OMG only 2 more days! Seeing this on Saturday night can’t wait! If you didn’t hear this movie contains 6 previous contestants from SYTYCD. Even excited as Adam Shankman LOL who produced the movie
I also like you guys an opinion I’m thinking of doing a comp and I need some help what do you think will be the best idea to have. I have prizes but I can’t think of anything
There were two dancers who’s lifespans on SYTYCD’s stage were cut shot: Alex Wong and Ashley Galvan. Here I will take a look at their growth in the few weeks they were on the show, what is open to them in the near future and what to expect from them and vice versa should they choose to audition for Season 8.
Other posts in this series include: All-Stars, Kent Boyd, Lauren Froderman, Robert Roldan, Adechike Torbert, and Billy Bell.
ALEX WONG
Alex, Alex, Alex, it was far too early for him to leave. He had barely scraped the surface of what he could do, and all he wanted to do was learn other styles! Anyway, enough crying… here is a look into Alex’s short but prominent journey.
Las Vegas Week
Alex had an amazing solo at the start of Vegas Callbacks, but the judges pointed out that they are not seeing his passion of dance while he dances. While he’s incredibly proficient and extremely talented, you don’t really see “him” while he dances. Like he’s dancing for dancing and not dancing in the moment (gee sounds like a lot of other guys this season).
Meet the Top 11
– Wade Robson’s Jazz
I noticed him throughout the dance and he seemed a little stiff, then again this is Wade Robson and his movement is no where near ballet-style. One thing however, you could see “him” while he dances. He’s enjoying this, soaking up every moment of this journey. You know he wants this and wants this bad.
– Mia Michael’s Contemporary
I thought he was absolutely amazing. Yes, you see a hell of a whole lot of his classical dancing in this piece. Yes there wasn’t a lot of contemporary for Alex, but at the same time this piece was to showcase Alex at his best…
Week 1: Top 11 Performances
– Jazz w/ Allison Holker choreographed by Sonya Tayeh
O.M.G. Technically jazz a small step away from ballet, there is still some structure but not nearly the amount of that from ballet. Nevertheless, in Alex’s first official foray away from the barre he did not just well he was amazing. Granted having Allison there certainly helped a lot, but let’s face it, this is an All-Star in the making. He connected well with Allison but like other dancer he seemed to more of a moving art… in this case more like a tv show you just can’t keep your eyes off of.
Week 2: Top 10 Performances
– Broadway w/ Lauren Gottlieb choreographed by Tyce Diorio
When it comes to Broadway, Lauren seems to be the go-to girl for Tyce. A bit of Alex’s personality was shining through and I rather enjoyed the piece, but something was off… what I really don’t know, but something was definitely off.
Week 3: Top 9 Performances
– HipHop w/ Twitch choreographed by NappyTabs
How many people watched this piece multiple times raise your hand *raises hand*. Personality, characterization, chemistry, forget about dance ability that was in the bag and he adapted extraordinarily well… totally unexpected. Then again, if you’ve seen some of his behind the scenes dance videos I’m not terribly surprised. How do you top a dance like this?
After the Injury
The answer is: “You don’t”. Unfortunately Alex was injured and couldn’t continue on with the show. He had an amazing run in the short time that he was on and it is going to be very difficult for people to match that. What Alex has opened up to the ballet world is no different than what Melissa Sandvig did two seasons ago as a ballerina. Now THAT would be a pairing I’d like to see. Alex just did it a year later taking the path that Melissa laid out for him and crashed through the door screaming “HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE’S ALEX!”
In any case, Alex’s healing time is several months, and it has only been about a month.. give or take a week. After that he will have long physical therapy sessions moving onward and working on that ankle to see how much strain he would be able to put on it again. One may say, “if he hadn’t joined the show this wouldn’t have happened.” Truth of that matter is, he’s a dancer, not just any dancer, a soloist from the Miami City Ballet group… as thus he’s putting his ankle through no more strain than he did during the show, so this injury could have happened at any time, it was just unfortunate it happened while on the show.
Looking towards Season 8
Knowing that his chances of being on the tour are slim, there seems to be an open invitation for him (should he choose to do so) to try out for the show next season. Alex seems to be the type of dancer that loves dancing but wants to grow and learn and develop further as a dancer and it seems that to him that would mean learning other styles of dance. Granted he could do that pretty much anywhere, but the show really immerses the dancer and connects them with choreographers and other dancers that one would be bound to cross paths with once again in their short life spans as dancers.
Alex, ankle permitting, would go for the show again. Knowing that he tried out once but was rejected due to a contract. Purposely decided not to renew the contract to try out on the show only to be injured, the third time’s gotta be a charm.
It’s going to be hard to predict the kind of dancer Alex would be the second time around. All that is going to depend on the healing of his ankle, but he’s a fighter so I wouldn’t be surprised if he not only matches the dancer he was before, but this time surpasses it…
ASHLEY GALVAN
*Sighs* and right after we all are trying to recover from the shock of losing Alex to injury a girl goes down too… This time it’s Ashley with something wrong with her ribs. Ashley’s injury, though not as potentially detrimental as Alex’s, would force her out of the competition, but fortunately would have healed in time for the tour which brings an interesting proposition. But let’s hold off on that and take a look at her short but longer than Alex’s journey.
Las Vegas Week
Not much was known about Ashley during Vegas week, in fact aside from Robert she didn’t get much air time until towards the end. So with so little information about her, there isn’t much to analyse here…
Meet the Top 11
– Wade Robson’s Jazz
Amongst the five ladies in the group she blended in rather well with the group. She didn’t stick out like Lauren, Cristina or Alexie (and not in good ways) but she didn’t really draw me in either… And with so many brunettes in the group it was really hard to search her out even if I wanted to.
– Sonya Tayeh’s Jazz
Poor planning by the producers I think. When you’re looking at a group shot the look of Courtney and Ashley are so similar you can’t really tell them apart. Plus with Courtney being my least favorite All Star she already stands at a level lower than the rest which means it would be easier for Ashley to reach to her level in my book.
Week 1: Top 11 Performances
– Contemporary w/ Neil Haskell choreographed by Tyce Diorio
So with all the talk of dancers not being able to connect with their partners, or connect with the audience Ashley was able to do both! Not only is she extremely talented, but she has already proven to be a step ahead of the pack. And considering the caliber of the other dancers is pretty difficult to do. Her chemistry with Neil was so good it made me and Emilie believe that there really WAS something there. Only to find out that she had a focal point for that dance, just not Neil. She danced in the moment which was a very good thing.
Week 2: Top 10 Performances
– Jazz w/ Mark Kanemura choreographed by Travis Wall
The problem I had about this dance wasn’t Ashley per see, but that there didn’t seem to be much of a change from the previous week. Like she plateaued a little bit for a week…
Week 3: Top 9 Performances
– Contemporary w/ Ade Obayomi choreographed by Dee Caspary
Another contemporary piece? Ashley needs to stretch her wings, not stick with dance styles that she could already master. Doesn’t matter though, because this piece requires a connection and trust in her partner so grand that despite it being contemporary Ashley went deeper into her vulnerable psyche and pulled out another piece to lay on the floor… in other words it brought out another piece of her not already seen from the previous weeks.
Week 4: Top 8 Performances
– HipHop w/ Dominic Sandoval choreographed by NappyTabs
Ashley did reasonably well in this routine, it wasn’t memorable, it wasn’t exciting, but it was passable. Her chemistry was good as was her dancing. I think I would have loved to have seen her do that window hiphop dance with Twitch though instead of Alexie… because I think that would have brought more out of her than this routine did.
– Quickstep w/ Robert Roldan choreographed by Jean-Marc Généreux & France Mousseau
The kiss of death, dun dun duuuuun. The most technically challenging piece she probably had to do all show… and she did a very good job. The steps were smooth, she didn’t “hop” as much as Robert did… she glided across the floor as was necessary, all in all a surprising job. Her chemistry was Robert was very strong, but her chemistry wasn’t something I was worried about at all…
After the Injury
Ashley’s injury isn’t as serious as Alex’s but nevertheless it forces her out of commission for a few weeks. Which means she would be ready for the tour if she decides to do the tour rather than audition/compete for a spot in Season 8. For a dancer that would be a safer route, but anyone that auditions for So You Think You Can Dance don’t necessarily audition because this is a career move, they typically want to audition because they want to learn, they want to grow or they want to be noticed.
Ashley is in that unique position, should she take the safe route and go on tour? Or should she complete the journey that she had to end prematurely early and audition for Season 8?…
Looking towards Season 8
The audience is split when it comes to Ashley. There is one arena that would love to see her on tour, and there is another arena that would love to see her on the show again.
I’m split as well, because it’s a matter of what does one want to do versus the practical thing to do. To me she’s still young, still has a lot of life in her… trying out for the show again isn’t a bad thing, but getting back on the show isn’t a guarantee either. And remember she didn’t get a lot of screen time in auditions or Vegas this time around…
As I mentioned earlier of all the dancers I felt that Ashley was already one step ahead of the curve in that she was able to create and maintain a level of chemistry with most every partner thus far. While as the other dancers had the most trouble in that arena. The same goes with connecting with the audience and the piece… granted Ashley was able to draw on personal experience to turn those dances into her own which probably helped her case… it would have been interesting to see a dance between her and Lauren.. alas that was not to be.
In Conclusion
In either case, even though I that we could see both of the above two dancers auditioning for Season 8 and it would be a joy to see them… I say we shouldn’t be surprised to see Ashley on the tour.
As for Alex going on to Season 8 the only worry I have is that it’s not a guarantee that Alex would get on the show (Brandon Dumlao anyone?).
Nevertheless these two were very strong dancers and I feel like they will up their game if either of them chose to try again for Season 8… What do you think?
My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)
As an add-in for this week’s series: Billy Bell, the Top 6 Dancer that was given a second chance… twice. As always the previous posts in this series include: All-Stars, Kent Boyd, Lauren Froderman, Robert Roldan and Adechike Torbert.
Was it worth it? Did the judges/producers make the right choice in bringing in Season 6 Original Top 20 dancer Billy Bell into the fold for Season 7?
You know, I find it kind of odd that Billy Bell was originally part of the Top 20 on Season Six, but had to withdraw due to illness only to be added onto Season Seven as the sixth guy effectively turning the Top Ten into the Top Eleven… Only for him to be out of commission on Week Six while in the Top Six and then for him to end his run on Season Seven in the Top Six? You guys see a trend here? 😀
All kidding aside let’s take a look at his journey from Las Vegas week to his exit…
Las Vegas Boot Camp
Going through Las Vegas he didn’t really standout as much as the judges expected of him (considering it’s his second time around) except during his solos.
In fact, when the judges chose the Top 10, Billy ended up getting cut… which stood to reason that he would have to wait til another year. Even Adam Shankman told Billy, when the judges were going around telling people if they made the Top 10 or not, that he didn’t really “show up” until his final solo.
However, the producers and judges decided to add a sixth guy and as thus included Billy into Season 7… but was it worth it?
Meet the Top 11:
– Wade Robson’s Jazz
– Mia Michaels Contemporary
During the Wade Robson routine his unique style of dance blended well with Wade’s choreography… I believe that if Wade Robson were to choreograph him in a dance it would be a very special kind of magic. Mia Michaels, in her own way, did just that. Billy had the role of a child, his insane flexibility and movement fit the role so perfectly that it was very easy for me to see why he is such a special dancer.
Week 1: Top 11 Performance:
– Broadway w/ Lauren Gottlieb choreographed by Tyce Diorio
After watching this dance I started to realize that in between dance steps my eyes lingered to Lauren… and suddenly I understood what Adam was talking about. Billy needed to work on filling the space in between steps. Without filling out that void he won’t be able to complete the movement.
Week 2: Top 10 Performance
– Krump w/ Comfort choreographed by Lil C
So we learned that Billy Bell started dancing in hiphop, which would mean that he should have some sort of idea of how to feel into it. Except when he was dancing with Comfort his movement was very flowing and very… well… contemporary-ish. Is it because he wasn’t allowing enough friction in this steps? Or power? Whatever the reason, this was not a strong dance for Billy
Week 3: Top 9 Performance
– Contemporary w/ Kathryn choreographed by Stacey Tookey
W00T, Season 6 reunite. 😀 Anyway, this is a very beautiful piece… it felt like a moving painting. Which is not necessarily a good thing. I love watching him dance but I’m not drawn into his dancing much like how I love various pieces of art but I won’t necessarily appreciate it wholeheartedly. So this would be an issue of connecting? Chemistry? Seems like I’m not the only one that believes this considering this is Billy’s first trip to the Bottom 3.
Week 4: Top 8 Performances
– Broadway w/ Katee Shean (Allison out due to injury) choreographed by Spencer Liff
Billy’s second Broadway piece this season. Remember how everyone’s dream is for Billy and Allison to dance together with Travis Wall choreographing? Two out of three isn’t bad… but it would seem the fates were against that. So Katee stepped in for Allison. (No other contemporary girls were available… but I would have loved to have seen this dance done with either Neil or Mark or even Ade since they were available) So the major question in this case would be: Did Billy grow from the first time he did Broadway? Yes, I believe he did. Did he grow enough to get out of the Bottom 3? No, not really… he hasn’t had a real “break out” dance as of yet, nothing that really wowed me from him… which is not a good thing.
– African Jazz w/ Jose Ruiz choreographed by Sean Cheesman
Ok I really really really loved Billy in this piece, don’t ask me why. I think him being an animal totally fits with his dance style so he should be able to nail it, and to me I really liked it. Could Billy use more power? Of course, but power isn’t his specialty. Could he use more abandon? Of course, but that hasn’t worked for him. But like I said, I really liked him in this piece, but that’s just me.
Though it wasn’t a “breakout” week, to me, he finally did start to get out there and started shining, slowly, for me… but alas another trip to the Bottom Three he was.
Week 5: Top 7 Performances
– Jive w/ Anya choreographed by Louis van Amstel
He did really well with this number. High energy, but his center is too high… but of all the ballroom routines up to this point, this is definitely one of the better ones thus far.
– Jazz w/ Lauren Froderman by Mandy Moore
A very relaxed loose and fun style… Billy has been growing slowly and steadily from week to week, still no real break out performance, but still he’s growing in some capacity.
Was this week enough to get Billy out of the Bottom Three? No not really, but it didn’t mean that he wasn’t growing, because he was.
Week 6: Top 6 Performances (Round One)
Billy did not dance this week due to injury. Although the doctors cleared him to dance, he did not feel that it would be in his best interest to dance… so he opted out to take the extra time to heal and recover for the long term.
The argument is that because Billy did not dance, he should automatically be let go. However the catch is that he was signed off to dance, it was only Billy that opted not to. Why? For me, having danced before and knowing the wear and tear and the very short life span for a traditional dancing profession Billy made the right choice. He has an injury and even though he could technically continue dancing this particular week it would be safer not to if only to make sure the injury heals so he could prolong his dance career. This show isn’t the catch all of his career, if anything it would only give him a slight edge over people. So thinking for the future was the best thing he could have done for himself, even though it meant putting the judges in an unenviable position.
Week 7: Top 6 Performances (Round Two)
– Contemporary w/ Ade Obayomi choreography by Stacey Tookey
I believe if there was ever a “breakout” performance for Billy, this piece was it. He had the talent, the skill, the performance, just everything. If there is ever a dance I would love to see on the tour this would be the piece. Then again, this was Contemporary, his style, he HAD to be great in this piece and he was… but what he got in this piece that he missed in the last contemporary piece that he did was connection. You sensed that connection that partnership that he seemed to be lacking in past dances.
– Bollywood w/ Robert Roldan choreographed by Nakul Dev Mahajan
O. M. G. If there was ever going to be a dance that tested his knee this would be the dance, and he didn’t show it not til the dance was over anyway. He was strong, he did well… but I felt that he was a bit upstaged by Robert. Though part of it was probably because Robert’s “look” matched the piece more than Billy did, but that’s just me.
This week, I believe, was the strongest week for Billy, but considering he was in the Bottom Three for the past few weeks I don’t believe he had enough of a fanbase to take him through into the next round… and unless the Bottom Three included Jose and Robert, he didn’t stand much of a chance of moving onward…
In Conclusion
All in all, Billy started slow but eventually began to grow as a dancer. He needed a breakout performance to prove his meddle, and even though he got something like that in his contemporary with Ade in Week 7, I almost felt like that was too little too late.
Had Billy not been ill last season the hype would have been a competition between him and Jakob Karr, however considering his performance this season, I do not believe that head to head battle would have happened the way the producers would have wanted it to happen. At the same time, things was different back then, so who knows what could have happened last season.
However, had Billy not been chosen for Season 7 would he have gone through the audition process and trip to Las Vegas again for Season 8? I would like to think that he would, but who knows?
My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)
