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14 responses to "Best New Choreographer – SYTYCD Season 5 “EmMandy” Awards"

1. # Kaytii Angel commented on August 19th, 2009:

   Travis is the favorite of my daughter and me. For us it doesn’t have anything to do with him being a former contestant. He’s simply a beautiful dancer and gifted choreographer.

   You cracked me up with your reason for choosing the Russian Folk choreographers! i thought it was a great dance but just not understood as well as other forms of dance. Ball room was hard for some people to get in the beginning.

   I wanted to see the African dance in the finale!

2. # Ronnica commented on August 19th, 2009:

   I must admit, I wasn’t a huge fan of Travis as a contestant. I don’t tend to favor male contemporary dancers. But, I LOVED the piece he choreographed for Jeanine and Jason.

3. # Julia commented on August 19th, 2009:

   Wasn’t this Louis van Amstel’s first season too? Or am I completely mistaken?

4. # Chelsea Rae commented on August 19th, 2009:

   I love Stacey Tookey and completely agree that Falling Slowly should have been on the finale, but I would have awarded this to Travis. I think his choreography stands up regardless of his status as a former competitor and I can see him making a name for himself aside from his dancing abilities.

5. # Stephanie commented on August 19th, 2009:

   I completely agree with you, Mandy. Stacey Tookey was a very pleasant surprise. Her partner-work in “Falling Slowly” was very interesting. I was surprised it didn’t make it to the finale (especially since Asuka and Vitolio’s waltz did.)

   As for Travis, I look forward to watching him mature as a choreographer. I enjoyed his first piece, but wasn’t really into the group number he did. It feels like he’s just starting to stretch his choreographic muscles…whereas Stacey is more comfortable with her art.

   What about Laurie Ann Gibson? Isn’t she new, too? What about Brian Friedman? I know he’s been a judge, but has he choreographed before?

6. # Mandy commented on August 19th, 2009:

   You know what? I TOTALLY forgot about Laurie Ann. Oops! I’ll just say that I love her work and her hard-hitting attitude, she seems like the type to push a dancer farther than they ever thought possible, much like Mia. As for Brian, I liked his work a lot but wasn’t sure whether he was new or not, the judges never mentioned it.

7. # Christine commented on August 19th, 2009:

   Yea wasn’t there an african guy? Jeffrey…? As Nigel said “new addition to the SYTYCD family”

   Stephanie:
   Brian Friedman has choreographed before but more in the earlier seasons before he went missing. I recall in season 2 he choreographed a contemporary piece for Jessica and Jaymz (no pun intended). Jessica was, can you believe, a ballerina and Jaymz…well contemporary for the most part. They danced to one of my favorite songs “Let go” by Imogen Heap or Frou Frou at the time. Makes me want to watch it if i can find it.
   He’s also done some choreography in past shows but that’s the only one i distinctly remember. You could always Wiki it! He’s probably one of the more underrated choreographers because like Mia, they can be a little misunderstood. (aliens impregnanting humans???)

   I kind of miss Dave Scott’s choreo; I haven’t seen him for a while.

   Mandy:
   I agree that Stacey Tookey was probably the best new choreographer. Hopefully she didn’t pull out all of her tricks already since this season was full of contemporary dancers. But I guess that helps challenge choreographers.

8. # John commented on August 19th, 2009:

   I remember saying a couple times “who choreographed this again?” and then I’d remember that it was Stacey. Definitely was my favorite new choreographer this season.

9. # Margaret commented on August 20th, 2009:

   I thought both of Stacey’s pieces were super strong this season, after she did Falling Slowly I kept waiting for her to pop up again, it’s a shame she could only choreograph twice this season. hopefully we’ll see her more.
   louis isn’t exactly a new name to audiences because of his work on Dancing with the Stars, but he’s new to the SYTYCD community, and he certainly pulled out all the stops with his routines. not many people could create max and kayla’s samba from the 1st week, really trusting in those 2 dancers that they could pull it off. I thought he did some great pieces this season, and hope that the SYTYCD community embraces him (the judges certainly did, 3 of his pieces were performed again on the finale!)

10. # brandy commented on August 20th, 2009:

    laurie ann is new, but brian friedman has choreographed before. what about joey who did broadway – she was new as well.

11. # Mandy commented on August 20th, 2009:

    I didn’t know Joey was new…they talked about her like she was a regular. Anyways, I wouldn’t put her on any of my “best” lists. In a later post I talk about the Dance at the Gym. I love Broadway, as I make my living off of it, but there’s just something I don’t like about her choreography. And her teaching methods. If she goes so fast that even the amazing all-stars on SYTYCD can’t keep up, then she needs to learn to teach. It’s as important as the actual choreography.

12. # Mandy commented on August 20th, 2009:

    And re: Christine, I only considered new partner choreographers.

13. # John commented on August 20th, 2009:

    Margaret,
    Looks like Louis might not be back for SYTYCD season 6 since he’s on the cast of pros on Dancing with the Stars season 9. Unless he can somehow fit both of them in at the same time.

14. # Kaytii Angel commented on August 25th, 2009:

    I loved Jeffrey! I wish his African number had made it on the finale. Evan did a great job keeping up. I’m so excited to see what numbers they do on tour!