SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE USA SEASON 16 // Sophie Pittman / 18 / Contemporary & All-Star Marko Germar / «90 Days» from P!nk feat. Wrabel / Contemporary / Choreography by Talia Favia / Top 4 Perform
#1. “You’re the Last Thing on My Mind” (Marko/Koine contemporary), Mandy Korpinen and Elizabeth Petrin
Gonna be honest, when I saw that these were new choreographers and I heard the concept, I thought this was going to be really awkward. This show really broke my trust with brand new choreographers after that whole sexy fish fiasco. Thankfully, this was nothing like that and I hope we see Mandy and Elizabeth back if they have more to offer like this!
This is definitely the most memorable contemporary routine of the season. For once, the props weren’t super distracting and instead added a really cool layer to everything and created some beautiful pictures, like when Marko held Koine up by the waist and her legs were outstretched, and when they both held on to the hanger and swung around. There were a few parts where I was scared Koine would smack her face against the bar up there, and I feel like Marko caught her super late when she went flying off the bar and landed in front of him, but maybe it was supposed to look scary or something lol.
And do I really have to mention their chemistry? They always look like they’ve been dancing together for years and years, even in the quiet moments when all they do is look at each other. This was just really gorgeous and I loved everything about it and Koine is everything.
(But who leaves lingerie with their ex-boyfriend? Like of all things to accidentally leave behind in the closet? It’s usually like an old t-shirt or a pair of jeans she never wore anyway lmao.)
I feel bad having all of these JT routines at the bottom, but he was the contestant I found to be most noticeably weak outside of his style. It’s understandable because of his age, but that doesn’t change the fact. JT has a habit of cutting off his lines before they finish completely, and next to a dancer like Marko it’s especially apparent. I’m also just not a huge of the song or the choreography. Though I think this dance was a mess overall, there are moments that I love. Like when the beat first drops, I love the moves they do together. Both of them look so good in that part. I also love that jump they did together after. That was the strongest I have ever seen JT jump, and I was shocked that he was able to do such a technical one so well.