This thread is for discussing competitive reality dance shows, such as "So You Think You Can Dance", "America's Best Dance Crew", and "Dancing With the Stars."
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This thread is for discussing competitive reality dance shows, such as "So You Think You Can Dance", "America's Best Dance Crew", and "Dancing With the Stars."
You're right about tonight's SYTYCD being all previously taped dances. But I'm thrilled to see Neil's table dance again. Too bad they skipped his disco, it's the best in my book.
My other favorites: Why, and the park bench dance.
^ Between the two of us, I think we named over half of the routines on this night's episode. I love that two of Mark's routines were featured. I think that he was the only dancer to have two dances.
I don't know all of the choreographers' names. What are the two Mark's routines?
"Bleeding Love" and "The Garden." I named "The Garden" as one of my favourites in that long list that I posted a few days ago :)
Mark was extremely underrated during S4, but at least he made Top 6.
no wonder it didn't ring a bell. I didn't see S4 :(
of the 3 that I saw, I think S2 and S3 have the most personalities.
Neil has so many great ones, the paso doble, Latin jazz...but then again, I'm totally partial :p
^ Yeah, I can tell :)
In other news, I just saw the SYTYCD:CA results show, and Canadian girls seem really bitter during their elimination speeches. The girl who was eliminated by the judges tonight said: "I think [my elimination] is wrong." Not a classy way to exit.
I agree, poor sportsmanship. They should exit in grace. They're already winners for just having made the show!
^ Yeah, by saying that her elimination is wrong, she's basically saying, "I'm better than these two other girls. One of them should be leaving instead of me."
I still don't understand what is so appealing about "This Woman's Work." When Nigel mentioned that his favourite piece was choreographed by Tyce, I thought that it would have been S4 Will and Jessica's contemporary. Instead, we got Melissa and Ade. I thought that Ade was so overrated, and that Melissa was such a mediocre dancer.
That number is way overrated. These judges want to sound deep, oh, it's a dance for cancer *gasp* wow, whoo, it's got to be the best. But like you, I don't think its great. Melissa depicts the fragility of life in her moves, she is dainty so that worked. As a dance it's no better than most of the other dances.
How many of your favorite routines were on tonight?
^ The judges act like "This Woman's Work" cured cancer.
My favourite dances that were featured:
"Hip Hip, Chin Chin" -That was such a hot samba, and Danny looked really good in it :)
"The Garden" - Mark and Courtney totally embodied the characters of the dance. Great choreography, too.
"Sweet Dreams" - Great choreography, and no other dancer could do the planche that Neil did
"Black Mambo" - The best Latin dance ever on SYTYCD. This is why you need to cast ballroom/Latin specialists, Nigel.
"Hometown Glory" - Katee and Joshua were my favourite couple in S4, and the choreography was amazing. They have so much chemistry, and that assisted run was awesome.
"The Chairman's Waltz" - Wade is probably one of the best choreographers, and he totally played to Hok's sharp movements, and Jaimie's fluid movements.
"Gravity" - When Mia is on, she is on. That was such a chilling piece.
I like Black Mambo too, didn't remember it from the old show but glad they showed it. Where is Benji now??
yeah, Neil owns the planche. It's so amazing to watch. He was trained as a gymnast before becoming a dancer, I think that's what he said.
^ Benji choreographed a few pieces on last season's SYTYCD:CA. I think that he's currently teaching dance.
Pieces that I'm surprised made it on to the episode:
"Fuego" - Shane is an amazing hip hop choreographer, but I don't think that was his best piece. I didn't think that Pasha and Lauren were particularly strong in it either.
"Bleeding Love" - That was not a hip hop routine, and the choreography mostly consisted of stomping and headbanging. The best part was the bridge section, but other than that, it was a mediocre dance. I blame the choreographers.
"Loving is Really My Game" - Janette stumbled in that routine, and I thought that "Knock on Wood" was the better disco.
"If it Kills Me" - I didn't like the necklace, and felt that this routine was overhyped just because it was choreographed by Travis.
"This Woman's Work" - need I say more?
Which ones were your favourite and least favourite routines?
I believe Sabra is also teaching. Didn't Benji dance for Celine Dion? I think of him as more an entertainer than a dancer. Surprised he's teaching now and not performing. But I just knew Neil would be in show biz, it didn't matter that he didn't take first place. I think he should be in the top spot, but all the judges seemed to be in a conspiracy to get Sabra to win. Strange.
ok, here's my favorites tonight. I don't know all of their names...
"Sweet Dreams" / table dance. Did you see how Neil can tell the story with his hand undulations? And he's so in character, when the dance ended, he kept his evil stare at Sabra as he walks away
"Why" with Allison and Ivan. Allison is my all time favorite female dancer. She's like the wind. So beautiful. I was a bit upset that she didn't make the top 4. Ivan danced very well for a hip hop dancer. But you can tell the choreographer (not sure who) knows Ivan's moves, there are some hip hop arm moves in that contemporary routine.
The transformer dance is funky, I liked it.
the Black Mambo is good, but I thought Heidi did an African number that was much hotter but wasn't featured here. I think they picked this one because it features Benji. I enjoyed it.
Least favorites:
I thought Hok's dance was amazing before, but this time, nay. It's unique but didn't do anything for me tonight.
Travis's number is nice, very graceful lines, reminds me of his moves. But the kiss in the end creeps me out. Dancing is already so physical, they didn't need that. It's a cheap shot and spoiled the whole dance leading to it.
The Woman's Work cancer dance looks much better to me this time. I'm moved but not as enchanted as the judges. Maybe you and I are just too shallow to appreciate its greatness :rolleyes:
The prize for S2 consisted of performing for Celine Dion's show in Vegas, but I think that the producers felt that it wasn't right for Benji, so they substituted the prize.Quote:
Originally Posted by Haunted
Nigel has an agenda every season. In S3, he was pushing for a girl to win because guys won in S1 and S2. I remember him saying on the finale: "We would like a girl to win." In S4, he was pushing for a hip hop winner, because he wanted to compete against ABDC. In S5, he was pushing for Kayla, but it became obvious that America didn't like her, and so he threw his support to Jeanine.Quote:
Originally Posted by Haunted
Yeah, the whole audience was bawling, and I was like, what? Did I miss something?Quote:
Originally Posted by Haunted
I thought Benji didn't quite fit in with Celine Dion either....
Now I remember, Nigel indeed said things from season to season predicting or "wishing" certain group/gender should win. That's just not right. The best should win. Period.
yes, they all seem to have the exceptional ability to cry, weep, sob and bawl on demand :bawling:Quote:
Originally Posted by AmericanEagle
I remembered that there was a lot of crying after Neil and Lacey's contemporary, too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Haunted
Are you going to watch DWTS when it starts in a couple of weeks? There will be three SYTYCD alumni who will be the professional dancers: S2 Dmitry, S3 Lacey, and S4 Chelsie.
With certain themes they tend to open the floodgates to show they're deep. I didn't quite get that one either, Neil was just too young to be convincing as Lacey's dad.Quote:
Originally Posted by AmericanEagle
They're making into DWTS? wow, I guess that would bring some quality to that show. I watched it once and thought it was a joke. Those 3 are not my favorites but if they're on, I'll force myself to watch.
I saw commercials that Ana and Pasha are in a Broadway show, Burn the Floor. Now I'll just sit back and wait for Neil's Hollywood blockbuster movie :D
I thought that dance was overrated, as well. It was basically Neil and Lacey running around on a flower covered stage.Quote:
Originally Posted by Haunted
Which season did you watch?Quote:
Originally Posted by Haunted
On DWTS9, Dmitry will be paired with Mya - she should be a good dancer. Lacey will be paired with Mark Dacascos - don't know who he is.
Chelsie will be paired with Louie Vito - don't know who he is, but I saw his promotion pictures. He needs to get a hair cut and lay off the spray tan - he looks like an Oompa Loompa.
I watched one of the earliest DWTS, maybe first or second year. I flipped back once or twice after that and it looked much more professional, but the first impressions are lasting and I couldn't get beyond that.
And that's the other thing -- a lot of the "stars" are not stars and we don't know them. It just feels cheesy.
^ I agree that DWTS is kind of cheesy, but every season features at least one very good dancer that makes the season worthwhile. The first season only had 6 stars, so the talent pool wasn't that great.
Season 2 featured two of the best dancers ever on DWTS: Drew Lachey and Stacy Keibler. They were both amazing dancers, but I was rooting for Drew all the way.
Season 3 had Emmitt Smith and Mario Lopez. Emmitt surprised me because I didn't think that he would be able to dance, but he was actually very good.
Season 4 had Apolo Anton Ohno and Joey Fatone, who were both great dancers.
Season 5 had Mel B., Jennie Garth, and Sabrina Bryan, but they didn't win.
Season 6 had Kristi Yamaguchi, who was pegged as the winner after her name was first announced in the cast line-up. She didn't disappoint, and is probably the best dancer in both the Latin and Standard dances.
Season 7 was weaker, but Brooke Burke was still a decent dancer.
Season 8 had Gilles Marini and Melissa Rycroft. Gilles was hot and spicy in all of his dances, particularly the Latin ones. Melissa was so elegant in all her dances, and it was pretty impressive, given that she had just been dumped on national TV.
I didn't know Apolo was in one of them, I'd have watched that one. He looks great on ice, good movements, not surprised that he dances just as well.
I heard about Kristi Yamaguchi and that's just ridiculous to have someone with an unfair advantage.
Kristi was a professional figure skater, not a professional ballroom dancer, so I thought that the 'ringer' accusations were kind of unfair. I think that all of the good dancers have had some dance experience. Apolo is a breakdancer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Haunted
I have to disagree on that. To me figure skating is technical dancing on ice, or gymnastics disguised as a dance. They cross train and a lot of them know ballet. Even if it's not ballroom, they still have an edge over their non-dancing compeittion.Quote:
Originally Posted by AmericanEagle
The hip hop dancer with the outlandish outfits I was trying to describe to you, they showed him tonight, saw his name flashed on the screen, it's Pugono, something like that. He was very good in his solos.
It was a blessing they didn't have Evan on tonight!
Yes, Kristi has musicality, stamina, extensions, lines, and flexibility due to her skating background. But there are plenty of other skaters that probably would have been a mess on the dance floor, such as Tonya Harding. So while Kristi did have an advantage, it is no different from other celebrities.Quote:
Originally Posted by Haunted
Mel B. was a professional dancer in England, Stacy Keibler was a professional cheerleader and was in a dance troupe, Joey Fatone and Lance Bass danced with NSync, Mario Lopez is a professional dancer, Apolo is a breakdancer, Sabrina Bryan is a trained dancer, Melissa Rycroft was a professional cheerleader, and this season's Mya is also a trained dancer. To single out Kristi is unfair.
Kristi is the most famous of the bunch, especially being a champion of Olympic proportions, no pun intended, so she gets to be picked on most. ;)
^ Yeah, every season, there are 'ringer' accusations, but I don't mind these ringers because that means viewers will see good dancing. I'd rather see Kristi Yamaguchi dance than Master P.
I'd rather see Kristi than Evan !!!
^ Come on, Haunted, Evan wasn't that bad :)
haha don't tell me you adore him, I'd die!
^ Well, I don't adore Evan, but I didn't think that he was the worst dancer ever. Yes, Brandon outdanced him in the "Nasty" routine, but that routine totally played to Brandon's strengths. Yes, he wasn't that great in his Latin dances, but Neil wasn't that great in his salsa, either. Yes, Evan seemed to do similar solos every week, but all contemporary dancers do similar solos: pirouette, jete, arabesque, developpe, aerial, flip hair, roll on the floor. Evan brought something unique to SYTYCD, and I consider that a good thing. Besides, Evan was breakdancing during the closing credits on the Top 6 show, and I have yet to see Neil do that.
oh no you can't possibly put Neil and Evan together in the same sentence :(
^ Why not? They both placed third.
yeah but Neil is cuter
^ Eh, I'll give you that one :). But Evan has finesse.
nay nay nay ;)
^ I guess we'll just agree to disagree :). But at least we both love Brandon.
yes we do and we both agree on that :)
Here is some interesting information. Evan wasn't originally supposed to be in the Top 20; he was the replacement for Alex Wong, the dancer that all of the judges and fellow dancers loved during the Vegas rounds.
I knew it! Evan is bit too limited with the old dance genre to be in the top 20. Alex definitely has a much wider range and he dances with more feeling and much more exciting to watch. But the way he took it — here's the bawling thing again — I mean, he's with a big shot ballet company, it's like saying, that's not good enough for me. Even the judges picked up on that. These guys really need to work on their exit strategies.