I had some seriously differing opinions from judge and producer Nigel Lythgoe last week on a couple of the So You Think You Can Dance performances. I loved Serge Onik and Carly Blaney’s creepy skeleton hip-hop dance, which Nigel was conflicted about. And I actively disliked Valerie Rockey and Ricky Ubeda’s waltz — choreographed by SYTYCD alum Lacey Schwimmer — which Nigel gave a standing ovation for (to be fair, I haven’t liked Lacey since she was on Season 3 of SYTYCD). But I did agree with the judges when they let both Jourdan Epstein and Stanley Glover go. For this week, it’s a tough decision on who will go, but if I look at who was in danger last week and who didn’t wow me with their performance, I think it has to be Teddy Coffey.
Teddy, like Marcquet Hill, is more of a jack of all trades, master of none. A hip-hop and tap dancer, Teddy has experience with technique than Marcquet does though. Teddy was in the bottom three guys last week (which I didn't think he deserved), but then his contemporary dance to "Ne Me Quitte Pas" didn’t impress me. Teddy's partner, Emily James, and he had to be “dancing for their lives” (ugh, SYTYCD’s words, not mine) since they were both in the bottom three. I thought Emily did a wonderful job conveying the desperation that choreographer Tyce Diorio wanted with her movement and face, but Teddy — not so much.
I have been unsure of Teddy since the first live show. His hop-hop skills could not compare to Emilio Dosal’s even though hip-hop was his dance style of choice. He was too fluid and wasn’t as sharp as he needed to be.
Last week, I had a similar issue with him. His was a contemporary piece, so it didn't need to hit as hard as the hip-hop piece, but it still had strong moments that he should have been less loose on.
Although the judges gave tougher criticism to Marcquet, I'd prefer Teddy to go because I’d like to see Marcquet with a new partner. Emily is amazing at contemporary, so Teddy could have ridden that talent wave and worked off of her strengths. Marcquet has been partnered with Jourdan, who was in the bottom three both weeks. He deserves a different partner and if he still can’t prove himself, then he should go. But I'd like to see that first before saying he deserves to be cut.
As for Teddy's connection to Emily, he did perform with her, which was something Stanley lacked, but the connection still wasn’t strong enough. He also just didn't convey the intensity in his face that Emily did. Teddy did acknowledge that he would be pushing himself emotionally in this number, and I could feel him straining, but not just reaching that right mixture of tenderness, passion, and despair.
So, although Teddy has a lot of talent and versatility (and can double for a young David Bowie) ...
...I think it may be his time to go.
