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So You Think You Can Dance’s Chris Koehl featured in a new TV spot: Nice Moves

It was only a matter of time until Chris Koehl of So You Think You Can Dance’s Season 8 – who made it to the Top 14 – popped up. In this case there is a new TV spot coming to the airwaves called: Nice Moves, which stars Chris Loehl, is directed by Chris Applebaum (who has directed music videos fro Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Mariah Carey, Kid Rock and otheres) and choreographed by Fatima (who has worked with Usher, Mary J. Blige, No Doubt and Aaliyah).

As a kick off for their celebration of music & dance here is a behind the scenes sneak peak of the making of Nice Moves, featuring interviews with Chris Applebaum, Fatima and Chris Koehl.

After a routine like this:

Is it really a surprise that we would see Chris pop up so soon?

August 13, 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 scheduled airings changed due to the Olympics

UPDATE: Now that they had eliminated four contestants as opposed to two… below is an updated supposition of how the remainder of the schedule is going to pan out.

Well, we all knew it was too good to be true. When So You Think You Can Dance first released the airing schedule it seemed to be rather clear cut and steady, but then seem to have forgotten the monkey wrench in the situation: The Olympics.

Due to the Olympics airing on NBC for a little over two weeks (from 27 July to 12 August 2012), most of FOX’s programming will be going on temporary hiatus and be on repeats for that duration. According to BuddyTV.com the new scheduling will force the current season of So You Think You Can Dance from ending on Wednesday, September 5th and instead end on Tuesday, September 18th. Not only that, but the final two weeks would be on a Tuesday as opposed to the usual Wednesday spot from during the summer due to the overlap with X-Factor.

As of right now this is what the season is shaping up to be:
– Wednesday, May 24: Dallas / New York Auditions
– Wednesday, May 30: Los Angeles Auditions
– Wednesday, June 6: Atlanta Auditions
– Wednesday, June 13: Salt Lake City Auditions
– Wednesday, June 20: Las Vegas Callbacks
– Wednesday, June 27: Top 20 Revealed/Meet the Top 20 Performances (200th Episode)
– Wednesday, July 4: Preemption – July 4th Holiday
– Wednesday, July 11: First Performance Show (Top 20)
– Wednesday, July 18: Performance and First Results Show (Top 20)
– Wednesday, July 25: Top 18 16 Performance and Results
– Wednesday, August 1: Preemption – Olympics
– Wednesday, August 8: Preemption – Olympics
– Wednesday, August 15: Top 16 14 Performance and Results
– Wednesday, August 22: Top 14 12 Performance and Results
– Wednesday, August 29: Top 12 10 Performance and Results
– Wednesday, September 5: Top 10 8 Performance and Results
– Tuesday, September 11: Top 8 6 Performance and Results
– Tuesday, September 18: Finale

If this was planned better I would have suggested the following:
– Wednesday, May 24: Dallas / New York Auditions
– Wednesday, May 30: Los Angeles / Atlanta Auditions
– Wednesday, June 6: Salt Lake City Auditions
– Wednesday, June 13: Las Vegas Callbacks
– Wednesday, June 20: Top 20 Revealed/Top 20 First Performance Show (200th Episode)
– Wednesday, June 27: Top 20 Performance and First Results Show (Top 20)
– Wednesday, July 4: Preemption – July 4th Holiday
– Wednesday, July 11: Top 18 Performance and Results
– Wednesday, July 18: Top 16 Performance and Results
– Wednesday, July 25: Top 14 Performance and Results
– Wednesday, August 1: Preemption – Olympics
– Wednesday, August 8: Preemption – Olympics
– Wednesday, August 15: Top 12 Performance and Results
– Wednesday, August 22: Top 10 Performance and Results
– Wednesday, August 29: Top 8 Performance and Results
– Wednesday, September 5: Top 6 Performance and Results
– Tuesday, September 11: Top 4 Performance and Results
– Tuesday, September 18: Finale / Final Results Show
Sure I eliminated the “Meet the Top 20” performances and condensed the city auditions, but really a lot of people I know just want to get to Vegas Callbacks already because they find themselves getting bored with the city auditions. In this scenario we get a final results show with all the toots and whistles and favorite dancers and what not. What I also did was placed the breaks strategically so after the first two times the Top 20 dancers have danced they get a “break” to get their minds in the game.

Also the second break happens at a time where in previous seasons the dancers are expected to dance two dances as opposed to one as a couple so the additional break would get them that chance leading into the Top 12 performances and subsequent results. Anyway… I digress.

This is just another reason that I am worried in the longevity of SYTYCD beyond Season 9… but that’s just me and I’m the eternal pessimist.

July 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... =)

SPOILER!!!: Possible Choreographers in Tonight’s Episode

Found this on twitter:

So it would appear that the following choreographers are going to be on hand today:
– Jason Gilkison
– NappyTabs
– Travis Wall
– Sonya Tayeh
– Sean Cheesman
– Tyce Diorio
Of course we know about Louis van Amstel

I’m kind of curious to see how many of these spoilers are actually true.

July 11, 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... =)

NEW PureSYTYCD Pages Added!

So in honor of the first couples performances of the season I created a series of pages for your reference that I will update as each week goes by. These pages are the breakdown of the dances as done on the show week by week. Right now ere are only pages of the various couple dances but hopefully soon I will have a breakdown of the various group dances during the performance episodes and the result shows in the past.

First there are six new pages that categorize all the different dance styles as shown on the show into six categories. Within these pages you can find all the individual dance styles related within the page broken down by choreographer. Here you could find out exactly what each choreographer has choreographed and what week:
Partner Dances: these include all Ballroom/Latin related dances as well as partnered social dances like the salsa, disco, and country two-step.

Contemporary / Ballet: this page includes all contemporary, lyrical and ballet pieces as shown on the show.

Jazz: aside from jazz, all jazz-fusion dance routines are also placed here ranging from Latiin-Jazz to Afro-Jazz.

Hip Hop / Freestyle: the genre known to have grown from the streets, this page includes all dance styles that related to the hip hop / freestyle world at large. This page also includes Waacking, Popping, Break Dancing.

Broadway: the dance styles that most relate to the Great White Way, which includes the Broadway style, Tap, and Rock N Roll.

Cultural: since the introduction of Bollywood in Season 4 there have been other dance styles that have tied to any specific culture throughout the world.

Granted this would be considered a rough categorization of all the dance styles as portrayed on the show, but at the same time I think the lines (as thinly drawn as some of them are) are strong enough to distinguish them for the most part. From the above categories I broke down each individual season by week to show how the spread is portray over the course of the seasons as well as an overall look from across the series thus far: Couples Breakdown.

As I said earlier, all of the above pages will be updated as each episode airs on Wednesday evening. Tis way we could all see how the current season would pan out in comparison to past seasons.

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 Pages Added! Trivia, Facts and More

Over the past few weeks I have been working hard at creating a few pages that would help compare and contrast all the dancers from the past seasons to what is going on in the current season. These pages would be continuously updated over the course of the season as well as during the off season as more information comes in… Since a lot of this is back tracking through all the past seasons there’s a lot of information to filter through.

If you look at the column in the far right under “PURESYTYCD” you will find the following additional pages for references:
SYTYCD “All Star” Choreographers
Before the “All Stars” came into being, past contestants of So You Think You Can Dance have been asked to come back and choreograph routines for a pair of dancers. Here you can find who has been asked to come back to choreograph a piece for the dancers on the show

SYTYCD “All Star” Dancers
When the “All Star” Dancers were first announced in Season 7 there was rampant speculation as to who would be chosen as the “All Star” Dancers. What was originally a pool of ten dancers grew to move due to availability for the show in Season 8. Here you could find out who was brought back as an “All Star” and when they were on the show as an “All Star” Dancer

Audition Cities
This is a table of all the cities that So You Think You Can Dance has visited before “Vegas Callbacks” (originally called “Hollywood Weekend” in Season One). This table is broken down by season.

SYTYCD Crossover with Dancing with the Stars
Several ballroom dancers that have been on SYTYCD have crossed over to the other major television dancing show: Dancing with the Stars. How those dancers have fared on the other major dance show are found here along with whom they were partnered with.

SYTYCD Top 10 Dance Style Breakdown
A common question for SYTYCD is what dance styles have been represented in the Top 10. Well now you can find out. Here are all the dance styles broken down by season for the Top 10 (5 guys and 5 girls) as well as Top 4. Since Season 6 was a Top 11, I kept it as a Top 11. A table that show a breakdown of the dance styles throughout all seasons is also here.

SYTYCD Top 20 Dance Style Breakdown
Similar to the above, this is a Top 20 breakdown of all the dance styles that have been represented on So You Think You Can Dance. Here are all the dance styles that are broken down by season for those that have made it on the show (10 guys and 10 girls). Again, since Season 6 was a Top 11, I had to include that too. A table that show a breakdown of the dance styles throughout all seasons is found at the top of the pages. Also of note: Season 1 had a Top 16 as opposed to being a Top 20.

SYTYCD Top 20 Show Trivia
This is probably the most involved information page… included is the following:
– Top 20 dancers that have auditioned in previous seasons
– Top 20 dancers that have gone through the choreography round in their audition city
– Top 20 dancers that have had to “dance for your life” during Vegas Callbacks
– additional notes that affected the dancers

What to expect down the road:
– Pages dedicated to the choreographers on the show broken down by dance style and a final accumulation page of all the choreographers and how many have come through the show
– Pages dedicated to the Top 20 Show Trivia including age breakdown, who was in the bottom, etc
– Pages dedicated to the season by season breakdown of the dance styles attempted

If you have any information (and please provide verification) that could help make the above pages even better feel free to comment or just Contact Us at PureSYTYCD.com!

June 18, 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... =)

SYTYCDancers Kherington Payne and Jordan Casanova in Cabaret

As I was trolling through my RSS feed, it was recently announced via Playbill that two So You Think You Can Dance alumni will be featured in Napa Valley Broadway Playhouse‘s production of Cabaret.

The production is scheduled to open on June 22nd through July 1st

Since her time on SYTYCD: Kherington Payne was seen in the reinvention of the movie Fame, released in 2009 as Alice Ellerton. She is no stranger to the musical theatre stage, for she played Potiphar’s wife in Napa Valley Broadway Playhouse’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Jordan Casanova, who was just on the show last season was more recently seen as one of the dancers on NBC’s the Voice during Tony Lucca’s interpretation of Hit Me Baby One More Time.

May 11, 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... =)

One Dance One Chance Contest

Ovation TV has a pretty cool dance contest coming up where a dance group/class/troupe can win $10,000. Here are the details:

If you enter the contest, let us know in the comments so we can all see your entry and vote for you in the Viewer’s Choice category.

August 25, 2011 I Written By

Ovation TV Is Interviewing Cat – And YOU Can Too!

Ovation TV is interviewing Cat on Saturday and they’d like YOU to send them questions to ask her. Go ahead and submit your must-knows to Ilsa Berg (Iberg at ovationtv dot com) by Friday. Don’t forget, you can also record yourself asking the question and if your question is picked, they’ll show your clip as part of the interview.

Check out their dancer interviews for an idea of what their interview with Cat will be like.

 

 

August 24, 2011 I Written By

my favorite season 8 dances

whew! what a finale! while we’re all still relishing last night’s amazingness, thought I’d take a minute and post my favorite dances from the season. this was a great chance to look back for me, and, for as much grief as we had with things that we felt were wrong with season 8, it still produced some pretty awesome numbers.

These aren’t in order of preference, just week they were done, mostly b/c I’m cheating and using Wikipedia 😉

Iveta’s intro (ballroom medley with Pasha)–while this wasn’t quite as steamy as last season’s intro of Cristina Santana w/ All-Stars Pasha and Anya, this was, by far, the best ballroom we had this season, mostly because it was Iveta in her style. Caitlynn and Pasha’s Argentine Tango that was replayed last night was soo beautiful and a fabulous showcase for her, but technically, this medley was just unbelievable.

Melanie and Marko’s “Turn to Stone”–on the night of the premiere, this was the only number that made me literally punch the air with excitement. I probably rewatched this number a dozen times over that week. For me, Melanie & Marko are the best pair the show has had since Katee & Joshua. They made each other better dancers, and emotionally they were just totally in sync. The slow cartwheel that Marko does over Melanie still gives me goosebumps.

Caitlynn & Mitchell’s “Turning Tables”–our first chance to see them as a couple and they did NOT disappoint. Stacey Tookey has a way of bringing emotions out of dancers that they may not have touched before. The chairs and lamps could have gotten in the way, but they really worked with them well, and the interplay between light and dark made the piece really interesting and powerful. For what Mitchell lacked in technical refinement, he made up for in pure emotion and drive, and I could tell he had a lot to prove after not being able to dance week 1. I loved this partnership.

Clarice & Jess’s “Fly Me to the Moon” foxtrot–as you all probably saw from my posts, I was NOT Jess’s biggest fan, I found in immature and annoying a lot. But NOT in this number, I loved this one. His broadway background lent itself really well to the jazzy bluesy feel of the song. Though there were quite a few points when they were in closed hold when the movements felt heavy, their musicality overshadowed that for me. It was THIS type of movement I was looking for in Ryan & Ricky’s broadway that they did a couple of weeks after this, when Jesse Tyler Ferguson said they were “hitting the ceiling” with their movements and not finishing them.

Tadd & Jordan’s “One Night Stand” hip hop–just so much fun. really great to see Tadd kind of in his element, and how NappyTabs were able to incorporate some of what Tadd does really well. I agree with the judges that it almost became too much about the story, but this was one that I just really enjoyed watching.

Caitlynn & Mitchell’s “To Love You More” contemporary–one of Mandy Moore’s best pieces this season (I’d put it just behind Neil & Melanie, but I’ll get to that later!) The trust they had in each other was innocent but so mature at the same time. They’re both so young, but they tapped into something really amazing.

Sasha & Alexander’s “That’s Life”–their best dance together, Alexander finally let it all go. He was so tight for so long, but in this one, he just felt free, and it lifted a weight from their partnership that had been there really since the beginning. This was also one of Tyce’s best pieces.

Sasha & Twitch’s “Misty Blue”–what can I say that hasn’t already been said?!

Neil & Melanie’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”–for me, Neil wins the award for most improved dancer since his season aired. He’s become a really fabulous technician as well as an even better partner. He breathes life into the moments between the movements in a way he didn’t used to when he was on the show. Melanie matched Neil step for step, and really shined in this piece. And the leap!! The trust she had in him was just amazing. This was a goose-bump inducing one for sure.

Caitlynn & Tadd’s “White Tie & Tails” foxtrot–was this the best technically? no. But there was such joy on both of their faces. Jonathan Roberts, a pro from DWTS, really does the classic ballroom dances incredibly well. He has a real sense of how to impart wisdom on the dancers in terms of how to embody the dance even if you don’t quite have everything technically sound. And stylistically, Caitlynn looked AMAZING, wow.

Kent & Sasha’s Wall contemporary–Kent is my runner-up in the “most improved since his season aired” award. The strength that he has gained, both physically and emotionally since last summer is absolutely astounding. He would NOT have been able to pull of that routine the way he did this season last summer. And his strength helped Sasha’s strength and vulnerability really emerge.

Tadd & Melanie’s “A Chorus Line/Black Swan”-esque broadway–though I really liked Chris & Ashley’s “Please Mr. Jailer,” THIS is the broadway I would have rather seen last night. I know why they didn’t repeat it, but this was the best broadway of the season, by far. Nothing felt out of place, from the music to the camera work to the lighting to the dancing. It was so sexy but so mean at the same time, I know that sounds weird. For me, this was Tadd’s best dance other than the vulture dance with Jordan.

Lauren & Marko’s contemporary from finale night–this was my favorite dance from the finale. It started with the music; the fact that the music didn’t have big sweeping crescendos allowed the dancing to be the most important thing on the stage. The dancers could just dance, the music wasn’t ruling the way they moved, THEY ruled the way they moved in their relationship on stage together. Loved it loved it loved it. Tessandra hit the ball out of the park with this one.

so there’s my list! what do you guys think? any that I missed?

August 13, 2011 I Written By

Here’s YOUR Chance to Interview Season 7 Dancers

Hi everybody!

Ovation TV is interviewing Season 7 dancers next week and they’d like YOU to send in your questions for their “You Asked For It” segments. Better yet, they’d really like you to film yourself asking your questions so they can include them in the interview clips. It’s like YOU get to interview the dancers. They’ll see you asking your question and then they’ll answer you.

You can see their interviews with the Season 6 dancers here, as an example. This is the first time they’ve asked for fan questions to be filmed, so it’s a new experience for everyone. They’re pretty fun interviews – especially the ones with Kathryn and Lil C. I’ll include the “You Asked For It” segment with Kathryn:

E-mail your videos and questions to Ilsa Berg (Iberg at ovationtv dot com) by TOMORROW! I know it’s short notice, but if you don’t have a chance to film a question, be sure to still send in your questions anyway. Tell them you’re a reader of PureSYTYCD and ask questions that any of the dancers can answer and your questions will have a better chance of getting picked for the interviews.

Ovation TV is re-airing previous seasons of SYTYCD Friday-Monday. Right now, they’re in the middle of re-airing Season 6 and the reruns of Season 7 will begin in October and Season 8 in January. Here’s their current programing schedule.

I’m sure Ovation TV has noticed that our community of SYTYCD fans have the best debates and discussions and that’s why they asked for YOU to submit your questions for the Season 7 dancers.

August 10, 2011 I Written By