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So You Think You Can Dance finalists should stick to what they’re good at

3/5 Stars

WORKIN' IT. The women of So You Think You Can Dance Canada perform in a group number to open the show Wednesday night at the John Labatt Centre. (Larura Barclay/Gazette)

You can’t fully appreciate the talents of So You Think You Can Dance Canada host Leah Miller until she’s no longer around and the top 10 dancers are left to fend for themselves.

As impressive as the dancing was when the SYTYCD Canada tour made its stop in London Wednesday night at the John Labatt Centre, the excess of awkward and scripted banter between the dancers was difficult not to notice. At times, it was down right distracting.

At the start of the show, and between each of the 30-plus numbers that followed, a pair of dancers tried to engage the crowd with memorized lines meant to transition smoothly into the next dance. Their attempts were amateur at best, as were the pre-recorded personal statements that came before each dancer’s solo. This is where having a professional host like Miller would have been appreciated — at least she can string a sentence together without a nervous fidget or overdramatic delivery.

Despite the cheesy, uncomfortable chit-chat that ranged from the dangers of dance to the good looks of the female finalists, when it came down to what these dancers were brought on the tour to do — perform — they delivered.

While all but one of the numbers were recycled from the second season of the show, the refined quality of each dance was apparent and almost made up for fact audience members had paid upwards of $60 to watch something they’ve seen before.

Every dancer appeared stronger and more confident than they did during the competition, likely a result of more time to practice and the possibility of elimination removed from the picture.

The diversity of dance styles in the show assured there would be something for everyone. From crump, hip-hop and tap to the rumba, mambo and jazz theatre — everything was covered.

Standout numbers included anything involving the pairings of Kim Gingras with Emanuel Sandhu and Melanie Mah with Cody Bonnell. The chemistry these pairs developed during the season was felt in the JLC. Gingras and Sandhu’s jazz funk routine “Love Sex Magic” offered a special blend of playfulness and sexuality as the pair played the roles of magician and his assistant. Mah and Bonnell got sufficiently buck with their high-energy crump routine near the end of the show.

However, the highlight of the night had to go to season two winner Tara-Jean Popowich and runner-up Vincent Desjardins with their moving contemporary number that explored dealing with a loved one with mental illness. The story was effectively and beautifully communicated in this emotional and heartbreaking Stacey Tookey choreographed routine.

Overall, the show could have done with a lot less talking and more than one original dance, but the quality and entertainment value of each number did make up for its shortcomings.

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