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So You Think You Can Dance Season 9: Top 10 now 8 Polls!

Polls of the individual dancers beyond the break to avoid spoilers:
Read more..

August 23, 2012 I Written By

My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)

So You Think You Can Dance Season 9: Top 10 Performances – Music and Instant Thoughts!

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Since I wasn’t able to see the show til the morning after… I’m posting everything now. Please bare with me and I apologize for the delay.

Dancer: Top 10 Dancers
Style: Broadway
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Song: Mark Isham – “The Cool World Stomp” The Cool World Stomp - Cool World (Original Motion Picture Score)

ROUTINES WITH THE ALL-STARS
Dancer: Tiffany Maher
All Star: Brandon Bryant
Style: Disco
Choreographer: Doriana Sanchez
Song: Cobra Starship feat. Sabi – “You Make Me Feel…” (Disco Fries remix) You Make Me Feel... (Disco Fries Remix) - You Make Me Feel... (feat. Sabi) [Remixes] - EP
Instant Thoughts: It was rather difficult to develop any kind of criticism because this was just shock full of tricks and lifts, which were executed really well. What I would have loved to have seen was more foot work, but what can you do? In the sense of the dance they were energetic and fun and you can’t help but want to get into the beat and groove in the movement.

Dancer: Witney Carson
All Star: Nick Lazzarini
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Travis Wall
Song: Moloko – “Sing It Back” Sing It Back - Repo Men (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Instant Thoughts: Witney needs help being sexy? Really? And she’s what? 18? I really liked this routine, definitely caught my attention and considering it is Jazz, she did rather well.

Dancer: Cole Horibe
All Star: Anya Garnis
Style: ChaCha
Choreographer: Dmitry Chaplin
Song: The Wanted – “Glad You Came” Glad You Came - The Wanted
Instant Thoughts: I was expecting a lot out of Cole this week and was a little bit disappointed. Well, he did connect with Anya but I wanted him to really dig into the steps more.

Dancer: Lindsay Arnold
All Star: Jakob Karr
Style:Broadway
Choreographer: Spencer Liff
Song: Fosse – “Dancin’ Dan” (Me and My Shadow) Dancin' Dan (Me and My Shadow) - Fosse (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Instant Thoughts: This was fun to watch and I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t a perfect shadow at the beginning and that was a little distracting but once they started dancing together I was enjoying it more.

Dancer: Will Thomas
All Star: Kathryn McCormick
Style: Bollywood
Choreographer: Nakul Dev Mahajan
Song: The Dirty Picture – “Ooh La La” Ooh La La - The Dirty Picture (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - EP
Instant Thoughts: Will is just one massive goof ball and that is fine by me. I thought he did decently well with this dance, he had energy but yeah sometimes that goofiness comes off as too much but in this case it works… barely.

Dancer: Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer
All Star: Jaimie Goodwin
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Travis Wall
Song: M83 – “Outro” Outro - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.
Instant Thoughts: Wow, just wow… Cyrus definitely impressed me this time around. Pushed beyond what we perceived to be his limit… his strengths were shown with his partnering and as the judges were calling it “raw talent”. Unfortunately it also showed a little of his lack of training in this area, but considering just how much he is growing on the show that is always a positive.

Dancer: Chehon Wespi-Tschopp
All Star: Lauren Gottlieb
Style: Hip-hop
Choreographer: Dave Scott
Song: Maxwell – “Pretty Wings” Pretty Wings (Uncut) - BLACKsummers'night (Deluxe Version)
Instant Thoughts: This was another routine that wowed me, Chehon doing hip-hop? Yeeeeaaaah. He looked like he was having fun with his partner and there were a killer team together.

Dancer: George Lawrence, Jr
All Star: Allison Holker
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Song: Hazmat Modine – “Bahamut” Bahamut - Bahamut
Instant Thoughts: When I saw the cane I immediately thought of another routine in Season 6 and unfortunately I couldn’t keep myself from comparing between the two. George is a strong dancer, but he just has’t wowed me in the grand scheme of things.

Dancer: Eliana Girard
All Star: Alex Wong
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Stacey Tookey
Song: Nancy Sinatra – “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) - How Does That Grab You?
Instant Thoughts: Definitely a favorite, this really appears to really show off Eliana in ways that she wasn’t when she was partnered with Cyrus. She really shined in this piece and having a well-trained partner like Alex definitely helped with that as well.

Dancer: Audrey Case
All Star: Stephen “tWitch” Boss
Style: Hip-hop
Choreographer: Dave Scott
Song: Janelle Monáe – “Sincerely, Jane” Sincerely, Jane - Metropolis: the Chase Suite
Instant Thoughts: For some reason I wasn’t really feeling Audrey tonight, she danced the piece decently enough, but when compared to someone like tWitch she has to really step up her game and she just didn’t for me which is unfortunate.

SOLO ROUTINES
Witney Carson: Santigold – “You’ll Find a Way” (Switch & Sinden remix) You'll Find a Way (Switch & Sinden Remix) - Fame (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Audrey Case: Jennifer Hudson – “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going (Highlights Version) - Dreamgirls (Music from the Motion Picture)
Chehon Wespi-Tschopp: Ólafur Arnalds – “Til Enda” Til enda - Dyad 1909
George Lawrence, Jr.: Olafur Arnalds – “Brotsjor” Brotsjór - Dyad 1909

I Written By

My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)

Podcast: SYTYCD Season 9 – Top 14 Week

Listen to the podcasts

Episode 51 direct download

Subscribe to podcast on iTunes


Time Stamps
0:00 – Introduction: Ballet boys as judges, and Ms. Tedholm’s Facebook comment
3:31 – General thoughts about the Mia Michaels episode
5:23 – The Door routine: Cyrus & Eliana
8:44 – Hometown Glory routine: George & Tiffany
11:23 – The Butt Dance: Will & Amelia
14:02 – The Bed routine: Dareian & Janelle
15:58 – Time routine: Audrey & Matthew
18:07 – The Bench routine: Chehon & Witney
20:41 – Addiction routine: Lindsay & Cole
24:45 – Bottom 6/Elimination discussion
30:05 – Wrap-up: Thoughts about Brandon/Amber elimination from Top 16 week, and thoughts on the live shows thus far

Episode Length: 32:24

The Top 14 week of So You Think You Can Dance celebrated Mia Michaels and her iconic routines from the show. Each of the dancers were called on to recreate some of her most beloved routines. Our feelings, along with many fans, were mixed on this approach. Should these routines be performed again, or are they only meant for the original dancers? Can an alternate, yet equally valid interpretation of the routines be presented? We discuss these questions, along with our thoughts on the somewhat shocking elimination of Amelia in this podcast!

We found it very useful to compare the original performances against the new ones. In the time stamps above we’ve linked to blog posts that have both routines embedded for easy viewing.

Let us know what you think after listening to the podcast! You can leave us a comment here or on our blog, Reflections on Pop Entertainment. You can also follow us on Twitter and tweet with us. You can also visit our Facebook page, like us, and leave a comment there! We love feedback and will respond either with a comment or in our next published show.

August 22, 2012 I Written By

Over the past few years my fiancée Meghan slowly brought me into the world of television, turning me into a full-fledged fan of both scripted and reality shows. So You Think You Can Dance turned into one of my favorite reality shows as it is a competition that takes itself seriously, providing the audience with artistic choreography and talented dancers. It's certainly not something I ever expected to get emotionally invested in, but here I am! Meghan and I are very analytic when it comes to the things we enjoy. We constantly discussed and analyzed shows with each other and after doing this for a couple years, we decided that we should turn these discussions into a podcast. We created Reflections on Pop Entertainment, a podcast that provides commentary and analysis of popular entertainment as found in visual mediums, particularly television and film. So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 is the first television series we're covering with weekly podcasts and has allowed us to find our voice as well as actively contribute to the fan community. We hope that you'll enjoy our installments as they are posted to Pure So You Think You Can Dance!

Allison Holker Videos and other A Chance to Dance Videos

One thing that I’ve really loved about A Chance to Dance is seeing Allison Holker in another light. She eats breathes and sleeps dance, but it was also great to see more of her personality as well. A Chance to Dance has published a few videos that highlight Allison Holker.

This video is hilarious as Billy and Michael talk about Allison. I have to admit that her driving does seem scary. Plus, at the end, Allison has the perfect line, “I hope that’s soon.” Watch to see what I mean.

I was like Billy and Michael in this video where Allison introduces them to Flocking. Pretty awesome to watch.

Here’s another fun video with Nigel Lythgoe and his son Simon Lythgoe side by side talking about various types of dancers on the show and in particular, the Hula Hoop girl on A Chance to Dance.

I won’t be surprised if we see the Hula Hoop girl on a reality TV show again soon.

The more videos I watch for A Chance to Dance, the more interested I am to see what Michael and Billy do in future episodes. This Friday’s episode looks like it will be really good:

I Written By

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

Chris Koehl of So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 Live Chat Today!

Conducted by Cricket Wireless, they are conducting…

an exciting live Facebook chat with popular dancer Chris Koehl, star of the new Nice Moves TV spot for Cricket Wireless. Chris has a pretty loaded dancing resume, as you know, highlighted by his impressive turn during season 8 of “So You Think You Can Dance?”

Koehl will answer fan questions, discuss working on the spot and share experiences from his dancing background. The chat will start at 6pm EST and you can sign up here on Cricket’s Facebook tab.

Earlier we have posted a little bit about the Nice Moves TV Spot featuring Chris Koehl.

So if you have any burning questions for Chris Koehl with his current and future career moves, his dance background of even his time on So You Think You Can Dance, this is your chance!

I Written By

My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)

Eldon Johnson: One of Two Men to Make it Through SLC “A Chance to Dance” Auditions

Because only two men made it through the Salt Lake auditions, it wasn’t hard to notice them. Eldon Johnson was highlighted a few times throughout the show, so for that reason, he stood out to me quite a bit. As I’ve done some researching on some of the dancers that made it through from Salt Lake City, he is one of the only ones I can find information on. Since I think we’ll be seeing him a bit more of him in the near future, I thought he’d be a good one to highlight.

Typing in the name “Eldon Johnson” on YouTube brings up pages and pages of videos. He is a very talented man. Here are a few of the top videos that I saw as I was watching him perform:

So who is Eldon Johnson? Well, he started getting professional dance instruction from the time he was 16, and his passion and talent took of from there. His first training was at the Winner School in Salt Lake City, and after two years, was offered a job dancing with the Odyssey Dance Theatre. After accepting that position, he continued to stay with Odyssey, and just completed his 15th year. He is now an instructor at Odyssey Dance Theatre, and has quite the resume.

In 2010, he was named the Best Individual Dancer 2010 at the Utah Best of State Gala and has performed all over the world. Some of the stages he has danced on have been in China, France, Mexico and Switzerland. He was a dancer in the hit Disney Channel movie, High School Musical and High School Musical 3. Eldon has worked with many famous choreographers and companies over the years.

In an article written by the Salt Lake Tribune, Eldon was quoted as saying the following about the SLC auditions that were featured in the premiere of A Chance to Dance:

They’re not looking for soloists, but people who work well together in a group . . . [The auditions have been] one of my favorite experiences I’ve ever had as a dance, and I’ve been doing it for 15 years professionally.

Because of his experience in the dance world, I’m not surprised a bit that he made it through. I mean, he knows how to work individually and with a group, and has worked with famous choreographers around the world, not to mention his experience traveling the world. He really impressed me last week, and I’m excited to see how he fares on the show. I don’t think this is the last we’ll see of Eldon Johnson.

August 21, 2012 I Written By

Katie Clark is a journalism student at Brigham Young University in her senior year. She is originally from Littleton, Colorado, and hopes to move back there after graduation. Reality television is her favorite to watch, and has enjoyed writing about America's Got Talent and A Chance to Dance. She is a stay-at-home-mom who enjoys writing (especially blogs), cooking and sewing (while spending far too much time on Pinterest finding inspiration) and being outside with her husband and son.

A Chance to Dance Salt Lake City Pictures

I’m sure that most of you read Katie’s thoughts on the premiere of A Chance to Dance. Any hard core fan of SYTYCD will love the show.

For those trying to pick out some of the dancers on the show, check out some of the pictures from the A Chance to Dance Salt Lake City auditions. Some of the pictures are just incredible since they show how flexible the dancers are. Enjoy!

August 20, 2012 I Written By

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

11 Dancers Move Forward for “A Chance to Dance” From Salt Lake City Auditions

Tonight was the premiere of the new dancing “docu-series” we’ve been talking about: A Chance To Dance. 

Nigel Lythgoe, executive producer and judge on SYTYCD, decided he wanted to create a company of 12 talented dancers from around the country and have them premiere at the Dizzy Feet Foundation gala in New York City. Easy, right? Maybe not — he wanted it done in 28 days. So he contacted the creators of the Ballet Boyz Dance Company, Billy Trevitt and Michael Nunn, to go to different cities to visit dance studios and then hold an open audition in hopes of finding talented, classically trained, dancers to make the final cut.

On the premiere tonight, Billy and Michael landed in Salt Lake City and were picked up by their host, Allison Holker, from season 2 of the SYTYCD, and were welcome by wonderful Utah traffic (which I know far too well) on the way to different dance studios in the surrounding area. At the first one, two girls automatically were given passes to the next stage because they impressed Billy and Michael so much, and everyone else was invited to attend the open audition the next day. They visited a few more studios before calling it a day.

But enough of the re-capping. If you’re reading this, you must have watched the show. So now I’ll just give my thoughts.

The show started off strong. We got right into the audition/scouting stage, which I liked. Most of these dancers were serious about what they were doing, and there weren’t any “spoof” auditions that we often see on dancing and singing shows. It also become obvious very early on that Billy and Michael meant business. I mean, someone left without saying anything, and you could tell it bothered them. I loved the speech they gave at that point — I would have been scared to even attempt to leave! They also didn’t waste time cutting people, which was unfortunate for those that didn’t have much a of a chance to show what they had, but it kept the show moving.

Here is a video from tonight’s episode that has Billy “showing how it’s done”:


Billy and Michael had three fears going into the open audition:

  1. Nobody would show up
  2. Those that showed up wouldn’t be any good
  3. How could they know if someone was really as talented as they appeared after one day

There was definitely a huge turnout of a variety of people — a dance student at BYU, an organic gardner, and a guy in his mid-thirties.

Jaecey, more commonly referred to as the hoola hoop girl, stood out to me right away because of her less-dance like attire, and, of course, her hoola hoops. Unfortunately, turning the first part of the audition, she stood out…but not really in a good way. I commented right away that I felt like she didn’t seem to be picking it up very well, and my thoughts were quickly voiced by Billy and Michael. I definitely agreed with that cut.

I did wonder why they kept around A.J. He definitely had a very cocky persona from the beginning, and he just didn’t seem to be that talented. He blamed it on the nerves, but I think he just wasn’t really wanting to listen. I was relieved when he was cut in the end, especially after he made the comment about saving the girls in his trio toward the end.

The group pieces were pretty cool. I think my favorite was Jen and Jessica, who performed second. They seemed very connected and fluid, and it was a beautiful piece to watch. Another stand out performance was Sarah and Eldon, who went first. I think these two could make it to the end. Here’s the clip of their performance:

In the end, I agreed with most of their choices. I noticed that they focused Sarah quite a bit throughout the entire episode. She had several interviews throughout the episode, and it seemed like Billy and Michael singled her out quite a bit. I wonder if that’s a hint at the future — will she make the final cut? She was a bit emotional, so if she can keep that under control, I think she has a good chance.

They are leaving Salt Lake with 11 dancers, however, only two of those were men. Hopefully D.C. and Austin will prove to have more talented male performers. I didn’t catch all the names of those moving on, but among those 11 are  Sarah, Jen, Jessica, Sydney, Joni, Megan, Chase, Eldon, and Savannah. In the individual pieces earlier on in the episode, I really liked Joni’s performance. Beyond her, Sarah, Jen, Jessica, and Eldon stuck out to me.

Don’t forget to tune in every Friday until September 28th to see more auditions and who makes the final 12. Plus, if you don’t have Ovation TV, remember that you can stream A Chance to Dance online. This is a competition like none other I’ve seen before. I’m excited for the upcoming episodes and to follow the journey of these dancers, and to see who makes it to the final performance. I love that there is more than one winner, and this is giving dancers an opportunity they may not have otherwise had. Just so you want to come back next week, here’s episode 2’s promo:

 

August 17, 2012 I Written By

Katie Clark is a journalism student at Brigham Young University in her senior year. She is originally from Littleton, Colorado, and hopes to move back there after graduation. Reality television is her favorite to watch, and has enjoyed writing about America's Got Talent and A Chance to Dance. She is a stay-at-home-mom who enjoys writing (especially blogs), cooking and sewing (while spending far too much time on Pinterest finding inspiration) and being outside with her husband and son.

SYTYCD Season 9: Top 10 Power Rankings

TOP TWO ROUTINES
1: Lindsay Arnold & Cole Horibe – Addiction
This is the piece that I kept watching and rewatching over and over and over again it was so incredible. If there is anything that all the dancers should have done when it came to doing the choreography that others have done before them it would be that they have to make the piece their own so as to limits the number of comparisons made between them and the originators of the choreography. Of all the pieces from tonight, this was probably the only one that stood out not only as a fantastic piece but also away from the original dancers that danced this piece. Cole really took on a whole different personality that probably scared the scrap out of everyone in the audience, but it was also definitely different from that of his predecessors Kupono. While Lindsay also made the work her own and separated herself from Kayla with her own movement. It was just an amazing piece and honestly even though the choreography is very similar I think this couple did it not only differently, but better in a way and that is what is going to set them apart.

2: Witney Carson & Chehon Wespi-Tschopp – Calling You
On the other side of the spectrum, this felt very much like an homage to the originators of the piece. They danced it rather well and I couldn’t help but watch Chehon over and over again, Witney was also very good too… but something about this piece felt like they were paying respect to Travis and Heidi moreso than making it their own. That’s not a bad thing mind you because part of the reason I loved this routine above all the others below is because it was a suitable homage and one that the dancers didn’t appear to take lightly and gave the piece all that they got. It didn’t feel at all like they just going through the movement without understanding the why… it really felt like they understood the why… as much as it was given to them anyway. However way they interpreted the piece it worked and worked well.

MIDDLE TWO ROUTINES
Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer & Eliana Girard – Mercy
Honestly this was a very good piece for Cyrus and Eliana this week, I do believe that Cyrus is showing some growth during the break… One thing I liked about this piece on Cyrus’ side is that he truly made the character his own. You can tell that he was having a lot of fun with his swagger and tossing Eliana out the door a few times. Eliana also matched him in character and their chemistry was as always electric. You can tell that these two are having a ball working and dancing together. Like I mentioned before I thought Cyrus has indeed improved during the two week break, so it was refreshing to see him dancing a little more.

George Lawrence Jr & Tiffany Maher – Hometown Glory
Everyone talks about the “assisted run” and I don’t know if it is the camera angles, the stage or what… but this piece felt flat for me in some cases. I really liked watching George in this piece and felt that he really gave it his all, and Tiffany is slowly beginning to grow on me. However, Tiffany to me did seem to fall short but I haven’t figured out where… I think it is because when I remember this routine with Katee and Joshua — no, stop — it wouldn’t be fair to compare the two routines because the dancers are different. In the end I felt that Tiffany felt a bit constrained in her movements while George was expansive if that makes sense.

BOTTOM TWO ROUTINES
5: Audrey Case & Matthew Kazmierczak – Time
As I mentioned before, Audrey really emoted quite a bit in this routine. I could understand that Audrey was more of a little girl than a grown woman but it is all in the interpretation. At the end of the day I felt her and understood her, whileas with Matthew I just didn’t get anything from him which is a downright shame really. There didn’t seem to be enough of an emotional connection for me to want to just crawl and cry in my bed. So at the end of the day this just fell flat for me.

6: Amelia Lowe & Will Thomas – Koop Island Blues
I really thought that this would be a piece that Amelia could really shine in, but instead I was left sorely lacking. Will was goofy but there was just something that didn’t feel right at all. Will and Amelia were really good dancers, but they didn’t seem to encompass the characters as well as they could have, instead they were just kind of there, which is sad.

ELIMINATED ROUTINES
7: Janelle Issis & Dareian Kujawa – Sleeping with a Broken Heart
I was really hoping that Janelle and Dareian could shine this week, because I really do like them as individuals and dancers, but for some reason they just don’t have the chemistry together that they do apart. This was a routine that you should feel your heart breaking for and instead it just felt like two solos that just happen to be happening at the same time using the same prop. I suppose it is just as well.

TOP THREE GIRLS
Witney Carson
Lindsay Arnold
Eliana Girard
TOP THREE GUYS
Cole Horibe
Chehon Wespi-Tschopp
Cyrus Spencer
BOTTOM TWO GIRLS
Audrey Case
Tiffany Maher
BOTTOM TWO GUYS
Will Thomas
George Lawrence Jr
August 15, 2012 I Written By

My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)

SYTYCD Season 9: Top 14 (Now 10) Polls

Polls of the individual dancers beyond the break to avoid spoilers:
Read more..

I Written By

My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)