Middle Age Hollywood

"Entertainment Weekly talked to Nigel Lythgoe after Adechike Tolbert was eliminated from last night’s So You Think You Can Dance results show. Here are some highlights:

+Nigel had to warm up to Robert Roldan, “I liked his look, and then he was so sort of childish off camera, and sometimes on camera.” But, Nigel appreciates how he matures and considers him a dark horse.
Lauren Froderman and Ken Boyd were his favorites initially, “I went to see Lauren and Kent [in their homes]. They were always my favorites. “
+Nigel “fully expected” Alex Wong to make the finale. Happily, Alex is healing “really well” from the Achilles tendon injury that forced him off the show, and could be walking as soon as September.
+If you think Kent has the competition in the bag, think again, he “hasn’t won [the vote] every week. Other people have been number one, and he didn’t necessarily win last night, either. It’s all too close to call.”
+Nigel admits he might have made too many changes this season, “It’s very frustrating because the standard of dance, and the standard of choreography this year, has been enormous,” he says. “I will look to next season whether we start with 20 dancers again, bring it down to ten and then introduce the All Stars, and get rid of two [dancers per week]. I want to get it right for the audience, but at the same time, I don’t want to let down dance, and this season the dance situation has really been tremendous….When you get to dance with Pasha, you have to grow. And when you get to dance with Anya, you have to grow f—ing quickly.”
I think Nigel did over-tweak this season. There was something special about watching the contestants grow together as partners the first half of the live shows. I’m all for bringing back the Top 20 and then introducing the all-stars as special guest partners at the Top 10."