SYTYCD 16: Meet the Sweet Top 10!

Welcome Back, Dance Fans! Season Sweet 16. Who would've thought? After LA auditions, Academy trials and a top 20 cut to a top 10 by All-Star pairings, we've finally made it to the live shows. The portion of the overall season seems to get shorter each season, (we're only dancing for one hour tonight, instead of the usual two) but we'll cherish what we can get. Our Top 10 consists of 5 Contempos, 2 Hip Hoppers, 2 Ballers, and 1 Tappa Tappa Tappa. No Jazz Hands this season!? Sigh. But we do have a SYTYCD first, with a pair of siblings making it to the top 10 in the same season! This is overall a very young group of contestants. The oldest finalist is just 21 years old. Who's gonna have what it takes to make it to the end, win $250,000, a cover of Dance Spirit Magazine and the title of America's Favorite Dancer? Time to find out!

Top Ten group number choreographed by Mandy Moore to Kesha’s “This is Me”

This number shows who the dancers would be if they had magical digital rainbow lightning powers that spell out their names for you. It's a very entertaining start to the night. Solos! Group poses! Assisted flips. The judges are standing and clapping their hands over their heads to the beat! This is what we came for. 

Cat comes out and shocks us by suddenly looking old and haggard! LOLZ! AS IF! She still hasn't aged a goddam day since her first appearance hosting the show back in 2006. She is the heart of SYTYCD. I love her so much. Tonight she is stunning us in a dress by ASHISH and shows by Tamara Mellon. Cat knows fashion.

We meet the judges. Mary Murphy! Dominic "D-Trix" Sandoval! Laurieann Gibson! Nigel Lythgoe! We’re getting the Top 10 paired up together as well as group numbers from the guys and girls. The group numbers feature choreo by Luther Brown and Travis Wall, this year's Emmy-nominated choreographers for Season 15's great work. (SYTYCD also got noms for make-up and lighting.) Since there are 5 contempos in the mix out of 10 dancers and they're not going to put two contempos in the same pair, that means someone is always inevitably going to be dancing in their own style each week, because there's no way this show is gonna go a week without a contemporary routine. An unfair advantage? That's how it goes given the format!

Mariah Russell and Bailey Munoz: jazz choreographed by Mandy Moore to “Love Shack” by the B-52’s.

Mariah and Bailey are self-proclaimed to be "small but mighty." They are a fun pair and I'm always gonna love people dancing to the B-52s. Bailey is my early prediction to win the season. His performance is packed with energy. Mariah is strong here too, but Bailey's energy is so effusive. I think Mariah gets a little overshadowed. It's not easy going first. It's a very fast routine, but overall a very good job. Judges? Laurieann LOVED it and screamed for them the entire time. She has put her own unique spin on Mary's usual high volume and high energy comments during critiques. I don't mind it. If both of them wind up REALLY loving a ballroom routine at the same time, I don't know what's gonna happen! Nigel thought they were enormous in talent (to compensate for them being relatively tiny humans) and thought they performed well. Mary was especially impressed by Bailey. She says it like it's a surprise, but I'm not sure why. To me he's been the front runner from day one. D-Trix was blown away by their chemistry and envies their abs. I love D-Trix as a judge, by the way. He's emotionally open to the routines, has compassion for the dancers as a former contestant himself, but he is also not afraid to be honest and tell them if he didn't think something was up to the level it needed to be. Plus, he and Mary seem to have the best time sitting together. I'm so glad to have him on the panel this year. Cat wants to know who's the boss in this dance partnership and both dancers agree: it's Mariah!

Stephanie Sosa and Gino Cosculluela: hip hop choreographed by Luther Brown to “Ice Me Out” by Kash Doll.

The routine is all about ice royalty! And possibly also about destroying your knees in rehearsal! Take care, kids. You still have a month of this left to go if you plan to make it to the finals! Luther Brown choreo is hard. You can nail all the moves, but if you don't nail the vibe, it doesn't work. I think Stephanie and Gino hit the mark more than not. Stephanie really nailed the attitude. Gino got the complexity of the movement. The costumes are fun, but I don't like the execution of Gino's "ice beard." D-Trix was not loving Gino, but liked what Stephanie brought to it. Laurieann heaps praise on both of them. Nigel agrees with D-Trix and puts Gino on the "Best Technical Dancer In The Bunch Who Needs To Find A Personality" track that so many have taken to victory in the past. Mary gives Gino less of a hard time, but thought Stephanie was the real stand out. I hope Gino doesn't wind up in too much trouble with the vote!

Anna Linstruth and Benjamin Castro: cha-cha-chá choreographed by Emma Slater and Sasha Farber to “We Run the Night (edited)” by Havana Brown featuring Pitbull.

Their team name is BenAnna.  Long live BenAnna! Cha-Cha-Chá seems more suited to Benjamin so we'll see how their partnering goes tonight. They get started and... it's ok! Nobody's booking tickets on the hot tamale train for this one, but it's fine. I thought Benjamin fared better here. Mary is very nice to them, while pointing out six or seven things that could've been better technically for Anna. D-Trix was a big fan of what they did and believes he's been in heels more times than Anna. Laurieann enjoyed their connection. Nigel thought Anna was the best hip-hop-to-ballroom girl for a first live show. When he says these very specific "bests," it drives me a little nuts. Who's he really comparing her to here? There haven't been that many hip hop girls over the years and how many of them got ballroom their first week? Is he saying she's better than Megz from Season 12? I mean, sure! Cat is already shipping BenAnna, and given the rate that this show produces dance couples, it's likely one of these five partnerships turns romantic at some point before the finale. It might as well be them!

Madison Jordan and Ezra Sosa: contemporary choreographed by Talia Favia to “Lost” by Dermot Kennedy.

So Madison is this week's lucky contempo dancer who gets to dance in her own style. I'm excited for her partnership with Ezra. I think they'll go far. This is a well executed and emotionally connected routine. Madison makes a little mistake with her foot placement that Ezra easily incorporates into the movement. Standing O from the judges. Nigel liked that Ezra kept up with Madison in her own style. Mary was a huge fan and brought up the missed leg placement and recovery as a big positive. D-Trix thought it was the best routine of the night. But there's still one more to go, D! Laurieann thought it was wonderful. 

Sophie Pittman and Eddie Hoyt: jazz funk choreographed by Brian Friedman to “Sushi” by Merk & Kremont.

Concept: Sophie is the hostess at a Sushi House, and Eddie wants to ask her out. More Jazz Funk weirdness, please! Sophie is doing really well here. She's a big surprise for me because I was not that taken with what she did in the Top 10 Girls elimination. I would've traded her out for two other possible dancers. But here, she's really proving me wrong. Eddie does not quite match her level. Laurieann loved Sophie, but thought Eddie was disconnected from the story. Nigel similarly praises Sophie, but was “uncomfortable” with Eddie’s performance. Yikes. That's pretty damning. Mary and D-Trix also score it as a hit for Sophie and a big miss for Eddie. I feel like this judging panel is going to be tougher than recent seasons. Eddie? You in danger, girl.

Top 5 Girls Group Number: contemporary choreographed by Travis Wall to “Saint Honesty” by Sara Bareilles.

I love this new Sara Bareilles album so much. I'd be happy to see dance numbers set to every track this season. This is a nice, emotionally present group number. They each get a little stand out moment but it's really about creating shapes together. The judges give it a standing ovation. Good work, ladies!

Top 5 Boys Group Number: hip hop choreographed by Luther Brown to “Drop” by Smokepurpp.

This set up has a "firefighter strippers" feel and they do take off their jackets mid-performance but, meh. They feel like they are in their own little worlds to me. Also I can't really tell the guys apart in the helmets. I know Bailey is the shortest, and Benjamin has the longest hair, but the other 3? Can't figure it out. If I spend half the number trying to figure out who they are and not focused on the dancing, it's a bad sign. The judges give another Standing O, but it feels a little "going through the motions" this time. 

Next week, everyone dances again! Two dancers get the axe! But we just started! Oh, the drama! In the meantime, rock the vote!

My personal ranking of the routines:

1. Madison & Ezra contempo

2. Mariah & Bailey jazz

3. Stephanie & Gino hip hop

4. Anna & Ben cha cha chá

5. Sophie & Eddie Jazz Funk 

Bottom 4 predictions: Gino and Eddie and Mariah and Anna. But results have surprised me before. It's not over for anyone yet!