Let's face it: the last couple of seasons of So You Think You Can Dance have been pretty lackluster. Me, I say it has to do with the personalities of the contestants. Yes, we've seen some really amazing dancers on the SYTYCD stage over the last two outings, but nobody has come close to the sheer "I gotta see their next routine" charisma or adorability of their predecessors (in particular, the superlative class of season 4). Also, there's the absence of Mia Michaels' work from the show. I don't think there's any fan of the show or dancing in general who will argue that Mia's routines are regularly the most creative and interesting pieces of each week she was contributing. Without her, although the other choreographers are all spectacular, no one is Mamma Mia.
Apparently, Fox disagrees with me. They're changing the format of the show drastically for the upcoming season.
+The auditions and Vegas week will whittle the contestants down to just 10 rather than 20, and then the live elimination shows will begin.
+Only one contestant will be eliminated each week.
+Contestants will change partners every week from the start of the live shows.
And the biggest change,
+Contestants will not be dancing with one another, but rather rotating through a cast of "All-Stars": finalists from previous seasons. The press calls them former "favorites", a name I question. Our so-called All-Stars are:
1. "Twitch" Boss, season 4. Okay, a genuine favorite. I really liked him.
2. Comfort Fedoke, season 4. NO thank you. Dancing okay, but I hated that she got a second shot.
3. Courtney Galliano, season 4. Not bad. But not that big a deal, either.
4. Anya Garnis, season 3. Eh. But then, I've not been impressed by any of the show's female ballroom dancers.
5. Lauren Gottlieb, season 3. More eh. Never really did much for me.
6. Neil Haskell, season 3. Who? Oh, the table, battle-of-the-sexes number.
7. Allison Holker, season 2. Who? Oh, the umbrella routine.
8. Mark Kanemura, season 4. Yay, another actual favorite. "Bleeding Love" forever.
9. Pasha Kovalev, season 3. Eh. Same goes for the show's guy ballroom dancers.
10. Kathryn McCormick, season 6. Who? Oh, squeaky voice.
11. Ade Obayomi, season 5. Good, but no big deal.
12. Dominic "D-trix" Sandoval, season 3. If they were going to get someone from Quest Crew, who not Hok? I loved Hok.
So, in short... bleh. I'm ready for this season to come hopefully they'll cast some people I'll want to watch because these changes are ridiculous.
Showing posts with label sytycd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sytycd. Show all posts
Friday, April 23, 2010
Friday, September 25, 2009
SYTYCD - S6 Auditions part 3
Honestly, not a lot to say about this week's audition episode. I was really looking forward to seeing what my old stomping grounds of Boston would bring to the stage, and while there was a distinct lack of those really awful or loopy auditioners like Phoenix, there really weren't any huge standouts as there had been in L.A.
I was less that blown away by Teddy "Plaid Pants" Tedholm, but I guess I could see the little bits of strong technique hidden in the quirkiness. Same with Jean Lloret, the b-boy who did pull off an amazing 360 trick with his legs, but not much else impressive. Ditto ballroom couple Karen & Matthew Hauer, which was a bit of a letdown, since my background is both Boston and ballroom. For me, the only really notable performance was by krumper Russell Ferguson, as he found ways to vary his movements and add extra elements beyond the usual standing crunches.
Atlanta next.
I was less that blown away by Teddy "Plaid Pants" Tedholm, but I guess I could see the little bits of strong technique hidden in the quirkiness. Same with Jean Lloret, the b-boy who did pull off an amazing 360 trick with his legs, but not much else impressive. Ditto ballroom couple Karen & Matthew Hauer, which was a bit of a letdown, since my background is both Boston and ballroom. For me, the only really notable performance was by krumper Russell Ferguson, as he found ways to vary his movements and add extra elements beyond the usual standing crunches.
Atlanta next.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
SYTYCD - S6 Auditions 1 & 2
So You Think You Can Dance is back, less than a month after Jeanine Mason was crowned "America's Favorite Dancer" for their fifth season. Apparently, the FOX network wanted it to be a fall series, more than likely so it can run alongside the (absolutely brilliant and hysterically funny) series Glee. Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe has promised some changes for this season: first, with their fall schedule somewhat hemmed in by baseball season, S6 may run slightly shorter than the previous five. Producers are mulling a six-person (top three men, top three women) finale episode.
More interestingly, as Nigel is known for liking a three-judge system (he was a producer on American Idol for years), SYTYCD is filling the third seat that was traditionally for a guest judge with a new resident judge: director and choreographer Adam Shankman. I think it's a good fit; "Shankers" has a great, upbeat personality without ever straying into the grating and shrieking of Mary Murphy. Also, this affords the show a greater pool of choreographers each week, as the guest judges are unable to choreograph on the week they're judging.
The show begins its new round of auditions in Los Angeles. Mercifully, that miscreant "Sex" is nowhere to be seen. On particular display are some great standouts, including three of the best tap dancers I've ever seen. Ryan Kasprzak, elder brother of S5's Evan got his ticket to Las Vegas on the strength of a delightfully poetic unaccompanied performance piece (of course, we saw that a couple of months back, but it's nice to revisit). Bianca Revels, who vowed to not return after being cut late in the game in Vegas, swallowed her pride and impressed her way through a "trade" with Ryan (not quite a battle). Phillip Attmore is another fantastic tapper who really emulates the nonchalant makes-it-look-easy style of the best dancers from the Thirties and Forties. Another standout the camera will likely find often is Mollee Gray, a girl from Utah with an adult dancer's body and a 12 year-old girl's face. She was a principal dancer in all three High School Musical movies and moved to L.A. to get more dance work. She's excellent.
They're hitting new cities this time around. Episode two takes us to Phoenix, AZ and the broiler-like heat that comes with the place. While there weren't a lot of dancers that blew me away, what I did notice was that the not so great dancers, for the most part, all had really good attitudes about things. Even those mismatched poppers from the start of the show, took everything in stride, bowed out gracefully and stayed positive. And yes, there was a lot of weird, but it was generally entertaining weird, so that's a big plus that this show has over, say, Idol. I spend so much of those auditions wanting to smack sense and humility into people. Willem de Vries and Jacob Jason are there to dance some same-sex Latin (a Rumba, to be precise), and we all gird ourselves for Nigel's reaction. He ends up praising their lines and how they combined expressiveness with strength, and both Mia and Mary get teary and wibbly over them. What did these two have over the couple from last season? Willem and Jacob are really good dancers. Those other guys weren't so much which added to the lead-switching, the unfortunate catsuit costumes and the fact that one dude dropped the other dude on a lift, didn't make them the best ambassadors for same-sex dancing.
See you next week when SYTYCD hits the city that taught me how to dance, Boston, Massachusetts!
...Read more
More interestingly, as Nigel is known for liking a three-judge system (he was a producer on American Idol for years), SYTYCD is filling the third seat that was traditionally for a guest judge with a new resident judge: director and choreographer Adam Shankman. I think it's a good fit; "Shankers" has a great, upbeat personality without ever straying into the grating and shrieking of Mary Murphy. Also, this affords the show a greater pool of choreographers each week, as the guest judges are unable to choreograph on the week they're judging.
The show begins its new round of auditions in Los Angeles. Mercifully, that miscreant "Sex" is nowhere to be seen. On particular display are some great standouts, including three of the best tap dancers I've ever seen. Ryan Kasprzak, elder brother of S5's Evan got his ticket to Las Vegas on the strength of a delightfully poetic unaccompanied performance piece (of course, we saw that a couple of months back, but it's nice to revisit). Bianca Revels, who vowed to not return after being cut late in the game in Vegas, swallowed her pride and impressed her way through a "trade" with Ryan (not quite a battle). Phillip Attmore is another fantastic tapper who really emulates the nonchalant makes-it-look-easy style of the best dancers from the Thirties and Forties. Another standout the camera will likely find often is Mollee Gray, a girl from Utah with an adult dancer's body and a 12 year-old girl's face. She was a principal dancer in all three High School Musical movies and moved to L.A. to get more dance work. She's excellent.
They're hitting new cities this time around. Episode two takes us to Phoenix, AZ and the broiler-like heat that comes with the place. While there weren't a lot of dancers that blew me away, what I did notice was that the not so great dancers, for the most part, all had really good attitudes about things. Even those mismatched poppers from the start of the show, took everything in stride, bowed out gracefully and stayed positive. And yes, there was a lot of weird, but it was generally entertaining weird, so that's a big plus that this show has over, say, Idol. I spend so much of those auditions wanting to smack sense and humility into people. Willem de Vries and Jacob Jason are there to dance some same-sex Latin (a Rumba, to be precise), and we all gird ourselves for Nigel's reaction. He ends up praising their lines and how they combined expressiveness with strength, and both Mia and Mary get teary and wibbly over them. What did these two have over the couple from last season? Willem and Jacob are really good dancers. Those other guys weren't so much which added to the lead-switching, the unfortunate catsuit costumes and the fact that one dude dropped the other dude on a lift, didn't make them the best ambassadors for same-sex dancing.
See you next week when SYTYCD hits the city that taught me how to dance, Boston, Massachusetts!
...Read more
Friday, August 21, 2009
DWTS - S9 Preview
I know I dropped the ball with SYTYCD, but you can be sure I'll be on my game with DWTS. With the shows running against one another this fall, I'm probably just going to give general impressions on SYTYCD, just to keep myself sane.
Well, we've got an interesting field for this season, one I think that could get us some pretty entertaining television. As usual, here's my rundown of the celebs and their partners, and my completely unscientific, totally arbitrary and based-on-my-own-judgment idea of their chances of winning (taking into account both how well I think they might dance and how many votes they might pull in).
MYA & Dmitry Chaplin: Mya has a lot of the right elements: she's young, but a season entertainer and performer. She's done a decent amount of dancing in her time, and had a good fanbase then that should still remember her fondly. Also, she's paired with a SYTYCD pro, so he's going to bring in some calls, too. 5 to 1
DONNY OSMOND & Kym Johnson: He was pretty much a given after Marie's showing. I've always found him more fun and more accessible than his sister, and way goofier. I think his dancing will be fair, but his performances will be strong. Obviously, there's a lot of Osmond-lovers, based on Marie's high placement. Kym (who the producers seem determined to keep from winning) will give him plenty of comedy routines. 15 to 1
AARON CARTER & Karina Smirnoff: Again, there are good elements to be put together here. Youth, which is both good physically and with the demographic, and experience performing are both strengths. Don't know if there was much dancing in his act, though. Also I'd argue he was never as A-list famous as, say, Mya or even Joey Fatone at their heights. Karina seems to still be learning how to craft winners. 9 to 1
TOM DeLAY & Cheryl Burke: This year's stunt casting, to be sure. Whatever spin people put on it, DeLay was gotten because of his notoriety (campaign finance charges). Because of that, I doubt even his conservative reputation will win him much votes from the core demographic. Cheryl is an expert on coaching contestants on this show, but I doubt even her skills will fall short with DeLay to work with. 100 to 1
ASHLEY HAMILTON & Edyta Sliwinksa: DWTS' first legacy contestant! He's pretty much only famous for that and being married to Shannen Doherty for fifteen minutes (or so). Where he land on physical ability, performance and personality is anybody's guess at this stage. Edyta... well, her partner's young this time, so she might try for a week or two, but if he can't dance but lasts any longer than that, Ashley better get used to standing still. 85 to 1
DEBI MAZAR & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: One of those "you'd remember her if you saw her" actresses, she who was doing the 40's pinup look ten years before Katy Perry. Definitely signing on to revive a flagging career, there's no telling what her dancing aptitude will be, but she specialized in spunky characters, so maybe she's got that attitude. Maks is a veteran and a very good partner now, and if she can dance, they'll be okay. 35 to 1
NATALIE COUGHLIN & Alec Mazo: DWTS does love its Olympians, and people love them on the show, proven by their track record. As Shawn pointed out, no Olympian has yet failed to capture the trophy, and Natalie has the package: a background in hard training, excellent conditioning, good looks. What might be questionable is her partner. Alec won, but in the much less competitive first season, and has not fared as well since, even with contender partners like Toni Braxton. 5 to 1
CHUCK LIDELL & Anna Trebunskaya: If you remember how well the boxers on this show have danced, that's probably a UFC fighter's level, except maybe a bit faster. Unless Chuck has done a lot of footwork training, I'm not expecting much there. However, UFC is a massive property, and he will definitely pull lots of male viewers and possibly votes. I'm really happy to see Anna again, I just wish it was with a better partner. 40 to 1
MICHAEL IRVIN & Anna Demidova: Emmett's teammate. He will likely follow the standard football player model: good with uptempo music, a feel for the beat, heavy but strong, not so great in the Ballroom dances, much more comfortable in Latin. Seen it every season. A good match for the rookie Anna D., as his fanbase will do plenty of work for them. 30 to 1
LOUIE VITO & Chelsie Hightower: While Louie's an athlete, it's in a less disciplined sport (snowboarding), so his conditioning could be very good, but his work and training ethic as applied to dancing could be an awkward fit. Also, he might have trouble as some of the male athletes do, being expressive enough. Chelsie was a surprise for me last season, proving to be a patient and solidly supportive partner to a challenging student. 45 to 1
JOANNA KRUPA & Derek Hough: Models tend not to fare so well on this show, which I'm sure the designers think is a shame, since they wear the costumes so well. As usual, while she has a nice figure, there's no telling what her actual fitness level might be, and how coordinated she is moving. Derek has it a bit tough with this draw, I think, but at least he'll enjoy looking at her while he misses living with Shannon. 60 to 1
KELLY OSBOURNE & Louis Van Amstel: Short and not-skinny is a non issue, as we've seen. My main question with her is what kind of attitude and work ethic she's going to bring to the table, since I couldn't tell you what sort of personality she has, even though I watched the show some. Louis is used to a very certain kind of emotional, touchy-feely kind of partner, so this seeming mismatch could be great or disastrous. 50 to 1
KATHY IRELAND & Jonathan Roberts: Two models in one season. Just kind of cut and paste everything I said about Joanna here, although I might expect Kathy to have a bit of an edge, being a former model and having made a couple of poor attempts at acting... meaning, she's a little more humble and grounded, maybe. Jonathan is a spectacular coach for this show, and for however long he's got, she will look her best, whatever that is. 55 to 1
MELISSA JOAN HART & Mark Ballas: She's gotten some magazine coverage for being a mom and losing weight, so a lot of this show's demographic has recent good impressions of her. Still young, and probably still in decent shape, she could do okay. No dance or stage performance background that I can recall. Mark is a very good partner, and has his own huge fanbase, which these days is a big help. 25 to 1
MACY GRAY & Fabian Sanchez: I'm not a big fan of Macy's singing, but that doesn't change her being a decently well-known name. Her act didn't involve any dancing, so she's got no experience there, and I can't speak to her personality or attitude. Big question mark over her. Fabian, as he proved with Marlee, is exceptionally patient and supportive to his student partners, so she's got help there. 50 to 1
MARK DACASCOS & Lacey Schwimmer: My personal bias aside, I think Mark has potential. As a martial artist, he's in good condition and is used to remembering forms and using his entire body. He has acting background, including stage work, and if Iron Chef America is any indication, he's got a good sense of humor and personality. Lacey is a bit of a question mark for me, as she seems determined to live up to her "rebel" reputation, for which her partners sometimes suffer. 35 to 1
Of particular note are the new training rules that ABC has instituted to try and stave off the injury-fests that recent seasons, especially this last one, have become.
*Couples may only train for five hours per day for the first two weeks.
*Couples must take a 30-minute break after every two hours of training.
*Couples must take one day off from training per week.
Thank goodness.
...Read more
Well, we've got an interesting field for this season, one I think that could get us some pretty entertaining television. As usual, here's my rundown of the celebs and their partners, and my completely unscientific, totally arbitrary and based-on-my-own-judgment idea of their chances of winning (taking into account both how well I think they might dance and how many votes they might pull in).
MYA & Dmitry Chaplin: Mya has a lot of the right elements: she's young, but a season entertainer and performer. She's done a decent amount of dancing in her time, and had a good fanbase then that should still remember her fondly. Also, she's paired with a SYTYCD pro, so he's going to bring in some calls, too. 5 to 1
DONNY OSMOND & Kym Johnson: He was pretty much a given after Marie's showing. I've always found him more fun and more accessible than his sister, and way goofier. I think his dancing will be fair, but his performances will be strong. Obviously, there's a lot of Osmond-lovers, based on Marie's high placement. Kym (who the producers seem determined to keep from winning) will give him plenty of comedy routines. 15 to 1
AARON CARTER & Karina Smirnoff: Again, there are good elements to be put together here. Youth, which is both good physically and with the demographic, and experience performing are both strengths. Don't know if there was much dancing in his act, though. Also I'd argue he was never as A-list famous as, say, Mya or even Joey Fatone at their heights. Karina seems to still be learning how to craft winners. 9 to 1
TOM DeLAY & Cheryl Burke: This year's stunt casting, to be sure. Whatever spin people put on it, DeLay was gotten because of his notoriety (campaign finance charges). Because of that, I doubt even his conservative reputation will win him much votes from the core demographic. Cheryl is an expert on coaching contestants on this show, but I doubt even her skills will fall short with DeLay to work with. 100 to 1
ASHLEY HAMILTON & Edyta Sliwinksa: DWTS' first legacy contestant! He's pretty much only famous for that and being married to Shannen Doherty for fifteen minutes (or so). Where he land on physical ability, performance and personality is anybody's guess at this stage. Edyta... well, her partner's young this time, so she might try for a week or two, but if he can't dance but lasts any longer than that, Ashley better get used to standing still. 85 to 1
DEBI MAZAR & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: One of those "you'd remember her if you saw her" actresses, she who was doing the 40's pinup look ten years before Katy Perry. Definitely signing on to revive a flagging career, there's no telling what her dancing aptitude will be, but she specialized in spunky characters, so maybe she's got that attitude. Maks is a veteran and a very good partner now, and if she can dance, they'll be okay. 35 to 1
NATALIE COUGHLIN & Alec Mazo: DWTS does love its Olympians, and people love them on the show, proven by their track record. As Shawn pointed out, no Olympian has yet failed to capture the trophy, and Natalie has the package: a background in hard training, excellent conditioning, good looks. What might be questionable is her partner. Alec won, but in the much less competitive first season, and has not fared as well since, even with contender partners like Toni Braxton. 5 to 1
CHUCK LIDELL & Anna Trebunskaya: If you remember how well the boxers on this show have danced, that's probably a UFC fighter's level, except maybe a bit faster. Unless Chuck has done a lot of footwork training, I'm not expecting much there. However, UFC is a massive property, and he will definitely pull lots of male viewers and possibly votes. I'm really happy to see Anna again, I just wish it was with a better partner. 40 to 1
MICHAEL IRVIN & Anna Demidova: Emmett's teammate. He will likely follow the standard football player model: good with uptempo music, a feel for the beat, heavy but strong, not so great in the Ballroom dances, much more comfortable in Latin. Seen it every season. A good match for the rookie Anna D., as his fanbase will do plenty of work for them. 30 to 1
LOUIE VITO & Chelsie Hightower: While Louie's an athlete, it's in a less disciplined sport (snowboarding), so his conditioning could be very good, but his work and training ethic as applied to dancing could be an awkward fit. Also, he might have trouble as some of the male athletes do, being expressive enough. Chelsie was a surprise for me last season, proving to be a patient and solidly supportive partner to a challenging student. 45 to 1
JOANNA KRUPA & Derek Hough: Models tend not to fare so well on this show, which I'm sure the designers think is a shame, since they wear the costumes so well. As usual, while she has a nice figure, there's no telling what her actual fitness level might be, and how coordinated she is moving. Derek has it a bit tough with this draw, I think, but at least he'll enjoy looking at her while he misses living with Shannon. 60 to 1
KELLY OSBOURNE & Louis Van Amstel: Short and not-skinny is a non issue, as we've seen. My main question with her is what kind of attitude and work ethic she's going to bring to the table, since I couldn't tell you what sort of personality she has, even though I watched the show some. Louis is used to a very certain kind of emotional, touchy-feely kind of partner, so this seeming mismatch could be great or disastrous. 50 to 1
KATHY IRELAND & Jonathan Roberts: Two models in one season. Just kind of cut and paste everything I said about Joanna here, although I might expect Kathy to have a bit of an edge, being a former model and having made a couple of poor attempts at acting... meaning, she's a little more humble and grounded, maybe. Jonathan is a spectacular coach for this show, and for however long he's got, she will look her best, whatever that is. 55 to 1
MELISSA JOAN HART & Mark Ballas: She's gotten some magazine coverage for being a mom and losing weight, so a lot of this show's demographic has recent good impressions of her. Still young, and probably still in decent shape, she could do okay. No dance or stage performance background that I can recall. Mark is a very good partner, and has his own huge fanbase, which these days is a big help. 25 to 1
MACY GRAY & Fabian Sanchez: I'm not a big fan of Macy's singing, but that doesn't change her being a decently well-known name. Her act didn't involve any dancing, so she's got no experience there, and I can't speak to her personality or attitude. Big question mark over her. Fabian, as he proved with Marlee, is exceptionally patient and supportive to his student partners, so she's got help there. 50 to 1
MARK DACASCOS & Lacey Schwimmer: My personal bias aside, I think Mark has potential. As a martial artist, he's in good condition and is used to remembering forms and using his entire body. He has acting background, including stage work, and if Iron Chef America is any indication, he's got a good sense of humor and personality. Lacey is a bit of a question mark for me, as she seems determined to live up to her "rebel" reputation, for which her partners sometimes suffer. 35 to 1
Of particular note are the new training rules that ABC has instituted to try and stave off the injury-fests that recent seasons, especially this last one, have become.
*Couples may only train for five hours per day for the first two weeks.
*Couples must take a 30-minute break after every two hours of training.
*Couples must take one day off from training per week.
Thank goodness.
...Read more
Monday, June 22, 2009
SYTYCD - Top 18
Yikes, that's some odd giant-sack-bow of a dress Cat's wearing. I just read that she's styling herself this season, so any credit or blame goes right to Ms. Deeley herself. Speaking of fashion, when the dancers come out for the intros, it looks like Asuka has borrowed a pair of Edyta Sliwinksa's leg warmers. Of course, Asuka is somewhat more covered up, so I'm not sure why.
On to the couples. The theme for the intro videos is telling "secrets" about each partner-- odd anecdotes that range from projectilve vomit stories to teddy bears and as many uninteresting and boring things in between as possible.
Randi & Evan: Jive, Louis van Amstel. Apparently, Jive is Louis' favorite Latin dance, awesome. They're going for the fun, dorky side of things. In fact, the show runs a "fun" counter for each mention of the word. The routine is great with lots of speed and high knees, good kicks. Lots of energy & expression.
Mary decides to nitpick his triple steps for some reason. The "fun" counter clicks up somewhere around, um, 213, I think. I stopped paying attention.
Melissa & Ade: Jazz, Sonya Tayeh. A typical "battle of the sexes" theme, looking for the rougher side of the ballerina. Um... it's okay. They dance it cleanly and skillfully, but I got none of the conflict/attraction in the performance. Strong, but just kind of there.
The judges love it. Okay.
Caitlin & Jason: Hip hop, Shane Sparks. It's the second meeting after a hook-up, I guess. Again, they do a pretty strong job, but it's definitely short on the strength and aggressive sharpness in the movements the choreography seems to want. Ehh.
Janette & Brandon: Disco, Doriana Sanchez. Oddly, she the salsa dancer is having it tough. It's a great, very strong routine and probably the best "disco" performance ever on the show. They keep the speed and energy up and are bright and snappy without being cheesy. Really well done.
Asuka & Vitolio: Waltz, Louis. In a very Louis move, the dance is inspired by Vitolio's life stroy and will be "lyrical, spiritual" and he wants Vitolio to "dance full of pain". And it's beautiful. They do a great job with great lines and excellent movement. The partnering is shaky, but the performance is awesome.
Hey, there in the audience: Marlee Maitlin.
Kayla & Max: Pop jazz, Brian Friedman. She's a princess, being romanced by a performer... okay. I get very little of that, since they're both very frantically moving everywhere. It's well-danced and clean, but they never get a chance in all the flailing to connect really.
Again, the judges much more impressed than me.
Karla & Jonathan: Contemporary, Stacey Tookey(-tooky!). An accidental romantic meeting is the theme, and wow, they do a fabulous job with it. She is so light and he is amazingly strong and centered and very expressive. It's amazing for a salsa dancer. Great expression, fantastic lifts.
Okay, we get one interesting "secret": Karla is a member of the BoogieBots, a very successful hip hop group that competed on America's Best Dance Crew. I actually remember them.
Jeanine & Phillip: Tango, Tony Meredith. A lot of lift issues in practice, what with him groping her bits and her kicking him in the nads. Nice attack in performance, lots of attitude. His frame is strong, but posture is compressed and footwork bad. She's solid, if not great, and they performed it well.
Ashley & Kupono: Hip hop, Shane Sparks. She dances as his shadow/mirror. They're having a tough time with the speed and intricacy. Performing, I see some great isolation and lots of sharp movement, and some good sync. When they get to the end with a little breakdown, I don't love it.
And the judges didn't like it overall, but liked the end. Weird.
RESULTS SHOW
Now Cat, that tailored white suit and loose hair is fabulous.
Group dance tonight is to "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder, choreographed by Mia Michaels. It is spectacular. The dancers are decked in slim black "suits" and adorned with Maori-style face tattoos. Everything about it is tightly wound, shaking-muscled tension. The movements are sharp and strong, and while it's solidly grounded, it's so restrained as opposed to Mia's usual expansive style. Love it.
Video package: "Lil' C's Dictionary of Dance". They clip together the highlights of Lil' C's comments from last night into a fun string of "flights of fancy" (as Nigel calls them). The best parts are the reactions of the choreographers, especially Shane Sparks' bewildered turn to the camera. C, for his part, is cracking up.
They whittle their way through the pack. Evan gets a surprise as we're shown a cute clip of his brother Ryan delivering an inspired a capella tap routine at Season 6 auditions earlier that week and getting a ticket to Vegas.
In the end, the bottom three couples are: Caitlin & Jason, Kayla & Max and Ashley & Kupono, a totally different lineup.
Our dance guest this week is another recycle from Superstars of Dance, traditionaly Indian dancer Amrapali Ambegaokar, she of the super-fast belled feet.
Now for solos. Caitlin's is well-danced, but doesn't engage until the end. Jason's shows great control and strength, but I don't feel it. Ashley's is nicely different and has some attitude. Kupono's is the expected quirky and light, very fun but not impressive. Kayla shows a lot of her skill and technique. Max is stuck with the usual Jive-y stuff, but does it well.
This week's musical guest is Kristinia DeBarge, performing her song "Goodbye". It's a display of throughly generic pop music, boring staging, dull costuming and bland dancing. It's about as cookie-cutter as possible, and for as little moving as she's doing, she still lip syncs.
The decisions for elimination are not unanimous, and the judges would have preferred to send home no one of these six.
Eliminated: Ashley Valerio and Max Kapitannikov.
Which leaves Kayla to dance with Kupono. Should be interesting. See you then.
...Read more
On to the couples. The theme for the intro videos is telling "secrets" about each partner-- odd anecdotes that range from projectilve vomit stories to teddy bears and as many uninteresting and boring things in between as possible.
Randi & Evan: Jive, Louis van Amstel. Apparently, Jive is Louis' favorite Latin dance, awesome. They're going for the fun, dorky side of things. In fact, the show runs a "fun" counter for each mention of the word. The routine is great with lots of speed and high knees, good kicks. Lots of energy & expression.
Mary decides to nitpick his triple steps for some reason. The "fun" counter clicks up somewhere around, um, 213, I think. I stopped paying attention.
Melissa & Ade: Jazz, Sonya Tayeh. A typical "battle of the sexes" theme, looking for the rougher side of the ballerina. Um... it's okay. They dance it cleanly and skillfully, but I got none of the conflict/attraction in the performance. Strong, but just kind of there.
The judges love it. Okay.
Caitlin & Jason: Hip hop, Shane Sparks. It's the second meeting after a hook-up, I guess. Again, they do a pretty strong job, but it's definitely short on the strength and aggressive sharpness in the movements the choreography seems to want. Ehh.
Janette & Brandon: Disco, Doriana Sanchez. Oddly, she the salsa dancer is having it tough. It's a great, very strong routine and probably the best "disco" performance ever on the show. They keep the speed and energy up and are bright and snappy without being cheesy. Really well done.
Asuka & Vitolio: Waltz, Louis. In a very Louis move, the dance is inspired by Vitolio's life stroy and will be "lyrical, spiritual" and he wants Vitolio to "dance full of pain". And it's beautiful. They do a great job with great lines and excellent movement. The partnering is shaky, but the performance is awesome.
Hey, there in the audience: Marlee Maitlin.
Kayla & Max: Pop jazz, Brian Friedman. She's a princess, being romanced by a performer... okay. I get very little of that, since they're both very frantically moving everywhere. It's well-danced and clean, but they never get a chance in all the flailing to connect really.
Again, the judges much more impressed than me.
Karla & Jonathan: Contemporary, Stacey Tookey(-tooky!). An accidental romantic meeting is the theme, and wow, they do a fabulous job with it. She is so light and he is amazingly strong and centered and very expressive. It's amazing for a salsa dancer. Great expression, fantastic lifts.
Okay, we get one interesting "secret": Karla is a member of the BoogieBots, a very successful hip hop group that competed on America's Best Dance Crew. I actually remember them.
Jeanine & Phillip: Tango, Tony Meredith. A lot of lift issues in practice, what with him groping her bits and her kicking him in the nads. Nice attack in performance, lots of attitude. His frame is strong, but posture is compressed and footwork bad. She's solid, if not great, and they performed it well.
Ashley & Kupono: Hip hop, Shane Sparks. She dances as his shadow/mirror. They're having a tough time with the speed and intricacy. Performing, I see some great isolation and lots of sharp movement, and some good sync. When they get to the end with a little breakdown, I don't love it.
And the judges didn't like it overall, but liked the end. Weird.
RESULTS SHOW
Now Cat, that tailored white suit and loose hair is fabulous.
Group dance tonight is to "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder, choreographed by Mia Michaels. It is spectacular. The dancers are decked in slim black "suits" and adorned with Maori-style face tattoos. Everything about it is tightly wound, shaking-muscled tension. The movements are sharp and strong, and while it's solidly grounded, it's so restrained as opposed to Mia's usual expansive style. Love it.
Video package: "Lil' C's Dictionary of Dance". They clip together the highlights of Lil' C's comments from last night into a fun string of "flights of fancy" (as Nigel calls them). The best parts are the reactions of the choreographers, especially Shane Sparks' bewildered turn to the camera. C, for his part, is cracking up.
They whittle their way through the pack. Evan gets a surprise as we're shown a cute clip of his brother Ryan delivering an inspired a capella tap routine at Season 6 auditions earlier that week and getting a ticket to Vegas.
In the end, the bottom three couples are: Caitlin & Jason, Kayla & Max and Ashley & Kupono, a totally different lineup.
Our dance guest this week is another recycle from Superstars of Dance, traditionaly Indian dancer Amrapali Ambegaokar, she of the super-fast belled feet.
Now for solos. Caitlin's is well-danced, but doesn't engage until the end. Jason's shows great control and strength, but I don't feel it. Ashley's is nicely different and has some attitude. Kupono's is the expected quirky and light, very fun but not impressive. Kayla shows a lot of her skill and technique. Max is stuck with the usual Jive-y stuff, but does it well.
This week's musical guest is Kristinia DeBarge, performing her song "Goodbye". It's a display of throughly generic pop music, boring staging, dull costuming and bland dancing. It's about as cookie-cutter as possible, and for as little moving as she's doing, she still lip syncs.
The decisions for elimination are not unanimous, and the judges would have preferred to send home no one of these six.
Eliminated: Ashley Valerio and Max Kapitannikov.
Which leaves Kayla to dance with Kupono. Should be interesting. See you then.
...Read more
Monday, June 15, 2009
SYTYCD - S5 Top 20
Just to reiterate, I really didn't care for Cat Deeley when this show started, but she really has grown on me and I can't now imagine SYTYCD without her. Sure, you can almost rely on there being something puzzling or just downright awful about either her hair or her dress, you can also count on the genuine affection and support she shows to the contestants. "I have new babies!" she announces happily, in fact, as she introduces our top 20. And proving my ealier assertion wrong, both her 'do and dress are quite nice tonight. Did she always have the crystal/rhinestone-ringed microphone?
The top 20 do their little moments as they're introduced. Overall, while the girls are all obviously talented and skilled, it's the guys who really impress with their diversity and tricks. Brandon gets points and winces for that split. Only Asuka and Melissa stand out for the girls, being the "oddballs" in terms of dance style.
Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel tonight is the hardest working man in showbiz, Adam Shankman, who is currently balancing his SYTYCD commitments (which sadly don't include choreographing on S5, understandably) with producing three feature films simultaneously. This includes Step Up 3D, which would be an almost instant-thumbs-down from me, but apparently features former SYTYCD'ers Twitch, Katee, Joshua, Ivan & Cedric.
On to the couples.
Jeanine & Phillip: hip hop, Napoleon & Tabitha, a theme of "don't go to bed angry". Another awesome lyrical hip hop from the duo? YES. The two of them absolutely nail the sharp edges and soft lines, she does a great job keeping up and holding her own, and he partners her well.
Mary is orange, people, and it's worse with the blonde highlights. Oh, and for those feeling like getting even closer to the resident shrieker, she joins a number of the other judges on Twitter: @HOTtamaleTrain
Asuka & Vitolio: Broadway, Wade Robson, a silent film theme. Lots of trouble locking for them, naturally. It's very cute and altogether sharp and nice and clean, but there's not enough pop of huge personality that needs to come through in an upbeat character number like this.
Karla & Jonathan: Cha Cha, Tony Meredith (sans Melanie LaPatin?). They want sexy, and alas, he's more sweaty (an affliction with which I sympathize). Good, solid, clean and fast. Karla is on my list, mugging for the camera at every moment like Lacey Schwimmer. Overall, not a good enough connection.
Randi & Evan: jazz, Tyce Diorio, an intimate romantic piece. She's married, and neither has had to act lovey before. In performance, you wouldn't know it. They're awesome, squeezing out every bit of emotion. The number is subtle and calm (a little un-Tyce). Beautiful and strong.
Paris & Tony: hip hop, Napoleon & Tabitha, hard-hitting. Tony, more of a character dancer, is having trouble being aggressive. On the floor, there are some okay stops and sharpness, but it lacks a lot of the attack and punch the music wants. The overdone too-many-pieces costumes don't help.
Caitlin & Jason: Bollywood, Nakul Dev Mahajan. Intense, fast and super-hard choreography that kills them to learn precisely. They do fantastic, keeping the energy going full-speed all through. He hits the moves a little harder, but she's a little sharper. He looks surprised by the kiss at the end.
Janette & Brandon: Foxtrot, Louis van Amstel (YAY!), evoking Fred & Ginger. They start learning easy, but then it gets challenging. They do well, with a nice feel for the music. Both light up as they leave closed hold. The lifts are solid and a little scary.
Cat wants a reaction: "Give us an eyebrow, Mary!"
Mary overshares: "I can't, not since the Botox."
Ashley & Kupono: jazz, Wade, old crash-test dummy meets new (?). High concept (Wade's specialty) is sometimes a tough sell, but they do such a great job of selling and embodying their characters through movement even in the ridiculous get-ups is awesome. Technique shines through. Very impressive.
Melissa & Ade: contemporary, Mandy Moore, theme of first love. She's the oldest competitor at 29. Yikes. They refer to one tangled-up floor move as "dirty Twister". Great chemistry between them, wonderfully connected. The lifts are terrific, and they are really feeling it. Awww.
Kayla & Max: Samba, Louis. Louis has known Max since he was 14, and speaks to him in ballroom-ese, so that Louis can concentrate on teaching Kayla and Max can help her more. Smart. It's an awesome result. She's fantastic, and the whole thing is fun and well-connected. He has great focus and good expression.
Nigel is wearing some headphones that were part of Tony's costume earlier, but Mary yanks them off to scream. In fact, she does so much she makes herself hoarse. Not permanently, alas.
RESULTS SHOW
The opening group number starts out like homeless zombies, then lets the girls get glam for some reason. It's a tight, sharp and poorly-shot (by the cameras) hip hop routine from returning favorite Shane Sparks. One of the homeless zombies holds a sign that reads "Save the dancers, save the world." Frankly, I'd actually watch Heroes if it was about super-powered dancers.
A video package talks about the four steps to a good partnership and illustrates with "amusing" clips of the dancers: 1) respect boundaries, 2) communicate, 3) respect your partner and 4) share interests.
The featured dance guests are Miriam Laricci & Leonardo Barrionuevo performing an Argentine Tango. The Wife spots them as having appeared on the disappointing Superstars of Dance last year.
They go through the couples, showing clips and doing the usual rigmarole until we learn...
Bottom three: Paris & Tony, Asuka & Vitolio, Karla & Jonathan.
Solos: Paris (good, but not particularly inspired); Tony (a retro thing that's just okay); Asuka (the usual not-great ballroom solo, but flirty); Vitolio (nice and strong, very good); Karla (very by-the-numbers bit); Jonathan (good gymnastics, not much dancing).
Nigel tweeted: "So hard to eliminate two dancers, but we are unanimous."
Eliminated are: Paris Torres & Tony Belissimo
See you next week!
...Read more
The top 20 do their little moments as they're introduced. Overall, while the girls are all obviously talented and skilled, it's the guys who really impress with their diversity and tricks. Brandon gets points and winces for that split. Only Asuka and Melissa stand out for the girls, being the "oddballs" in terms of dance style.
Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel tonight is the hardest working man in showbiz, Adam Shankman, who is currently balancing his SYTYCD commitments (which sadly don't include choreographing on S5, understandably) with producing three feature films simultaneously. This includes Step Up 3D, which would be an almost instant-thumbs-down from me, but apparently features former SYTYCD'ers Twitch, Katee, Joshua, Ivan & Cedric.
On to the couples.
Jeanine & Phillip: hip hop, Napoleon & Tabitha, a theme of "don't go to bed angry". Another awesome lyrical hip hop from the duo? YES. The two of them absolutely nail the sharp edges and soft lines, she does a great job keeping up and holding her own, and he partners her well.
Mary is orange, people, and it's worse with the blonde highlights. Oh, and for those feeling like getting even closer to the resident shrieker, she joins a number of the other judges on Twitter: @HOTtamaleTrain
Asuka & Vitolio: Broadway, Wade Robson, a silent film theme. Lots of trouble locking for them, naturally. It's very cute and altogether sharp and nice and clean, but there's not enough pop of huge personality that needs to come through in an upbeat character number like this.
Karla & Jonathan: Cha Cha, Tony Meredith (sans Melanie LaPatin?). They want sexy, and alas, he's more sweaty (an affliction with which I sympathize). Good, solid, clean and fast. Karla is on my list, mugging for the camera at every moment like Lacey Schwimmer. Overall, not a good enough connection.
Randi & Evan: jazz, Tyce Diorio, an intimate romantic piece. She's married, and neither has had to act lovey before. In performance, you wouldn't know it. They're awesome, squeezing out every bit of emotion. The number is subtle and calm (a little un-Tyce). Beautiful and strong.
Paris & Tony: hip hop, Napoleon & Tabitha, hard-hitting. Tony, more of a character dancer, is having trouble being aggressive. On the floor, there are some okay stops and sharpness, but it lacks a lot of the attack and punch the music wants. The overdone too-many-pieces costumes don't help.
Caitlin & Jason: Bollywood, Nakul Dev Mahajan. Intense, fast and super-hard choreography that kills them to learn precisely. They do fantastic, keeping the energy going full-speed all through. He hits the moves a little harder, but she's a little sharper. He looks surprised by the kiss at the end.
Janette & Brandon: Foxtrot, Louis van Amstel (YAY!), evoking Fred & Ginger. They start learning easy, but then it gets challenging. They do well, with a nice feel for the music. Both light up as they leave closed hold. The lifts are solid and a little scary.
Cat wants a reaction: "Give us an eyebrow, Mary!"
Mary overshares: "I can't, not since the Botox."
Ashley & Kupono: jazz, Wade, old crash-test dummy meets new (?). High concept (Wade's specialty) is sometimes a tough sell, but they do such a great job of selling and embodying their characters through movement even in the ridiculous get-ups is awesome. Technique shines through. Very impressive.
Melissa & Ade: contemporary, Mandy Moore, theme of first love. She's the oldest competitor at 29. Yikes. They refer to one tangled-up floor move as "dirty Twister". Great chemistry between them, wonderfully connected. The lifts are terrific, and they are really feeling it. Awww.
Kayla & Max: Samba, Louis. Louis has known Max since he was 14, and speaks to him in ballroom-ese, so that Louis can concentrate on teaching Kayla and Max can help her more. Smart. It's an awesome result. She's fantastic, and the whole thing is fun and well-connected. He has great focus and good expression.
Nigel is wearing some headphones that were part of Tony's costume earlier, but Mary yanks them off to scream. In fact, she does so much she makes herself hoarse. Not permanently, alas.
RESULTS SHOW
The opening group number starts out like homeless zombies, then lets the girls get glam for some reason. It's a tight, sharp and poorly-shot (by the cameras) hip hop routine from returning favorite Shane Sparks. One of the homeless zombies holds a sign that reads "Save the dancers, save the world." Frankly, I'd actually watch Heroes if it was about super-powered dancers.
A video package talks about the four steps to a good partnership and illustrates with "amusing" clips of the dancers: 1) respect boundaries, 2) communicate, 3) respect your partner and 4) share interests.
The featured dance guests are Miriam Laricci & Leonardo Barrionuevo performing an Argentine Tango. The Wife spots them as having appeared on the disappointing Superstars of Dance last year.
They go through the couples, showing clips and doing the usual rigmarole until we learn...
Bottom three: Paris & Tony, Asuka & Vitolio, Karla & Jonathan.
Solos: Paris (good, but not particularly inspired); Tony (a retro thing that's just okay); Asuka (the usual not-great ballroom solo, but flirty); Vitolio (nice and strong, very good); Karla (very by-the-numbers bit); Jonathan (good gymnastics, not much dancing).
Nigel tweeted: "So hard to eliminate two dancers, but we are unanimous."
Eliminated are: Paris Torres & Tony Belissimo
See you next week!
...Read more
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
SYTYCD - S5 Las Vegas week
This review would have been to you sooner, if not for a less-than-completely-tightened cap on a bottle of Coke Zero being somewhere near the papers where I jotted down my notes for last week's Las Vegas week episodes.
SYTYCD has taken over the big theater at the Planet Hollywood Resort/Casino, which I remember quite fondly as the new Aladdin. I'm really curious about how they've re-themed and re-decorated the place, and the show doesn't give us much in the way of peeks. Oh, well.
The action starts with all 178 contestants performing a solo. As usual, the show helpfully singles a few out for us, ensuring that we'll have seen maybe half of the top 20 dance by the time they're chosen. However, they pick a couple of doozys: Alex Wong, of the Miami Ballet Company, shows off his stronger side with an awesome martial arts-flavored routine; Tony Belissimo (who to me, looks like the younger brother of Sam Witwer, who plays "Doomsday" on Smallville) is a hip-hopper with a great prop-driven solo to "Somebody's Watchin' Me", complete with multiple Nigel Lythgoe pictures spying on him.
Contestants were told there "might" be a cut (well duh...) and of course, there is one. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the "you're not as good as we thought in your original cities" speech Nigel gives-- does he do that every season? Anyway, to stay through this cut, a dancer only needed one "yes". After the smoke clears, 45 dancers are sent packing, including the awesome Travis Prokop.
Time for choreography! First up to bat are Napoleon & Tabitha, with hip-hop to the Black Eyed Peas' new "Boom Boom Pow", a song that actually uses auto-tuner as a stylistic element, and not to cover up a lack of talent. Routines, we see, must be learned in one hour before being performed-- yikes.
Mia Michaels gives great quote: "I love cutting. Because I like to see people who are not good at what they do go home." DAMN. The judges make good on that ruthlessness, paring down another 37 dancers. (For those scoring at home, we're down to 96.)
The next day, Jean-Marc & France have ballroom duty, giving them a Waltz. J-M is not having any of their milling around and talking-- he's barking like a drill sergeant. Phillip Chbeeb can't stop popping even as he Waltzes well. His gal-pal Arielle is eliminated after this round, while Japanese popper Nobuya passes and cries over it.
Next routine is Jazz, done by Sonya. She's pushing them hard. Natalie and Brandon, that dynamic duo of almost-was'es are in their element, and even are made to demonstrate for everyone. However at crunch time, something in her doesn't connect like it did in practice and one of the definite front-runners from the start of the season is eliminated. Brandon makes it through. Gabi Rojas is made to "dance for her life" not five minutes after performing, and makes the cut. Our total remaining is now 73 (the show started counting down instead of keep track of cuts).
7:30 PM on that day, and the dancers are put into their groups and given their random music selections to work on throughout the night. This is probably my favorite part of Vegas week, because it puts stress not only on them as dancers, but as people and personalities. The show is, after all, looking for America's favorite dancer.
The next morning, we get video clips on a few of the groups. The first few routines pretty much suck. Nigel and the judges do most of their yelling about people giving up to rest and sleep when they weren't confident in their routines or teammates. A not-that-bad one comes up, and suddenly things get good. Or at least, that's how it was edited.
Silky Moore, a tapper, DFYL's and fails to make the cut.
Judgement Day! It's Mia's contemporary routine. What a surprise, it's intense, tough and very complicated. In an unusual move, Tony B. is asked not to DFYL, but to repeat the routine with the last group. Caitlin Kinney does DFYL and passes by 3-to-3. The Kasparczak brothers pass, as does Tony by votes. We're left with 54.
The last routines will be a bit different. Tyce Diorio comes in to do a girls' routine and a boys' routine, both inspired by West Side Story. The girls dance first, a skirt-waving high-stepper to "America", and there will be no voting until the judges have seen them all. Cut are Gabi, Megan Kinney and a less-than-graciously accepting tapper. And we're down to 16 girls.
The guys get "Cool", and are trying to emulate the pop and power of that routine, working really hard. And they're down to 16. All of those 32 will dance a solo, which for some reason or other isn't televised, and then the judges will form their top 20.
It's the elimination, and Cat Deeley has gone with a plaid flannel shirt. Okay. Again, the dancers are made to walk past video monitors of their dancing so far.
Pass: Jeanette (the Salsa jump-flip-split girl), Vitolio (the African headdress guy), Kayla (?), Kupono (formerly long-haired contemp guy), Paris (?), Janine (?), Ade (?), Karla (?), Jonathan (?)
Pass: Brandon. I single this one out because there is a damn near catfight amongst the judges over him. Mia, who has been saying all Vegas long that she has yet to see the great talent the other judges have told her about, and that she doesn't like his seemingly smug attitude. Lil'C has also remained unimpressed. Debbie Allen praises him greatly and Mary Murphy gets really close to calling out Mia, saying she (Mary) "can't stand hearing people tear [Brandon] down like this". He passes 4 to 2. Brandon promises to make Mia and Lil'C into believers, and the choreographers for their part, look like they'd relish the chance to torture him.
Pass: Tony (hip hop Doomsday), Maxim (ballroomer), Caitlin (replaced hip), Melissa (the "naughty ballerina"), Jason (?), Ashley (?), Randi (a girl who wears unitards almost exclusively and is sporting a giant diamond ring and diamond wedding band).
Cut: Randy Sun (Asuka's partner)
Pass: Phillip (popper), Asuka (Go Asians! ballroomer).
Cut: Alex Wong. Nigel makes it clear that they wanted Alex in the top 20. However, Alex is under contract with the Miami Ballet Company and despite Nigel making a personal phone call to the company's artistic director, there will be no temporarily letting him out of the contract, making Alex ineligible to compete at this time. It SUCKS.
This being reality TV of a sort, the very last elimination comes down to the Kasparczak brothers. The judges say that essentially, they could only have one of them, due to the similarity of their styles. As it turns out, the stellar choreography of the older brother helps push the younger into the top 20.
Cut: Ryan Kasparczak
Pass: Evan (classic Gene Kelly guy).
Live shows begin this Wednesday.
...Read more
SYTYCD has taken over the big theater at the Planet Hollywood Resort/Casino, which I remember quite fondly as the new Aladdin. I'm really curious about how they've re-themed and re-decorated the place, and the show doesn't give us much in the way of peeks. Oh, well.
The action starts with all 178 contestants performing a solo. As usual, the show helpfully singles a few out for us, ensuring that we'll have seen maybe half of the top 20 dance by the time they're chosen. However, they pick a couple of doozys: Alex Wong, of the Miami Ballet Company, shows off his stronger side with an awesome martial arts-flavored routine; Tony Belissimo (who to me, looks like the younger brother of Sam Witwer, who plays "Doomsday" on Smallville) is a hip-hopper with a great prop-driven solo to "Somebody's Watchin' Me", complete with multiple Nigel Lythgoe pictures spying on him.
Contestants were told there "might" be a cut (well duh...) and of course, there is one. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the "you're not as good as we thought in your original cities" speech Nigel gives-- does he do that every season? Anyway, to stay through this cut, a dancer only needed one "yes". After the smoke clears, 45 dancers are sent packing, including the awesome Travis Prokop.
Time for choreography! First up to bat are Napoleon & Tabitha, with hip-hop to the Black Eyed Peas' new "Boom Boom Pow", a song that actually uses auto-tuner as a stylistic element, and not to cover up a lack of talent. Routines, we see, must be learned in one hour before being performed-- yikes.
Mia Michaels gives great quote: "I love cutting. Because I like to see people who are not good at what they do go home." DAMN. The judges make good on that ruthlessness, paring down another 37 dancers. (For those scoring at home, we're down to 96.)
The next day, Jean-Marc & France have ballroom duty, giving them a Waltz. J-M is not having any of their milling around and talking-- he's barking like a drill sergeant. Phillip Chbeeb can't stop popping even as he Waltzes well. His gal-pal Arielle is eliminated after this round, while Japanese popper Nobuya passes and cries over it.
Next routine is Jazz, done by Sonya. She's pushing them hard. Natalie and Brandon, that dynamic duo of almost-was'es are in their element, and even are made to demonstrate for everyone. However at crunch time, something in her doesn't connect like it did in practice and one of the definite front-runners from the start of the season is eliminated. Brandon makes it through. Gabi Rojas is made to "dance for her life" not five minutes after performing, and makes the cut. Our total remaining is now 73 (the show started counting down instead of keep track of cuts).
7:30 PM on that day, and the dancers are put into their groups and given their random music selections to work on throughout the night. This is probably my favorite part of Vegas week, because it puts stress not only on them as dancers, but as people and personalities. The show is, after all, looking for America's favorite dancer.
The next morning, we get video clips on a few of the groups. The first few routines pretty much suck. Nigel and the judges do most of their yelling about people giving up to rest and sleep when they weren't confident in their routines or teammates. A not-that-bad one comes up, and suddenly things get good. Or at least, that's how it was edited.
Silky Moore, a tapper, DFYL's and fails to make the cut.
Judgement Day! It's Mia's contemporary routine. What a surprise, it's intense, tough and very complicated. In an unusual move, Tony B. is asked not to DFYL, but to repeat the routine with the last group. Caitlin Kinney does DFYL and passes by 3-to-3. The Kasparczak brothers pass, as does Tony by votes. We're left with 54.
The last routines will be a bit different. Tyce Diorio comes in to do a girls' routine and a boys' routine, both inspired by West Side Story. The girls dance first, a skirt-waving high-stepper to "America", and there will be no voting until the judges have seen them all. Cut are Gabi, Megan Kinney and a less-than-graciously accepting tapper. And we're down to 16 girls.
The guys get "Cool", and are trying to emulate the pop and power of that routine, working really hard. And they're down to 16. All of those 32 will dance a solo, which for some reason or other isn't televised, and then the judges will form their top 20.
It's the elimination, and Cat Deeley has gone with a plaid flannel shirt. Okay. Again, the dancers are made to walk past video monitors of their dancing so far.
Pass: Jeanette (the Salsa jump-flip-split girl), Vitolio (the African headdress guy), Kayla (?), Kupono (formerly long-haired contemp guy), Paris (?), Janine (?), Ade (?), Karla (?), Jonathan (?)
Pass: Brandon. I single this one out because there is a damn near catfight amongst the judges over him. Mia, who has been saying all Vegas long that she has yet to see the great talent the other judges have told her about, and that she doesn't like his seemingly smug attitude. Lil'C has also remained unimpressed. Debbie Allen praises him greatly and Mary Murphy gets really close to calling out Mia, saying she (Mary) "can't stand hearing people tear [Brandon] down like this". He passes 4 to 2. Brandon promises to make Mia and Lil'C into believers, and the choreographers for their part, look like they'd relish the chance to torture him.
Pass: Tony (hip hop Doomsday), Maxim (ballroomer), Caitlin (replaced hip), Melissa (the "naughty ballerina"), Jason (?), Ashley (?), Randi (a girl who wears unitards almost exclusively and is sporting a giant diamond ring and diamond wedding band).
Cut: Randy Sun (Asuka's partner)
Pass: Phillip (popper), Asuka (Go Asians! ballroomer).
Cut: Alex Wong. Nigel makes it clear that they wanted Alex in the top 20. However, Alex is under contract with the Miami Ballet Company and despite Nigel making a personal phone call to the company's artistic director, there will be no temporarily letting him out of the contract, making Alex ineligible to compete at this time. It SUCKS.
This being reality TV of a sort, the very last elimination comes down to the Kasparczak brothers. The judges say that essentially, they could only have one of them, due to the similarity of their styles. As it turns out, the stellar choreography of the older brother helps push the younger into the top 20.
Cut: Ryan Kasparczak
Pass: Evan (classic Gene Kelly guy).
Live shows begin this Wednesday.
...Read more
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Interim
Have yet to see last night's episode of SYTYCD, but I'll be checking it out tonight. In the meantime, I've referred to the Dancing With the Stars reviews I've done before, but here's a convenient link to them:
Eric's DWTS Reviews on LiveJournal
If you aren't following some of the SYTYCD folks on Twitter, you should.
@dizzyfeet is Nigel Lythgoe, who's the best way to keep up with show news and to get a good judges'-eyes view of things.
@kingofkrump is Lil'C, who is as interesting and intelligent in 140 characters as he is on the show.
@adammshankman is, of course, Adam Shankman, who is awesome... and, it's sad to say, going through some rough personal time. Lots of good wishes to him.
Eric's DWTS Reviews on LiveJournal
If you aren't following some of the SYTYCD folks on Twitter, you should.
@dizzyfeet is Nigel Lythgoe, who's the best way to keep up with show news and to get a good judges'-eyes view of things.
@kingofkrump is Lil'C, who is as interesting and intelligent in 140 characters as he is on the show.
@adammshankman is, of course, Adam Shankman, who is awesome... and, it's sad to say, going through some rough personal time. Lots of good wishes to him.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
SYTYCD - S5 Auditions
I think we need to call the folks at the Fox network. In between berating them for canceling the best science fiction shows of the last decade, someone really ought to tell them what "premiere" means. You see, So You Think You Can Dance aired its first episode of season 5 last week (hence, the previous post on this blog regarding Nigel's comments about... yada yada...). However, they've been referring to the episodes airing this week as the "2 Night Premiere Event". Not quite, Fox.
It's a weird thing, trying to review these audition episodes because, even by the standards of reality show competitions, they are edited and packaged right down to each second, with every frame we the audience see having been decided well in advance. This makes them pretty much the least spontaneous and surprising of all episodes, and kind of hard to get a handle on as a reviewer without just recapping.
Did anyone stand out particularly for me? Sure. Did people get my attention? Yes. Of course, they were the auditioners who were given the spotlight, the ones with video packages and interviews and lots of screen time. Very few of the folks who got a second or two in montages grabbed my interest enough to wonder who they were and how well they actually did on stage. And that's a shame, because every season, a good half or so of the eventual top 20 contestants are ones we the viewer had almost no exposure to until the end of the Las Vegas auditions.
Anyway, with the city-by-city tour episodes come and gone, I can at least lay down a few opinions on what I saw, outside of my "In defense of Nigel Lythgoe" essay.
Without fail, if they were an auditioner whose feet had graced the SYTYCD stage in a previous season and lasted at the least to Vegas, they returned to the auditions improved.
Going across the six hours of audition episodes (six cities, six hours-- are you paying attention, American Idol?) here's some of the standout moments:
*I've come to love Cat Deeley. At first, I thought she was just another duller-than-dirt too-skinny co-hostess, a la Samantha Harris, but she's become a lovable goof and kind of Den Mother to the contestants, especially in the top 20. I also greatly admire her ability to chat with some of the weirdos in the audition eps and never let them on that they're about to get humiliated.
*That zombie-breakdancing "mutation" stuff? Kind of novel to watch, but it's almost performance art. Plus, no sympathy at all when they walk out of choreography.
*Tiffany Geigel is who people should have been talking about after this episode. Born with spinal thoracic dysplasia, she is inspiring in her courage and determination, and most impressively, she's completely devoid of attitude.
*I admit, I was totally ready to write Nobuya Nagahama as a "goofy Asian loser", but then his popping/vogueing thing turns out pretty great.
*I nearly fell off the couch when Nina Estrina and Igor Zabrodin did their Cha Cha and finished with that un-ending pot-stir (I was told it's called a coffee grinder, but that's dance for you). Awesome trick.
*As a choreographer, Sonya never really blew me away. I liked her stuff, but didn't love it the way I do Mia's or Wade's, for example. As a judge, though, she's absolutely impressive for her ability to simulate orgasm whenever she likes a dancer even a little. Sheesh.
*Natalie Reid, the redhead whose roommate Katee came in third last year, has really come into her own as a dancer. She's amazing.
*Tyce Diorio as a judge was highly amusing. Whether or not he's gay, he starts out the hour with enough mannerisms to pass. However, as the day wore on and the auditions wore on him, he got more... well, Jewish is the best way I can describe the tone and almost-accent of his comments.
*Lil'C, on the other hand, continues to impress me mightily as a judge.
*Janette Manrara and Romula Villaverde returned, and she's still good. He's still, well, passable enough. She went to Vegas and got cut, and supposedly they worked on a lot of new tricks. I wonder if they worked on any, you know, other dances. We'll see in Vegas, I guess.
*Paris Torres can dance quite well, but all I could think of when I watched her was Star Trek: Voyager. That would be the sound of my geekdoms crashing.
*I thought Caitlin Kinney would be just another talented cute blonde contemporary dancer, and she was those things. However, she also had her hip reconstructed at one point, and is still a talented dancer. Whoa.
*I was also suckered by Travis Prokop, who when mentioning that his dad is a football coach, was ready to see his disapproval, but Coach Dad was awesome.
*Evan Kasparzak is still a total joy to watch. Maybe 5% of the voting demographic for this show will get his old-school Gene Kelly style, which is a shame.
*A few bad-audition quickies: the brother-sister duo look like they totally want to do Mia Michaels dancing, but have zero training, which... well, trainwreck; the heavy-set girl got some excellent notes and the show did not mock her for her size, so yay; and I want to know what "fairy medicine" that one girl was taking.
*I love Adam Shankman. Beyond the fun he brings to judging and his spectacular choreography, now he gets up to do some swing with an auditioner. It's especially hilarious when Nigel makes him step to the mic and replaces the panel with former competitors Joshua (last year's champ), Katee, Lauren and Comfort, who do a fine job of being grave and serious as they consider him. He bursts through the doors with a Vegas ticket in hand, spazzing out and screaming to beat the band. Awesome.
*You are correct, Asuka Kondoh and Ricky Sun, people do not think of Asians when they think of Latin dancing. But damn, if that wasn't a freaking great performance. Ricky was strong and masculine without that fakey machismo crap that a lot of Latin dancers put on and she was just fantastic, both in technique and lots of personality. Go Asians!
*Nathan Trasoras was a wonderful contemporary dancer, with some of the most stunning turns I've ever seen. Since he's 17, Nigel gives him a Vegas ticket with a note attached, essentially giving him a bye for season 6, which will air this September (auditions going on now!).
*Popper Phillip Chbeeb, who missed out on being a contestant when he got pneumonia in Vegas, gets a pass, but stays around to perform with lyrical dancer Arielle Coker, his (girl?)friend. Their duet routine is just wonderful. They're adorable dancing it, they're having so much fun, and the blend between her contemporary and his popping works beautifully.
*Um, someone tell "Shakiro" that almost no one can make tight white jeans look good.
*Leonid Knyshov would have been just another annoying bad auditioner, but then gift-from-the-heavens Mia Michaels comes up with the idea that he should dance battle David "Sex" Sollar. After "Sex" confers with his exceptionally creepy mother, the battle begins, and it is a mercifully short display of epic fail vs. epic fail. In the end, Leonid triumphs by a judge vote of 2 to 1 based on his greater stamina and ability to jump up a few inches and turn a complete revolution awkwardly. However, in order to give "Sex" a reality check, they're sending him to choreography which for my money is still a mistake, since it inflicts his awfulness on some innocent partner. He's cut, of course, but it's clear he intends to perpetrate this crap on us again.
On his Twitter, Nigel insists this is the last we've seen of "Sex" (who Nigel, to his credit, steadfastly refuses to refer to as anything but David). Since nothing to that end was explicitly said, can we hope the producers will turn him away from the auditions in the future?
*Also, after the actual audition days, Nigel tweeted that Seattle was the worst group of auditions he'd ever seen, and considering it seems about just 14 or 15 people from both days were Vegas-bound, I think it's safe to say SYTYCD won't be returning.
In total, we'll see 177 hopefuls next week get whittled down mercilessly to 20.
See you then.
...Read more
It's a weird thing, trying to review these audition episodes because, even by the standards of reality show competitions, they are edited and packaged right down to each second, with every frame we the audience see having been decided well in advance. This makes them pretty much the least spontaneous and surprising of all episodes, and kind of hard to get a handle on as a reviewer without just recapping.
Did anyone stand out particularly for me? Sure. Did people get my attention? Yes. Of course, they were the auditioners who were given the spotlight, the ones with video packages and interviews and lots of screen time. Very few of the folks who got a second or two in montages grabbed my interest enough to wonder who they were and how well they actually did on stage. And that's a shame, because every season, a good half or so of the eventual top 20 contestants are ones we the viewer had almost no exposure to until the end of the Las Vegas auditions.
Anyway, with the city-by-city tour episodes come and gone, I can at least lay down a few opinions on what I saw, outside of my "In defense of Nigel Lythgoe" essay.
Without fail, if they were an auditioner whose feet had graced the SYTYCD stage in a previous season and lasted at the least to Vegas, they returned to the auditions improved.
Going across the six hours of audition episodes (six cities, six hours-- are you paying attention, American Idol?) here's some of the standout moments:
*I've come to love Cat Deeley. At first, I thought she was just another duller-than-dirt too-skinny co-hostess, a la Samantha Harris, but she's become a lovable goof and kind of Den Mother to the contestants, especially in the top 20. I also greatly admire her ability to chat with some of the weirdos in the audition eps and never let them on that they're about to get humiliated.
*That zombie-breakdancing "mutation" stuff? Kind of novel to watch, but it's almost performance art. Plus, no sympathy at all when they walk out of choreography.
*Tiffany Geigel is who people should have been talking about after this episode. Born with spinal thoracic dysplasia, she is inspiring in her courage and determination, and most impressively, she's completely devoid of attitude.
*I admit, I was totally ready to write Nobuya Nagahama as a "goofy Asian loser", but then his popping/vogueing thing turns out pretty great.
*I nearly fell off the couch when Nina Estrina and Igor Zabrodin did their Cha Cha and finished with that un-ending pot-stir (I was told it's called a coffee grinder, but that's dance for you). Awesome trick.
*As a choreographer, Sonya never really blew me away. I liked her stuff, but didn't love it the way I do Mia's or Wade's, for example. As a judge, though, she's absolutely impressive for her ability to simulate orgasm whenever she likes a dancer even a little. Sheesh.
*Natalie Reid, the redhead whose roommate Katee came in third last year, has really come into her own as a dancer. She's amazing.
*Tyce Diorio as a judge was highly amusing. Whether or not he's gay, he starts out the hour with enough mannerisms to pass. However, as the day wore on and the auditions wore on him, he got more... well, Jewish is the best way I can describe the tone and almost-accent of his comments.
*Lil'C, on the other hand, continues to impress me mightily as a judge.
*Janette Manrara and Romula Villaverde returned, and she's still good. He's still, well, passable enough. She went to Vegas and got cut, and supposedly they worked on a lot of new tricks. I wonder if they worked on any, you know, other dances. We'll see in Vegas, I guess.
*Paris Torres can dance quite well, but all I could think of when I watched her was Star Trek: Voyager. That would be the sound of my geekdoms crashing.
*I thought Caitlin Kinney would be just another talented cute blonde contemporary dancer, and she was those things. However, she also had her hip reconstructed at one point, and is still a talented dancer. Whoa.
*I was also suckered by Travis Prokop, who when mentioning that his dad is a football coach, was ready to see his disapproval, but Coach Dad was awesome.
*Evan Kasparzak is still a total joy to watch. Maybe 5% of the voting demographic for this show will get his old-school Gene Kelly style, which is a shame.
*A few bad-audition quickies: the brother-sister duo look like they totally want to do Mia Michaels dancing, but have zero training, which... well, trainwreck; the heavy-set girl got some excellent notes and the show did not mock her for her size, so yay; and I want to know what "fairy medicine" that one girl was taking.
*I love Adam Shankman. Beyond the fun he brings to judging and his spectacular choreography, now he gets up to do some swing with an auditioner. It's especially hilarious when Nigel makes him step to the mic and replaces the panel with former competitors Joshua (last year's champ), Katee, Lauren and Comfort, who do a fine job of being grave and serious as they consider him. He bursts through the doors with a Vegas ticket in hand, spazzing out and screaming to beat the band. Awesome.
*You are correct, Asuka Kondoh and Ricky Sun, people do not think of Asians when they think of Latin dancing. But damn, if that wasn't a freaking great performance. Ricky was strong and masculine without that fakey machismo crap that a lot of Latin dancers put on and she was just fantastic, both in technique and lots of personality. Go Asians!
*Nathan Trasoras was a wonderful contemporary dancer, with some of the most stunning turns I've ever seen. Since he's 17, Nigel gives him a Vegas ticket with a note attached, essentially giving him a bye for season 6, which will air this September (auditions going on now!).
*Popper Phillip Chbeeb, who missed out on being a contestant when he got pneumonia in Vegas, gets a pass, but stays around to perform with lyrical dancer Arielle Coker, his (girl?)friend. Their duet routine is just wonderful. They're adorable dancing it, they're having so much fun, and the blend between her contemporary and his popping works beautifully.
*Um, someone tell "Shakiro" that almost no one can make tight white jeans look good.
*Leonid Knyshov would have been just another annoying bad auditioner, but then gift-from-the-heavens Mia Michaels comes up with the idea that he should dance battle David "Sex" Sollar. After "Sex" confers with his exceptionally creepy mother, the battle begins, and it is a mercifully short display of epic fail vs. epic fail. In the end, Leonid triumphs by a judge vote of 2 to 1 based on his greater stamina and ability to jump up a few inches and turn a complete revolution awkwardly. However, in order to give "Sex" a reality check, they're sending him to choreography which for my money is still a mistake, since it inflicts his awfulness on some innocent partner. He's cut, of course, but it's clear he intends to perpetrate this crap on us again.
On his Twitter, Nigel insists this is the last we've seen of "Sex" (who Nigel, to his credit, steadfastly refuses to refer to as anything but David). Since nothing to that end was explicitly said, can we hope the producers will turn him away from the auditions in the future?
*Also, after the actual audition days, Nigel tweeted that Seattle was the worst group of auditions he'd ever seen, and considering it seems about just 14 or 15 people from both days were Vegas-bound, I think it's safe to say SYTYCD won't be returning.
In total, we'll see 177 hopefuls next week get whittled down mercilessly to 20.
See you then.
...Read more
Friday, May 22, 2009
Inauspicious Beginnings?
This wasn't supposed to be the first post in this blog. When I got the idea to add this particular journal, it was intended to be the new home for my laboriously long Dancing with the Stars reviews and my newly-commissioned So You Think You Can Dance reviews (and it still will be, this particular entry aside). But I've been watching something happen out there in the electronic ether, and I really feel like commenting.
Last night, I watched the first episode of the fifth season of SYTYCD. As is typical, it's the first of two or three weeks' worth of preliminary auditions, taped in a half dozen cities around the country. I've only really got a few things to say on the episode itself and the dancing and dancers therein, but in fine internet tradition, controversy has exploded in a matter of less than half a day.
On last night's episode, a pair of men auditioned for the judging panel. Their chosen style was ballroom dancing (specifically, they were performing a Samba), and they were dancing as partners. The two did their dance, and then waited for comments and to discover their fates.
Head judge and co-Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe, judge and ballroom professional Mary Murphy and choreographer Sonya Tayeh gave their opinions, all of them at least in general agreeing that they had difficulties with judging and appreciating the performance because the two men were doing a dance traditionally done by a male and female partnership. Mary had trouble with the fact that the two were constantly switching the roles of leader and follower, and that if they had stuck to just one each, she would not have been so distracted trying to follow the dancing. Sonya indicated that by having two male presences dance in that manner, she missed the typical male/female tension typical of the dance style.
Nigel's comments, which are garnering almost all of the ire, were that he believed the concept of same-sex ballroom dancing would "alienate some of [the show's] viewers" and that he personally did not care for the presentation. Lythgoe is being vilified at the moment as a homophobe for these comments. As an ballroom dancing enthusiast and former professional instructor as well as a fan of the show, I have to call the majority of the criticism unfair and reactionary.
Firstly, Nigel was being, I believe, pragmatic when it came to the audience appeal of same-sex ballroom dancing. While yes, the country on the average is growing more accepting of homosexual relationships, the continuing battle over such topics as same-sex marriage clearly indicate that this opinion is not universal. And as a producer, Nigel must also keep in his priorities the possible marketability of those accepted as contestants. Of all the offense being taken by his comments, this one I can at least understand. It's an unfortunate situation that not all people can accept all other people, but it is a fact.
Lythgoe's personal preferences, however, are also under attack, and I have to go on record as agreeing with him. In the recent hours, Nigel has clarified some of his stance, indicating the specific reasons he did not personally care for the performance. Primarily, he has a dislike for what he terms "effeminate" dancing from men. He's stated this numerous times on the show, and I agree. For my money, it's a case of mechanics. The male body, on the average, is to me more suited to graceful demonstrations of power and strength, while the less angular female body lends itself more strongly to fluid, extended movements. This is not to say that female dancers cannot be powerful and males cannot be fluid, only that my aesthetic sense finds them working better in those roles.
On the subject of same-sex ballroom dancing specifically, I also can't fault Nigel's opinion. The dances themselves are originally based on, and so have always been structured around, a male-female couple. By their design and construction, they are intended to take advantage of the presence of either tension or cooperation specifically between opposite sexes. Watching the performance, even though whichever dancer was following adopted distinctly and characteristically feminine movements of arms and hands, I found that dynamic lacking.
So You Think You Can Dance is not a program that shies away from dancers of the same sex dancing as a pair. In the later rounds, two men and two women will dance as teams, either in cooperative or confrontational themes for their dances. In fact, in two instance on that very episode, teams of two men were passed on to the "choreography" round of auditions (or, specifically, one pair-- the "mutation" dancers and a single man who had danced in tandem with his brother who was too young to be accepted as a contestant).
The ballroom couple in question were, I believe, treated entirely fairly as dancers. Technically speaking, their dancing was passable, but not extraordinary, and they did fall during the routine. Deciding that they could not adequately judge their dancing based on the routine, both men were passed to the choreography round where they would be split up and assigned female partners in order to gauge their ability to dance in that mode, as well as deal with other styles of dance that would be utilized. As it turns out, on the basis of their performance in that round, neither of the men were passed on to the final auditions in Las Vegas.
All in all, I have to consider this yet another online tempest in a teacup. Detractors are overreacting to comments made in a specific context, and are both ignoring that context and reading more into the comments than I believe was intended.
...Read more
Last night, I watched the first episode of the fifth season of SYTYCD. As is typical, it's the first of two or three weeks' worth of preliminary auditions, taped in a half dozen cities around the country. I've only really got a few things to say on the episode itself and the dancing and dancers therein, but in fine internet tradition, controversy has exploded in a matter of less than half a day.
On last night's episode, a pair of men auditioned for the judging panel. Their chosen style was ballroom dancing (specifically, they were performing a Samba), and they were dancing as partners. The two did their dance, and then waited for comments and to discover their fates.
Head judge and co-Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe, judge and ballroom professional Mary Murphy and choreographer Sonya Tayeh gave their opinions, all of them at least in general agreeing that they had difficulties with judging and appreciating the performance because the two men were doing a dance traditionally done by a male and female partnership. Mary had trouble with the fact that the two were constantly switching the roles of leader and follower, and that if they had stuck to just one each, she would not have been so distracted trying to follow the dancing. Sonya indicated that by having two male presences dance in that manner, she missed the typical male/female tension typical of the dance style.
Nigel's comments, which are garnering almost all of the ire, were that he believed the concept of same-sex ballroom dancing would "alienate some of [the show's] viewers" and that he personally did not care for the presentation. Lythgoe is being vilified at the moment as a homophobe for these comments. As an ballroom dancing enthusiast and former professional instructor as well as a fan of the show, I have to call the majority of the criticism unfair and reactionary.
Firstly, Nigel was being, I believe, pragmatic when it came to the audience appeal of same-sex ballroom dancing. While yes, the country on the average is growing more accepting of homosexual relationships, the continuing battle over such topics as same-sex marriage clearly indicate that this opinion is not universal. And as a producer, Nigel must also keep in his priorities the possible marketability of those accepted as contestants. Of all the offense being taken by his comments, this one I can at least understand. It's an unfortunate situation that not all people can accept all other people, but it is a fact.
Lythgoe's personal preferences, however, are also under attack, and I have to go on record as agreeing with him. In the recent hours, Nigel has clarified some of his stance, indicating the specific reasons he did not personally care for the performance. Primarily, he has a dislike for what he terms "effeminate" dancing from men. He's stated this numerous times on the show, and I agree. For my money, it's a case of mechanics. The male body, on the average, is to me more suited to graceful demonstrations of power and strength, while the less angular female body lends itself more strongly to fluid, extended movements. This is not to say that female dancers cannot be powerful and males cannot be fluid, only that my aesthetic sense finds them working better in those roles.
On the subject of same-sex ballroom dancing specifically, I also can't fault Nigel's opinion. The dances themselves are originally based on, and so have always been structured around, a male-female couple. By their design and construction, they are intended to take advantage of the presence of either tension or cooperation specifically between opposite sexes. Watching the performance, even though whichever dancer was following adopted distinctly and characteristically feminine movements of arms and hands, I found that dynamic lacking.
So You Think You Can Dance is not a program that shies away from dancers of the same sex dancing as a pair. In the later rounds, two men and two women will dance as teams, either in cooperative or confrontational themes for their dances. In fact, in two instance on that very episode, teams of two men were passed on to the "choreography" round of auditions (or, specifically, one pair-- the "mutation" dancers and a single man who had danced in tandem with his brother who was too young to be accepted as a contestant).
The ballroom couple in question were, I believe, treated entirely fairly as dancers. Technically speaking, their dancing was passable, but not extraordinary, and they did fall during the routine. Deciding that they could not adequately judge their dancing based on the routine, both men were passed to the choreography round where they would be split up and assigned female partners in order to gauge their ability to dance in that mode, as well as deal with other styles of dance that would be utilized. As it turns out, on the basis of their performance in that round, neither of the men were passed on to the final auditions in Las Vegas.
All in all, I have to consider this yet another online tempest in a teacup. Detractors are overreacting to comments made in a specific context, and are both ignoring that context and reading more into the comments than I believe was intended.
...Read more
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
