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SYTYCD rumblings

What a great show last night!! I sprinkled my thoughts here and there on other posts but overall I was really impressed. I thought I’d bring you all a smattering of SYTYCD news that I’ve seen over the past couple of weeks. Much of it comes from our friends at Entertainment Weekly

*added 6/24
I haven’t had the chance to read some of your comments about the results last night, but Kate Ward, a writer at EW.com has written an article aptly titled, “SYTYCD results make fans angry. you won’t like them when they’re angry”

I have to admit, I was pretty annoyed to see them keep Ryan after her abysmal “dance for your life”. I was watching the live feed online and it shorted out so I missed Missy’s and Iveta’s but from what I’ve heard Iveta’s was better. I saw all the guys and I thought Ricky really made his case to stay, his solo was great. Frankly, it’s not his fault Ryan seems to rather look at the camera and mug than connect with him. One of the posters recommended that they should have let all three girls and one of the boys go and kept Nick and Ricky or Nick and Wadi. I agree that Nick had a great personality and I would have loved to have seen him do contemporary with his long limbs to really see what he can do.

thoughts on this? I think it’s pretty interesting…

————

They’ve recently released their list of the 25 greatest SYTYCD performances of the past 7 seasons.

25. Kathryn and Ryan’s cha-cha (Season 6)
24. Pasha and Sara’s “Rockafella Skank” (Season 3)
23. Lauren and Twitch’s “My Chick Bad” (Season 7)
22. Lacey and Kameron Week 1 (Season 3)
21. Jakob and Ashleigh’s “Hit Me With a Hot Note” (Season 6)
20. Tranji’s “Gyrate” (Season 2)
19. Melody and Nick’s “All That Jazz”
18. Ellenore and Jakob’s “Tore My Heart”
17. Jeanine and Jason “If It Kills Me”
16. Brandon and Jeanette’s Disco
15. Katee and Joshua’s Bollywood
14. Jaimie and Hok’s “Hummingbird and the Flower”
13. Robert and Allison’s “Fix You”
12. Brandon and Jeanette’s “Ruby Blue”
11. Chelsie and Mark’s “Bleeding Love”
10. Ade and Billy’s “Mad World”
9. Danny and Lacey’s “Hip Hip Chin Chin”
8. Allison and Ivan’s “Why”
7. Kayla and Kupono’s “Addiction (Gravity)”
6. Heidi and Benji’s “Black Mambo”
5. Allison and Alex’s “Hallelujah”
4. Neil and Sabra’s “80’s Power Lunch (the table dance)”
3. Travis and Heidi’s “The Bench”
2. Katee and Joshua’s “No Air”
1. Alex and Twitch’s “Outta Your Mind”

This is a pretty stellar list, I must say, but there are a few glaring omissions. Where is Will and Katee’s spectacular pas de deux from season 4? Or Kayla and Max’s incredible WEEK 1 samba from season 5? I know this doesn’t include solos, but I don’t think anyone has topped Blake’s amazing solo from top 6 week in season 1, I’ve rewound it 100 times at least and still can’t figure out how he switches directions in his back handspring!

any other routines that didn’t make the cut?
Read more..

June 23, 2011 I Written By

SYTYCD S7 – Which *new* partnership surprised you the most?

What did you think of the dances? Which pairing were you pleasantly surprised about?

Since there were a few repeat partnerships… this is just all the *new* ones. Now as much as I was surprised that there was some man on man action this week, I wasn’t terribly surprised that it would work well… SYTYCD has a long history of strong male/male dances.

So when it came to pass that there was going to a man on man dance last night, naturally I had very high expectations for this dance…. but that’s just me. 😀

Season 2 – Tranji (Benji & Travis) – Hip Hop choreo by Shane Sparks
Song: Da Muzicianz & Mr Collipark – Gyrate Gyrate

Season 3 – Neil & Danny – Contemporary choreo by Mia Michaels
Song: The Presets – Are You the One? Are

Season 4 – Twitch & Joshua – Trepak choreo by Youri Nelzine
Song: Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker – Trepak The

July 1, 2010 I Written By

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... =)

SYTYCD Alum on Dancing with the Stars

Thanks to Rickey, who has an excellent video on his site of the SYTYCD alum dancing tonight on Dancing with the Stars. Danny Tidwell! Nick Lazzarini! Jaimie Goodwin! Choreographed by Travis Wall!!!

This just goes to show that we’re spoiled by So You Think You Can Dance, a dream world where the dancer’s faces are in close-up while they dance. In the rest of the world, we get so few views of their faces and their expressions, not like we do on SYTYCD.

This performance was killer! It was nice to see the alum again!

John’s Update: Here’s the video of the performance

Also, check out more videos of Nuttin’ But Stringz on Pure America’s Got Talent.

April 13, 2010 I Written By

Top 5 Most Disliked SYTYCD Contestants

It’s the offseason of SYTYCD and so I decided that I’d start making some lists related to the various dancers from the past 6 SYTYCD. Plus I’m at McDonald’s with my son and so what else should I be doing while he has the time of his life on the playplace? Exactly.

I figured I’d start this out with a bang and make a list of the most disliked dancers ever on SYTYCD. Granted this is a bit difficult to evaluate, but I think most people on the list are pretty obvious.

It is also worth mentioning that many of these dancers had a LOT of fans that adored them as well (including myself for a few). However, in most cases for every one that loved them there were also plenty of haters. I also should add that this doesn’t mean that the dancers on this list aren’t amazing dancers. In fact, all of them are outstanding. However, outstanding dancers doesn’t mean people like you.

Now to the list…

1. Danny Tidwell – Danny is a great example of someone who had a ton of fans, but also a ton of haters. The knock on him was that he was seen as arrogant and “entitled.” I personally think he was arrogant. He was a great dancer and knew it. Compare him to Jakob Karr who was great technically as well, but was always super humble. Had Danny been so humble he probably would have won his season.
2. Blake McGrath – I didn’t even see this season of the show, but the internet archives I’ve read show that people really didn’t like Blake on the first season. He was arrogant and wore it on his sleeve. In fact, he still does. At least you know who he is, but Blake definitely had plenty of haters.
3. Lacey Schwimmer – Lacey is a really interesting case. She had to be in her brother’s shadow a bit even though she was very different. She was also partnered with no 1 on this list. Not to mention her rawness and unique qualities along with how proud she was of her uniqueness all combined to have many people not like Lacey.
4. Will Wingfield – See Danny’s desription and it was the same storyine, but not quite as strong. Brandon Bryant almost fell into this group also, but was able to avoid it with a killer solo and a little more humility. Brandon can likely thank Mia for that.
5. Ivan Kourmaev – Most people loved Ivan until he started staying on the show “longer” than people thought that he should. As people who were more “talented” than him went home people started to really dislike Ivan and want him off. Not his fault for defying odds.
6. Legacy – This is similar to Ivan, but Legacy did grow a little more than Ivan did on the show and so the dislike wasn’t quite as strong.
7. Kayla Radomski – Perfect technically and lack of personality was the gripe by many. White lightning still had a huge fan base, but many people wanted her off despite her technical prowess. I also think many women were jealous of her incredible legs. I don’t blame them. If I were female I’d be jealous too. Since I’m not she was one of my favorites.
8. Paris Torres/Tony Bellissimo – Paris was on for such a short time that people couldn’t make a real judgment, but for some reason people seemed to hate her first impression. People just never thought that Tony even deserved to be on the show.

I’m sure I missed someone since I wrote this on my phone. So, let’s hear who you think should be on this list that isn’t? Would you rank them differently.

P.S. I’ll plan on doing more uplifting lists in the future.

January 2, 2010 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

Mia Michaels Leaving SYTYCD

Some surprising news coming out of the SYTYCD world today. If you all haven’t heard, Mia Michaels took to her Twitter yesterday to announce that she’s leaving our beloved show after 5 years. The reaction has been intense. Many people feel that the show won’t be the same without Mia, which is definitely true. Over the seasons, her pieces have been among the most memorable ones ever performed. Just think about these…

-Ashlé and Melody’s Message in a Bottle dance

-Travis and Heidi’s Bench dance

-season 2 group routine to “Hide and Seek”

-Lacey and Kameron’s week 1 contemporary

-her tribute to her father danced by Lacey and Neil

-Danny and Neil’s Dance of the Princes

-Chelsie and Mark’s “what would Tim Burton’s wedding look like?”

-Kherington and Twitch’s dance on the bed

-Katee and Joshua’s Hometown Glory dance

-Twitch and Katee’s Door dance

-Evan and Randi’s Butt dance

-Kupono and Kayla’s Addiction dance

these are a selection of Mia’s best dances, but there are obviously more. It’s pretty obvious this show has meant a lot to Mia, she’s an Emmy winner because of SYTYCD.

For an opposing opinion, check out this article from Entertainment Weekly online, the writer makes some good points about there being plenty of great choreographers that can fill the void left by Mia.

what do you guys think?! is the hole Mia leaves too big to be filled by people like Travis, Benji, and Sonya? And what have been your favorite Mia Michaels pieces over the 5 seasons of SYTYCD?

October 15, 2009 I Written By

Six Degrees of SYTYCD?

This season, we get to see if Ryan Kasprzak, brother of Season 6’s Evan Kasprzak, makes it to the Top 20.  It seems there have been a lot of connections between contestants in the past!   Here’s what I have so far — who else am I forgetting?  Comment below!

  • Season 1’s Nick was roomates with Season 1’s Melody
  • Season 1’s Ryan was in Sickstep Crew with Season 3’s Hok
  • Season 2’s Benji is cousins with Season 2’s Heidi
  • Season 3’s Lacey is sister to Benji and cousin to Heidi
  • Season 2’s Travis is brothers with Season 3’s Danny
  • Season 2’s Stanislav is brother to Season 3’s Faina
September 23, 2009 I Written By

SYTYCD All Stars

Alright Fox, you listening? Good…

So You Think You Can Dance All Stars! Similar to Survivor’s All Stars season, this would have the top 4 of the first five seasons going head to head in an automatic Top Top 20. 🙂

Imagine:

Season 1: Nick, Melody, Jamile and Ashle

Season 2: Benji, Travis, Donyelle and Heidi

Season 3: Sabra, Danny, Neil and Lacey

Season 4: Josh, Twitch, Katee and Courtney

Season 5: Jeanine, Ade, Kayla and Evan (my own imaginary, for the moment, top 4)

Dream couples anyone? Oh the routines we’d see!! Who would you love to come back that wasn’t in the top 4 of their season? Personally, for me, I’d really love to see Chelsie, Kherington and Mark from Season 4. Lauren, Kameron, Hok and Pasha from Season 3 (my first season). Caitlin, Randi and Paris from this season dancing with the all stars from seasons past.

You hearing me? Fox? Fans? Dancers? Okay, let’s do it. 🙂

July 27, 2009 I Written By

Top So You Think You Can Dance Routines of the Past

As I was watching and posting about the various routines we’ll get to see again on the SYTYCD 100th episode, I couldn’t help but think back to some of my other favorite routines from past episodes of SYTYCD that won’t be shown on the SYTYCD 100th episode. SYTYCD season 1 will have to accept my apology since I didn’t watch it. However, here’s a couple of them that are in my top SYTYCD routines.

So You Think You Can Dance Season 2
Benji Schwimmer and Heidi Groskreutz Mambo to the song “Black Mambo” Angel & The Mambokats - Horizontal Mambo - Black Mambo—Angel and the Mambokats. Benji and Heidi are cousins that have been dancing together forever, and this performance is quite possibly the best routine technically (I believe Nigel called it the “most professional performance on the show) that’s ever been done on the show. Certainly others might have moved you more, but this routine just throws everything at you and flat out entertains. I can also assure you it was one of the most searched routines on Google as well.

I could have posted pretty much any of Allison Holker’s solo, but Allison’s “Feeling Good” solo will do. Anyone that has the term Allison-ed coined in honor of her deserves to be on the list in my book.

While possibly not the best routine on the show, I can promise you that Travis and Martha’s krump routine was shocking at the time. From this routine millions of people were introduced to Lil’ C and Krumping. The song is “Clap Back” Ja Rule - Blood in My Eye - Clap Back—Ja Rule.

I really don’t believe that any of the final 2 men dances could compete with Tranji, choreographed by Shane Sparks to the song “Gyrate” Da Muzicianz & Mr. Collipark - Da Muzicianz - Gyrate—Da Muzicianz (ft. Mr. Collipark). I think you had to see season 2 to really appreciate what Benji and Travis brought to the table with Tranji, but it was awesome.

So You Think You Can Dance Season 3
Lacey and Kameron danced a routine to the song “Dancing” Elisa - Dancing - Dancing by Elisa choreographed by Mia Michaels. I think we’re all better having been introduced to the music of Elisa on SYTYCD. This routine put together great music, great choreography and amazing dancing. Is there any wonder why we keep watching SYTYCD?

Neil and Sabra’s table routine was pretty epic as well. It was choreographed by Mandy Moore to the song “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) [Remastered Version] - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)—Eurythmics . I loved this dance, because it really took Sabra to the next level of dancing for me. Plus, Neil’s slow pass over the top of Sabra (at the 0:28 mark) is a moment I’ll never forget.

The start of this Shane Sparks routine to the song “Fuego” Pitbull - El Mariel - Fuego by Pitbull with Lauren and Pasha had me completely floored. Shane Sparks took 2 pretty white dancers and really entertained.

Danny and Lacey danced a samba to Dmitry Chaplin’s choreography. Certainly Dmitry poured in a bunch of great choreography and Danny and Lacey killed the dance, but I think the thing that I remember most about this is the music “Hip Hip Chin Chin” Club Des Belugas - Night Over Rio - Latin Flavoured Lounge & Club Tunes - Hiphip Chinchin by Club Des Belugas. It all just melded into a really fun, memorable dance.

So You Think You Can Dance Season 4
Chelsie and Mark’s “Bleeding Love” Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love - Single - Bleeding Love routine by Nappytabs needs no explanation.

Sonya busts out an amazing piece for Courtney and Mark to the song “The Garden” Mirah - Advisory Committee - The Garden by Mirah. Such creative choreography. Courtney steals the show for me in this, but the whole thing is just Sonya.

Katee and Joshua’s Nappytabs routine to “No Air” Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - Jordin Sparks - No Air—Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown had so many amazing moments. It was such a wonderful mix of solo and partnering. Plus, the moment Katee pulls Joshua’s leg and he pops up is so memorable.

Katee and Twitch did a door routine to the song “Mercy” Duffy - Rockferry - Mercy—Duffy and choreographed by Mia Michaels. I actually almost left it off the list, but after watching it again, there’s no way I could leave it off. Twitch and Katee just rocked this routine.

This final video is probably the best Viennese Waltz that will ever be performed on So You Think You Can Dan Dance. I tried to find a video with the back story, but even without Jean Marc Genereux’s storyJean Marc Genereux’s story is great and Twitch and Kherington’s Viennese Waltz to “A New Day Has Come” Céline Dion - A New Day Has Come - A New Day Has Come by Celine Dion is in the running for my favorite SYTYCD dances of all time. When it happened I watched it over and over. Just as good watching it again today.

I just looked at the clock and realized I spent a few hours creating this list. A few hours VERY well spent. The sad part is that there are dozens of other performances that should have made the above list. No Katee Bollywood or Pas de Deux for example. Oh goodness, I better not start listing or I’ll be here all night. So, I’ll leave the list up to you. What other So You Think You Can Dance routines are on your list (and preferably a link to a video of the routine)?

Also, if you’re familiar with all the videos on this list…you might be a SYTYCD-a-holic!!

July 21, 2009 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

Attention: So You Think You Can Dance Fans

Can you believe another season of So You Think You Can Dance is almost over? I was surfing the web, trying to get my SYTYCD fix, when I came across an online video miniseries hosted by former So You Think You Can Dance contestant, Ivan Koumaev, for movmnt magazine.

In case you haven’t heard, Movmnt Magazine was co-founded by Danny Tidwell (so you think you can dance season 3) and publisher David Benaym. Movmnt magazine is a quarterly publication for the web 2.0 generation; covering fashion, dance, music and pop culture as a lifestyle. Movmnt aspires to bridge the gap between pop culture and today’s real talent, and recognize artists over fame junkies. You’ll recognize some of the Columnists: Debbie Allen, Mia Michaels, Alisan Porter, Mario Spinetti, Rasta Thomas.

Movmnt asked Ivan Koumaev (from Season 2) to host a behind the scenes miniseries for Season 4. You’ll find videos catching up on past season favorites, an interview with Tyce D’Orio reviewing all four seasons, as well as a video with this season’s top 6. You can check out these videos and much more at:

movmnt magazine

Enjoy!

August 6, 2008 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

Lacey Schwimmer & Danny Tidwell Doing Samba – Top 10 of So You Think You Can Dance

One of the hottest dances of that night is Lacey and Danny’s Samba routine. Choreographed by none other than Dmitry (sorry if I spelled it wrong, I’m too lazy to check right now). I also love the Dmitry has Heidi helping him out as a partner. I hope that So You Think You Can Dance brings back the dancers from last year on a future results show. That would certainly be something worth watching. Ok, I’m sidetracked.

Buy Tickets to see Danny and Lacey in the So You Think You Can Dance Tour

Here’s the videos of Danny and Lacey doing the samba. Many of the videos for obvious reasons.

A performance from this season of So You Think You Can Dance. Lacey & Danny performing a Samba. Hip-hip, Chin-chin!

Buy Tickets to see Danny and Lacey in the So You Think You Can Dance Tour

July 31, 2007 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?