Benji Schwimmer and Heidi Groskreutz (From So You Think You Can Dance) Dancing at Showcase Division 2005 US Open Swing Dance Championships
In my previous post about Dmitry Chaplin and Martha Nichols Get Sent Home on So You Think You Can Dance I put a link to an incredible video of Benji Schwimmer a mormon, and his cousin Heidi Groskreutz also a mormon, dancing at the Showcase Division 2005 US Open Swing Dance Championships. However, it was buried in the midst of Dmitry getting kicked off. Therefore, I thought that it deserved a post of its very own:
Tell me that isn’t amazing!!
See Also:
–Old School Video of Benji Schwimmer Dancing – A Benji TV Network or DVD?
–Still Healing from Allison Holker’s Departure from So You Think You Can Dance, Watch Disney’s High School Musical
–So You Think You Can Dance Tour
–Enlightening Questions About So You Think You Can Dance(SYTYCD)
–Benji and Heidi’s Club mambo, Black Mambo and Broadway Dance, Fake Your Way to the Top
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No it’s not. It would be interesting how they would react if they were number 1 and 2.
However, I think number 2 might be a good thing kind of like it was for number 2(Clay Aiken) in American Idol.
I’m in love with Benji’s dancing and his personality. That boy is talented and has an awesome spirit!
So You Think You Can Dance is an amazing show!
I’m not disagreeing that Benji is talented and has a great personality. I just still can’t wrap my thoughts around why Benji is so popular. Can you please explain?
All you wonderful Benji lovers make sure you see my new Benji Schwimmer TV Network and DVD and a classic Benji dance video.
I love Benji and Heidi. I always thought that they were a good couple together and that they had good chemistry, but then I found out that they were cousins and I kinda grossed myself out…anyways, Benji and Heidi are very skilled dancers and I would be voting for them all the way…oh, and about the Morman thingy, I seriously doubt that it would become an issue because this is a dance competition, religion has little if anything to do with it…if Benji and Heidi become number 1 and 2 (which I hope) then I think that they would become popular together, since they were dance partners since Benji was 6…just my two cents…
Why is Benji so popular? Because he is better.
If you ever watch “Singing in the Rain,” there’s a number (Moses Supposes) with Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor. You can see the extra stretch to Gene’s arms, a little more bounce in his steps. Donald’s a good dancer, but putting them together, you can see why Gene was great.
Watching Benji and Heidi made me flash back to that – Heidi’s very good, but Benji put in that little bit extra.
It probably doesn’t hurt that he has had such great chemistry with Donyelle.
Techie…….I just have to comment on your consideration of Benji as “an average dancer”.
Are you watching the same show as the rest of us? Come on my friend…..even a ‘non-dancer’ can see the smooth, precise, energetic and focused performances that Benji delivers.
As a professional dance instructor and choreographer (for many years now)I can honestly say that Benji is “THE WHOLE PACKAGE”. He’s what choreographers hope and pray for in their work – namely, someone who executes without the appearance of “thinking-through” the material while they are performing it; tells “the story” with their presence and without the audience needing to interpret the story; and one who draws the audience into “the moment”, because they are IN the moment.
I predict that (if America gets it right)Benji will win this contest – and approppriately so. To that end, I believe it is important for American voters to keep a few basic principles in mind. First, this contest is not about who is the “most improved” over the course of the season. Although it is reasonable to expect that they will ALL improve to some degree, the show isn’t called “So you think you can learn”….the winner of this contest is supposed to “have already arrived” at the status that makes them worthy of the crown….the show is primarly a place to PROVE it….not simply an opportunity to “improve it”. Secondly (and perhaps most importantly), America’s “choosing” the best dancer (by way of voting)should simply be an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of the reality…not the creation of it.
Rob,
Don’t get me wrong. Benji is a better dancer than 99% of the world. My point was that amongst professional dancers I think that Benji is an average dancer. I believe almost all professional dancers have “THE WHOLE PACKAGE” as you describe it. So comparing Benji to other professional dancers what makes him SO special? Fine, I’ll even give you that he’s in the middle ground of professional dancers with the potential to do great things with dance. However, that still seems to me like he’s an average dancer amongst professionals.
Honestly, I’m not sure how you judge between professional dancers. They all have excellent technique which is the closest to objective as you can get. After that, I believe it is really a subjective preference that each of us may have or feel.
I mostly agree with your improvement point. Improvement shouldn’t be the basis for you winning the competition. My only exception would be if you improve to the point where you are better than everyone else. If that’s the case then you should win. However, with so many dances I’m not sure this is really possible either.
In the end Rob, I’m pretty sure Benji has a lock. That said, The American Idol effect could happen to Benji like it did to Allison. That effect being that America likes to support the underdog and those Benji supporters stay home because they think he has it made.
I love Benji! I have watched him from the beginning of the show and he is awesomly great! He has nailed every dance theme. Benji shines! When he’s dancing, I can’t take my eyes off of him because I feel I might miss something. I hope he wins. And if not Benji, then Donyelle, she’s my second best dancer.
I honestly don’t understand how anyone can have Ivan as a favorite. He has to be one of the least versatile dancers on the show. I’ll give him credit, he has grown quite a bit. Still, he shouldn’t have made it past the first cut, when they wrongly let Stanislav go instead of him. Ivan’s got potential but the show isn’t “so you think you can be a great dancer in 5 years)
I’m more amazed that you think Ivan will be a great dancer in 5 years. I think he could be a great dancer in his style. My bets against him ever being a great dancer in any other style.
heide in a great dancer the winner in my book
mmkay. a couple things to say… first, you may already know this, but if either benji or heidi win, they’ve decided to split the money.
second, sometimes i doubt the judging/voting/audition process. this routine is the same one benji did with heidi when he had to dance for his life in the vegas round. seeing what a fantastic dance benji is, i find it hard to believe that his dancing abilities were EVER actually doubted by the judges. furthermore, benji’s father was originally supposed to be a choreographer on the show and he told nigel that since his son was going to be auditioning, it would be a conflict of interest and therefore couldn’t be on the show. clearly, going into the vegas round, nigel and the judges had to have the following information:
1. benji came from a family of world renowned dancers.
2. benji (together with heidi) won the 2005 U.S. Open Swing Dance Championships… this would be pretty obvious based on their resumes.
personal conclusion: the only reason they asked benji to dance for his life is that, with both performers so conveniently in the audition process, the producers wanted to showcase this fantastic, award winning routine to boost ratings.
i simply refuse to believe that benji ever would have truly given the judges a reason to doubt his dancing ability.
Heidi and Benji are so amazing! It’s too bad only one of them can win So You Think You Can Dance!
Techie……
I hear ya. BUT a few points of edification (if you don’t mind).
First of all, Benji is NOT a professional dancer (not yet, anyway). Don’t get
me wrong, I love this guy. But by definition, a professional dancer is someone
who (quite literally) dances as a profession. THAT’s what makes Benji SO
special….the fact that he is already as good as he is, WITHOUT being a
professional. (I can only imagine what he would be like with a few more years
of ballet, jazz, etc……this guy is clearly Broadway-bound if he so desires).
You say that: “almost all professional dancers have “THE WHOLE PACKAGEâ€
(boy, do I wish that was true….my job would be SO much easier)!
    This simply is NOT true. In fact, only a minority do. I know….I
choreograph (for a living) true professional dancers (Broadway National Tour
folks). They all WISH they had “the whole package”, but they don’t (and most of
them would comfortably admit it). The truth is, in the history of professional
dance, “whole packages” are NOT the majority – quite the contrary.
You also say: “…I’m not sure how you judge between professional dancers.
They all have excellent technique which is the closest to objective as you can
get. After that, I believe it is really a subjective preference that each of us
may have or feel.”
    Excellent technique is NOT the only element of critique. You may recall
one couple being criticized as “dancing by numbers”. They “did the right steps”
(and they did them accurately), but it was empty otherwise. What was missing
was the all important issues of “line” (alingment), expression, flow (gracefull,
seamless continuity), ability to emote, and endurance (note that Benji is one of
the FEW contestants on that show who doesn’t “loose steam” half to
three-quarters of the way through an up-tempo routine (by this choreographer’s
observation). These elements are measurable – subjectively AND objectively –
and at the end of the process, the dancer who has “the whole package” is the
dancer who excels in each of these criteria (e.g., Benji).
We DO agree on the improvement issue, and I also offer agreement that the “idol
effect” could impact the outcome of this or any contest that depends strictly on
“call-in” votes. If I were Benji, I would rally the entire national LDS
community into a “call-a-thon” for that last show. Afterall, I believe his
talents are “God-given”…..why shouldn’t they be endorsed via a similar
mechanism 🙂
Techie……Important point of correction:Â Benji doesn’t own a “dancing”
nonprofit organization……facts are important here! He founded a charitable
organization to which dancers (mostly non-professional) contribute.  But for
the sake of analogy….what if he WAS the owner of a professional dance
organization?……would that make him a professional dancer??? Could a
non-dancer own such an organization – and if so, would that make him/her a
professional dancer?  I think not. Clearly you present a false
syllogism….it’s like saying that Jerry Lewis is a doctor because he chairs the
muscular dystrophy foundation.Â
As far as professional dancers’ admissions…..that’s all I work
with…..believe it or not.
As far as ““line†(alingment), expression, flow (gracefull, seamless
continuity), ability to emote, and endurance…there are standards, but to
explain them to you here is FAR too laborious. It would be like a mechanic
trying to explain fuel injection and rear-wheel suspension to me. Suffice to
say I’ve spent my life studying dance and choreography, consequently, I know
what I know.
Ah…the lurking question of how does America know the difference?….I’m not
sure that they do…or even have to. I believe Nigel answered that question for
all of us on this evening’s show…….he captivates them…..he “draws them
into his performance (“even when another dancer might do a certain move
better”)”. Well said Nigel! Or as Blaise Paschal would put it: “The heart has
its reasons, of which the mind knows nothing.”
In my restoration of my blog after being deleted I couldn’t find one of techie’s posts that would go in between Rob’s 2 posts.
Let’s just say Rob totally schooled techie in his need to not write while he’s watching TV.
The best point techie made was Why does America need to know who the most technical dancer is?
Thanks Rob for the comments. Sorry that the website got taken down. Hopefully I’ve restored the essence of the conversation.
I personally bow to your points about Benji and I’ll make sure I stop writing reponses to comments when my wife is talking to me.
I still personally disagree with your idea that there are standards in dancing. In fact, your comments about Benji seem to prove it. He doesn’t follow the standard, but still looks great. I guess the question I would ask is, if there is a standard then dancing is just following the standard which is no fun. If the standard is entertainment value like Benji is providing then that can’t be judged objectively.
I’m glad we both agree on what Nigel said and I love the Blaise Paschal quote.
P.S. Techie is now somethingfornothing(although I might change it later)
Ok…. so I thought Mormons were supposed to dress modestly. I was just curious because Heidi dresses like a Hoochie!! But then I see Donyell and she wears more conservative clothing and she’s not mormon. I was just wondering if Heidi was really Mormon or not because all the mormons I know don’t dress like that, even if they are preforming.
I’d like to respond to the “Hoochie comment made by BRITTNEY when referring to Heidi, who is a Mormon. Not only is it way off; it’s rude. I am not LDS, but I know that Mormons in entertainment functions do wear costumes that are appropriate and necessary for their performances. I hope you don’t think Donyelle and Heidi (and all the other dancers) CHOSE their own wardrobes. Talented and professional costumers are hired and paid very well to select/create outfits that enhance the dancers’ forms and meet the standards for the particular dances they do. Donyelle’s figure isn’t the type that lends itself to the costumes worn by Heidi and vice versa. Heidi would look like a steet urchin or bag lady if she wore Doynelle’s style. I’m sure you can look up Heidi on the Internet and find many comments on her faith, adherence to its tenets, and her activities that cause her to be a celebrated role model in her church.
heidi definitely has great legs and a good body but she does need to put on some more clothes. i am Mormon and we don’t dress like that even if we are performing. I don’t mind if she wants to wear a spaghetti strap dress, but she doesn’t need to wear a piece of fabric so mniniscule and tight that the lining, or her chest, pops out. i do realize that often their costumes are picked out for them, but if you noticed, Benji was almost always covered (compared to Dmitry). Yes, it is easier for guys to be ‘modest’ but if Heidi truly cared about being covered up she would have requested more clothing. Every other girl had more clothes on during their performances on a regular basis. The other girls had good bodies as well. Also, when the top four went to the ‘Step Up’ movie premiere, Heidi was in a little dress that was so tight it ripped. I would bet that they got to pick their own clothes for that premiere. It goes to show that she dresses immodestly on and off the stage. I think she is a great dancer and is probably strong in her faith, but as a representative of the Church, she should dress more modestly on national television.
OK, I am not the hugest Heidi fan, I love Benji, but I’ve got to defend her on the wardrobe. Have you ever seen ballroom performances? They always wear those little outfits that show as much of the female form as possible, it’s because you’re twisting and turning and doing the splits and being thrown up in the air, so they want you to see the movements as well as possible. Heidi is the only ballroom dancer, contemporary dancers wear flowier materials because that meets with their style of dance, hip hop dancers typically wear baggy pants, etc. But female ballroom dancers (except for Waltz) ALWAYS wear those types of little costumes, check out any professional ballroom competition on TV, especially Latin!
i have watched benji for sometime with his dancing, mainly on the us open tapes. i am in awe of this this dancer and his partner. the connection between them is exciting, i like his attitude towards dancers. i have been dancing for 11 years and i’m still learning from watching people like benji. i love to see it come to australia, i would beeive it would be hit over here if we had a show like’ so you think you can dance’. benji deserves the first place, he has worked hard for it.
steven gooch (australia)
Woah!!! I am mormon and we DO sometimes wear immodest things for entertainment and sports related things!! HELLO?? SWIMMING?? ICE SKATING??? BALLROOM DANCING?? TENNIS??? LACROSSE??? Its the same with uniforms as with costumes! They’re entertainers, and it is a costume.
Oh, and gymnastics.
Julie,
You do have to admit that it’s interesting that the church owned BYU attempts to have more modest attire when dancing and they also won’t host the Latin professionals, because the costumes are too risque. I think this is a good message for all of us.
The key is for us to do our best at being modest while still respecting the “sport” we are participating in. Often immodest clothing is superfolous to the even taking place. For example, there are some swimsuits that are more modest than others. The same can be said for dancing costumes. Mormons should strive to find modest costumes that don’t detract from the art of dancing. I think it’s possible.
Just to throw in another example is the butt huggers that volleyball players wear. The argument has always been that these butt huggers don’t restrict your movement. I’ve watched a lot of Men’s collegiate volleyball and none of them were wearing this attire, yet they all seemed to be playing at a very high level. I think the women could do the same.