SYTYCD Missing Raw Dancers This Season
I admit to you that I had the idea for this post almost a month ago. Basically, my feeling was that So You Think You Can Dance is a great show. Obviously, if I didn’t think so I wouldn’t spend the time I do on this blog. However, I think I’m kind of missing some of the rawness that we saw on previous seasons.
Certainly, it’s wonderful to watch great dancing every time out. I’m amazed at Kayla’s ability to do every style with so few technical flaws. It’s beautiful. However, it’s also really great TV to see someone kill a contemporary routine one night and then fall down doing hip hop the next. I like having that bit of unpredictable. Not to mention, the surprise that a ballroom dancer like Benji could do a broadway number to Hairspray as well as he did.
I guess I’m just saying that it’s nice to have a little bit of the unpredictable. I like to see some imperfections and flaws. I like for people to be taken way out of their comfort zone and either rise up and knock our socks off or not. There’s a reason that people like roller coasters. They go up and down and make people go Wow! I think raw dancers offer that.
Don’t get me wrong. I think you have a real chance at failing in this regard too. Tony Bellissimo is the example that scares me. Although, imagine if the whole show was filled with Tony’s. I bet if Tony had stayed longer he would have done some routines that would have made us say “TONY, WOW!” However, we would have also had some routines where we would have said, “Tony, Tony, Tony.”
Yes, I know this would mean that some very talented people wouldn’t make it into the top 20. That’s alright with me. It’s always going to be the case. I guess I just might rather have some people that are extraordinary in a couple styles and make me cringe in others than have everyone who is just average in everything.
I have to agree with you on that. Benji for me seeing him do the contemporary group pieces and the jazz he did with Natalie stand out for me…it was that jazz that changed Brain’s mind about him. Sabra was someone that had only be dancing for four years…you would have never known. Of course there was Joshua and Twitch last year. Tony would have surprised us…but with so many talented dancers how can you choose who stayed…makes me glad I am not a judge.
I completely and utterly agree. I subscribe to the “conspiracy theory” that the styles have been fixed this year to some extent, as have the pairings, and while those have given us some great dances, I miss watching dancers thrust into new styles. Especially as it is taking people out of their comfort zones that really shows us that someone is a great dancer.
I know I’m going to sound redundant here but this is part of what I enjoyed about the Canadian show. Ballerina Allie aced her way through three ballrooms before she got anywhere near a contemporary piece. Nico had theatre and contemporary yes, but he first danced a salsa routine. Not to mention ballroom dancer Natalli and contemporary dancer Vincent taking on a krump! This variation shows the viewers what the dancers can do instead if playing it safe through the competition.
I fully would have accepted criticizing Evan if he couldn’t manage a routine he was given, for example, but instead going on about everything from his height to his eyelids was just unfair nitpicking.
When the top 20 yields as great a group of dancers as this year did, why keep them in a safe bubble? Let them get hurt and fall down and struggle, so that their triumphs are all the more great, that’s what makes it worth watching.
I think the people were pushed to new genres of dance, though. I don’t think Brandon’s ever done any ballroom, for instance. And what about Melissa? She’s “just” a ballerina, so ALL of the genres are new to her. I just think that the level of dance is so good that these guys can take a new genre and just roll with it. And, throughout the competition, the judges have pointed out where they have failed, and when they have succeeded…it’s just that the failures are less spectacular.
And I still stand by my comments from another thread…I LIKE it this way. I’m not really interested in the reality competition aspect of the show. I don’t necessarily want to see growth. I just want to watch good dancing, and good choreography. I also like a wide variety of genres, too, which is why I was pleased to see the classical pas de deux and the ill-fated Russian folk. I’d like more of that!
But then, I hate roller coasters. 😉
This has probably been my least favorite season to watch SYTYCD in terms of watching a dancer outside of their so-called “comfort zone.” Perhaps this is because the leap between a hip-hop dancer doing ballroom and a ballerina doing ballroom isn’t perceived the same way. I followed the previous season (4) because it was fascinating to see Joshua attempt styles so far away from his hip-hop style.
However, there was that quality that Lacey, Sabra, Kameron, Hok, Jaimie, Chelsie, Courtney, and Katee (to name a few) had that dancers this season don’t have as much of. Katee was a beautiful, meticulous dancer that I feel you can compare to Kayla this season. However, Katee captivated me with her stage presence and charm; there was something extra about her that made her a star of the show. People still watch her Pas de Duex with Will or her No Air hip-hop with Joshua and are sold by her performances. I don’t see the same quality in Kayla. As a dancer myself, I appreciate Kayla’s lines, her flawless turns, and her ability to commit to every movement.
But she is not “raw” – everything is too refined, too perfect. That is why I hope Jeanine wins this season – the majority of her performances are heartfelt and she is a star. Beyond that, she epitomizes the idea that a dancer does not need to possess the beautiful body Kayla has in order to excel. Moreover, watching the videos and seeing her astonishment as being in the finale seems to show me that she worked beyond her own doubts to find the confidence to commit to her movements so beautifully. (I can’t have Evan win – he is simply not a good enough dancer for me to with SYTYCD.. compare him and Joshua for example).
Contemporary dancer Brandon managed to make Disco, Broadway, hip hop and several ballroom styles including Waltz and Latin all look easy. That’s because he’s an amazing dancer who takes direction well and steps up to every challenge. Brandon for the win!
Andriana,
What’s clear is that there is just something missing from the dancers this season. As I said in the post, I think it might be seeing the dancers put into awkward positions and exceeding beyond our imaginations or even failing miserably.
I’m sure this would be a tough thing for the producers of the show since they’ll have to say no to some very versatile dancers, but it makes for a better show I think.
John,
Yes I understand the producers of the show look for talent, not necessarily people who will give us a good show when they are confronted with a difficult dance. And perhaps this is a very good thing to be said of the audition process that such amazing dancers are chosen. However, after so many weeks, I had hoped that Evan would be the one I could root for, as he SEEMS every week to be the one who gets a dance he might be really awkward in (i.e. the African dance or the hiphop number with Randie). But for me, personally, he ends up just looking awkward and uncomfortable without any true charisma to pull it off as a dancer. I’m so glad that SYTYCD is finally showing in fall now, though, so that we can keep the ball rolling on this awesome show and keep seeing what the choreographers can throw out.
Just a thought: this season I felt like I was rooting for the choreographers to keep creating better and better dances, and that knowing the show had such reliable dancers, the real question would be whether the choreography surpassed my expectations. And I must say, this season’s choreographers have been UNBELIEVABLE. I can’t wait to see the dances live during the tour!
I agree with almost all that’s been said: there’s been a lack of “rawness” or “star quality” or whatever makes us love dancers from previous seasons.
However, to the producers’ credit, they honestly did try to put together a Top 20 who had some of that intangible “it” quality, it just didn’t always translate well. America didn’t fall in love with what the judges’ considered Asuka’s infectious personality. Vitolio and Karla never developed the star potential that the judges expected, despite faltering in some performances and blowing away others. Janette was a favorite because she was a consummate performer, not just a great dancer.
Sam-Mo,
I agree. All of the above said I still love SYTYCD. If this is what is considered a bad year, then the future looks very bright for fans of SYTYCD like myself.
I think what would bother me about having Tony stick around is that, although he would probably one of the raw dancers, I don’t think his self-taught hip hop is up to par with other self-taught hip hop dancers. I disliked Tony and Jonathon Platero for that matter, because I felt they were only there for their pretty faces, which I admit wasn’t completely a bad thing. However the thing that bothered me the most is that they couldn’t even dance their OWN genre well. Or at least it wasn’t entertaining enough. Jonathon could dance contemporary better than his own so I mean, I find that really odd. Now I wish they kept Max and Ashley around because I wonder what kind of element they would have added. It always boggled my mind as to why they tried to keep the number of non-contemporary dancers safe in the beginning when they essentially eliminated most of them before the top 10. Of course when placed against contemporary dancers this strong, no doubt they would have a hard time otherwise. I think also the voters were very swayed by the returnees of last season. I find that since Janette left, there is no one to help teach ball room outside of the 5 hour window they learn the routine from the choreographer. Eliminating Max was a mistake. I wanted to see more chemistry between Asuka and Vitolio but I did think Asuka was too weak and would have been eliminated later.
Going back to seeing minimal improvement in the dances. I think all the dancers have struggled especially outside of their genre but the sad part is they struggled during the rehearsal and showed little improvement from the time they learn the routine to the performance. I give them credit for only having a week to learn the routines but we’re against other dancers who were in the same situations for past seasons and were still able to provide a spectacular and believable performance.
Don’t you find it a bit suspicious that Kayla has been given “contemporary” (her own style) 4 times this season. I am pretty sure that no other dancer was given their own style to shine as often!!!!
I think Jeanine was the one dancer pushed out of her “comfort zone” the most. Only one time was she given contemporary!!!! She has had hip hop 3 times already!!!!
Come on…………is it fair to put one dancer in a situation that they can continue to shine and the other struggle????
Mayor:
I also find that a bit unfair as well. But with the overwhelming number of contemporary dancers and the judges favoring kayla, I think they were hoping America would see what a great dancer she was and create memorable pieces Kayla would be later associated with. And well it’s true, some of her pieces were memorable and she danced them technically well, but was also lacking something. Lacking a little bit of something for 4 pieces in her genre really makes it boring.
Maybe they will have the “Hot like Wow” dance Brian Friendman choreographed. I think that was the most expression I’ve seen Kayla have.
If you recall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi4nXYX9Q8w&feature=related
wow…I really wished they had kept Max.
Mayor and Christine,
The fact that she got so many of her own genre could be a good example of why the genre’s are done at random and not picked by the producers. I’d think the producers would want her to do more genres to create a better product on stage.
If Max looked like Dmitry, then he would have been kept. How sad is that?
I’m glad I’m not the only one to lament Max’s leaving so early, especially when “looks” probably played a lot into what landed him in the bottom three in the first place. I usually tend to favor ballroom dancers for their partnering skills, and it was a pity to see Max and Asuka struggle on the show.
It’s interesting how different people read Kayla’s having 4 contemporary pieces this season: some see it as evidence for a conspiracy theory, while others see it as proof that the hat is random. But also consider: does the audience really WANT the dances to be randomly assigned, or would we prefer that everyone get a fairly equal mix of the genres?
So I was looking at some video by Janette and I was completely surprised at her dancing. Had she performed these as her solos I think I would have done more research on her.
Two unbelievable performances she did. She really was trained in everything….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kernH8EwCRI&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkLaZOBW-94
Jeanine is still my fav, but I think if I had watched these first, my opinion of Janette might be different
Having known Kayla since she was a little girl, I can promise you that if she had drawn tap or pointe, she would have executed with perfection and total comfort. This girl is a dance prodigy and there is no style that she can’t perform – seamlessly! I see her personality and emotion in her dances. Look at the addiction piece. It was full of feeling. She is just a more reserved girl. People’s personalities are all different. If she got up there and hooted and hollered, it would come off as fake because that’s just not who she is.
Seriously? –
I don’t think that ANYBODY questions the fact that Kayla is extremely talented. There is no doubt about that. You are correct that everyone’s personality is different and it would be fake for her to try and be somebody she is not. On the otherhand, you must also realize that not everyone is a star or has the “star quality”. Perhaps because this is such a short run competition it won’t allow America to see Kayla’s personality. It does seem that all the other dancers have been able to show who they are to America.
Christine,
Nice videos of Janette. Is it just me or is that the same studio that Brandon was at when he was practicing his now famous solo before the show: https://www.puresytycd.com/2009/06/02/brandon-bryant-videos-before-so-you-think-you-can-dance/ ?
Well… They are both Miami townies so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. 😛