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So You Think You Can Dance 7: Why Ashley Isn’t America’s Favorite Dancerby Erika Vaughan -- 07/19/2010
View Printable version of this article It seemed like déjà vu when Cat announced that another dancer from those left from the top eleven of the seventh season of So You Think You Can Dance was injured. And then yet again when Nigel told us that Billy was reprieved, along with Jose, when Ashley had to leave the competition due to her hurt ribs. It’s only fair that, since I wrote a column last week to celebrate Alex’s talent, I should do the same now for Ashley. Let’s hope this is the last time I have to examine the What ‘So You Think You Can Dance 7’ Contestants Need to Know rules for a default elimination. Even when we’re sad to see someone leave, it’s better that it be because they danced and not because they couldn’t. 
1 ) Have Dancing Talent – Both Natural and Acquired We didn’t see much of Ashley in the beginning but we quickly learned that she was an extremely talented dancer. We saw her dance contemporary the first three weeks and each time she was spectacular. She was obviously very well-trained and proved it effortlessly. The first week, every judge commented on her amazing lines. Mia gushed that Ashley creates beautiful pictures with her technique. Her strength was another aspect of her skill that everyone commented on repeatedly. She had a natural musicality that allowed her to use the training to show that strength and many of her comments centered about how well she was able to move with great power and skill. During her dance with Mark in week two, I said, “This dance showed Ashley’s abilities off much better than what we saw her do last week. She is such a strong dancer with just amazing lines. She reminds me of Melody from Season 1 in the way she uses her legs.” After week three’s routine with Ade, fellow Foxes On Idol “We’ll Be the Judge of That!” judge Terri was thrilled, saying, “This was her best performance of the season so far. It was actually the first time I’ve really noticed how beautiful her technique is. This is definitely a stand-out among the contemporary performances for this season. I’m not sure any of the other girls could have pulled this off the way she did.” 2) Be Consistent and Able to Dance Different Genres Poor Ashley didn’t really get a fair shake at rule two! She managed to pull contemporary, her own style, out of the hat three times. After that, the producers changed the format to ensure that wouldn’t happen again. And once she had the chance to dance another style, she was dynamite! During week four, she danced a ninja hip hop with Dominic and everyone was stunned at how well she did. Jenn, our valiant Reality News Online recapper, said, “I don’t know if Ashley’s as intimidating as she’s supposed to be, but I definitely buy her as a hip-hop dancer.” Nigel was happy that she’d proven that she can do something other than contemporary and jazz. Mia said Ashley danced like an assassin. There was just no kill in her eyes. Agreed, but I thought it was because she was having so much fun. Adam thought Ashley was a “quiet contender” and was in it to win. 3) Be a Great Performer, But Not Over the Top In some ways Ashley did a first-rate job at being a performer during her run on the show. Jenn’s week two review started with, “Ashley continues the girls’ track record tonight of giving terrific performances. You all know I love Mark, but even I can’t keep my eyes off of Ashley in this routine. I’d say that’s the best we’ve seen her perform.” 
In week three, Nigel said that he thought it was Ashley’s best performance and was totally engrossing. Mia said that Ashley danced the routine terrifically. She was “like a purple wind that was coming through this entire theater. And it was like a hurricane, and it was like a summer breeze.” She thought that Ashley was a cut above Melinda and Lauren F., and said that she was her favorite dancer. Adam called Ashley breathtaking. He also said that routine was one of the best female contemporary performances he’d ever seen on the show. Terri thought it was her best performance of the season so far, saying, “It was actually the first time I’ve really noticed how beautiful her technique is. this is definitely a stand-out among the contemporary performances for this season. I’m not sure any of the other girls could have pulled this off the way she did.” On the other hand, there was a dreadful problem with Ashley being completely unmemorable for the first three weeks of the show. We’ll delve into that more in later rules. But suffice it to say that her performance was excellent and yet obviously lacking to some degree or that would not have been a problem. Ashley was an excellent performer who was getting better every week. She had a little trouble in the beginning, but was really starting to pick it up. 4) Shine During Your Solos (also Pick Great Music and Plan Some Choreography) We only saw Ashley dance two solos because she was only in the bottom three once before she was injured. But she did very well both those times. When she was in the bottom three during week four result’s night, she definitely danced for her life. Jenn thought she was a pirouetting machine and didn’t think she was going anywhere – something we’ll never know for sure since that was the week that Alex left due to his injury. During week three when the dancers all performed a solo as well as their partnered dance, Ashley showed herself to be an excellent strategist. This was the third week in a row that Ashley had danced an emotional contemporary routine as her partnered dance. We needed to see something different from her and she gave it to us. Afterwards, Jenn was enthusiastic, saying, “You know how earlier in the season I found her completely unmemorable? Yeah, I take that back. Ashley’s awesome.” Terri said, “This is the choreography she needs to do in partner routines! Another brilliantly strategized solo! … Ashley needed to show fun, light, and energy, and she did that perfectly. [S]he has done everything she can do to keep herself in the competition. Brilliant.” My take was three-fold. I thought that “the good was that she chose to do a fast and funky routine. Since we’ve seen her do three dramatic routines in a row, so that was a very smart decision. The so-so was the routine itself. While she was strong and moved with power and skill, it wasn’t anything special. The bad… why on earth would she use the same music that was used in last week’s opening performance? That choice just made her seem lazy and unimaginative. Not impressive at all.” So Ashley’s only downfall as a soloist was a tendency to use music that was very interesting… at least it was interesting the first time we’d heard it used. 5) Be a Great Partner / You Are a Duo Rule five is another one that Ashley did well with during her four weeks on the show. Terri thought that Ashley did a good job of connecting to Mark and trying to capture what the routine asked for. I thought that she did an excellent job of connecting with Ade and Dominic during their respective dances. 6) Be Unique Rule six is where Ashley didn’t do quite as well. For a long time she come across as a fairly unremarkable and generic contemporary dancer. But this was primarily because we simply hadn’t seen anything of her up until the Lil’ C went to her house to tell her she was in the top eleven. Once she was on the show, there was enough variety among the women dancers this season that she was slightly more distinctive. But mostly, for several weeks, she was that dark-haired dancer who didn’t do tap. This leads well into the next rule which is where Ashley outright failed for a long time. 1 2 Next-->View Printable version of this article
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