Welcome to Pure So You Think You Can Dance

I’ve been calling for Mary Murphy to dial it down as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance for a few years now. Everyone that reads this blog knows how I feel. I’m glad to see that my feelings abour Mary Murphy are shared by the New York Post in this article. Granted, they’re a little more politically correct in how they say it, but the feeling is there. The final section of the article summarizes Mary Murphy’s problems quite well:

Murphy certainly has the knowledge and the experience to be a sharp judge on the show, particularly of the ballroom-style dances, which are her forte.

But for every thoughtful comment about the flow and quality of a dancer’s movement, Murphy gives us one like: “Achoo! I’m allergic to down feathers, what can I say. But I wasn’t allergic to that routine!”

If this were Murphy’s only flaw, we could chalk it up to “hearty enthusiasm” and call it a day. Alas, it is not so.

She also has a nasty penchant for reaffirming her own statements, as in, “What you are selling there, I am buying, yes I am!”

And when she isn’t struggling to move her Botox-tempered eyebrows, she may very well turn on the waterworks and sob over a dance that touched her.

During auditions, she bawled over contemporary dancer Brandon Bryant’s performance, saying, “If you don’t make it to the Top 20, I think I’ll just die this year.” (Sniff, sob.)

Bryant made it. Our ears are not so lucky.

It’s too bad that her cringe-worthy antics cause many to hit the mute button whenever it’s her turn to critique a dance.

Credit to @bookwomanblue for pointing me to this article.

Since we’re in the Las Vegas round, it’s the perfect time to have what I’m calling the SYTYCD rant. This is where I’m going to rant about my favorite dancers getting sent home. Only problem is that I’m on the west coast and so I still have an hour until the show airs. Once the show airs I’ll be updating this post with my feelings on who I thought shouldn’t have been sent home. Until I get to enjoy So You Think You Can Dance, I welcome you to post your SYTYCD rant in the comments. Come on! Let it all out. It will make you feel better to see other people who feel the same way you do.

My SYTYCD rants…

Natalie Reid – I’m sure that no one will be surprised with this rant. What a way to cut tonight’s episode. First, you show Natalie Reid and Brandon Bryant rocking out and demonstrating Sonya’s choreography for the others and then next thing you know she’s being kicked off of So You Think You Can Dance. I do have to agree that Natalie’s actual performance wasn’t as good as what Brandon and her did together, but it does seem like something’s missing in this story.

Everyone watching the show from home thought that Natalie Reid should have gotten a chance to dance for their life. To be honest, they didn’t use the Dance for Your Life card nearly enough this season. Lil’ C said on his twitter that you only get to dance for your life if someone disagrees, but they said that Natalie Reid going home was unanimous. I guess there goes my theory that she maybe did dance for her life and it just landed on the virtual cutting room floor.

All of this said, I thought that Natalie Reid would make it to the So You Think You Can Dance top 20, but I wasn’t too disappointed to see her go. Just sad for her more than anything.

Caitlin Kinney Dancing for Her Life
Ok, I know that Caitlin kind of screwed up Mia’s choreography, but that doesn’t matter to me. The judges should lay their hands off my Caitlin Kinney. Sure, I was glad to be able to see more of Caitlin Kinney dancing, but they definitely shouldn’t have scared me by leaving the vote to Mary Murphy. Seriously, it may be the only time I was happy with Mary Murphy this season. She made a phenomenal choice to keep Caitlin Kinney on the show.

Ok, so yes I’m showing some utter and complete bias on this rant, but that’s what being a fan is all about. Now everyone that reads this website will know my bias up front. Although, I reserve the right to change my mind.

Mia is Such a Wench
There are probably a few other words that aptly describe Mia, but I like to avoid using those words. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy watching her choreography. She definitely has an awkwardly creative mind that has hit a few home runs on So You Think You Can Dance. I just didn’t like her as a judge. She was so arrogant about being a judge. Nice to see she’s opinionated, but it went too far a few times I think. Of course, Mary Murphy is still at the top of my list of least favorite judges and will remain there forever. Anyone else notice that Mary Murphy said so little in this round. That’s because she says so little of worth.

Missing Dancers
I’m not really sure how they resolve this issue, but I’d like to get to know more of the dancers and see more of the dances. I’ll give the show a bit of a pass since they have a lot of dancing to cram into 2 hours. However, I wish they offered the bonus footage of all the extra dancing and outtakes on fox.com. Maybe they’ll finally figure that out in their 10th season of the show.

I must admit that I thought I’d have a lot more rants. I think that’s a really good sign for the show. It was incredibly entertaining and the quality of the dancers in the top 20 is awesome. I can’t wait to find out who are the official So You Think You Can Dance top 20. Are there any other SYTYCD rants that I missed?

In anticipation of tonight’s premiere of So You Think You Can Dance season 5, I thought it would be fun to look at the things I’m least looking forward to see on this season of SYTYCD. No worries though, I will be following up with a post of my favorite reasons to watch So You Think You Can Dance season 5 shortly.

Without further ado, the least anticipated parts of So You Think You Can Dance season 5:
Mary Murphy Screaming – This was funny the first time. Pretty good the second time. Now, it’s just annoying. Nigel faking like it’s hurting his ears is old too. Just stop screaming. That’s not good entertainment.
Nigel (or other non athletic choreographer) Dancing – There are far too many great dancers on the show to try and do some cutesy thing and have Nigel come out dancing. I know Adam Shankman challenged Nigel to a dance, but just don’t do it. Remember Mary Murphy and Dmitry Chaplin? Just as big of a bomb. There are some of the choreographers I wouldn’t mind seeing dancing. Wade, Shane, Lil C and probably a few others, but none of the others. Cat would also be fun since she’s so adorable and untrained.
Favorite Dancer Getting Sent Home – Yes, this is bound to happen. Remember Allison Holker? Yep, she was sent home far too early and the cry was heard around the world. Someone else that is an incredibly talented dancer will get sent home too early again this year and we will mourn their loss.
Sex – No, they don’t have sex on SYTYCD. Get your mind out of the gutter. I’m talking about that wretched dancer who must be delusional to keep coming back to audition. Maybe this year, Nigel and company will finally cut him out in the editing process and he’ll stop coming back for good.
Single Style Dancer Sent Home – Someone who’s incredibly incredibly talented in their own style will get sent home because they can’t do the other styles. This is really sad, because usually you want to see them dance for their life again and again.

Any other parts of So You Think You Can Dance that are the worst?

Ok, do I really need to introduce any video of Cat Deeley? It’s absolutely worth watching if she’s in it. Plus, she really has a good understanding of what So You Think You Can Dance season 5 is going to be like. In the video Cat says that people know what to expect from the show now. It’s true and that’s what makes me so excited for So You Think You Can Dance season 5.

As far as Mary Murphy and her hot tamale train. I’d be really happy if I never heard about her hot tamale train again and her screaming can get on the train and never return also. It was novel the first season Mary screamed, but now it’s just old. Her preview of SYTYCD 5 is good though:

I’ve previously talked about the new SYTYCD 5 dances that we can hope to see on So You Think You Can Dance 2009. I also have suggested some new SYTYCD 5 music that they could consider using on So You Think You Can Dance 2009.

The question now is who could be the new judges on So You Think You Can Dance 5.

I wish I could say that Mary Murphy was going to be gone and replaced by someone else. However, I’ve read that her and Nigel will be back for another season.

The first person to top my list of judges on So You Think You Can Dance 2009 is Kenny Ortega. Not only is he the mastermind behind the choreography on High School musical, but he really knows what he is talking about. He has a great way of describing what people are doing well and not doing so well.

I’d love to see Luther Brown make an appearance on So You Think You Can Dance US. I don’t want him there every week, but I enjoyed his feedback on So You Think You Can Dance Canada.

I’d also love to see almost any of the judges from So You Think You Can Dance Australia. Those judges were raw and interesting. Much more so than the SYTYCD US judges.

I don’t want to see any of the supposed “judges” who were on Superstars of Dance. They were a joke and shouldn’t be on television again.

I’d love to have Benji Schwimmer back as a judge, but I hear he might be on So You Think You Can Dance Canada as a full time judge. Dmitry, Chelsie, and Lacey are busing on Dancing with the Stars. How about bringing the too quickly discarded Allison Holker as a judge? That would be really neat.

I just hope that SYTYCD US isn’t submitted to the lame and rather arrogant Blake McGrath as a judge. His choreography is cool, but not as a judge.

Oh yeah, I still think that So You Think You Can Dance should bring in a fan of the show to be a guest judge on one of the shows. Possibly someone who knows the show and has followed it quite extensively. Someone who knows how to write about the show and share impressions of the show. I might know someone who runs a blog called Pure So You Think You Can Dance that would be willing to do it *wink* *wink*

Who would you like to see as new judges on So You Think You Can Dance?

FOX has announced that So You Think You Can Dance 5 will premiere on May 21. Fox’s top summer series will premiere its fifth season of So You Think You Can Dance on a Thursday. The premiere will run for two hours and will be followed by another two-hour episode on Wednesday, May 27.

I’m sad to say that Mary Murphy is back as a judge. Nigel will be back as a judge as well which is just fine with me. Of course, we are all happy that Cat Deeley will be back to host the show.

Auditions for the show are still going on with dates in Denver (March 12), Memphis, Tenn. (March 16) and Seattle (March 28). Check out my recent post for more details on the So You Think You Can Dance auditions. It has dates, times, locations and other details you’ll need to know to audition for So You Think You Can Dance.

May still feels like a long way away, but I’m glad that we’re at least close enough to know a date for the premiere of So You Think You Can Dance 2009. Anyone else excited for SYTYCD 5?

I often get questions about how people can be apart of the So You Think You Can Dance Live Studio Audience. Turns out it’s really easy. All you need to do is go to this website and fill out the form to get your name added to the waitlist.

Once you’re on the waitlist you have a chance of getting tickets to the show. The website says the show is on hiatus so I’m not sure what will happen if you sign up now. I imagine it couldn’t hurt.

The show is taped in CBS Television City in Hollywood. There’s a nice little parking structure in the back at “The Grove” mall thing. It’s a swanky little place that’s fun to visit after the taping. It also has a cheesecake factory but was really crowded when I was there. It’s also interesting that this is the same location that Dancing with the Stars tapes. That’s why I know so much about it.

Anyway, the best reason to go to the show has got to be the opportunity to see Cat Deeley up close. The worst reason to go is because you’ll have to listen to Mary Murphy scream up close.

Check out all the So You Think You Can Dance Season 5 auditions.

I just read an interview with Shane Sparks on Zap2It where he’s asked if he’s going to be back on the next season of So You Think You Can Dance. Here’s the question and Shane Spark’s response:

Now that this season is happening separately from when So You Think You Can Dance is airing, are you gonna be able to do some work with them this season?
We’re working on it right now, trying to get me in more this season, get me on camera for some of the show.

Judging?
Yeah.

It’s unfortunate that Shane won’t be doing choreography for the show. I’d much rather have him doing choreography than judging, but if he’s able to replace Mary Murphy at the judges table, then I’ll be happy.

Mary Murphy has long been acclaimed the Queen of Scream. While the dancers certainly love to hear her scream since that means she liked their performance, many of the shows fans have often complained about her screaming. So, let’s hear your opinions on the infamous Mary Murphy.

Also, feel free to rant, complain and/or compliment Mary Murphy in the comments.

Since the US version of So You Think You Can Dance is over until next summer, I decided it’s time to turn our attention to some of the various international So You Think You Can Dance shows.

First up is So You Think You Can dance Canada. The Series Premier of So You Think You Can Dance Canada is on September 11th at 8 p.m. ET on CTV, and with an encore presentation on September 14 on MuchMusic. That means we don’t have much longer to wait.

The Judges:
The judges are Tré Armstrong and Jean Marc Genereux with host, Leah Miller. You’ll also get to see alternating Third Judges: Blake McGrath (US SYTYCD Season 1) and Luther Brown. The following guest judges are also scheduled to appear: Paul Becker, Mary Murphy, Dan Karaty, Rex Harrington, Melissa Williams, and Sean Cheesman.

Auditions have already taken place in the following locations:
* April 7 – Vancouver, British Columbia – The Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts
* May 5 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – Cunard Centre
* May 12 – Calgary, Alberta – MacEwan Conference & Event Centre
* May 27 – Montreal, Quebec – Theatre St-Denis – 600 auditioned
* June 8 – Toronto, Ontario – Metro Toronto Convention Centre – approx. 1000 auditioned

A few quick quotes about So You Think You Can Dance Canada:
“We were amazed at the diversity of dancers we found in each of our audition cities,” said Executive Producer Sandra Faire. “They inspired us with their passion for dance and their determination to become Canada’s favourite dancer. We know viewers will fall in love with them!”

“During the inaugural audition tour, the feedback from the judges and choreographers was that Canada’s crop of dancers was absolutely phenomenal,” said Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc.

“Canada has some of the best dancers on the planet!” says U.S. So You Think You Can Dance judge Mary Murphy

Other Good News for SYTYCDC:
Putting its best foot forward, CTV announced its biggest promotional campaign ever for a television series on the network. Beginning September 1, CTV will roll out an extensive national multi-platform promotional campaign supporting the highly-anticipated premiere of So You Think You Can Dance Canada.

Personal Thoughts
I can tell you from my experience on this blog that no one is more passionate about So You Think You Can Dance than Canadians. I’ve pissed off more than a few canadians with my comments and they are happy to give it right back. I love them for it.

Of course, as always we’ll be trying our best to post all the So You Think You Can Dance Canada music once the shows start in September. In the meantime, you can go back and see the list of US SYTYCD music.