The third round of So You Think You Can Dance was all about surprises - and those surprises were as much about the back-stories of the participants as the results.
For example, the standout routine of the night - Charley, just 17, brilliantly performing an expressive dance expressing the rage and sadness of an older woman suffering from cancer - seemed incongruous, to say the least, although it wowed the judges. Only at the end did we learn this was a very personal story for the choreographer - Tyce Diorio. By the time the programme was recorded, he had had dashed back to New York City to the bedside of his mother - who was herself very sick with cancer. Doubtless this inspired an affecting story which gave Charley the chance to express a whole range of emotions for which she had no life experience.
The other surprise of the night involved the departure of Hayley - and not just because she seemed a more accomplished and inspired dancer than Mandy, also in the dance-off for the second time. Nigel confessed, in letting Hayley go, that it was all the harder because her father had been responsible for one of his biggest breaks - if Hayley’s dad had not left the Young Generation, there would not have been the opportunity for Nigel to take his place.
You had to wonder whether Nigel was leaning over backwards not to be influenced by his friendship with Hayley’s parents, both professional dancers. She seems a more accomplished dancer than Mandy, whose free-style solo was messy and less inspired. But when it comes to the chaps, I agree Mark is a weaker dancer than Tommy, who deserved to stay in the contest. Both of them came from the street and have done their best to learn classical steps - though with Mark believing the Viennese Waltz was a biscuit, there was never much prospect of him making the finals!
The format seems very muddy now each dancer is being judged by the public on their solo. It doesn’t work to have a couple come on, then interject a couple of solos, then go to a second couple. Confusing for the audience - and this is a factor now we are at the stage where every vote counts.
