So You Think You Can Dance Malaysia 2- Top 8

July 17, 2008

The impatient crowd at Ruums Bar & Club, Kuala Lumpur broke into applause when host Aishah Sinclair stepped onto the dance floor to commence the show. Using shawls and walking sticks as props, the Top 8 competitors did a Middle Eastern contemporary opening dance with shimmies and all, much to the delight of the audience. After being introduced by Aishah it was time for the judges to be introduced. They are as Aishah puts it, renowned choreographer and creative director Pat Ibrahim, "the lady with many adjectives" Judimar Hernandez and "the purveyor of contemporary and classical arts" Ramli Ibrahim. The guest judge was Marion D' Cruz; dancer, choreographer and executive producer of the Five Arts Centre.

It was then the dancers' turn to battle it out on the dance floor. As with the previous episode, the couples had to perform 2 dances over 2 rounds. The names of the couples and the dances they had to perform were:-

1) Sly & Jojo - Hip Hop/Middle Eastern & Paso Doble/Flamenco

2) Ray & Farah - Hip Hop & Malaysian Contemporary

3) Hong & Cecilia - Hip Hop/Viennese Waltz & Hip Hop

4) Black & Sim - Latin American Fusion & Hip Hop

Black and Sim brought the house down with their awesome display of energy and pizzazz in their first dance, the Latin American fusion. They did a slick interpretation of the cha cha cha, samba, mambo and salsa in their dance moves. Black started the dance by doing a split in mid-air.Looking like a vamp, Sim really shone with her dazzling moves and is the dancer to watch in this competition. She is versatile and it showed in the way she performed this dance routine even though Latin American is not her forte.

The judges were floored by their performance. Ramli said their dance was fantastic and electrifying and that he felt the temperature in the room go up by 10 degrees! He even compared Sim to the late Hong Kong diva, Anita Mui! The other judges were also lavish in their praises. Judimar exclaimed "what a pair" and that she could feel the fuego (Spanish for fire) on the dance floor..

However their performance in their second dance routine, the Hip Hop was a bit of a let down considering that Hip Hop is Black's cup of tea. In this dance both dancers donned red track suits and wore masks. The attire looked awful compared to what they wore in their earlier round. The dance was slow paced and Black seemed languid; not his usual exuberant self. This is the first time that masks have been worn in this competition. In a dance competition like this, masks should not be worn as we are unable to see the facial expressions and the dancers are not able to express the joy of dancing in their facial expressions.

The guest judge Marion commented that it is difficult to perform dances wearing masks and Ramli said that Black looked tired, considering his explosive performance earlier.Pat said that the couple did not give their all when performing this dance.Let us hope that masks will not be used in dance routines in future episodes or ever in this competition.

One couple who did pretty well in this episode is couple number 3, Hong & Cecilia (Cc). Last week both of them were in the Bottom 6. This week both are in the Top 4! In their first dance routine, they gave a credible performance in the Hip Hop but when it came to dancing the Viennese Waltz both were off-timing and struggling to do their steps. They however redeemed themselves and gave a polished performance in the second dance routine which was again a Hip Hop.Towards the end of the dance, they showed their prowess by executing a spiral turn beautifully. They get my vote for the Best Couple in the second round.

After all the couples had performed their dances it was time for the judges to pick the Bottom 4. They were Jojo, Ray, Farah and Black. Ray and Farah did not make it to the Top 6. The dancers of So You Think You Can Dance will be meeting their fans at the Seremban Parade in Seremban this Saturday, July 19 from 2-4 pm. Be sure to catch them there to give your support.

Best Wishes,

Dance Aficionado
Dancesport Malaysia