It is a very unusual cast for season 11 of Dancing With the Stars and I am very anxious to see how everyone starts out. Who has potential and who has two left feet? It is usually obvious who the ringer is of the season, but this fall season it’s not so obvious. Let’s just get started shall we?
I’m going to continue with my “DWTS First Night Awards” that I started last season, because I love first impressions.
Biggest Surprise: Kyle Massey. Whoa, this kid put it ALL out on the dance floor. Rhythm, musicality, personality, technique, speed, smoothness. And he’s a big guy, so doing the Cha Cha Cha super fast ain’t easy, folks! He let his enthusiasm take over and I just love that.
Biggest Potential: Again, Kyle Massey. Just wait until this kid loses 25 lbs, see how he flies across the dance floor (and it WILL happen, you know!) Hope he has staying power.
Best Tom Burgeron Moment: “It took you 8 seconds to overshare” (to Judge Len Goodman talking about his clenched buttocks)
Weirdest Bruno Tonioli Moment: “I love the taste of Brandy in the evening.” Hmmm. Kinda creepy. But I guess that’s just Bruno!
Toughest First Critique: Len Goodman’s critique of Kurt Warner’s waltz with Anna Trebunskaya. He’d already been nice to Audrina Patridge, so he missed his chance and Tony shouldn’t hold his breath for next week. Ouch!
Best Choreography: Lacey Schwimmers’ cheeky Cha Cha Cha to “My First Kiss”. Yummy!
Biggest Disappointment: As sad as I am to say this, I thought Florence Henderson was going to just wipe the dance floor up with Corky Ballas (and what an amazing dancer Corky is). But it just didn’t happen, she seemed stiff and hesitant. Granted, she’s the oldest person in the cast, but she’s no Cloris Leachman!
I-Don’t-Get-It-Outfit: Once again to Cheryl Burke for her odd-colored orange/tan/flesh-colored spandex and white feather dress for her Waltz with Rick Fox (ooooh, Rick Fox). Looked like she should be on the cast of Jersey Shore.
Best Outfit: Brandy’s pretty champagne/sunset satin gown for her Waltz with Mr. Maks. Whenever you saw the peek of that sunset orange underneath. Classy. Brooke Burke’s dress on the other hand…not so much. Say what you will about Samantha Harris, she always looked completely classy.
Biggest Train Wreck: Bristol Palin. Honey, get over the embarrassment and just dance. I know you can.
Favorite Couple: Amazingly enough, Karina and The Situation. I’m just talking the two people together, not ability or anything. I’ve never seen Jersey Shore, or just enough to be turned off by it. He seems cute and funny and genuinely interested in doing the work, even if he’s a little full of himself. He did only get 5 days where everyone else got three weeks. Maybe he’ll improve enough to stay a few weeks!
Best Dancer of the Night: Baby is back, and Jennifer Grey was smashing in her Viennese Waltz with Derek Hough. Excellent work!
Interestingly enough, I don’t believe there is a ringer this year. Yes, Jennifer seemed to be slightly ahead of the pack, but it is just week one, and they all had three weeks to practice (except for Mike). Now they all have the regular 5 days in between shows to put together their dances.
I’m excited, let’s get down to it–get to work stars, I wanna see some DANCIN’!!
Special new addition to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Los Angeles:
Oh, that reminds me:
OH PUHLEEEEEZE Alan Ball, please to a musical/dance episode for True Blood. I know Stephen Moyer can sing, and I’m sure everyone else can, too. What is singing without some dance? Russell could dance with the candy jar full of Talbot, that would be interesting. I’d LOVE to see La La Lafayette do a number, come on. Alan, are you listening?
It’s going to be a show packed with amazing dance–and we get to see all our favorite pieces from the entire season as well! All that before we find out who is America’s favorite dancer on season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance. Let’s get movin’!
First off, let me say that I love Cat’s dress, it’s very ballerina-ish. And I always love her hair. Her stylist manages with extreme precision to style it in a way that it does not look styled, just like she pushed a brush through it after a couple hot rollers and went. Brilliant.
What we are treated to first is a completely amazing, whirlwind, entrancing number to “RA” by Nathan Lanier. This is very high-concept and stylized and just great dancing. The top 11 dancers and all the all-stars are in it, and nothing makes me happier than to see Alex skate out on a chair with wheels and do an incredible solo with only his hands and arms. Makes me tear up. I begin to think this is looking a lot like an LDX piece when it’s announced that Christopher Scott, from yes, the LDX choreographed it. A great beginning to the night.
There are SEVEN choreographers/judged shoved in behind the microphones:
Nigel Lythgoe (we get a montage of his hair, very funny–and I want to see him do the full dance with the kids!)
Mia Michael (we get a montage of her making up words and sayings, I didn’t realize she did that)
Adam Shankman (great montage of all his funny and rico suave faces)
Tyce DiOrio
Stacey Tookey (Emmy nominated, btw)
Kenny Ortega (lahhhve)
Mary Murphy (Mary’s back! Mary’s back!)
First up is the judge’s pick for their faves of the season. Kenny Ortega picks Tyce’s “Shoeless Joe” from Damn Yankees with Kent and Neil. Kenny thought that Tyce’s piece was a great homage to Fosse and the the thing that Kent needed at that monent in the competition to push him forward. I would agree with the great Ortega.
Nigel’s pick is Stacey Tookey’s number with Billy and Ade, “Mad World”. A real moment for Billy, and he left the following week. An exceptional piece of art, and I am torn between this one and Travis Wall’s piece with Kent and Neil as my favorite of the season. I’m sure we’ll see that one later.
First special guest tonight is Quest–which happens to contain all-star Dominic. How does Dominic land on his back like that and not rupture countless vertebrae? Love the music for this, combination of hip hop, disco, and old fashioned vaudeville. Great fun.
Mia’s favorite pick is AdeChike and Comfort with their lyrical hip hop NappyTabs number. Very interesting, as I would have pegged her to pick Travis’ piece. As I recall AdeChike got really emotional afterwards the first time. I do love this piece, I always love it when hip hop can successfully tell a full story. I like it when it just jams, too.
Next is not a pick, but Kent and Anya doing their Cha Cha Cha to “My First Kiss”. I have to say that Kent still pulls the faces, but he’s got it down to an art and a science now. He knows exactly when to pull them, what type and how much. Watch the cha cha again and see what I mean.
Tyce’s pick is another NappyTabs, the clown piece with Robert and Dominic. I can’t decide whether this is ultra cool or ultra scary with the clown makeup. Oh well.
We get a peek around the US at National Dance Day from July 31st. I love that there is a national day for dance and that dance is being recognized as a physical and athletic pursuit, one that you can do to not only express your artistic creativity, but to exercise your body and get into shape, Yea Dance!
Next is a Tap number featuring none other than judge and exec. producer Nigel Lythgoe. And he walks out on crunches claiming a season 7 curse. Suddenly there’s a seven year old on stage saying he wants to tap dance. Well let him tap dance! And he does. Boy he does. I guess no Nigel tapping (sniff).
The next tap routine by a duo of brothers was probably the most entertaining tap I’ve seen since Gregory Hines. Nice treat!
Nigel’s second favorite pick is Lauren and Pasha’s Argentine Tango to “Oblivion”. Oh, Pasha, you haunt my dreams in skin tight black tuxedo pants and patent leather shoes. This is really an outstanding Tango and I love it even more the second time around.
Adam’s pick for the season is Travis Wall’s “Fix You” with Allison and Robert.
OMG. Is that RUSSELL FERGUSON???? Where the hell has he been? Rehearsing with Lil C, I guess! And C really gives the stage up to him for practically their entire Krump. This is a good pairing, they compleiment each other well. I love getting a dose of Russell’s power and energy through the TV. Fab ending slamming down on one knee and jumping back up. Then they flash their abs. Cute.
Mary’s favorite number is Dominic and Jose doing their duet to the music from District 9. I hardly remember this piece. Oh, it’s because I missed it the first time! Love Jose and hate to say I really didn’t care for this one.
Next special guest is the winner of SYTYCD UK Charlie, dancing with Neil. Great lyrical jazz piece, not sure if it shows her uniqueness, but good all the same.
Robert, Lauren and Kent are called on stage right now, in their next costumes. Can we tell what they are dancing next? Yes. One will be eliminated now. Third place goes to: Robert. A disappointed “awww” escapes my throat. Robert is a fantastic dancer who only got better as the show went on, more able, diversified, emotional and available. Congrats to him.
Blue Steel, AKA Adam’s next pick is another NappyTabs number, who are dubbed the “MVP”s of the season (I would agree with that). Lauren and Twitch dance like no tomorrow to “My Chick Bad”. I just love this song because it talks about how bad-ass a gal is.
We get one more look back at my early pick for the winner season seven, Alex. They replay a recording of his Sonya Tayah piece with Allison to Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah”. I remember not quite liking this as much the first time around, but I have such nostalgia for Alex that I can see it in a new unit of time and it’s really a heart-wrenching piece. I heart Alex.
Stacey Tookey’s favorite for the season was the Dev Nakul Bollywood danced by Billy and Robert. A harem pants, arm waving, foot slapping great Bollywood piece, Dev’s best for the season and amazingly done by Robert and Billy.
Mia gets to pick last and she picks the only one left to pick: Travis Wall’s “How It Ends” with Kent and Neil. Real perfection in storytelling through dance, excellent from Travis and amazingly well done emotion and moment to moment from the boys. A great way to end the performances.
The group Black Gold performs their fab single “Shine” and it’s too bad they do it through a video montage. Although I like the clips, I think the band deserves the full time on screen.
Ok, what is this super duper huge surprise fabulous guest Cat has been hyping the entire show (and who we have to wait for the results through)? Ellen DeGeneres??? Doing Alex’s part with Twitch for “Outta Your Mind”? Whoa! Ok, I have to say that I LOVE this. It’s light, totally un-serious, adorable and really fun. Ellen is such a fan of dance and of SYTYCD and this was a real treat to have her dance for us, and that she tells America that you can dance and have fun even if you’re not schooled. Alex is obviously thrilled.
Last up, the crowning. Kent and Lauren both deserve the title, and for different reasons. Kent for discovering his artistic roots and his emotional value, and Lauren for her womanly power and willingness to put it all on the line. I have no favorite, I have grown to love them both.
And the winner is: Lauren. I am shocked, but absolutely not disappointed. SO well deserved! And Russell brings her Gatorade bottle with her picture out for her (she of course also gets the exclusive Gatorade contract as they are now acknowledging dance as a sport!)
That’s it for Season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance everyone! So glad you could make it through the season with me. I’ll be there for Season 8 next May!
Until then, I have more dance videos, dance quotes, and of course the upcoming season 11 of Dancing With the Stars, so come back for more!
P.S.: I WILL get the performance night music up asap tomorrow, I promise ;o)
It’s the first of two finale nights on Season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance, and while I regret Alex not being here with all my heart, I wish Kent, Lauren and Robert luck as we launch into the first night of the Top 3 Performances! Who will win America’s Favor? Let’s find out.
First up is All-Star Lauren and Kent with a Nakul Dev Mahajan Bollywood routine. Can Kent deliver the cheese? And the lightning-fast hand gestures? Oh most definitely. There could have been even more cheese in my opinion, but the dance moves were simply too fast to deliver it. I LOVED the bit where they clapped hands together while Kent was behind her. Great visually, and lots of fun. Judges loved it but did not have too much to say.
Next is Lauren with Twitch doing a political NappyTabs Hip Hop routine. I’m sure she can hold her own against Twitch, so I’m looking forward to this. The first moment with them smiling and shaking hands is funny and very accurate for dueling politicians. Their movements at the podium are super brilliant, I think, and Nappy Tabs has come up with a very cerebral Hip Hop number. Probably not a fave with those who love old school, but a great piece overall. And well danced! Lauren is praised for her strength and trustworthiness as a dancer with a choreographer’s steps. High praise from Mia Michaels. And I love Twitch, he was a cutie-pie with his shaved face and glasses.
Robert drew a Tyce Jazz number with All-Star Mark, and they do it to one of the best songs of the early 80′s, “Whip It” by Devo (I’m still a Mark Mothersbaugh fan, and he’s appeared with Devo very recently on one of my son’s favorite shows, “Yo! Gabba! Gabba!”). Kitschy, flashy, hand shaking, silly, hair-sprayed hair, jazzy fun. And I actually thought that Robert was better than Mark and stood out by a mile. For Mia, Robert is the most improved dancer on the show. Adam Shankman “threw up” with happiness that he danced for the joy and not for the competition (the things that come out of Adam’s mouth…).
Kent’s interview one-on-one with Cat was very cute and funny, just like him. They talked about the “faces” and we got to see a lot of them through a little tape. He does a hilarious bit for Cat where she asked him for happy and he gives her his happy face. Then she asks him for sad and he doesn’t change it. Very Kent.
Kent’s solo is pretty amazing technically and full of pauses within his leaps and jumps and throwing himself on the ground, but I found it very frenetic and desperate. Something he doesn’t really need. Super powerful dancer, though.
The contestants are now paired up with each other (how are they going to do that, is one person going to dance twice?), and Lauren and Robert are doing a Dee Caspary Contemporary. Prop Alert!! Looks like they are dancing with a pillow. Let’s see if they are overshadowed by their prop or are able to integrate it seamlessly. The golden lighting on them is beautiful. And I like the concept of them as a couple just trying to get home, and there are some moves with the pillow (like the last move, and the move where she threw the pillow to him and jumped to him) that are really fantastic. Well done to both of them. Judges love them. I have a feeling that there will not be much negative commenting tonight and I am intrigued by this.
Lauren is now paired up with Kent (I guess they’re all dancing with each other, so how many dances is that, I’m no math major) for a Mandy Moore Jazz number and they are playing the kooky weirdos that they really are and dancing to “Hip To Be Square”, which I always loved for the Tower of Power horns. Fun, simple, silly. And I could have used even more silliness, over the top would have been completely fine with me. Nothing super remarkable about this dance, didn’t seem to be enough of a challenge for both of them, which is echoed by Nigel Lythgoe.
Robert’s sit-down with Cat, he cites his favorite dance as the Travis Wall piece with Allison, which I will concur. He found the hardest thing to be all the ballroom stuff (which he did amazingly flawlessly, btw). His solo was a great mix of everything that got him on the show to begin with, and a nice cohesion with the music.
To now confuse me further, Kent is paired up with Allison for a Stacey Tookey contemporary about a couple having difficulty with maintaining their “perfect” relationship. This is such an interesting piece. You see the love, the hate, the manipulation, the desperation and the emotion from both of them. Emotion Kent, way to go, very real. In fact, he’s still affected into the judges’ interview and I am very moved by him. Mia tells him she loves him. When he tells Adam “you get so invested with the movement and the story, that the steps don’t even matter, ” Adam tells him he just became an artist. CAN I GET AN AMEN???!!! I am very impressed with this kid.
Last woman standing Lauren talks with Cat, and says her favorite dance was the prom dance with Kent. She had never shared and experience like that with someone on the stage before (and she’s not just talking about the very real kiss at the end). Her solo is the most satisfying of the night for me, from the Mary J. Blige music to the to the luxuriously sensual movement and declaration of her womanhood and her saying “I’m here and I want you.” was simply perfection. Bravo. I just also love that Lauren has an affinity for the classic soul. My kind of gal.
Robert is up next with Kathryn for a Spencer Liff Broadway routine to “Cool”. Ooh, I just love that song. It’s so interesting to see this concept for this song since it’s really the Jet’s gang song (and one of the most awesome pieces ever written/choreographed). But SOOOOOOO cooooool. Amazing choreography and amazingly danced (so well, Robert split his pants). Kathryn and Robert shine like neon pennies and Robert once again proves that he can pretty much do anything they throw at him.
Lauren gets to do a Cha Cha Cha with Pasha! Oooh, good, we get to see Pasha again. And coincidentally, the dance is about Lauren seeing Pasha and not being able to contain herself. Pasha shakes his hips like NO ONE can as usual. Lauren is hot and strong and does a damn impressive body roll (I know that’s an odd thing to pick out, but it stuck out to me). Plus, where she jumped with her knee on his shoulder and then he flipped her completely over then set her down so softly–that thing you know? Crazy amazing. Mia said that if she was still dancing, she would want to dance like Lauren. Whoa. I think Mia is making up for a whole season of some really harsh comments tonight.
The last dance of the night I something new, I believe. A “Malevos” dance, which means “gangster” dance, but Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionnuevo (yea! I get to say his name twice this season). The guys are in zoot suits and spats and black hats as they do this. And it’s not what I expect, as they hold each other’s shoulder’s a lot and do some tango like-looking steps. The one moment where Kent jumps up on Robert and then he flips him over was spectacular. Interesting and new, huh. Very powerful from the two of them. Apparently, this is the dance the men do together to practice their tango before they go do it with their women. Even more interesting!
Well that is it, let the voting commence! Who will be crowned America’s Favorite Dancer? We’ll be tuning in tomorrow night to find out!
Lauren and Pasha: Argentine Tango
Choreographer: Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionnuevo
Astor Piazzolla: Oblivion (slow and smokey) Oblivion – Piazzolla en Suite
AdeChike and Lauren: African Jazz
Choreographer: Sean Cheesman
Ralph MacDonald: The Path (fun and tribal)
(not available on iTunes or Amazon as download)
Robert and Anya: Viennese Waltz
Choreographer: Jonathan Roberts
Anouk: Lost (pretty song to go with a pretty dance) Lost – Hotel New York
Kent and Neil: Contemporary
Choreographer: Travis Wall
DeVotchKa: How It Ends How It Ends – How It Ends
SPOILER ALERT!
Tonight’s results show was of course extra special not only because not only did we get to see Desmond Richardson dance to The Rolling Stones, but Janelle Monae did a jaw-dropping live performance of “Tightrope”.
So! The finalists for Season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance are:
1. Lauren
2. Kent
3. Robert
Best of luck to AdeChike. I’m looking forward to an exciting Finale next Wednesday. I’ll be watching and blogging!
