Watching this week's "So You Think You Can Dance," we were tempted to feel cheated. What? Nothing happened? At the end of the week, the judges decided not to decide. Instead, they'll oust two people next week.
Nothing happened -- other than making an impression on viewers and judges for the next weeks. Still, this is kind of understandable; the judges had no solution; their only options were to dump:
1) Billy Bell, who sat out this week after an injury. But that would have been the third straight week with an injury-ouster, a dull trend. Besides, Billy took himself out this week; doctors gave him permission to dance, but he decided not to take the risk. That had never happened before; ousting him would send a message that dancers must take a risk, even when common sense says no.
2) Robert Roldan. But they've spent the past two weeks telling viewers that he's a strong and underrated dancer.
3) Jose Ruiz. But for the second straight week, he put together a truly spectacular solo. I usually complain about the stupid 30-second limit; Jose stuffed it with 30 minutes of great moves.
So they paused and waited a week. It was kind of a no-win (and, for the dancers, no-lose) week. A few comments; please add yours:
a) Cat Deeley was back to normal tonight, after the disastrous dress (or something) she wore Wednesday. It's hard to make her look bad; sometimes, the show manages to do this.
b) The American Ballet Theatre number reminded us why we prefer nowadays dance. These two dancers were, I assume, making all the right classical moves. The result was still stiff and cold and uninvolving. I'm sure that classical ballet is a great preparation for contemporary dancing -- just as classical violinists turn into great Irish fiddlers. I'll wait until they transform.
c) Next week's shows -- Wednesday and Thursday -- should be good: Six great dancers and two of them must go; this time, the judges wouldn't dare do nothing.