I’m watching week 8 of So You Think You Can Dance (US version) while watching videos of favourite dances from previous episodes on Youtube. A couple of weeks ago (June 25, 2008), the show featured a lyrical hip hop dance to Leona Lewis’s “Bleeding Love”, choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha and danced by Mark and Chelsie:
It’s hands down one of my favourite dances of this season.
I just noticed on Youtube tonight that So You Think You Can Dance (Australia version) also featured the same song and dance style (but a different choreographer) on its top 20 show, which aired on February 17, 2008: [Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOGxE4e0Id0]
It’s not nearly as compelling as Napoleon and Tabitha’s choreography for the US show. In fact, it wasn’t compelling at all.
Tonight’s Napoleon and Tabitha choreography to “Control” by the Vitamin String Quartet was also awesome. And it showcases Chelsie yet again as a pretty credible hip hopper:
Life Begins at 41...or maybe 43 
to be fair, the australian routine was on the first episode (after auditions) of the first series in australia so there was a lot of ground that needed to be made up.
unfortunately, even making that allowance, the standard of choreography in the australian series was way below that of the US series. which is not a fault of australian choreographers who are international standard, but of the show’s producers who seemed to have very limited connections in the dance community.
It’s a shame because the aussie dancers were pretty good – not to the standard of the current US series but definitely up there with US series 1&2. graeme in the clip above was one fo the best. unfortunately kassy was a bit weak but she’s now on an underwear ad on TV so i guess it was worth it :p