Mia Michaels Leaving SYTYCD
Some surprising news coming out of the SYTYCD world today. If you all haven’t heard, Mia Michaels took to her Twitter yesterday to announce that she’s leaving our beloved show after 5 years. The reaction has been intense. Many people feel that the show won’t be the same without Mia, which is definitely true. Over the seasons, her pieces have been among the most memorable ones ever performed. Just think about these…
-AshlĂ© and Melody’s Message in a Bottle dance
-Travis and Heidi’s Bench dance
-season 2 group routine to “Hide and Seek”
-Lacey and Kameron’s week 1 contemporary
-her tribute to her father danced by Lacey and Neil
-Danny and Neil’s Dance of the Princes
-Chelsie and Mark’s “what would Tim Burton’s wedding look like?”
-Kherington and Twitch’s dance on the bed
-Katee and Joshua’s Hometown Glory dance
-Twitch and Katee’s Door dance
-Evan and Randi’s Butt dance
-Kupono and Kayla’s Addiction dance
these are a selection of Mia’s best dances, but there are obviously more. It’s pretty obvious this show has meant a lot to Mia, she’s an Emmy winner because of SYTYCD.
For an opposing opinion, check out this article from Entertainment Weekly online, the writer makes some good points about there being plenty of great choreographers that can fill the void left by Mia.
what do you guys think?! is the hole Mia leaves too big to be filled by people like Travis, Benji, and Sonya? And what have been your favorite Mia Michaels pieces over the 5 seasons of SYTYCD?
My apologies for not getting this up earlier. Margaret was all over it, but I’m out of state taking care of some family issues and couldn’t get it up sooner.
Anyway, I’m quite shocked by this announcement. Seems odd coming mid season too. I’d love to know what all went on behind the scenes.
I don’t think the show is lost without Mia Michaels, however, it will miss some flavor. However, Travis Wall should fill in nicely in many ways. I don’t particularly like Mia, but I love her choreography. So, it will be sad to see her go.
Ok, there’s my thoughts.
Wow. That IS a strange piece of news, especially considering the timing. My thoughts echo John’s in a way. Sometimes I really enjoy Mia’s personality (and sometimes I don’t), but I almost always dig her choreography. I’m excited to see more of Travis and other SYTYCD alum stepping into her shoes, so I think the show will still be surprising and interesting. Though there were two new-ish female choreographers last seasons that I didn’t really love all that much, so that kinda sucks. More Wade Robeson, I hope…
Do you think that explains why Mia was all Zen on the Vegas dancers, unexpectedly? Maybe she wanted leave on a nurturing note rather than a torturing one. Or maybe it was simply because it was really, really funny that everyone was terrified of her routine and while it was hard, she was very much Earth-mother-y (in the segments at least).
Hmmmm.
The only positives that I’m trying to think of is featuring Sonya a bit more and maybe expanding on Tyce’s contemporary ideas. More Stacey Tookey and Wade Robson.
I think another favorite dance is the Season 3 top 10 group dance “the moment I said it.”
I’m hoping she’ll come back as a “guest” choreographer. She’s one of those shoe ins like Wade where their choreography plays on a dancer’s strength enough to shadow the performance.
I can’t believe this!!! True, there are probably lots more choreographers who can produce pieces of the same – or even better – standards than Mia. But nothing can fill the void when Mia leaves! Just look at all the impact Mia’s left on the dancers. Vegas’ choreo left dancers crying! There are so many dancers out there who are looking forward to working with her through SYTYCD. And if she’s no longer on SYTYCD, I have no idea where I can look for her works!!!
The thing about SYTYCD is that as a choreographer, you can only allow the dancers like a week (actually less than that) to get the steps. And the end results are normally less than stellar. I wonder if this is one of the reasons she’s leaving~~~
I had the same thought as Emilie…about why she seemed nice during vegas week. Maybe she will just take the season off…but I will miss her.
Oh Wow! So sad! (Well sad in this viewer’s perspective). Mia can be grating most of the time – but there’s no denying her work is the some of the best there is.
I’m echoing here with the first two comments, but I wonder what else she’s got on her plate that would prompt her to up and leave in the middle of the season?
I, for one am holding out for “So You Think You Can Choreograph”. LOL
when i first saw this on Twitter yesterday, i had to do a double take of this post. I’m really bummed about her leaving the show. I always look forward to her routines. She breathes life into every dance she creates. Actually, I can’t recall a routine that I didn’t like. I did also read that EW article, and I agree that this can allow for some more choreographers to come in. I’ve enjoyed Stacey Tookey’s routines, as well as Travis’s. I read on his twitter that he is choreographing something for the first performance show – so that’s exciting. Hopefully he continues throughout the season.
Mia will surely be missed. I noticed she said she’s leaving the US show in particular, so i wonder if she is going full time on sytycd in another region – or if its the show altogether.
In other Mia news, there was a great article/interview with her in the LA Times that was really interesting – and gives you some more insight into the mind of EAWMM. here’s the link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/10/so-you-think-you-can-dance-dance-chat-with-mia-michaels.html
Even though she can be really blunt and harsh and uses most adjectives in the opposite meaning – she is certainly a big part of the show.
hmmm…..maybe some other past contestants could step in as well??
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Did she say why she’s leaving? Do you think it had anything to do with Adam getting a permanent gig and not her? Doesn’t bother me she’s leaving. It’ll give some others like Travis and Tookey a chance.
I hate when shows like AI and SYTYCD focus on the judges. AI isn’t about Paula, and SYTYCD isn’t about Mia. It’s about these kids who get out there and lay their heart on the line. That’s why I watch.
I’m heartbroken. Doubly so, considering that we aren’t just losing a genius choreographer, but an insightful judge. Sometimes she can be catty, but her critiques are usually the most honest and helpful to the dancers. I always looked forward to seeing her work on the show and I’m not sure if anyone will be able to fill her shoes. Sure, other choreographers may fill the genre, but there is no replacement for Mia Michaels. Her pieces are generally the standouts for the season, and she will definitely be missed.
I’m totally with you, Mandy. I know that everyone was all over her last season for how much she said she couldn’t stand Brandon, but his reaction when she told him during the show how brilliant and powerful she thought he was stands out as one of the highlights of season 5. I think there are some great choreographers waiting in the wings like Travis, Stacey Tookey (if you can, check out the routine she did for Tara-Jean and Vincent from this past week of SYTYCD Canada, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen from her, it’s fabulous). However, losing her as a judge and a choreographer definitely stings. Looking back at her vegas episode from season 6, the “earth-mothery” tone you guys are talking about kinda makes more sense now. I do hope she will come back to judge at some point.
I’ve always thought Mia was a great choreographer and always looked forward to her routines. I know there are other capable choreographer’s out there (Travis, Stacey), and am excited to see what they produce, but I will miss her routines. Personality wise, she was either nice and fun or mean. Sometimes she had good comments, other times she didn’t. I don’t know that I will miss her too much being a judge, esp w/ Adam being a perm judge now, but I hope she can come back and choreograph again.
I’m stunned and no, I don’t think she can be replaced. Lots of people have said that Sonja could replace her but Sonja is still too young and too uneven – nowhere near Mia’s level. Maybe they thought she was too critical of the show in her L.A. Times interview? I didn’t think so. I am sure this was why she changed her behavior so drastically when teaching her choreography in Vegas (and at the time, though I was bewildered by the switch, I sure welcomed it, and I think the dancers did better than usual as a result of it). The show will be hurt by the lack of her choreography. And yes, where on earth will we see her work, if not there? Wish this had not happened. There are such passionate dancers this time around and I can only imagine what they could bring to her dances.
does anyone know why she has decided to leave!? sorry if someone posted the answer to that already, i haven’t read through the posts yet!