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Review of So You Think You Can Dance Tour – Kansas City

A big thanks to Selly from Dance Outlook for sending us the following writeup about the So You Think You Can Dance Tour visit to Kansas City. If you have been to a different city and have pictures, videos or want to write about your experience, then let us know. About one more month left for the So You Think You Can Dance tour and there are still tickets available for future tour stops.

Without further ado, here’s Selly’s experience and pictures from the So You Think You Can Dance Kansas City tour stop:
On Wednesday night, I attended the 2008 SYTYCD Tour at Sprint Center in Kansas City. I had amazing seats (thanks to presale) in the 5th row. I actually enjoyed the show more than I expected to. This has been my least favorite season, but I had a lot of fun seeing all of the dances live. I didn’t take notes, so this isn’t going to be a formal review by any means, but just some general notes/comments.

Kherington needs to close her mouth. Instead of smiling at inappropriate times like she did on the show, most of her facial expressions are approximately :O This was actually one of the first things I noticed during the show.

After the requisite video montage of Nigel’s Top 5 “memorable” (aka bad) auditions, the dancers came out and performed Shane Sparks’s Elevator group number.

The dancers were introduced and did mini-solos. They then re-introduced themselves live. Katee then said that she would not be performing at all that night due to injury. I knew she had hurt her back, but I still had hope for at least the Will/Katee Complexions Pas De Deux or at least No Air.

Twitchington performed first with their “We’re Escaped Convicts” hip hop by Napoleon and Tabitha. Among other dances, they did a “world tour” of dance styles from around the world featuring Thayne and Chelsie’s Cha Cha, Josh and Twitch’s Trepak which Gev introduced in Russian (and a dress), Courtney and Mark’s Viennese Waltz (once again, Gev wore a dress), and the group Bollywood number.

Some of the highlights of the night for me were Bleeding LoveLeona Lewis - Bleeding Love - Single - Bleeding Love, Five Guys Named MoeVarious Artists - Five Guys Named Moe (Original Broadway Cast Recording) - Five Guys Named Moe, The GardenMirah - Advisory Committee - The Garden, The Dance, Twitchington’s “Bed” contemporary (which I have rose petals from in my purse), Money Money, and pretty much anything involving Chelsea H., Courtney, or Mark.

Despite the odd facial expression, I was actually really impressed by Kherington. Because all of the dances involving Katee except for group numbers were cut, some “emergency backup dances” were added in addition to the ones on the normal set list. These included Courtney and Josh’s Frankenstein hip hop (which I have no recollection of ever seeing before), Courtney and Gev’s Rumba, Jessica and Will’s “Shirt” contemporary, Marksie’s Kiss Kiss jazz and Twitchington’s Too Darn Hot Broadway.

I think there were a coupe other Courtney dances added, too. Because Katee did not perform, Jessica King did her solo which I was not at all impressed with. I know there’s a lot I haven’t talked about, but it’s really hard to remember everything. However, if you have any specific questions, it would probably make it a lot easier for me to come up with an answer than to post every single little detail that I can dredge up.

At one of the merchandise stands, I bought a tour t-shirt (just the regular one, not anything dancer-specific), leggings, and a program, all of which were ridiculously overpriced, but super cute. People were going crazy with grabbing fake money, rose petals, and confetti when they swept the stage off. I managed to grab some rose petals and ended up with a random lost bobby pin from the stage in an attempt to get confetti.


I took a lot of pictures before intermission, when my camera
conveniently died, but I’m fairly sure my camera is broken. They all
turned out massively blurry and most of them had weird lines across
them. I tried to pick out some of the better ones though.

Stay on your toes,

Selly from Dance Outlook

October 17, 2008 I Written By

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

Final So You Think You Can Dance Poll

I really don’t think there’s much argument that Joshua Allen was a great dancer and was very deserving of the prize of America’s Greatest Dancer. However, after the success of my top 4 SYTYCD poll, I thought it would be fun to put a couple polls up to see how readers of this site would vote for their FAVORITE dancer and then for the BEST dancer.

Here’s the poll for your FAVORITE So You Think You Can Dance season 4 dancer.

Here’s the poll for the BEST So You Think You Can Dance season 4 dancer.

August 7, 2008 I Written By

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

My Evaluation of the SYTYCD Top 6

I think this has to be the closest top 6 that has ever happened on SYTYCD. The biggest problem for me is that I don’t have a clear favorite like I did in season 2 and I totally loved Heidi even if I knew she wouldn’t win. It was still exciting because I was cheering for someone. Even last year was interesting for me, because I really didn’t like Danny Tidwell and so I was rooting for whoever would take him down. Thank you Sabra for doing that for me. This year is much harder since I love them all.

All of that said, here’s my take on the SYTYCD Top 6. Please leave your thoughts on them in the comments.

Chelsie Hightower – She reminds me a lot of Heidi, but I must admit that personally she kind of freaks me out that almost every male dancer has said that she acts more like a boy. I like my girls to act like girls. Of course, you never notice it on the dance floor, but I would have been happier if they left that out. She also isn’t nearly as humble as Heidi was at learning new dances and listening to the judges. I think she has a pretty reasonable chance of winning. Not to mention Chelise Hightower, the mormon, should do really well with the mormon vote. Seemed to work for Benji Schwimmer. However, I personally don’t think it will be enough for Chelsie to win SYTYCD.

Courtney Galiano – Courtney has to be the nicest most innocent looking girl that has ever appeared on SYTYCD. I really hate when she’s getting camera close up and does her pouty face. Goes a little bit too far for me. I like the sincerity that she is really afraid of getting sent home, but it just seems way to overblown for me. Her solos haven’t really been anything special to me, but her couples dances have almost all blown me away. Courtney has one of the best looks they’ve had on SYTYCD

Joshua Allen – For some reason Joshua Allen shot straight to the top of my list of favorite dancers near the beginning of this season. I have a feeling it’s his sincere love for dancing and humility in trying to learn new dances. Whatever it is, I think America has seen the same thing. I just hope that Mary and Nigel’s kiss of death tonight won’t cause a surprise and make it so Joshua supporters stop voting for him. Doesn’t he also have a little bit of Donyelle in him? Has any other guy been as big as him?

Katee Shean – The judges have honestly described Katee almost dead on. She really does have a unique quality that is beautiful to watch no matter what dance she’s doing. Amazing to see how far she’s come. It would have been fun to see if her friend could have done the same, but maybe we’ll find out next year. Katee’s had some really tough routines that she’s killed. My only question is whether she’s popular enough with America. I just hope she makes the top 4 so we get to see her dance some more.

Mark Kanemura – I don’t mind throwing Mark a bit of Hawaiian pride since I lived there for a couple years. He’s absolutely unique in his style. The problem I have with Mark is that I can’t remember one thing he’s done that has blown me away. I can’t remember anything bad either, but if he wants to win it all he’s got to WOW us. I can’t remember him ever Wowing me.

Twitch – Good old Twitch. Happy to see him making it this far after all the past failed attempts. America loves and underdog story for the most part, but I honestly don’t see Twitch as a pure underdog. He appeared in Hairspray and choreographed in Asia for a while. All of this said, he’s still fantastic to watch dance his solo. Either him or Joshua are my favorite solos of this bunch. Too bad I don’t think Twitch is going to be able to garner enough votes to win it all. Have no fear, I’m sure he’ll be brought back next year to do some choreography.

What does this all mean? My prediction is a no brainer for the guys. Mark Kanemura is getting sent home. The girls is much harder. I really can’t choose. So, I’ll just go out on a limb and say that Chelsie Hightower is going home (I won’t be surprised if I’m wrong). I mostly guess that, because I’d LOVE to see Katee and Courtney do a dance together in the SYTYCD finale. That makes my predicted top 4:
Courtney Gailano
Katee Shean
Twitch
Joshua Allen

Am I right or wrong?

July 31, 2008 I Written By

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

Elimination Music from SYTYCD Top 8 – Goodbye Comfort Fedoke and William Wingfield

The following is all the music for the elimination dances and other group dances on SYTYCD top 8. It’s amazing to me how this elimination was the opposite of last week. I was fine with both people getting sent home. Last week I didn’t want to see either person leave.

Here you can find all of the previous SYTYCD music.

Top 8 hip-hop Group dance: “Universal Mind Control” sung by Common
Common - Announcement - EP - Universal Mind Control (UMC)
Guest dancer(s): Los Angeles Ballet Pas de deux; (The Man I Love from the ballet Who Cares?)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Viv McLean & Simon Lee - Who Cares? The Gershwin Songbook for Piano and Orchestra - The Man I Love
Musical guest: “Baby” sung by LL Cool J featuring The-Dream debut this new single on So You Think You Can Dance
LL Cool J - Baby (feat. The-Dream) - Single - Baby (feat. The-Dream)
Baby (feat. The-Dream) – Original Music Video

Solos:

Comfort Fedoke: “Like This” sung by Mims
Mims - Music Is My Savior - Like This
William Wingfield: “Closer” sung by Goapele
Goapele - Change It All - Closer
Courtney Galiano: “Passion” sung by Kreesha Turner

Stephen “Twitch” Boss: “Hollywood Swinging” sung by Kool and the Gang
Kool & The Gang - The Very Best of Kool & the Gang - Hollywood Swinging

Eliminated:

Comfort Fedoke: “Come Home” sung by OneRepublic
OneRepublic - Dreaming Out Loud - Come Home
William Wingfield: “Love Remains the Same” sung by Gavin Rossdale
Gavin Rossdale - Wanderlust - Love Remains the Same
Love Remains the Same – Original Music Video

July 24, 2008 I Written By

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

Music for the Solo Dances on SYTYCD

The following is all the music for the solo dances on SYTYCD. Here you can find all of the previous SYTYCD music or the couples music for SYTYCD.

Comfort Fedoke danced a solo to the song “I Got This Down” sung by Simian Mobile Disco
Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Sustain Decay Release - I Got This Down
William Wingfield danced a solo to the song “Get Up Offa That Thing” sung by James Brown
James Brown - 20 All Time Greatest Hits! - Get up Offa That Thing
Katee Shean danced a solo to the song “Taking Chances” sung by Celine Dion
Céline Dion - Taking Chances (Deluxe Version) - Taking Chances
Mark Kanemura danced a solo to the song “Creator” sung by Santogold ft. Switch and Freq Nasty
Santogold vs. Switch and FreQ Nasty - Santogold - Creator
Chelsie Hightower danced a solo to the song “Damaged” sung by Danity Kane
Danity Kane - Welcome to the Dollhouse - Damaged
Danity Kane - Welcome to the Dollhouse - Damaged – Original music video
Joshua Allen danced a solo to the song “Shawty Get Loose” sung by Lil’ Mama ft. T-Pain and Chris Brown
Lil Mama - Shawty Get Loose (feat. T-Pain & Chris Brown) - Single - Shawty Get Loose
Shawty Get Loose – Original music video
Courtney Galiano danced a solo to the song “Where I Stood” sung by Missy Higgins
Missy Higgins - On a Clear Night - Where I Stood
Where I Stood – Original music video
Stephen “Twitch” Boss danced a solo to the song “Go To Work” sung by Kay L
Kay L - Go to Work - Single - Go to Work

July 23, 2008 I Written By

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

Music for the Couples Dances on SYTYCD

The following is all the music for the couples dances on SYTYCD. Here you can find all of the previous SYTYCD music or the solo music for SYTYCD.

Courtney Galiano and William Wingfield danced a Samba to the song I Fell in Love With the DJ—Che’Nelle choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereux
Che'Nelle featuring Cham - I Fell In Love With the DJ (Extended Radio Edit) - Single - I Fell In Love With the DJ (Extended Radio Edit)
I Fell In Love With the DJ – original music video
Courtney Galiano and William Wingfield danced a Hip-hop to the song Like You’ll Never See Me Again—Alicia Keys choreographed by Tabitha D’umo and Napoleon D’umo
Alicia Keys - As I Am - Like You'll Never See Me Again
Like You'll Never See Me Again – Original music video
Katee Shean and Stephen Twitch Boss danced a Contemporary to the song Mercy—Duffy choreographed by Mia Michaels
Duffy - Rockferry - Mercy
Katee Shean and Stephen Twitch Boss danced a Broadway to the song Sweet Georgia Brown from Bubbling Brown Sugar choreographed by Tyce DiOrio
Vivian Reed - Bubbling Brown Sugar - the Original Musical Revue - Sweet Georgia Brown
Comfort Fedoke and Mark Kanemura danced a Hip-hop to the song Party People—Nelly ft. Fergie choreographed by Tabitha D’umo and Napoleon D’umo
Nelly - Party People (feat. Fergie) - Single - Party People
Comfort Fedoke and Mark Kanemura danced a Foxtrot to the song Lady Luck—The Brian Setzer Orchestra choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereux
Brian Setzer - Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy - Luck Be a Lady
Chelsie Hightower and Joshua Allen danced a Argentine tango to the song A Los Amigos from Forever Tango choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin
Broadway Cast Recording & Lisandro Adrover - Forever Tango - A Los Amigos
Chelsie Hightower and Joshua Allen danced a Disco to the song Everlasting Love—Gloria Estefan choreographed by Doriana Sanchez
Gloria Estefan - Greatest Hits Vol. II - Everlasting Love

I Written By

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

SYTYCD Top 10 Elimination Music

What a show!! Both of my favorites get sent home. Sucks for me. I guess that’s why I’m posting this music a little later than usual. If I’m late just check the music from past SYTYCD episodes.

Group dances:
All dancers: “JBJ” from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom by Shankar Mahadevan, Sunidhi Chauhan & Zubin (Bollywood; Choreographer: Nakul Dev Mahajan)
Shankar Mahadevan, Sunidhi Chauhan & Zubin - Jhoom Barabar Jhoom - JBJ
Female dancers: “Ave Maria”—Celine Dion (Contemporary; Choreographer: Mia Michaels)
Céline Dion - These Are Special Times - Ave Maria
Male dancers: “Five Guys Named Moe” from Five Guys Named Moe (Broadway; Choreographer: Nigel Lythgoe)
Various Artists - Five Guys Named Moe (Original Broadway Cast Recording) - Five Guys Named Moe

Solos:
Comfort Fedoke: “Egypt, Egypt”—Egyptian Lover
The Egyptian Lover - King of Ecstasy (His Greatest Hits Album) - Egypt Egypt
Mark Kanemura: “Black Betty”—Ram Jam
Ram Jam - The Very Best of Ram Jam - Black Betty
Kherington Payne: “Myphilosophy”—Inner
Inner - Unquiet Grave Vol. 4 - myphilosophy
Gev Manoukian: “Feeling Good”—Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé - It's Time - Feeling Good

Eliminated:
Kherington Payne
Gev Manoukian

Elimination songs:
Kherington Payne: “Forever You May Run”—Gavin Rossdale
Gavin Rossdale - Wanderlust - Forever May You Run
Gev Manoukian: “It Ends Tonight”—All-American Rejects
The All-American Rejects - Move Along - It Ends Tonight

July 17, 2008 I Written By

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

Tons of Songs from SYTYCD Top 10 – Solos and Couples

After dealing with Jessica being out and Comfort back in, there was 2 hours of incredible dancing on SYTYCD. The 2 hour show also means tons of great SYTYCD music. Here’s the full list of songs from the top 10 show.

Courtney Galiano and Joshua Allen danced Hip-Hop to the song Skippin’—Mario choreographed by Dave Scott
Mario - Go - Skippin'
Courtney Galiano and Joshua Allen danced Rumba to the song Hero—Enrique Iglesias choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereux
Enrique Iglesias - Escape - Hero
Kherington Payne and Mark Kanemura danced Country/Western Two-step to the song Kick Back—Ty England choreographed by Ronnie DeBenedetta and Brandi Jobais
New Edition - All for Love - Kickback
Kherington Payne and Mark Kanemura danced Jazz to the song Canned Heat—Jamiroquai choreographed by Tyce Diorio
Jamiroquai - Center Stage - Canned Heat
Comfort Fedoke and Stephen “Twitch” Boss danced Smooth Waltz to the song Open Arms—Journey choreographed by Hunter Johnson
Journey - Journey: Greatest Hits - Open Arms
Comfort Fedoke and Stephen “Twitch” Boss danced Hip-hop to the song Forever—Chris Brown choreographed by Dave Scott
Chris Brown - Forever - Single - Forever
Forever – Original Music Video
Katee Shean and William Wingfield danced Broadway to the song Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat from Guys and Dolls choreographed by Tyce Diorio
Frank Loesser - Guys & Dolls - Sit Down Youre Rocking The Boat
Katee Shean and William Wingfield danced Pas de deux to the song Imagine—David Archuleta choreographed by Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson

Chelsie Hightower and Gev Manoukian danced Contemporary to the song These Arms of Mine—Otis Redding choreographed by Sonya Tayeh
Otis Redding - The Very Best of Otis Redding - These Arms of Mine
Chelsie Hightower and Gev Manoukian danced Jive to the song The House is Rockin’—Brian Setzer choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereux
The Brian Setzer Orchestra - Guitar Slinger - The House Is Rockin'

Music from the Top 10 SYTYCD Solo Performances
Chelsie Hightower danced a solo to the song “Pon de Replay” sung by Rihanna
Rihanna - Music of the Sun - Pon de Replay
Gev Manoukian danced a solo to the song “Hello Goodbye (Uncool)” sung by Lupe Fiasco ft. Unkle
Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's the Cool (Deluxe Version) - Hello/Goodbye [Uncool] (feat. Unkle)
Courtney Galiano danced a solo to the song “I Want You to Need Me” sung by Celine Dion
Céline Dion - All the Way... A Decade of Song - I Want You to Need Me
Mark Kanemura danced a solo to the song “Bohemian Rhapsody” sung by Queen
Queen - Classic Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Comfort Fedoke danced a solo to the song “Need a Boss” sung by Shareefa ft. Ludacris
Shareefa featuring Ludacris - Need a Boss - Single - Need a Boss
Stephen “Twitch” Boss danced a solo to the song “I Question Mark” sung by Wade Robson
Wade Robson - Wade Robson's Project - Dance Beats, Vol. 1 - I Question Mark
Katee Shean danced a solo to the song “This Woman’s Work” (MTV Unplugged) sung by Maxwell
Maxwell - Maxwell MTV Unplugged (Live) - This Woman's Work
William Wingfield danced a solo to the song “Dance With My Father” sung by Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross - Dance With My Father - Dance With My Father
Kherington Payne danced a solo to the song “Breakin’ Dishes” sung by Rihanna
Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded - Breakin' Dishes
Joshua Allen danced a solo to the song “Jam” sung by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson - Dangerous - Jam

July 16, 2008 I Written By

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

SYTYCD: A second chance for Comfort Fedoke

It was officially announced this morning that Jessica King had to drop out of the competition for “So You Think You Can Dance”. Jessica will appear on the show wednesday night to explain why she had to leave the competition. I’m sorry to see her leave. It’s possible she will be back on the finale show, but it’s not yet clear if she will go on the SYTYCD Tour this year. We’ll have to wait and see.

Jessica, I wish you a speedy and full recovery. Please continue with your dancing, many of us love and support you!

You can read more about it here:

Jessica drops out

“Fox announced Monday morning at the TCA press tour. “I would like to say how sorry I am that Jessica cannot continue dancing in the competition at the advice of her doctor,” executive producer/judge Nigel Lythgoe said in a statement.”

July 14, 2008 I Written By

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

SYTYCD Top 12 Elimination Music – Goodbye Comfort Fedoke and Thayne Jasperson

Here’s all the music from the SYTYCD Top 12 Elimination show. Here’s all the previous SYTYCD music.

Group dance to the song “Closer” sung by Ne-Yo (Choreographer: Napoleon D’umo and Tabitha D’umo )
Ne-Yo - Closer - Single - Closer
Guest dancer(s): Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater “Revelations” (“Sinner Man” sung by Billy Pointer)
Alvin Ailey - Revelations - Sinner Man
Musical guest: “I Kissed a Girl”—Katy Perry
Katy Perry - I Kissed a Girl - Single - I Kissed a Girl
Comfort Fedoke danced a solo to the song “Oh Timbaland” sung by Timbaland
Timbaland - Shock Value - Oh Timbaland
Thayne Jasperson danced a solo to the song “Come Home” sung by OneRepublic
OneRepublic - Dreaming Out Loud - Come Home
Jessica King danced a solo to the song “Best For Last” sung by Adele
ADELE - 19 - Best for Last
William Wingfield danced a solo to the song “Daraijan” sung by Kodo
Kodo - Mondo Head - Daraijin
Kherington Payne danced a solo to the song “All We Are” sung by OneRepublic
OneRepublic - Dreaming Out Loud - All We Are
Stephen Twitch Boss danced a solo to the song “We Gonna Win” sung by Miri Ben-Ari
Miri Ben-Ari & Styles P - The Hip-Hop Violinist - We Gonna Win

STYCD Top 12 Eliminated:
Comfort Fedoke
Thayne Jasperson

SYTYCDElimination songs:
Comfort Fedoke was eliminated to the song “The Greatest” sung by Michelle Williams

Thayne Jasperson was eliminated to the song “Believe” sung by Staind
Staind - Believe - Single - Believe

July 10, 2008 I Written By

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