It's been a long wait, but finally, FINALLY, Street Dance of China (SDC)- the best and most incessantly watchable competition show ever made- is back for a fifth season. For technical and logistical reasons, my wife and I will not be able to immediately jump into experiencing what is sure to be another wonderful 5 million hours of popping, locking, and freestyling content. So to bide the time, let's take this chance to glance back at last year's season and celebrate its best moments.
Granted, Season 4 was not at quite the same level of wall-to-wall perfection as Season 3, which I will probably revisit over and over again until I die. There was definitely a different feel and a few growing pains as the show started to go bigger and more international, though I think the effort was absolutely for the best. And the dancing, of course, remained absolutely spot-on. Though I can't highlight EVERY dance I liked- because dear Lord, would that take time I do not have- I figure I'd start with a countdown of my Top Ten Dances from the season.
If you don't see dances you especially liked here, bear in mind that I had to kill many a darling and leave a LOT on the cutting-room floor. So just add your favorites in the comments below!
For the links, where possible and/or necessary I will timestamp the episode itself, since only those have the subtitles available to get the full experience.
Honorable Mentions:
Team Henry vs. Team Yibo Challenge (Episode 5)
Ye Ying's Qualification Dance (Episode 3)
Poppin' C's Qualification Dance (Episode 3)
The Toy Story Dance (Episode 9)
The Disco Dance (Episode 9)
Ye Ying + Hilty & Bosch: The Lupin/Conan Dance (Episode 9)
Boris vs. Zyko (Episode 1 )
And now, THE BIG TEN!
Xiao Ji + Xiao Jie vs. Tao Tao + Cici (Episode 10)
Okay, this needs a bit of background; Tao Tao and Cici are possible the handsomest, most saccharinly adorable couple in the world, and their „Wedding Dance“ in Season 3 was a storm of brilliant, creative pathos that became a viral hit and is still probably what they are most known for. Tao Tao is a masterful choreographer, so anytime the two of them are doing something you know every movement will be fine-tuned to perfection, and their opening to this 2-on-2 challenge in Episode 10 was no exception.
Except, as far as winning the round was concerned, they stood no chance, as they were up against the combined might of the Xiaos, SDC's two reigning goofball kings. I don't know whose idea it was, but they decided to splice in the Wedding music and do a spectacular parody of Tao Tao's dancing style. Easily one of the season's best combinations of great dancing with great comendy (though not THE best- we'll get there).
Ye Ying + Yang Kai Fusion Dance (Episode 11)
My wife and I were actually wondering for awhile if anyone in SDC would ever pick a German song to dance to. No matter who and when, the one thing we were sure of was that it would be Rammstein, because that's just one of those things non-Germans automatically go to when asked „Pick some German music, NOT BEETHOVEN.“ Lo and behold...
In all seriousness though, the fusion dance parts of each SDC season are always especially fascinating, allowing the contestant to really flex their abilities by breaking out of the specific styles they are usually known for. This one, featuring two of the three past winners, easily took the cake, telling a compact and gripping story about crooks trying to one-up each other. The Rammstein-crossed-with-Alien bit was just the icing on top.
Mr. Three + Rochka: Rush Hour (Episode 10)
The forever friendship that defined the season (Sorry, Henry/Han Geng). Rochka and Mr. Three instantly solidified themselves as a) two of the best new dancers to join the show and b) just the most adorable human beings to grace God's good Earth. And then they had to go and become soulmates to boot. Honestly, I could fill this with just spots of the two of them and would feel entirely at peace (don't worry, I won't....but I could if I wanted to).
They will appear here again, but as a first pick I went with this fantastic Rush-Hour-esque parody, set to a remix of Old Town Road and will an absolute chef's kiss of a final punchline.
AC vs. Ibuki (Episode 1)
It was only part of the preliminary rounds, and thus technically „didn't matter,“ but given the deep friendship/feaux-rivalry between these two, anytime Ibuki and AC face off is going to be packed with emotion and power. Everyone watching gets so into this one (even Yibo!), which makes it all the more fun to watch.
Jr. Taco's Qualification Challenge (Episode 3)
With Xiao Ji and his magical feet back in the game, I think everyone expected him to be the first to pull something so mind-boggling out of thin air that it would make the whole season just stop for a moment. And he certainly gave it his best shot (see my next listicle). Alas, Jr. Taco beat him to the punch; this was instantly both one of the best dances of the season, and also one of the funniest things to ever almost kill me. My wife and I have now rewatched this clip so many times with so many people we don't even need the subtitles anymore.
Having not yet seen either of the first two seasons of SDC, Jr. Taco was a wholly new face to me (though I later realized he did cameo in Season 3). And given the sort of phenomenal physicality required for street dancing (hell, ANY dancing), I admit I couldn't help but look at the guy and be curious as to what kind of style he would bring. Well, with this challenge upset, which instantly catapulted him into the next round, he showed both me and the world that you do. Not. Ever. Fuck. With Jr. Taco.
Just a note- I tried to place starting the clip for this one with the original dance that Jr. Taco was challenging, since the buildup allows the impact to make more sense.
Yang Kai vs. Bouboo Elimination Dance-Off (Episode 12)
There's really not much I can say about this one. Last year's winner facing off against one of the top dancers in the world, two absolute masters of their craft going all-in for the elimination round, and even as you can tell their bodies are breaking they just keep at it. Also, the ending is SO adorable and remains the one and only excusable use of Justin Bieber. These two made Bieber relevant- THAT's how powerful they are.
Ma Xiaolong + Zyko, „Teacher and Student“ (Episode 6)
Full disclosure; my wife and I are kinda Xiaolong-sceptic. Not that he isn't a great dancer or master choreographer; literally everyone on this show can do things with the human form I can't even dream of. Just...his various „Sinoseries“ works, each one centering a different aspect of Chinese culture, were, while fascinating, never as interesting or awe-inspiring to us as they seemed to be to the judges. This could be the cultural distance having an effect, but there tended to be an ebulience of praise for most of his pieces even in cases where, in my eyes, the competing performances were even better.
There was one, however, that was so good that even I can't deny it's power, and that was this collaboration with Zyko that tells the story of a music teacher and his student, with their back-and-forths symbolizing the instruction of the teacher, the holding back of the student when they aren't ready, then finally the letting go when the pupil is set to replace the master. It's a note-perfect (literally!) fusion of sound and movement about one of the most eternal and universal stories there is.
Sadly, both Zyko and Ma were forced to bow out of the competition early, each due to extentuating circumstances, but this dance alone anchored itself as one of the defining works of the season.
Rochka + Mr. Three vs. Nelson + Bouboo (Episode 6)
This two-v-two faceoff after the initial team formation perfectly encapsulates just how fantastically Rochka and Mr. Three are able to fuse their styles and personalities together. It is easily my single favorite bit of dancing of the two of them together, and is my favorite pre-choreographed set in the entire season (the top two spots, as you shall see, went to battles). Nelson is a world-class dancer and Bouboo is, well, Bouboo, but against the Perfect Couple, they had absolutely no chance. Even the judges realized this right away (Yibo's face during the battle is simultaneously hilarious and heart-breaking), once the openings moves made clear what the score was. I'll be watching and rewatching this til I die.
Acky-San vs. Mr. Three Elimination Dance-Off (Episode 12)
Seeing Mr. Three, who (sorry, but I'm going to repeat this again), is one of the sweetest dudes in the world, facing off against one of popping's Grand Masters, Acky-San, in the season finale was the sort of treat one doesn't get too often in this life. Popping is definitely my kind of street dance, so each round of this is just pure awesome, even if my dear Three didn't make it further.
Semi-Final Elimination, 7-to-Smoke (Episode 11)
No competition for the #1 spot; the 7-to-Smoke that concluded the Semi-Finals, the final chance for the remaining contestants to gain a chance at finale glory, was the longest and had the most gripping, intense, and varied sequences of dancing in the entire season. Each of the nine remaining contestants laid everything out, every bit of their power and talent and creativity, and the results are simply spectacular.
What made it all the more compelling was that no one dancer dominated; unlike the Semi-Final 7-to-Smoke in the previous season- which basically consisted of Bouboo seizing the room by the throat and refusing to let go- the defender was constantly changing hands. After the first go-around, it was pretty clear no one dancer would qualify outright, so it became a gritty endurance test to scratch out one point at a time; no one was ever more than 2 points above anyone else and the fluctation made just watching it incredibly tense.
And yet, despite the intensity, everyone was still having so much damn fun. And that, for me, encapsulates what makes SDC so special and rewatchable. These are ambitious and intense people, but at all times the most important thing for everyone is to just be happy and have fun, content that they get to literally spend their lives dancing. It's so different from the (at times artificially-induced) petty drama stoked up in just about every other reality competition show I've ever seen, or at least within Western ones. Even when someone suffers a heartbreaking seatback, within minutes everyone is back to „It's okay everyone, let's just daaaaance...“
It's that mindset that, I think, the whole world needs more of in these dark times.
Rock on, SDC. Rock on.
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