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Dizzy Feet Gala Experience

I’m really excited to be able to post about the Dizzy Feet Gala. Thanks to Dona whom I know from my work with Pure Derek Hough, I received the following blog post about Katie’s experience at the Dizzy Feet Gala. Sounds like she had a wonderful time. I’m regretting that I didn’t head to LA to be there myself. I guess there’s always next time. Thanks Dona (and it seems like Dona’s friend Dee as well) and Katie for the information about the event.

Dizzy Feet Gala Blog by Katie
What an amazing night tonight was!!!!!! It was filled with high energy, great music, dances and well deserved awards to some inspiring people to continue to give back to this world what it mostly needs; the gift of art and all its creativity through dance!

From memorable dances from the So You think You Can Dance seasons, to the all so entertaining routines from Dancing With The Stars, a collective group of people came together today to celebrate its first Dizzy Feet Foundation gala.

My friend and I were privileged enough to see the works of some brilliant choreographers tonight!! And the seats were amazing! I think you couldn’t go wrong with sitting anywhere really. The structure of the place is done so thoughtfully that wherever you were, you would have a great view!

Derek and Cheryl from DWTS danced a great Cha Cha Cha, getting the audience excited with a great opening number, and making the audience want more. Derek and Cheryl definitely seemed like they were enjoying their night; however later we found out that the dance was put together earlier this morning. I say fantastic job for a time crunch. You wouldn’t have even thought for a second otherwise.
Lacey Schwimmer and Lance Bass also graced the dance floor tonight. Being such huge fans of both Dancing With The Stars, as well as So You Think You Can Dance, we were thrilled to bits when a Travis Wall routine was picked for the night. Jason and Jeanine’s Necklace routine had the room applauding, it was an exact replica of the performance piece shown on the show only a billion times better watching it live.

However, I have to say the standing ovation and the only standing ovation of the night, was from MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew: Quest Crew. I have had the opportunity to watch them perform live a couple of months ago at a benefit concert, and while the routine was the same as before, the atmosphere and the energy in the room was significantly different. In such a wide spread audience of all ages and walks of life, it was tremendous to see the older lady a few rows in front of us stand up and clap for these extremely talented individuals. From a little bit of Hip Hop to a little bit of Pop from Ms. Britney Spears, it seemed that they covered all aspects and types of genres in the musical field in their 3 plus minute routine. It was well deserved and exciting to watch the whole Kodak Theatre stand up and praise them with applause.

Some other highlights of the night included routines from Katee and Joshua doing their “No Air” routine, Mark Ballas and Kristi Yamaguchi doing their jive, and Cheryl and Gilles performing their Tango from Dancing With The Stars.

I have to say some of the routines that definitely stuck with both myself and my guest for the night were those that were Emmy winning performances from the So You Think You Can Dance performers:

Melissa and Ade’s Breast Cancer piece, done beautifully by Tyce Diorio, was also performed for us as well as Mia Michael’s Addiction piece that took our breaths away.

Along with phenomenally breath taking pieces performed by some of our favorite dancers. As Adam Shankman stated “this night was like the Stones for reality TV junkies”. There was talent from a young boy doing Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean routine and performing the Moon Walk, to witnessing what this important foundation is all about. Watching the recipients of the awards given out, I was truly blessed and also deeply saddened that children around the world who could become great simply do not have the resources to do so in their schools and community.

Being apart of something so wonderful was an absolute pleasure and left me wondering what I CAN DO to help. After all, is that what this whole event was all about? Finding a way to help and keep these programs ongoing so that our children and for more generations to come can also experience what I was able to this very night, because of the hard dedication and talent of such amazing individuals that did find an opportunity?

Here’s more information about the Dizzy Feet Foundation: http://www.dizzyfeetfoundation.org/
I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get any pictures. It was just really difficult to keep any lighting on (whether from my iPhone or camera) hidden as much as possible or away so as not to disturb the people around me. I didn’t want to be “ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE” LOL

I did however pull out my camera at the last minute and recorded the BH “move” finale where all the dancers came up on stage after what seemed like the first verse. I apologize for any shakiness or anything like that. Here’s my dizzy feet gala video on youtube:

We tried to stick around for a good hour after the show to see if we could catch Derek. We actually ran into Mark while walking around, however there were so many people around, and he was carrying around a suitcase, we figured he had to go or was just in for a short stop from a flight perhaps, and in no way did we want to keep him any longer. Plus, we were both on the hunt for Derek. Unfortunately, it seemed that either he had already left or found some other exit we were not at 🙁

This isn’t much, but I sort of just started writing once I got home and wanted to share a little bit with you guys. Awww I wish the night could come back. lol I miss it already! hahahaha

I hope I did it some sort of justice for those who couldn’t go : (Again, I had the most amazing time and I want to just thank Dona and Dee for the tickets.)

November 30, 2009 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

Dizzy Feet Event in LA 11/29

Rickey.org just posted some great pictures from the Dizzy Feet event in LA that happened Nov. 29th. It included the 5Alive kids as well as stars from DWTS (including S3’s Lacey) and ABDC (with S1’s Ryan and S3’s Hok and Dominic). Thanks Rickey for posting this, man I wish I could have been there!

DIZZY FEET CELEBRATION OF DANCE

here’s an interview with Qwest, with most of the questions aimed at D-Trix (Dominic) he’s awesome!

dances done included “No Air”, “If It Kills Me”, and “Addiction” as well as Ade and Melissa’s Breast Cancer routine, as well as performances from Cheryl and Derek from DWTS and Lacey’s samba with Lance Bass from S7 of DWTS. Qwest rocked it out, as did the three leading ladies from the Step Up films, as introduced by their male counterparts.

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Longer Dances on SYTYCD

I’ve been thinking what SYTYCD could do to help to spotlight the dancers more and help us to have a favorite dancer even more. Sure I love the show even when I don’t have a favorite, but I think that season 2 was likely the best season because Benji, Travis, Donyelle, Heidi and even Allison were the favorite of many.

What do you think about having them do a longer performance? Seems like they’d have more of a chance to tell a story with their dancing if they had longer routines.
Also, there’s no doubt that longer solos would be nice for this also. With the solos as short as they are they are useless. They always feel rushed or frantic or just leave you lacking. Let’s lengthen them out. I think if they did that, it would expose some of the weaker dancers as well.

Also, what about a “battle dance” where all of them are dancing in succession or something. No planning. A surprise song. Just feeling the music and showing off what you got. Would be really entertaining to watch and see their raw and real dancing.

What do you think?

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Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

*updated* Top 10 Spoilers

I’m getting ready for finals, like our friend Trandrew over at SYTYCDISM (kudos to them for staying up on these spoilers) so I’ll make this fast…

*spoilers after the jump*
Read more..

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Behind the Choreography-Hairography

So I don’t know about you guys, but I watched the “Bootylicious” routine a TON looking for S4’s Kherington, Comfort, and Katee. With all that hair whipping around I couldn’t find them. Luckily the folks at Fox helped us out by doing a “Behind the Choreography” on this clever routine. Looks like it was Fox’s idea to put in the girls from S4. I have one question though, where from Lauren from S3?! She’s been in more than one routine from Glee (look for her in the infamous “Rehab” routine from the pilot) so I was surprised not to see her.

I had some trouble finding the video on youtube of the rehab song but check out this one, it’s a copy of the song with a perfect shot of Lauren!

November 29, 2009 I Written By

SYTYCD Fan Christmas Gifts

My family has gone raving mad already shopping for various Christmas gifts. I guess that’s part of the fun of the holiday season. If you or someone you know is a fan of So You Think You Can Dance or dancing, then you might want to take a look at these So You Think you Can Dance t-shirts. We’ve had a number of them bought recently and so I thought others might be interested to know about them.

I personally really like these SYTYCD-a-holic t-shirts and many people have bought these SYTYCD Rainbow t-shirts. If you’re just a fan of dance, then take a look at these dance related t-shirts. When I have a bit of free time, then I’m going to upload some Pure SYTYCD t-shirts as well. I’ll post about it once they’re done.

Another nice SYTYCD related Christmas gift is one of the So You Think You Can Dance Workout DVDs. It’s fun to workout to some of your favorite dancers from SYTYCD.

I’d love to hear about other ideas people have for So You Think You Can Dance related gifts.

November 28, 2009 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

Stand out Dancers on SYTYCD 6

Today I was thinking about the SYTYCD 6 top 10. It’s really one of my favorite parts of any season since I love to see things mixed up. The new pairings are always interesting to see. Plus, dancers that were relying on their partners are exposed or revealed as stars of their own. Of course, it’s always great to get the judges out of the voting and leave it up to America’s votes. I don’t always agree with America, but they/we usually do a pretty good job.

As I was considering the SYTYCD top 10 I was trying to think which dancers would be my favorites. I think it’s a bad sign that I mostly remember those dancers that were in trouble. Is it because the other dancers have had so few wow moments for me? This is really odd for me since I have actually loved the choreography and performances the past few weeks. I just wonder why none of the dancers have really stood out for me. Does anyone else feel this way?

November 27, 2009 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

The Karen versus Ellenore Debate

I’m not sure how many readers realize that there are a half dozen people who contribute to this site. You can see who wrote what at the top of each post. The cool part is that we don’t always agree on what happens on the show. Here’s one such example of a disagreement Emilie and I had over IM after tonight’s results:
john 10:53 pm
i wish ellenore was gone and not karen
karen would be more interesting on tour
emilie 10:54 pm
NO!
i thought you liked ellenore
i don’t think so. you’re so wrong.
john 10:54 pm
i also can’t help but wonder how ellenore’s family background might have affected the judges
emilie 10:54 pm
she’s AMAZING!!!
she has so much personality
john 10:54 pm
i don’t really dislike her…just not a huge fan
emilie 10:54 pm
blech.
john 10:54 pm
plus we have enough of her style on tour
emilie 10:54 pm
no we don’t!!!!!
she is SO unique
no one dances like her.
john 10:54 pm
well, it’s not like i dislike ellenore. I like her, but I would have just preferred karen on tour

Of course, emilie wants to be validated;-) So, here’s a poll for you to vote on who you’d prefer to see on the SYTYCD season 6 tour (since the SYTYCD top 10 get to go on tour usually):

November 25, 2009 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

SYTYCD Top 12 Results Music

Since both John and I are traveling this week, this took some investigation. Enjoy. 🙂

Top 12 Nappytabs group routine: “What’s a Girl Gotta Do?” Basement Jaxx - Scars (Bonus Track Version) - What's a Girl Gotta Do? (feat. Paloma Faith) -Basement Jaxx ft. Paloma Faith

SYTYCD Season 6 Top 12 Solo Music

Karen danced for her life to “She Wants to Dance” N.E.R.D. - Fly or Die - She Wants to Move by N.E.R.D.
Victor danced for his life to “Village Attack” <James Newton Howard - Blood Diamond - Village Attack by James Newton Howard
Mollee danced for her life to “Bulletproof” by either La Roux La Roux - La Roux (Bonus Track Version) - Bulletproof
Nathan danced for his life to “Going Going Gone (Live)” Stars - Sad Robots - EP - Going, Going, Gone (Live) by Stars
Elleanore danced for her life to “Bottom” Zap Mama - Adventures in Afropea 1: Zap Mama - Bottom by Zap Mama
Ryan danced for his life to “Baila Balia Conmigo” Missiego - Baila Habibi, Vol. 3 - Baila, Baila Conmigo by Missiego

Shakira sang “Give It Up To Me” Shakira - She Wolf (Deluxe Version) - Give It Up to Me

SYTYCD Season 6 Farewell Montage Music
Karen is sent home: “Never Say Never” The Fray - The Fray - Never Say Never-The Fray
Victor is sent home: “Where It Ends” 16 Frames - Where It Ends - Where It Ends-16 Frames

Find all the other SYTYCD music here.

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Something About Ashleigh and Karen

I had to miss last night’s show, unfortunately. But today, I found out a friend of mine, Toni McGee Causey, is a SYTYCD fan and had tvo’d the show. She was gracious enough to let me come over and watch it.

She poked her head in at one point and I said that Kathryn is probably my favorite female dancer at the moment and we talked about the two dances she and Legacy had last night. Then, I said that Ashleigh was growing on me, which I never would have thought when she got into the Top 20. And Toni, who’s a lady who knows a lot about a lot of things, blew me away with her theory about why Ashleigh is growing so steadily on people.

“It’s her lipstick,” she said.

“What???!” I said.

“She used to wear harsh, bright red lipstick and now she wears a lighter, pinker shade. She switched the same week the criticism turned in her favor. And she’s stayed with the more gentle lipstick and makeup ever since. Her approval has grown each week. ” **

And you know what?? I think she’s right!! Check out these two pics that I found here (scroll down almost to the bottom of the page if you click through).

ashleigh-guns-22975ashleigh-garner-29884

It kinda does make a difference, doesn’t it? It’s not the *only* difference. Toni also pointed out that she mostly stopped referring to Ryan. Plus, she’s been able to demonstrate her strengths and grow a lot in her partnership with Jakob.

After that startling revelation, I mentioned that Karen was kinda like Ashleigh’s foil in my mind. The other “married lady,” I had once liked her a lot, but not so much anymore. Toni pointed out that she’s in an impossible position. Not only is she going through a divorce and pursuing her dream in an intense, highly public way, but she’s also having to deal with Nigel’s pervy comments and his insistance on making her The Sexy One. She’s kinda in a no-win situation. If she follows through with the sexy, she’s riding that and the focus is drawn away from her dance. If she’s not sexy, she gets a backlash for it and STILL the focus is not on her dancing.

Which I think is really insightful and I really feel for Karen because of all that she must be going through (Noelle and Mollee have both been injured and that’s been mentioned and they constantly mention that Russell’s a “street dancer” and Legacy’s a “B boy,” yet Karen’s divorce has only been mentioned once. No sympathy votes there, which I respect). Yet…she’s my least favorite dancer at the moment. I didn’t appreciate her face when she and Kevin were in the bottom 3 rather than Mollee and Nathan. Yeah, it’s tough. She’s in front of millions of people and you can’t always control your reactions. Every time Nigel’s about to give her feedback, you can see her bracing herself for pervyness. Which really sucks. I wish Nigel would stop. It might have cost Karen some of our approval, unfortunately.

So it’s interesting to me how these two have kind of traded places in my affections and that makeup and Nigel’s “sexy” label might have in some way accounted for it. What do y’all think?

I have to miss tonight’s show too. :'( Maybe Toni will let me come by soon and see it…

** Not actual quotes. Toni and I are both fiction writers, as well as screenwriters. I think she’ll allow me the liberty of creating dialogue that’s similar to, but not exactly, what she said.

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