Brian Friedman | Pure So You Think You Can Dance

SYTYCD: Top 10 Perform

It was the first live show of the season and I thought surely we would get a two-hour show, but I was wrong. The opening dance was a fun way to introduce the dancers and probably time-saving as well. Essential each of the dancers had three chances to prove themselves: the opening dance, the dance with their partner, and the group dances. As always these are just my opinions on the dances please feel free to tell me you favorite dance of the night.

Bailey & Mariah: Jazz, Mandy Moore

It might have been somewhat of an obvious pairing due to Bailey’s height but it was a great one. I love the song choice (which I have danced to in the past). I loved the beach theme…though I might have put Mariah in red. Overall it was a fun and sassy to watch. I have a feeling these two will go far.

Gino & Stephanie: Hip hop, Luther Brown

Honestly I had to watch this one twice because I missed what the concept was about. It fell a bit flat for me, it was danced well but I felt like something was missing. Even the Judges had mixed reactions.

Anna & Benjamin: Cha Cha, Emma Slater & Sasha Farber

Let me say I loved the fact the first thing they did was come up with a team name. Second, Emma and Sasha prove again that they are amazing teachers. I love the dance and they seemed to be having fun themselves. Agree that Anna needs to point her feet.

Madison & Ezra: Contemporary, Talia Favia

Talia created a beautiful piece that Madison was able to connect to and we got to see her softer side. I was Dominic’s favorite dance of the night. Ezra, was great too and prove that he is not only a good partner but also quick thinking. He was able to take a little mistake and make it seem like it was part of the dance.

Eddie & Sophie: Jazz, Brian Friedman

Brian style tends to require the dancers to have to infuse a personality to match the choreography of the dance. Again it was danced well but felt bad for Eddie, Sophie out shined him in the dance.

Travis Wall and Luther Brown gave us great group dances and all the dancer seemed to dance well. There wasn’t anytime for Judges comments but I do feel like some of the dancers might have redeemed themselves in this round. However, will the home viewers take that in to the consideration when they voted. I hope so…I not looking forward to losing people next week.

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August 14, 2019 I Written By Amanda

Dance is one of my biggest passions. I grew up dancing at Augusta West Dance Studio (the same studio that Kathryn McCormick). I have a BFA in theatre/dance from Valdosta State University. Tap is my favorite style of dance.

Filed Under: So You Think You Can Dance

SYTYCD: Finale Performance Thoughts

Monday night’s performance finale might have been one of the best I’ve seen in a while. I say that because I feel like everyone had a great night, the top 4 were prepared to do what it takes to win. Only problem with everyone having a great night is trying to figure out who will be the last dancer standing. As usual it is a busy night for the top 4, dancing with each other, an all-star, and their solo. Melanie, Jonathan, FikShun, and Robert were the all-stars that danced last night. The judges seemed to be playing it nice, but Twitch provided me with my favorite judges moments of the season. Due to wedding festivities that happened over the weekend, Twitch was loosing his voice. After Hannahlei & Genessy’s performance, he felt like he couldn’t true express how he felt about that number…so he asked Mary to do it for him and she did.

Out of all the dances…my top 3 of the night were:

Jensen & Robert: Contemporary (Mandy Moore)
This was absolutely beautiful, and I love the partnership between Robert and Jensen. I look forward to seeing tis number on the tour.
Hannahlei & Slavik: Afro Jazz (Sean Cheesman)
Happy that we had another amazing African Jazz this season. The tricks were amazing and glad they took out that on lift where Hannahlei fell in rehearsal.
Genessy & Hannahlei: Contemporary (Talia Favia)
The synchronicity of this routine is what made it so good. I also love the strength of these two ladies throughout the dance.

Final thoughts on the top 4

Hannahlie: What I like about Hannahlei is that she is a little power house. I love that she is able to become a different person the moment she steps on that stage to perform. I truly think she will be in the top 2. She hasn’t had any miss steps in the competition and has been consistently good.

Jensen: I love Jensen’s personality and she does reminds me of her sister. Even though she does reminds Lindsay, I feel like Jensen has made a name for herself. Honestly, I just love watching her dance. I wouldn’t mind seeing all of the Arnold sisters dance together. Jensen had been my favorite this season and I would love to see her win.

Genessy: Genessy may have started off as the dark horse this season, but she has really turned out to be a contender. I feel like I under estimated her at the beginning of the live show. Also, I think that we are just scratching the surface of how great of a dancer Genessy really is.

Slavik: The wildcard…I call him that because I think he might have a bigger fan base that votes. What I have loved have loved about Slavik is that he has absolutely put the effort to do the best he can. I really hope we will see him back next season as an all-star.

Looking forward to seeing who will win next week.

SYTYCD: Top 10 to Top 9, Thoughts

Spoilers ahead
Of course week two we get a more information of how this season will go so far. So they will be pulling style out of the hat…glad they will be challenge with other style of dance. Also at the end of the show the bottom three will be revealed and then the Judges decides who will go…let’s hope that this will only last till the top five. Love the disco vibes in the beginning of the show and Cat looks stunning as always and she seems to like having the cat walks back an interacting with the audience more.

Mark & Comfort: Ray Leeper: Jazz
Anyone else reminded of Dominic( D-Trix) when it comes to Mark. It’s nice to see Mark can be serious and learn the dances. I didn’t really care for the choreography that much but I thought it was perform well. I think they are one of the stronger partnerships in the show.

Lex & Gaby: Miriam & Leonardo: Argentine Tango
I feel like Miriam and Leonardo always bring out the best in the dancers that they work with. I enjoyed this dance though Lex and Gaby were great. Mary wanted there to be more chemistry…which I can understand…they might have been think about the steps more and lost a little bit of their connection.

Kiki & Jenna: Luther Brown: Hip Hop
I will say this it was a vast improvement compared to his fail during Academy. I liked Luther’s concept but felt like Jenna should have been dress as Harley Quinn. While I enjoyed seeing a different side of Kiki…seeing him take on a character. However…not sure if it will be enough this week to keep him safe.

Sydney & Paul: Jaci Royal: Comtemporary
Everything was better this week. I feel like contemporary suits her better than ballroom. Happy Sydney seemed to have a break through tonight. Sometimes even the simplest choreography with a good story makes all the difference in the world.

Logan & Allison: Brian Friedman: Jazz
My only complaint about this dance is that it took too long to get Logan dancing. Again he is a technically great dancer but there is just something missing. I had thought it would be different with Allison back but I was still left underwhelmed.

Kaylee & Cyrus: Pharside and Pheonix: Hip Hop
Another couple that was an improvement after last week. I love that hip hop seems to be Kaylee’s other strength. I like the fact they also seem to change Nigel’s opinion too.

Taylor & Robert: Al Blackstone: Broadway
Classic Hollywood of the 1940s brought into the present. I loved that Taylor and Robert made this dance look effortless. Nigel made a big statement tonight by saying that they are the couple to beat.

Koine & Marko: Sean Cheesman: African Jazz
From the moment Sean said the secret life of insects…I knew it would be an interesting dance. That head dress at the beginning was beautiful but I knew that had to go away. This whole dance was just fascinating to watch…the partnering was fantastic. Cat putting on the head dress after was great just one of the reasons why I love her.

Robert & Jasmine: Stacey Tookey: Contemporary
I feel like this routine is different than what I am used to seeing from Stacey. I felt like Robert did a good job but he could have done better.

Dassy & FikShun: Nakul: Bollywood
There was a little bit of a stumble that I didn’t see at first…after re-watching I saw Dassy just fell out of the lift a little bit. So I don’t think anyone is at fault just a rough transition. This style really allowed us to see Dassy personality even more.

Bottom Three: Logan, Sydney, and Robert.

In the end the judges decided that Robert would be the one leaving tonight.

Thoughts? Favorite dance? Who will be in danger next week? Let me know what you think and I will have my thoughts on who is safe vs in danger up by Wednesday night.

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August 14, 2017 I Written By Amanda

Filed Under: So You Think You Can Dance

Next Generation: Top 9 Thoughts

So this week the dancers are back dancing with their all-stars in their own styles. I think I’m starting see the pattern of how the show will go from week to week. Great opening number choreographed by Brian Friedman to Meghan Trainor’s “Me Too”. On a side note did not know that Jason Derulo wrote that song.

Jake and Jenna: (Samba) Always good to see Dmitry back on the show. I think he found the way to work around the height difference. I also liked seeing Jenna helping Jake with the steps he didn’t know yet. Overall it was a fantastic performance.

Tate and Kathryn: (Contemporary) I’m really loving Brian Friedman’s choreography tonight. This piece was stunning and so are the dancers. My only complaint was maybe they went a little overboard with the smoke machine. I agree with the judges Tate is the best technical dancer on the show.

Kida and FikShun: (Hip hop) Dave Scott hit the jack pot with these two. Loved the concept of this dance. The make up department out did themselves, Kida really did look like a puppet.

Jordan and Sasha: (Jazz) This was definitely a fun piece and boy was it jam-packed with a lot of fast moves. They did fall out of sync a few times but no other real issue.

Sheaden and Marko: (Hip hop) I think Sheaden proved why he was picked to be on the show. I also think this truly allowed him to show off his personality.

Ruby and Paul: (Argentine Tango) Pretty sure that Paul had bruises all over his legs. Loved that the piece had a lighter feel compared to the usually darker feel I’m used to seeing. After watching the performance I would have never had guessed that Ruby has never really done the Argentine Tango.

Tahani and Comfort: (Dance Hall) It’s always good to see new style on SYTYTCD. Just hard to judge…I thought it looked good.

JT and Robert: (Contemporary) Seriously, Travis Wall will have another Emmy nomination next year. My favorite of the night. It is so nice to see JT slowly breaking out of the “cute kid” role.

Emma and Gaby: (Tap) Like Nigel, I really enjoy being about to see tap on the show every week. There is no denying the fact that Emma is a fantastic tap dancer.

The bottom two tonight were Sheaden and Ruby. This is just going to get harder every week to watch these kids get eliminated. I did agree with the judges that Sheaden would be in 9th place. I have a feeling we might see Ruby in the bottom next week.

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July 25, 2016 I Written By Amanda

Filed Under: So You Think You Can Dance

Top 14 to Top 10: Thoughts

After last weeks episode, it’s not really surprising the tonight’s show was a bit of a let down, with a few bright spots. First bombshell of the night is the fact that there is a double elimination. The second was the fact that Jim was injured, before Cat said he was cleared to dance in his duet, I honestly thought oh no I hope he didn’t pull an Alex. The music for the opening number took me back to my days in dance class. That song was a staple in dance class so thank you Brian Friedman for that trip down memory lane.

1) Jim & Yurelis: Sonya
Happy to have Sonya back. This was one of those dances where the concept was kind of lost on me but I was still fantastic to watch. So nice to see Yurelis using her contemporary dance skills. Agreed with the fact if you took a picture that you have a picture of a great pose.

2) Edson & Jaja: Misha Gabriel
I loved what Misha came up with and I agree with Paula that is was fun and funky. The only thing that I can think of that may have made it a little better is maybe it could have been a bit cleaner/sharper.

3) Virgil & Hailee: Tyce Diorio
These two knocked it out of the park again. Tyce managed to bring out more of a darkish from these two…even himself for that matter. This might be my favorite Tyce routine ever.

4) Alexia & Ariana: Tracy Phillips & Dominic Carbone
So this was a Jazzy Burlesque? I think that the choreographers maybe should have gone the fun flirty route and this might have been a little bit better. So thankful that Paula found a positive way to give these girls a critique.

5) Derek & Megz: Dave Scott
This was one of those dances that it was good but it wasn’t great. I guess I was thinking that they may have dressed Megz a little more feminine, she looked great regardless. I didn’t think that costume fit the dance, thought that the costume department should have went a little more fun and flirty…like a skirt.

6) Gaby & Neptune: Stacey Tookey
Seriously Stacey does it again. My other favorite of the night and the reason Neptune got the Twitter save.

7) Kate & JJ: Brian Friedman
This might have been better as a group routine, but I thought the girls did a great job. Nice to see Kate’s personality breakthrough tonight.

Bottom 6: Derek, Alexia, Kate, Yurelis, Ariana, and Neptune

The Twitter Save went to the two boys Derek and Neptune.

Next week the All Stars return!

Top 14 Power Rankings

After a week off, it’s time to get back to the competition. I have to say the only surprise of who was in the bottom 6 for me was Makensie. I thought for sure the judges would have saved her right away but they chose Jenna instead. I think I knew from the get go we were going to be saying goodbye to Mariah and BluPrint.

Top3

Jenna & Tucker: I agreed with the judges that we were reminded why he was nominated for a Emmy. It was just a beautiful dance and I felt like Jenna finally had a moment that connected with me. I sorta wish they didn’t tell us that they had only worked with their prop for a few hours. That being said it probably added to the dance.

Makensie & Paul: When Cat said they were doing hip hop and saw the costumes before the commercial break, my first thought was really? It was another fantastic Dave Scott hip hop. Paul continues to surprise me, he even surprised me with how good of an artist he is. I think Makensie is one of the best girls on the show so I’m not sure why she is being lost in the mix. Hopefully this will be a wake up call for her fans…you can’t just vote for Paul you have to vote for her too.

Amy & FikShun: Is there anything these two can’t do? I loved that Tyce allowed them to be creative with his choreography. I just loved the concept of the dance, even thought the genre was jazz, I could see some Broadway coming though too.

Middle 3

Jasmine H & Aaron: So they were the lucky couple that drew the dreaded quick step from the hat. Thankfully it didn’t turn out to be the kiss of death. I seem to find myself not liking Jasmine’s dress, I feel like it should have only had one slit.

Malece & Alan: overall I agreed with the judges on this one. I was a great dance but Malece had the attitude that goes with hip hop and Alan did not.

Hayley & Curtis: I have mixed thoughts about this one, I love the concept and thought they both danced it well. Curtis seemed to have the most criticism, mainly about keeping his shoulders down.

Bottom 2

Alexis & Nico: I was a great dance but if you are the first couple to dance and you are dancing Jive then you need to light up the stage like Tiffany and Benji did last season. However, like the judges said it wasn’t good enough to be remembered as the night went on.

Mariah & BluPrint: they only land here since they were eliminated but I wanted to give my thoughts about it. So happy to see Brian back and I loved what he choreographed. They danced it well but wasn’t enough to save them.

So who will be in trouble next week my guess is we will see Alexis, Hayley, Curtis, and Alan in the bottom. I’m not sure of the other two that might be in danger but it will probably surprise me.

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July 25, 2013 I Written By Amanda

Filed Under: So You Think You Can Dance

Tags:Brian Friedman Dave Scott Dee Caspary Mary Murphy Nigel Lythgoe So You Think You Can Dance Travis Wall Tyce Diorio

Unexpected Surprises

So yesterday was a typical Monday night and I just finished watching the Bachelor special. Nothing else was on that was worth watching, so I settled on watching Celebrity Fit Club on Vh1. About half way through the show, the Harvey(the trainer) had set up something fun for the celebs to do after their challenge. However it turned out to be a dance contest with a very special judge. That judge was the one and only Joshua Allen, winner of SYTYCD season 4, not that I needed to be told that. Of course Joshua showed off his dance moves and it reminded me why he won. So the celebs face off against each other, the final two were Kevin Federine(who is a dancer) and Kaycee Stroh(High School Musical 1-3). In the end Joshua named Kaycee the winner. Vh1 is always repeating their shows so if you missed it, don’t worry you can see it again and understand why Kaycee won. It was reall nice to see Joshua dance again, which makes me even more excited for Step Up 3 to hit theatres.

Speaking of movies I was watching a few this weekend and learn a few new things that I didn’t know. She’s All That has a really great dance number in the prom scene. This particular dance number was choreographed by Adam Shankman and Brian Friedman was one of the dancers in the movie. The other movie, Lil C was featured in Center Stage: Turn It Up. I didn’t realize he was in the movie till I saw his name in the credits. So of course I had to go back to the club scenes to find him and see him krump. Just wanted to share with everyone and to start blogging again so I’m not so rusty when the new season airs this summer. Until then don’t forget to look out for more SYTYCD alum on new episodes of Glee.

SYTYCD at the VMA’s

Unless you don’t follow Mark Kanemura on twitter then you wouldn’t know that he performed with Lady Gaga. Mark was unbelievably excited to have this opportunity. I know I was excited to see him perform again; after all he is one of my all time favorites. I give props to Laurieann Gibson for giving him a nice little solo with Gaga. I thought the performance was good then it got weird at the end with all of the blood. I understood her message but still thought it was kind of weird. I read that it was supposed to be a reenactment of Princess Diana’s death.

20th Century Foxs Emmys Party - Arrivals

The highlight of the night for me was the tribute to Michael Jackson starring his sister Janet Jackson. The beginning was a dance montage of some of his best videos. I’m guessing the dancers were those that were going to be a part of his come back. Then it was Janet’s turn and the crowd went nuts. The concept was fantastic it really looked like she was dancing with her brother one last time. However she wasn’t alone, she had dancers/choreographers with her. I saw plenty of familiar faces from the SYTYCD family. Wade Robson, Laurieann Gibson, Brian Friedman, and Tyce Diorio who all I am sure have been inspired by MJ. The only other one I recognized was Chris Judd, Jennifer Lopez ex husband.

I just wanted to give a little update…let me know you thoughts if you saw it.

Strangest/Worst Carried-out Concept – SYTYCD Season 5 “EmMandy” Awards

In our ongoing series of choreography “EmMandy” Awards, here’s the award for “Strangest/Worst Carried-out Concept” from So You Think You Can Dance season 5 (winner is in Bold). Take a look at the other SYTYCD Season 5 “EmMandy” Awards.

“Strangest/Worst Carried-out Concept”

Brian Friedman, “Aliens”
the producers, “Russian Folk Dance”
Tabitha and Napolean, “Halo” (pregnancy)
Joey Dowling, “Dance at the Gym”

I’ve been dying to talk about this one. I was really dissapointed with Nappytabs because the concept seemed so promising, and they are usually great with concepts. But this dance fell flat. Reason being: there was nothing to suggest Randi was pregnant. If I hadn’t watched the intro, I would have thought it was about getting engaged (because of Evan’s “proposal”). The movements did not illustrate the concept at all (with exception to when Evan rubbed her stomach) and there was no conflict. They never seemed scared or nervous about the baby. As for Joey’s piece, besides the beginning there was minimal connection between the dancers. If you’re in love at first sight, you don’t want to take your eyes off them!

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SYTYCD: Top 10 Perform

SYTYCD: Finale Performance Thoughts

SYTYCD: Top 10 to Top 9, Thoughts

Next Generation: Top 9 Thoughts

Top 14 to Top 10: Thoughts

Top 14 Power Rankings

Unexpected Surprises

SYTYCD at the VMA’s

Strangest/Worst Carried-out Concept – SYTYCD Season 5 “EmMandy” Awards

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