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
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…
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They’ve recently released their list of the 25 greatest SYTYCD performances of the past 7 seasons.
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..
Okay, so probably it’s a case of *very* good chemistry and good acting (I wouldn’t be surprised at all that Neil was just *that* good), but there’s something about that Ashley/Neil performance that had me thinking and has kept me thinking.
K. For me, I noticed the chemistry right away. And Neil’s face when he drops Ashley down toward the ground, the way he watched her as she lay back – that got me thinking. Then, he held her for a really long time when they were finished and seemed *very* and I mean VERY reluctant to walk away.
And then… and then… Ashely was asked if she’d ever been in love and she said, “As a matter of fact, I think I am.”
WITH NEIL?!?!
When the judges were talking to her, she still seemed so moved and I was completely intrigued, still moved myself by that routine, but how affected both she and Neil seemed by it. He didn’t seem to want to walk off the stage at the end.
So, Marianya was watching it just after me and I waited for her to watch it. Sure enough, she messaged me:
Marianya (9:02:50 PM): ashley’s in love with neil?!?!?!?
Me (9:03:06 PM): that’s waht i’m thinking…
Me (9:03:12 PM): i didn’t want to say anyting
Me (9:03:15 PM): i wanted to see what you thought
Me (9:03:19 PM): what makes you think neil?
Me (9:03:24 PM): did you see his face when he walked away?????
Marianya (9:03:25 PM): what ashley said
Marianya (9:03:30 PM): “i think i am now”
Me (9:03:47 PM): it doesn’t have to be neil, but it kinda seems like it…
Me (9:03:51 PM): did you see his face????
Marianya (9:03:53 PM): you’re right
Me (9:03:53 PM): rewind!!!!
Marianya (9:03:54 PM): i think i am
Me (9:03:56 PM): woman, rewind!!!
Marianya (9:04:29 PM): ooooo
Marianya (9:04:36 PM): he held her a VERY LONG time
Marianya (9:04:45 PM): i’m watching that again
Marianya (9:04:47 PM): and again
Marianya (9:04:48 PM): and again
Me (9:05:04 PM): lol
Me (9:05:05 PM): 🙂
Me (9:05:10 PM): what if they fell in love in like 3 days?
Me (9:05:15 PM): or maybe he’s just a really good actor
Me (9:05:18 PM): but what IFFFFFF?
Marianya (9:05:23 PM): that’s what i thought tooo
Marianya (9:05:40 PM): here’s the thing
Marianya (9:05:58 PM): at first glance i was thinking, “wow very nice chemistry”
Marianya (9:06:13 PM): and he was holding her for a long time and i thought “well they must have been friends for a while”
Marianya (9:06:27 PM): and then didn’t think anything of it until that line
Marianya (9:06:35 PM): then i’m like, “say wuh?!?!?”
So, what do y’all think? Are we seeing too much into great chemistry, great acting and a great routine? Or, is something going on here, between Ashley and Neil. Could they be another Janette and Jason?
[Lunchtime update: Well, thanks to our reader John (see comments) and to Korbi for getting to the bottom of this. I guess Neil is just *that* good of an actor and they were both extremely moved by the performance, by the moment. Check out the video below, it’s adorable:
Of course, we’re all talking about SYTYCD!! It’s only just started, but already we’ve seen some amazing things. Here’s a bit of the Internet buzz, all in one place just for y’all.
Do you remember my Odd and Random 5/7/10 post, where I mentioned that the Los Angeles Ballet had hired SYTYCD choreographers for a special showcase? Well, here is a great review of the showcase.
First, SYTYCDism posted this video that includes SYTYCD alum Jason Glover, Ivan Koumaev and my beloved Tony Bellisimo. Man, did Tony get a rough deal, being voted off first during Season 5 – I wanted to see him dance! You’ll be sorry he was voted off, too, when you see this video. Can you tell I’m still upset? Lol. Check it out:
After that, Jake Pavelka and Chelsie Hightower dance, accompanied by Dmitry Chaplin and Vienna, Jake’s fiance. There is a whole lot of reality show interaction going on here: The Bachelor and his bride-to-be performing on DWTS with two pros who got their TV start on So You Think You Can Dance. Meta!
“Guys, I want to say thank you to my co-judges and the man who started it all, who’s probably off snogging some lady in a bathroom, Nigel Lythgoe,” Shankman shouted as the familiar strains of the ‘Dance’ theme song filled the lounge.
In case you missed it, Nathan Trasoras made a nice little appearance in the “Vogue” music video they did on Glee with Sue Sylvester. Nathan does have some really good poses, so it seems fitting that he was in this video.
I also heard that Janette Manrara and her b/f Jason Glover were on Glee in the “Highway to Hell” part of Glee, but I haven’t found a video of that yet. Although, Jason and Janette both said that it was cut in half and they weren’t on the video very much. If you know where I can find the video, let me know and I’ll update this post with the video.
I’m not pretending to be fair here. I didn’t start watching till Season 3, so almost all of my All-Stars are Seasons 3-6. I did lay down some rules on myself.
-No winners (would love to see Sabra return, but my own rule eliminated her)
-I tried to limit it to 1 dancer per season (worked for the guys, not for the girls)
-These are *my* personal favorites, who I think are the most versatile if we’re limited to 10
The Guys
Dmitry Chaplin Season 2, Neil Haskell Season 3, Twitch Boss Season 4, Jason Glover Season 5, Jakob Karr Season 6
The Ladies
Lauren Gottlieb Season 3, Katee Shean Season 4, Kherington Payne Season 4, Kathryn McCormick Season 6, Ellenore Scott Season 6
Who are YOUR All-Stars? I suspect John’s, Amanda’s, McPhee’s and most of your All-Stars would differ from mine, so let me know!
Starting up on dizzyfeet benefit, and amazing benefit for the motion picture television fund benefit I’m directing. Let’s raise sum $ about 1 hours ago via Tweetie
First rule change. Only one dancer will leave the competition each week and not two. Many more changes to come by the end of this week. about 1 hours ago via Echofon
I just got the greatest news. Life is about to change….watch out!! I’m soooo greatful 🙂 about 12 hours ago via Tweetie
Can’t wait to find out what that is. And for the new season to start May 27th. We’re going to have lots of fun talking about the show between now and then.
Yippee. Some fun Tweets lately. Here are a selection:
HOTtamaleTRAIN
LOLOL nice shirt Nick. RT @NickLazzarini: http://yfrog.com/4i2epqdj /via @SYTYCDISM – OMG, I wish I could pack that for Australia! 4 minutes ago
JManrara
Woke up, had coffee w/ Tyce, going over my lines for class now, then lunch w/ Katie Shean & Courtney Galiano, & then 5Alive reunion! Yay! 🙂 about 1 hours ago
Bearkaz
http://twitpic.com/14y5wn – I decided Evan would look sweet with a mustache and…BOOSH! about 1 hours ago
You know this made my day, being a devoted Kasprzak fan. There’s another great pic on Ryan’s page of the three brothers round Christmas time. Here’s the pic Ryan posted:
itsjeaninemason
Hold the phone: 5 ALIVE reunion dinner tonight!! Get pumped! I lahv family! about 2 hours ago
Hopefully, there will be pics to follow tonight’s reunion dinner!
xxsurfjonsurfxx
Still in bed….. Need to go shopping for tonight tho!!!! Yaaay family reunion…. Season 5 family that is!!! =D about 4 hours ago
dmitry_ch
Doing a photoshoot with @Chelsiekayh 🙂 http://yfrog.com/37zfmuj about 2 hours ago
Here’s the pic:
NAPPYTABS
Monsters of Hip Hop tryin’ to get to 4,000 followers on their facebook! Help us get them there! We know what you can do followers! about 4 hours ago
jakobakarr
So sleepy today! This rehearsal is going to be a tough one to get through. At least I have @Jaimie_Goodwin to provide the giggles. about 4 hours ago
Billy_Bell
Clear talent meeting! @shaynalb about 6 hours ago
But this one may be waaaay better: @Jglove988 so when are you going to tell @jmanrara that we are together and you don tlike her anymore? about 24 hours ago in reply to Jglove988
adammshankman
First thing I saw when I woke up 🙂 http://yfrog.com/338pdwj about 7 hours ago
Cute pic from Adam – he also Tweets about the Oscars choreography – go check it out.
MollsGrayy
Well just barely going to sleep… Its 5:38 am and I have to be at Millenium by 10am to teach a private lesson!! Then rehearsal all day! Ahh about 8 hours ago
alohakupono
MiA!!!!!!!!!!!! I seriously NeED you in my LiiiiiiiiiiiiiiFE!!!!!!!! I hope you’re doing good and I better see you on THURSDaY for you … about 12 hours ago
A sentiment I’m sure we all second. More Mia is necessary.
PeterSabasino
Getting ready to perform at a Haiti bennefit. I’m excited.. 3:59 PM Feb 19th
Just cause I love Peter…
Exciting news about the Five Alive “reunion” tonight. And the Dmitry/Chelsea photo session. Hope you enjoy.
The title pretty much speaks for itself. For all of us who wished we could’ve been at the Gala, Lyndsey Parker was there and interviewed several dancers on the Red Carpet. It’s a long video with, among others, Adam Shankman, Jeanine, Lacey, Quest Dance Crew, Derek Hough, Mary Murphy, Season 5 dancers Kayla and Melissa with Caitlin and Jason in the background, as well as Ade talking to Katee, Cheryl Burke and Mark Ballas. Enjoy!
I’m really excited to be able to post about the Dizzy Feet Gala. Thanks to Dona whom I know from my work with Pure Derek Hough, I received the following blog post about Katie’s experience at the Dizzy Feet Gala. Sounds like she had a wonderful time. I’m regretting that I didn’t head to LA to be there myself. I guess there’s always next time. Thanks Dona (and it seems like Dona’s friend Dee as well) and Katie for the information about the event.
Dizzy Feet Gala Blog by Katie
What an amazing night tonight was!!!!!! It was filled with high energy, great music, dances and well deserved awards to some inspiring people to continue to give back to this world what it mostly needs; the gift of art and all its creativity through dance!
From memorable dances from the So You think You Can Dance seasons, to the all so entertaining routines from Dancing With The Stars, a collective group of people came together today to celebrate its first Dizzy Feet Foundation gala.
My friend and I were privileged enough to see the works of some brilliant choreographers tonight!! And the seats were amazing! I think you couldn’t go wrong with sitting anywhere really. The structure of the place is done so thoughtfully that wherever you were, you would have a great view!
Derek and Cheryl from DWTS danced a great Cha Cha Cha, getting the audience excited with a great opening number, and making the audience want more. Derek and Cheryl definitely seemed like they were enjoying their night; however later we found out that the dance was put together earlier this morning. I say fantastic job for a time crunch. You wouldn’t have even thought for a second otherwise.
Lacey Schwimmer and Lance Bass also graced the dance floor tonight. Being such huge fans of both Dancing With The Stars, as well as So You Think You Can Dance, we were thrilled to bits when a Travis Wall routine was picked for the night. Jason and Jeanine’s Necklace routine had the room applauding, it was an exact replica of the performance piece shown on the show only a billion times better watching it live.
However, I have to say the standing ovation and the only standing ovation of the night, was from MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew: Quest Crew. I have had the opportunity to watch them perform live a couple of months ago at a benefit concert, and while the routine was the same as before, the atmosphere and the energy in the room was significantly different. In such a wide spread audience of all ages and walks of life, it was tremendous to see the older lady a few rows in front of us stand up and clap for these extremely talented individuals. From a little bit of Hip Hop to a little bit of Pop from Ms. Britney Spears, it seemed that they covered all aspects and types of genres in the musical field in their 3 plus minute routine. It was well deserved and exciting to watch the whole Kodak Theatre stand up and praise them with applause.
Some other highlights of the night included routines from Katee and Joshua doing their “No Air” routine, Mark Ballas and Kristi Yamaguchi doing their jive, and Cheryl and Gilles performing their Tango from Dancing With The Stars.
I have to say some of the routines that definitely stuck with both myself and my guest for the night were those that were Emmy winning performances from the So You Think You Can Dance performers:
Melissa and Ade’s Breast Cancer piece, done beautifully by Tyce Diorio, was also performed for us as well as Mia Michael’s Addiction piece that took our breaths away.
Along with phenomenally breath taking pieces performed by some of our favorite dancers. As Adam Shankman stated “this night was like the Stones for reality TV junkies”. There was talent from a young boy doing Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean routine and performing the Moon Walk, to witnessing what this important foundation is all about. Watching the recipients of the awards given out, I was truly blessed and also deeply saddened that children around the world who could become great simply do not have the resources to do so in their schools and community.
Being apart of something so wonderful was an absolute pleasure and left me wondering what I CAN DO to help. After all, is that what this whole event was all about? Finding a way to help and keep these programs ongoing so that our children and for more generations to come can also experience what I was able to this very night, because of the hard dedication and talent of such amazing individuals that did find an opportunity?
Here’s more information about the Dizzy Feet Foundation: http://www.dizzyfeetfoundation.org/
I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get any pictures. It was just really difficult to keep any lighting on (whether from my iPhone or camera) hidden as much as possible or away so as not to disturb the people around me. I didn’t want to be “ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE” LOL
I did however pull out my camera at the last minute and recorded the BH “move” finale where all the dancers came up on stage after what seemed like the first verse. I apologize for any shakiness or anything like that. Here’s my dizzy feet gala video on youtube:
We tried to stick around for a good hour after the show to see if we could catch Derek. We actually ran into Mark while walking around, however there were so many people around, and he was carrying around a suitcase, we figured he had to go or was just in for a short stop from a flight perhaps, and in no way did we want to keep him any longer. Plus, we were both on the hunt for Derek. Unfortunately, it seemed that either he had already left or found some other exit we were not at 🙁
This isn’t much, but I sort of just started writing once I got home and wanted to share a little bit with you guys. Awww I wish the night could come back. lol I miss it already! hahahaha
I hope I did it some sort of justice for those who couldn’t go : (Again, I had the most amazing time and I want to just thank Dona and Dee for the tickets.)
The following is a video interview I got to do at the SYTYCD Las Vegas tour press event. It was quite the experience for me. As you’ll notice I’m far from a pro at this stuff. However, I think I held my own for being a blogger. I’ll be interested to hear what you think of the interviews (yes, this is the first one and I’ll be posting the other interviews with Melissa Sandvig, Randi Evans, Evan Kasprzak and Jeanine Mason throughout the day today.
In the following interview, I ask Jason about his new girlfriend (Janette Manrara) and his plans for her birthday. I also ask about Jason kissing all the girls during the tour. Phillip talks about his girlfriend. Then, they both talk about their plans after the So You Think You Can Dance tour wraps up. Enjoy the interview of Phillip Chbeeb and Jason Glover.