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SYTYCD Season 9 Tour

This past weekend I went to see the Season 9 tour in Columbia, South Carolina and as the show did not disappoint. Much like Season 8 the dances seemed to flow effortlessly from dance to dance with a short welcome to the show from Eliana and Chehon. I hadn’t planned on writing about the show but thanks to Will and a moment of accidental hilarity, I need to share the story, but I’ll get to that a little later. First I just want to share few thoughts about the show.

I can’t say I really remember too much about the season and normally before the show I usually refresh my memory by watching a few videos on YouTube, but without the internet at my apartment I couldn’t do that this time around. So for me there wasn’t too much I was missing except maybe a few more duet numbers with Cyrus. I will say this it is fun to see the animation art from in person. I found myself especially in the group numbers watching Matthew, Cole, Whitney, Eliana, and Chehon, all for different reasons of course. Speaking of group numbers I loved them all and my favorite was the Cha Cha/Disco fusion that closed the first half of the show. During the Broadway portion of the show there was a certain prop on the stage I was excited to see, the pole. “When You’re Good to Mama” was a favorite of mine this season and I was excited that they turned it into a fun group number for all of the girls to perform. Truthfully Eliana’s moves at the end were just amazing.

This season we got to see many of Mia Michael’s works recreated, and I’m not really sure why but I didn’t expect to see them in the tour show but thankfully I was wrong. Hometown Glory, the Bench, Addiction, and Coupe Island Blues (the butt dance) were the chosen ones. I loved watching Cole get so into the character (for every dance he did) he’s kind of scary when he gets so serious. Coupe Island Blues…oh I so wish I had filmed it but it probably would have been too shaky from me laughing so hard. Somewhere in the beginning Will had an interesting wardrobe malfunction, his pants came undone and well it became fun to watch him trying to deal with it because there was no time for him to refasten them. I’ll say this he did an amazing job keeping them up and the audience only got a small peek at the underwear which had us giggling the entire time, I don’t know how Amelia kept and straight face. Also with Will being the person he is couldn’t help but acknowledge it on stage during the dance, I could barely hear what he said but it was something like I loosing my pants.

Closing out the show started out with the East Coast hip hop that was originally done by Whitney and Twitch. I would have thought Cyrus would have taken Twitch’s place but it was George (surprisingly good) but Cyrus did join them about halfway through the dance. By the time they got to the “waiting on the bus part” the rest of the cast joined them on the stage and went into the finale of the show which did include some Gangnam Style moves.

Overall I had a great time at the show even if they have downsized the size of the venues. Here is the link to my http://www.youtube.com/user/dancestar516  YouTube page and see some of the video I have taken from this season and a few other seasons as well. Also continue to check back the uploading process is  a little slow.

Also I always get the tour program which comes with a fun Q&A so if there is enough request for it I will type them up for which dancers you want from the top 10 (Matthew and Amelia don’t have one.)

 

December 6, 2012 I Written By

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.

Podcast: SYTYCD Season 9 – Top 10 Week

Listen to the podcasts

Episode 52 direct download

Subscribe to podcast on iTunes


Time Stamps
0:00 – Introduction
1:27 – General thoughts about the bottom 4 and voting
4:12 – Bottom 2 Girls routines: Audrey & Witney
7:35 – Bottom 2 Guys routines: George & Chehon
10:57 – Other routines: Tiffany, Cole, Lindsay, Will, Cyrus, and Eliana
22:45 – Wrap-up

Episode Length: 23:42

As we move into the final set of live shows, the voting for this season continues to confuse us as Witney once again ended up in the bottom 2 girls. In particular, we’re unable to understand why she is not connecting with the audience (we think she’s fantastic!), but Tiffany, who’s been off the radar for us and seems to be an easy choice to send home, continues to avoid the bottom. We discuss the possible reasons for this, as well as what may have caused Audrey, George, and Chehon to also land in the bottom 4. Beyond the eliminations, we were extremely excited to see the return of all-star Jakob Karr, our favorite dancer to ever be on the show. We also discuss Cyrus and the way choreographers have been handling him this season, which brings up the question we asked at the end of season 8: should the show aim to choreograph/judge the dancers according to a universal standard, or should each dancer be considered individually according to his/her skill level? We should also mention that we loved the Eliana/Alex routine by Stacey Tookey, which demonstrated that with a proper partner Eliana is capable of amazing things!

Let us know what you think after listening to the podcast! You can leave us a comment here or on our blog, Reflections on Pop Entertainment. You can also follow us on Twitter and tweet with us. You can also visit our Facebook page, like us, and leave a comment there! We love feedback and will respond either with a comment or in our next published show.

August 29, 2012 I Written By

Over the past few years my fiancée Meghan slowly brought me into the world of television, turning me into a full-fledged fan of both scripted and reality shows. So You Think You Can Dance turned into one of my favorite reality shows as it is a competition that takes itself seriously, providing the audience with artistic choreography and talented dancers. It's certainly not something I ever expected to get emotionally invested in, but here I am! Meghan and I are very analytic when it comes to the things we enjoy. We constantly discussed and analyzed shows with each other and after doing this for a couple years, we decided that we should turn these discussions into a podcast. We created Reflections on Pop Entertainment, a podcast that provides commentary and analysis of popular entertainment as found in visual mediums, particularly television and film. So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 is the first television series we're covering with weekly podcasts and has allowed us to find our voice as well as actively contribute to the fan community. We hope that you'll enjoy our installments as they are posted to Pure So You Think You Can Dance!

So You Think You Can Dance Season 9: Top 8 Power Rankings

TOP TWO ROUTINES
Eliana Girard w/ Alex Wong – Contemporary
This one I thought was a no brainer for myself (if not for most people). This really showed Eliana’s technical prowess and her performance level all rolled into one. Though I’ll admit I was a little disappointed it wasn’t further away from ballet because I am sure she has had quite a bit of training or background in contemporary. Having Alex as a partner definitely helps her, she held her own and really shoned the most from the Top Ten during this episode.

Witney Carson w/ Nick Lazzarini – Jazz
Witney got to show the sexy in this routine and did she ever. She and Nick had charisma and steam oozing for days. It was loads of fun watching Nick on the show finally (especially with Melody coming on as an All-Star last season)… that was a real treat. Granted Jazz isn’t too much of a stretch for Witney to begin with, but she looked like she was having loads of fun.

MIDDLE THREE ROUTINES
Lindsay Arnold w/ Jakob Karr – Jazz
What is it with both ballroom girls getting Jazz this week? I mean really. Granted Lindsay did a fantastic job and I actually believed Jakob being her shadow during the first portion of the routine. However, what really threw me was not that she didn’t dance it well, but rather that during the times that they should be in sync I felt that they weren’t. Like when Jakob does his amazing back bend or flicks his head one way or that, Lindsay wasn’t using her full body like Jakob did. Nevertheless this was a strong routine and she really held her own, but she has got to focus on the details if she wants to melt with other dancers that are just that polished.

Chehon Wespi-Tschopp w/ Lauren Gottlieb – Lyrical Hip Hop
Understandably Chehon had a bit of trouble with the choreography, but dammit he was loose, he was free and he was having fun! What more could you ask for from someone that was doing ballet most of his life? You can’t help but be drawn into this pairing and you can’t help but notice how he just feels the music and the warmth that was emanating from him. Even though the dance wasn’t perfect he really grew leaps and bounds through this routine.

Will Thomas w/ Kathryn McCormick – Bollywood
Will’s a goofball and I haven’t seen a routine that Will has done that he wasn’t allowed to tap into his goofiness. Sometimes it fits and sometimes it doesn’t… this is one of those routines where it works and it works well enough. Will danced the routine really well but dammit, sometimes I wish he’d tone down the goofiness a bit.

BOTTOM THREE ROUTINES
Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer w/ Jaimie Goodwin – Contemporary
He could have easily screwed this up, Travis could have easily cut more corners and have Jaimie dance around Cyrus more than she did, but he didn’t. This routine truly emphasized Cyrus’ strengths in emotion, passion and partnering… yes I noticed that he struggled a bit on making the lifts seamless and his technique wasn’t perfect but dammit he really did surprise me with how much he has grown. Travis did a smart job in creating a routine that would push Cyrus to reach Jaimie’s level and even though he didn’t meet by any stretch of the imagination he did grow and grow a lot. That being said, he still wasn’t strong enough, as long as he keeps growing exponentially as he has he should be fine for at least another week.

Cole Horibe w/ Anya Garnis – ChaCha
Yes, this wasn’t the best for Cole but honestly I am not going to thrown him under the bus for it… why? Because of the following:
http://twitter.com/Dance9Cole/status/237400410686631937
You read that right, Cole was actually injured this week and sidelined for two days due to that foot injury. So one couldn’t expect his feet to be perfect considering what he was going through. That being said I don’t necessarily agree with the judges saying that he connected with the audience more than Anya, I felt that there were times when he was splitting his focus with one eye on Anya and the other on the audience. I really liked these two together and Cole was always one for characterizations. If anything I would agree with Mary in the sense that I would have liked more, but I think that Cole did well as to be expected due to his injury… unfortunately despite that injury it didn’t really give as much of a cushion as it could.

Tiffany Maher w/ Brandon Bryant – Disco
There isn’t much for me to talk about with this routine, Tiffany was more in the air than on the floor so critiquing was going to be difficult. There were moments that I thought that she had a to work a bit to make the transitions smooth between tricks but it wasn’t bad. This was a very energetic routine that she did well in, however, I haven’t been able to feel much from her throughout the season and she hasn’t really captured my attention yet.

ELIMINATED ROUTINES
George Lawrence Jr w/ Allison Holker – Jazz
No surprise here, George’s performance seemed to fall flat for me here, but I had always had trouble connecting with George no matter how beautiful of a dancer he is. The one issue with this routine was the use of the cane which I kept comparing to that of Season 6’s Ashleigh and Jakob’s routine which was leaps and bounds more memorable than this. Even though the storylines differ I’ll still remember the Season 6 routine over this one.

Audrey Case w/ Stephen “tWitch” Boss – Hip Hop
I really wanted to like this routine, I really did, but dammit I couldn’t, I simply couldn’t. Audrey is another of those dancers that I haven’t been able to connect with throughout the season and she always appeared to fall flat for me. In the case of this performance she is put against someone like tWitch who is just oozing charisma and personality and she doesn’t come up to scratch she’s going to appear like a moving prop… which unfortunately is what happened to me.

GROUP ROUTINE
Paraphrased from the IdolForums:

It was a tribute to Gene Kelly, who’s 100th birthday is this week. Tyce took classic, iconic elements of Gene’s movies & incorporated them into the dance. So there’s Singin in the Rain with the umbrella (Chehon’s part), Cyd Charisse (Eliana, in a beautiful green dress), Fair Weather, Anchors Aweigh (at least that’s what I thought of when I saw Audrey, Lindsay & Witney in sailor/navy costumes but that could have also been On the Town), when he danced with Jerry Mouse, things like that. […] There were a few props on stage: director’s chair with Gene Kelly on the back, a ladder, trash can lids that Will, George, & Tyce (filling in for injured Cole) danced with, Chehon’s Singin umbrella. […] Everyone kind of danced in their own little groups seperately at various points of the dance, then all came together at the end to dance in one big group. Cole did show up at the close of the routine; […]

TOP TWO GIRLS
Eliana Girard
Lindsay Arnold
TOP TWO GUYS
Chehon Wespi-Tschopp
Will Thomas
BOTTOM TWO GIRLS
Witney Carson
Tiffany Maher
BOTTOM TWO GUYS
Cyrus Spencer
Cole Horibe
August 23, 2012 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... =)

So You Think You Can Dance Season 9: Top 10 Performances – Music and Instant Thoughts!

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Since I wasn’t able to see the show til the morning after… I’m posting everything now. Please bare with me and I apologize for the delay.

Dancer: Top 10 Dancers
Style: Broadway
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Song: Mark Isham – “The Cool World Stomp” The Cool World Stomp - Cool World (Original Motion Picture Score)

ROUTINES WITH THE ALL-STARS
Dancer: Tiffany Maher
All Star: Brandon Bryant
Style: Disco
Choreographer: Doriana Sanchez
Song: Cobra Starship feat. Sabi – “You Make Me Feel…” (Disco Fries remix) You Make Me Feel... (Disco Fries Remix) - You Make Me Feel... (feat. Sabi) [Remixes] - EP
Instant Thoughts: It was rather difficult to develop any kind of criticism because this was just shock full of tricks and lifts, which were executed really well. What I would have loved to have seen was more foot work, but what can you do? In the sense of the dance they were energetic and fun and you can’t help but want to get into the beat and groove in the movement.

Dancer: Witney Carson
All Star: Nick Lazzarini
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Travis Wall
Song: Moloko – “Sing It Back” Sing It Back - Repo Men (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Instant Thoughts: Witney needs help being sexy? Really? And she’s what? 18? I really liked this routine, definitely caught my attention and considering it is Jazz, she did rather well.

Dancer: Cole Horibe
All Star: Anya Garnis
Style: ChaCha
Choreographer: Dmitry Chaplin
Song: The Wanted – “Glad You Came” Glad You Came - The Wanted
Instant Thoughts: I was expecting a lot out of Cole this week and was a little bit disappointed. Well, he did connect with Anya but I wanted him to really dig into the steps more.

Dancer: Lindsay Arnold
All Star: Jakob Karr
Style:Broadway
Choreographer: Spencer Liff
Song: Fosse – “Dancin’ Dan” (Me and My Shadow) Dancin' Dan (Me and My Shadow) - Fosse (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Instant Thoughts: This was fun to watch and I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t a perfect shadow at the beginning and that was a little distracting but once they started dancing together I was enjoying it more.

Dancer: Will Thomas
All Star: Kathryn McCormick
Style: Bollywood
Choreographer: Nakul Dev Mahajan
Song: The Dirty Picture – “Ooh La La” Ooh La La - The Dirty Picture (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - EP
Instant Thoughts: Will is just one massive goof ball and that is fine by me. I thought he did decently well with this dance, he had energy but yeah sometimes that goofiness comes off as too much but in this case it works… barely.

Dancer: Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer
All Star: Jaimie Goodwin
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Travis Wall
Song: M83 – “Outro” Outro - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.
Instant Thoughts: Wow, just wow… Cyrus definitely impressed me this time around. Pushed beyond what we perceived to be his limit… his strengths were shown with his partnering and as the judges were calling it “raw talent”. Unfortunately it also showed a little of his lack of training in this area, but considering just how much he is growing on the show that is always a positive.

Dancer: Chehon Wespi-Tschopp
All Star: Lauren Gottlieb
Style: Hip-hop
Choreographer: Dave Scott
Song: Maxwell – “Pretty Wings” Pretty Wings (Uncut) - BLACKsummers'night (Deluxe Version)
Instant Thoughts: This was another routine that wowed me, Chehon doing hip-hop? Yeeeeaaaah. He looked like he was having fun with his partner and there were a killer team together.

Dancer: George Lawrence, Jr
All Star: Allison Holker
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Song: Hazmat Modine – “Bahamut” Bahamut - Bahamut
Instant Thoughts: When I saw the cane I immediately thought of another routine in Season 6 and unfortunately I couldn’t keep myself from comparing between the two. George is a strong dancer, but he just has’t wowed me in the grand scheme of things.

Dancer: Eliana Girard
All Star: Alex Wong
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Stacey Tookey
Song: Nancy Sinatra – “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) - How Does That Grab You?
Instant Thoughts: Definitely a favorite, this really appears to really show off Eliana in ways that she wasn’t when she was partnered with Cyrus. She really shined in this piece and having a well-trained partner like Alex definitely helped with that as well.

Dancer: Audrey Case
All Star: Stephen “tWitch” Boss
Style: Hip-hop
Choreographer: Dave Scott
Song: Janelle Monáe – “Sincerely, Jane” Sincerely, Jane - Metropolis: the Chase Suite
Instant Thoughts: For some reason I wasn’t really feeling Audrey tonight, she danced the piece decently enough, but when compared to someone like tWitch she has to really step up her game and she just didn’t for me which is unfortunate.

SOLO ROUTINES
Witney Carson: Santigold – “You’ll Find a Way” (Switch & Sinden remix) You'll Find a Way (Switch & Sinden Remix) - Fame (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Audrey Case: Jennifer Hudson – “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going (Highlights Version) - Dreamgirls (Music from the Motion Picture)
Chehon Wespi-Tschopp: Ólafur Arnalds – “Til Enda” Til enda - Dyad 1909
George Lawrence, Jr.: Olafur Arnalds – “Brotsjor” Brotsjór - Dyad 1909

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... =)

Podcast: SYTYCD Season 9 – Top 14 Week

Listen to the podcasts

Episode 51 direct download

Subscribe to podcast on iTunes


Time Stamps
0:00 – Introduction: Ballet boys as judges, and Ms. Tedholm’s Facebook comment
3:31 – General thoughts about the Mia Michaels episode
5:23 – The Door routine: Cyrus & Eliana
8:44 – Hometown Glory routine: George & Tiffany
11:23 – The Butt Dance: Will & Amelia
14:02 – The Bed routine: Dareian & Janelle
15:58 – Time routine: Audrey & Matthew
18:07 – The Bench routine: Chehon & Witney
20:41 – Addiction routine: Lindsay & Cole
24:45 – Bottom 6/Elimination discussion
30:05 – Wrap-up: Thoughts about Brandon/Amber elimination from Top 16 week, and thoughts on the live shows thus far

Episode Length: 32:24

The Top 14 week of So You Think You Can Dance celebrated Mia Michaels and her iconic routines from the show. Each of the dancers were called on to recreate some of her most beloved routines. Our feelings, along with many fans, were mixed on this approach. Should these routines be performed again, or are they only meant for the original dancers? Can an alternate, yet equally valid interpretation of the routines be presented? We discuss these questions, along with our thoughts on the somewhat shocking elimination of Amelia in this podcast!

We found it very useful to compare the original performances against the new ones. In the time stamps above we’ve linked to blog posts that have both routines embedded for easy viewing.

Let us know what you think after listening to the podcast! You can leave us a comment here or on our blog, Reflections on Pop Entertainment. You can also follow us on Twitter and tweet with us. You can also visit our Facebook page, like us, and leave a comment there! We love feedback and will respond either with a comment or in our next published show.

August 22, 2012 I Written By

Over the past few years my fiancée Meghan slowly brought me into the world of television, turning me into a full-fledged fan of both scripted and reality shows. So You Think You Can Dance turned into one of my favorite reality shows as it is a competition that takes itself seriously, providing the audience with artistic choreography and talented dancers. It's certainly not something I ever expected to get emotionally invested in, but here I am! Meghan and I are very analytic when it comes to the things we enjoy. We constantly discussed and analyzed shows with each other and after doing this for a couple years, we decided that we should turn these discussions into a podcast. We created Reflections on Pop Entertainment, a podcast that provides commentary and analysis of popular entertainment as found in visual mediums, particularly television and film. So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 is the first television series we're covering with weekly podcasts and has allowed us to find our voice as well as actively contribute to the fan community. We hope that you'll enjoy our installments as they are posted to Pure So You Think You Can Dance!

Podcast: SYTYCD Season 9 – Meet the Top 20, Part 1

Listen to the podcasts

Episode 50 direct download

Subscribe to podcast on iTunes


Time Stamps
0:00 – Introduction
2:06 – The routines we didn’t like
5:18 – The routines we were lukewarm on
11:31 – The routines we loved
18:07 – Wrap-up

Episode Length: 19:31

We apologize for the lateness of the podcast, but we’ve been a bit preoccupied (you know, simple things like getting married this past weekend and getting ready for our honeymoon). Here we talk about what we liked and didn’t like in the Top 20 Week, Part 1 episode of SYTYCD.

We won’t have a new podcast out next week, but we plan to get all caught up sometime during the week of July 30th.

Let us know what you think after listening to the podcast! You can leave us a comment here or on our blog, Reflections on Pop Entertainment. You can also follow us on Twitter and tweet with us. You can also visit our Facebook page, like us, and leave a comment there! We love feedback and will respond either with a comment or in our next published show.

July 20, 2012 I Written By

Over the past few years my fiancée Meghan slowly brought me into the world of television, turning me into a full-fledged fan of both scripted and reality shows. So You Think You Can Dance turned into one of my favorite reality shows as it is a competition that takes itself seriously, providing the audience with artistic choreography and talented dancers. It's certainly not something I ever expected to get emotionally invested in, but here I am! Meghan and I are very analytic when it comes to the things we enjoy. We constantly discussed and analyzed shows with each other and after doing this for a couple years, we decided that we should turn these discussions into a podcast. We created Reflections on Pop Entertainment, a podcast that provides commentary and analysis of popular entertainment as found in visual mediums, particularly television and film. So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 is the first television series we're covering with weekly podcasts and has allowed us to find our voice as well as actively contribute to the fan community. We hope that you'll enjoy our installments as they are posted to Pure So You Think You Can Dance!

Podcast: SYTYCD Season 9 – Vegas Week and Meet the Top 20

Listen to the podcasts

Episode 48: “Vegas Week” direct download

Episode 49: “Meet the Top 20” direct download

Subscribe to podcast on iTunes


Time Stamps for “Vegas Week”
0:00 – Introduction
1:18 – The cuts during Vegas Week
13:36 – The major narratives of Vegas Week – Alexa Anderson and Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer
19:14 – Standouts during Vegas Week
22:34 – MIA dancers during Vegas Week
25:30 – Wrap-up

Episode Length of “Vegas Week”: 28:38

Time Stamps for “Meet the Top 20”
0:00 – Introduction
1:33 – First contemporary routine by Tyce DiOrio: Alexa Anderson, George Lawrence II, Will Thomas, and Amber Jackson
3:57 –  Ballroom routine by Jason Gilkinson: Nick Bloxsom-Carter, Witney Carson, and Lindsay Arnold
6:15 – Ballet routine by Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden: Eliana Girard, Daniel Baker, and Chehon Wespi-Tschopp
8:36 – Jazz routine by Sonya Tayeh: Tiffany Maher, Audrey Case, and Janelle Issis (not in routine)
10:18 – Second contemporary routine by Stacey Tookey: Matthew Kamierczak, Dareian Kujawa, Janaya French, and Amelia Lowe
12:19 – “Mixed” routine by Chris Scott: Cole Horibe, Brandon Mitchell, Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer
14:14 – Top 10 girls routine by Travis Wall
15:35 – Top 10 guys routine by Sonya Tayeh
16:59 – Top 20 routine by Mia Michaels
18:36 – Wrap-up

Episode Length of “Meet the Top 20”: 20:07

Wedding planning has consumed a lot of our time, but we’re finally here with our “Vegas Week” and “Meet the Top 20” podcasts! We apologize for the erratic and delayed release schedule, and ask for your patience as we find time to record and edit these.

The “Vegas Week” and “Meet the Top 20” episodes have transitioned us from the audition portion of the show into the live competition. We found ourselves unsatisfied with Vegas Week, as many of our early favorites were cut, most notably Mariah Spears. The insistence of the producers to make a narrative out of the Vegas Week process for Alexa Anderson and Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer also did not sit well with us, as this not only smacked of favoritism, but it also consumed so much television time that we barely saw the full routines for the different genre rounds.

We enjoyed the “Meet the Top 20” episode much more, as the remaining contestants that made it through the Green Mile are the ones we would have selected. The actual routines were quite good, with the routine by Chris Scott being a standout. Already we have some people we are excited for, including Cole Horibe and Witney Carson, and we also worry about the longevity of some contestants, such as Tiffany Maher, Audrey Case, and Janaya French. Finally, we urge the producers and choreographers to take care with how they place and feature Alexa Anderson. Between the Vegas Week episode and the choices in the Travis and Mia Michaels routines, we’re concerned that she will experience a huge backlash from the fanbase, very similar to Ryan from last season. Overall, we’re excited for the final cast of contestants and cannot wait to see the first live show tonight!

Let us know what you think after listening to the podcast! You can leave us a comment here or on our blog, Reflections on Pop Entertainment. You can also follow us on Twitter and tweet with us. You can also visit our Facebook page, like us, and leave a comment there! We love feedback and will respond either with a comment or in our next published show.

July 11, 2012 I Written By

Over the past few years my fiancée Meghan slowly brought me into the world of television, turning me into a full-fledged fan of both scripted and reality shows. So You Think You Can Dance turned into one of my favorite reality shows as it is a competition that takes itself seriously, providing the audience with artistic choreography and talented dancers. It's certainly not something I ever expected to get emotionally invested in, but here I am! Meghan and I are very analytic when it comes to the things we enjoy. We constantly discussed and analyzed shows with each other and after doing this for a couple years, we decided that we should turn these discussions into a podcast. We created Reflections on Pop Entertainment, a podcast that provides commentary and analysis of popular entertainment as found in visual mediums, particularly television and film. So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 is the first television series we're covering with weekly podcasts and has allowed us to find our voice as well as actively contribute to the fan community. We hope that you'll enjoy our installments as they are posted to Pure So You Think You Can Dance!

Podcast: SYTYCD Season 9 – Auditions: Salt Lake City

Listen to the podcast

Episode 47 direct download

Subscribe to podcast on iTunes


Time Stamps
0:00 – Introduction
1:04 – “No” to Vegas (non-ballroom): Lynn Gravatt, Leroy Martinez, Murphy Yang
5:04 – Burlesque and Krump: Rachel Applehans, Mariah Spears
8:55 – Contemporary/Jazz: Deanna “Dee” Tomasetta, Gene Lonardo, Dareian Kujawa, Adrian Lee
15:44 – Ballroom: Whitney Hallam & Johnny Anh, Lindsay Arnold, Witney Carson
20:41 – Who we’re excited to see in Vegas
26:23 – Wrap-up

Episode Length: 28:20

It’s the last stop of the season 9 audition tour and while we were largely underwhelmed by the turnout in Atlanta, Salt Lake City more than made-up for it, providing us with many solid, diverse performers and a whole host of ballroom at last! Of the non-ballroom performers, Mariah Spears, Deanna Tomasetta, Gene Lonardo and Dareian Kujawa all impressed us with their stand-out solos, from Mariah’s surprising and convincing krump routine to Gene’s clever choreography about the life cycle of the male praying mantis. The moving story of Leroy Martinez and his work with disadvantaged youth was an uplifting segment and a fitting way, we think, to close out the first part of the audition process. And of course, we finally had some proper ballroom! In particular, we found Witney Carson’s ability to transform herself the second her routine began to be particularly impressive, and she has great skill to boot!

Obviously, since we’re posting this after the airing of the Vegas week episode, a lot of the people we were excited to see in Vegas wound up cut. We’ll dig into the particulars when we get the podcast for Vegas together, but we are getting frustrated. After two seasons of rosters that were stuffed with contemporary/jazz dancers, we were hoping they would expand beyond that model this season. Although it has some inaccuracies, the Vegas spoilers list (which doesn’t list a Top 20, and is no longer really a spoiler after this past episode) shows that the majority of people that made it through the week are contemporary/jazz. I think what bothers us most about that is if the Top 20 contestants from the first 4 or so seasons were to try out now, it’s doubtful that some of them would even make it to the end of the week (like Ivan, for example).

Let us know what you think after listening to the podcast! You can leave us a comment here or on our blog, Reflections on Pop Entertainment. You can also follow us on Twitter and tweet with us. You can also visit our Facebook page, like us, and leave a comment there! We love feedback and will respond either with a comment or in our next published show.

June 22, 2012 I Written By

Over the past few years my fiancée Meghan slowly brought me into the world of television, turning me into a full-fledged fan of both scripted and reality shows. So You Think You Can Dance turned into one of my favorite reality shows as it is a competition that takes itself seriously, providing the audience with artistic choreography and talented dancers. It's certainly not something I ever expected to get emotionally invested in, but here I am! Meghan and I are very analytic when it comes to the things we enjoy. We constantly discussed and analyzed shows with each other and after doing this for a couple years, we decided that we should turn these discussions into a podcast. We created Reflections on Pop Entertainment, a podcast that provides commentary and analysis of popular entertainment as found in visual mediums, particularly television and film. So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 is the first television series we're covering with weekly podcasts and has allowed us to find our voice as well as actively contribute to the fan community. We hope that you'll enjoy our installments as they are posted to Pure So You Think You Can Dance!

Podcast: SYTYCD Season 9 – Auditions: Atlanta

Listen to the podcast

Episode 46 direct download

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Time Stamps
0:00 – Introduction
2:51 – Dragonhouse Crew: Boris Penton, Andre Rucker, and Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer
9:02 – Other Hip-hop/Street Dancers: Tim Conkel, Jackson Alvarez, Asher Walker, and Damon & Deon
16:28 – Bellydancing: Janelle Issis
17:53 – Contemporary Guys: Joshua Alexander and George Lawrence II
21:31 – Contemporary/Jazz Girls: Audrey Case, Danielle Dominguez, Courtney Kirby, and Brittney Ortner
29:46 – Wrap-up

Episode Length: 32:18

After an exciting set of auditions in Los Angeles, we found ourselves disappointed with the turnout in Atlanta this year. That’s not to say there weren’t some standouts, and those standouts were pretty amazing. We were treated to some absolutely amazing hip hop from the members of the Dragonhouse Crew, with Boris Penton, Andre Rucker and Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer each offering us unique and draw-dropping takes on their “robotic” style of dance. It’s breathtaking what is possible with this style, whether it’s a fresh take on a character-based performance or melding two unrelated elements together, such as Boris’ movement atop a beautiful piano piece. Beyond the Dragonhouse Crew, Asher Walker surprised us with his self-taught brand of hip-hop dancing. While his dance vocabulary is limited, he overcame this with a great personality and sense of musicality, gliding to and fro across the stage without effort. George Lawrence II put forth a strong contemporary performance, putting every inch of his body into his extensions and balancing this with a tasteful routine full of contrasts in speed and quality of movement. Rounding out the dancers that impressed us was Danielle Dominguez, who’s Sonya-inspired style stood out and displayed a sense of power while maintaining a quirky character.

We wish we could say that we liked everyone from Atlanta, but many of the other contestants left us with mixed feelings. We felt lukewarm towards Tim Conkel, Jackson Alvarez, and Joshua Alexander, and we didn’t know what to make of Courtney Kirby. In addition, during her segment we wondered if having family members sit up at the panel is actually a good idea or if it carries a risk of biasing the judging panel. We discuss these things and more in the Atlanta audition episode of our podcast!

Let us know what you think after listening to the podcast! You can leave us a comment here or on our blog, Reflections on Pop Entertainment. You can also follow us on Twitter and tweet with us. You can also visit our Facebook page, like us, and leave a comment there! We love feedback and will respond either with a comment or in our next published show.

June 13, 2012 I Written By

Over the past few years my fiancée Meghan slowly brought me into the world of television, turning me into a full-fledged fan of both scripted and reality shows. So You Think You Can Dance turned into one of my favorite reality shows as it is a competition that takes itself seriously, providing the audience with artistic choreography and talented dancers. It's certainly not something I ever expected to get emotionally invested in, but here I am! Meghan and I are very analytic when it comes to the things we enjoy. We constantly discussed and analyzed shows with each other and after doing this for a couple years, we decided that we should turn these discussions into a podcast. We created Reflections on Pop Entertainment, a podcast that provides commentary and analysis of popular entertainment as found in visual mediums, particularly television and film. So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 is the first television series we're covering with weekly podcasts and has allowed us to find our voice as well as actively contribute to the fan community. We hope that you'll enjoy our installments as they are posted to Pure So You Think You Can Dance!

SYTYCD Season 9 Atlanta Auditions Thoughts

After last night’s episode of interesting music… I finally sat down to re-watch the episode for what it was meant to be: watched for its dancing.

Below are my thoughts of the dancers that made it through to the Vegas Callbacks as well as information to find them.

ATLANTA AUDITIONS
Audrey Case
Twitter
She’s interesting, she takes the usual tricks and adds more to them to make them more interesting and undoubtedly stand out more. She’s also a bit of a flirt, as it would appear. She seems to glow quite a bit as she dances… but with so many strong contemporary dancers I am not entirely certain if she would be able to stand out from the rest of the pack.

Boris Penton, Andre Rucker, and Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer (Dragon House roommates)
YouTube Channel
I was glued to my seat with my jaw dropping when I was watching these three dance. Their musicality was absolutely fascinating, their isolation… just everything. I have no idea what else to say. If not at least one makes it to the Green Mile at Vegas… Well let’s just say I wouldn’t be thrilled.

Joshua Alexander
Twitter
For some reason he reminds me of Ade Obayoni from Season Five, except that I remember Ade for his power and strength, and Joshua has a bit more fluidity and flexibility that I really like. I’m drawn to him, I won’t deny it, so I’m curious to see how he does in Vegas.

Tim Conkel
Twitter
Facebook Page
After seeing Cole Horibe the other night at the LA Auditions, I wasn’t nearly as wowed by Tim Conkel. Kind of difficult to be honest. In fact I wanted to see him in choreography just to make sure. And then he auditioned again with the little “ballet” and nearly died laughing. Ok Tim, you win, you have personality and goofiness that has been lacking on the show for ages. I just hope you’ll be able to stick around for more than a day or two during Vegas Callbacks.

Janelle Issis
Twitter
Facebook Page
– Teacher/Choreographer at Encore Performance Company
I have always been a fan of ethnic/cultural dancing. When the “bollywood” style and others were introduced to the show I was really hoping to see someone whose primary dance style was ethnic. To me belly dancing is definitively ethnic… and what really drew me to her was her belly dancing to a hip-hop type of music which drew a lot of attention of how she worked the music into her dancing. Here is hoping she’ll go far in Vegas Callbacks.

Danielle Dominguez
I don’t remember Nigel being this friendly and personable in previous seasons, maybe it’s just me. For a pretty girl she definitely didn’t dance as I expected her to. She reminds me a little bit of Mark Kanemura from Season Four someone that was a bit “left of center”. I really like this, I like this a lot… it would be interesting to see how she fares during Vegas Callbacks.

Courtney Kirby
While watching, I had a sneaky suspicion that the judges were being really nice since her grandmother was at the judges’ table. For a while I got bored with her performance, and then she did a move and she had this intense look in her eyes and I was just, “wow” ok… there was the presence and she was getting into her performance. I would be intrigued to see what she can bring onto the table.

Asher Walker
Aww, he’s cute as a button, and I agree he is not nearly as talented as some of the other hip hop dancers we have seen over the years or even thus far, but dammit it was fun to watch. I think he needs at least another season or two of training before making it far in Vegas Callbacks… but we’ll see.

George Lawrence II
What struck me most about him is his spins and how controlled they were and instead of dancing out of them he slowed down and stayed in position. Very much like Jeanine from Season 5 when she did her final solo with the rose in her mouth, she just spun very control and slowed it down as opposed to dancing out of it.

Abigail Ruz
Through the snippet the best part of it was her drop from the spin… she was sassy and sexy, yes, but we’ve seen a lot of that on the show. She is a strong dancer, but beyond that I’m not sure.

Calvin Turner Jr
He comes across as a ballet dancer, strong lines and power of movement… but I think I got spoiled after seeing the likes of Alex Wong, Ade Obayomi, and even Daniel Baker and Stephen Jacobsen. So I am not really seeing much more here that I haven’t already seen before. He doesn’t seem to have the stage presence going across the floor quite like the others, but I’m not sure.

Aubrey Klinger
– Part of the Renegade Performance Group
Much like Abigail, there isn’t much to go and not much really impressed me. So I don’t know.

Brittany Ortner
Facebook
– Faculty at University Performing Arts Centre
There isn’t much to say here, it is very hard to comment on contemporary dancers because there is just so many of them. I like her, but I don’t love her. She has potential for growth, but she definitely didn’t wow me.

Damon Bellmon & Deon Lewis
Damon’s Twitter
Damon’s Facebook
Damon’s Facebook Page
After last season’s debacle of “paying homage” to a routine that wasn’t theirs, I was glad to see them in a more original routine (well I hope it was original). But I wasn’t wowed… I suppose after the kind of episode like today that is not likely going to happen. Meh. I have to agree, I like Damon over Deon even during their audition, he wasn’t as “lazy” in his movement as Deon appeared to be, finishing more, etc… so we’ll see.

June 7, 2012 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... =)