So You Think You Can Dance - Air Date July 12
With all the skill and precision of a gorilla wielding a Ginsu knife, the competition episodes are cut from two hours to one hour. On the plus side, this means very little filler. On the minus side, this is going to be a pretty short recap. What, I'm going to do a play-by-play of the dances? "He throws her, does a pirouette, then they jump back into each others arms!" No, now I have to try and pad this thing out while still finding stuff to apply my wacky comedy stylings to. This is what happens when you get what you wish for.
Cat Deeley starts the procedings introducing this week's judges. As usual there is executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, we also have Mary "Banshee" Murphy, and he of the mini 'fro, Brian Friedman.
Smalltalk with the judges is the only filler of the night, so enjoy the tightness while it lasts.
Nigel tells us that next week it's not going to be so much about couples but about soloists. He doesn't want to get too much into the details and that he will say more about it on the results show. Hmmmm.
Mary didn't even know these changes were coming, but she is very proud that so many ballroom dancers are still left in the competition. Last season there were only two on the entire show, but this year not only were there more, three of them are still in the running. For those of you keeping score, that would be Benji, Heidi, and Dmitry. She then started screaming, because that's how Mary Murphy rolls.
With Brian, Cat brings up a little controversy. Last week he had choreographed a routine for Dmitry and Ashlee, and judge Dan Karaty didn't care too much for the dance, said it was all just running around. Sure, he qualified it by saying the routine was fine but it was their interpretation he didn't care for, but it still came across as a slam on the choreography to some. Brian, of course, defends the routine and said to the normal guy it would look like a bunch of running around, and that Dan had the normal guy reaction (Oh! Passive-aggressive BURN!), but it accomplished what it was meant to do, it entertained America and it kept the dancers out of the bottom three. He neglected to bring up however that a popular enough pairing can come out and do the chicken dance or macarena and still get the votes they need to avoid having to do solos.
That was it for the filler. Only one commercial break later, it was right to the dancing.
Natalie and Musa (Hip-Hop) - We got what seemed to be the longest of the rehearsal footage of any of the dancers. There are times it seems like the producers want to put up a big, flashing neon HETEROSEXUAL! sign pointing at Musa. For the first time this competition, Musa found himself in his comfort zone and it showed. He killed this dance, and Natalie kept up and held her own. It was quite excellent, so this may not sound fair, but it emphasized why I want to see Musa go. He's very popular, but the judges have been far too good to him in the other styles. There are dancers in this competition who take every style thrown at them in this competition and just hit it, but not so Musa. A nice sexy guy, yes, but he just doesn't have the range to make him worthy of going on.
Nigel acknowledged that Natalie had been carrying her partner, and that for the first time she didn't have to and could just perform. Mary didn't really think that Musa performed as well as he could have, considering he was in his own element this week. She used a baseball analogy and said she expected a homerun but that it was a strikeout. Ouch! Not even a base hit? How about a bunt? Help me, Mary, I'm exhausting my vast repertoire of baseball terminology! Brian was waiting all this time to knock Musa down technically, but this night he couldn't do it. However, he did agree with Mary that the unison wasn't there when it needed to be. He loves Natalie though and sais she's ready to work. That's something about this show, that no matter who ultimately wins there are going to be a bunch of dancers who should have no trouble now finding work.
Heidi and Ryan (Cha Cha) - Another great dance, but as above, what do I know? I loved it, but the judges might not. One thing this couple is missing is some of the chemistry some of the other pairings have, and when you're dancing to a song called "Sex Bomb" that lack of chemistry can be a real killer.
Nigel was really impressed with how much of the proper technique Ryan was able to pick up in such a short time, but there was just a very little something missing from his performance. I thought it was Ryan having a hard time getting that sexual chemistry happening with a girl. I don't know if Ryan is, I suspect so though I could be wrong, but there are gay male dancers. We won't get it on a show like this anytime soon, but I'd love to see two gay men do a sexually charged dance. Regardless, part of dance is being able to take on a character, and even if someone isn't straight they should be able to act it.
Mary loved them.
Brian really enjoys Heidi, and he lets her know how happy she makes him every time she's on. Brian agrees with Nigel that something is missing with Ryan, but he thinks he knows what it is. He says that when Ryan dances he dances with tension in his body, and he needs to let go of that tension. Then give him a male partner! Kidding, but I see what he's talking about. Ryan is a fantastic dancer, and that tension would explain why he's not doing as well as he should.
Allison and Ivan (Contemporary) - I've been hard on Ivan for much of the competition, so I'm happy to say for the second time about one of his performances... WOW! This routine was so good I won't even make any cracks about how young he looks. It almost made up for Ivan still being in the competition over some far more versatile dancers.
Nigel skims over Allison, because she is great. He wants to concentrate on Ivan and how impressed he is with his growth as a dancer.
Mary is in tears over the routine. Really? It was good, but that good? You have to wonder how much of it is over the dance and how much of it is over how well Ivan did, which was beyond most people's expectations I'm sure.
Brian really loved it, and I loved that he commented on how Ivan looks like a boy, even though he is of age.
Ashlee and Dmitry (Pop) - What is "pop"? The dancers wanted to know too, and choreographer Dan Karaty said in the rehearsals that it's like watered down hip-hop with some jazz thrown in. Okay.
This is how great everyone has been when I thought this was the weakest performance of the night, and it was good. Ashlee was wonderful, and for once Dmitry seemed to be the lesser of the couple.
Nigel isn't sure what "pop" is, but he is sure that he thought the performance was pretty forgettable and that he likely wouldn't remember any of it by the end of the night.
Mary disagrees with him, she loved it.
Brian says that pop is not watered down hip-hop, it's a mix of hip-hop and jazz together. He didn't see the jazz technique in that number, "but it wasn't your fault", and what they should have done is taken that number and made it the best it could possibly be. Dmitry didn't move as much in his upper body as he could have, and Ashlee played it essentially the same through the whole routine. "It's not your fault, you gave us what you were given." Remember the conversation at the start of the show? This was a passive-agressive, quiet, subtle and demure "IN YOUR FACE, DAN KARATY!"
Cat catches that and asks what he thought of the actual routine, pointing out that it was Dan's choreography. Brian says he's not going to answer that question, then answers it by saying Dan did a great job and the dancers should have brought more energy. I really hope this blows up into this huge quiet, polite fight. This is great!
Martha and Travis (Foxtrot) - Some of the ballroom styles don't get quite the audience reaction as the faster, more energetic dances we see, and I hope the viewers at home take that into consideration when they vote. This was beautifully done.
Nigel's only critique is that Travis stopped the movement a little too quickly and that Martha's shoulders are carried a little too high at times, but it was lovely.
Mary thinks Martha was beautiful out there and that Travis partnered her wonderfully. She agrees with Nigel's critique but for such a short time they did very well.
Brian was concerned that they got another ballroom routine, but they impressed him.
Donyelle and Benji (Broadway) - Week after week these two bring it, no matter what is thrown their way. This pair is so good I have nothing else to say.
Nigel agrees with how good they are, but he wouldn't be surprised if either of them wins the competition. They each have the mixture of personality, great technique, and wonderful performance.
Mary wants to get real. 50% of that was corny and cheesy, 40% was energetic dancing, and 10% was pulling faces... and 100% was JUST ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! Nigel enjoying the psych out was great to see, by the way. Mary calls it the best routine of the night. Paramedics are now called in to resuscitate Benji. CLEAR! Zap!
Brian admits that he didn't want Benji in the top 20, he was not one of his top 10 male picks. How wrong he was. Benji is now his favourite man on the show right now, he loves how he lights up the stage every time he gets up there and he adapts to every style thrown at him.
So that was it. A very tight, solid show. Normally there would be room for a little more filler next week with two dancers leaving, but with things changing up we'll have to wait and see what happens.
This is going to be hard for the audience, and we could well see people in the bottom three that we've never seen before. It's also going to be much harder for the judges, especially with the women. There are still a couple of guys who should be a little easier to cut, but it's not going to be easy.
Cat Deeley starts the procedings introducing this week's judges. As usual there is executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, we also have Mary "Banshee" Murphy, and he of the mini 'fro, Brian Friedman.
Smalltalk with the judges is the only filler of the night, so enjoy the tightness while it lasts.
Nigel tells us that next week it's not going to be so much about couples but about soloists. He doesn't want to get too much into the details and that he will say more about it on the results show. Hmmmm.
Mary didn't even know these changes were coming, but she is very proud that so many ballroom dancers are still left in the competition. Last season there were only two on the entire show, but this year not only were there more, three of them are still in the running. For those of you keeping score, that would be Benji, Heidi, and Dmitry. She then started screaming, because that's how Mary Murphy rolls.
With Brian, Cat brings up a little controversy. Last week he had choreographed a routine for Dmitry and Ashlee, and judge Dan Karaty didn't care too much for the dance, said it was all just running around. Sure, he qualified it by saying the routine was fine but it was their interpretation he didn't care for, but it still came across as a slam on the choreography to some. Brian, of course, defends the routine and said to the normal guy it would look like a bunch of running around, and that Dan had the normal guy reaction (Oh! Passive-aggressive BURN!), but it accomplished what it was meant to do, it entertained America and it kept the dancers out of the bottom three. He neglected to bring up however that a popular enough pairing can come out and do the chicken dance or macarena and still get the votes they need to avoid having to do solos.
That was it for the filler. Only one commercial break later, it was right to the dancing.
Natalie and Musa (Hip-Hop) - We got what seemed to be the longest of the rehearsal footage of any of the dancers. There are times it seems like the producers want to put up a big, flashing neon HETEROSEXUAL! sign pointing at Musa. For the first time this competition, Musa found himself in his comfort zone and it showed. He killed this dance, and Natalie kept up and held her own. It was quite excellent, so this may not sound fair, but it emphasized why I want to see Musa go. He's very popular, but the judges have been far too good to him in the other styles. There are dancers in this competition who take every style thrown at them in this competition and just hit it, but not so Musa. A nice sexy guy, yes, but he just doesn't have the range to make him worthy of going on.
Nigel acknowledged that Natalie had been carrying her partner, and that for the first time she didn't have to and could just perform. Mary didn't really think that Musa performed as well as he could have, considering he was in his own element this week. She used a baseball analogy and said she expected a homerun but that it was a strikeout. Ouch! Not even a base hit? How about a bunt? Help me, Mary, I'm exhausting my vast repertoire of baseball terminology! Brian was waiting all this time to knock Musa down technically, but this night he couldn't do it. However, he did agree with Mary that the unison wasn't there when it needed to be. He loves Natalie though and sais she's ready to work. That's something about this show, that no matter who ultimately wins there are going to be a bunch of dancers who should have no trouble now finding work.
Heidi and Ryan (Cha Cha) - Another great dance, but as above, what do I know? I loved it, but the judges might not. One thing this couple is missing is some of the chemistry some of the other pairings have, and when you're dancing to a song called "Sex Bomb" that lack of chemistry can be a real killer.
Nigel was really impressed with how much of the proper technique Ryan was able to pick up in such a short time, but there was just a very little something missing from his performance. I thought it was Ryan having a hard time getting that sexual chemistry happening with a girl. I don't know if Ryan is, I suspect so though I could be wrong, but there are gay male dancers. We won't get it on a show like this anytime soon, but I'd love to see two gay men do a sexually charged dance. Regardless, part of dance is being able to take on a character, and even if someone isn't straight they should be able to act it.
Mary loved them.
Brian really enjoys Heidi, and he lets her know how happy she makes him every time she's on. Brian agrees with Nigel that something is missing with Ryan, but he thinks he knows what it is. He says that when Ryan dances he dances with tension in his body, and he needs to let go of that tension. Then give him a male partner! Kidding, but I see what he's talking about. Ryan is a fantastic dancer, and that tension would explain why he's not doing as well as he should.
Allison and Ivan (Contemporary) - I've been hard on Ivan for much of the competition, so I'm happy to say for the second time about one of his performances... WOW! This routine was so good I won't even make any cracks about how young he looks. It almost made up for Ivan still being in the competition over some far more versatile dancers.
Nigel skims over Allison, because she is great. He wants to concentrate on Ivan and how impressed he is with his growth as a dancer.
Mary is in tears over the routine. Really? It was good, but that good? You have to wonder how much of it is over the dance and how much of it is over how well Ivan did, which was beyond most people's expectations I'm sure.
Brian really loved it, and I loved that he commented on how Ivan looks like a boy, even though he is of age.
Ashlee and Dmitry (Pop) - What is "pop"? The dancers wanted to know too, and choreographer Dan Karaty said in the rehearsals that it's like watered down hip-hop with some jazz thrown in. Okay.
This is how great everyone has been when I thought this was the weakest performance of the night, and it was good. Ashlee was wonderful, and for once Dmitry seemed to be the lesser of the couple.
Nigel isn't sure what "pop" is, but he is sure that he thought the performance was pretty forgettable and that he likely wouldn't remember any of it by the end of the night.
Mary disagrees with him, she loved it.
Brian says that pop is not watered down hip-hop, it's a mix of hip-hop and jazz together. He didn't see the jazz technique in that number, "but it wasn't your fault", and what they should have done is taken that number and made it the best it could possibly be. Dmitry didn't move as much in his upper body as he could have, and Ashlee played it essentially the same through the whole routine. "It's not your fault, you gave us what you were given." Remember the conversation at the start of the show? This was a passive-agressive, quiet, subtle and demure "IN YOUR FACE, DAN KARATY!"
Cat catches that and asks what he thought of the actual routine, pointing out that it was Dan's choreography. Brian says he's not going to answer that question, then answers it by saying Dan did a great job and the dancers should have brought more energy. I really hope this blows up into this huge quiet, polite fight. This is great!
Martha and Travis (Foxtrot) - Some of the ballroom styles don't get quite the audience reaction as the faster, more energetic dances we see, and I hope the viewers at home take that into consideration when they vote. This was beautifully done.
Nigel's only critique is that Travis stopped the movement a little too quickly and that Martha's shoulders are carried a little too high at times, but it was lovely.
Mary thinks Martha was beautiful out there and that Travis partnered her wonderfully. She agrees with Nigel's critique but for such a short time they did very well.
Brian was concerned that they got another ballroom routine, but they impressed him.
Donyelle and Benji (Broadway) - Week after week these two bring it, no matter what is thrown their way. This pair is so good I have nothing else to say.
Nigel agrees with how good they are, but he wouldn't be surprised if either of them wins the competition. They each have the mixture of personality, great technique, and wonderful performance.
Mary wants to get real. 50% of that was corny and cheesy, 40% was energetic dancing, and 10% was pulling faces... and 100% was JUST ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! Nigel enjoying the psych out was great to see, by the way. Mary calls it the best routine of the night. Paramedics are now called in to resuscitate Benji. CLEAR! Zap!
Brian admits that he didn't want Benji in the top 20, he was not one of his top 10 male picks. How wrong he was. Benji is now his favourite man on the show right now, he loves how he lights up the stage every time he gets up there and he adapts to every style thrown at him.
So that was it. A very tight, solid show. Normally there would be room for a little more filler next week with two dancers leaving, but with things changing up we'll have to wait and see what happens.
This is going to be hard for the audience, and we could well see people in the bottom three that we've never seen before. It's also going to be much harder for the judges, especially with the women. There are still a couple of guys who should be a little easier to cut, but it's not going to be easy.
posted by Tabby at 8:50 a.m.
1 Comments:
Yes, babygirl, I think this season both the quality of dancers and the choreography are much better than last season...
I hope Donyelle is able to reabilitate her foot this week. I think she started losing it toward the end of the dance this week. She suddenly seemed to feel the pain and lost her lift. She was still great, but I think she's vulnerable now.
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