticed her. Mary Murphy might have mentioned -- 20 times or so -- that Iveta was the world champion.

Comments

[Craig Proctor]

Opening competition show was FABULOUS!!! The girls are definitely the ones to beat, but the guys held their own. Like the last couple of years, it was TOO HARD to pick a guy/girl to vote for once it reached the top 12 (now it's the top 20), but I voted for the first couple that touched my heart and made me cry - Melanie [already a top favorite girl] and Marko with the statue dance. Travis (GREAT transition from dance competitor to choreographer) has been a WONDERFUL asset to the show (& Sonia & Tyce & LOVE Mia).

I'd love to find a way to say THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! to Nigel for bringing the WONDERFUL entertainment to my home. I picked up on it halfway thru the 1st season and eagerly look forward to its return each year. I've lost interest in AI, but this show will always (ALWAYS!!!) be dear to my heart. Jazz, Hip Hop, Crump, Broadway, Contemporary, et al - who knew???

All 20 (OK, 19) were GREAT opening night. It's going to be another FABULOUS (and, again, far too short) season.

[Ian Evans]

The series is currently shown on DSTV Channel 104 across Africa. It finished on 22 November 2007.

It is also being shown in Canada on Muchmusic.