Photo credit: Adam Rose/FOX
Oh boy, this is a tough one. I’m trying to talk about The Academy on So You Think You Can Dance when I already know the Top 10. So in trying to be objective, I think it’s important to look at some themes that ran through the first episode of The Academy.
It’s Tabitha of NappyTabs who said it best, “It’s Season 14, you have to have a little bit of everything.”
This advice should be taken to heart, whether it’s NappyTabs, Travis Wall, Sonya Tayeh or Mandy Moore that is choreographing for you. What the judges, choreographers and All-Stars expect of the contestants is no surprise at this point.
Photo credit: Adam Rose/FOX
1. Cross Training: It’s great if you are the top dancer in your style, but you will not win this competition without being very well versed in other styles. You can’t come into the competition with only one strong style.
Kiki Nyemchek is lucky he got a pass from the Hip-Hop Round to Jenna Johnson’s team, not only because she has a familiarity with his work outside the show, but she also trusts his talent beyond one dance. Not showing up 100% ready during Academy Week is not the ideal situation, so he will have to step it up for future rounds.
2. Personality: We go over this every single year. The best dancer doesn’t always win, Nigel Lythgoe will say it all season — it’s “America’s favorite dancer.”
When you see incredible technicians like Lex Ishimoto and Logan Hernandez, you know they will deliver on the dance floor. Will America fall in love with their personalities if they are picked?
Someone like Kevin Davis Jr. proved that he has both the personality and the hip-hop technique with NappyTabs’ routine. It’s why Fik-Shun, Jasmine Harper, Comfort Fedoke, Cyrus and Allison Holker all wanted him on their team.
3. Strategy: For the contestants choosing the right team is important. If more than one All-Star wants them on their team, they have to quickly think about things like: Can the All-Star carry me through all styles of choreography? If they were a part of Season 13, how did their contestant do? How strong is their fan base?
These little things matter as the season progresses, so hopefully, the contestants did some research on the All-Stars the night between shooting the opening number and the first day of The Academy.
Photo credit: Adam Rose/FOX
These three points are a great reminder for contestants that research and preparation is key to getting on the show. All of the information is available on YouTube, now let’s see which contestants rise to the Top 10.
Watch Dance Network’s Season 14 interviews with ‘SYTYCD’ Academy contestants Allen Genkin, Chanel Howard, Matt Wiercinski and Sade Keinu Austin:
Article was originally published on Dance Network.