"So You Think You Can Dance" Season 11 Recap: The Top 20 Perform

July 2, 2014

“So You Think You Can Dance” isn’t wasting any time this season. Not only did the 20 contestants get only eight seconds each to introduce themselves to America, but there were roughly zero seconds of unnecessary banter between segments during Season 11’s first live episode. (Serious dancers, rejoice!) So to take a page from everyone’s favorite show, let’s just get right down to last night’s top five highlights:

Sonya Tayeh’s Stalker Ha

(photo Adam Rose/FOX)

1. The caliber of choreography.
Sonya Tayeh kicked off the night with a group routine that felt like Madonna’s “Vogue” meets Jim Carey’s The Mask. Stalker Ha was not my fave from Tayeh, but the show kept moving right along, with pieces from choreographers including Travis Wall, Stacey Tookey, Christopher Scott, Louis Van Amstel and tapper Anthony Morigerato. Let’s just say it was a BIG name kind of night.

Valerie and Zack in Sing

(photo Adam Rose/FOX)


2. The tappers.
 Zack and Valerie channeled stair-dance legend Bill “Bojangles” Robinson in the best tap routine the show has seen yet. Choreographed by Anthony Morigerato, Sing featured rapid-fire footwork, amazing showmanship and nearly perfect unison. These two dancers certainly have a ton of charisma, and I hope they get a chance to bring it in other styles, too.

Jason DeRulo (right) performs “Wiggle” with Snoop Dogg

(photo Adam Rose/FOX)

3. ” What you gonna do with that big fat butt?”
 Dear guest judge (and musical performer) Jason Derulo: You may love dance, and you may know dance, but those lyrics…oy. In other news, 42-years-young Snoop Dogg made an appearance during Derulo’s “Wiggle,” and that did not disappoint.

Emilio and Teddy in Nightshift

(photo Adam Rose/FOX)

4. The mop-and-bucket hip-hop routine.
 It’s evident that choreographer Christopher Scott has a knack for storytelling (see: every LXD episode he crafted), and his routine for Emilio and Teddy was no exception. I also loved that Scott’s Nightshift evoked Gene Kelly’s dance break in the 1943 film Thousands Cheer. Haven’t seen it? Take a look below. It’s supremely amazing, and I can so see Teddy in a remake:

5.
Meredith Monk
‘s “SYTYCD” debut.
Move over, 1960s Judson Dance Theater: There’s a new postmodern contemporary choreographer around, and her name is Sonya Tayeh. Nigel Lythgoe said that Tayeh’s piece, set to Meredith Monk’s “Vow,” took the show to “another level entirely.” Jessica and Ricky brought the audience to complete silence. Then? An eruption of cheers and a giant standing ovation. It was pretty awesome.

Jessica and Ricky in Tayeh’s Vow

(photo Adam Rose/FOX)

I, for one, can’t wait to see more from these talented dancers. Be sure to cast your vote online for your favorites, and come back here next week to find out which dancers didn’t make the cut. And if you want to enter the sweetest sweepstakes EVER (the prize is a trip to watch the “SYTYCD” finale episode live, in person!!), click here.