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SYTYCD: Academy Part One

After a week off, SYTYCD is back with the beginning of Academy week. Only 70 dancers made it past the preliminary city auditions…which surprised my a little. I don’t think I can remember the number of dancers at this stage of the competition being this small. There were three parts to this episode, solos, hip hop, and ballroom.

Solos
It’s hard for me to pick a standout dancer, only because we are only seeing bit and pieces of the solos. Hazard of the show only being an hour-long. Though I will agree with the judges the hip hop guys did seem to have some strong solos. I also liked hear that one of the was taking a risk doing a move he has not performed on a stage yet. Tessa Dalke was the judges favorite of the solos. She stood out to me during her city auditions. I really don’t know how Tessa managed to study for her finals and handle the stress of this competition. 15 dancers were cut after the solo round.

Hip Hop- NappyTabs
I like what Tabitha said at the start of this round. I like seeing the choreographers lift up the dancers with positivity, while reminding them that it won’t be easy. I enjoyed the choreography from the groove parts to hard-hitting parts. You can tell that some of the hip hop dancers were struggling with picking up the choreography. Though I think the judges sent contestants through if they felt if the dancers were putting for the effort and trying. The judges also still enjoy giving the dancers a panic attack on if they are moving on to the next round or not. Also, loved that some of the ballroom dancers had NappyTabs almost not believing that they were ballroom dancers. Only 8 dancers were cut in this round.

Ballroom-Jean Marc
I love the energy that Jean-Marc brings to the room and that he used the phrase fake it to make it. Ballroom this season seemed to be a little more intimidating than hip hop this season. This round we got to see Jay Jackson out of drag, which was nice. I think he did quite well…even when the judges threw him a curve ball to have him dance with a stronger partner. I love that he is trying his best to prove that he is a dancer to Nigel and it’s working. I think he will come close to making the top 20. 6 dancers were cut after Ballroom.

Next week 41 dancers will continue to compete in contemporary with Travis Wall and a big group jazz number with Mandy Moore. The Top 20 might also be revealed.

July 10, 2018 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 9 to Top 8 Thoughts

I hope everyone on the east coast set their dvr to record 30 mins over due to the Presidential interruption at 9. I case you missed something the routines are usually posted on youtube quickly. Spoilers ahead.

Logan & Allison: Jive – Emma & Sasha
So much fun…I finally saw Logan’s personality tonight. I thought he pretty much nailed the choreography that Emma and Sasha gave them. I can see what Allison was saying how he needs to reign in his flexibility for the Jive.

Koine & Marko: Hip Hop – Dave Scott
Seeing how pumped Dave was just after rehearsals, made me excited for the dance. Enjoyed see Koine attack not on the choreography but also the character. I love everything about this piece especially the song choice.

Dassy & FikShun: Jazz – Ray Leeper
Interesting to hear Cat say that this partnership is like the new version of Amy and FikShun. I don’t quite see it that way but I do like Dassy and FikShun paired together. I enjoy watch how Dassy transforms from rehearsal to performance. Also, like getting to see more of her sassy side.

Mark & Comfort: Contemporary – Talia Favia
Wow…that was intense…both Mark and Comfort were 100% invested in the piece emotionally. I agree with Nigel I love the fact that Mark is completely up for any challenge that is thrown his way. I don’t normally comment on the all-star’s dancing but seeing how much Comfort has grown as a dancer, reminds me why I love this show.

Lex & Gaby: Broadway – Warren Carlyle
Anyone else tired from just watching that? I think this might have been the most fun we have seen Lex have so far. Even the tricks Lex pulled off kind of gave me whiplash cause they happened so fast.

Kaylee & Cyrus: Jazz – Spencer Liff
I agree with Nigel that Spencer seemed to find a quirky style of Jazz that suited Kaylee very well. I really enjoyed watching this but there were times that camera work completely cut Cyrus out…which kind of took away from the dance for me.

Taylor & Robert: Samba – Jean Marc Genereux
Taylor may have slipped out of the top spot tonight, but only a little. For someone who hasn’t done much ballroom to have to learn the hardest of the Latin dances in a week is a tall order. I thought that Taylor did a great job (I personally liked the samba rolls) but it could have been better. I think the chemistry was lacking probably she was more focused on getting the steps right.

Kiki & Jenna: Contemporary – Mandy Moore
I loved seeing Mandy really push them during rehearsal. Okay so this might have been this best dance Kiki has done on the show so far. Mandy found a way to bring out Kiki’s emotions.

Bottom 3: Mark, Dassy, and Sydney

Sydney unfortunately was sent home. Looking forward to seeing her on the tour…blog about that coming soon.

So will be our bottom 3 next week?

August 21, 2017 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.

Top 8 to Top 4: Thoughts

It’s hard to believe that we are almost to the end of this season and I still not sure of who I think might win. I enjoyed the Addam’s Family theme of the opening number, just sort of wish Tyce used the music from the musical. Team Street won the night again with 52% of the vote. Travis and Twitch’s exits are just too much fun, though this week they asked social media for help and I was hoping they’d pick leap frog to leave the stage.

Virgil & Jasmine: Sean Cheesman (African Jazz)
“African Jazz Ant Man” really Nigel. Nigel is right I don’t think that Virgil has had a bad night on the show. What I like about Virgil is that he just an entertainer and had the ability to adapt to whatever the show has thrown at him. Love how he got excited about keeping the envelope that said he was safe.

Derek & Jamie: Tyce (Contemporary)
Just as Derek is having a break through, he is eliminated. Like the judges, I think he has great technique but seemed to have trouble with connecting to the emotion/story of the dances.

Hailee & FikShun: Luther Brown (Hip hop)
It was easy to figure out that I would like these two paired together. While I didn’t really care for the dance itself, I did enjoy watching them dance it. Hailee is in my personal top 4 so I hope she stays.

Megz & Paul: Jean Marc (Paso Doble)
I felt bad for Megz, she gave her all in this dance but still fell short of the technique that it takes to truly pull off this dance. However, I think if she had a little more time to practice it may have been a little better.

Neptune & Kayla: Ray Leeper
Neptune was the dark horse of the street side to me. I thought he has done well all season and I hoped he was the one that stayed.

Jim & Comfort: Pharside and Pheonix (Hip hop)
I actually think Jim wasn’t that bad but I can see what the judges were saying. He doesn’t seem quite comfortable with this style, so it’s not quite believable.

Gaby & Robert: Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore did it again…created another memorable routine. This was my favorite dance of the night.

Jaja & Ricky: Al Blackstone (Broadway)
Glad Ricky was given time off from Broadway to be an all star. Nigel was right, Jaja does look like Amy Adams. I love how she always has the character down and she had the skills too.

Bottom 4: Derek, Hailee, Neptune and Megz
Going home: Derek and Neptune

August 24, 2015 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.

Top 10 Power Rankings

Bollywood is always a fun way to start off a show. Of course I noticed we were missing a guy, took me a minute to figure out that Tucker was missing. Cat revealed that due to an infection in his knee that he will not be performing his duet. Also, that he will be in the bottom two automatically. This week Alan, Tucker, Nico, Jenna, Malece, and Amy were in the bottom six. I didn’t think that they would have saved Jenna, but they must see something in her that I’m missing by not being at a live show. Anyways, I pretty much knew who they were going to save and who was going home. Malece and Alan were the unlucky two that were cut tonight, and I hope Nigel will make sure they will be on the tour. I will include their dance in my rankings.

Top 3: These three received standing ovations from the judges.

Makensie & Paul: Mandy created another memorable piece, just without the insane lift (ex. Melanie & Neil Total Eclipse of the Heart). However it wasn’t really needed. They have a great chemistry with each other and you can almost feel the emotion through the TV. Just an overall a beautiful dance to a Lady GaGa song (I like to think GaGa might have thrown a shoe up on the stage).

Jasmine & Aaron: This was a classic gritty NappyTabs hip hop. I really don’t know what else to say other that Jasmine did nail the routine and so did Aaron. Plus I’m just happy for the possibility of Aaron being able to do a tap number now that the all-stars are available.

Hayley & Nico: I have to agree this was one of the best Broadway numbers we have seen in a while. They both did what Sean wanted them too and threw themselves into the characters of the dance. This for me was the best both have done all season. That one lift with the leg was just wow.

Middle Two

Jenna & Alex/Tucker: I love Alex filling in for Tucker, didn’t realize he didn’t get to do ballroom his season. Loved the pirate theme, and Jenna in her element and truthfully I understood why they saved her last night.

Amy & FikShun: The beauty of this dance for me I just don’t notice if the technique is there and I really don’t care either. It seemed that the judges felt the same way. FikShun grew in this dance and I was so proud of him, he did a great job. Amy was great too.

Bottom Cut Dancers

Malece & Alan: I’m not sure if these two were old enough to truly get the vision that Mandy wanted. It’s a dance I would have loved to seen Aaron and Jasmine do.

Group dances: I love both the guys and girls. I think I like the guys hip hop a little  bit more.

Bottom 4: Tucker, FikShun, Jenna, and Amy going solely on how I ranked the dances but Tucker is the only one I know for sure. Now bring on the All Stars.

August 7, 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 Canada Cancelled

After one of the most fantastic seasons yet, the Canadian version of SYTYCD has been cancelled by CTV.

Hours after crowning Jordan Clark the Season 4 winner, the announcement was made official, this would be the last season of SYTYCD Canada.

“I can confirm that we are not ordering a fifth season of the series,” Scott Henderson, vice-president of communications for Bell Media told CityNews.ca.

“After four seasons and 92 episodes, CTV has decided to pursue other program strategies. This decision was made after careful consideration, including viewership and economic factors. We remain extremely proud of the legacy of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, including raising the profile of dance in this country,”

Fans are outraged, and they are not alone. Judges, choreographers and dancers alike are all in shocked and disappointed at this news.

Jean-Marc Genereux tweeted:

Dear Fans @SYTYCDCanada.no regrets! you were the best fans in the WORLD..SHOW is gone! But NOT your passion for DANCE,it’s a CTV decision!
You will hear all kinds of reasons!!! But you know what!!! Canada loved his DANCE SHOW and I’m sure the fans will react!!!

@TreArmstrong tweeted:

“Wow…honestly can’t believe #SYTYCDCanada has been cancelled,” Armstrong said Tuesday. “So disappointing for Canada & our amazing talent. Best season EVER! Love You.”
“Hope that #SYTYCDCanada comes back to live once more…thank you for 4 great seasons,” Armstrong wrote Tuesday. “The network, production, crew & talent, love u all.”

Luther Brown tweeted:

Its sad that the show has ended but God is good and we were all blessed to be apart of Canada’s best show! We went out with a bang!!!

Stacey Tookey tweeted:

I’m so sad to hear about the cancellation of SYTYCDC but I am so proud to know a group of people with that much talent & heart!! Love u all!

For me this is sad news. Granted I still watch SYTYCD USA, but there was something special about our Canadian SYTYCD and I am sad to see that go.

A part of me hopes that it will somehow survive, but only time will tell. There are a number of petitions and complaints going on to try and save the show. In the past, I know when a company cancels something, it is usually a done deal, but you never know!

How do you feel about this news?

[Source]

September 13, 2011 I Written By

I am a blogger and reality tv lover. I blog here for SYTYCD but mostly the Canada version, since I live in Vancouver BC. I also blog about other reality tv shows on my own blog www.mandysmind.com

SYTYCD Canada Finale Recap – And Season 4 Winner is….

**Spoilers at the end of this post**

Here is a recap of the show, with the winner at the very end, you have been warned 😉 Although it is mostly a recap of what was danced, I have thrown some of my own opinions in the mix just for fun!

Opening Number:
Amazing number that introduced the judges and Top 22 dancers. I really loved the routine

Montage of past season:
“Moves like Jagger”
“I think they feel the pressure”

Jean-Marc chooses:
Shane & Lindsay
Disco – Melissa Williams
Shake Your Groove Thing – Peaches & Herb

One of the few discos I really really loved ever. So fun and well executed!

Luther chooses:
Carlena & Boneless
Hip Hip – Steve Bolton
Super Bass – Nicki Minaj

Loved seeing this again, such a fun number and love Vancouver represnting (Carlena)

Rex chooses:
Joey & Jordan
Contemporary – Stacey Tookey

Tears, Standing Ovations, amazing moment. I really wanted Joey in the end.

Sergio chooses:
Matt & Shelaina
Contemporary – Sabrina Matthews
“The Nutcracker: Act II: Tableau 3: Pas De Deux: The Sugar-Plum Fairy & Prince Orgead – Slovak Radio

This doll piece was cute and quirky.

Mary chooses:
Christian & Melissa
Tango – Tony & Melanie
“La Bohemia” – Electro Dub

Such power!

Mia chooses:
Joey & Jordan
Jazz – Sean Cheesman
That’s Life- Frank Sinatra

The theatre piece from the movies / first date… This made me fall in love with Jordan even more!

Sean chooses:
Melissa & Adam
Contemporary – Sabrina Matthews

Absolutely amazing!

Review of unique styles shown on the show Dancehall, Afro-Jazz, New Disco, and of course… Bollywood.

Bollywood Group Routine
Bollywood: “Hadippa” by Pritam & Mika Singh from “Dil Bole Hadippa!”

Montage of injuries – pretty gross bruises, bleeds and breaks

Blake chooses:
Jordan & Christian
Contemporary – Stacey Tookey
“All in Love is fair” – Stevie Wonder

Great piece from last weekès finale performance show.

Tre chooses:
Matt & Lindsay
Hip Hop – ShoTyme
“Like That” – Memphis Bleek

Another one from last weekès performance finale show.

Mary chooses:
Shane & Melissa
Salsa – Gustavo Vargas
“Salsa y Sabor” – Tito Puente

Another one from last weekès fianle performance show – absolutely amazing!

Montage of “typical day for dancers”
7am wake-up
9am Canda’s Ballet School rehersals
Practices all day!!
7pm Costume fittings
Not eating of sleeping properly
1am Gym to practice
9am on stage rehersals
8pm Show Time
Tired all day but energized right before they go live


Pretty Intense!!!

Mary Chooses:
Melissa & Shane
Hip Hop – Luther
The Time – Black Eyed Peas

This one is one of my favourite Hip Hop routines it was just incredible!

Luther chooses:
Contemporary – Blake McGrath
Adam & Lindsey
Remember When it Rained – Josh Groban

Another moving piece from Blake.

Leah chooses:
Top 22 Dancers
Hip Hop – Luther Brown

It was so great to see everyone on stage again together!

Blake Chooses:
Mia Michaels – Top 3 Girls Routine

This was the most amazing routine. See it here.

Ballroom Specialist Montage

Jean-Marc chooses:
Denitsa & Francois
Mambo – Gustavo Vargas

Such amazing ballroom dancers! Fantastic to see them in their genre again.

September 11 Tribute:
Stacey Tookey talks about the piece
Top 10 dance

Really emotional and fitting given today’s date. Nice to have a new dance on this finale also.

Montage of where dancers are from and what their backgrounds are.

Leah reviews where some of the past dancers from the show are and who they have danced for – highlighting their accomplishments.

Nico (season 1 winner) introduces Tara-Jean and Denys who are past winners of SYTYCD Canada (season 2 and 3) who dance. It was awesome, choreographed by Tony & Melanie. They even went off the stage to dance in the crowd.

Top 6 Dancers
Sean Cheesman choreographed
Relax My Beloved – Alex Care

I love that they are doing past favourite dances as well as new routines for this finale, it was sad seeing them dance for the last time together in the stage.

Top 6 talk about their journey starting with making the Top 22. They chat about a few stories. Lindsey wore size 5 show instead of size 7 once. They were waiting for the lights on stage and all took a nap, Christian slept on the stairs back stage once.

Melissa’s favourite routine was with Shane, Christian’s was the door routine with Jordan, Shane talks about how hard Christian practiced on the wall to be as good as Jordan for that routine. Jordan loved dancing with everyone and talks about their connection, Lindsey says they are all best friends. They end with a heart felt group hug.

Leah introduces the Final 3 routines of the night
Lindsey & Shane
Contemporary – Stacey Tookey
Uninvited – Alanis Morrissette

Montage of Lindsey moments.
Montage of Shane moments.

Melissa & Matt
Jazz – Melissa Williams
Nobody’s Perfect – Jesse J

Montage of Melissa moments
Montage of Matt moments.

Christian & Jordan
Jazz – Sean Cheesman
Skin – Rihanna

The door routine. Amazing!

Montage of Jordan memories (Good Life – One Republic)
Montage of Christian memories

Announcing the Winner:

Leah reminds us of prizes:
$5000 for 4 runner’s up
$10000 and a car for 1st runner up
$100000 and a car for winner.

Canada voted 1.6 million times

Christian, Lindsey, Shane are not in the top 2.

Matt is not in Top 2.

Melissa and Jordan remain… we are not surprised are we?

They both won cars… but there can only be one winner and it is…. Jordan Clark!

All of them are really winners… not just the money or cars, but the exposure they have had and the talent they have shown – I expect big things from all of them in the future 🙂

Overall Thoughts:

I am so thrilled Jordan won. I was rooting for her since auditions and think she is amazing.

I thought for a while Melissa may beat her because she showed such diversity and skill.

I also thought Matt somehow may pull (what I would consider) an upset and take it, though I felt Christian was a better dancer and Shane the best male dancer.

I didn’t think a male would win it though, the women were fierce.

Lindsey grew the most for me and I was so impressed with how much she improved and brought to the stage this season!

Congrats to Jordan, I am so proud and thrilled to see that my favourite from day one took it home!

Thoughts on the winner? The finale? The season?

September 11, 2011 I Written By

I am a blogger and reality tv lover. I blog here for SYTYCD but mostly the Canada version, since I live in Vancouver BC. I also blog about other reality tv shows on my own blog www.mandysmind.com

SYTYCD Canada Finale…. Discussion Post

Just watched.

Thrilled!

Will do a recap after it airs PST, for now here is a discussion post for anyone watching or has seen it – – – Check back later for my recap.

I Written By

I am a blogger and reality tv lover. I blog here for SYTYCD but mostly the Canada version, since I live in Vancouver BC. I also blog about other reality tv shows on my own blog www.mandysmind.com

Open Letter to SYTYCD Producers: How to Fix SYTYCD

Dear SYTYCD Producers,

Here at PureSYTYCD, we’ve had several conversations lately about why ratings, Internet traffic and overall enthusiasm and discussion have been sinking season by season. Margaret says it can be traced to the infamous Fall season, Season 6, when our favorite show started changing swiftly and drastically. While some of the changes have been really amazing (All-Stars), some of them have been just dreadful (yes, I’m going to say it once again – the stage).

So Fox, Nigel, here are OUR pointers for how to fix the show (and readers, please, please add your own in the comments or tell us how you feel about ours and add your voice to the open letter).

1. Keep rotating judges and guest judges – just rotate Nigel right off the panel. We loved the guest judges this season (with the notable exceptions of Carmen Electra and Katie Holmes), especially the fact that we got a rotation of our favorite choreographers on the panel. We’ve learned that static judges are annoying, no matter who they are. Whether it was Nigel, Mary, Mia or Adam, we got tired of hearing the same voices when we already knew what they were going to say. Jean-Marc is a good (pervy) example of this on the Canadian show. However, Nigel almost never rotates out,  so we’re extra tired of him. If you need guest judges to replace him, we’ll make ourselves available. Hey, why not? Fans of the show are good judges, considering the best of the celebrity guest judges were the ones who were clearly fans.

2. Speaking of Nigel, let’s talk about his producing style. While we can’t say we’ve ever produced a show and we can only imagine the numerous concerns involved, we get a little annoyed by Nigel’s heavy-handed pulling-the-puppet-strings style. While we admire that he’s always willing to try new things and some of those new things have really been excellent, the best producing is the kind that doesn’t draw attention to itself. Nigel keeps insisting on shoving the dancers and the show into this perfectly produced package. (Can we talk about how the judges kept the elimination after Top 10 and it was never acknowledged on the show? And how the girls were “beasts” slaying the boys THE WHOLE SEASON, probably to compensate for the Girl Slaughter of Season 7?) Melanie got dubbed America’s Favorite Dancer (by the judges) in the auditions and was never truly challenged or critiqued (by the judges) during the whole season. It could’ve cost Melanie the win she totally deserved if she hadn’t been so adorable and talented. We’re getting tired of Nigel deciding who’s going to win and then trying to make it so. Is it America’s Favorite Dancer or is it Nigel’s Favorite Dancer? Guess which show we’re not going to watch next season?

So how do we fix this, you might ask? John suggests that we need more charismatic dancers who are really good in one style and have to fight to conquer other styles (like Ivan and Russell, who won his season). Marianya says she misses seeing the dancers really challenged at the beginning of the show. Fans of SYTYCD love watching the unexpected partnership and the unexpected dancer struggle and then achieve, making themselves our favorites in the process.

Margaret: Part of what makes those first few weeks so interesting, besides watching partnerships that we really hook into (Melanie & Marko) is wondering how other dancers would work together. If Kayla & Max/Ashley & Kupono hadn’t been in the bottom during week 2 of season 5, Max & Ashley may not have been eliminated at the same time and we wouldn’t have gotten to see the surprisingly great partnership of Kayla & Kupono—which means we wouldn’t have gotten “Addiction” and it’s rated as one of the best numbers the show has ever had, rightly so.

So one way to fix this would be to go back to SYTYCD’s roots. We’ve had some of the most technically gifted dancers the last three seasons and sometimes we could hardly bring ourselves to care because while there was nothing “wrong” with a dancer or a routine, we just couldn’t get excited. This might mean more bad routines and bad dancing but will make us so grateful again for the truly transcendent moments. Which brings us to…

3. We need diversity in dance styles and choreographers. Doreana Sanchez is not the only person choreographing disco routines and Nakul dev Mahajan is not the only Bollywood choreographer. Go to Canada if you don’t believe me. What would happen if there were only one contemporary routine on any given show or maybe only one contemporary routine every few weeks? What if we HAD to depend on Afro Jazz, House, all of the Ballroom styles, Bollywood, Pas de Deux , etc. to fill in the episode?

And for diversity, we don’t even have to look any further than the other SYTYCD franchises. Canada and UK have phenomenal choreographers (and dancers!), as did Australia. Those are just the English-speaking franchises. What wonderful choreographers could we find if the producers imported from the Ukraine SYTYCD or the Turkish or Polish versions?

4. And speaking of one big happy family, why not create another Fall show, but make it different, perhaps a shorter super competition? What if we had SYTYCD SuperStars and all of the previous contestants from ALL of the franchises were eligible to come back and compete for the “World’s Favorite Dancer” title? Maybe this show is 2 episodes a week for only 4 weeks, just to make it special and so that it might not overlap with the World Series again? Dancers featured on SYTYCD don’t have a potential “product” like American Idol singers do when they release a cd, so anytime the producers can create a vehicle for these dancers that doesn’t overshadow the current cast, they’re helping create more of a career and presence for the dancers. The great thing about this idea is that it totally supports this next point…

5. Ditch the musical guests. Or ditch about 90% of them. Keep the 10% that are willing to use SYTYCD dancers for backup dancers (including the current cast! didn’t that happen one season?). Maybe the musical performances bring in money, or maybe you producers only think they do. The reality is, they usually suck and I’m only watching the dancers anyway. It’s like, on Dancing with the Stars, the ONLY reason I watch the musical performances is to catch the dancing that happens at the same time. I would MUCH RATHER see dance performances. It’d be a good time to show us alumni dancers re-dancing their iconic numbers as much more evolved dancers (think Kent and LoFro doing the prom number – it was only 8 months later and they’d already become such different dancers). Bring in performers from all the other SYTYCD franchises, like you did with UK’s recent winner Matt Flint. Pairing him with the all-too-soon-eliminated Nick and Jess in a tap routine that THEY choreographed? BRILLIANT. Easily one of the highlights of not just the finale, but of the season. Do it more. That’s the key to re-building your audience: when you do something we like, do it more. When you do something we don’t like, stop doing it.

6. Which means, bring back the smaller and more intimate stage. Season 8’s stage (or the camera work and lack of distracting backlights) was better than the Seasons 6 and 7 monstrosity, but only by a bit. Watching SYTYCD Canada reminds me of how amazing the original stage is and you really need to listen to us and bring it back. It was a big part of why we fell in love with the show and the Seasons 1-5 dancers. Do you know why? We were closer to them. There were more physical possibilities for the choreographers when it came to moving the dancers around the stage because it wasn’t a giant, uniform thing. When it comes down to it, the stage represents the entire SYTYCD producers vs SYTYCD audience disagreement. With this big uber stage (since S6), you are focusing on the package, the spectacle. The more intimate circle stage that we love and still mourn focuses on the dancers.

Margaret: I miss my stairs! There was something about the old stage and how it was round that made the dances feel like stories, not performances for an audience. We were able to get more closeups, feel the emotions, and the set was about enhancing the dancing, not enhancing the spectacle. My best example came from, oddly, the guy I think used the stage the best during his time with SYTYCD, Wade. With “Ruby Blue,” Brandon and Janette entered the story by popping up from behind a wall and coming down the stairs, and their ability to use the stage in that entrance played a major role in the believability of the movements. But, in Season 6, with the “inside Van Goh’s head” piece Wade did for Peter and Pauline, the ridiculous fractured painting that rotated and flipped on the projecting screen was super distracting and took away from what was actually a really well-danced piece, especially from Peter. It was a very cool routine and they danced it really well, but their technical success was overshadowed by the “overdoneness” of the set.

7. Instead of spending the money on the bigger stage and a lot of flash, we would rather that you spend the money to figure out how to release SYTYCD DVDs so we can re-watch our favorite seasons without resorting to YouTube and other means. There is a market for it, so figure it out. Whenever you focus on the dancers–current, alumni, International franchise dancers, whatever–you can’t go wrong with us. That’s the simple fact at the heart of the matter.

And now that we’ve critiqued you quite a lot, here’s a list of what we like and want you to keep.

1. The All-Stars – having them arrive at the Top 10 is the perfect marriage. Keep it up. Only, we want to see them re-dance their iconic routines and you missed a lot of opportunities to do this during Season 8. Fix that.

Margaret: Not only does this give us the chance to see dancers we love again, but use this as a way to plug their success. Allison & Ivan were All-Stars in the same week, how were they not asked to dance together?! Same with Chelsie & Mark! Those are two of the most successful partnerships, and some of the best personalities, the show has ever had, be proud of that, they are SYTYCD success to the highest degree.

2. The Meet the Top 20 performance – sheer genius. It’s been a highlight of each season you’ve done it. Especially since we get to see the dancers twice on the live show before anyone’s eliminated. Keep that.

3. We like the dancers you pick! We just want you to cut back on the contemporary/jazz and pick some dancers with different backgrounds. We want them to be challenged more and truly judged, all of them and fairly. And clearly they’re talented, because they’re going on to dance in movies, commercials, music videos, music tours, Broadway shows, Glee and DWTS.

Margaret: We also love underdogs, they’re fun to root for. Give us more Tads, Russells, Dominics, Jeanines, Evans, Nicks, even Lauren Froderman floundered her 1st week and was in danger of going home!

4. Cat is the one thing most of us can agree on. She smooths over the awkward moments and she uses her great sense of humor to keep things rolling. I love it when she gets to pick dances for the finale show.

Remember, no matter what, we love the show. We only want to like it again.

Sincerely (and xoxo),

SYTYCD Fans/PureSYTYCD writers

P.S. Sorry this is a little long – clearly we had a lot to say.

September 6, 2011 I Written By

SYTYCD Canada – Finale Performance Show

Tonight was the final performance show of the season.

Lindsey & Matt
Hip-Hop – ShoTyme
“Like That” – Like That - 534 Memphis Bleek

This was energetic, hard hitting and fun. I really enjoyed watching it and thought it was a great start to the show.

Jordan & Christian
Contemporary – Stacey Tookey
“All in Love is Fair” – All in Love Is Fair - Innervisions (Reissue) Stevie Wonder

This was a powerful piece about a chance encounter between past lovers who relive a moment. I thought it was moving and pretty. There was a near-miss on a lift that scared me but they recovered well.

Melissa & Shane
Salsa – Gustavo Vargas
“Salsa y Sabor” – Salsa y Sabor - Para Los Rumberos Tito Puente

This had some serious lifts, twists, spins and tricks. BOTH of them did some crazy flips and it ended with an amazing one-legged lift by Shane pulling Melissa over him, amazing!

Girls Routine

Mia Michaels
“What About Us” – What About Us - Future Memories ATB

This was, hands down, my most favourite routine of the season, and maybe ever. It was absolutely crazy-good. I will post it for everyone to see because it truly was THAT awesome!

Guys Routine
Melissa Williams
“We Will Rock You” – We Will Rock You - Queen: Greatest Hits Queen

After the girl’s routine this simply wasn’t up to par. It was fun, the guys did lifts and tricks and moved well, but the girl’s was just that much better! Christian really stood out fo rme in this routine.

SOLOS

Shane“Fancy Footwork” – Fancy Footwork - Fancy Footwork Choremo

Another amazing solo from Shane. I really find him the strongest of the male dancers.

Melissa“Commander” – Commander (feat. David Guetta) - Here I Am (Deluxe Version) Kelly Rowland

She was amazing, so much power and energy, when she dances she commands attention. She has been consistently great this whole season and I will not be surprised if she wins.

Lindsey“Beautiful” – Beautiful - Bitter Me’Shell Ndegeocello

Easily the most growth this season. Her solo showed such maturity and commitment, I had goosebumps watching her dance.

Matt“Ain’t No Sunshine” – Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers' Greatest Hits Bill Withers

For me the most improved male dancer. I am surprised he is still around over some of the other dancers, but he is holding his own and his solo was very good.

Christian“Beautiful People” – Beautiful People (feat. Benny Benassi) [Main Version] - F.A.M.E. Chris Brown

I often forget he is ballroom because he really does so well in every genre thrown at him. I appreciated his upbeat solo that was ballroom but very fluid and fun.

Jordan“This Woman’s Work” – This Woman's Work - Covers - EP Greg Laswell

Jordan was my pick to win since auditions. I adore her and I will stick to my decision for her to win, her solo was amazing, her dancing all season has been consistently great.

POWER RANKINGS

This is tough. I am ultimately voicing my predictions for the win….

Since day ONE I have been a Jordan fan, and even though Melissa has quickly crept up on (and at times even surpassed) Jordan, I am going to stick with Jordan to win. Melissa a close second (or if I am wrong, Melissa will win and Jordan a close second) I guess there are two ways to do this – MY OPINION and what I THINK CANADA’S OPINION WILL BE….

Mandy’s Thoughts:
1 – Jordan
2 – Melissa
3 – Lindsey
4 – Shane
5 – Christian
6 – Matt

Prediction based on Canada’s Votes:
1 – Melissa
2 – Jordan
3 – Christian
4 – Matt
5 – Lindsey
6 – Shane

WHY ARE THEY SO DIFFERENT?
Because, I think Canada, like USA SYTYCD, sometimes gets it wrong, or some dancers simply have more fan support for whatever reason. This is why the “winner” is called “favourite dancer” not “best dancer” at the end.

We often see the same fantastic dancers keep getting bottom 3, while some less talented dancers stick around week after week. Every season of every SYTYCD it happens. Of course, we all have different opinions on what we like, but that is how it goes.

For example, I think Joey should be in the finale, within Top 3 to be honest, but he is gone. I also thought Denitsa stuck around way too long. I could go on, but I won’t.

For the Comments….
Give me your Power Rankings, Also comment on any past results, who should have gone sooner or stayed longer?

FINALE – SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2011 on CTV

September 5, 2011 I Written By

I am a blogger and reality tv lover. I blog here for SYTYCD but mostly the Canada version, since I live in Vancouver BC. I also blog about other reality tv shows on my own blog www.mandysmind.com

SYTYCD Canada Results Night – Who makes the finale?

Tonight was emotional…. I have to go through the results as they happened so you can fully understand the rollercoaster my brain went through…..

The night opened with a Sean Cheesman choreographed routine to Madonna’s “Vogue” Vogue - The Immaculate Collection

It was fun and sexy, I liked the voguing/tutting portion and the end with the chairs the best.

What was frustrating about tonight was that all the dancers did their solo’s, even though Leah was clear that it wouldn’t change the results as in the Top 10 it was all votes. I felt with only a half hour show it was really lame. They all came out, were sent back, did solo’s, came back out for results…. Can you say time wasting?

Anyways, the results were as follows:
Denitsa
Sent home. No surprise here to be honest, I am shocked she lasted this long

Christian
Jean-Marc said he was “joining Denitsa, but not right now” lame. Needless to say he stays and was on the floor ecstatic.

Jordan
Tre asked her to “leave the stage…. to dance next week” Another lame psych-out, they really annoy me to be honest, especially poorly executed ones. Jordan was in tears!

Adam
Sent home. I wasn’t too shocked, I feel he comes across too cocky – him and his abs ha ha

Matt
Jean-Marc pointed out that he had never been in the bottom 3 but there was a first time for everything…. but not tonight – utter shock…. He stays over Shane? wait… HUH?

Lindsay
Is going to finale… over Melissa? wait… WHAT?

So I am raging… literally angry at Canada that Shane and Melissa aren’t in the finale when Jean-Marc announces the finale will not be Top 4….. but Top 6……

HAPPY DANCE!
I swear if Melissa and Shane had actually been sent home I would rage, boycott, freak! Besides Jordan those are my favourite two dancers!

Anyways, to make it clear….

Denitsa and Adam went home.

The rest go on to the Top 6 Finale, which is fine because to be honest, I didn’t know they planned to narrow it to a top 4 tonight… I don’t think they even know what they are doing half the time to be honest ha ha!

So… for the comments:
– Thoughts on who went home?
– Thoughts on the finale 6 vs finale 4 decisions?
– Thoughts on the Vogue routine?
– Thoughts on the “psych-out” judges do on SYTYCD repeatedly?

August 30, 2011 I Written By

I am a blogger and reality tv lover. I blog here for SYTYCD but mostly the Canada version, since I live in Vancouver BC. I also blog about other reality tv shows on my own blog www.mandysmind.com