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Many SYTYCD Dancers in Sugar and Bruno Video

Thanks to Vogue over on Pure DWTS, I came across this really great Sugar and Bruno video that contains a whole slew of SYTYCD dancers. I guess I should have known that dancers make for great models. Chelsie, Kathryn and Mollee are a few of my favorites in the video. Plus, how amazing does Stacey look? She’s defying time.

January 25, 2013 I Written By

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

Legacy Interview and Fruit of the Loom Dance Competition

Pure SYTYCD had the opportunity to connect with Legacy to catch up with him on what he’s been doing since being on SYTYCD. Plus, we talk with Legacy about his “Next Big Move” contest he’s holding together with Fruit of the Loom. You can find more details about the contest on the Fruit of the Loom Facebook page. You have until October 1st to enter. Being featured in a Fruit of the Loom ad is a pretty cool prize.

You can hear more about the contest and what Legacy has been up to post-SYTYCD in the following interview:

In the interview, Legacy also mentions the Fruit of the Loom commercial he was in. Here it is for those who haven’t seen it:

Great to see that Legacy is doing well and still dancing.

September 6, 2012 I Written By

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

AdeChike joins the cast of the Broadway musical Fela!

According to an interview with Fox News New York, AdeChike Torbert has joined the cast of Fela!

If you remember from Season 7, Adechike was a fluid contemporary dancer that created a little bit of controversy during his time at Las Vegas Callbacks. Performing a comedic tap routine for his opening solo before wowing the judges with his contemporary routine.

From Brooklyn, given a Nigerian name with origins from Jamaica, he will fit right at home with the cast.

According to the show’s website:

FELA! is based on the life of Fela Kuti, who created Afrobeat—a blend of jazz, funk and African rhythm and harmonies—and mixed these sensual eclectic rhythms with simple but powerful lyrics that openly assailed Nigeria’s corrupt and oppressive dictatorships.

AdeChike is also on their cast page:

ADÉ CHIKÉ TORBERT (Ensemble) was born in Brooklyn, NY and began studying dance at the age of eight. He graduated from LaGuardia High School and studied at The Boston Conservatory and the Alvin Ailey School. He recently competed on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 where he became a top four finalist. Adé Chiké is extremely excited to be a part of FELA!

July 16, 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... =)

Awesome Duet from the Naughty Ballerina, Melissa Sandvig

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.

March 21, 2012 I Written By

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

BIG NEWS(ies) scoop!

Happy Monday!! I hope you all had a wonderful President’s Day, and to those of you who got the day off 😛 …only kidding!!

As our resident Broadway queen here at PureSYTYCD, I like to stay up on the latest goings-on in the land of the Great White Way. News pops up every so often that gets me excited about the latest shows opening, but one bit of news nearly gave me a heart attack I was so excited, and it involves some dancers very close to all of our hearts.

Disney’s Newsies the Musical is opening next month, jam packed with amazing choreography & tons of talent, and I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw 4 of the names in the ensemble: THAYNE JASPERSON, EVAN KASPRZAK, JESS LEPROTTO & ALEX (FREAKIN’) WONG!!! That’s right, Broadway is being invaded by SYTYCD!!!

Marianya & I were kidding around…how fun would it be to go to NYC & go see the show? The kidding around turned into…well, we COULD go see the show…so we’re going! We’ll be in NYC April 5-8 & we’re going to see Newsies!! I’m in the process of getting in contact with some people at Disney to see about getting an interview with one (or some of the guys) so if there are any questions you want us to ask them, post them here!! We’re so excited to see the amazing choreography of Newsies & especially to see how Thayne, Jess, Evan & Alex have grown as dancers since their time on SYTYCD.

Also, you guys should check out SMASH on NBC every Monday at 10pm, it’s about the makings of a Broadway show & Spencer Liff, Alex, Ellenore & Thayne have all been featured as dancers! Check it out!

(Spencer is lifting up the bench in the pic below)

February 20, 2012 I Written By

Funny Jeanine Mason Video – Boyfriend Spray

Comediva, a comedy site and content studio that makes funny videos for women, created a new original video, Boyfriend Spray, starring Jeanine Mason from So You Think You Can Dance. It is a parody ad about a perfume that makes you smell “unavailable.”

I know that Jeanine has been studying film in school. It’s cool to see her doing a bit of acting. Sadly no dancing in this video, but she’s still fun to see. Enjoy!

February 13, 2012 I Written By

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

Mollee Gray Music Video – You Don’t Know Anything

I have to admit that I haven’t kept up on a lot of the past dancers as well as many, but tonight on Twitter I saw that Mollee Gray released a new music video with Mollee singing (and a little dancing). It’s called “You Don’t Know Anything” I did a search for it on iTunes and couldn’t find it, but I do have the music video which I’ll embed below:

I liked the song and the video was pretty well done. Shauna Noland was also in the music video, but was the only SYTYCD alumni that I could find in the list of dancers. I especially like the last sequence of the video where Mollee joins the dancers. It had some really intereing choreography.

To be honest, I didn’t know that Mollee had started a singing career. Turns out Lacey Schwimmer was singing in Las Vegas this weekend as well. I wonder how many other past SYTYCD dancers are singing as well. We should make a list.

August 7, 2011 I Written By

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

Travis Will Choreograph Evan Lysacek

Check out this Tweet from Evan Lysacek just now.

Evan Lysacek EvanLysacek

Had an awesome day of choreography with @travISova. He’s such an insanely talented guy. We’re working 2gether for a number for Stars on Ice 28 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to travISova Retweeted by travISova and 2 others

Travis is having such a great post SYTYCD career!

November 2, 2010 I Written By

Twitch Interview on Step Up 3D

I came across this earlier today thanks to a friend’s post on facebook. It is an interview done by Tonya Plank of The Huffington Post. Its no secret that are many SYTYCD alumni that are apart of this film but Twitch has a speaking role. So enjoy reading this interview and learn a few new things about All Star Twitch. All Credit goes to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tonya-plank/interview-with-twitch-bos_b_667136.html

Tonight is the Los Angeles premiere of Step Up 3D, the very first 3D dance movie. Last night, I was able to chat a bit by phone with tWitch Boss, So You Think You Can Dance all-star and now soon to be movie star as well! We spoke about his work in the film, how he prepared for it, how it was different from his work on SYTYCD, and what he envisions for his future.

HuffPo: Hi, how are you?

TwitchBoss: I’m very good, things are all right.

HP: So, your new movie Step Up 3D comes out this week. What is your role?

TB: Well, my character’s name is Jason. He’s a comic book nerd and he’s a fool for gadgets and stuff like that. He has his own lab. He’s pretty beef in there; he’s a very excitable guy. He loves kicking it with his crew and to battle in dance. And that’s something I can totally relate to. He’s a freestyler.

HP: And this is an acting part right?

TB: Yes, it is.

HP: Oh cool.

TB: Very exciting. I’m very excited.

HP: It’s your first acting part, right?

TB: Right. Absolutely.

HP: I mean, you were in Blades of Glory and Hairspray but those weren’t acting roles. Just dancing.

TB: Laughs. Yeah, just dancing. In Blades of Glory, I was running around in a tutu. Laughs some more.

HP: Oh how funny, I’ll have to see that!

TB: No, no, I mean, you really don’t have to! More laughter.

HP: Well, okay. More laughter. And so you auditioned twice for Step Up 3D? Once for the dance part and once for the acting part?

TB: Yes, I did. The dance audition was first. I went in and did that. I had a blast doing that. That was one of the most high energy auditions. There’s a couple of auditions that pass through LA a couple times a year where you get a lot of dancers that go out and sometimes get a little pushy and competitive. But this time everybody was just amped and ready to dance and ready to go. It was a great, great dance experience.

Afterward I asked (producer) Adam Shankman and (director) Jon Chu if maybe somehow I could come in and read for a part or something like that. I kind of hounded them, my manager kind of got on the ground. We came up with ways to keep kind of putting it in their ear to see if I could at least come in and read. And I finally got that opportunity, and I guess it worked out, you know.

HP: Did you find the acting part stressful?

TB: You know, I don’t want to say stressful, it was just new. Acting is very different than dancing. Of course I felt so much more comfortable with dancing at first. But the whole process of acting is absolutely incredible. It’s a process I respect and love, actually. So, you know, it wasn’t stressful, it was work, and it was a learning experience.

HP: How did you train for the acting part?

TB: I had an acting coach, named Mary Kegley. She worked with me very closely.

HP: Had you taken any acting classes in school? Didn’t you go to a dance school for college?

TB: I mean, I went to a university that had a dance program, yes. But it wasn’t specifically a dance school. So, I did go to college and major in dance. But acting is fairly new to me. I had an introduction to acting class for dancers there, I’ve had those classes here and there throughout my life. So it wasn’t something that was completely foreign to me, you know, learning lines and stuff like that. But actually doing it the real deal, doing it on film, that was the new part.

HP: So you’ve now worked in film, TV and on stage. Which do you like best?

TB: You know what? I kind of have my favorite part of each one. TV happens so quickly, you get to see the results and study them and learn from what you did on TV a lot quicker than you will on film. But I mean film, I love the quality of film, and the anticipation of it, the building it up to seeing the finished product is amazing. Because after the editing and the music are put in and all that stuff, it’s just a whole new monster.

HP: How was the dance training for the movie in comparison to the dance training for SYTYCD?

TB: Oh, the hours are way, way different. For So You Think they had you rehearsing for hours for a number you’d have to do in a couple of days, as opposed to rehearsing for a couple of days for a number that you’d have to do in a couple of months. So, the schedule’s just very different.

HP: Have you seen the movie yet?

TB: I have not seen it, not yet. I’m seeing it for the first time tomorrow.

HP: In LA? Is the premiere tomorrow?

TB: Yep, the premiere’s tomorrow, in LA. My family’s in, my mom, my brother came down. But one of my brothers is actually in the Army and he’s wasn’t able to make it down for the premiere. But man, just sending love out to him because he’s out there holding down the country.

HP: Is he in Iraq?

TB: No, actually he’s training in New Mexico before he’s deployed.

HP: Oh wow.

I also wanted to ask about the choreography in this, in Step Up 3D. I read that it was choreographed specifically to be shown in 3D. So I was wondering if it was a lot different in that way from what you’ve done.

TB: Right, certain aspects. I mean, you know, not the entire thing. There were definitely a couple of different eight counts that were made specifically for a 3D effect, but the dancing was still definitely raw, still battle style, battle mentality. But there were some shots where we definitely had to hit our mark for that 3D effect.

HP: Oh cool. I can’t wait to see it.

TB: Me too. Laughs.

HP: Do you want to do more acting? Even pure acting, non-dance parts?

TB: Oh absolutely. That’s actually what I’m striving for. I will do more acting but away from dance parts. As far as the dancing goes, I love to perform, I love to get down, but my passion lies in education and in teaching. I teach hip hop to kids, and I teach hip hop workshops and stuff like that. So in the near future, I will still teach and stuff like that. But I’m definitely striving for and trying to make a name for myself in acting.

HP: Are there any filmmakers or directors you really want to work with?

TB: Ah, let’s see. Laughs. There’s a bunch actually. I’d love love love to work with M. Night Shyamalan because his entire mind, is just ridiculous. Just ridiculous! And I’d love to be in some action movies. I want to be a superhero and I want to run and jump from building to building. More laughing.

HP: So, back to dance for a minute. What initially made you fall in love with dance?

TB: Oh I mean, looking back on it, I think I’ve always really been in love with it. I was the kid that during spare time at home with friends, I was always like, ‘let’s make up a dance routine real quick.’ Laughs. I don’t even know why, but I just would. I’d see my family just dancing around the house, not professional-like, just dancing around house. We always loved to just jam out to music. I tried out for my high school dance team my senior year, and that’s when I really fell in love with the entire idea of making a career out of show business.

HP: Did you ever foresee that you would become a professional dancer or was it just like for fun at first?

TB: Yeah, of course. I mean it was definitely fun. As a kid there were a couple of theater workshops that they’d do during the summer. I’m from Montgomery, Alabama, and so the arts aren’t that heavy there. So during the summer, they have the summer arts program where the kids will come for a month, and learn all kinds of different performing arts, you know, like acting and singing. From that program I realized I loved to be onstage. So the dancing kind of came afterward. It was something that I really did pick up naturally and that I really loved to do.

HP: And what do you love about hip hop in particular?

TB: Oh, it’s just the lifestyle. Hip hop is more than just a style of dance. It’s an entire lifestyle, you know, an entire history, and an entire culture.

HP: Are there other choreographers you’d like to work with?

TB: I haven’t worked with Kenny Ortega yet, but he’s more into directing now than choreographing. But yeah, Kenny Ortega, that would be amazing. And though you know, even though he’s passed on, it would be so amazing to work with Gene Kelly. Awwww. He’s just, he’s the man.

HP: Which dancers have inspired you?

TB: Oh all the classics. Bob Fosse, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire. And on up a generation: Michael Jackson. And some of the guys in – I don’t know if you’ve heard of these movies – but Breakin’, Breakgin’ 2 Electric Boogaloo. There are these movies that happened in the 80s and I happened to run upon those in the rental store and I promise you I probably rented them every week when I was a kid. Laughs.

HP: I read that you have your own production company now.

TB: Yes, ExperiMENTAL Industries. It’s for producing movies and shows. It’s a whole production company. It’s a good time.

HP: So, would you want to work behind the camera too?- As a filmmaker?

TB: Not so much filmmaking. I really enjoy the creative process, but I’ll leave it to filmmakers to make the films. But being behind it, putting on the shows and producing – absolutely. To get involved conceptually – absolutely. But I mean, to get behind the camera and actually set up the shots – naaa, I don’t think that’s really up my alley. Laughs.

HP: Well, thank you so much for chatting. Good luck and I can’t wait to see the movie!

TB: Awesome. It was great talking to you.

Step Up 3D opens nationwide on August 6th. Look for other SYTYCD alum, like Joshua Allen and Katee Shean, who appear in dance roles.

August 2, 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.

Announcing the Winners of the Master Dance Classes Hosted by Cliche Cosmetics

It was extremely hard to pick the winners of the master dance classes hosted by Cliche Cosmetics. I’m glad John had the majority decision, as senior administrator. 🙂

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.

Fort Lauderdale’s class will be attended by Kat

New York’s class will be attended by Asia

Los Angeles’s class will be attended by Christine

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!

July 15, 2010 I Written By