So You Think You Can Dance 3: Why Pasha Isn’t America’s Favorite Dancer

Pasha was my favorite dancer this season. I loved to watch him perform and always enjoyed his time in front of the camera. Hopefully looking at “What So You Think You Can Dance 3 Contestants Need To Know” will explain why Pasha left before I hoped he would.

Pasha most certainly had dancing and performing talent. He was far and above the best male partner on the show, demonstrating outstanding partnership skills with everyone. He excelled each week, proving he was a talented dancer again and again.

From his first audition, it was clear that Pasha was a performer. He knew how to use sex appeal but remain humble. He connected well to his partner, but also projected outward.

Pasha’s chemistry with Jessi was enough to make her fall for him and for many audience members to be jealous of her. Their waltz was probably one of the most touching and ethereal routines in the show’s history. When Jessi couldn’t perform their cha cha, Pasha blocked out reality and succeeded in finding chemistry with a woman twice his age on a moment’s notice. After Jessi left, he immediately established a strong connection with Sara. It’s too bad we never got to see him dance with Anya, but you’d better bet he will on the tour!

Pasha was a terrific performer. He could take any routine and transform it. I think the best example of this was his jazz routine with Jessi. Although he landed in the bottom that week, he showed that he could take a routine outside of his discipline and go beyond the choreography to turn into the birds of Tyce’s imagination.

The place where Pasha struggled most was his solos. His first solo was disappointing to the judges, although I didn’t feel it was that bad. Pasha’s mannequin solo was just strange. It totally didn’t work, although some people enjoyed it.

Pasha’s paso doble solo was brilliant, but his pecs and cape flapping could only buy him so much time. After all, Neil and Danny also bared their torsos, but did a lot more dancing. In comparison to them, Pasha’s solos lacked tricks, spins, leaps, and lots of other enthralling visuals. They just blew Pasha out of the water in the solo department.

Pasha did very well with rule number two, consistently performing well no matter what dance style was given to him. Pasha had phenomenal quick steps and waltzes, which are harbingers of doom for many. He also coped quite well with hip hop, contemporary, Broadway, and jazz… any of which could have been a disaster for him. Pasha was one of the most versatile dancers, but it was his partnering skills that again came in most handy.

Although we’ve had other Russian male ballroom dancers, Pasha succeeded at being unique. Pasha was a better performer and partner than Dmitry, Stanislav, and Artem were in past seasons. He was the only male ballroom dancer this season, which helped him easily stand out, but it was his charm that contributed most to his uniqueness.

Pasha was memorable for many great things. His dances were some of the best of the season. I already mentioned his waltz and jazz routines with Jessi and his cha cha with Melanie. These were all terrific routines that made him memorable as one of the better dancers. Losing Jessi was a blow for Pasha, but right away Benji’s west coast swing routine with Sara set him apart again.

It wasn’t just on the dance floor that Pasha was memorable. Who could forget how he held Jessi’s hand while she was hospitalized? Many girls wanted Pasha to be their boyfriend too. I loved it when I found out he was a computer geek. It was also touching to see how he wished his family (especially his mom) could see him dance, but they were still in Russia.

Pasha’s humility and meekness was always evident during interviews. He was the whole package. When people voted, they voted for Pasha. They liked him as a person and wanted to see him succeed.

Pasha never argued with the judges, so on to number seven.

Fan bases are difficult to identify for this show, but I believe Pasha created one. His time with Jessi was most critical to establishing this. He knew that his fans were swooning women and played to them. Pasha’s decision to go shirtless was calculated vote pandering. He was always supportive of Jessi and Sara, and surely picked up many of their fans after they left.

Overall, Pasha was a phenomenal partner and likeable guy. He transformed each routine he was given, exceeding expectations every time.

Pasha was unique and memorable, revealing a warm personality that voters responded to. His primary hang-up was when he danced on his own. Pasha didn’t have the contemporary moves or gymnastics to compete with Neil or Danny, and they just smoked him. That is why Pasha is not America’s Favorite Dancer.

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Asher Streets is a food engineer and musician who lives in Madison, WI. He has a love for all things Italian, most especially gelato, wine, espresso, and cheese. You can email Asher at asher.streets@gmail.com.

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