So You Think You Can Dance Tour

So the 5 of us tried to meet at Don Pablos (at Lennox) for dinner - - well, Don Pablos no longer exists. We watched as mulitple cars pulled up in front of the restaurant, people looking curiously at the blacked-out windows. Unfortunately, most people (like us) seemed to be deciding to go to Chammps next door which caused some issues. After getting a table, we waited forever for our food (as did most people sitting around us.) The Manager came to our table (without anyone complaining) and comped all of our food and drinks. So free food and alcohol!! The night was off to a good start!!

The show started with all of the dancers coming out for a group number. They were wearing Ohio State jerseys and long shorts. Of course I was focused on Mark, but they all looked pretty cute. The dance was an intro of each person, similar to the opening of each weekly show. Following the dance, Twitch welcomed everyone to the show, and did a little O-H......I-O with the audience. He seemed to be genuinely surprised at the response to such a simple cheer.

Next came the dances that we saw during the season, along with solos from half of the contestants. But first....Katee came out to tell the crowd that she was injured and would not be performing. This didn't really bother me as I wasn't a huge fan of hers, but after thinking for a second I realized that this meant none of the performances that she was involved in would be shown (no "door" routine, no "pas de deux" with Will, no "Bollywood" with Josh.) Oh well...as long as Mark was there I was good to go.

So then the dances started - - - with the dancers themsleves serving as MC between each dance. Courtney (who is teeny tiny) and Gev (who isn't much bigger) had the running joke throughout the show of him being in love with her, and Josh and Twitch kept reffering to each other by their childhood nicknames (Boo Boo and Duck Lips.) I can't remember all of the dances from the first half of the show, but I do know that Mark and Comfort's Hip Hop (the kids sitting in detention) got the loudest applause, as did "The Garden" the weird contemporary with Mark and Courtney. There was waaayyyyy too much "Twitchington" for me - but with Katee hurt, that meant that Josh didn't perform much (since they were partners more than any other two) and they needed filler. Kherrington didn't impress me at all (her solo was horrific) and Twitch just seemed tired. His lines were bad, and you could see how bad his technique was in ballroom numbers. The second half ended with the group Bollywood (which was beautiful.)

I did realize something in the first half of the show that Stacey will be very happy to hear..... Will was robbed. My God can that boy move. I've seen some good dancers over the years, and he is right up there with them. He is technically perfect in every way... the two routines that he did with Jessica left me in awe. (and she sucks in person!!) His solo was flawless and his personality between numbers was charming. Did I mention that he rarely had a shirt on which really helped?

The second half of the show was much the same format with dances interlaced with skits and talking done by the contestants and some video of show highlights. The dances I remember are the Russian Trepak - very impressive in person - - Josh can jump like nobody's business. The door routine performed by Twitch and Kherington filling in for Katee (ugh) and the "Bleeding Love" routine with Mark and Chelsie (which was amazing...) Then out came Josh and Katee to do "No Air" - - people lost their minds. And I must admit...those two are good. Not only are they good apart, but they were so in sync with each other.... Hard to believe that dance was from the first week.

Overall - - the group dances were much better in person because you didn't have the crappy camera work to deal with and could really see the movement across the floor. But, for the most part, the pair dances were worse. You couldn't see facial expressions (and we were close) and it was much easier to pick the bad dancers apart when there was less going on. Mark was adorable, Comfort was really likeable, Gev's solo was wonderful, and Courtney was better than she got credit for. Three hours of dancing (with only a short break) - - those kids are talented!!