So You Think You Can Dance – Top 20: Twitch, Hightower, Galiano
So You Think You Can Dance announced this year’s Top 20 this past week with a group that overall looked much less hip-hop and a lot more contemporary than last year’s group.
Good thing? Bad thing? We’ll see.
One thing that SYTYCD does better than any other competition show is create strong attachments for viewers with the different contestants. Last season, whether it was Lacey’s funny faces, Dominic’s love for Cat Deeley, or Lauren’s “Misha Chan,” viewers felt like they knew the contestants and that’s why the show has become as big as it is. SYTYCD is no longer just some show that looks like it’s filling space between American Idol seasons, it’s the best dance show on television.
Now that the Top 20 has been announced, who are my early favorites?
From the auditions, since she was not featured much during Vegas week, my early favorite is the very leggy and very pretty Ballroom/Contemporary/Jazz/Latin dancer Chelsie Hightower – who dazzled judges with her audition in Salt Lake City.
It looked like she didn’t have any problems impressing the judges in Vegas week, considering we didn’t see any breakdowns, other than her saying that it was tough to learn a few routines. While Chelsie is a great dancer with legs for days, she also has that charisma that is so important to the judges. She’s versatile and even looked good doing a little bit of hip-hop during Vegas. She’s an early favorite of mine and I hope she goes far in the competition.
New York Knicks dancer Courtney Galiano, who was pretty impossible not to notice during the auditions because she definitely has the look of someone who will go far in the competition, is probably my second favorite contestant of those who made it to Hollywood.
She’s extremely attractive, which is always a big plus, but she also jumps with a ton of power that will make her stand out from some of the other contestants. Like Chelsie, Courtney knows how to work an audience while still being elegant. Her face becomes as important of a part of her dancing as her movement and she seems to have a great personality as well.
With so many strong contestants as the bar continues to be raised every year, personality truly becomes the “X-Factor” and these two girls appear to have what it takes to at least make it to the tour.
And of course, you can’t talk about personality without talking about Twitch, who was the #21 contestant from last year, missing out on the final spot in the Top 20 to breakdancer Hok Konishi. Twitch was the veteran of this year’s Vegas callbacks, but still ended up having to ”dance for his life” at one point in the competition because of a poorly choreographed group routine.
There is no doubt that Twitch is going to make it far in the competition, seeing as he adopted a mentor-like role during Vegas and the judges must love the fact that viewers already identify with him, but would it be too obvious to have him make it all the way to the Top 4?
Last year, Lauren Gottlieb was once Tyce Diorio’s assistant, and she made it far in the competition. Lacey Schwimmer, who made it to the finale, was Benji Schwimmer’s sister, who won the competition the year before.
And now, we have Twitch, friends with last year’s contestants and friend of all this year’s contestants. If Twitch doesn’t make it to this year’s finale, his exit will no doubt be one of the most dramatic of the season. I have a hard time believing that he’ll be eliminated anywhere before the Top 5, but we’ll see how well the extra year will treat him in styles of dance apart from hip-hop.
twitch is wicked. i’m glad he returned and made the top 20. i agree with your picks as well. courtney is gonna go far as well as chelsie.
Is anyone else excited for America’s Got Talent Season 3?!?!
ooh, I am! It’s my favorite among the tv competition shows! So you think you can dance is up there too!