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Power Rankings for SYTYCD Canada Top 20

Last week I failed at my rankings, then again, most agree Canada failed at voting, but I digress. Here are my thoughts based on tonight’s performances.

Please feel free to comment if you agree, disagree or have anything to add or say.

********** TOP 3 **********

1. Amanda & Denys – Contemporary – Sabrina Matthews
Perfect – Hedley
1-877-977-4602

I liked the story, A girl finds out she is terminaly ill, and her boyfriend feels bad he cant help her. Sabrina Matthews created a master piece. I got goosebmps and that usually equals a Top 3 rankings. There was beautiful movement and it was emotionally moving. I loved it! Well danced!

2. Jeff & Charlene – Contemporary – Stacey Tookey
Breathing – Alisa Turner
1-877-977-4606

Based on a real story from a letter from a depressed person who used her daughter to pull through. Stacey is amazing. Goosebumps and you know what that means.. Top 3 ranking… It was in their genre so it had to be wonderful. Very beautiful!

3. Kloe & Jonathan – Jazz – Blake McGrath
California Gurls – Katy Perry ft Snoop Dogg
1-877-977-4610

Very fun theme, sexy and hot… perfect song choice. Thank goodness she took off those heels – yikes! Blake’s choreo is always hot and quite precise. This had some great moments but was mostly just fun to watch. I think people will vote for it because of that reason. I had no idea Kloe had a bad ankle she pulled through that routine without me noticing which is why I put this 3rd and not 4th.

********** MIDDLE **********

4. Nathalie & Mackenzie – Hip Hop – Sho-Tyme
All I do is Win – DJ Khaled ft T-Pain, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross
1-877-977-4604

I love hip hop overall and these two did a good job, Mackenzie is pretty to look at so that helps. There were some very fast moments that could have been a little but more precise but I enjoyed watching it. I was stuck between my top 3 & 4 to be honest. Kloe dancing through a bad ankle is what put them above this routine, barely.

5. Sebastian & Danielle – Theatre – Sean Cheesman
No Good Deed – Idina Menzel – Wicked Soundtrack
1-877-977-4608

Nice twists and lifts. It was very interesting to watch. I enjoyed it a lot. I think people will vote for them.

6. Jesse & Julia – Samba – Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin
Cuban Pete – isweat music
1-877-977-4607

Julia’s favourite of her 5 areas of dance I expected her to nail it and she did. Jesse was a fast learner it seemed, he had me convinced, holy hips! The wardrobe change by her was hot, although her dress started to fall apart she danced through it.

7. Shavar & Janick – Krump – Lil C
Whatever – Buckmouth
1-877-977-4609

Funky outfits, he had a tin can on his junk (as Mia pointed out) Shavar was harder hitting than she was but that wasn’t a surprise, neither hit hard enough for krump though. Still, It was “bucc”. But they were out of synch almost the entire time which kind of made it look a mess for me. Loved Lil C calling himself a Warriogropher.

********** BOTTOM 3 **********

8. Jera & Kirsten – Paso Doble – Francis LeFreniere & Natalli Reznik
Iron Might / Mind Control – Position Music
1-877-977-4603

Dramatic movements, lights outfits, the end spin was amazing but the drop was a bit hard at the end. It was good. Not great. I love these two dancers so I hate putting them in the bottom 3 but based on tonight that is where they fall… I don’t see them going home though.

9. Claudia & Yonni – Foxtrot – Danny Quillam
Telephone – Lady Gaga ft Beyonce
1-877-977-4605

Modern music with a not-so-modern dance style, hot outfits, felt a bit slow for the music until the steps around the stage. Mixed results from the judges. I wasn’t feeling it personally but can see the artistic, uniqueness about it. A juxtaposition between tradition and modern… very interesting.

10. Bree & Edgar – Dancehall – Jaeblaze
Clarks (feat Popcaan and Gaza Slim) – Vybz Kartel
1-877-977-4601

Smooth, he is harder hitting than she (hip hop background, vs contemporary) I wasn’t a fan overall. There were moments of good but also moments of random nothing. Luther said it was good dancehall, what do I know about it? Just average for me.

I really have a tough time ranking these dancers… Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

August 30, 2010 I Written By

I am a blogger and reality tv lover. I blog here for SYTYCD but mostly the Canada version, since I live in Vancouver BC. I also blog about other reality tv shows on my own blog www.mandysmind.com

SYTYCD Canada Twitter Round-Up

Here’s the buzz on twitter surrounding SYTYCD Canada.

@BlakeMcGrath tweets daily to rewuest “RELAX” on the radio, also on Saturday he wished the dancers good luck and then tweeted this after the show:

Good show! Great job dancers! Out for dinner and drinks with @jpricchio and @mmraw

Me and my baby back again @mmraw I love her. Were taking off. Ready.

Stacey Tookey tweeted:
Taping is almost done now!! Be sure to watch on Mon night … It’s gonna be a great show!!

Also Melanie Laptain is on twitter and choreo’d this week, can’t wait to see this week’s show. Hoping we see Mia choreo as sheis in Toronto for Dance Team Canada Auditions with John-Paul Ricchio

Any other twitter news? add in the comments!

August 29, 2010 I Written By

I am a blogger and reality tv lover. I blog here for SYTYCD but mostly the Canada version, since I live in Vancouver BC. I also blog about other reality tv shows on my own blog www.mandysmind.com

And The Emmy Goes To…

an Dance — WordPress.

Congrats Mia on your second Emmy win for “Addiction”

*Thanks to twitter for all of my info about Mia’s Emmy win.

August 21, 2010 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.

Twitter News

I posted SYTYCD Canada Twitter Accounts the other day, but today I was looking to see what some of the SYTYCD personalities had posted about the Toronto Auditions or the show in general. Also, I saw a few of the choreographers and judges chatting on twitter which makes me excited that we may have some awesome people coming to Toronto for SYTYCD Canada.

Benji chatting with judge Luther Brown:

..maybe coming to the show as a guest?

Cool news, Miles was in Vancouver to audition for the CWs new show Hell Cats staring Ashley Tisdale and Aly Michalka.

Also, look who is headed to Toronto:

I am sure she will guest host and/or choreo… to be honest, I prefer her as a choreographer because she is amazing and as a judge, well, she just get too emotional one way or another. I know she is working with Blake for his video for “RELAX” They are in rehearsals now.

Finally, Blake reminds you to tune in tonight:

August 16, 2010 I Written By

I am a blogger and reality tv lover. I blog here for SYTYCD but mostly the Canada version, since I live in Vancouver BC. I also blog about other reality tv shows on my own blog www.mandysmind.com

SYTYCD Season 7 Top 3 Thoughts/Power Rankings

Oh what a great show!!! And just so you know, I’m starting this post after only the second routine! Lol. Here are my Thoughts/Power Rankings.

John, Marianya and Amanda have each broken down why each of the three remaining contestants could win Season 7.

But now I have to rank how each of them did in tonight’s performance show. Our commenter beth said I should just say “no comment,” since it’s such a hard Power Ranking to do.

But something tells me I couldn’t get away with that. Sigh. Gulp. Here we go.

Kent and Lauren Bollywood – This was a wonderful routine! Lots of energy and character and it really showed off Kent’s skills–acrobatics and theatrics. I was really impressed with Lauren, as well. She’s pretty phenomenal. However, Kent seemed to struggle with her weight at the end of the routine, which none of the judges mentioned. It’s hard to take anything they say seriously when they completely gloss over mistakes for some dancers and then nitpick others to death. I get it, it’s the finale, but I think they could’ve mentioned that he was a bit wobbly at the end.

(When Cat said, “Russian folk isn’t making a comeback is it?” and Adam said, “Sweet Jesus, no,” I totally expected Jeanine and Philip to run out in their folk costumes and that music to start. Lol. I was really disappointed.)

Lauren and Twitch Nappytabs hip hop – I agree that Nappytabs is having a wonderful out season and this routine illustrated exactly how solid Lauren is, to be able to dance so well alongside Twitch, of all the All-Stars. It was funny and hard-hitting and LoFro walloped us with her athleticism. I honestly couldn’t stop watching her, which is HUGE considering who she was dancing with. What I really loved about the routine was that Nappytabs didn’t choreograph some sort of relationship routine just cause they had a girl/guy combo. I think Lauren’s strengths encourage choreographers to give her routines where she can be tough and funky and sexy all at once and not just one thing at a time.

Robert and Mark jazz – I liked the routine while I watched it, even though I thought Robert and Mark looked a lot alike. I couldn’t tell them apart during the sections when they broke away from each other, and I didn’t really mind not being able to keep track of who was who during the unison sections. Marianya and I were talking about this happening ages ago and I’m glad that the two of them danced together. YET, I think Robert could’ve stood out more in a routine with a different All-Star than Mark. It’s a bit like the Kent-Neil Tyce baseball Broadway, except I think Kent was gifted with choreography that was more tailored to him. More than anything else, I hated that Nigel talked about Alex, Kent and Lauren, but didn’t actually talk about Robert.

During Kent’s chat with Cat, I loved the way she teased him and made kissy faces at him and then again after his solo. His solo was very “Kent-ish,” to borrow Mia’s earlier word. It wasn’t the strongest solo he’s done, but it was a’right.

Lauren and Robert’s Contemporary – LOOOOVED this!! It showcased them both so well. I thought it could’ve been a distracting prop, but it was used with such intention that it really amplified the performance, in my opinion. Especially that one particular lift that Nigel mentioned. They were so supportive of each other and you could see it in all the really intricate timing and collaborative stuff they did. The song was gorgeous, they both looked incredible and danced beautifully.

Lauren and Kent’s jazz – I thought they were both cute together and I love Mandy Moore. I’m glad that L&K defended her and very disappointed that the judges were kinda blah about her choreography when really, that would’ve been a great routine with two other dancers. Or Lauren and Billy again. Cause it really was like that routine with Billy, except it didn’t have the same loose flow coming from Kent. Before you boo me or throw the veggies, go and watch it back. Seriously. What I’ve started to realize is that maybe because Kent’s smaller than most of the other dancers, he prepares too much for lifts and big moves. You can see them coming a mile away. Tonight, I could see it in ALL of his routines and it made them pretty staccato.

Looooved Robert’s chat with Cat when he said that if he won, he’d look at his mom and say, “What do you want,” then use the money to get it for her. That was incredibly sweet. I thought his solo showed a lot of his growth over the season.

Kent and Allison’s contemporary – I have to say, I did love this. While I did notice some wobbling from Kent (ducks), mostly I thought the choreography, the music and the dancers added up so something pretty incredible. But I really didn’t know how to feel when Kent was acting like Rainman afterwards and the judges took that opportunity to effuse that he’d had an artist moment and grown up. I don’t know that I like serious Kent. Serious Kent seems pretty fake to me, actually. It’s the joyful, exuberant, thrilled Broadway Kent that I like the best, that feels the strongest and truest. I can hear the booing from here. Moving on quickly…

It was cute that Lauren said the prom dance with Kent was her favorite, too. Her solo was KILLER!! I agree with beth that you can see her fighting in her solos and not treating them like throwaways. I think if anything gives her the edge, it’d be this, and the fact that she’s hitting high notes at just the right moment.

Robert and Kathryn’s Broadway – This is one of the most amazing things ever. I loved hardcore criminal Robert and tough interrogator Kathryn. R&K are the closest thing we’ve had to old-school SYTYCD partnership and I love watching them dance together. He broke the chair in the rehearsals, then his pants on the show and I loved the interactions with Kathryn through it all. But what I really loved was that he had something of a solo at the beginning – and he held the stage! Plus, we’ve talked about Robert channeling Dmitry and looking like Mark’s brother but in this routine, Robert reminded me a lot of Neil. Maybe that’s crazy, but I don’t think it could possibly be a bad thing. 🙂

Lauren and Pasha’s cha cha – I think this put Lauren over the top. Okay, maybe it was the cumulative affect of all of tonight’s dances and the entire season, but that cha cha was stunning. She dances everything like she’s already an All-Star, like Adam pointed out a while back. She was so athletic and sexy and then Mia said that if she were still dancing, she’d want to dance just like Lauren. Whatever your feelings about Mia this season, having a dancer/choreographer say that to another dancer is just… Pretty unique. I think everybody (even the judges) are starting to realize that Lauren is the little engine who could – she hasn’t been overproduced and hasn’t had a lot of the big emotional, memorable routines that some of the other dancers have been gifted with. Yet – she’s danced everything well, with her own flair and style and athleticism.

And then there was…Robert and Kent’s Maelvos – Awful. Just awful, I’m sorry. But what a horrible way to end the performance finale. This is going to sound strange, but I think about 30% of the problem could’ve been cleared up by their pants being better fits. They seemed so loose and baggy that they looked like awkward little boys wearing their dad’s clothes. Even Robert, who looks damn hot in tailored pants. And their coats should’ve been cut shorter, as well. They looked stronger and had cleaner lines once they took them off. Another 40% could have been fixed if Kent hadn’t danced. (Ducks the serious veggies flying her way). He was so awkward and ill-prepared for this! I’ll be honest – my beloved Robert wasn’t much better, but he WAS better. Mostly, I think that the maelvos, like the male-male paso doble probably need hyper masculine dancers in order to work. We didn’t have that here, except somewhat with Robert. Oddly, Nigel and Adam almost completely ignored the dance itself when they talked. Mia was the only one who stepped up to the plate and even then, she excused their occasional limpness as “debonair.”

So…as for my power rankings. Let’s try something new because this is impossible.

-I’d like Robert to win because I think he’s had the most growth over the course of the season if you look at where he was dance-wise to where he is now, dance-wise. Plus, he was in the bottom the most and survived. And he’d buy something cool for his mom.

-I think Lauren is probably the best dancer of the three of them and that she has a good chance to win because she’s been peaking at the right time. Her last dance of the night was one of her strongest (her first dance being the other “strongest” dance) and her solos are always really amazing.

-I still think Kent probably will win because he’s been hyped the most and because the demographic of the show are tweens who favor slightly adrogynous, non-threatening boys in their dreamboats and idols. He’s had a lot of memorable routines this season, but probably none are as memorable as Nigel “finding” him in Wapakoneta like a diamond in the rough.

Oh, I’m gonna get some major veggies tonight. Time for bed while y’all hurl ’em my way. 🙂

John’s Update:
Since Emilie is too nice to make the power rankings, I’ll help her out:
1. Kent Boyd – Can you say Allison Holker and Stacey Tookey?
2. Lauren Froderman – Girl power!!
3. Robert Roldan – Come back kid, but not quite.
The good thing is that it seems the consensus is that most people would be happy with any of these 3 winning the show. That really is a first for SYTYCD. They’re all GREAT!!

August 11, 2010 I Written By

Season 7: A Look at the Highs (and Lows)

Hi all!! I can’t believe we’re just a few hours away from the last performance show of the season!! I’m here to add my thoughts on the highs and lows of Season 7 SYTYCD. I was reading Entertainment Weekly online last night and they have a post up now, “So You Think You Can Dance: 10 Ways to Improve It”. I’m gonna play off that, plus add some of my highlights and lowlights from the season.

Highlight: The Opening Number
Wade Robson, tragically absent this season, created a visual and aesthetic masterpiece. We were able to see glimpses of the incredible array of dancers and their talents. It was difficult to distinguish who was who at some points, there were 23 dancers on the stage, but it was quite a sight to see.

Lowlight: First three eliminated–all girls
One of the things I was looking forward to the most when I heard about the All-Stars was seeing Twitch, Neil, Ade, Mark, Dom, and Pasha dancing again. Fast forward three weeks, and the likelihood of that happened had drastically dropped when the numbers were 6 male contestants and 2 girls. Alexie, Cristina, and Melinda were beautiful dancers, but they didn’t connect with the audience. I think poor Alexie was done in by less than stellar choreography, and I think the judges may have reached a little putting Cristina and Melinda in the top 11. Nevertheless, it was troubling to see three girls get knocked off so fast.

from EW.com:
PUT THE POWER BACK INTO THE VIEWERS’ HANDS

As host Cat Deeley regularly reminds us, SYTYCD is the search for ”America’s favorite dancer.” So why was America’s voice stifled for so long during season 7? SYTYCD’s old format actually worked perfectly: The judges exerted their control for the first five weeks of competition — ensuring that dancers who deserved a second chance outlasted those unable to measure up — then left the rest up to the audience. But this season, viewers had their hands tied until top four. The judges already have plenty of time to have their say (see: previous slide), so let us have ours again…earlier!

Highlight: Alex and Twitch’s hip hop
File this under the category of WOW. When I heard Alex was gonna be doing hip hop with Twitch, I was nervous for him. We didn’t see him do it in Vegas (I don’t think) so I had no idea what was going to happen. Needless to say, I had to surgically remove my jaw from the floor after watching that routine. Who knew that Alex would have a break out moment doing hip hop?!

Lowlight: Injuries, Injuries, Injuries!
It’s amazing that we’ve gone 7 seasons WITHOUT having a serious injury. Granted, Jessica from S4 did have to leave, but she was able to tour with her season when her rib healed. I felt so sad for Alex, because he was just started to scratch the surface on the show. Our thoughts are with him as he recovers.

From EW.com (I sort of agree with this one, not 100%)
GIVE US, YES, FEWER DANCES

With such a talented crop of contestants every year, it seems crazy to ask for fewer dance numbers on SYTYCD. But if season 7 proved anything, it’s that stellar choreographers often lose their touch when faced with the feat of creating a countless number of routines for the contestants. (Can you remember more than one Sonya dance?) And that hectic schedule is not only tough on choreographers, but the dancers as well — executing nearly four routines per week left many season 7 contestants sidelined with injuries. So let’s give them a (non-injury-induced) break, shall we? After all, the show is called So You Think You Can Dance, not So You Thought You Could Dance Before You Got Injured on a Reality Show.

Highlight: Cat standing up for the dancers
As you guys have probably read, I wasn’t AdeChike’s biggest fan, but I certainly liked him as a dancer and he seemed like a really nice guy. He didn’t deserve a lot of the bashing he took this season. Granted, some of it was necessary (Adam’s comments about him needing a looser center for African Jazz, I totally understood that), but some of it wasn’t (Mia: “I’m missing Alex Wong now. Hard). I was so happy to see Cat stand up for him after that Bollywood number, she really shows how invested she is in these dancers, how much she loves them.

from EW.com
SHORTER JUDGE CRITIQUES

Hey, I’ll concede that it’s tough to put on a two-hour show. But it’s also tough to maintain interest in said two-hour program when the majority of the airtime is dedicated to the judges’ critiques. (Especially when the contestants are only on stage for short, two-minute routines.) The dancers are the stars of the series — not a panel of judges more focused on thanking the choreographers than praising the contestants. You know the phrase: Keep it simple!

Highlight: Allison and Kathryn
These 2 girls took on an incredible number of routines this season. They danced almost every week, sometimes twice in one week with different partners. The best thing about them was that you could tell they were always there for their partners, 100%. Even when Allison was dancing with José, who, let’s face, she danced circles around, we could look into her eyes and see her commitment to him. I’m not taking anything away from the other All-Stars, they’re all amazing at what they do and a major asset to SYTYCD, but these two girls are my MVPs.

Lowlight: The judging
What can I say? I fastforwarded through a lot of the comments this year b/c they either didn’t make sense or they just went on FOREVER. Mia’s a great choreographer, but I kinda can’t stand her as a judge. Her noises and made up words made her sound uneducated, like that’s the best you can come up with while praising (or critiquing) someone’s dancing. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…bring back Mary!!

From EW.com
BRING BACK MARY

With all due respect to Mia, the panel already has two industry vets who can wax poetic about technique. What was missing on the panel during season 7 was a healthy dose of crazy. (And what was missing on the stage this year was some Mia Michaels choreography.) Sure, Mary Murphy has all but ensured that SYTYCD fans will give the hearing aid industry a boost in 20 years, but we’ve missed being able to board the hot tamale train. Or crazy train, whatever.

Highlight/Lowlight: Getting reintroduced to the All-Stars via Classic Routines/Not getting to see everyone dance routines
This could have been amazing, and it kind of was. Getting to see “The Garden” “Forever” “Night of the Dancing Flame” and Anya/Pasha’s audition number was fantastic. Not only did we get to see these classic routines again, but we got to see how much these dancers have improved since their seasons. After those routines were over, the dances stopped! What about Ade, Kathryn, Dominic and Allison?! Four incredibly talented dancers who have memorable dances of their own. Why not show the routines on the big screen, then have the dancer do a solo on stage. That way, we could have seen the routines (most likely, “This Woman’s Work” “Fear” or “At this Moment” “Make it Work” and “Why”) but also gotten to see the dancers do a solo.

Highlight: “Boogie Shoes”/”Mad World”
Finally, Billy Bell got a breakout routine!! This was one of my favorite routines of the season and I’m excited to see it on tour. We finally got to see Billy loosen up and have some fun. He got the groove of the dance. With Mad World, everything just came together. Stacey Tookey has really elevated herself into that elite group of choreographers on the show with this number. Billy was fantastic.

Highlight: Robert’s Week 8
My pick for the win, he had an incredible week. Both dances were top notch, and everything just worked. I was so happy to see him make the finale, because his growth over the season is really starting to culminate at the right time.

Lowlight: the stage, again
Getting rid of the annoying screen from last season definitely helped, but not totally. When the camera hit the lights at certain angles, it sometimes washed out the dancers. The solution that really needs to happen…

From EW.com:
RETURN TO A SMALLER STAGE

In 2009, SYTYCD announced two big changes: The series would boast a new fall season — which would take place on a much larger stage. Unfortunately, both ideas flopped. Though the producers wisely ditched a fall season after it proved to be unpopular, the expansive, impersonal stage remains, frustrating viewers who prefer an intimate dance experience. Remember, Nigel & Co.: Bigger isn’t always better!

Here are a couple of other ideas from EW.com that I really like:
HAVE THE DANCERS PERFORM CLASSIC ROUTINES
For every ”The Bench” routine on SYTYCD, there’s a ghastly disco dance. So instead of reaching in order to showcase new choreography, why not allow one contestant a week to perform a classic, well-known dance number? Sure, they’ll never measure up to the legends that made the routines famous. Still, after seeing Kent ace a Spencer Liff Broadway routine this season, who wouldn’t want to see what he could do with, say, Singin’ in the Rain’s ”Make ‘Em Laugh”? gusty, but could be fabulous

TAKE A PAGE FROM IDOL — RECRUIT SOME GUEST MENTORS!
Sure, great choreographers like Sonya Tayeh, Mia Michaels, and Wade Robson (who’s been tragically MIA during season 7) already act as mentors by default for the SYTYCD contestants. But the show could use a new jolt of star power. Not only would contestants welcome the weekly guidance of some legendary dancers, like, say, Alvin Ailey’s Judith Jamison (pictured) or American Ballet Theater’s Ethan Stiefel, but any dance fan would also be fascinated to hear icons share their tricks of the trade. And think of the results-show guest performances we all saw how excited AdeChike was to be dancing for Dwight and Desmond, this could be really cool. Plus, Ethan Stiefel is better known as Cooper Nielsen from the dance movie Center Stage, and I, for one, would LOVE to see him on SYTYCD!

okay guys, these are my thoughts. Agree? Disagree? Fire away!!

I Written By

Writing up Seasons 6 and 7 – news for SYTYCD Season 8!

Check out this great piece from the The Daily Best/Sexy Beast (thanks Jordan, for sending us a link!) that discusses how the changes during the past two seasons have changed the show.

Here’s some highlights:

The season concludes this week, and looking back, it hasn’t gone well. Fox is aware that fans aren’t as thrilled as they once were. Last week, Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly told me that changes, like replacing one of the judges, “stir the passions of a very passionate audience.” Some of that audience has fled: While ratings are up from last fall, they have fallen compared to last summer. The penultimate results show last Thursday lost another 10 percent of its viewers for a season low.

And later:

Making matters worse, last fall, the generally insufferable Adam Shankman joined the judging panel full-time, resulting in the end of one of the show’s better features, a rotating third guest judge who would bring completely different insight than, say, Murphy’s enthusiasm or Lythgoe’s occasional homophobia. Now, the judges, while passionate as always, seem to have more time than ever to ramble. More significantly, they have started using their power arbitrarily, opting to send no one home one week, which seemed like a ploy to save their favorite Billy Bell, who wasn’t viewers’ favorite. After the judges announced that sudden rule change, host Cat Deeley wittily and pointedly observed, “We just make this show up as we go along.”

And here’s the best part, for me, because I think Nigel’s been reading PureSYTYCD and likes my ideas. lol

Lythgoe wasn’t made available for an interview for this story, but he admitted to the media after Thursday’s results show that there were too many changes. Lythgoe called the response “frustrating” and said “I want to get it right for the audience, but at the same time, I don’t want to let down dance, and this season the dance situation has really been tremendous.” He plans to revert back to the previous Top 20 format but still bring in all-stars once it’s down to 10.

Well, if he liked that idea, I think he really should put together a Fall SYTYCD reality show like I keep saying. Yes, I’ll probably be insufferable if it happens (all the “I told you so!”s), but it will be really fun.

Enjoy the reading!

I Written By

SYTYCD Season 7 Top 4 Performance Thoughts/Power Rankings

Wow, what a night. Ahem.

My Power Rankings tonight are going to be VERY risky indeed. Or perhaps not so much if you agree with me and I’m right…

Top Dancer
Robert Roldan had the strongest night, hands down. I’m sorry, but he did. 🙂 He’s been picking up steam the last few weeks, there’s a major campaign over at ISM for him and some of us…not naming names…but ME, have said how wonderful he is all season. Oh and that’s not even counting his routines tonight. He was the one who stood out to me in Tyce’s group Broadway, which is saying something cause it was three guys and one girl. I guess you could say that you’d notice whichever of the three guys you liked best cause you’d be looking for them. However…Robert had the most partner time with Lauren, he was always at the front or middle of the three boys in unison sections and whenever there was a guy on his own of the group, it was him. Then, the Viennese Waltz with Anya was lyrical and romantic and showed him off in all kind of wonderful ways. I think it was a moment. The right song (popular here on the site most of the season), the right pair of dancers, the right timing. But if it was just the waltz, maybe I wouldn’t have put Robert here. However, his Nappytabs hip hop with Dominic truly showed what he was made of. It was perfect for him – it had story and character, which he does best. And he killed it!!! Marianya “prescribed” hip hop as what Robert needed to conquer next and boy did he!!! Ricky is predicting that he’ll win.

Middle Two Dancers

Kent had his worst dance all season with that disco. And I’m not just saying that cause I hate disco. Really, I’m not. I have to agree with the judges. It was lackluster even compared to other discos. The saving grace was Kent’s unshakable personality, but here’s the snag. He’s been the clear favorite most of the season (i.e. since Alex left), so then it would be his competition to lose. And he had one bad routine. While a lot of his fans will vote for him anyway, this routine didn’t do him any favors and he blended into the wallpaper for that Broadway group routine, except at the very end. HOWEVER, and this is a big but, he had the biggest blessing a dancer could ask for in this – he danced well in the last routine of the night which happened to be a hugely memorable Travis wall routine with Neil, a very popular All-Star. I would’ve said Robert’s hip-hop was the best routine of the night if not for this one. That’s going to remind a LOT of people why they love Kent.

Adechike danced solidly, but his routines are still the least compelling (in terms of voting and “best of the night”), in my mind. But here’s why I think there’s a good chance he’ll edge out Lauren – people are going to be moved by his journey package (see, I told you the judges were stealthily supporting him by ragging on him), which was featured last of the night and separate from the other dancers’. And it was a moving, moving package at the end of which he gave very humble and heartfelt speech about how lucky and grateful he is, as if he knows he’s not going forward after this week. Not a dry eye in America after that, even at my house where I’ve become a late and begrudging Adechike fan. But about his dances. He had some little splashy moments in the Broadway, but was largely ignorable (ducks flying veggies). I really liked the African jazz (looove Sean Cheesman) and I thought that Adechike really connected with Lauren (if not the audience) and danced it well. But it felt like the Tahitian routine – you either got it or you didn’t and it was almost impossible to critique/consider alongside the other dances. I liked it. It reminded me of a paso doble somehow (probably because of Lauren’s skirt), but without the dominance factor and just the strength of movement. I think he actually danced even better and with more abandon in the contemporary with Kathryn. However, I felt like that piece was handicapped by the absolute wrong song choice, a frantic energy and some weird movement. All in all, it was an even better performance from Adechike once I watched it back. But it comes down to this… When I thought about what routines had been danced tonight, I thought of Kent’s contemporary, Robert’s hip hop, Robert’s waltz and even Kent’s horrendous disco before I could recall what Adechike had danced. It kind sounds like I’ve just devoted a lot of energy and space to explaining whey he’s leaving tonight. And he might. But…

Bottom Dancer
I think the vast majority of the audience are going to concentrate on “saving” either Adechike, Robert or Kent and they’re going to neglect Lauren like they did last week. She’s been proving she’s a phenomenal dancer with EVERY routine, especially lately. But when was her last big routine? You know, that really memorable routine that a dancer hopefully gets at least once in a season. Routines like the two we saw tonight (Kent’s contemporary and Robert’s hip hop), routines like Adechike’s hip hop with Comfort or Alex’s with Twitch. In movies, they’re called “set pieces” because they take the most money and energy, usually, to deliver upon. The Argentine tango with Pasha tonight (which Marianya totally recommended she dance) was that moment for her, but it was the FIRST routine of the night with TWO KILLER show-ending routines by the guys. And her jazz with Ade was strong and awesome, but lacked chemistry and some true malicious intent. She hasn’t really had any show-stopping phenomenal dances choreographed especially for and around her (as ALL of the remaining guys have had). She’s had to rise to every challenge, despite her experience and her prepardness and she HAS. Adam says he thinks of her as an All-Star already and I think he’s right that she’s quietly done whatever was asked of her and matched her partner to the best of her abilities. I think she deserves to win the season for that reason alone. But in reality, while I hope I’m wrong, I think people are going to forget to vote for her in the rush to protect their favorite of the three guys.

Some Final Thoughts
-I missed the group and the tango, so I came in on Cat standing next to Lauren with her new short haircut. I was a little stunned. And I loved hearing Lauren say to the audience, “I hope you’ve enjoyed watching it as much as I’ve enjoyed living it.” Hell yeah, LoFro. 🙂
-I liked Sean Cheesman’s African jazz, but I think I would’ve liked the second jazz a lot better without the “story” behind it. And also, with different music.
-I really hate disco. They either need to find a new disco choreographer (if another one exists, if there’s ANYBODY ELSE who hasn’t yet given up the ghost) or retire the style. C’mon, get with it! Stop using disco and quickstep UNLESS there’s a completely unique way of doing it or dancers who just happen to be able to kill it.
-I think it makes sense that Adechike danced for Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden and I can see him having a career working with them. But I don’t dig their stuff. I almost never really love or remember their routines.
-Adechike made me cry. I’m so glad he’s opened up in the last few weeks (that I’ve seen). I’m glad I’ve gotten to “know” and appreciate him. Even though I hope he leaves this week instead of anybody else (ducks flying fruit).
-Nappytabs have been KILLING it this season. They’ve had three or four really great routines this season. Namely, the Alex-Twitch “Outta Your Mind” and now this one with Robert and Dominic.
-Alright, this has to be said. I love, love, love the Kent-Neil-Travis contemporary tonight. LURVE IT. It was perfection and reminded me of why Kent has such a following when he’d started to be redundant to me. But here’s my beef. Well, it’s not a beef. It’s an observation. The “background” or “story” to the routine was that it’s a friendship breaking up and that worked because they both danced very “masculine” (read: straight). And bravo to SYTYCD/FOX/everybody for having a male-male contemporary with that much physical connection between the two men – even if they had to dress it up as a “friendship” that was breaking up. But it was about lovers. It was about two men who love each other and hurt each other, any way you read it. And while it’s remarkable that it’s “okay” to have a dance like this on a t.v. show (same sex marriage news today, how timely!!), let’s get to the point where we can say, “this is a story about two lovers breaking up” and it’s OKAY for the lovers to both be men. Or women. That’s it, I’m done. It was beautiful.

Nothing else has gone to plan this week in cursed Season 7, which is why I’m predicting for the “surprise” twist. Agree? Disagree? Lemme know!!!!

August 4, 2010 I Written By

SYTYCD Season 7 Top 6 (Again!) Results Thoughts

Well, I’ve kinda given away some of my thoughts over on the discussion post. Just had to get them out. 🙂 But here I go…

-Loved that opening number. It was delicious. While I loved seeing Allison surrounded by ten guys, I wondered if that was supposed to be Lauren and it made me sad a bit that we didn’t get to see her dance it. I kept thinking that it was a Sonya routine, maybe even Wade (a la Ramalama). Apparently, I’m utterly unused to seeing Mia’s choreography, because I was actually shocked when I heard it was hers – more shocked that I hadn’t recognized it, really.

-I liked that they told us right away that Lauren was fine. Least they didn’t play with us.

-Love that Gatorade is recognizing dancers as athletes. Took them long enough. If golf is a sport, dance is. Dancers have to take care of their bodies more than a lot folks who’re already considered athletes.

-It was a bit sucky of them to bring out the contestant with probably the most and the worst votes at the same time, but at least there was a nice lack of suspense. Kent’s safe, Jose’s not.

-Adechike and Billy was a bit more suspenseful. Personally, I noticed Adechike’s King Zulu t-shirt cause Zulu is my favorite Mardi Gras parade. I wasn’t too surprised when Adechike was safe and Billy wasn’t, even though it wasn’t what I predicted in my Power Rankings.

-What DID surprise me was that Lauren was in the bottom and Robert was safe. Then, I thought again and I blamed the judges/Cat/the producers for telling us all riiiiiiight at the end of the show that Lauren was injured and *nothing* else. So, everybody probably thought she was going home anyway and didn’t vote for her. I was relieved Robert’s safe and I had a pretty good feeling that she was gonna be safe, so mostly I was mourning Billy.

-I enjoyed the Step Up 3D dancers a lot, especially Tony Bellissimo. I’m even more excited for the movie knowing he’s in it. He was one of my favorites last year and he got booted off first! It was really unfair. But it just goes to show that SYTYCD is a reality tv show and the dance community is bigger than a tv show and it takes care of its own. Tony Bellissimo danced on the same stage with Lil C! So, too bad I didn’t get to see him during a STYCYD season, but I’ll get to see him dance now and again. The same is true for *all* of these dancers we’re getting introduced to – Jose and Billy, Alex and Ashley, Adechike and Robert and everyone we’ve ever loved on the SYTYCD stage.

-I already said this in the comments of the discussion post, but that musical performance by Christian TV was atrocious and I’m really pissed that we didn’t *really* get to see Kherington and Lexi dance. Biggest misuse of SYTYCD alumni ever. Criminal, in fact. Annnnd, WHERE is our All-Star performance? They gave the time to that guy instead? Criminal!

-Jose’s solo only reinforced what we all already know – he’s a one-note dancer, but incredibly sweet. Billy kicked ass with his solo. It was as if he was giving it one last valiant effort to stay in, even though he knew he was leaving, and at the same time he was saying to all the choreographers out there, “THIS is what Billy Bell can do, doncha want to choreograph me?” Clearly, this won’t be the last we see of him. Lauren’s solo was awesome and it did showcase her well.

-I did enjoy Allison Iraheta and Orianthi rocking out, I must say. Who were the dancers that performed on stage with them? I feel like we never got close enough to their faces to identify them. Anybody know?

-Alright, so the judges make the right decision faced with this Bottom 3, but it still sucks to lose Billy. I disagree with Nigel that his “androgynous style” kept him from connecting with the audience. I think that they were treating him like the second coming and it went to his head and people didn’t know how to take his swagger/arrogance/humor/whatever it was. He never really found his place inside the reality tv show aspect of it. But I think he proved a few times that he knows who he is when it comes to dance. I’m glad that Lauren stays. And I think every SYTYCD fan cheered when they heard that the judges don’t get to make the decision anymore.

That’s about it for me. What do you think?

July 29, 2010 I Written By

SYTYCD Season 7 Top 6 (again!) Music

Top 6 Group (again!) Routine
Choreographer: Mia Michaels
Song: Sting’s “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” – Every

Professional Performance
Group: Step Up 3D dancers including Tony Bellissimo and Lil C
Songs: Music from the soundtrack, including Trey Songz’s “Already Taken” – Already, Roscoe Dash ft. T-Pain’s “My Own Step” – My and Sophia Fresh ft. T-Pain’s “This Moment” – This

Musical Performance: Christian TV’s “When She Turns 18” – When

The Bottom 3 Solos:

Jose danced his solo to SO:HO’s “Hot Music” – Hot

Billy danced his solo to Venetian Snares’s “Szerencsetlen” – Szerencsétlen

Lauren danced her solo to Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” – Let's

Musical Performance: Allison Iraheta featuring Orianthi’s “Don’t Waste the Pretty” – Don't

Jose and Billy are eliminated to the goodbye song: Black Gold‘s “Shine” – Shine from their album Rush.

All of all Season 7’s music can be found in one place, just for you.

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