I could probably post something every day related to past SYTYCD dancers new projects. If I wasn’t so busy with my day job I would. If someone out there is interested in posting on here, I’d love to hear from you.
With that said, I happened upon this video of Melissa Sandvig, more commonly known as the naughty ballerina, doing a duet called Heavenly. It really is an absolutely heavenly dance. I couldn’t stop watching. They have some of the most amazing movements I’ve seen in a long time. In fact, it reminded me of why I fell in love with SYTYCD in the first place. I’m sure you’ll enjoy. I also love that Melissa is still dancing.
The dancers who won will be able to study with Katee Shean (S4), Melissa Sandvig (S5), Randi Evans (S5), Victor Smalley (S6) and Noelle Marsh (S6) in either Fort Lauderdale, New York City or Los Angeles.
With no further ado, let’s introduce you to the winners.
Thank you to everyone who sent in their stories and who continues to dance. We can’t wait to hear how the classes go – congrats Kat, Asia and Christine!
Cliche Cosmetics is hosting the Summer Dance Series, dance classes taught by SYTYCD alum – Katee Shean (S4), Melissa Sandvig (S5), Randi Evans (S5), Victor Smalley (S6) and Noelle Marsh (S6) – and they’ve offered us free tickets for our readers!
Here’s the deal. The master classes are designed for intermediate to advanced dancers and will be hosted during August in Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale and New York. At least three members of the faculty will teach in each city. Check out all the details here.
We have one ticket per city to give away. So, if you want them, write in the comments below and tell us why we should give the ticket to you. If you win the ticket, you commit to guest-blogging your experiences for PureSYTYCD – and we want pictures!!! Tell us which city’s class you’d like a ticket for. Get our attention with creativity, inspiration and…compliments and bribes always help, too. 🙂 Tell us how much the class will mean to you. Or tell us what a great guest blog you’ll write. Get our attention and you can win a free ticket to a SYTYCD master class in one of these cities!
[7.6. Update and disclaimer: I never mentioned our deadline. We need all of your mini-essays by the 15th so we can make our decision before the first class – and already it’s going to be a hard one. I must disclaim – neither Cliche Cosmetics nor PureSYTYCD can pay any travel or associated expenses. We’re combining our efforts to bring you the opportunity to take the class for free, but make sure you’re in the position to get to the class and stay in whichever city you select.]
In the “Total Eclipse of the Heart” routine, we get glimpses of Brandon and Melissa throughout, but Melissa is really prominent at 42:05 on the right of Jesse. She’s got her “Naughty Ballerina” face on, her expression saying something along the lines of, “Naught Ballerina’s gonna steal your man.”
“Let’s Get Physical” is basically an homage to Brandon’s butt, at least once you stop looking at Olivia Newton-John and Sue Sylvester. The first time his face is really prominent is 26:37 and then again at 26:50. His butt’s super prominent at the end. 🙂
As for Ben’s “what’s-his-name” in the “Let’s Get Physical” segment, I’m not sure who he’s talking about. I thought Ryan Di Lello would have the physique for it, but I didn’t see him. Maybe Nathan with a shaved head? What do y’all think? [UPDATE: Thanks to commenter Julia (and SYTYCDism) for pointing out that it’s Jonathan Platero!]
Now that we know all the All-Stars that are going to participate in Season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance, I thought it was be fun to look at some dances that – interestingly enough – used the same music in various seasons of the show. Though all dancers are going to be alumni, not all are to be a part of the All-Star pool. However, it’s always fun to reminisce.
Below are two videos that uses the song Right Here Waiting performed by Richard Marx.
The first is from Season 1 Week 4, a lyrical routine performed by Ashlé Dawson and Blake McGrath. Choreography by Tovaris Wilson.
The second video is from Season 5 Week 1, a contemporary routine performed by Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi. Choreography by Mandy Moore.
So who do you think danced it better? Which choreography do you prefer more?
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... =)
First, I just read an MTV.com article that claims Adam Shankman is being considered to direct a “Wizard of Oz” prequel tentatively titled “Oz, The Great and Powerful” and starring Robert Downey, Jr.
Also, in odd and random (and interesting) SYTYCD news, entertainment betting lines are already open for SYTYCD Season 7. Seriously. Though I’m not being a gambler (but one of my roommates was a professional poker player), I find this fascinating. You can check out the betting odds here. Apparently, the odds were Male -150 and Female +110 as of the 14th, though they change every week (no new numbers yet, as far as I can tell).
Washington Post staff writer Sarah Kaufman, who won the 2010 criticism Pulitzer Prize wrote a SYTYCD article last year, which was one of the pieces submitted for Pulitzer consideration. It’s a great read, as proved by this little snippet:
Melissa had the nano-dress, the spiked heels, the hiccupping rhythm. Even so, something was wrong with her cha-cha.
The judges on “So You Think You Can Dance” knew where the fault lay. Melissa is, by training, a ballet dancer, and those polite hips and her tea-at-the-Ritz posture had gotten in her way. No amount of sequins or daringly exposed skin could make up for the fact that her cha-cha needed a mojito. More heft, more hips, more Havana.
Check out this section from the question-and-answer Sarah Kaufman did after winning:
Kensington, MD: I am a big fan. I loved your article on “So You Think You Can Dance,” one of my favorite shows. My husband and I used to subscribe to the Kennedy Center Ballet, and I would check out your review before every show. Thanks so much for your great work!
Sarah Kaufman: Mwah!! Big hug. Thank you. I loved writing that piece. I only hope there will be a spillover from TV dance to live theater dance. Glad to know you’re helping the cause!
What do you think of all these odd STYCYD-related items?
Here’s another Twitter Roundup for your enjoyment!
LaurenGottlieb
Ugh! When JLo calls ur supposed to drop what ur doing &go!!..I just dont know if I can do that this time:/ Sending good vibes hope it works about 1 hour ago
karla_w_a_K
still under construction … http://www.KarlaPunoGarcia.com about 2 hours ago
PaulineMata
New video with @juskalmeB and I! Check it out and let me know what you think! 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg5LOAHbvv0 about 3 hours ago
[Choreographed by Brandon Bryant, Ade behind the camera and Melissa in the background. Quite the SYTYCD reunion here. :)]
jakobakarr
Packing and getting ready for my long Oscar journey. So excited to perform at the Academy Awards! Excied for @NYCDA Pittsburg first though! about 3 hours ago
adammshankman
Oh lord. They dug up the clips of me dancing on the 1990 #oscars and are posting them on oscars.org I think…young & ridiculous. about 7 hours ago
LaurenGottliebYay!!! Just got word about another Glee episode…is it time for a rematch Matthew Morrison?? I think so =)16 minutes ago
PaulineMataClass from Kyle Hanagami, Matt Cady, and Elm Pizzaro was amazing! Oh and saw @nathantrasoras today. Missed him much! It’s such a good day 🙂44 minutes ago
JManrara@jGlove988 is not having a good day! I’m on my way home, but wish I could be there to make him feel better… Love you babe!!!! Muuuuuah! 🙁4:18 PM Dec 20th
ADEEVERYDAY @fivealive2009 rands! I need to Update you immediately. I’m shooting a music video today but I’ll call u when I get a chance. I’m dying!!1:09 PM Dec 2nd
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.)