Our opening dance starts off steamy and sexy. They dance to that super danceable Calla Oche song. I want to download that song on iTunes, but I KNOW by July Hot 99.5 will have played it five million times, and I’ll be sick of it. The dance itself is amazingly fabulous. I LOVE it. THIS is what I’m talking about—I want more routines like this, that I want to watch over and over again! They must have pre-recorded some sections, because we see Janette and Jeanine dancing on tables in pouring water and dark lighting, but then the stage is all kinds of arid. The whole production is nothing short of fantastic. And it was choreographed by…Dmitry, Tabitha and Napoleon. That may well be the best collaboration ever.
Nigel delivers a very nice tribute to Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson. One thing I love about this show is how smart and articulate the judges and host are. Except for the rare crazy guest judge, there is no SYTYCD version of Paula.
They trot out the first five couples to learn their fate. Speeding things up a bit, no? O & V are first, and man, do they look nervous. With good cause--they are in the bottom three. Neither one seems surprised, but they both look so dejected that my heart breaks a little. Brandon and Jeanette are safe. Cat asks Randi and Evan “did your butt made the cut?” And it did. Jeanine, Philip, Melissa and Ade are also safe. Cat laughs about the horrible lines they’ve written for her, such as “what a difference “Ade” makes, but will it be a night to forget?” I totally covet the job of terrible joke writer for SYTYCD.
Of the last three couples to go, Karla and Jonathan are first. I think we all know how this one is going to go. We spend most of the recap reviewing Nigel’s huffypuffs. BTW, he’s far less of a curmudgeon tonight, probably because he’s back to his nice suits. See, you DO feel better when you’re well dressed. I shall use this rationale to justify my shopping sprees to my husband. As expected, they are totally in the bottom three. Kayla and Kupono learn they are safe, and Kupono clearly needs a lesson in good sportsmanship. You know, when I was in lower school, we were graded on “Winning with humility/ losing with grace”. Did Kupono skip that day?
Mary and Toni coyly dance around the “are you surprised to see any of these couples in the bottom three” question, until Nigel knocks off that nonsense and tells them to spill it.
Cat delightedly introduces The Rage Boys crew. I would assume these are a bunch of hooligans by their name. Turns out to be a bunch of boys, probably ages 6-16, who are crazy good dancers. Think “Bring It On” meets preppy college boys a cappella group. Cat is beside herself in love and actually kowtows to the littlest member crew. He is really frickin’ cute.
Our solos are next. Oscar is first. She’s as good as can be expected when performing your specialty requires a partner—more latin, less crazy drunk. Vitolio is amazing, but why can’t he do that during his performances? Karla seems really nervous, and keeps falling out of pirouettes. That is such a pet peeve of mine; it’s not all about how many rotations you can do. If you fall out of it, it’s crap! Jonathan gets all samba-y and flippy in the air. Caitlyn does really well, I think. The key difference between Jonathan and Caitlyn’s use of gymnastics is that she incorporates it as an integral part of her routine, and he just throws in a back tuck as it pleases him. Jason rolls around on the ground and looks intently at his hand. What the heck? Wasn’t he the one who was amazing last week? I think Karla and Jason should go home, based on this.
The Veronica’s perform “take me on the floor”. Fun! They are dressed like they raided Betsy Johnson, and are sexually ambiguous. They scare my dog.
The judges return with a unanimous decision for the girls. Caitlyn is safe, and although I’m not her biggest fan, I think that’s the right call. She seems so relieved. They tell Karla she didn’t do well, and tell Oscar she’s not growing as a dancer. Consequently…Oscar is going home. She starts choking up, and says she will remember working with Vitolio the most. Aww.
The judges were not unanimous in their decision on the guys. Nigel tells Vitolio he has a lot of promise, but needs to deliver. I agree! Jonathan is told that his gymnastics is outstanding, but he’s supposed to be a dancer. Jason is told his solo this week was desperate and not really even dancing (I should totally be a judge!). But, he is safe. Then Nigel yells at him to get off the stage. Easy now! And the safe one is Vitolio. Goodbye, Jonathan. Paloma will miss you. I think Vitolio and Karla will be a good couple, though!!!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Jumped the Couch: So You Think You Can Dance Episode #10
Week Three of the good stuff! So I think you can tell a lot about what’s to come, based on the hairdos the women are rockin’ during the introduction. This week’s offerings are particularly promising: Jeanette is channeling 1986 Cher, Jeanine has some 50’s look going on; I don’t know what Caitlyn’s deal is, but she’s wearing a pleather fringe dickey. SPEAKing of fringe, today I was informed that Mary’s infamous leather fringe vest is actually in style right now. I refused to believe it. I ran home to pore over my latest issue of Vogue, and saw no such evidence. But then the Post said that not only is the cowboy look en vogue, but that horrible grunge look from the 90’s has risen up like Lazarus . Dear lord, is the Armageddon coming??? These looks are NOT attractive!
Our guest judge tonight is Toni Basil. She’s attached a hat to one half of her head that is half beret, half Chinese hat. At Cat’s urging, she divulges her big news: She is receiving a”Living Legend of Hip Hop” award, along with someone named Boogaloo Sam and MC Hammer. Apparently they all helped promote American street dance in the 70’s and 80’s. Um…y’all, she’s the one who sang “Oh Mickey”. And I think she may have also choreographed the cheerleading moves in that video. Nothing says gritty street like Oh Mickey! She reminds me of my ballet teacher when I was in kindergarten. If only she were wearing a turban, jelly shoes, and chain smoking…
This week, couples will reveal what they would do with their lives if they weren’t dancing. Their stories better be long! If they keep up this two hour format, we’re going to have to get much more substantial filler to take up air time. Karla would be a journalist; she majored in it at NYU. You know, she does seem really articulate; I could see that. Jonathan would be in Cirque de Soleil. Not really much of a stretch there, Jonathan. Today they are doing a Dave Scott hip hop routine. Dave Scott’s goatee freaks me out; it’s too flat and wide or something. Karla should nail this because she’s in that hip hop crew. They perform and… they aren’t together at all. Oh no. Are they supposed to be synchronized? I can’t even tell. She is doing pretty well, but he is awful. Whoa, until he does this back flip where he kicks mid air. Nigel, usually constructive in his criticism, somewhat angrily calls it a “Sunday School picnic outing”—whatever that means-- and declares that they will be in the bottom three. He goes on and on and seems pretty irritated, for whatever reason. He’s making Karla and Jonathan cry! Cat says “Nigel’s getting all gangster on us” and wonders aloud if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Apparently swapping out natty suits for faux “members only” jackets has put him in a bad mood? Toni tells them that they need a ghetto grove. It is really hard to take her seriously with that hat! I wish she would demonstrate what she means by “ghetto groove”, because that would be good entertainment.
Oscar and Vitolio are dancing a Mandy Moore routine. Previews show Oscar wearing the world's ugliest costume ever—some sort of lace body stocking with an electric blue bra, and bright pink lipstick. Ooooh I want to guess the song. I’m thinking Bangles or Cyndi Lauper. Oscar’s alternate career would be making jewelry for ballroom dancers. Vitolio would be a singer in a band. He demonstrates his talents in a huge wig and costume and I think he’s missed his calling!!! Mandy has choreographed “thrash rocker jazz”. Oh dear me. Rehearsal footage shows Oscar having a breakdown and Vitolio is soooo sweet when he cheers her up!!! Cat cutely calls them “softies”. They dance to Pat Benetar (darn! I was wrong) and ooh I love the opening move! They perform well, the lifts are great, but the jumps are eh. Come on Vitolio! You have great jumps! You better be having one of those “diarrhea moments” you told us about; that’s your only good excuse. I found it entertaining. The judges critique: Nigel lets his rock star out and does a tongue wag. Eek. Mary says she likes it, but it didn’t take the roof off, and that she expected more. Oooh is Mary’s Botox wearing off? I’m seeing more facial expression. Toni advises that they don’t let technique get in the way of their emotions.
Melissa and Ade are doing a rumba. Oh I bet she will love this. Melissa would be a Pilates instructor. Ade would be a sound engineer. Melissa busts out the first half naked costume of the year. They perform, and it is steam-MAY! Ugh…Nigel goes on and on about Melissa’s body parts. And then he busts out a “what a difference “Ade” makes’ pun. Somebody please take his meds away from him. Mary loved the dance. Toni is all hot and bothered!
Commercials: Did anyone watch Glee? It looks like the best show ever.
My hubby misses contestants who can dance on their head. Don’t we all…
Brandon and Jeanette are up next. Brandon would be lighting and design person. He likes to make the stage “sparkly”. Oh man, Brandon, PLEASE don’t let weirdly slightly homophobic Nigel hear you say that. Jeanette would be a loan processor; she’s a year away from getting her finance degree. She says it sounds boring, but it’s interesting. I totally know where she’s coming from! They are also doing a Dave Scott routine. It’s rock vs. hip hop. It looks really good in rehearsal, and they seem confident. I think it will be good. She looks ferosh!!!! I love it. The dance has energy and really interesting choreography that they both perform well. Nigel calls it “Jr. 50 cent and Cher” and that’s actually the perfect description of their costumes. He liked it. Mary said they really hit that, yes they did! Toni drones on and on. I feel like there is a lot of potential for some crazy in Toni, and I would like to see that unleashed.
Kupono and Kayla have drawn the Viennese waltz. Kayla says she would model if she weren’t a dancer; actual shots of her modeling show real promise. Kupono would do costume design (please dear god let dancing work out so that’s not unleashed on this world. Amen). Jean Marc and France are the choreographers. YAY! I love me a Jean Marc waltz. Rehearsal shows Kupono really struggling with lifting Kayla. Really, producers, we know he’s not going to throw her to the ground during the performance. I think the actual performance is all kinds of lovely. Nigel calls it beautiful and elegant, but not a dance to make anyone stand up and cheer. Someone in the audience goes “yeah it will” and everyone starts to cheer. Way to go, Kayla’s exuberant grandma! Mary puts them on the hot tamale train. I didn’t see that coming! Toni notes that Kayla doesn’t let her technique get in the way of her reality. She needs to find a new line.
Randi and Evan are dancing a Mia Michaels routine. Randi is getting a degree in special ed. Oh, she seems like she would make a great teacher, no? Evan would own a custom car shop. Mia has choreographed a dance around Randi’s…booty. Evan is supposed to be mesmerized by it. My hubby asks me “Becca, would you like to do this dance?” Why yes, me and my juicy would!!! Mia complains that right now, in rehearsal, the dance just looks cliché. Oooh y’all better not make Mia angry!!! They perform, and it’s very Mia, and I really like it—very interesting. Cat calls it cheeky. Nigel notes this is simple, BUT it’s beautiful. He proceeds to beat the “BUT” joke into the ground. What the hell kind of glasses is Mia wearing?? Mary yells that they were terrific. I tune Toni out.
Caitlyn and Jason are doing a Paso Doble. Ohh this is always the dancer’s waterloo. Caitlyn would like to do broadcast journalism. I can see her being a newscaster in a mid market. Jason would play soccer. Rehearsal footage proves to be the most entertaining part of the show since Nigel threw the hissy fit at Karla and Jonathan. Jean Marc, with his cute accent, directs Jason: “You say “oooh, I love her…” NO!! NO!!! YOU HATE HER AHRRRR!!!!” More histrionics from Jean Marc. I could watch two hours of just this! They are dancing to O Fortuna, and opening is pretty magnificent. I can see them doing this better than most contestants who draw the Paso Doble…and, yeah, I think it was good. Not fantastic, but entertaining. Nigel said it was good, Mary said it was a really strong performance. She gives critiques specific to the style of dance, and that’s what I like so much about these judges—they REALLY know their stuff. Toni likes that even if they struggled with technique, but they performed all the way through. Her insight is basically worthless.
Our last couple is Jeanine and Philip. Philip would be an inventor. With that Engineering and Physics double major, I think he’ll have a chance to do that. Jeanine would be an actress. They are doing a Tasty Oreo routine; yay! Rehearsal, and oh goodness—Tasty is making Phillip jump over a couch the long way. Holy crap! He gets it in rehearsal, and for once I am actually worried that they won’t be able to pull this off during the performance. They perform, and I think it’s super cute. They are dancing to a song from Singing in the Rain, and it’s very 50’s and stylized and just cute. They have a pillow fight-ish, and Jeanine appears to be choking on feathers at one point. Hazards of the profession, Jeanine. Nigel makes Philip show off the split in his pants, and Jeanine pulls it so you can see his tighty whities. Poor Philip! Getting kicked in the nether regions last week, and now this? Nigel tells Philip he’s going to have to grow even more as a dancer. Mary says she’s allergic to feathers, but not to that dance! Toni said she thought it was adorable, but she doesn’t think that’s a great compliment, because it should have been danced better. Whatevs.
So my bottom three prediction: Karla and Jonathan, because otherwise Nigel would incite riots. Next I think Caitlyn and Jason, and…I don’t know…Jeanine and Philip? Hard to tell!! Thoughts?
Our guest judge tonight is Toni Basil. She’s attached a hat to one half of her head that is half beret, half Chinese hat. At Cat’s urging, she divulges her big news: She is receiving a”Living Legend of Hip Hop” award, along with someone named Boogaloo Sam and MC Hammer. Apparently they all helped promote American street dance in the 70’s and 80’s. Um…y’all, she’s the one who sang “Oh Mickey”. And I think she may have also choreographed the cheerleading moves in that video. Nothing says gritty street like Oh Mickey! She reminds me of my ballet teacher when I was in kindergarten. If only she were wearing a turban, jelly shoes, and chain smoking…
This week, couples will reveal what they would do with their lives if they weren’t dancing. Their stories better be long! If they keep up this two hour format, we’re going to have to get much more substantial filler to take up air time. Karla would be a journalist; she majored in it at NYU. You know, she does seem really articulate; I could see that. Jonathan would be in Cirque de Soleil. Not really much of a stretch there, Jonathan. Today they are doing a Dave Scott hip hop routine. Dave Scott’s goatee freaks me out; it’s too flat and wide or something. Karla should nail this because she’s in that hip hop crew. They perform and… they aren’t together at all. Oh no. Are they supposed to be synchronized? I can’t even tell. She is doing pretty well, but he is awful. Whoa, until he does this back flip where he kicks mid air. Nigel, usually constructive in his criticism, somewhat angrily calls it a “Sunday School picnic outing”—whatever that means-- and declares that they will be in the bottom three. He goes on and on and seems pretty irritated, for whatever reason. He’s making Karla and Jonathan cry! Cat says “Nigel’s getting all gangster on us” and wonders aloud if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Apparently swapping out natty suits for faux “members only” jackets has put him in a bad mood? Toni tells them that they need a ghetto grove. It is really hard to take her seriously with that hat! I wish she would demonstrate what she means by “ghetto groove”, because that would be good entertainment.
Oscar and Vitolio are dancing a Mandy Moore routine. Previews show Oscar wearing the world's ugliest costume ever—some sort of lace body stocking with an electric blue bra, and bright pink lipstick. Ooooh I want to guess the song. I’m thinking Bangles or Cyndi Lauper. Oscar’s alternate career would be making jewelry for ballroom dancers. Vitolio would be a singer in a band. He demonstrates his talents in a huge wig and costume and I think he’s missed his calling!!! Mandy has choreographed “thrash rocker jazz”. Oh dear me. Rehearsal footage shows Oscar having a breakdown and Vitolio is soooo sweet when he cheers her up!!! Cat cutely calls them “softies”. They dance to Pat Benetar (darn! I was wrong) and ooh I love the opening move! They perform well, the lifts are great, but the jumps are eh. Come on Vitolio! You have great jumps! You better be having one of those “diarrhea moments” you told us about; that’s your only good excuse. I found it entertaining. The judges critique: Nigel lets his rock star out and does a tongue wag. Eek. Mary says she likes it, but it didn’t take the roof off, and that she expected more. Oooh is Mary’s Botox wearing off? I’m seeing more facial expression. Toni advises that they don’t let technique get in the way of their emotions.
Melissa and Ade are doing a rumba. Oh I bet she will love this. Melissa would be a Pilates instructor. Ade would be a sound engineer. Melissa busts out the first half naked costume of the year. They perform, and it is steam-MAY! Ugh…Nigel goes on and on about Melissa’s body parts. And then he busts out a “what a difference “Ade” makes’ pun. Somebody please take his meds away from him. Mary loved the dance. Toni is all hot and bothered!
Commercials: Did anyone watch Glee? It looks like the best show ever.
My hubby misses contestants who can dance on their head. Don’t we all…
Brandon and Jeanette are up next. Brandon would be lighting and design person. He likes to make the stage “sparkly”. Oh man, Brandon, PLEASE don’t let weirdly slightly homophobic Nigel hear you say that. Jeanette would be a loan processor; she’s a year away from getting her finance degree. She says it sounds boring, but it’s interesting. I totally know where she’s coming from! They are also doing a Dave Scott routine. It’s rock vs. hip hop. It looks really good in rehearsal, and they seem confident. I think it will be good. She looks ferosh!!!! I love it. The dance has energy and really interesting choreography that they both perform well. Nigel calls it “Jr. 50 cent and Cher” and that’s actually the perfect description of their costumes. He liked it. Mary said they really hit that, yes they did! Toni drones on and on. I feel like there is a lot of potential for some crazy in Toni, and I would like to see that unleashed.
Kupono and Kayla have drawn the Viennese waltz. Kayla says she would model if she weren’t a dancer; actual shots of her modeling show real promise. Kupono would do costume design (please dear god let dancing work out so that’s not unleashed on this world. Amen). Jean Marc and France are the choreographers. YAY! I love me a Jean Marc waltz. Rehearsal shows Kupono really struggling with lifting Kayla. Really, producers, we know he’s not going to throw her to the ground during the performance. I think the actual performance is all kinds of lovely. Nigel calls it beautiful and elegant, but not a dance to make anyone stand up and cheer. Someone in the audience goes “yeah it will” and everyone starts to cheer. Way to go, Kayla’s exuberant grandma! Mary puts them on the hot tamale train. I didn’t see that coming! Toni notes that Kayla doesn’t let her technique get in the way of her reality. She needs to find a new line.
Randi and Evan are dancing a Mia Michaels routine. Randi is getting a degree in special ed. Oh, she seems like she would make a great teacher, no? Evan would own a custom car shop. Mia has choreographed a dance around Randi’s…booty. Evan is supposed to be mesmerized by it. My hubby asks me “Becca, would you like to do this dance?” Why yes, me and my juicy would!!! Mia complains that right now, in rehearsal, the dance just looks cliché. Oooh y’all better not make Mia angry!!! They perform, and it’s very Mia, and I really like it—very interesting. Cat calls it cheeky. Nigel notes this is simple, BUT it’s beautiful. He proceeds to beat the “BUT” joke into the ground. What the hell kind of glasses is Mia wearing?? Mary yells that they were terrific. I tune Toni out.
Caitlyn and Jason are doing a Paso Doble. Ohh this is always the dancer’s waterloo. Caitlyn would like to do broadcast journalism. I can see her being a newscaster in a mid market. Jason would play soccer. Rehearsal footage proves to be the most entertaining part of the show since Nigel threw the hissy fit at Karla and Jonathan. Jean Marc, with his cute accent, directs Jason: “You say “oooh, I love her…” NO!! NO!!! YOU HATE HER AHRRRR!!!!” More histrionics from Jean Marc. I could watch two hours of just this! They are dancing to O Fortuna, and opening is pretty magnificent. I can see them doing this better than most contestants who draw the Paso Doble…and, yeah, I think it was good. Not fantastic, but entertaining. Nigel said it was good, Mary said it was a really strong performance. She gives critiques specific to the style of dance, and that’s what I like so much about these judges—they REALLY know their stuff. Toni likes that even if they struggled with technique, but they performed all the way through. Her insight is basically worthless.
Our last couple is Jeanine and Philip. Philip would be an inventor. With that Engineering and Physics double major, I think he’ll have a chance to do that. Jeanine would be an actress. They are doing a Tasty Oreo routine; yay! Rehearsal, and oh goodness—Tasty is making Phillip jump over a couch the long way. Holy crap! He gets it in rehearsal, and for once I am actually worried that they won’t be able to pull this off during the performance. They perform, and I think it’s super cute. They are dancing to a song from Singing in the Rain, and it’s very 50’s and stylized and just cute. They have a pillow fight-ish, and Jeanine appears to be choking on feathers at one point. Hazards of the profession, Jeanine. Nigel makes Philip show off the split in his pants, and Jeanine pulls it so you can see his tighty whities. Poor Philip! Getting kicked in the nether regions last week, and now this? Nigel tells Philip he’s going to have to grow even more as a dancer. Mary says she’s allergic to feathers, but not to that dance! Toni said she thought it was adorable, but she doesn’t think that’s a great compliment, because it should have been danced better. Whatevs.
So my bottom three prediction: Karla and Jonathan, because otherwise Nigel would incite riots. Next I think Caitlyn and Jason, and…I don’t know…Jeanine and Philip? Hard to tell!! Thoughts?
Monday, June 22, 2009
Finding Serenity in the Chaos: So You Think You Can Dance Episode #9
We open with Mia’s very stylistic dance to “Higher Ground”. Is that Brandon, shoved in the back, in the shadows? Mmm hmmm. The dancers are costumed in black suits, and it’s hard to tell guys from girls. It’s an interesting routine. Ugh, but when Cat thanks Mia for the routine, Mia just makes weird faces and crab hands. Accept praise with grace, Mia!!! Also, Cat keeps exposing her bra, and I don’t think it’s intentional. Nigel looks spiffy.
The producers have pulled together “Lil’ C’s Dictionary of Dance”, highlighting some of his more florid language from last night’s critiques. Gems such as “The primary focus of all obstacles is to induce labor so progression can be born.” “ You are modifying your manipulation of movement” and “find serenity in the chaos” are shown. You want to know what? That last one is a pretty good idea! I think I need a poster of that in my office!!
Our first three couples to learn their fate are Melissa and Ade, Caitlyn and Jason, and Philip and Jeanine. Melissa and Ade learn they are safe. Interesting! I think it’s a crapshoot as to which of the remaining couples will be in the bottom. And the first couple in the bottom three is…Caitlyn and Jason. Mary says they just didn’t have that spark last night, but they are both good. Cat asks them if they are going to “leave their bit all on the stage” when they dance for their lives. Hee! May we all leave our bits all on the stage, every day.
Our next three couples are Jeanette and Brandon, Jonathan and Karla, and Kupono and Ashley. I doubt Brandon and Jeanette are in trouble. I think they are in a sweet spot right now. They are both really strong dancers, and people are still feeling a little defensive of Brandon because of the Mia hate. They can knock it out of the ballpark, but people will still vote, because they won’t think they are totally safe. I do have to point out that Lil’ C, who was not a fan of Brandon’s in Vegas, loved his performance last night. And how could you not!!! Anywho they are safe, as are Jonathan and Karla. Okay, after watching the replay, I totally stand corrected. That was really good. They are explosively delighted when they hear they are safe this week, which warms my heart. Kupono and Ashley will dance for their lives.
Our last three couples hear their results. First up are Randi and Evan, and the producers have a surprise for Evan. They show his brother Ryan’s Season 6 audition from last week in Los Angeles. He’s even better than he was this season! And of course he made it through to Vegas. Evan looks absolutely delighted; SO cute! Cat also looks thrilled and confesses she “cried like a big idiot. “ I think this is why I want Cat to be my BFF, she is so genuine and just nice!! Oh, and Evan and Randi are safe. Oscar and Vitolio look very nervous, and they should, because it’s between them and Kayla and Max. But they are also safe, which means …Kayla and Max are dancing for their lives!?!?!?! What??? Kayla looks like she’s going to throw up. Nigel says he’s shocked, but wonders if the audience thought the routine was too esoteric and alienating.
Nigel notes how stunning Cat looks, prompting Cat to thank him, and mention her boyfriend will be very happy. A side note: I watched this on TiVo later in the evening, because I was driving back from an incredible dance concert by a local studio while it was on. When I called my hubby on the way home, maybe the third thing out of his mouth was “And Becca, Cat Deeley has a boyfriend!” He said this in the same mildly disappointed tone that he gets when I forget to bake him brownies after I’ve promised. Do you blame him? She’s so cute!
Our special guest is doing traditional Indian dance. It’s beautiful. I want me some of those ankle bracelets!
Solo time. Caitlyn is first. She reminds me of Courtney from last season—pretty, good, but not remarkable. Jason does beautifully, I think. But is he just doing the same movement over and over? Ashley is next. She looks kind of chicagoesque. I liked her routine; it was different. Kupono dances. He’s wearing the necklaces. Will they hit him in the face? No they don’t. Cat says, “You can’t go home yet! I want to see more of their outfits!” Me too! Kayla shows us exactly why she’s so good. Cat notes that she doesn’t think she’s seen anyone look as nervous as Kayla’s grandparents. Max busts a move to footloose. I love! Chase Crawford, are you going to be able to top that? Methinks not!!!.
Now someone—Christine Debarge (maybe?? I missed the name) is performing. She is totally lip-synching. I am not buying for one single second that she’s actually singing this song. She does a slow pageant wave at the end. I don’t like, but then again, I didn’t like Lady Gaga when she was on the show last year. And now I can’t get enough of her.
Nigel tells us that they don’t want to cut anyone. I don’t want them to, either! I swear, they made up rules as they went along in Vegas. Can’t they do that now, too?? The girls learn their fate first, and Kayla looks like she’s about to burst into tears. The judges tell Caitlyn she had great control, Ashley didn’t do enough for her solo, and that Kayla’s solo was too crowded. Way to get all Goldilocks about it, judges! Ashley goes home, and I think that’s the right call.
Nigel tells Jason his solo is the best one on the show to date, and he’s safe. Kupono is told that he had no substance, but they like that he’s a different, intelligent dancer. His breathing is really labored. I’m kind of concerned he’s about to flip out. Max is told that he’s the hardest worker, but the person leaving us is…Max. WHAT??? That is BS!!!! He did a great job last night! And they are such a good couple!!! Oh, I am miffed.
Until next week, y’all!!! I’m hoping for some justice in this world!!!
The producers have pulled together “Lil’ C’s Dictionary of Dance”, highlighting some of his more florid language from last night’s critiques. Gems such as “The primary focus of all obstacles is to induce labor so progression can be born.” “ You are modifying your manipulation of movement” and “find serenity in the chaos” are shown. You want to know what? That last one is a pretty good idea! I think I need a poster of that in my office!!
Our first three couples to learn their fate are Melissa and Ade, Caitlyn and Jason, and Philip and Jeanine. Melissa and Ade learn they are safe. Interesting! I think it’s a crapshoot as to which of the remaining couples will be in the bottom. And the first couple in the bottom three is…Caitlyn and Jason. Mary says they just didn’t have that spark last night, but they are both good. Cat asks them if they are going to “leave their bit all on the stage” when they dance for their lives. Hee! May we all leave our bits all on the stage, every day.
Our next three couples are Jeanette and Brandon, Jonathan and Karla, and Kupono and Ashley. I doubt Brandon and Jeanette are in trouble. I think they are in a sweet spot right now. They are both really strong dancers, and people are still feeling a little defensive of Brandon because of the Mia hate. They can knock it out of the ballpark, but people will still vote, because they won’t think they are totally safe. I do have to point out that Lil’ C, who was not a fan of Brandon’s in Vegas, loved his performance last night. And how could you not!!! Anywho they are safe, as are Jonathan and Karla. Okay, after watching the replay, I totally stand corrected. That was really good. They are explosively delighted when they hear they are safe this week, which warms my heart. Kupono and Ashley will dance for their lives.
Our last three couples hear their results. First up are Randi and Evan, and the producers have a surprise for Evan. They show his brother Ryan’s Season 6 audition from last week in Los Angeles. He’s even better than he was this season! And of course he made it through to Vegas. Evan looks absolutely delighted; SO cute! Cat also looks thrilled and confesses she “cried like a big idiot. “ I think this is why I want Cat to be my BFF, she is so genuine and just nice!! Oh, and Evan and Randi are safe. Oscar and Vitolio look very nervous, and they should, because it’s between them and Kayla and Max. But they are also safe, which means …Kayla and Max are dancing for their lives!?!?!?! What??? Kayla looks like she’s going to throw up. Nigel says he’s shocked, but wonders if the audience thought the routine was too esoteric and alienating.
Nigel notes how stunning Cat looks, prompting Cat to thank him, and mention her boyfriend will be very happy. A side note: I watched this on TiVo later in the evening, because I was driving back from an incredible dance concert by a local studio while it was on. When I called my hubby on the way home, maybe the third thing out of his mouth was “And Becca, Cat Deeley has a boyfriend!” He said this in the same mildly disappointed tone that he gets when I forget to bake him brownies after I’ve promised. Do you blame him? She’s so cute!
Our special guest is doing traditional Indian dance. It’s beautiful. I want me some of those ankle bracelets!
Solo time. Caitlyn is first. She reminds me of Courtney from last season—pretty, good, but not remarkable. Jason does beautifully, I think. But is he just doing the same movement over and over? Ashley is next. She looks kind of chicagoesque. I liked her routine; it was different. Kupono dances. He’s wearing the necklaces. Will they hit him in the face? No they don’t. Cat says, “You can’t go home yet! I want to see more of their outfits!” Me too! Kayla shows us exactly why she’s so good. Cat notes that she doesn’t think she’s seen anyone look as nervous as Kayla’s grandparents. Max busts a move to footloose. I love! Chase Crawford, are you going to be able to top that? Methinks not!!!.
Now someone—Christine Debarge (maybe?? I missed the name) is performing. She is totally lip-synching. I am not buying for one single second that she’s actually singing this song. She does a slow pageant wave at the end. I don’t like, but then again, I didn’t like Lady Gaga when she was on the show last year. And now I can’t get enough of her.
Nigel tells us that they don’t want to cut anyone. I don’t want them to, either! I swear, they made up rules as they went along in Vegas. Can’t they do that now, too?? The girls learn their fate first, and Kayla looks like she’s about to burst into tears. The judges tell Caitlyn she had great control, Ashley didn’t do enough for her solo, and that Kayla’s solo was too crowded. Way to get all Goldilocks about it, judges! Ashley goes home, and I think that’s the right call.
Nigel tells Jason his solo is the best one on the show to date, and he’s safe. Kupono is told that he had no substance, but they like that he’s a different, intelligent dancer. His breathing is really labored. I’m kind of concerned he’s about to flip out. Max is told that he’s the hardest worker, but the person leaving us is…Max. WHAT??? That is BS!!!! He did a great job last night! And they are such a good couple!!! Oh, I am miffed.
Until next week, y’all!!! I’m hoping for some justice in this world!!!
You Can See Me Knockin' while I'm Kickin' Down the Door: So You Think You Can Dance Episode #8
Week two opens with our adorable Cat, who is wearing what looks like a red dust skirt wrapped around her like a toga. Bad wardrobe department! BAD!!! The dancers perform their eight counts. Oscar’s was way better than her dance for her life from last week; she needs to do more of that, and less of the Drunken Riverdance imitation. Giggle: Cat asks “I know you can’t look surprised any more, Mary; do you have any more revelations for us?”, and informs her that all of her girlfriends agreed that they loved Mary all the more after the Botox confession. I concur! Live out loud, Mary Murphy!
Our guest judge is Lil’ C. I can tell you right now that I’m going to be doing a loooooot of paraphrasing and guessing of his meaning. Most of the time, I don’t understand why he’s chosen certain words or the order in which he’s put them. Oooh! I want to create an iPhone app that will translate English into Lil’ C speak. “I would like some coffee” will be “The essence of miracle flows, energy compression feeding and hot warm. It was buuuuck. “ C tells us that he practiced critiquing while watching last week’s show. That’s the kind of dedication I like!
Our first couple is Evan and Randi. This week, each partner will reveal “the one fact America should know” about the other. Evan shares Randi’s perfectly reasonable adoration of her dog. He notes that she treats it like a person, and even calls to talk to it on speaker phone. I would totally do that if I were away from my Maximums! Grrr, Evan, you best not be implying that this is outlandish behavior! Randi shares that Evan is a “gear head “who built his own car from scratch. Really?? That is impressive. They are shaking their tailfeathers with Louis by doing the jive. Randi is excited to be able to show their dorky side. I like dorks, so I should like this. They perform well, I think. Evan does a fabulous split leap over her. They are cute. Lil C wants Evan to be a little more explosive, and calls Randi a firecracker. He likes it. The fun meter gets back up to 15. Mary calls them little powerhouses that are built for the jive; she found Evan was sloppy, but Randi was great. Nigel basically concurs.
Commercials, and oh my gosh. What is this “More to Love” show? Are you kidding me? Just when you think Fox has hit the nadir, down they go…
So Melissa has been married for four years, and her sister married her husband’s brother. I will bet good money right now that they swing. You know I’m right!! Ade’s fact is that his name is crazy long and hard to pronounce. Snooze. When they learn they are doing jazz this week, they say they are excited “unless it’s with Sonya, then we’re going to die. “ So of course it’s with Sonya. Both Melissa and Sonya seem concerned that Melissa will not be able to abandon her ballet training enough to perform the dance the way Sonya intends. They perform, and I like it. They have a more controlled style than Sonya probably wanted, but with the jerky choreography, it actually really worked. Lil’ C calls it buck—his highest compliment, and Ade and Melissa do a three way chest bump with Cat. LOVE! Mary says it's time for tough love… because it’s TOUGH to find anything she didn’t LOVE about it. You had me, Mary Murphy!! (Shakes fist at TV). Sonya is wearing these magnificent huge feather earrings. My god, where do they find these things?!?!?
Caitlyn and Jason. Jason’s fact is that he was obsessed with Michael Jackson as a child; grainy video confirms. Caitlyn uses baby voices and also does an amazing (and grating) imitation of a velocoraptor. This week they are dancing a Shane Sparks hip hop routine. They giggle about how this has to be sexy. Y’all made out last week!! This should be nothing new! I think the performance lacks energy, although Caitlyn seems to be channeling young Britney Spears. Lil C says he didn’t love it; he thought it was missing “nectar”. Mary says it was like Britney and Michael Jackson—two totally different dance types. She didn’t like that it wasn’t synchronized when it should have been. Nigel says that he thinks the dancers captured what Shane intended, and that they looked good, and he liked it. Whatevs, Nigel, we all know you’re a sucker for the cute blondes!
Jeanette and Brandon. America needs to know that Jeanette has bad teeth? Really? Apparently America needs to know that Brandon has never worked out a day in his life. (My hubby calls BS on this). This week they are doing disco!!! Oh, I think they will be good! They have issues in rehearsal. This means nothing; they alllways show it looking like a disaster in rehearsal, and it allllways turns out well. We’re onto you, producers! They perform, and wow, this is fast. !!! I LOVE IT!!!! It’s full of spectacular lifts and spins. They look like they are having so much fun!!! Now I want to dance too!! Lil ‘C says some crazy Lil’ C thing—I have no idea-- but says he found it extremely amazing, and fully praises the dancers. Oh, I didn’t even notice that Jeanette tripped! Mary says she’s never seen a disco done that fast, and declares that they nailed it. She stands up and whoos, and I feel like a train is coming, but she stops short of that. Boo. Also, she brings back the “Not” jokes, which I think is very ill advised. Nigel says if he could scream like that, he would. He thought it was tremendous. He also warns Brandon that Mia is choreographing the group dance tomorrow. I read that there was actually a LOT more drama regarding Brandon than was shown, so…this should be interesting.
Oscar makes spit bubbles. Vitolio is obsessed with motorcycles. They recap their disappointing bottom three finish. We see a clip of Oscar’s rabid raccoon shake (love, it, Hil!) and Vitolio’s Alvin Aileyesque solo. Louis has choreographed a waltz that is full of pain, and was inspired by Vitolio’s story. Vitolio cries during rehearsal. From the opening move, I like it, and Oscar begins to redeem herself in my eyes. It’s so fluid it’s like they are swimming, but that could also be the effect of the Enya music, blue lighting and costumes, and bubble water kind of background. Mary is breathless. Ooooh she’s crying!!!! Oh now Vitolio is crying! Now I’m crying, dammit! Lil’ C says that the choppy steps were “Compensated for” by the authenticity. Nigel says they both brought a quality to the routine rarely performed on this show, and declares them a different couple than last week.
Up next is the couple to beat: Kayla and Max. They discuss how they got great critiques last week, but that adds pressure this week. Their choreographer is Brian Friedman, who is back on the show. Yay! We learn their interesting facts; Max is a housewife, and Kayla is a master texter. Eh. They rehearse; the premise of the dance is that she’s a princess, and he’s coming to dance for her, but he really wants her throne. They perform, and… it is AMAZING!!!! I love every single second of it. Cat calls Max a “low down dirty rotten rat from ratville on the way to rat town”, in the most loving manner possible. The judges adore the routine, but are more effusive in their praise of Kayla than Max. I think he deserves more credit—he did really well this week!
Karla and Jonathan. America needs to know that Karla is a bad ass hip hop dancer. She’s a member of the boggiebops (?), which apparently is a really good dance crew. Jonathan is a singer, and a bad one at that. This week they are performing contemporary with Stacy Tookey. I have no idea who this is. Rehearsal footage shows them falling all over the place; again, we can be pretty sure this won’t happen during the performance. They perform, and it’s danced well, but I found it a bit snores. The judges totally disagree with me. Mary says Jonathan did that style better than his own; something she’s never said on this show. She declares it amazing, and says she’s dizzy. Oh and this Stacy woman is apparently the best choreographer from SYTYCD-Canada. Nigel declares it “incredible, how they both performed”. Lil c thought it was beautiful, and declares it buck. I apparently just didn’t get it.
Philip is an engineering physics major who had 40 reptiles in his room growing up. Jeanine has a teddy bear that she loves, and dresses to match her outfits. At 18…? Someone needs to get her a tiny dog. Anyway, they are doing the tango. Choreographer Tony is surprised by their lack of ballroom knowledge. Why he’s surprised, I don’t know. Why would you assume that every dancer is well versed in every type of dance? During rehearsal Phillip gets kicked in the family jewels. Yikes! Tony whispers to the camera that he’s nervous; Jeanine shrieks “WE CAN HEAR YOU!!!!” I find the performance moderately entertaining. The judges don’t really love. Lil’ C tell Phillip “A lack of confidence is the heaviest anchor you can put upon your art.” I think. Mary says it wasn’t great. We get a replay of Phillip grimacing when he tries to lift his partner. It makes me laugh. Nigel says it wasn’t good technically, but it was great entertainment.
Ashley and Kupono. Kupono has ODC. Ashley projectile vomited over her first grade classmates. Really folks, you should at least try and censor the information that you put out there! They too are doing a Shane Sparks routine. They have been so lucky! Wade AND Shane!?!?! They perform to the Black Eyed Peas—is SYTYCD contractually obligated to use a Black Eyed Peas song once a show? Because they seriously do. During the fast part of the routine, it’s impossible to tell if they are in synch because the camera is zooming and looming and ahhh! STAY STILL CAMERA! Mary says it was just okay. Lil C says Kupono struggled, and Ashley couldn’t mirror, and there was no synchronization. At least someone could tell! Nigel states that he was underwhelmed.
Lastly, a HUGE thank you to all of you for indulging me in this! I decided to write these because my very good friend, co-worker, and SYTYCD enthusiast went on maternity leave, and I was left with no one with whom I could discuss this fantastic show. I decided to post the first one on FB so she could easily read it, and was so excited to find so many fellow fans! I love all of the discussion, so… thank you!!! My predictions for the bottom three are: Ashley and Kupono, Karla and Jonathan, and Melissa and Ade. It's getting hard--they are all good! Thoughts?
Our guest judge is Lil’ C. I can tell you right now that I’m going to be doing a loooooot of paraphrasing and guessing of his meaning. Most of the time, I don’t understand why he’s chosen certain words or the order in which he’s put them. Oooh! I want to create an iPhone app that will translate English into Lil’ C speak. “I would like some coffee” will be “The essence of miracle flows, energy compression feeding and hot warm. It was buuuuck. “ C tells us that he practiced critiquing while watching last week’s show. That’s the kind of dedication I like!
Our first couple is Evan and Randi. This week, each partner will reveal “the one fact America should know” about the other. Evan shares Randi’s perfectly reasonable adoration of her dog. He notes that she treats it like a person, and even calls to talk to it on speaker phone. I would totally do that if I were away from my Maximums! Grrr, Evan, you best not be implying that this is outlandish behavior! Randi shares that Evan is a “gear head “who built his own car from scratch. Really?? That is impressive. They are shaking their tailfeathers with Louis by doing the jive. Randi is excited to be able to show their dorky side. I like dorks, so I should like this. They perform well, I think. Evan does a fabulous split leap over her. They are cute. Lil C wants Evan to be a little more explosive, and calls Randi a firecracker. He likes it. The fun meter gets back up to 15. Mary calls them little powerhouses that are built for the jive; she found Evan was sloppy, but Randi was great. Nigel basically concurs.
Commercials, and oh my gosh. What is this “More to Love” show? Are you kidding me? Just when you think Fox has hit the nadir, down they go…
So Melissa has been married for four years, and her sister married her husband’s brother. I will bet good money right now that they swing. You know I’m right!! Ade’s fact is that his name is crazy long and hard to pronounce. Snooze. When they learn they are doing jazz this week, they say they are excited “unless it’s with Sonya, then we’re going to die. “ So of course it’s with Sonya. Both Melissa and Sonya seem concerned that Melissa will not be able to abandon her ballet training enough to perform the dance the way Sonya intends. They perform, and I like it. They have a more controlled style than Sonya probably wanted, but with the jerky choreography, it actually really worked. Lil’ C calls it buck—his highest compliment, and Ade and Melissa do a three way chest bump with Cat. LOVE! Mary says it's time for tough love… because it’s TOUGH to find anything she didn’t LOVE about it. You had me, Mary Murphy!! (Shakes fist at TV). Sonya is wearing these magnificent huge feather earrings. My god, where do they find these things?!?!?
Caitlyn and Jason. Jason’s fact is that he was obsessed with Michael Jackson as a child; grainy video confirms. Caitlyn uses baby voices and also does an amazing (and grating) imitation of a velocoraptor. This week they are dancing a Shane Sparks hip hop routine. They giggle about how this has to be sexy. Y’all made out last week!! This should be nothing new! I think the performance lacks energy, although Caitlyn seems to be channeling young Britney Spears. Lil C says he didn’t love it; he thought it was missing “nectar”. Mary says it was like Britney and Michael Jackson—two totally different dance types. She didn’t like that it wasn’t synchronized when it should have been. Nigel says that he thinks the dancers captured what Shane intended, and that they looked good, and he liked it. Whatevs, Nigel, we all know you’re a sucker for the cute blondes!
Jeanette and Brandon. America needs to know that Jeanette has bad teeth? Really? Apparently America needs to know that Brandon has never worked out a day in his life. (My hubby calls BS on this). This week they are doing disco!!! Oh, I think they will be good! They have issues in rehearsal. This means nothing; they alllways show it looking like a disaster in rehearsal, and it allllways turns out well. We’re onto you, producers! They perform, and wow, this is fast. !!! I LOVE IT!!!! It’s full of spectacular lifts and spins. They look like they are having so much fun!!! Now I want to dance too!! Lil ‘C says some crazy Lil’ C thing—I have no idea-- but says he found it extremely amazing, and fully praises the dancers. Oh, I didn’t even notice that Jeanette tripped! Mary says she’s never seen a disco done that fast, and declares that they nailed it. She stands up and whoos, and I feel like a train is coming, but she stops short of that. Boo. Also, she brings back the “Not” jokes, which I think is very ill advised. Nigel says if he could scream like that, he would. He thought it was tremendous. He also warns Brandon that Mia is choreographing the group dance tomorrow. I read that there was actually a LOT more drama regarding Brandon than was shown, so…this should be interesting.
Oscar makes spit bubbles. Vitolio is obsessed with motorcycles. They recap their disappointing bottom three finish. We see a clip of Oscar’s rabid raccoon shake (love, it, Hil!) and Vitolio’s Alvin Aileyesque solo. Louis has choreographed a waltz that is full of pain, and was inspired by Vitolio’s story. Vitolio cries during rehearsal. From the opening move, I like it, and Oscar begins to redeem herself in my eyes. It’s so fluid it’s like they are swimming, but that could also be the effect of the Enya music, blue lighting and costumes, and bubble water kind of background. Mary is breathless. Ooooh she’s crying!!!! Oh now Vitolio is crying! Now I’m crying, dammit! Lil’ C says that the choppy steps were “Compensated for” by the authenticity. Nigel says they both brought a quality to the routine rarely performed on this show, and declares them a different couple than last week.
Up next is the couple to beat: Kayla and Max. They discuss how they got great critiques last week, but that adds pressure this week. Their choreographer is Brian Friedman, who is back on the show. Yay! We learn their interesting facts; Max is a housewife, and Kayla is a master texter. Eh. They rehearse; the premise of the dance is that she’s a princess, and he’s coming to dance for her, but he really wants her throne. They perform, and… it is AMAZING!!!! I love every single second of it. Cat calls Max a “low down dirty rotten rat from ratville on the way to rat town”, in the most loving manner possible. The judges adore the routine, but are more effusive in their praise of Kayla than Max. I think he deserves more credit—he did really well this week!
Karla and Jonathan. America needs to know that Karla is a bad ass hip hop dancer. She’s a member of the boggiebops (?), which apparently is a really good dance crew. Jonathan is a singer, and a bad one at that. This week they are performing contemporary with Stacy Tookey. I have no idea who this is. Rehearsal footage shows them falling all over the place; again, we can be pretty sure this won’t happen during the performance. They perform, and it’s danced well, but I found it a bit snores. The judges totally disagree with me. Mary says Jonathan did that style better than his own; something she’s never said on this show. She declares it amazing, and says she’s dizzy. Oh and this Stacy woman is apparently the best choreographer from SYTYCD-Canada. Nigel declares it “incredible, how they both performed”. Lil c thought it was beautiful, and declares it buck. I apparently just didn’t get it.
Philip is an engineering physics major who had 40 reptiles in his room growing up. Jeanine has a teddy bear that she loves, and dresses to match her outfits. At 18…? Someone needs to get her a tiny dog. Anyway, they are doing the tango. Choreographer Tony is surprised by their lack of ballroom knowledge. Why he’s surprised, I don’t know. Why would you assume that every dancer is well versed in every type of dance? During rehearsal Phillip gets kicked in the family jewels. Yikes! Tony whispers to the camera that he’s nervous; Jeanine shrieks “WE CAN HEAR YOU!!!!” I find the performance moderately entertaining. The judges don’t really love. Lil’ C tell Phillip “A lack of confidence is the heaviest anchor you can put upon your art.” I think. Mary says it wasn’t great. We get a replay of Phillip grimacing when he tries to lift his partner. It makes me laugh. Nigel says it wasn’t good technically, but it was great entertainment.
Ashley and Kupono. Kupono has ODC. Ashley projectile vomited over her first grade classmates. Really folks, you should at least try and censor the information that you put out there! They too are doing a Shane Sparks routine. They have been so lucky! Wade AND Shane!?!?! They perform to the Black Eyed Peas—is SYTYCD contractually obligated to use a Black Eyed Peas song once a show? Because they seriously do. During the fast part of the routine, it’s impossible to tell if they are in synch because the camera is zooming and looming and ahhh! STAY STILL CAMERA! Mary says it was just okay. Lil C says Kupono struggled, and Ashley couldn’t mirror, and there was no synchronization. At least someone could tell! Nigel states that he was underwhelmed.
Lastly, a HUGE thank you to all of you for indulging me in this! I decided to write these because my very good friend, co-worker, and SYTYCD enthusiast went on maternity leave, and I was left with no one with whom I could discuss this fantastic show. I decided to post the first one on FB so she could easily read it, and was so excited to find so many fellow fans! I love all of the discussion, so… thank you!!! My predictions for the bottom three are: Ashley and Kupono, Karla and Jonathan, and Melissa and Ade. It's getting hard--they are all good! Thoughts?
You're so 2000 and Late: So You Think You Can Dance Episode #7
Our opening number! I don’t think I’m deep enough to understand the artistic vision of this Shane Sparks routine. The dimly lit stage is littered with trash. Dancers dressed as hobos carry signs that say “will dance for food”, beg the cameras for money, and pretend to be cold. Then five guys in shiny jackets burst in and perform a hip hop routine, as the hobo dancers crawl toward them. They blow green glitter on the hobos, who then turn into futuristic Laker Girls of the Thunderdome (I guess?), complete with panda eyeliner. Apparently Caitlin is their leader. They are dancing to “Boom Boom Pow”, a song that makes a clear reference to 2008, so maybe it’s not supposed to be futuristic. Was this the style last year? If so, J. Crew has a long way to go to catch up; I saw no such garments next to my madras skirts or Jackie cardigans, I can tell you that. Now I can’t even tell what’s going on because the camera guys are apparently on crack, for all of their running around and jiggling and whatnot. I hate that the cameras are always on the move or zooming in on someone’s fingernail or something, and I can’t see the actual dance. I can’t imagine that’s how the choreographers envisioned these dances would be viewed! When I am president of the world, my first order of business will be to require at least one stationary camera present during SYTYCD filming.
We get to see how the partners got along for their first week together. Chicken noises and sweat discussions ensue.
The first three couples to learn their fate: Kayla and Max, Phillip and Jeanine, and Evan and Randi. I refuse to believe that any of these couples are in danger. Kayla and Max are sent to safety first, followed by Randi and Evan. Phillip and Jeanine assume they are in the bottom three and look dismayed, but Cat announces they are safe as well. They freak out cutely, and then clean up the cards that Cat threw in the air after announcing their results. I actually really like that they were thoughtful enough to pick them up and offer them back to Cat. It’s the little things!
The next four couples are up. During Jason and Caitlyn’s recap, we get to see Mary’s “I’m so happy that Bollywood came to Hollywood, yes I am!” screech from last night. I know her shtick wears thin with some people, but I love me Mary Murphyisms. BTW, that was quite a smooch Caitlyn and Jason had at the end of that dance! They are safe, as are Melissa and Ade. Kupono is rocking this yellow fur half scarf that matches his socks. I don’t want him to be in the bottom three, but I do want to see what kind of dance can be performed while wearing eight thousand necklaces and high top Converse. I won’t find out tonight, because Kupono and Ashley are safe; Paris and Tony are the couple in danger.
Our last three couples are up next. They recap Jeanette and Brandon’s foxtrot. It was really nice; I wish I could have seen this through last night’s flood warning announcement! Asuka, Vitolio, Jonathan, and Karla round out our bottom three couples. And must DANCE FOR THEIR LIVES!
While they prepare, we have the first in a series of dances that will be performed on the show, highlighting different styles of dance. Tonight is a tango performed by Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrioneuvo. Google tells me they are pretty much the world’s best tangoists (is that a word?), but is it mandatory to have those looks on their faces? Leonardo looks like he’s just discovered a life form and he’s half amazed, half terrified. Miriam looks sleepy.
Dances for lives! Paris is eh. She’s not a bad dancer, but I don’t understand how she stood out in Vegas at all. Also, I hate that the audience screams the countdown of the last ten seconds of the solos. So disconcerting! Tony comes out and I am not impressed. Honestly, I think I pretty much do this dance myself after a few drinks . Auska looks and performs like a drunk, washed up can-can dancer; I think her solo is terrible. Vitolio displays the power, huge leaps and great turning that he showed during auditions. Karla does the best of the three female dancers, I think. Jonathan does a great job too, and may rival Shawn Johnson in terms of gymnastic prowess. Hmm. I could have sworn Karla and Jonathan would go home tonight; I think I was wrong.
As the judges deliberate, Sean Kingston performs. See those backup dancers, contestants? One day, all of that will be yours.
The judges reach their verdict, and Tony and Paris are sent home. I’m sort of surprised, because they seemed so intent on Tony making the top 20. I was sure they wanted him on tour. I can’t wait for next week! I’m praying Toni Basil makes an appearance as a guest judge.
We get to see how the partners got along for their first week together. Chicken noises and sweat discussions ensue.
The first three couples to learn their fate: Kayla and Max, Phillip and Jeanine, and Evan and Randi. I refuse to believe that any of these couples are in danger. Kayla and Max are sent to safety first, followed by Randi and Evan. Phillip and Jeanine assume they are in the bottom three and look dismayed, but Cat announces they are safe as well. They freak out cutely, and then clean up the cards that Cat threw in the air after announcing their results. I actually really like that they were thoughtful enough to pick them up and offer them back to Cat. It’s the little things!
The next four couples are up. During Jason and Caitlyn’s recap, we get to see Mary’s “I’m so happy that Bollywood came to Hollywood, yes I am!” screech from last night. I know her shtick wears thin with some people, but I love me Mary Murphyisms. BTW, that was quite a smooch Caitlyn and Jason had at the end of that dance! They are safe, as are Melissa and Ade. Kupono is rocking this yellow fur half scarf that matches his socks. I don’t want him to be in the bottom three, but I do want to see what kind of dance can be performed while wearing eight thousand necklaces and high top Converse. I won’t find out tonight, because Kupono and Ashley are safe; Paris and Tony are the couple in danger.
Our last three couples are up next. They recap Jeanette and Brandon’s foxtrot. It was really nice; I wish I could have seen this through last night’s flood warning announcement! Asuka, Vitolio, Jonathan, and Karla round out our bottom three couples. And must DANCE FOR THEIR LIVES!
While they prepare, we have the first in a series of dances that will be performed on the show, highlighting different styles of dance. Tonight is a tango performed by Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrioneuvo. Google tells me they are pretty much the world’s best tangoists (is that a word?), but is it mandatory to have those looks on their faces? Leonardo looks like he’s just discovered a life form and he’s half amazed, half terrified. Miriam looks sleepy.
Dances for lives! Paris is eh. She’s not a bad dancer, but I don’t understand how she stood out in Vegas at all. Also, I hate that the audience screams the countdown of the last ten seconds of the solos. So disconcerting! Tony comes out and I am not impressed. Honestly, I think I pretty much do this dance myself after a few drinks . Auska looks and performs like a drunk, washed up can-can dancer; I think her solo is terrible. Vitolio displays the power, huge leaps and great turning that he showed during auditions. Karla does the best of the three female dancers, I think. Jonathan does a great job too, and may rival Shawn Johnson in terms of gymnastic prowess. Hmm. I could have sworn Karla and Jonathan would go home tonight; I think I was wrong.
As the judges deliberate, Sean Kingston performs. See those backup dancers, contestants? One day, all of that will be yours.
The judges reach their verdict, and Tony and Paris are sent home. I’m sort of surprised, because they seemed so intent on Tony making the top 20. I was sure they wanted him on tour. I can’t wait for next week! I’m praying Toni Basil makes an appearance as a guest judge.
If it's not rough, it isn't fun: So You Think You Can Dance Episode #6
The top 20 perform, finally! I’ve consumed nothing but cupcakes and wine in the last twelve hours, so I’m feeling super punchy and a bit charitable, y’all. I expect to throw my back out trying to tipsily learn some of these moves tonight. Anywho, the top 20 remind us of their skill by performing mini solos. Or they just annoy us; Melissa takes half of her fifteen seconds to do that “I’m naughty” finger suck thing, and busts out some odd grande plie. That’s the best you’ve got?
Cat introduces and does that talk out of one half of the mouth that Alicia Silverstone did in clueless. Some people can pull this off and look cute, and some people try it and look like they’re still numb from dental work. Cat falls in the former category, of course, because she is adorable.
Adam is our guest judge; yay! I heart him. I love how genuine he is with his praise, or disappointment of behalf of the dancers. He talks about how he’s producing three movies right now; one of which is “Step Up 3D”. Katee, Twitch and Joshua from last season are in it, so…you know where I’ll be whenever this comes out.
Our first couple is Jeanine and Phillip. Interesting pairing…a Hoku with a Britney. Lucky Jeanine! Tabitha and Napoleon are the choreographers. I really like Phillip, so I hope this goes well. Oooh! The dance reminds me a lot of the Chelsie and Mark “Bleeding Love” piece from last year, which is a good thing. They totally nail it. The dance ends with them cuddling on the floor, and Cat has to tell them to stop “shnecking”. Hee! Adam calls it un-freaking-real. Mary fakes disappointment, then screams her head off. It scares my dog. Nigel notes that Jeanine really held her own with Phillip, which certainly was a challenge.
Asuka and Vitolio are up next, and Tasty Oreo is the choreographer. The premise is that they are filming a silent movie. I thought it was fine and danced well, but I don’t think Vitolio brought the energy that I expected. His jumps barely made it off the ground, and I know he can do better. The judges concur that it was good, but too safe. If you can’t garner a scream from Mary on the first performance night, you know you’re in trouble.
Karla and Jonathan. Before they even dance, I’m predicting that they will be in the bottom three. They are doing a strobe light enhanced cha-cha to Poker Face. They dance and I think he’s good, but I don’t like his facials. She’s fine. I thought it was good, not great. The judges are more enthusiastic than I am. Mary makes Jonathan’s wish come true by screaming for them.
Randi and Evan! They are doing a jazz piece by Tasty. It’s a passionate piece, and Evan worries aloud about not knowing how big Randi’s husband is, and apologizes in advance. They perform, and this dance has an energy that I love. I don’t think it’s danced as cleanly as the others, but I like the entertainment value. Mary does more screaming. I like it when she punctuates things with “yes you do” and “yes you did!’. I wish I could provide feedback to people at work in the same manner; it would make performance reviews so much more interesting. “You NAILED that forecast YES YOU DID! WHOOOO!!! WHOOOOO! HERE COMES THE TRAIN!” Once again, Mary’s hollering frightens my dog. Cat calls them the cutest little couple and tells them she just wants to pick them up and put them in her pocket. This is like the millionth reference to their height. How stumpy are these people?
Paris and Tony. They are doing a NappyTabs piece. Tony shows difficulty maintaining a “stank face” during rehearsal. Honey, just look back on footage featuring Mary's leather fringe vest from the Denver auditions, and you will have no problem making a stank face. They perform, and honestly, I think it’s just eh. I felt like Paris with her pigtails and smile was way too perky for this type of dance. Adam gives it an “I thought you did well, but…” Mary and Nigel found it forgettable. I think Tony’s built in fan base may keep them out of the bottom three, but I think they’re in danger tonight.
Caitlyn and Jason. They are doing Bollywood oh YAY! Kaytee and Joshua’s Bollywood piece last season was one of my favorite dances of all time. By the look of the rehearsal, it looks like it’s going to be great. Caitlyn cutely jokes about her lack of finger muscles. They perform, and I love it love it. It's way more complicated that last year’s piece, and requires Caitlin to hold a handstand in various positions forEVER. Critique time; Adam jumps up and screams “YOU GUYS ROCK!” They so did. Mary and Nigel love it as well.
Jeanette and Brandon are doing the foxtrot. HEY! This looks nothing like the foxtrot Valentino taught my hubby and me for the first dance for our wedding! We got cheated! Oh, and now there’s a flood warning going across my screen and I can barely see the dance. From what I can see it looks really nice. They do some crazy lift spin at the end—always good to end with a punch. The judges weigh in, and OMG!!!! HAHA So Cat asks Mary to give us an eyebrow (her former signature move) and give us the verdict, and Mary replies “I can’t, because of the Botox!” Hahaha! The dancers double over laughing, and Jeanette becomes my favorite dancer because she does this flawless imitation of Mary’s mask face. Mary screams her head off and hollers “I CAN’T BELIEVE I JUST SAID THAT!!!!” Honey, it was no secret. I miss her facial expressions, though! She also screams that if people can’t see Brandon’s greatness, THEY’RE CRAZY! THEY ARE CRAZY!!!” My dog gives a little growl as Mary’s shrieking disturbs his nap.
Ashley and Kupono are dancing a Wade Robson piece. He’s back this season? Did America’s Best Dance Crew not work out so well for him last summer? I’m predisposed to like this couple because Kupono reminds me SO much of a friend from college with whom I lost touch, and miss. The dance is…crazy. They are crash test dummies in love, and they have a dog? And the dancers are painted white. It’s wacky, but danced well. The judges praise the dancing and acknowledge that choreography is going to be either loved or hated. You can tell they are trying to be polite; they call Wade a genius, and say that at least this piece is memorable, and will be discussed. Wade seems to give credit to a woman whom I assume is his Yoko Ono. Did she choreograph the piece? If so, that’s crap!
Before we go to commercial we see more of Melissa naughtily biting her finger. What is that? I am so done with her!
Melissa and Ade. Ade has amazing jumps and attends a college I’ve never heard of. The choreographer is Mandy Moore...eh. She seems nice enough, but I find her dances kind of trite and cheesy. Also, she will only use adult contemporary music produced from 1983-1988. Rehearsal footage shows Melissa saying she likes the naughty twister in the choreography. Okay, please beat us over the head with this some more. You’re naughty. We get it. They perform, and the song is by….Richard Marx? Of course. Only Mandy. When will she do one to Huey Lewis and the News? I actually like the dance, and thought it was performed really well. Also, there is a wind machine. The dance made Adam cry, aww! Mary screams her head off again. Nigel loves.
Our last couple, Kayla and Max! They are doing a samba, which is great for Max, the Russian Latin ballroom dancer. They are dancing to this fabulous House of Gypsies song that I must download. If the rehearsal is any indication, they are going to be incredible. And they are! I actually got chills while watching it. Holy effing crap this is the best dance EVER! I wish I could swish my hips like Max. If Mary doesn’t put them on the hot tamale train then there is no justice in the world, and the HTT will lose all meaning it ever had for me. They bust out this fabulous move that requires Kayla to leap on Max, wrap her legs around his waist, and they both do the shimmy. I hope my husband is prepared for me to pounce on him in a similar fashion early and often, because I MUST add this to my movement vocabulary. It would be a hit at weddings and picnics. It ends, and Adam is so amazed he apparently has to claw his eyes out. He says that Kayla makes him believe in God; Mary asks for an Amen. And here it comes…Mary says she hears the train, stands up and starts to lose her damn mind. My dog grumpily goes upstairs; my husband comes out of the office and asks what the heck is going on with Mary. It was that loud. Mary puts them aboard the hot tamale train. Nigel calls it extraordinary. And it so was!
So my prediction for the bottom three couples: Karla and Jonathan, Paris and Tony, and Asuka and Vitolio. Your thoughts?
Cat introduces and does that talk out of one half of the mouth that Alicia Silverstone did in clueless. Some people can pull this off and look cute, and some people try it and look like they’re still numb from dental work. Cat falls in the former category, of course, because she is adorable.
Adam is our guest judge; yay! I heart him. I love how genuine he is with his praise, or disappointment of behalf of the dancers. He talks about how he’s producing three movies right now; one of which is “Step Up 3D”. Katee, Twitch and Joshua from last season are in it, so…you know where I’ll be whenever this comes out.
Our first couple is Jeanine and Phillip. Interesting pairing…a Hoku with a Britney. Lucky Jeanine! Tabitha and Napoleon are the choreographers. I really like Phillip, so I hope this goes well. Oooh! The dance reminds me a lot of the Chelsie and Mark “Bleeding Love” piece from last year, which is a good thing. They totally nail it. The dance ends with them cuddling on the floor, and Cat has to tell them to stop “shnecking”. Hee! Adam calls it un-freaking-real. Mary fakes disappointment, then screams her head off. It scares my dog. Nigel notes that Jeanine really held her own with Phillip, which certainly was a challenge.
Asuka and Vitolio are up next, and Tasty Oreo is the choreographer. The premise is that they are filming a silent movie. I thought it was fine and danced well, but I don’t think Vitolio brought the energy that I expected. His jumps barely made it off the ground, and I know he can do better. The judges concur that it was good, but too safe. If you can’t garner a scream from Mary on the first performance night, you know you’re in trouble.
Karla and Jonathan. Before they even dance, I’m predicting that they will be in the bottom three. They are doing a strobe light enhanced cha-cha to Poker Face. They dance and I think he’s good, but I don’t like his facials. She’s fine. I thought it was good, not great. The judges are more enthusiastic than I am. Mary makes Jonathan’s wish come true by screaming for them.
Randi and Evan! They are doing a jazz piece by Tasty. It’s a passionate piece, and Evan worries aloud about not knowing how big Randi’s husband is, and apologizes in advance. They perform, and this dance has an energy that I love. I don’t think it’s danced as cleanly as the others, but I like the entertainment value. Mary does more screaming. I like it when she punctuates things with “yes you do” and “yes you did!’. I wish I could provide feedback to people at work in the same manner; it would make performance reviews so much more interesting. “You NAILED that forecast YES YOU DID! WHOOOO!!! WHOOOOO! HERE COMES THE TRAIN!” Once again, Mary’s hollering frightens my dog. Cat calls them the cutest little couple and tells them she just wants to pick them up and put them in her pocket. This is like the millionth reference to their height. How stumpy are these people?
Paris and Tony. They are doing a NappyTabs piece. Tony shows difficulty maintaining a “stank face” during rehearsal. Honey, just look back on footage featuring Mary's leather fringe vest from the Denver auditions, and you will have no problem making a stank face. They perform, and honestly, I think it’s just eh. I felt like Paris with her pigtails and smile was way too perky for this type of dance. Adam gives it an “I thought you did well, but…” Mary and Nigel found it forgettable. I think Tony’s built in fan base may keep them out of the bottom three, but I think they’re in danger tonight.
Caitlyn and Jason. They are doing Bollywood oh YAY! Kaytee and Joshua’s Bollywood piece last season was one of my favorite dances of all time. By the look of the rehearsal, it looks like it’s going to be great. Caitlyn cutely jokes about her lack of finger muscles. They perform, and I love it love it. It's way more complicated that last year’s piece, and requires Caitlin to hold a handstand in various positions forEVER. Critique time; Adam jumps up and screams “YOU GUYS ROCK!” They so did. Mary and Nigel love it as well.
Jeanette and Brandon are doing the foxtrot. HEY! This looks nothing like the foxtrot Valentino taught my hubby and me for the first dance for our wedding! We got cheated! Oh, and now there’s a flood warning going across my screen and I can barely see the dance. From what I can see it looks really nice. They do some crazy lift spin at the end—always good to end with a punch. The judges weigh in, and OMG!!!! HAHA So Cat asks Mary to give us an eyebrow (her former signature move) and give us the verdict, and Mary replies “I can’t, because of the Botox!” Hahaha! The dancers double over laughing, and Jeanette becomes my favorite dancer because she does this flawless imitation of Mary’s mask face. Mary screams her head off and hollers “I CAN’T BELIEVE I JUST SAID THAT!!!!” Honey, it was no secret. I miss her facial expressions, though! She also screams that if people can’t see Brandon’s greatness, THEY’RE CRAZY! THEY ARE CRAZY!!!” My dog gives a little growl as Mary’s shrieking disturbs his nap.
Ashley and Kupono are dancing a Wade Robson piece. He’s back this season? Did America’s Best Dance Crew not work out so well for him last summer? I’m predisposed to like this couple because Kupono reminds me SO much of a friend from college with whom I lost touch, and miss. The dance is…crazy. They are crash test dummies in love, and they have a dog? And the dancers are painted white. It’s wacky, but danced well. The judges praise the dancing and acknowledge that choreography is going to be either loved or hated. You can tell they are trying to be polite; they call Wade a genius, and say that at least this piece is memorable, and will be discussed. Wade seems to give credit to a woman whom I assume is his Yoko Ono. Did she choreograph the piece? If so, that’s crap!
Before we go to commercial we see more of Melissa naughtily biting her finger. What is that? I am so done with her!
Melissa and Ade. Ade has amazing jumps and attends a college I’ve never heard of. The choreographer is Mandy Moore...eh. She seems nice enough, but I find her dances kind of trite and cheesy. Also, she will only use adult contemporary music produced from 1983-1988. Rehearsal footage shows Melissa saying she likes the naughty twister in the choreography. Okay, please beat us over the head with this some more. You’re naughty. We get it. They perform, and the song is by….Richard Marx? Of course. Only Mandy. When will she do one to Huey Lewis and the News? I actually like the dance, and thought it was performed really well. Also, there is a wind machine. The dance made Adam cry, aww! Mary screams her head off again. Nigel loves.
Our last couple, Kayla and Max! They are doing a samba, which is great for Max, the Russian Latin ballroom dancer. They are dancing to this fabulous House of Gypsies song that I must download. If the rehearsal is any indication, they are going to be incredible. And they are! I actually got chills while watching it. Holy effing crap this is the best dance EVER! I wish I could swish my hips like Max. If Mary doesn’t put them on the hot tamale train then there is no justice in the world, and the HTT will lose all meaning it ever had for me. They bust out this fabulous move that requires Kayla to leap on Max, wrap her legs around his waist, and they both do the shimmy. I hope my husband is prepared for me to pounce on him in a similar fashion early and often, because I MUST add this to my movement vocabulary. It would be a hit at weddings and picnics. It ends, and Adam is so amazed he apparently has to claw his eyes out. He says that Kayla makes him believe in God; Mary asks for an Amen. And here it comes…Mary says she hears the train, stands up and starts to lose her damn mind. My dog grumpily goes upstairs; my husband comes out of the office and asks what the heck is going on with Mary. It was that loud. Mary puts them aboard the hot tamale train. Nigel calls it extraordinary. And it so was!
So my prediction for the bottom three couples: Karla and Jonathan, Paris and Tony, and Asuka and Vitolio. Your thoughts?
Are you a Britney, Christina, Mandy or Hoku? So You Think You Can Dance Episode #5
Our top 20 revealed! The entire episode can be summed up thusly: Contestants pray/cry in the back room, take the “long walk”, face the judges, Mia makes some bitchy comment, Debbie gives verbal hugs, tears of joy or disappointment, awkward walk down the hallway while talking to the camera. I love me some predictions, so here are the top 20 contestants categorized according to a subject dear to my heart: US Weekly regulars. Specifically, the female singers of the new millennium.
The Britneys: The frontrunners. Their stars are shining the brightest. They all have the capacity for spectacular failure, though, so we’ll have to stay tuned to see if they encounter their SYTYCD K-Fed.
The Christinas: They have talent to spare, but they don’t get noticed like the Britneys do. They may go through a series of identity crises, but their talent is always solid.
The Mandys: They are desperately trying to claw their way to Britney status. Marginally talented, relatively cute, but they lack super duper star power.
The Hokus: Who? Exactly. The bottom tier of the girls. Maybe you had a song on the Legally Blonde soundtrack, but honey, you are going nowhere.
The Britneys are as follows:
1. Kayla with the proud grandparents. Mia tells her she loves male dancers, and admits that it’s rare she connects with a female dancer. But Kayla, you actually impressed the Emmy winning Mia! Mia seems to think her approval is the greatest gift that can be bestowed upon a dancer. I think Kayla is talented and versatile, and all of the judges seem to adore her. I hope we see more of Grandpa!!
2. Brandon. JUDGEFIGHT! Mia says, “I can’t take what you bring to the floor as an artist. It annoys the s@!t out of me. I find there’s attitude inside there underneath that fake smile. They all say you’re amazing, but I don’t get it.” Debbie interrupts this nonsense to say, “Well, I have a real difference of opinion.” They talk over each other; Nigel referees. Lil’ C goes on about how he doesn’t get it and Mary flips her lid, saying, “I do NOT want to sit and listen to this crap!” There is no middle ground on Brandon. Should be interesting!
3. Phillip the popper is told, “he’s what SYTYCD represents. “ The judges tell him that they are impressed that not only does he pop and lock well, but also he has an overall love of dance. He seems so thrilled and genuinely pretty surprised that he got through. I think he’ll work really hard and do well.
4. Evan. It was so sad that both he and Ryan couldn’t go through together. I hope they bring Ryan on to choreograph or something. During the final “yes or no”, Nigel clearly implies that they would like to see Ryan audition next season, so there is hope. I love these guys!!!
5. Tony. The judges say that his lack of training may hurt him, but don’t let that fool you. They love him and his personality, and def. want him on the tour.
The Christinas:
1. Kupono with the crazy hair from Seattle. The hair has been shaved, but he has a stupid spot of hair on his chin that bothers me. He also has a list of things he needs to accomplish during the day, which is contains things like “breathe” and “make the top 20”. Adam fakes him out, but he’s totally through. His to do list amuses the judges.
2. Jeanette is the “hot and spicy” ballroom dancer from Miami. After being told that she made it, she goes into this long whoo ha ha about her problems. Eh.
3. Vitonio, who very much insisted that Miami was “Caliente, Baby” He tells us that this decision is a “ diarrhea moment.” That is waaaay too much information, but it also locks Vitonio in as my favorite contestant. The judges tell him he has to bring his fantastic personality into his dancing. Fine, as long as he leaves out the digestive issues discussing aspect.
4. Randi of the unitards. She will make the top ten because Nigel can’t resist a cute blonde, and Mia doesn’t loathe her. Mia tells her that she needs to be committed to her artistry like she’s committed to her unitards. Randi is so happy she can’t speak, which Debbie recognizes and communicates. Y’all, I love Debbie. I kind of want her to be my mom.
5. Asuka the Asian Latin ballroom dancer. She was an early favorite, and her dancing is no joke. But she lacks the huge personality of the Britneys, from what we’ve seen.
6. Caitlin Kenny. I deliberated between Christina and Britney for Caitlin. I think the judges like her, and she’s really good, and she proved to be a fighter when she had to dance for her life.
The Mandys:
1. Paris. We met Miss Washington during the first auditions, and she was briefly highlighted during Vegas week. She seems good, but just kind of there.
2. Melissa, the naughty ballerina. I’m happy to have a ballerina on the show. I worry that she will lack the versatility required to excel. I can’t see her doing well with Lil’ C’s choreography.
3. Max. He was good; and he’s been featured a few times. Also just sort of eh.
4. Jason. He’s been called so “So you think you can dance”. He seems good, but not spectacular. He could be a Christina, though.
5. Ashley. This is her fourth time auditioning for the show, and she finally made it. The judges will love her perseverance. But I had no idea who she was until this episode.
The Hokus:
Karla, Jeanine, Ade, Jonathan. No to all of them. Seriously, y'all should just go home.
Btw, they were going to put Alex Wong through to the top 20, but he can’t participate because he’s still under contract with the Miami Ballet. Alex, I told you so!!!
The Britneys: The frontrunners. Their stars are shining the brightest. They all have the capacity for spectacular failure, though, so we’ll have to stay tuned to see if they encounter their SYTYCD K-Fed.
The Christinas: They have talent to spare, but they don’t get noticed like the Britneys do. They may go through a series of identity crises, but their talent is always solid.
The Mandys: They are desperately trying to claw their way to Britney status. Marginally talented, relatively cute, but they lack super duper star power.
The Hokus: Who? Exactly. The bottom tier of the girls. Maybe you had a song on the Legally Blonde soundtrack, but honey, you are going nowhere.
The Britneys are as follows:
1. Kayla with the proud grandparents. Mia tells her she loves male dancers, and admits that it’s rare she connects with a female dancer. But Kayla, you actually impressed the Emmy winning Mia! Mia seems to think her approval is the greatest gift that can be bestowed upon a dancer. I think Kayla is talented and versatile, and all of the judges seem to adore her. I hope we see more of Grandpa!!
2. Brandon. JUDGEFIGHT! Mia says, “I can’t take what you bring to the floor as an artist. It annoys the s@!t out of me. I find there’s attitude inside there underneath that fake smile. They all say you’re amazing, but I don’t get it.” Debbie interrupts this nonsense to say, “Well, I have a real difference of opinion.” They talk over each other; Nigel referees. Lil’ C goes on about how he doesn’t get it and Mary flips her lid, saying, “I do NOT want to sit and listen to this crap!” There is no middle ground on Brandon. Should be interesting!
3. Phillip the popper is told, “he’s what SYTYCD represents. “ The judges tell him that they are impressed that not only does he pop and lock well, but also he has an overall love of dance. He seems so thrilled and genuinely pretty surprised that he got through. I think he’ll work really hard and do well.
4. Evan. It was so sad that both he and Ryan couldn’t go through together. I hope they bring Ryan on to choreograph or something. During the final “yes or no”, Nigel clearly implies that they would like to see Ryan audition next season, so there is hope. I love these guys!!!
5. Tony. The judges say that his lack of training may hurt him, but don’t let that fool you. They love him and his personality, and def. want him on the tour.
The Christinas:
1. Kupono with the crazy hair from Seattle. The hair has been shaved, but he has a stupid spot of hair on his chin that bothers me. He also has a list of things he needs to accomplish during the day, which is contains things like “breathe” and “make the top 20”. Adam fakes him out, but he’s totally through. His to do list amuses the judges.
2. Jeanette is the “hot and spicy” ballroom dancer from Miami. After being told that she made it, she goes into this long whoo ha ha about her problems. Eh.
3. Vitonio, who very much insisted that Miami was “Caliente, Baby” He tells us that this decision is a “ diarrhea moment.” That is waaaay too much information, but it also locks Vitonio in as my favorite contestant. The judges tell him he has to bring his fantastic personality into his dancing. Fine, as long as he leaves out the digestive issues discussing aspect.
4. Randi of the unitards. She will make the top ten because Nigel can’t resist a cute blonde, and Mia doesn’t loathe her. Mia tells her that she needs to be committed to her artistry like she’s committed to her unitards. Randi is so happy she can’t speak, which Debbie recognizes and communicates. Y’all, I love Debbie. I kind of want her to be my mom.
5. Asuka the Asian Latin ballroom dancer. She was an early favorite, and her dancing is no joke. But she lacks the huge personality of the Britneys, from what we’ve seen.
6. Caitlin Kenny. I deliberated between Christina and Britney for Caitlin. I think the judges like her, and she’s really good, and she proved to be a fighter when she had to dance for her life.
The Mandys:
1. Paris. We met Miss Washington during the first auditions, and she was briefly highlighted during Vegas week. She seems good, but just kind of there.
2. Melissa, the naughty ballerina. I’m happy to have a ballerina on the show. I worry that she will lack the versatility required to excel. I can’t see her doing well with Lil’ C’s choreography.
3. Max. He was good; and he’s been featured a few times. Also just sort of eh.
4. Jason. He’s been called so “So you think you can dance”. He seems good, but not spectacular. He could be a Christina, though.
5. Ashley. This is her fourth time auditioning for the show, and she finally made it. The judges will love her perseverance. But I had no idea who she was until this episode.
The Hokus:
Karla, Jeanine, Ade, Jonathan. No to all of them. Seriously, y'all should just go home.
Btw, they were going to put Alex Wong through to the top 20, but he can’t participate because he’s still under contract with the Miami Ballet. Alex, I told you so!!!
It's a "No" for me: So You Think You Can Dance Episode #4
Vegas week! We’re spending the week at the Planet Hollywood casino. Seriously? Do Planet Hollywood restaurants exist anymore? If they do, has anyone eaten at one since the early 1990’s?
I do like that they always call this the search for America’s favorite dancer, as opposed to America’s BEST dancer. Because let’s be honest—that person’s probably hanging out with their co-workers at the New York City Ballet. The best these guys can hope for is to end up on Dancing with the Stars (which would totally rock), or as the backup dancer for Lady Gaga (also fabulous).
Speaking of backup dancers, there is a rumor out there that I was a backup dancer for Britney Spears. This rumor once made it into the William & Mary Alumni magazine in the “class notes” section. I will neither confirm nor deny this piece of information. But I will address the rumor that I was an NFL cheerleader. That is false.
Nigel’s hair looks pretty good! Mary’s face is now both frozen and puffy. I can’t give her too much crap about that because I can guarantee y’all that there will be a point in my life when I will look at the mirror, freak the hell out, and run to my nearest plastic surgeon or dermatologist. Actually, that look in the mirror may have happened this morning. Wrinkles AND pimples, really? Sigh. I digress.
All 173 dancers perform solos to remind the judges who they are. That must have been the longest day of the judge’s life. Watching 173 solos? I don’t care how good they are, I’d be ready to claw my eyes out.
Up first is Alex Wong, a dancer with the Miami City Ballet. He doesn’t have a contract that would forbid this kind of thing? Good God, this boy is ripped. He dancers divinely. Mia’s jaw drops. My jaw drops. Brandon’s got some serious competition! They don’t give official feedback, but you can tell the judges are smitten. The rest of the contestants freak out, as well they should.
Tony wears a suit and performs to that “Somebody’s watching me” song from the Geico commercials, with pictures of Nigel standing in for the googly eyed dollar bills. It’s a fun routine, but there wasn’t much actual dancing. Better step it up!
Nigel says that collectively, “You’re not as good as we thought you were”. Ouch!! I would be cranky too, though, after 173 solos. For this first cut, if just one judge wants a dancer to stay, they are safe. The judges cut 45 people from this round. They aren’t messing around!
The hip hop round is first, and Tabitha and Napoleon have choreographed a dance to Boom Boom Pow. Gabby, the quirky bird-like dancer with rheumatoid arthritis, is a disaster. Oooh! Mia’s quote of the day: “I love cutting, because I like seeing people who aren’t good at what they do go home.” Damn, woman! I have to be honest, I do not love Mia. I used to love her choreography, but I feel like that’s taking a turn to the pretentious. Example #1: That ghastly Clockwork Orange meets Barnum and Bailey dance from last year. Egh! Anywho, the judges tell Gabby she was terrible, but they liked her solo, so she gets another chance. Whatevs! I could’ve told them she was a one trick pony back in the beginning. I need to be a judge on this show.
Someone who got cut says “Excuses are the tools of the incompetent, and I will not use them.” I will! I love me some excuses. I feel like my ability to justify anything is a talent! Another reject doesn’t know what year it is. Um….I suppose he did just spend hours dancing to a song with the brilliant lyrics “I’m so 2008; you’re so 2000 and LATE”, so that could be confusing. Also, Black Eyed Peas—if you’re going to use lyrics like that, you probably shouldn’t release the song in…2009. Because now YOU’RE 2000 and late. Just sayin’.
They send half of the contestants home on the first day? Yikes!
Day two begins with a Jean-Marc and France waltz. I love them, even if they have a propensity to choreograph to songs by Celine Dion and American Idol finalists. I still think the Twitchington tribute to their daughter last year was amazing, even if Mia did slam Kerrington for being too pretty. Grrr Mia.
Commercials tease that Natalie or Brandon might go home. OMG... if Brandon goes home I will lose all faith in humanity.
Now it’s time for jazz with Sonya. Get your crazy hats on! Oh, and they are focusing on Brandon and Natalie!!! We get to see their auditions again, which is all kinds of great, because Brandon’s was a work of art. Sonya actually asks Brandon and Natalie to demonstrate to the dancers what she wants out of her choreography. Thinking they will get through this round.
But when the actual auditions roll around, Natalie is just not good. . It was odd. Oh my god—they cut her!!! I didn’t think she was THAT bad—I’m kind of shocked. They didn’t even ask her to dance for her life? This is crazy. Nigel and Sonya hug her. Oh no….she seems heartbroken because she feels like she let the judges down. Brandon is crying, and the rest of the dancers kind of freak out because they feel like nobody is safe. Boo.
Lil’ C tells Brandon that he’s not impressed, and Mia agrees with him. She says that she’s heard he’s brilliant, and she hasn’t seen it, and she’s disappointed. I’ve decided that Mia hates all that is good in the world. She probably kicks puppies as a second hobby. Nigel says he does think he’s brilliant, he thinks everything he’s done is fantastic, and he thinks he’s one of the best dancers they’ve had. Oh man. Brandon is weeping all over the place.
Gabby is still a mess. Lil’ C just keeps muttering “it’s bad, so bad…” and kind of rocks to console himself. Nigel holds his head and wails “it’s nothing, it’s nothing!” People, get a grip on yourselves!!! Debbie Allen tells Gabby she’s breaking her heart; her solo is amazing, and she’s such a disappointment, and it hurts them to be so wrong. They ask her to dance for her life, but she has to get at least three votes from the judges. Her solo is wonderful. Mia is crying and calls her a gem. Mia seems a little unstable right now, y’all. Someone slip her some lithium bicarbonate. Lil’C calls it buck. Mary is wearing some crazy puffed sleeve thing that nobody over the age of 26 should wear. I can’t remember what she thought about the dance.
At the end of the day, the 73 remaining learn that they have to break into groups, grab a random CD, and choreograph a routine to it during the night. Oh….I hate this part of the auditions. It’s so pointless. What does being able to choreograph a dance with your peers while being deprived of sleep have anything to do with this competition? There’s always some group that’s fighting or mad that someone went to bed, and it’s generally just a waste of time.
Why are all of these girl contestants sporting messy Mohawks like Mia’s. Is this the new trend? I am not a fan.
Group Choreography: First group is a disaster. Silky the tapper is asked to dance for his life. One of the many Mohawk girls goes home. Adam calls something “so convention 101 barf.” I have no idea what that means, but Adam said it, so I assume it’s the gospel truth. The judges hate all of the choreography and dancing. What do they expect? I hate it too! Only five got cut in that round. Was it really worth it??
Oh man. Now they have to do Mia’s chorography on no sleep. Favorites get slashed, including Naboya the Japanese popper, the future Laker girl, and Tony has to dance for his life. We get a sibling update; the sister with the curly hair from Miami (Megan) is safe. Her sister Caitlyn seems to forget the choreography, and is asked to dance for her life right then. Her solo is really good, I thought, but they call it “old fashioned”. Nigel tells her to bring her dancing up to date. Mia hates her, of course, because Mia hates all conventionally pretty girls.
Evan and Ryan—the tapping brothers. Oh, I love them! Ryan is first; Mary calls him adorable and tells him he nailed it; he’s through to next round. Evan is also great; however, Mia makes him “flea hop” off the stage. Have some self respect, Evan!!!
My satellite is going out with these storms. Boo!!
Tony does okay the second time around. He’s crying. The piano of pain plays. Debbie says he let them down, and gives a long speech, but he goes through, and the just breaks right down on the stage. Cat hugs him and says “I love it when fully grown men cry” and laughs right in his face while he’s crying. She does this cutely, though. She is such a good host.
Final day! Tasty Oreo’s choreographing to West Side story. AAAAHHHH LOVE!
The girls are dancing to “America”. I am thrilled about this, as it’s my favorite song from one of my favorite musicals. One of my great regrets in life is not having an opportunity to perform in West Side Story. I must save this eppy on my DVR so I can learn this dance.
Whoa…Fantasia Barrino is trying out??? Oooh no, it’s that girl tapper, Bianca. Holy crap, they could be twins. She doesn’t make it past this round; nor does Gabby or Sister Megan. It’s about frickin’ time they cut Gabby. They’ve hated her every round! Sister Megan seems a little bitter that she got cut, but that her sister made it through. My husband has a theory that Megan wasn’t the cute sister, but that dancing was her thing. And now Caitlin comes along, and has only been dancing for five years, and goes farther than she does in the competition. I think this is an excellent theory. They cut it down to 16 girls.
The boys are next, and are cut down to 16 as well. Brandon, Phillip, and Tony make it.
Montage of the top 32 solos. Do we not get to see those!?! They skip right over to it, and start talking about the dramatic reveal of the top 20. Which we will learn about—tomorrow!
I do like that they always call this the search for America’s favorite dancer, as opposed to America’s BEST dancer. Because let’s be honest—that person’s probably hanging out with their co-workers at the New York City Ballet. The best these guys can hope for is to end up on Dancing with the Stars (which would totally rock), or as the backup dancer for Lady Gaga (also fabulous).
Speaking of backup dancers, there is a rumor out there that I was a backup dancer for Britney Spears. This rumor once made it into the William & Mary Alumni magazine in the “class notes” section. I will neither confirm nor deny this piece of information. But I will address the rumor that I was an NFL cheerleader. That is false.
Nigel’s hair looks pretty good! Mary’s face is now both frozen and puffy. I can’t give her too much crap about that because I can guarantee y’all that there will be a point in my life when I will look at the mirror, freak the hell out, and run to my nearest plastic surgeon or dermatologist. Actually, that look in the mirror may have happened this morning. Wrinkles AND pimples, really? Sigh. I digress.
All 173 dancers perform solos to remind the judges who they are. That must have been the longest day of the judge’s life. Watching 173 solos? I don’t care how good they are, I’d be ready to claw my eyes out.
Up first is Alex Wong, a dancer with the Miami City Ballet. He doesn’t have a contract that would forbid this kind of thing? Good God, this boy is ripped. He dancers divinely. Mia’s jaw drops. My jaw drops. Brandon’s got some serious competition! They don’t give official feedback, but you can tell the judges are smitten. The rest of the contestants freak out, as well they should.
Tony wears a suit and performs to that “Somebody’s watching me” song from the Geico commercials, with pictures of Nigel standing in for the googly eyed dollar bills. It’s a fun routine, but there wasn’t much actual dancing. Better step it up!
Nigel says that collectively, “You’re not as good as we thought you were”. Ouch!! I would be cranky too, though, after 173 solos. For this first cut, if just one judge wants a dancer to stay, they are safe. The judges cut 45 people from this round. They aren’t messing around!
The hip hop round is first, and Tabitha and Napoleon have choreographed a dance to Boom Boom Pow. Gabby, the quirky bird-like dancer with rheumatoid arthritis, is a disaster. Oooh! Mia’s quote of the day: “I love cutting, because I like seeing people who aren’t good at what they do go home.” Damn, woman! I have to be honest, I do not love Mia. I used to love her choreography, but I feel like that’s taking a turn to the pretentious. Example #1: That ghastly Clockwork Orange meets Barnum and Bailey dance from last year. Egh! Anywho, the judges tell Gabby she was terrible, but they liked her solo, so she gets another chance. Whatevs! I could’ve told them she was a one trick pony back in the beginning. I need to be a judge on this show.
Someone who got cut says “Excuses are the tools of the incompetent, and I will not use them.” I will! I love me some excuses. I feel like my ability to justify anything is a talent! Another reject doesn’t know what year it is. Um….I suppose he did just spend hours dancing to a song with the brilliant lyrics “I’m so 2008; you’re so 2000 and LATE”, so that could be confusing. Also, Black Eyed Peas—if you’re going to use lyrics like that, you probably shouldn’t release the song in…2009. Because now YOU’RE 2000 and late. Just sayin’.
They send half of the contestants home on the first day? Yikes!
Day two begins with a Jean-Marc and France waltz. I love them, even if they have a propensity to choreograph to songs by Celine Dion and American Idol finalists. I still think the Twitchington tribute to their daughter last year was amazing, even if Mia did slam Kerrington for being too pretty. Grrr Mia.
Commercials tease that Natalie or Brandon might go home. OMG... if Brandon goes home I will lose all faith in humanity.
Now it’s time for jazz with Sonya. Get your crazy hats on! Oh, and they are focusing on Brandon and Natalie!!! We get to see their auditions again, which is all kinds of great, because Brandon’s was a work of art. Sonya actually asks Brandon and Natalie to demonstrate to the dancers what she wants out of her choreography. Thinking they will get through this round.
But when the actual auditions roll around, Natalie is just not good. . It was odd. Oh my god—they cut her!!! I didn’t think she was THAT bad—I’m kind of shocked. They didn’t even ask her to dance for her life? This is crazy. Nigel and Sonya hug her. Oh no….she seems heartbroken because she feels like she let the judges down. Brandon is crying, and the rest of the dancers kind of freak out because they feel like nobody is safe. Boo.
Lil’ C tells Brandon that he’s not impressed, and Mia agrees with him. She says that she’s heard he’s brilliant, and she hasn’t seen it, and she’s disappointed. I’ve decided that Mia hates all that is good in the world. She probably kicks puppies as a second hobby. Nigel says he does think he’s brilliant, he thinks everything he’s done is fantastic, and he thinks he’s one of the best dancers they’ve had. Oh man. Brandon is weeping all over the place.
Gabby is still a mess. Lil’ C just keeps muttering “it’s bad, so bad…” and kind of rocks to console himself. Nigel holds his head and wails “it’s nothing, it’s nothing!” People, get a grip on yourselves!!! Debbie Allen tells Gabby she’s breaking her heart; her solo is amazing, and she’s such a disappointment, and it hurts them to be so wrong. They ask her to dance for her life, but she has to get at least three votes from the judges. Her solo is wonderful. Mia is crying and calls her a gem. Mia seems a little unstable right now, y’all. Someone slip her some lithium bicarbonate. Lil’C calls it buck. Mary is wearing some crazy puffed sleeve thing that nobody over the age of 26 should wear. I can’t remember what she thought about the dance.
At the end of the day, the 73 remaining learn that they have to break into groups, grab a random CD, and choreograph a routine to it during the night. Oh….I hate this part of the auditions. It’s so pointless. What does being able to choreograph a dance with your peers while being deprived of sleep have anything to do with this competition? There’s always some group that’s fighting or mad that someone went to bed, and it’s generally just a waste of time.
Why are all of these girl contestants sporting messy Mohawks like Mia’s. Is this the new trend? I am not a fan.
Group Choreography: First group is a disaster. Silky the tapper is asked to dance for his life. One of the many Mohawk girls goes home. Adam calls something “so convention 101 barf.” I have no idea what that means, but Adam said it, so I assume it’s the gospel truth. The judges hate all of the choreography and dancing. What do they expect? I hate it too! Only five got cut in that round. Was it really worth it??
Oh man. Now they have to do Mia’s chorography on no sleep. Favorites get slashed, including Naboya the Japanese popper, the future Laker girl, and Tony has to dance for his life. We get a sibling update; the sister with the curly hair from Miami (Megan) is safe. Her sister Caitlyn seems to forget the choreography, and is asked to dance for her life right then. Her solo is really good, I thought, but they call it “old fashioned”. Nigel tells her to bring her dancing up to date. Mia hates her, of course, because Mia hates all conventionally pretty girls.
Evan and Ryan—the tapping brothers. Oh, I love them! Ryan is first; Mary calls him adorable and tells him he nailed it; he’s through to next round. Evan is also great; however, Mia makes him “flea hop” off the stage. Have some self respect, Evan!!!
My satellite is going out with these storms. Boo!!
Tony does okay the second time around. He’s crying. The piano of pain plays. Debbie says he let them down, and gives a long speech, but he goes through, and the just breaks right down on the stage. Cat hugs him and says “I love it when fully grown men cry” and laughs right in his face while he’s crying. She does this cutely, though. She is such a good host.
Final day! Tasty Oreo’s choreographing to West Side story. AAAAHHHH LOVE!
The girls are dancing to “America”. I am thrilled about this, as it’s my favorite song from one of my favorite musicals. One of my great regrets in life is not having an opportunity to perform in West Side Story. I must save this eppy on my DVR so I can learn this dance.
Whoa…Fantasia Barrino is trying out??? Oooh no, it’s that girl tapper, Bianca. Holy crap, they could be twins. She doesn’t make it past this round; nor does Gabby or Sister Megan. It’s about frickin’ time they cut Gabby. They’ve hated her every round! Sister Megan seems a little bitter that she got cut, but that her sister made it through. My husband has a theory that Megan wasn’t the cute sister, but that dancing was her thing. And now Caitlin comes along, and has only been dancing for five years, and goes farther than she does in the competition. I think this is an excellent theory. They cut it down to 16 girls.
The boys are next, and are cut down to 16 as well. Brandon, Phillip, and Tony make it.
Montage of the top 32 solos. Do we not get to see those!?! They skip right over to it, and start talking about the dramatic reveal of the top 20. Which we will learn about—tomorrow!
Cue Music: So You Think You Can Dance Episode #3
Welcome to the city of angels. Oh lordy. By the look of the hideous scarf wrapped around Cat’s neck like a bib from Red Lobster, it appears that Mary’s stylist has found another victim. This criminal must be stopped!
Our guest judge is Adam!!! He choreographed the movie “Hairspray”, among others. He’s a very animated and amusing judge, so I’m excited to see him. Some of last year’s top 20 contestants are in the audience as well.
First up is Bianca, who tried out last year, and almost made it to the top 20. She’s a tap dancer. I have to say, SYTYCD has a super high number of people who audition repeatedly, esp. those who made it to the final cut in previous seasons. How heartbreaking will it be for them if they don’t make it onto the show again? Bianca wows the judges, and it’s Vegas again for her.
Xavier and Brynelle are siblings, and they are CREEP-PAY! During their pre-audition interview, they discuss with pride how they always hold hands, go everywhere together, and are so close that their friends call them girlfriend and boyfriend. Their audition piece is very passionate, but not danced well. Mary asks “Are they brother and sister?” Adam confirms that they are, and all of the judges (well…Mary as best she can with botox face) look horrified. I’m sure my face mirrors their expression. My husband actually had to turn away, it was so ew to watch. If the CIA is looking for a new way to make detainees uncomfortable now that waterboarding is out, I would highly recommend that they use this footage.
Debra does a dance about pain, and searching, and reaching. It is not good, and not just because she doesn’t have the typical dancer physique. I like that the judges give her constructive feedback about what type of movement would work best for her body. She stays classy and thanks them.
Suzanne performs what she calls a “fairy medicine dance”. Nigel asks what she’s on, and she replies “joy”. I don’t think I’ve heard crack called that before, but okay.
More LA trainwrecks; some guy in clown makeup, another guy dancing en pointe to Rhianna. Judges grimace.
Calico the swing dancer shows us her stuff. Her dancing is nothing special, but she’s smiling and really seems to enjoy herself. It’s a no for Calico, but Adam offhandedly says “I’d love to dance with you”. Calico beckons him up to the stage, and Nigel insists that he go. Adam’s like “um…really?”, but up he goes. Like all of the other contestants, they display Adam’s biographical information on the screen, complete with “Age: 21ish”. Heh. He steps up to the mic to receive his feedback, and the judges invite the old contestants to critique him in their place. He then performs a pitch perfect imitation of the contestants who are put through to Vegas. This was an amusing diversion.
Ricky and Asuka are an international latin ballroom couple; Asuka made it to the final round last year, but didn’t make the top 20. Again with that? They are fantastic; Adam recommends that Ricky push Asuka down a flight of stairs, because it’s so hard not to watch her. Hee—I heart Adam. He would be the world’s best dinner guest. They both go through to Vegas.
Nathan is the last audition of the day. He almost gave up dancing because he was tired of being mocked. He is amazing, his turns are unbelieveable, and he’s one of those people that aren’t just technically good, but captivating to watch. There’s a big difference. But he’s only 17, and you have to be 18 to compete. Nigel gives him a ticket to Vegas, but for the next season. Can you do that? I guess if you’re the executive producer, you can do anything you want.
Day two!Sammy’s a popper who is rocking a red Mohawk. He chats with Cat about how he’s a dancer, but also used to wrestle. Cat excitedly takes this opportunity to demonstrate her “The Rock” move, which actually looks more like she’s super constipated. This is why I love Cat. Sammy performs some crazy hair choreography that the judges love, he goes through to choreography, and ultimately to Vegas.
Stacey is dressed in 80’s attire, and OMG she is TOTALLY copying my “Fan of the Game” dance!!!!! I gots to copyright my nonsense. She does not go through. Harumph. The judges clearly do not recognize brilliance when they see it!!
Amanda Kirby is next. We see her with her family at home; her dad has MS. She’s crying; he’s tearing up and says seeing her dance is inspirational. Sigh. I’m sorry if I sound like a jerk--these stories are def. sad, but it's always the same: sad story, people cry, they dance well, they go to Vegas. We all have problems, sister! Her audition is good; she does some sexy move and Nigel gets all letch like he does and eww—I HATE it when he does that. But I think I know why his grin creeps me out now—his teeth are way too big for his mouth!!! Same with Simon Cowell. Neither of them have teeth that look any kind of natural. I know they are veneers and all, but still. I bet they went to the same dentist. He needs to drink more coffee and stain ‘em up. Anyway,she’s good, and she’s really pretty, and she’s through to Vegas. I don’t see her making the top 20, but she would be a great Laker girl.
Phillip auditioned last year, but got pneumonia, and couldn’t go to Vegas. He’s back, and as he’s warming up, Nigel pulls him out and gives him a ticket to Vegas. But he’s not done, because he’s auditioning with Arielle, whom he met last year. We begin their interview, and oooh—the piano of pain is playing. Sigh. Here comes the tough luck story. Welcome to Vegas, Arielle! Family was in a horrible car wreck; Phillip drove her to the hospital to visit her mom. Momma then taught Phillip how to partner from her wheelchair. Their audition is really cute; they manage to combine his popping and her contemporary into a great routine. She makes it through to Vegas—obviously.
Kevin “Shakiro” is excited to show the judges his style of Latin dancing. He is wearing a plaid shirt and white Levi’s that are way too tight on his not slender frame. OH MY GOD camera man PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD stop zooming is on this guy’s crotch!!!! Ugh! The judges note that he wasn’t dancing, he was just shaking. But like they do, they encourage him to keep dancing if he loves it, even if he’s not meant to be a professional. That’s fine, as long as I’m not subjected to staring at his crotch wiggling in all its HD glory on my TV screen.
I’m super tired the song they dance to in choreography. “nobody nobody nobody…”
We’re in Seattle now. The intro song is that “apple bottom jeans and boots wit the fur” song. Really? This is not Oakland. And our guest judge? Is Mia!!!! Oooh, y’alls in trouble! Mia is an amazing choreographer. She does not suffer fools gladly. And she will rip your head off if she doesn’t like you. Previews show her telling some poor soul “that was the biggest piece of s**t I’ve ever seen.” Heh.
First up is Christopher. The judges guffaw during the audition, to the point where Mary is in hysterics. Nigel remarks that his partner, who is not competing, is the sensible one. It’s all kinds of awkward.
Nick Nasty, an aspiring tattoo artist, is next. He does a hip hop, break dance type routine. In the beginning he does well, and Mia looks like she just wants to eat him up. But after about a minute he stops, claiming that he can go for five minutes or so, but he ran out of energy. Nigel merely remarks that he didn’t make it two minutes, and asked what happened. Nick gets crazy defensive and amazingly rude. Mary says that he was a yes, but now he’s a no, because of his personality. Mia points out that if he’s this disrespectful to the executive producer, how will he be to the choreographers and other dancers. I hate those people who tell the judges off. Nasty Nick shaves his head, but I will bet you good money he was a redhead!!!
They show a montage of terrible performers. They have yet to send one person through to Vegas on day one. Apparently rainy weather does not inspire good dancing. Ultimatly only four people make it through to Vegas from choreography.
Day two. Nigel begs them to ‘bring something magic”. I beg Nigel’s hairdresser and dentist to do the same.First contestant has some Hawaiian name that I cannot spell, but his nickname is “Porno”. He dances with a chair, and copied Sonya’s haircut. Mia thinks he has “something”; he’s through to choreography.
More people who are good, and go through to choreography.
Oooh, Sex is back! He auditions every year. The judges plead for him not to return.
Leonid from the Ukraine is up next. Omg, I LOVE his accent. He dances like he’s at a rave. Mia says she would love to see a battle with him and Sex. And it’s on! They take up about a quarter of the show with this dance battle, probably because they have no good auditions to show. Vegas week is next! And the previews show Nigel with a decent haircut. About time!!!!
Our guest judge is Adam!!! He choreographed the movie “Hairspray”, among others. He’s a very animated and amusing judge, so I’m excited to see him. Some of last year’s top 20 contestants are in the audience as well.
First up is Bianca, who tried out last year, and almost made it to the top 20. She’s a tap dancer. I have to say, SYTYCD has a super high number of people who audition repeatedly, esp. those who made it to the final cut in previous seasons. How heartbreaking will it be for them if they don’t make it onto the show again? Bianca wows the judges, and it’s Vegas again for her.
Xavier and Brynelle are siblings, and they are CREEP-PAY! During their pre-audition interview, they discuss with pride how they always hold hands, go everywhere together, and are so close that their friends call them girlfriend and boyfriend. Their audition piece is very passionate, but not danced well. Mary asks “Are they brother and sister?” Adam confirms that they are, and all of the judges (well…Mary as best she can with botox face) look horrified. I’m sure my face mirrors their expression. My husband actually had to turn away, it was so ew to watch. If the CIA is looking for a new way to make detainees uncomfortable now that waterboarding is out, I would highly recommend that they use this footage.
Debra does a dance about pain, and searching, and reaching. It is not good, and not just because she doesn’t have the typical dancer physique. I like that the judges give her constructive feedback about what type of movement would work best for her body. She stays classy and thanks them.
Suzanne performs what she calls a “fairy medicine dance”. Nigel asks what she’s on, and she replies “joy”. I don’t think I’ve heard crack called that before, but okay.
More LA trainwrecks; some guy in clown makeup, another guy dancing en pointe to Rhianna. Judges grimace.
Calico the swing dancer shows us her stuff. Her dancing is nothing special, but she’s smiling and really seems to enjoy herself. It’s a no for Calico, but Adam offhandedly says “I’d love to dance with you”. Calico beckons him up to the stage, and Nigel insists that he go. Adam’s like “um…really?”, but up he goes. Like all of the other contestants, they display Adam’s biographical information on the screen, complete with “Age: 21ish”. Heh. He steps up to the mic to receive his feedback, and the judges invite the old contestants to critique him in their place. He then performs a pitch perfect imitation of the contestants who are put through to Vegas. This was an amusing diversion.
Ricky and Asuka are an international latin ballroom couple; Asuka made it to the final round last year, but didn’t make the top 20. Again with that? They are fantastic; Adam recommends that Ricky push Asuka down a flight of stairs, because it’s so hard not to watch her. Hee—I heart Adam. He would be the world’s best dinner guest. They both go through to Vegas.
Nathan is the last audition of the day. He almost gave up dancing because he was tired of being mocked. He is amazing, his turns are unbelieveable, and he’s one of those people that aren’t just technically good, but captivating to watch. There’s a big difference. But he’s only 17, and you have to be 18 to compete. Nigel gives him a ticket to Vegas, but for the next season. Can you do that? I guess if you’re the executive producer, you can do anything you want.
Day two!Sammy’s a popper who is rocking a red Mohawk. He chats with Cat about how he’s a dancer, but also used to wrestle. Cat excitedly takes this opportunity to demonstrate her “The Rock” move, which actually looks more like she’s super constipated. This is why I love Cat. Sammy performs some crazy hair choreography that the judges love, he goes through to choreography, and ultimately to Vegas.
Stacey is dressed in 80’s attire, and OMG she is TOTALLY copying my “Fan of the Game” dance!!!!! I gots to copyright my nonsense. She does not go through. Harumph. The judges clearly do not recognize brilliance when they see it!!
Amanda Kirby is next. We see her with her family at home; her dad has MS. She’s crying; he’s tearing up and says seeing her dance is inspirational. Sigh. I’m sorry if I sound like a jerk--these stories are def. sad, but it's always the same: sad story, people cry, they dance well, they go to Vegas. We all have problems, sister! Her audition is good; she does some sexy move and Nigel gets all letch like he does and eww—I HATE it when he does that. But I think I know why his grin creeps me out now—his teeth are way too big for his mouth!!! Same with Simon Cowell. Neither of them have teeth that look any kind of natural. I know they are veneers and all, but still. I bet they went to the same dentist. He needs to drink more coffee and stain ‘em up. Anyway,she’s good, and she’s really pretty, and she’s through to Vegas. I don’t see her making the top 20, but she would be a great Laker girl.
Phillip auditioned last year, but got pneumonia, and couldn’t go to Vegas. He’s back, and as he’s warming up, Nigel pulls him out and gives him a ticket to Vegas. But he’s not done, because he’s auditioning with Arielle, whom he met last year. We begin their interview, and oooh—the piano of pain is playing. Sigh. Here comes the tough luck story. Welcome to Vegas, Arielle! Family was in a horrible car wreck; Phillip drove her to the hospital to visit her mom. Momma then taught Phillip how to partner from her wheelchair. Their audition is really cute; they manage to combine his popping and her contemporary into a great routine. She makes it through to Vegas—obviously.
Kevin “Shakiro” is excited to show the judges his style of Latin dancing. He is wearing a plaid shirt and white Levi’s that are way too tight on his not slender frame. OH MY GOD camera man PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD stop zooming is on this guy’s crotch!!!! Ugh! The judges note that he wasn’t dancing, he was just shaking. But like they do, they encourage him to keep dancing if he loves it, even if he’s not meant to be a professional. That’s fine, as long as I’m not subjected to staring at his crotch wiggling in all its HD glory on my TV screen.
I’m super tired the song they dance to in choreography. “nobody nobody nobody…”
We’re in Seattle now. The intro song is that “apple bottom jeans and boots wit the fur” song. Really? This is not Oakland. And our guest judge? Is Mia!!!! Oooh, y’alls in trouble! Mia is an amazing choreographer. She does not suffer fools gladly. And she will rip your head off if she doesn’t like you. Previews show her telling some poor soul “that was the biggest piece of s**t I’ve ever seen.” Heh.
First up is Christopher. The judges guffaw during the audition, to the point where Mary is in hysterics. Nigel remarks that his partner, who is not competing, is the sensible one. It’s all kinds of awkward.
Nick Nasty, an aspiring tattoo artist, is next. He does a hip hop, break dance type routine. In the beginning he does well, and Mia looks like she just wants to eat him up. But after about a minute he stops, claiming that he can go for five minutes or so, but he ran out of energy. Nigel merely remarks that he didn’t make it two minutes, and asked what happened. Nick gets crazy defensive and amazingly rude. Mary says that he was a yes, but now he’s a no, because of his personality. Mia points out that if he’s this disrespectful to the executive producer, how will he be to the choreographers and other dancers. I hate those people who tell the judges off. Nasty Nick shaves his head, but I will bet you good money he was a redhead!!!
They show a montage of terrible performers. They have yet to send one person through to Vegas on day one. Apparently rainy weather does not inspire good dancing. Ultimatly only four people make it through to Vegas from choreography.
Day two. Nigel begs them to ‘bring something magic”. I beg Nigel’s hairdresser and dentist to do the same.First contestant has some Hawaiian name that I cannot spell, but his nickname is “Porno”. He dances with a chair, and copied Sonya’s haircut. Mia thinks he has “something”; he’s through to choreography.
More people who are good, and go through to choreography.
Oooh, Sex is back! He auditions every year. The judges plead for him not to return.
Leonid from the Ukraine is up next. Omg, I LOVE his accent. He dances like he’s at a rave. Mia says she would love to see a battle with him and Sex. And it’s on! They take up about a quarter of the show with this dance battle, probably because they have no good auditions to show. Vegas week is next! And the previews show Nigel with a decent haircut. About time!!!!
So You Think You Can Dance Episode #2: The Recap
Today we’re in Miami, where we are told repeatedly and enthusiastically that it’s “Caliente, baby”. Judging by the montage following these proclamations, being caliente inclines folks to plant their feet in a squat and jiggle the rump really fast, because we see about half the people in line bust this move. I think I will incorporate this jiggling into my repertoire; maybe then I’ll win the Washington Nationals “Fan of the Game” contest. (I’m still bitter about my loss last week, y’all. Stinkin’ cute little kid.)
Our guest judge this time is Tice DiOrio (Not “Tasty Oreo”, although that’s exactly how it sounds when you say his name out loud.) I love most of his work, except I think he’s the one who choreographed some crazy cave man dance last year and both dancers who performed it got the boot.
First up is Tony, who is wearing a polo and khakis. He tells us he has the “Tony” style, which involves the grapevine, making licking motions at the camera, and doing some dog-going-#1-move. Sigh. Tony, the goofy guy dancing is so 1999 teen movie. Nigel initially looks quite alarmed during his spirited but terrible audition, Mary laughs, and Tice looks annoyed about the obvious waste of time. The judges critique; Tice belabors the “you were bad” point, and afterwards, preppy Tony proceeds to have an asthma attack or something outside of the theater. Not a good start, caliente Miami!
Pricilla is next, and she redeems her city. From the footage shown during the interview, she’s very good. Tice won’t stop moaning “Oh yeah” during her audition, and it’s very distracting. Good technique, theatrical…Tice is in loooooove. She’s through to Vegas.
Our next ballroom couple auditioned last year; Jeanette made it through to Vegas but got cut; Romulo didn’t make it through at all. What does this year hold? They kick booty!! Lots of fun (and dangerous looking) tricks. Mary screeches and demands that the go to Vegas, and so they do. Yay! I like them.
Twins with hot pink eyeshadow and terrible costumes. That never bodes well. They are not good. Nigel calls it a nightmare; Mary seems speechless, and Tice calls it “tragic, but fun”.
Montage of Tice’s critiques. He points out to one girl that she sniffed her armpit. He tells another guy “if you’re going to do drag, drag it up on the stage and do it right!!!” This is why I love me some Tice!!! But also why after a short time, he annoys the crap out of me.
We shall now be “showizzhammed”, Joseph says. Indeed! He’s got one of those cute popper type routines. Through to choreography. I loved him; I’m such a sucker for this style of dance. They better put him through…and they do!!!! Yay!!!
Cat greets the dancers as they run out with their tickets and celebrates with them. She is so cute! My husband has been told that he’s totally allowed to have a crush on her.
Day two!!
Wislande is a hot mess. That’s all I have to say about her.
Oooh another tapper! Erik “Silky” is tapping to Thriller. Do you know that William and Mary holds the Guinness world record for most people to dance Thriller at one time? Tribe Pride! Anyway, Silky is really good. Oooh. Last week, Peter the tapper challenged the world to a tap duel. Silky would take that guy down!!!
Now we have Miss Washington auditioning. Paris has been doing pageants since she was 10. She’s dancing very well to some effed up version of one of my favorite Britney songs. Why would you not use “Toxic” in its original, brilliant form, Miss Washington?!?!
More good people. They go through.Question: When did it come de rigueur for girls to wear tiny tight shorts and normal shirts out of their closet for dancewear? I get on my knees and thank Jesus every day that was not the trend in my dance class days. My juicy was not built to be stuffed into those shorts, even in my buffest days.
Talia got married at 18, and after four years of marriage, was widowed. They are interviewing her at home, and showing family photos. Just like one plus one make two, sad story plus home video equals Top 20. Congrats, Talia! Audition; she’s just okay, I think so. Her facials are really annoying. Will she be an exception to the rule??? She gets up through to choreography, and makes it through to Vegas. I knew it!!
We’re off to Memphis (but not Graceland, sadly.)Dancers greet us with “welcome to the dirty south, y’all!” What does that even mean!?!? Why is the south always referred to as “dirty”? I think we have enough image issues without propagating this notion.
Lil’ C is our guest judge. He’s a great hip hop choreographer, but his critiques are usually words that don’t belong together but are somehow mushed into a sentence. Except when he calls something “buck”, which was my new favorite adjective last year.
Marico introduces us to Memphis Jukin? Whatever it is, he does it well. He’s the type of dancer who seems capable of mastering any style. The judges love it, and put him through to Vegas. Good for him!
Oh man. I love this next guy. He’s wearing a huge red headband. His second cousin is Howie from the Backstreet Boys, and he learned how to dance from their videos. Oh dear. I think that only ever worked out well for Snowball the Cockatoo. Dustin dances to Lady Gaga, and for a brief and terrifying second, I think he’s going to do a striptease for us. It’s a no for Dustin. Thank the lord!
Ooooh no. Creepy Christopher Corroza, who is a pale white guy with red hair twisted into really long dreadlocks. Okay, if I have a son who is a redhead like his momma, THIS is why I want to dye his hair. I think it’s a hard, cruel world for the redheaded boys out there. I get a lot of dismayed “noooo, that’s not true” when I tell people this. Whatevs! You didn’t suffer through 9th grade English being told “you know that Jack is a devil-like figure, because he’s a redhead” or “please note, Duchess in ‘The Outcasts of Poker Flats’ is a redhead, and therefore a prostitute” (Thanks, Mrs. Flippen!). Critics, I present to you Exhibit A:Chris is wearing denim flamenco pants and a shirt that looks like wallpaper from the 1970’s. He performs his own style called “electric”. Captivating, it is not. He hops around waving his arms. It is painful to watch, particularly because he clearly takes himself so seriously. When the judges try to provide constructive feedback, he bitches (the only word for it) to them that they are being “critical”. They say “yes, we’re judges, that’s what we do”, and he snips some more and marches off the stage before they can finish. I totally blame this deviant behavior on his hair color. Def. whipping out the sun-in, y’all. If Gwen Stefani can dye her kid’s hair (thanks for that insight, US Weekly!), then so can I!
Caitlin is up now; her sister just auditioned in Miami, and got through to Vegas. She performs beautifully. She’s only been dancing for five years? Wow. They stop the music when she is literally in a handstand. Oops. She goes through as well—yay sisters!
We hear Anna’s super sad story about her dad committing suicide. They just don’t share this stuff if the contestant isn’t going through to Vegas, so while it helps us get to know the contestants, it kinda takes the mystery out of it. Also, is it mandatory to have a hard luck story in order to get into this competition? It’s not “So You Think You Can Endure Some Personal Tragedy and Dance”. They put her through to choreography. And of course she goes to Vegas.
Travis is here from Texas. His dad is a Texas high school football coach, and Travis is not a guy’s guy, to put it mildly. His dad loves him to pieces, and it’s so nice to see parents accept their kids for who they are. Since we’re hearing from daddy, I’m pretty sure he’s a yes. He is really good, and when offering feedback, Nigel applauds daddy, too! Good good. He goes to choreography, then to Vegas.
Brothers who tap dance, but are auditioning separately. One will use a whoopee cushion as a prop and his accompaniment. The other made it to the top 40 last season. Evan, the one from last season, gets through to Vegas again. Ryan of the whoopee cushion? Through as well. They are cute.
More twins. Hope they are better than the pink eyeshadow girls! Lauren and Lydia are great, but I think I like the one in blue better. They are both sent to choreography and after a fake out from Nigel, they are both through. What is it with the siblings this year?
Eppy two! I think I was a little more excited about the people we saw last week, particularly Brandon. At this point I’m kind of feeling “seen one amazing ponche, seen ‘em all”. We’ll see what tonight holds!
Our guest judge this time is Tice DiOrio (Not “Tasty Oreo”, although that’s exactly how it sounds when you say his name out loud.) I love most of his work, except I think he’s the one who choreographed some crazy cave man dance last year and both dancers who performed it got the boot.
First up is Tony, who is wearing a polo and khakis. He tells us he has the “Tony” style, which involves the grapevine, making licking motions at the camera, and doing some dog-going-#1-move. Sigh. Tony, the goofy guy dancing is so 1999 teen movie. Nigel initially looks quite alarmed during his spirited but terrible audition, Mary laughs, and Tice looks annoyed about the obvious waste of time. The judges critique; Tice belabors the “you were bad” point, and afterwards, preppy Tony proceeds to have an asthma attack or something outside of the theater. Not a good start, caliente Miami!
Pricilla is next, and she redeems her city. From the footage shown during the interview, she’s very good. Tice won’t stop moaning “Oh yeah” during her audition, and it’s very distracting. Good technique, theatrical…Tice is in loooooove. She’s through to Vegas.
Our next ballroom couple auditioned last year; Jeanette made it through to Vegas but got cut; Romulo didn’t make it through at all. What does this year hold? They kick booty!! Lots of fun (and dangerous looking) tricks. Mary screeches and demands that the go to Vegas, and so they do. Yay! I like them.
Twins with hot pink eyeshadow and terrible costumes. That never bodes well. They are not good. Nigel calls it a nightmare; Mary seems speechless, and Tice calls it “tragic, but fun”.
Montage of Tice’s critiques. He points out to one girl that she sniffed her armpit. He tells another guy “if you’re going to do drag, drag it up on the stage and do it right!!!” This is why I love me some Tice!!! But also why after a short time, he annoys the crap out of me.
We shall now be “showizzhammed”, Joseph says. Indeed! He’s got one of those cute popper type routines. Through to choreography. I loved him; I’m such a sucker for this style of dance. They better put him through…and they do!!!! Yay!!!
Cat greets the dancers as they run out with their tickets and celebrates with them. She is so cute! My husband has been told that he’s totally allowed to have a crush on her.
Day two!!
Wislande is a hot mess. That’s all I have to say about her.
Oooh another tapper! Erik “Silky” is tapping to Thriller. Do you know that William and Mary holds the Guinness world record for most people to dance Thriller at one time? Tribe Pride! Anyway, Silky is really good. Oooh. Last week, Peter the tapper challenged the world to a tap duel. Silky would take that guy down!!!
Now we have Miss Washington auditioning. Paris has been doing pageants since she was 10. She’s dancing very well to some effed up version of one of my favorite Britney songs. Why would you not use “Toxic” in its original, brilliant form, Miss Washington?!?!
More good people. They go through.Question: When did it come de rigueur for girls to wear tiny tight shorts and normal shirts out of their closet for dancewear? I get on my knees and thank Jesus every day that was not the trend in my dance class days. My juicy was not built to be stuffed into those shorts, even in my buffest days.
Talia got married at 18, and after four years of marriage, was widowed. They are interviewing her at home, and showing family photos. Just like one plus one make two, sad story plus home video equals Top 20. Congrats, Talia! Audition; she’s just okay, I think so. Her facials are really annoying. Will she be an exception to the rule??? She gets up through to choreography, and makes it through to Vegas. I knew it!!
We’re off to Memphis (but not Graceland, sadly.)Dancers greet us with “welcome to the dirty south, y’all!” What does that even mean!?!? Why is the south always referred to as “dirty”? I think we have enough image issues without propagating this notion.
Lil’ C is our guest judge. He’s a great hip hop choreographer, but his critiques are usually words that don’t belong together but are somehow mushed into a sentence. Except when he calls something “buck”, which was my new favorite adjective last year.
Marico introduces us to Memphis Jukin? Whatever it is, he does it well. He’s the type of dancer who seems capable of mastering any style. The judges love it, and put him through to Vegas. Good for him!
Oh man. I love this next guy. He’s wearing a huge red headband. His second cousin is Howie from the Backstreet Boys, and he learned how to dance from their videos. Oh dear. I think that only ever worked out well for Snowball the Cockatoo. Dustin dances to Lady Gaga, and for a brief and terrifying second, I think he’s going to do a striptease for us. It’s a no for Dustin. Thank the lord!
Ooooh no. Creepy Christopher Corroza, who is a pale white guy with red hair twisted into really long dreadlocks. Okay, if I have a son who is a redhead like his momma, THIS is why I want to dye his hair. I think it’s a hard, cruel world for the redheaded boys out there. I get a lot of dismayed “noooo, that’s not true” when I tell people this. Whatevs! You didn’t suffer through 9th grade English being told “you know that Jack is a devil-like figure, because he’s a redhead” or “please note, Duchess in ‘The Outcasts of Poker Flats’ is a redhead, and therefore a prostitute” (Thanks, Mrs. Flippen!). Critics, I present to you Exhibit A:Chris is wearing denim flamenco pants and a shirt that looks like wallpaper from the 1970’s. He performs his own style called “electric”. Captivating, it is not. He hops around waving his arms. It is painful to watch, particularly because he clearly takes himself so seriously. When the judges try to provide constructive feedback, he bitches (the only word for it) to them that they are being “critical”. They say “yes, we’re judges, that’s what we do”, and he snips some more and marches off the stage before they can finish. I totally blame this deviant behavior on his hair color. Def. whipping out the sun-in, y’all. If Gwen Stefani can dye her kid’s hair (thanks for that insight, US Weekly!), then so can I!
Caitlin is up now; her sister just auditioned in Miami, and got through to Vegas. She performs beautifully. She’s only been dancing for five years? Wow. They stop the music when she is literally in a handstand. Oops. She goes through as well—yay sisters!
We hear Anna’s super sad story about her dad committing suicide. They just don’t share this stuff if the contestant isn’t going through to Vegas, so while it helps us get to know the contestants, it kinda takes the mystery out of it. Also, is it mandatory to have a hard luck story in order to get into this competition? It’s not “So You Think You Can Endure Some Personal Tragedy and Dance”. They put her through to choreography. And of course she goes to Vegas.
Travis is here from Texas. His dad is a Texas high school football coach, and Travis is not a guy’s guy, to put it mildly. His dad loves him to pieces, and it’s so nice to see parents accept their kids for who they are. Since we’re hearing from daddy, I’m pretty sure he’s a yes. He is really good, and when offering feedback, Nigel applauds daddy, too! Good good. He goes to choreography, then to Vegas.
Brothers who tap dance, but are auditioning separately. One will use a whoopee cushion as a prop and his accompaniment. The other made it to the top 40 last season. Evan, the one from last season, gets through to Vegas again. Ryan of the whoopee cushion? Through as well. They are cute.
More twins. Hope they are better than the pink eyeshadow girls! Lauren and Lydia are great, but I think I like the one in blue better. They are both sent to choreography and after a fake out from Nigel, they are both through. What is it with the siblings this year?
Eppy two! I think I was a little more excited about the people we saw last week, particularly Brandon. At this point I’m kind of feeling “seen one amazing ponche, seen ‘em all”. We’ll see what tonight holds!
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