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Chris Koehl of So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 Live Chat Today!

Conducted by Cricket Wireless, they are conducting…

an exciting live Facebook chat with popular dancer Chris Koehl, star of the new Nice Moves TV spot for Cricket Wireless. Chris has a pretty loaded dancing resume, as you know, highlighted by his impressive turn during season 8 of “So You Think You Can Dance?”

Koehl will answer fan questions, discuss working on the spot and share experiences from his dancing background. The chat will start at 6pm EST and you can sign up here on Cricket’s Facebook tab.

Earlier we have posted a little bit about the Nice Moves TV Spot featuring Chris Koehl.

So if you have any burning questions for Chris Koehl with his current and future career moves, his dance background of even his time on So You Think You Can Dance, this is your chance!

August 22, 2012 I Written By

My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)

So You Think You Can Dance’s Chris Koehl featured in a new TV spot: Nice Moves

It was only a matter of time until Chris Koehl of So You Think You Can Dance’s Season 8 – who made it to the Top 14 – popped up. In this case there is a new TV spot coming to the airwaves called: Nice Moves, which stars Chris Loehl, is directed by Chris Applebaum (who has directed music videos fro Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Mariah Carey, Kid Rock and otheres) and choreographed by Fatima (who has worked with Usher, Mary J. Blige, No Doubt and Aaliyah).

As a kick off for their celebration of music & dance here is a behind the scenes sneak peak of the making of Nice Moves, featuring interviews with Chris Applebaum, Fatima and Chris Koehl.

After a routine like this:

Is it really a surprise that we would see Chris pop up so soon?

August 13, 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... =)

SYTYCD Season 8 Revisited: Outstanding Choreographer Nominations

With the Emmy nominations out… I decided to scour the internet to find the routines from Season 8 that the choreographers created that earned them the Emmy nominations. Based on the the routines you see below… there is a poll at the bottom where you can choose the choreographer that you’d like to see win the Emmys this year. Keep in mind that Smash also earned an Emmy nomination but since it is not SYTYCD related… I did not include them in this list.

Interesting enough we have representation for:
– Contemporary (Travis Wall / Stacey Tookey)
– Hip Hop (Christopher Scott)
– Broadway (Spencer Liff / NBC’s Smash)

No love for ballroom? Awww… =( But I digress…

First I am going to start with the homegrown SYTYCD alumni:
TRAVIS WALL: Dancing with the Stars
Episode: Season 14 – Top 8 Results Show (24 April 2012)
Style: Contemporary
Other Choreographer: Teddy Forance

Thoughts: Travis has yet to create a “mediocre” routine, then again what can be considered as a “mediocre” routine for Travis would be strong routine for other choreographers. He has really grown into his own with developing his skill set and moving outside of the box, going from choreographing partners on SYTYCD and smaller groups to the larger scale routines as show on DWTS last season. Adding in the fly system so that one of the dancers is floating on air just adds more to the routine as opposed to being a gimmick.

Also, it is always nice to sift through the dancers and play “are they from So You Think You Can Dance”? For example I saw Nick Lazzarini, Jaimie Goodwin, Melanie Moore, Ryan Ramirez… the list goes on. If he keeps this up I will be very interested to see what he brings onto the plate in the Off-Broadway production of Bare that he is tapped as choreographer. Not to mention the reality based television series on cable that is rumored to revolve around his new dance company.
Read more..

July 19, 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... =)

Review: Fanaticly Website and App for SYTYCD

About a month and a half ago I was approached to review a website and corresponding app for iPhone. Interesting proposition to be sure, but something I don’t usually do… I can be harsh with my reviews, blunt and to the point. I have no qualms in exposing what I do not like about something, but at the same time I will acknowledge when something is done right.

This is no different, there are some aspects of either the website or the app that I dislike, but there are also some aspects of the website or app that I truly liked…

So beyond the break I will provide my impressions in regards to the app and the website. After my impressions there will be a quick line or two for the positives, negatives and the bottom line for both the app and the website. At the end of this post will be my final thoughts and what I would love to see down the road… preferably sooner than later.
Read more..

July 13, 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... =)

SYTYCDancers Kherington Payne and Jordan Casanova in Cabaret

As I was trolling through my RSS feed, it was recently announced via Playbill that two So You Think You Can Dance alumni will be featured in Napa Valley Broadway Playhouse‘s production of Cabaret.

The production is scheduled to open on June 22nd through July 1st

Since her time on SYTYCD: Kherington Payne was seen in the reinvention of the movie Fame, released in 2009 as Alice Ellerton. She is no stranger to the musical theatre stage, for she played Potiphar’s wife in Napa Valley Broadway Playhouse’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Jordan Casanova, who was just on the show last season was more recently seen as one of the dancers on NBC’s the Voice during Tony Lucca’s interpretation of Hit Me Baby One More Time.

May 11, 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... =)

Disney’s the Newsies Musical – Bloggers’ Impressions

When the official cast list for Disney’s Newsies the Musical came out, those of us that were fans of the original 1992 movie scoured the cast list for familiar names… and were we pleasantly surprised to find that four of our favorite dancers from various seasons of SYTYCD were part of the cast! Huge favorites like Evan Kasprzak and Alex Wong, as well as those that left too soon like Thayne Jasperson and Jess LeProtto were all listed!

So naturally we here at Pure So You Think You Can Dance went into a group email firestorm and tried to see if we could have a group outing / get together and meet up at the Great White Way to watch the Newsies together… And if by some twist of faith talk to some of the dancers.

In the end only Margaret and myself (Marianya) were able to make the semi-impromptu trip and we have so much to tell you about this gem of a show.

CHOREOGRAPHY
Marianya: OMG The choreography was AMAZING! Not only that but it really seemed to have challenged the dancers to their fullest potentials. The SYTYCD alumni all have special moments throughout the show, be it as a dancer, actor, or singer. The choreography wasn’t just on the stage itself, but all over the staging, elevated… it was thorough and I couldn’t help but tap along with the music. I would go again just to see the dancing. For more of my thoughts of Disney’s the Newsies musical please head on over to my personal blog.

Margaret: The show was choreographed within an inch of its life, and that’s a good thing! A lot of the dancers have said in interviews that Newsies was the first movie they saw for their generation that had guys dancing and singing but still being “dudes”. A lot of them said it helped them see that it was okay to be a guy and like to dance. Everything about the show is full out (it is Disney, after all) and the choreography, with a mix of contemporary but also time period-centric moves, fits beautifully.

THE DANCERS
Anyone that appreciates strong dancing can tell you that one person that will catch your attention and was not a SYTYCD alumni was Ryan Steele who played Specs (he wore glasses). In fact his center was so incredibly precise that the only SYTYCD alumni that could possibly compare was Danny Tidwell of runner up of SYTYCD Season 3 (he is SYTYCD Season 2 runner up Travis Wall’s brother). In fact we went so far to as to say that Ryan Steele would be a combination of Danny Tidwell and SYTYCD Season 7 hopeful Anthony Burrell. In a crazy serendipitous coincidence of SYTYCD connections, Ryan is close friends with Jakob Karr from Season 6! But you’re here for the dancers that were part of the So You Think You Can Dance family:

Alex Wong: Of course, anyone that has been keeping up with So You Think You Can Dance would know and love Alex Wong, and how he sustained an injury to his Achilles tendon that forced him out of the competition. After approximately a year of recuperation he was asked to come back as an All Star for SYTYCD Season 8 only for him to turn it down due to an injury to his other Achilles tendon. Well he has come back from both injuries to dance as if he was never injured to begin with (and mind you these were potential career ending injuries). He was as strong as ever and he looked like he was enjoying himself. His ballet training was evident but so was some of the growth from the time he was on the show. This is his Broadway debut & with such strong dancers throughout the ensemble (many with regional & Broadway credits) he could have easily gotten lost in the shuffle. However, he gets some nice shining moments & his talents are put to good use.

Evan Kasprzak: Dancing a style that he was known for during his season on SYTYCD, it’s amazing to think this is his Broadway debut as well. He is one of the holdovers from the production at Papermill Playhouse this past fall. To say that he has stretched as a performer is an understatement. He has a small bit part in the show and he has a couple of solos in the ensemble numbers. Plus he looks stronger than ever. He shines as a tapper during the rousing “Kings of New York” and gets a fun mini-duet with fellow alum Jess as well.

Thayne Jasperson: He also has a bit part in the second act of the show and he has improved leaps and bounds since his time on SYTYCD. You can tell that his dancing has strengthened quite a bit and his lines are smoother. According to his bio he was on the first national tour of West Side Story in the intervening time. Thayne wasn’t known as a “Broadway” dancer during season 4, but the performance where the judges said he really came alive was a Broadway number, dancing to “Cool” from West Side Story with Comfort. His time to shine is in the 2nd Act and he has some lines as well. He was always remembered as a very graceful dancer, which probably put him at a disadvantage during his season with big personalities like Twitch, Joshua & Mark. But he fits right in on the stage and his dancing has an “umph” and strength to it that wasn’t necessarily apparent when he was on the show.

Jess LeProtto: He’s been on Broadway a few times prior to his time on SYTYCD, and considering that he was just on the show last season there isn’t much to say except how we get a chance to see him in his element now and see his growth since his time on SYTYCD. And did he grow, Jess took a lot of flack during the season for being too much of a ham, and he seems to have reined that in. He and Evan are both “vertically challenged” but they dance as big as their smiles without trying to outdance some of the taller dancers.

After the show, we stood at the stage door in the hopes of getting to meet some of the guys. To our surprise, every one of the cast members came out and signed autographs. They were grateful, courteous to everyone and a pleasure to talk to. Marianya was able to talk to Alex for a bit about hopefully setting up an interview with some of the guys, and Margaret was able to talk to Thayne. They were both so happy to hear that SYTYCD fans were at the show and were definitely interested in sitting down with us, either over the phone or on Skype (gotta love modern technology!) We’ll see what we can set up as we head towards the beginning of season 9!

April 26, 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... =)

SYTYCD Tour Exclusive – Caitlynn, Ricky, Clarice, Jess, Marko, Melanie

Just Dance catches the So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) Tour on the road and interviews Jess, Ricky, Caitlynn and Clarice! Find out about Marko’s injury, and watch exclusive footage of the opening number and Melanie & Marko’s spicy dance from the show on the road. Video Below 🙂

October 8, 2011 I Written By

www.youtube.com/danceon

Season 8 Tour Review with Pictures!

Hi Everybody,

So I wanted to do a short write-up about the tour (I saw it in Atlanta) and one of our readers sent us a link to her pictures from the Norfolk, VA show. Donna C. must have been on the front row because her pictures are ah-mah-zing! Clearly, her favorites are Melanie and Tadd, but she’s got a lot of great shots of everybody. 🙂 Well, done Donna C. and thanks for sharing them with us!

The tour shows are always high-energy, but Season 8 ramped it up about 100%. I don’t think a single dancer got to stand still for even 5 minutes during the show. Even when they were changing costumes, they must have been hopping and jumping back on stage. It was so much fun and so well-orchestrated that EVEN without the All-Stars and MARKO! it was a fabulous show.

I’d have to say that the best thing about this tour versus other tours I’ve seen is that those cheesy little bits with the dancers talking between routines were limited this time around. In fact, this was the only one, at the beginning (also the only time I can verify that any dancer stood still):

Melanie and Sasha do a little introducing

What they did this go-around was set up big sequences and incorporate several of the best (and new!) routines within the sequences. They would segue between routines with solos.

So, they would have a big group number, then a smaller group or pairs routine (often overlapping, with several couples on stage at once so there was no gap between numbers) and then a solo. Then, we’d have another big group number melting into smaller routines and another solo. It was always high-energy and entertaining. I didn’t feel like *I* had a chance to catch my breath all night, so I don’t know how the dancers did it.

My favorite moments:

-Melanie performed the statue routine on her own since Marko was injured and it was so gorgeous and poignant. She filled the space, but it also felt like she was dancing in his honor. She got a standing ovation in Atlanta (it was a hometown crowd, after all, but it was also spectacular).

-Ricky filled in BEAUTIFULLY for Neil (with Melanie in the “Total Eclipse of the Heart” routine) and also for Kent (with Sasha in the “Fool of Me” wall routine) AND Twitch (with Sasha again in “Misty Blue”). He was so good and not only filled the shoes of the All-Star who originally performed the routines, but made them his own.

-Nick was amazing. It was so good to have him on the tour and see him dance as much as he did.

-Almost all of the solos were awesome! They kept just building in intensity and I could see how much man of them had grown since the beginning of Season 8.

-The whole sequence that began with the wall of bars for “Please, Mr. Jailer” and also had the table on stage at the same time was so inventive and stellar. Some of my favorite routines were in that section of the tour (you’ll see it in the pictures) and there was some new stuff as well.

This may have been one of my favorite tours just for the sheer intensity. I didn’t get to meet and greet with the dancers afterwards due to weather, so I was really glad I got to meet them beforehand (and got all those hugs).

Check out some of my favorite of Donna C.’s pictures below and click here to see the slideshow of her photos.

September 28, 2011 I Written By

So You Think You Can Dance Tour ATL – Interview

Hi everybody!

I just got back from interviewing the tour dancers before tonight’s show. It was a lot of fun. They’re all really funny and warm. I got hugs all around as we walked out of the interview room and I’m looking forward to watching the dances.

Marko is still injured so he won’t be dancing tonight. Still, the dancers are hopeful he’ll join them before too long.

Here’s a warning: Some of the dancers’ responses are really soft and I’m kinda loud, especially when I laugh, since the camera was closest to me. I hope I don’t kill your eardrums, but I think you’ll enjoy the dancers’ responses to your questions. Also, I was so entertained by the dancers that I forgot I was interviewing them just a little bit a few times. It was so much fun!

Please send us more as our writers should be interviewing the dancers at different cities along the tour!

AND I forgot to show y’all the picture I took! Here it is: Read more..

September 21, 2011 I Written By

SYTYCD Tour – Interview the Dancers

Hi everybody!

The SYTYCD Season 8 tour has started and tomorrow will be Atlanta’s turn. Amanda and I will both be there and it looks like we’ll be able to meet with the dancers in the afternoon, before the show, and ask them questions. Including Season 8 winner Melanie, who’s a Marietta girl like me!

SO, is there anything you’d like us to ask them? Let us know!

September 19, 2011 I Written By