January 18th, 2010 by soullldiva

It is safe to say that Ms. Mia Michaels is my favorite choreographer that I discovered from watching So You Think You Can Dance. She is singular in talent, artistry, power and communication. Damn if she knows her stuff. Many of the dances that I have in my Looking Back at So You Think You Can Dance list are hers, and it’s easy to see why.

“Dancing is a feeling expressed from the inside out.”    Mia Michaels

She practices that philosophy every time she creates:

For those of you who don’t know, Mia also choreographed Celine Dion’s monumental A New Day show that was THE show to see in Las Vegas for years. If you haven’t seen it, or clips of it, this is not your normal 10-dancers-hip-hopping-in-a-line-to-the-singers- music-show (and those shows are good too, don’t get me wrong). She really added depth to the show and worked closely with director Franco Dragone (of Cirque du Soleil fame–and incidentally, Mia also worked on “Delirium”) to create an emotional, theatrical experience that blended itself seamlessly to Dione’s epic music catalog.

How ’bout that, huh? I love the way all the really gorgeous male bodies move and ripple together, forming a beautiful frame for Celine. Their movement also really lends itself to the engrossing, obsessive feel of the song. Plus, half n@ked boys are just really nice to look at (thanks, Mia).

“The beauty of art is that there are no rules.”   Mia Michaels

That last quote goes so beyond the “I don’t know art, but I know what I like” way of thinking. If there are rules on art, that limits the depths of creativity for art based in reality: real thoughts, real feelings, real experiences. Society tries to put limits on art all the time, because sometimes that’s easier than confronting art and experiencing it, even if it’s uncomfortable.

Mia certainly has no rules on herself, and can also embrace her darker side. “It was dirty, it was raw, it was ugly…and it was absolutely beautiful.”   Mia Michaels

Just check out this fierce, teeth and claws bared piece to Duffy’s “Mercy” (nominated for an Emmy Award):

Mia has a penchant for choreographing with props–beds, benches, doorways, and some may think it distracts, but I just think it adds to basing it in reality.

Mia can be harsh and abrasive (“I am a cutter and I will cut you!”), but she is also generous and loving. If you watched this past season of So You Think You Can Dance, you witnessed B-Boy Legacy’s transformation from a gifted street dancer to an artist who understands that dance is about communication, and giving everything you have to communicate it.  The more dancers she inspires that way, the better the world will be. And I mean that.

Can’t wait for the upcoming documentary film Move, directed by Kurt E. Soderling and Melinda Songer, featuring Mia and many other choreographers from the dance world. Release date is 2010, but nothing more specific than that. I’ll update you as soon as I know more!

January 9th, 2010 by soullldiva

I figured, since I was spending hours upon hours looking over So You Think You Can Dance videos (and having a blast) for the best of the best, I might as well go back through past seasons of Dancing with the Stars, too!

I had to switch gears a little, though. Remember, these are NOT professional dancers. And the pros they work with need to bring their level down a few notches in order to match the stars’ speed.

That aside, when a pro and a star have great chemistry and the star really wants to dance, do well and have a good time, it can be magical. There have been quite a few of these magical pairings, and not all of them were season winners.

Here’s one, Mel B. and Maksim Chmerkovskiy dancing the Viennese Waltz, season 5. This was really beautiful and flowy. Even though they bumped heads a little, they had real chemistry. Just check out those “walking splits’ Mel does. That takes power and strength from Maks, and real focus from Mel. Plus just look at her dress and necklace. Beautiful!

January 7th, 2010 by soullldiva

Has anyone said to themselves lately: What ever happened to Bobby McFerrin? Mr. Don’t Worry, Be Happy? Well, I have. I heard a song of his in a Pixar Short film that I was watching with my son (called Knick Knack and cute as hell). Soon after I happened to turn on an Acapella singing competion on Oxygen network a week or so ago and saw him on the finale. I absolutely forgot how captivating he is. I always thought that most of his stuff was dubbed over, no way could he sing and do all that rhythm stuff by himself live. Well–HE CAN.  Just check this out from the Montreal Jazz Festival:

You gotta admin, that’s talent and artistry. What an original! I’m so glad he’s still out there creating. Thanks Bobby!

November 4th, 2009 by soullldiva

God bless Michael Jackson for filming all of his rehearsals (all three months of it) for his sold-out 50 show run of This Is It. And God bless Kenny Ortega for being such a great caretaker of that footage that was the last creations Michael was to give us.

I initially wasn’t going to go see This Is It in the theater. I thought, well, my husband isn’t a fan like I am, and there’s the kidlet (my son), and yada yada. But my dance teacher got hold of me and said “you MUST see it in the theater.” So I decided to go see a late show, after the fam was fed, bathed and jammied. Originally I picked the 10:50pm (yikes) show, but opted for the 9:30 show, even though it was in IMAX, and the ticket was $5 more. Worth every penny, I guarantee.

The film opens with thoughts from the dancers, and if you ever were in doubt of just how much an influence Michael Jackson was in the world of music, dance and performance, all you have to do is look in the shiny, star-struck eyes of those dancers. Their hearts are in their eyes, this is their wildest dream. They are DOING this because of Michael Jackson.  And I’m sure that all of them were not even born when Michael was singing and dancing on stage with the Jackson 5.

You of course get to see Michael, King of Pop, do his thing.  But you also get to see Michael hands-on at work.  And disarmingly normal: slightly unshaven, chewing gum or sucking on a lollipop, talking shop in that lower voice that is probably his normal speaking voice.

Eleven dancers were chosen for the tour, 9 boys and 2 girls.  Kenny tells them that they are a direct extension of Michael as a performer.  Extensions they are.  Such precision in their dancing and strength, doing the choreography created by Michael and his choreographer Travis Payne.  But also the heart comes through: they are loving every minute of the experience and the creation, getting to dance with him and also watching him create his show from scratch.  When they are not on the stage, they’re not on their iPhones or smoking a cigarette.  They’re watching, wide-eyed, and waving their arms.  And cheering, throwing their fists in the air, cheering for Michael.

I’m sure that all the singers, dancers, musicians and technicians woke up every day and said “oh yeah, work!”  I know I would. For sure every musician that they featured had a look of pure enjoyment on their faces as they interacted with him.

The technical side was also great fun to experience.  They show you all the “extra” material they produced for the concert, including a 3D filming for “Thriller” and a fantastic bit for “Smooth Criminal” where Michael watches Rita Hayworth sing “Put the Blame onMame” (love that).

It was wonderful seeing all the old choreography as well, from “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” and “Thriller”, all the way back to the Jackson 5 classic moves.

As they rolled out all the hits, I remembered why I loved them in the first place and moved my body as much as I could in the seat. I think my favorite point was “The Way You Make Me Feel”, which just has an undeniable groove to it. Michael trots out one of the female dancers for this song, who struts her stuff across the stage with so much enjoyment you can’t help but just grin.

Kenny Ortega did a masterful job of assembling Michael’s footage into a fitting farewell.  You can feel his love, care and admiration for Michael as he interacts with him during rehearsals, and in the actual film itself.  Well done and thank you, Kenny.

Don’t miss your chance to see This Is It in the theaters, while you still can. It’s just like you got a front row ticket to the concert that never was.

Image courtesy of michaeljacksonlive.com

October 27th, 2009 by soullldiva

I have to tell ya, it was pretty amazing to see one of the best bands of our time live at the Rose Bowl.  Yes, I went ga-ga over the Black Eyed Peas, but U2 is definately something special.  They give a rock-solid show and really know how to pull out all the stops in the production itself.

The “star” of the stage setup was absolutely the 360 degree video screen (aha! the 360 Tour) that sat just under the monster scaffolding which came down in 4 legs around the stage.  When I got to the stadium, I asked my friends “what is that thing?”  It was black and made up of hexagon-shaped pieces all put together like a puzzle. “I think that’s the video screen,” my friend answered.  I’d never seen any video screen like that before.  But remember, this is U2.

What IS that?

When the opening act was over, we watched, facinated as the roadies uncovered more bridges, steps, and brought on new equipment.  They even flew guys up in the rafters of the scaffolding to independently run spotlights–three in each leg of the stage.

See 'em sittin' in the seats?

We had heard that David Bowie’s “Space Odyssey” would be the signal that the show was starting.  When it came on the speakers, the crowd screamed.  The stadium blacked out.  An image of an analog clock came on the video screen. And the show started.

Of course, any tour is simply to promote the release of an album (usually), and U2 is promoting their latest, No Line on the Horizon. I’m not familiar with this album, so unfortunately, it took me about three songs to warm up to the Irish boys. Once they whipped out “Mysterious Ways”, I was movin and groovin and havin a great time.

I return to the video screen: our seats were essentially the backside of the stage, and while they did visit the back regularly (everything wireless, awesome), I watched 99% of the show on the screen and didn’t mind it in the least.  The video quality was amazing to see, and very film-like in quality. They even did some segments in black and white, which I liked.

Black and white, very interesting

But then the screen REALLY came to life.  First it came down from it’s original position.  Then, the individual pieces split and it created a cone-like shape and put on a great light show with some video thrown in.

But it didn’t stop there.  The screen came together again, but instead of folding back up, came down and was probably literally 5 feet above the band’s heads. It also revealed the brightly lit “antennae” in the center.

They launched into the infectious “Vertigo”, which in my estimation was the most exciting song of the show.

Well, after that I said “I can leave now happy.”  And we did, because we didn’t want to be stuck shuffling with the other 99,000 people for three hours trying to get out of the Rose Bowl (yes, we’re old fogies).

What a fantastic show.