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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... =)

Newsies the Musical – Broadway Opening Night 2012

Newsies the Musical opened on Broadway on March 29, 2012, and Just Dance was there to catch up with the cast and creative team behind the new Disney musical including SYTYCD veterans Alex Wong, Thayne Jasperson and Evan Kasprzak. Video Below 🙂

April 2, 2012 I Written By

www.youtube.com/danceon

SYTYCD Veterans in Newsies the Musical on Broadway

Newsies the Musical is heading to Broadway, and veterans from the FOX competition series SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (SYTYCD) are taking over! Watch Thayne Jasperson, Evan Kasprzak and Jess LeProtto talk about their road to Broadway in Newsies (Alex Wong is also in the show), which opens on March 15, 2012 for a limited run. Video Below 🙂

February 23, 2012 I Written By

www.youtube.com/danceon

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

Final So You Think You Can Dance Poll

I really don’t think there’s much argument that Joshua Allen was a great dancer and was very deserving of the prize of America’s Greatest Dancer. However, after the success of my top 4 SYTYCD poll, I thought it would be fun to put a couple polls up to see how readers of this site would vote for their FAVORITE dancer and then for the BEST dancer.

Here’s the poll for your FAVORITE So You Think You Can Dance season 4 dancer.

Here’s the poll for the BEST So You Think You Can Dance season 4 dancer.

August 7, 2008 I Written By

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

SYTYCD Top 12 Elimination Music – Goodbye Comfort Fedoke and Thayne Jasperson

Here’s all the music from the SYTYCD Top 12 Elimination show. Here’s all the previous SYTYCD music.

Group dance to the song “Closer” sung by Ne-Yo (Choreographer: Napoleon D’umo and Tabitha D’umo )
Ne-Yo - Closer - Single - Closer
Guest dancer(s): Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater “Revelations” (“Sinner Man” sung by Billy Pointer)
Alvin Ailey - Revelations - Sinner Man
Musical guest: “I Kissed a Girl”—Katy Perry
Katy Perry - I Kissed a Girl - Single - I Kissed a Girl
Comfort Fedoke danced a solo to the song “Oh Timbaland” sung by Timbaland
Timbaland - Shock Value - Oh Timbaland
Thayne Jasperson danced a solo to the song “Come Home” sung by OneRepublic
OneRepublic - Dreaming Out Loud - Come Home
Jessica King danced a solo to the song “Best For Last” sung by Adele
ADELE - 19 - Best for Last
William Wingfield danced a solo to the song “Daraijan” sung by Kodo
Kodo - Mondo Head - Daraijin
Kherington Payne danced a solo to the song “All We Are” sung by OneRepublic
OneRepublic - Dreaming Out Loud - All We Are
Stephen Twitch Boss danced a solo to the song “We Gonna Win” sung by Miri Ben-Ari
Miri Ben-Ari & Styles P - The Hip-Hop Violinist - We Gonna Win

STYCD Top 12 Eliminated:
Comfort Fedoke
Thayne Jasperson

SYTYCDElimination songs:
Comfort Fedoke was eliminated to the song “The Greatest” sung by Michelle Williams

Thayne Jasperson was eliminated to the song “Believe” sung by Staind
Staind - Believe - Single - Believe

July 10, 2008 I Written By

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

SYTYCD Music – July 9, 2008

Back with all the music from SYTYCD. If you missed the music from past shows you can find all of it here.

Chelsie Hightower and Mark Kanemura danced the Salsa to the song Fuego sung by Joe Bataan choreographed by Alex Da Silva
Grupo Fuego - Grupo Fuego - Fuego
Chelsie Hightower and Mark Kanemura danced the Broadway to the song I’m a Woman from Smokey Joe’s Cafe choreographed by Tyce Diorio
B.J., Brenda, DeLee & Pattie - Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller - Act Two: I'm a Woman
Comfort Fedoke and Thayne Jasperson danced the Hip-hop to the song Can We Chill sung by Ne-Yo choreographed by Napoleon D’umo and Tabitha D’umo
Ne-Yo - Because of You - Can We Chill
Comfort Fedoke and Thayne Jasperson danced the Contemporary to the song A Different Corner sung by George Michael choreographed by Mandy Moore
George Michael - Twenty Five - A Different Corner
Jessica King and William Wingfield danced the Contemporary to the song Silence from Unfaithful choreographed by Tyce Diorio
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek - Unfaithful - Silence
Jessica King and William Wingfield danced the Quickstep to the song Bandstand Boogie sung by Barry Manilow choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin
Barry Manilow - Ultimate Manilow - Bandstand Boogie
Courtney Galiano and Gev Manoukian danced the Cha-cha-cha to the song Don’t Stop the Music (The Wideboys Club Mix) sung by Rihanna choreographed by Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev
Rihanna - Don't Stop the Music (The Wideboys Club Mix) - Single - Don't Stop the Music
Courtney Galiano and Gev Manoukian danced the Jazz to the song Standing There sung by The Creatures choreographed by Mandy Moore
The Creatures - Boomerang - Standing There
Kherington Payne and Stephen “Twitch” Boss danced the Krump to the song 2 Buck 4 TV sung by Tha J-Squad choreographed by Lil’ C

Kherington Payne and Stephen “Twitch” Boss danced the Tango to the song Assassin’s Tango from Mr. and Mrs. Smith choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereux
John Powell - Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Assassin's Tango
Katee Shean and Joshua Allen danced the Viennese Waltz to the song Iris sung by Goo Goo Dolls choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereux
The Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy Up the Girl - Iris
Katee Shean and Joshua Allen danced the Bollywood to the song Dhoom Taana from Om Shanti Om choreographed by Nakul Dev Mahajan
Shahrukh Khan, Arjun Rampal, Deepika Padukone & Shreyas Talpade - Om Shanti Om (Music from the Film) - Dhoom taana

July 9, 2008 I Written By

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

My Projected and My Personal So You Think You Can Dance Top 10

Everyone knows that making the top 10 on So You Think You Can Dance is a huge deal since that means that you get to go on the So You Think You Can Dance tour. Sure, they always take a couple alternates, but it’s much better to have your name in lights as part of the top 10.

So, without further ado here is my projected top 10 finalists of So You Think You Can Dance and then who I personally think should be in the top 10.

Projected So You Think You Can Dance Top 10 (and my projected locks)
Girls
Kherington Payne (lock)
Courtney Galiano (lock)
Katee Shean (lock)
Chelsie Hightower
Jessica King

Guys
Twitch – Stephen Boss (lock)
Joshua Allen (lock)
Gev Manoukian
Mark Kanemura
Will Wingfield (lock as long as the judges are choosing)

Personally So You Think You Can Dance Top 10 (Basically who I would keep in my top 10)
Girls
Kherington Payne
Courtney Galiano
Katee Shean
Comfort Fedoke
Jessica King

Guys
Twitch – Stephen Boss
Joshua Allen
Gev Manoukian
Mark Kanemura
Thayne Jasperson

What do you all think?

July 5, 2008 I Written By

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

SYTYCD Top 14 Elimination Show Music – Goodbye Matt Dorame and Kourtni Lind

Here’s all the music from the Week 4 (3 July 2008) Top 14 SYTYCD elimination show. If you’re looking for other SYTYCD music, it’s all listed here.

Group dance was done to the song “Money Money” from Cabaret with Choreographer Tyce DiOrio
Nigel Planer & Toyah Willcox - Cabaret - Money. Money
Guest dancer: Robert Muraine danced to the song “Gonna Make You Sweat” sung by C&C Music Factory
C+C Music Factory - C+C Music Factory: Super Hits - Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)
Musical guest sang the song “Say (All I Need)”–OneRepublic
OneRepublic - Dreaming Out Loud - Say (All I Need)
SYTYCD Solos:
Kourtni Lind danced a solo to the song “No Man”–Nina Storey
Nina Storey - Shades - No Man
Matt Dorame danced a solo to the song “Sweet Contentment”–Bradley James and the Roadies
Carmela Rappazzo - The Girl Who Dreams Out Loud, New Standards - Sweet Contentment
Courtney Galiano danced a solo to the song “What’s Another Day”–Maria Mena
Maria Mena - White Turns Blue - What's Another Day
Gev Manoukian danced a solo to the song “Everybody Loves A Carnival”–Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim - Better Living Through Chemistry - Everybody Needs a 303
Comfort Fedoke danced a solo to the song “Hit the Floor”–Twista feat. Pitbull
Twista & Pitbull - The Day After - Hit the Floor (Featuring Pitbull)
Thayne Jasperson danced a solo to the song “I Want To Break Free”–Queen
Queen - Queen: Greatest Hits - I Want to Break Free

Eliminated:
Kourtni Lind
Matt Dorame

So You Think You Can Dance Top 14 Elimination songs:
Kourtni Lind was eliminated to the song “Incredible” sung by Clique Girlz
Clique Girlz - Incredible - Single - Incredible
Matt Dorame was eliminated to the song “Might As Well Have a Good Time” sung by Crosby, Stills, & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash - Daylight Again - Might As Well Have a Good Time

July 3, 2008 I Written By

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

So You Think You Can Dance Music from the Top 14 Performances

Lots of music since each couple did 2 routines for the top 14 of So You Think You Can Dance. As always, here’s a link where you can find all the so you think you can dance music.

Jessica King and William Wingfield danced the Jive to the song “Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie” from Five Guys Named Moe choreographced by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin
Various Artists - Five Guys Named Moe (Original Broadway Cast Recording) - Choo Choo Ch'Boogie
Jessica King and William Wingfield danced Lyrical to the song “Alone” sung by Heart choreographed by Mandy Moore
Heart - Heart: Greatest Hits - 1985-1995 - Alone
Comfort Fedoke and Thayne Jasperson danced Broadway to the song Cool from West Side Story choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler
Chorus, Kurt Ollmann, Leonard Bernstein & London Symphony Orchestra - Bernstein: West Side Story - West Side Story: "Cool"
Comfort Fedoke and Thayne Jasperson danced Smooth Waltz to the song Hov Arek Sarer Jan sung by New Age Armenia choreographed by Edward Simon
Albina Hambartsumian & Artur Sedrakian - New Age Armenia - Hov Arek Sarer Jan
Kourtni Lind and Matt Dorame danced Hip-hop to the song How Do I Breathe sung by Mario choreographed by Napoleon D’Umo and Tabitha D’Umo
Mario - How Do I Breathe - Single - How Do I Breathe
Kourtni Lind and Matt Dorame danced Mambo to the song Ban Con Tin sung by Super All-Star choreographed by Alex Da Silva

Chelsie Hightower and Mark Kanemura danced Jazz to the song Kiss Kiss sung by Holly Valance choreographed by Mandy Moore
Holly Valance - What a Girl Wants - Kiss Kiss
Chelsie Hightower and Mark Kanemura danced Foxtrot to the song It’s My Life sung by Paul Anka choreographed by Edward Simon
Paul Anka - Rock Swings - It's My Life
Kherington Payne and Stephen “Twitch” Boss danced Paso doble to the song Malaguena sung by Brian Setzer ’68 Comeback Special choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin
Brian Setzer '68 Comeback Special - Ignition! - Malagueña
Kherington Payne and Stephen “Twitch” Boss danced Contemporary to the song Dreaming With a Broken Heart sung by John Mayer choreographed by Mia Michaels
John Mayer - Continuum - Dreaming With a Broken Heart
Katee Shean and Joshua Allen danced Contemporary to the song Hometown Glory sung by Adele choreographed by Mia Michaels
ADELE - 19 - Hometown Glory
Katee Shean and Joshua Allen danced West Coast Swing to the song Shake It sung by Brother Yusef choreographed by Benji Schwimmer and Lacey Schwimmer assisting
Metro Station - Metro Station - Shake It
Courtney Galiano and Gev Manoukian danced Hip-hop to the song Lights, Camera, Action! sung by Mr. Cheeks choreographed by Olisa Thompson and Cicely Bradley
Mr. Cheeks - John P. Kelly - Lights, Camera, Action!
Courtney Galiano and Gev Manoukian danced Broadway to the song New York, New York from On the Town choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler
Ryan Adams - Gold - New York, New York

July 2, 2008 I Written By

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