March 8th, 2010 by soullldiva

Very cute and very fun. Thanks John for the clip!!

March 8th, 2010 by soullldiva

I read a couple of reviews of the Oscars performance last night, and I don’t agree with all of them. There are a bit of naysayers about the hosting, the dancing, the choice to honor John Hughes (as opposed to other Honorary awards recipients), having “NPH” sing for the opening, etc. etc.

I thought it was a good show. For gawd’s sake, people, it’s nearly four hours of awards and presentations! How is Mr. Adam Shankman (director of the Oscars show) going to please everybody, all the time? He’s not, so there.

I thought two hosts, especially such as Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin was a super idea. Hey guys, I loved Chris Rock even more and I’m sure they paid Shankman NOT to hire him again. His first choice was actually Sacha Baron Cohen–a revelation even beyond Chris Rock. But they pulled back on the idea, thinking that it would just be too much for most of the people in the room (much less the rest of the US, who are quite more conservative than us here in Hollywood) to handle. Darn.

But Steve and Alec did a great job. Steve’s quip about both himself and “Gabby” Sidibe’s first starring movie roles were as a “poor black child” made me roll. Too young to know what he’s talking about? Check out Steve Martin in The Jerk,it’s a comedy classic. This was still when Steve was a “wild and crazy guy.”

Now, I do get the protests about honoring John Hughes instead of one or more of the Honorary Awards recipients (lovely Lauren Bacall, bigger than life Roger Corman and outstanding cinematographer Gordon Willis). But, as a child of the 80’s, it was really great to look back at all his films and really know that he knew who I was as a teenager. He knew and was able to display it, with charm, humor, grace and humility, for those of us suffering from teenage-itis to share. He was a great filmmaker and I’m so sad that he had to depart too soon.

And then there’s Adam’s choice to have the John M. Chu’s Legion of Extraordinary Dancers perform to each of the movie score nominees. Popping and locking to the theme from a war movie??–was the protest I heard.

Look. I get it that it was a bit different than your usual fare. But doncha get it? Music–any and all music–inspires movement. And that can be any movement of any kind. So yes, music from a movie about the war in the middle east can inspire LXD to move. And that they did amazingly well. And actually, the piece to “The Hurt Locker” score was my favorite of all of them (and the stunts done for the “Avatar” score were crazy good). Face it, naysayers. Popping, locking, b-boying, breakdancing, hip-hop, krumping, freestyle. It’s all here to stay and they are ALL legitimate art forms.

Yea for Dance! And Yea for a great Oscars night!

March 7th, 2010 by soullldiva

Alright. Everyone remembers the Ok Go video for “Here We Go Again”, right? Dancing on treadmills, all one shot, cheap silver backdrop, pure genius?

Well, they’ve taken it TEN steps further in their new video for “This Too Shall Pass”. Thanks to Dancing Branflakes‘ latest post, otherwise I might have missed it!

This video doesn’t have dancing, but it does have movement. And LOTS of it. It’s a riff (a big riff) on setting up dominoes to fall. On crack. Good crack I mean. Not that I mean crack’s good and all…

Let’s just enjoy:

I adore that they even refer to their treadmill video (and then take a sledgehammer to it). I’m not sure how many cuts are in the film, but I think only one or two–which is completely amazing. This is choreography with objects instead of people. My favorite moment is the rainbow colored flags. What is yours? There’s almost too much to choose from.

February 25th, 2010 by soullldiva

This dance doesn’t have any stars in it (well, so to speak). This is one of my all-time favorite dances on the show and it really illustrates what dance is all about for me: fun, joy, spirit of play, excitement, energy and enthusiasm. Back in season 7 DWTS did the first Macy’s “Design A Dance” contest, where the viewers chose the pros they wanted to see dance together and even designed the costumes they would wear (gosh, my memory faults on this, but I think they picked the song and dance style, too).

The viewers spoke: sister and brother Julianne and Derek Hough would perform a Jive together to “Great Balls of Fire”. Now, I thought in the beginning that it might feel odd to watch a brother and sister do a partner dance together. But in all probability, they have been dancing together since they were toddlers (what, 12 years ago??;o). Let me tell you there was absolutely NO oddness whatsoever. All you see is their huge love and admiration for each other, and that they really LOVE playing together. What’s even better is that Julianne can keep up step for step with Derek’s tendency to really ham and hog it up (don’t get me wrong, I adore it).

This Jive was amazingly hard and full of stunts and jumps. And it went on forever. Every second of it is good. Plus–Julianne’s outfit designed by viewer Kelly Keelie Maitin (sorry if I’ve spelled it wrong) was amazingly cute with that big red bow perched on her behind and little skirt with the piano keys. And I WANT a pair of those spectator T-straps!

They’re simply two really fine dancers and this dance is a joy to watch. Enjoy!

Oh, and countdown to Season 10 cast announcements: only FOUR days away! Can’t wait! ;o)

February 18th, 2010 by soullldiva

I apologize heartily for my absence, but I realized as I got to my lovely, little old 92-year old Grandmother’s house on Monday that I did NOT have internet connections! So, a tiny break for me ;p

I always like a little tongue-in-cheek with my dancing on occasion. And in season 8, Lil Kim and Derek Hough dished that up with their “Jailhouse Rock” Jive. If you’re not familiar with Lil Kim, the rap artist had been in prison in 2005 for perjury and conspiracy.

So, imagine how much I giggled when the roles were reversed and Kim was the prison matron and Derek the inmate!

How cool is it that they went to the Hot Rod show at Bob’s Big Boy in Toluca Lake, CA (practically right around the corner from me)? Awesome.

I thought Lil Kim looked so cute in her outfit and she danced well. The jive is all about speed, kicks and flicks and she delivered. And the judges loved it with a 10-8-10.

Derek and Kim were very well matched, not only in stature, but with personality. Kim and Derek are both boisterous, dramatic and larger than life. I really didn’t think that Kim lasted as long as she should have. Here’s Kudos to her!!