October 13th, 2009 by soullldiva

The thing that I really, really love about dancing with the stars is that these people are NOT professional dancers. Yeah, some don’t have it and they fizzle. But some really DO have it. Apolo Ono Anton, Helio Castroneves, Mel B., Marie Osmond, Lil Kim, all sparked my interest because of their pure spirit of play as they trudged their tough road to performing on, ugh, LIVE TV (give ‘em props, people). That’s really what dance is about–getting it, loving it and showing that. And because of that, they’re good (and a pleasure to watch to boot).

And those aren’t the only ones. Last night, Melissa Joan Heart (who hasn’t aged one bit since her Sabrina days) did a Charleston that blew the roof off the place. She had been lagging in the scores and just not fulfilling the dances. The judges thought she was scared, and didn’t “believe it” from her. But she came roaring out of the gate with a fantastically cute flapper number that had energy, spirit, playfulness, and hard moves.  This dance earned her a 9-9-10, her highest scores yet and a much sought-after 10 paddle.  So now there’s no looking back for Melissa.  She’s brought it and she needs to continue.  But with enjoyment like that, things will most likely be much smoother for her now.

Interestingly enough, the other two couples who got the Charleston also took the bull by the horns and were really inspired to do sensational dances.  Kelly Osborne and Donny Osmond did very themed dances that really got the crowd going.

I’m going to take a moment and speak about Kelly.  It seems that all of America is witnessing this girl’s revelation through dance.  I always believed her to be (sad to say) a nasty little spoiled brat. Of course this was through the eyes of reality TV.  But this girl has talent and a really pretty spirit (not to mention gorgeous doe eyes).  She found out that she LOVES to dance.  And it’s changing her as a person.  And she’s damn good.  She was thrilled to get to do her Cabaret-themed Charleston and confessed that she was offered the role of Roxy from Chicago on Broadway–only to lose the role because she couldn’t dance. No longer.

Have I mentioned how much I love dance?  It’s a wonderful thing.

October 12th, 2009 by soullldiva

I don’t know what it is about Korean dancers, but they just have it. Something super special, that is. About a year ago I found a lovely video of a girl named Min young-Park dancing and was just amazed at the talent, flexibility, dexterity, sensitivity, strength, beauty…and just plain emotional way she could dance. She had lots of breath in her dancing, which makes her seem effortless.

I wanted to see recently if I could find anything else like it, and went back to that video. It turns out that there is a yearly dance competition in Korea called the Dong-A Dance Festival (which Min young won in 2006). I couldn’t quite figure out any specific info on the festival, but found plenty of awesome videos and even more categories than just the contemporary dance that I first saw. The traditional dance category is pretty cool as well.

Here is Suntae Lee, from the 2008 festival. I can’t figure out if he won, but he’s sure goooooood. Again I am blown away by the precision and strength, yet also the personal, emotional nature of his dance. Mesmerizing. He looks like a bird ready to take flight at times…

One more ahhhh factor: the beautiful traditional Korean music. Sit back and relax.

October 11th, 2009 by soullldiva

“I do everything I know how in a dance.”  Twyla Tharp

Twyla is a really interesting gal, and I love it that she speaks about giving everything in a dance.  If you do something halfway, your communication can’t come through.  You’re left with the audience thinking the dance was “nice”.

Twyla was also the first choreographer to do fusion dancing, combining elements of ballet and modern dance into what is known as a “cross-over” ballet.  I am always a fan of combining the best of both worlds, so to speak, and am amazed when someone can fuse, for instance, hip-hop and good old broadway jazz (as the Jabbawokeez did on Dancing with the Stars the other night–nice).

One of Twyla’s more recent and widely known shows is Movin’ Out, featured on Broadway, combining classical and modern techniques and done with the music of Billy Joel.  An extremely clever and popular combination. She won a Tony Award in 2003 for her choreography of Movin’ Out.

I dug and found the original cast performing on the Tony Awards in 2003.  I would definitely say the dancers don’t hold anything back when they perform:

October 10th, 2009 by soullldiva

Ohhh, Cyd Charisse… was there ever a beauty such as her?

Even though this blog is mainly about more contemporary and storytelling dance, I do ADORE the old school dancers: Cyd, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Donald O’Connor, Leslie Caron, Ann Miller, etc.

Nobody had the legs of Cyd Charisse–or the beautiful heart. Here’s a fantastic clip from the sequel to “On the Town”, a movie called “It’s Always Fair Weather.”  She dances with a bunch of boys in boxing gear, it’s called “Baby You Knock Me Out”.  Super fun, and she makes it look soooooo easy.

October 10th, 2009 by soullldiva

Some of you may have seen “Step it up and Dance” which aired last fall on Bravo.  I watched most of it, but managed to miss the finale.  I caught it in a rerun and was really blown away by winner Cody Green’s self-choreographed solo.  He had been criticized by the judges more than once for not letting the audience “in”; they couldn’t figure out who he was as a dancer and a person.

Needless to say, I found myself surprised by his dance. It’s extremely personal and heartfelt–his smile in the middle makes the entire piece.  Not to mention–his dancing is flawless and without effort.  Way to go Cody.