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Top 20 Power Rankings

I really want to start off by saying how amazing that opening routine was last night. I loved seeing the dancers, choreographers, and judges tell us a story through dance. Nappy Tabs quite possibly created one of my favorite dances of the season…well I’m sure one of many. 

Now on to the tough part, keep in mind this is subjective and just my thoughts on the night. I always find it hard to rank the not so good dances especially when I feel like there really weren’t any total train wrecks. So glad I don’t have the judges job this week cause I really have no idea who will be in trouble next week. 

Top 3 

Amy & Fik-Shun

This was the dance of the night. Sonya created another beautiful contemporary dance. I knew Amy wouldn’t have any trouble with this dance but I was worried about Fik-Shun. Needless to say I think he probably made us all think twice about him. I can’t wait to see what is in store for them next week. 

Jasmine H & Aaron

Another power couple according to the judges, and well I agree. Sonya can be hit or miss for me and truthfully I am on the fence about the dance itself but Jasmine and Aaron made the dance great for me. I don’t see them going anywhere soon. 

Brittany & BluPrint

This was another pleasant surprise for me tonight. Just judging from the rehearsal footage I was a bit worried that this could’ve been a train wreck. Thankfully it was not, I thought both of them pulled this off well and was the only dance to technically to make the Hot Tamale Train. BluPrint does pick up the choreography well but I still feel like he could still tap into the emotion side of the dances. Over all I’m looking forward to seeing these two grow. Total side note Cat and Wayne had me laughing and I was impressed to hear Wayne mention a Season one dancer. 

The Rest (I just couldn’t bring myself to make a bottom 2 or 3 list.) 

Malece & Jade

This was the first dance of the night that really made sit up and get excited about the show. To hear the judges say that the actual performance turned out much better that the dress run, really makes me want to see the dress run just to see the difference. I’m happy to see Jade prove himself as a partner and being there for Malece. He still needs some refining as Wayne mentioned but I don’t think he has to worry about going home first. 

Makensie & Paul

I love the Viennese waltz it’s always just mesmerizing to me. I was surprised to here that Paul is strictly a Latin ballroom dancer but he and Makensie pulled it off and made it look effortless.   

Jasmine M. & Alan

When Travis pulled out the blindfolds, I’ll admit I thought he was a little bit nuts with it being the first week of the partners. Of course he proved me wrong, and it seemed to strengthen them as partners. While the dance was absolutely beautiful it was lacking something for me and I’m not quite sure what was missing. I feel that Jasmine is the stronger of the two in this dance. 

Hayley & Curtis, Alexis & Nico

Both of these couples had a Chris Scott hip hop dance. I equally loved both of them but the judges seemed to like Hayley and Curtis a little bit better. The only thing that I can think of that Alexis and Nico could work on is the attitude of the dance. Overall I truly enjoyed both dances. 

Jenna & Tucker

Oh boy I do love these two paired together but the routine just didn’t work for me. I thought Tucker stood out more for me than Jenna. This is one of those times I really want to love the dance but I just can’t. 

Mariah & Carlos

This is when being the first ones to perform did not help them. While the both performed the Jive well…the just seem not quite up to what the dance required. I love these two and hated that it seemed they were given more than what they could handle. It was the technique that was lacking and honestly Wayne summed up what I thought about this Jive. 

Okay so what Girls and Guys might be in trouble next week…I really have no clue but here is what I’m thinking. I’m just going with my gut on this part.

Girls: Jenna, Mariah, and Alexis

Boys: Carlos, Alan, and Nico

So who do you think will be the first to leave the competition.

June 26, 2013 I Written By

Dance is one of my biggest passions. I grew up dancing at Augusta West Dance Studio (the same studio that Kathryn McCormick). I have a BFA in theatre/dance from Valdosta State University. Tap is my favorite style of dance.

SYTYCD Top Twenty perform for the First Time

SYTYCD Top Twenty
I am so excited for this season. I’m not sure who’s going to win but I’m rooting for Malece and Jade. The opening dance was so amazing! I loved the look at behind the scenes as well as the choreographer’s cameos. The hallway scene was my favorite. Side note: NAPPYTABS BABY! And I’m excited to see Wayne be a judge again. I’ll be touching base on what I think are the best and worst routines of the night.

Travis Wall “Love is Blind”
I love Jasmine M so very much. Her hair is amazing. Travis is very clever. This could have been really bad. I’m very impressed with how well they danced together without seeing. Do you really think they couldn’t see though? That’s a huge risk to have blind dancers. Their partnering was so beautiful. Her legs are just so beautiful. They really had the emotion of being in love. I really loved it.

Travis Wall “Silver screen”
Malece and Jade is a stellar combination. I love how elegant and smooth she can be and still so powerful against Jade. Travis did such a good job blending both their styles together. Such a great, great piece.

Sean Cheeseman Afro jazz
Animator + Ballroom + Afro jazz? Say what? I was really scared about this one to be honest. It had me mesmerized. I like that there was some isolations thrown in there for BluPrint. It was so powerful and joyful at the same time.

Sonya Tayeh “Bottom of the River”
I love Sonya. She’s my favorite choreographer of all time. Jasmine H and Aaron are power houses alone. Together they are beastly. I almost feel bad for the other couples. She is all leg and he is all muscle. Her turns seemed a bit off to me. The whole piece was very Sonya and I loved all of it.

Final Thoughts
I think the hip hop groups are in trouble as well as the jive. Jasmine H and Aaron and Malece and Jade are the couples to beat. It started as a very good season and I am excited to see how it progresses. I will not be happy when any of them leave.

June 25, 2013 I Written By

Rachel considers herself a dancer in that she loves to dance and has fun doing it. She works part time for RAW Hollywood Artist of the year Ricky Rebel as his street team leader and loves watching him dance on stage. She has brushed arms with Alexander Fost from season 8 and other famous people.

SYTYCD Season 10: Top 20 Performances – Music List

Here is the music for the Top 20 Performances! I will show the Group Routine first then the partners are after the break:
Top 20 Group Routine including Judges and Choreographers
Choreographer: NappyTabs
Song: Puttin on the Ritz: Herb Alpert Puttin' On the Ritz - Puttin' On the Ritz - Single
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... =)

New SYTYCD Voting with SuperVote

Beginning tonight, SYTYCD has a new method for handling votes for the dancers on the show. They’ve announced what they’re calling a SuperVote. A SuperVote is where you “cast multiple votes online at one time.”

Viewers can vote via any of these destinations: www.fox.com/dance, the FOX NOW app (data and message ratesmay apply for app download and use) and Facebook. To SuperVote, fans canallocate votes for one finalist or multiple finalists, for a total of 20 votes(across all online voting destinations), and in a unique interactiveexperience, they can adjust their vote selections as performances happen during the show. When the voting window officially opens, fans can submit their final votes – all at once.

It’s also interesting that they’re requiring a Facebook account to be able to vote as well. I wonder how many fake Facebook accounts will be created tonight. Yes, the voting is still restricted to the US.

At the end of each performance show, the toll-free and text message systems will be open for at least two hours per time zone and SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE viewers will be able to vote for their favorite finalist(s) via the toll-free telephone numbers (855 GO HIM 01, 02 and 855 GO HER 01, 02, etc.) Additionally,wireless customers can use their cell phones to vote by texting the name of the dancer as shown on-screen to the short code 83676 to vote for the finalist of their choice.

What do you think of these changes to the voting system? I think the SuperVote is pretty cool. It basically makes what people were doing with their 20 votes much easier. So, not much change there other than a much better voting experience. I expect many other shows will follow something similar.

I Written By

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

SYTYCD Season 10: Meet the Top 20 – Thoughts

This is something that I haven’t thought that I would actually create… a thoughts / power rankings post. Considering that I am swamped with RL and all, but I will do what I can to clarify what I noticed.

Disclaimer: These are just my (as in Marianya’s) opinions, and does not reflect the opinions of any of the bloggers on the site.

HIP HOP
I am a little disappointed to not be able to see Emilio in the Top 20. If you recall he is the fanboy that eventually was asked to be a part of Phillip Chbeeb’s crew (I.aM.mE). However, since he is injured he could not participate in the competition.

As for the Hip Hop routine between Fik-Shun and Mariah… we haven’t seen too much of Mariah during Season 10 except in a few montage sequences, however we did get a chance to see her full audition during Season 9. Whileas Fik-Shun we have had an eye-full of throughout the season thus far.

Knowing this much, I felt that Mariah was far more engaging and drew my attention much more than Fik-Shun did during this routine. True Fik-Shun has a very strong personality, but until he could find a way to shine even more next to other dancers (like Mariah) I am afraid he could get lost in the shuffle.

CONTEMPORARY (Round 1)
We have had decent exposure with the four contemporary dancers of the first contemporary dance of the night. However, when watching this particular routine choreographed by Stacey Tookey the men appeared to be evenly matched whileas between the women I found myself drawn more towards Jasmine as opposed to Makenzie.

TAP
Wow, just wow. I really like this mix of tappers far more than in previous seasons. The female is probably stronger than the males at the moment, however… I find that I enjoy Aaron over Curtis, but that is my opinion.

I would be interested to see how Aaron fares in the Top 10 Guys and whether he would exceed expectations or is just cannon fodder? I am seriously hoping for the former a la Benji Schwimmer from Season 2.

ANIMATION
Between the two, Jade appears to be the stronger dancer with a more outward personality. “BluPrint” though strong as well appears to have a bit of an emotional wall during the routine… well in comparison to that of Jade.

However, Jade had a harder time during Vegas week as opposed to “BluPrint” so it would be interesting to see how they fair in the upcoming weeks.

CONTEMPORARY (Round 2)
Three for contemporary dancers, one of which has had a lot of screen time whileas the other two received passing mentions.

Unlike the previous Contemporary routine, the dancers of this one choreographed by Mia Michaels were much more evenly matched for they have all drawn my attention equally. I loved the piece for each individual dancer as well as a whole.

Because of this, I feel that the two unknowns in this piece might actually strike a cord with the audience in time depending on the routines and partners in the upcoming weeks.

BALLROOM / LATIN
Love that Paul is part of the group, however I find it disheartening that Alan was chosen over his brother Gene… Why? When watching this particular routine I found myself drawn more to Paul over Alan… whilas the girls drew my focus evenly (much like the first contemporary routine).

It will be interesting to see how the ballroom dancers fare this time around.

JAZZ
This is probably the strongest dance of the night. If only for the fact that the dancers are not only evenly matched but incredibly strong independently too. But their personalities shown for different reasons and as thus both excelled in this piece as well.

IN CONCLUSION
Interesting that already in the “Meet the Top 20” episode there are already dancers that I personally see as weaker than others in their groups. If this is the case, I will be interested to see how they fare come the first performance episode next week when the pairings are made and they are (hopefully) dancing styles that would challenge them.

June 19, 2013 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 2013 Meet the Top 20 Music

We’re back again with the list of music from SYTYCD 2013 Meet the Top 20 week. I’m sure that Marianya will nail the list of music shortly, but feel free to share the songs you know in the comments as well. You can find the previous week’s music here.

Now on to the music!

SYTYCD Meet the Top 20 Music
HIP HOP (Mariah Spears, Fik Shun)
Choreographer: Luther Brown
T.I. feat Lil Wayne – Ball Ball (feat. Lil Wayne) - Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head (Deluxe Version)

CONTEMPORARY (Makenzie Dustman, Jasmine Harper, Tucker Knox, Nico Greetham)
Choreographer: Stacey Tookey
Sleeping at Last – Goes On and On Goes On and On - Yearbook - Collection

TAP (Alexis Juliano, Curtis Holland, Aaron Turner)
Choreographer: Anthony Morigerato
Jason Mraz – You Really Did It (unavailable on iTunes)

ANIMATION (“BluPrint”, Jade Zuberi)
Choreographer: Christopher Scott
Kezwik feat Mel Presson – Trigger Trigger (feat. Mel Presson) - Get Dropped - EP

CONTEMPORARY (Carlos Garland, Malece Miller, Hayley Erbert)
Choreographer: Mia Michaels
Rihanna feat Mikky Ekko – Stay Stay (feat. Mikky Ekko) - Unapologetic (Deluxe Version)

BALLROOM (Brittany Cherry, Jenna Johnson, Alan Bersten, Paul Karmiryan)
Choreographer: Louis van Amstel
Little Mix – Wings Wings - Wings - Single

JAZZ (Jasmine Mason, Amy Yakima)
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh
Bjork – Enjoy Enjoy - Post

GROUP DANCES
Top 10 Guys
Choreographer: Christopher Scott
Nathan Lanier feat Karen Whipple – Sand Sand (feat. Karen Whipple) - Sand (feat. Karen Whipple) - Single

Top 10 Girls:
Choreographer: Ray Leeper
Fanny Pak & District 78 – Let’s Have a Kiki Let's Have a Kiki (Guwremix) - Let's Have a Kiki (Guwremix) - Single

Top 20
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh
Steed Lord – Ghost of Sky [Epic Dub] Ghost of Sky (Epic Dub) - Ghost of Sky - Single

June 18, 2013 I Written By

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

So You Think You Can Dance 2013 Vegas Week Video

We’ve been talking for a while about doing a video where the writers of Pure SYTYCD talk about the various things that happened on So You Think You Can Dance. Marianya and myself finally scheduled a hangout and talked about SYTYCD 2013 Vegas Week and projected who we thought would be in the SYTYCD top 20. It was a lot of fun analyzing the various genres including how few contemporary men there could be in the SYTYCD top 20. Plus, I pushed Marianya into predicting the SYTYCD Season 10 top 4. We have it on video now, so you can hold us accountable.

Enough summary, if you’re a SYTYCD fan then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this video:

We’d love to hear if you agree or disagree in the comments of this post or on the YouTube comments.

Also, let us know what you think about the video. Do you like the format? Should we do it again? Would you like to join us in a future G+ hangout?

June 17, 2013 I Written By

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

Vegas Week Thoughts

Wow, what an episode. I almost wish I had two one hour episodes to process everything that Vegas week covers. The panel of judges are Nigel, Mary, Adam, Twitch, Jason Derulo, and Hannah Simone(from New Girl). NappyTabs, Sonya, Chelsie, Dmitry, and Stacey Tookey assist with the judging during their respective rounds.

Solos are up first and the dancers are basically dancing for a room key. Before the solos even happen we are hit with some immediate bad news; Hampton “Exorcist”  Williams was injured in a car accident and unable to make it to Vegas (seriously bummed out about this). Also the girl who dislocated her knee also had to drop out. By the end of the solos 53 dancers were sent straight back home including one of my favorites Caleb.

Hip-Hop Round

Of course most of the street dancer do excel in this round, sometimes I do feel that sometime they are more prepared than we know. Shanshan for me is an example of even though that you are out of your comfort zone, you still have to get up there and try your best. She surprised most of the judges and moved on to the next round.

Jazz Round

Oh boy there is a lot mixed feelings for me about that round. The decision to make the dancers stay up the full night to practice the routine, considering the next night is another all nighter, bothered me to an extent. My question is why not make it two hours to learn the dance instead of all night. I know Vegas week is supposed to be tough but sometimes I wonder where the producers draw the line in pushing the dancers to their limit, injuries tend to happen when fatigue sets in. Armand letting his partner down by dropping her was a point of I really don’t know what caused it, my best guess a combination of things. I will say that staying up all night paid off for most of the dancers.

Ballroom Round

Love seeing Dmitry and Chelsie on the show. I wish they spent a little more time on this round, it wasn’t enough for me to form an opinion. Overall I thought it was good.

Group Round

The group rounds are always crazy and hectic. Sometimes I wonder if some groups come up with a game plan, factoring in breaks and time for some rest even if it’s only for an hour or two. The first group up decides to use the Boston Bombing as a story line and I say they nailed it with a beautiful fusion of styles dance. No surprise that there were tears from the judges and the dancers. Up next was Facts with a little bit of Fik-Shun, great name but a hot mess. I was thankful Fik-Shun made it through, I really like him. Overall groups came together and made it work.

Contemporary Round

This round is always the toughest cut and the most emotional. Granted I’m sure the fatigue plays a part in the emotions. I love the story that Stacey came up with and to see a few dancers that connected with the emotional aspect of the dance. The round ended with a battle between two animators and the final decision is Stacey’s on who stays and who goes, and she went with the safe choice and let them both stay. I also love watching Twitch’s reaction in watching the hip-hop dancers.

After all the round were over dancers were given the chance to say why they want to be in the competition. A few more were cut after this and leaving 33 dancers to face the green mile. So I’ll end this post with who do you think will be in the Top 20?  Let me know what you think, I’m a little tired so names are excaping me but I do think Fik-Shun will be part of the top 20.

June 11, 2013 I Written By

Dance is one of my biggest passions. I grew up dancing at Augusta West Dance Studio (the same studio that Kathryn McCormick). I have a BFA in theatre/dance from Valdosta State University. Tap is my favorite style of dance.

So You Think You Can Dance 2013 Vegas Week Music

We’re back again with the list of music from SYTYCD 2013 Vegas week. The music on Vegas Week is always hard to do since it doesn’t always follow the same pattern, but Marianya’s a rockstar and will likely get most of it for you. Feel free to share the songs you know in the comments as well. You can find the previous week’s music here.

Also, we’re excited to announce that Thursday June 13th at 6:30 PM EST (3:30 PM PST) we’re going to do our first ever SYTYCD 2013 G+ hangout. We’ll post an embed of the video stream here on Pure SYTYCD, or you can watch it on the linked G+ hangout event page. If you love SYTYCD, then I think you’ll enjoy our SYTYCD Vegas Week banter. If you can’t make the live broadcast, you can subscribe to the Pure TV Network YouTube page where the video will be posted after the event.

Now on to the music!

SYTYCD Vegas Week Music
Before Title Credits
Nuttin But Stringz(?) (I am fairly certain that a piece of music from a Nuttin But Stringz soundtrack was used, I just don’t know which song off the top of my head).

SOLO ROUND
Malece Miller’s Solo: Elizaveta – Meant Meant - Beatrix Runs
Staying in Vegas Montage: OneRepublic – Life in Color Life In Color - Native (Deluxe Version)
Donovan Gibbs Solo:
Montage of Dancers being sent home: Lykke Li – Tonight Tonight - Youth Novels (Special Edition)
DuShant “Fik-Shun” Stegall: Drehz – Heart Cry Heart Cry - Perpetual Emotions

HIP HOP ROUND
Pass Round: Capital Cities – Safe and Sound Safe and Sound - In a Tidal Wave of Mystery

JAZZ ROUND
Choreography Music: Disclosure feat. Sam Smith – Latch Latch (feat. Sam Smith) - Settle
Next Morning: Elton John – Good Morning Freedom Good Morning Freedom - The Legendary Covers Album
Pass Round: The Knocks – Magic Magic (feat. Gary Go) - Magic - EP
Did Not Pass Round: Nikisha Reyes-Pile – So Cold (lyrics by Ben Cocks) So Cold (The Good Wife trailer) - ...As Heard In

BALLROOM ROUND
Choregraphy Music: Aretha Franklin – Respect Respect - Aretha Franklin: 30 Greatest Hits
Pass Round: Cimorelli – Believe It Believe It - Believe It - EP

GROUP CHOREOGRAPHY
Boston Inspired Group: Mark Masri – I Can’t Make You Love Me I Can't Make You Love Me - See My Face
Group Two (including Fik-Shun, Jasmine): Timomatic – Set It Off Set It Off - Set It Off - EP
Pass Round: Heavy feat. The Dap-Kings Horns – Coleen Coleen (feat. The Dap-Kings Horns) - Great Vengeance and Furious Fire

CONTEMPORARY CHOREOGRAPHY
Choreography Music: Ed Sheeran – Give Me Love Give Me Love - + (Deluxe Version)
Not Pass Round: Jake Bugg – Someplace Someplace - Jake Bugg
BluPrint vs Jade Animation Battle: Thriftworks – Tho Sthick

I Written By

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

SYTYCD Vegas Week Drinking Game

I’ve been watching So You Think You Can Dance for quite a while now and I’ve noticed some tropes that happen every single year. Despite the dancing getting better, the stories being more and more dramatic and the injuries going up every year, it can be a bit boring to have the same trope year after year. That’s why they invented drinking games.

You don’t have to do this with alcohol. I would recommend doing it with soda or water. Fill up a tall glass and get ready for Vegas week.

Note: I created this before the Vegas show aired. Judges/choreographers could be different.

Initial Solos

Take a shot/sip if:

A judge cries during a solo

Mary screams

Lil C makes an elaborate analogy

Lil C uses a fancy word to sound smart and eloquent

Extra shot/sip: if the other judges are confused at his vocabulary too

Adam starts screaming

Different Styles

Take a shot/sip if:

A dancer exclaims “This is hard!” or “I’m tired”

A dancer mugs to the camera (optional to avoid alcohol/water poisoning)

A choreographer yells at a dancer

Bonus if it’s Mia, Tyce or Sonya

The Judges say “I expected more out of you” or “We’re disappointed in you”

Somebody hurts themselves

Dancers start crying and/or claim they don’t understand what the judges are looking for

A dancer out of their element gets called out for being out of their element

A dancer quits because they can’t do choreography

The Group Number

This one is ripe with tropes. Take smaller sips to avoid dying.

Two dancers of different styles don’t get along

Two dancers start screaming at each other

Dancers scream “I’m done!” or “I’ve had enough”

One dancer bashes a member of their group to the camera behind their back

Groups go to bed early after giving up

Dancers admit to being nervous about their group

The Judges are not impressed

Bonus if the judges say “I’m disappointed” or “I expected more”

Dance for Your Life

If your favorite dancer gets sent home, drown your sorrows and drain your glass.

Picking the Top Twenty

Take a shot/sip if:

The judges psyche out a contestant

A dancer with an entire back story gets sent home

A dancer the show spent no time on in auditions makes the top twenty (there’s always one)

 

If your favorite dancer makes the top twenty, drain your glass. WOO HOO! TOP TWENTY!

I Written By

Rachel considers herself a dancer in that she loves to dance and has fun doing it. She works part time for RAW Hollywood Artist of the year Ricky Rebel as his street team leader and loves watching him dance on stage. She has brushed arms with Alexander Fost from season 8 and other famous people.