June 11th, 2010 by soullldiva

I’m still not certain how the new format for season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance is going to sit with me. All I know is, I had a frickin’ BLAST watching the introduction show, where all the dancers are showcased with their respective “all-stars”. No pressure this time around, no cutting this week, it’s all fun and hard work and lots of sparkling. The only thing I will say about cutting 20 down to 11 is that 9 new dancers lost out on the chance to be on the show. But we won’t get less dancing, so I guess I am satisfied.

The show stared off with a gigantic, explosive bang with a Wade (thank you gawd) Robson dance: Teaparty and Croquet anyone? Only Wade can turn something stuffy into a hawt, cutting edge dance. On grass. To “Fame” by David Bowie. I watched it three times in a row. Love. It. Let’s treat ourselves again, shall we?

This is most likely the last chance that we will get to see the Top 11 dance without (or nearly) a care with phone numbers or judges’ thoughts. And a dancer who dances with the knowledge that nothing negative will be said about their performance on prime-time TV is something special to see, ya’ll. Free expression and excitement on a level that is causing me to salivate in my Venti Iced Green Tea with 1PCL.

Let’s get going. First up is Lauren and Kent, dancing a Travis Wall number with all-stars Mark and Kathryn. How do you even describe this? The costumes are complicated and rock with parasols and cravats–and don’t upstage the dancers. Fierceness and grandness with fire in their eyes. Travis tells us it’s set in the 20′s in Paris and about the dark and twisted souls who come out at night, celebrating the fall of an empire. Totally got it. And Mr. Wall is now my favorite new choreographer for this season. I have my stand-bys with Wade and Mia, but am looking forward to much more Travis.

Alexie (finally made it!!) and Melinda are up next doing a Tyce DiOrio jazz number with all-stars Allison and Lauren. Ooo, and it’s a Sweet Charity number. A little predictable for four girls (or West Side Story), but he girls are pure pleasure to watch, and the song is so character driven how could they not get that much into it? The only thing I miss is the live singing (but that would be a different show). LOVE the dresses. The red one shouldered one on Allison is my favorite. Love that Cat wants to come up and pose with them on the stage. And even though I thought there would be no negative notes, Nigel felt the need for the critique for Melinda, shame.

Jose, the lone B-Boy in the top 11 is next doing a TappyTabs number with Comfort, Twitch and Dominic. What a crew. I love the beginning, bedcuase it’s Jose vs. the three all-stars, like they want him out, and it also makes it easy for him to dance solo. Sweet booty shake by Comfort! And OH what a move putting the feet inside the hoodie and doing a backwards somersault to reveal his shirt–he’s part of the group, ya’ll. Very cool, high, energy, great  stunts. Fresh NappyTabs, baby.

Did I just hear the words Jason Gilkison? Oh yes, I did, and it’s coming up for all-stars Pasha and Anya and newbie ballroom hottie Cristina. Two girls, one guy and a big competition. Amazing lift and flip of Anya over Pasha’s shoulder. Jason does it again with an incredibly hot ballroom number that breaks the mold. I’m getting chills. You get that they BOTH really want the guy and are fighting for him. Loved that they stretched out the ending and the girls led him on then pushed him to the floor. Go girls. (and another critique again, Nigel? Ugh.)

Celebrated returnees Alex and Billy are next dancing a Mia Michaels piece with Ade (love him). Mia gets to talk about the piece beforehand, and speaks about time and the journey of life for a man, from childhood to the infirm age. Billy is the boy, Alex is the man and Ade is the elder. Beautiful lines, amazing extension and a huge amount of emotion laced right in. “This Bitter Earth” plays and these three men dance their lives out on stage, this is a truly gorgeous piece and not overdone in any way, IMO. Storytelling at it’s best. Thanks, Mia.

Adechike, Ashley and Robert are the last three doing a Sonya Tayeh number with all-stars Neil and Courtney. The costumes leave a bit to be desired, but I love the combination of a little hip hop and classic jazz moves. Sony a knows how to do that best. Just plain fun. And I love Sonya because she loves dancers and loves making them give all they have.

Next week the competition stars for REAL. I hope my nails can grow a little more!  I’ll be there watching.

Didja love it, didja hate it? The stage is still the infernal new stage, but no video projections. What do you think? Let me know!

June 9th, 2010 by soullldiva

Ok. Classic Television happened on Sunday evening with the 2010 MTV Movie Awards. Who’s idea was it to have Les Grossman, Tom Cruise’s alter ego from Tropic Thunder “produce” the show? Utter Genius. To have Les dance a full number with none other than JLo? Uber Genius.

Who knew Tom could dance THAT well? I mean, I knew he could move, but huh? Plus, he’s probably got 15-20 lbs of makeup and padding and prosthetics on to boot. What a guy. What a dance number.

May 25th, 2010 by soullldiva

Finals night came in the blink of an eye on Dancing With the Stars last night. In fact, I was in the middle of a rousing rendition of “Ring My Bell” from the Wii game Just Dance with my family (we’re at a reunion) when I panicked and realized I was missing the show (DVR, I love you).

For the finals this year the stars need to perform an unprecedented FOUR dances (two on Monday, two on Tuesday). Tonight they must do a Redemption Dance, where they will attempt to redeem themselves for a dance the judges say they should have done better on, and the infamous Freestyle, who everyone says locks in the trophy.

SO! Were they redeemed or not? Let’s see…

First is Erin and Maks, and they must attempt to redeem themselves on the Samba. Ooh, tough one for the judges to pick for them. Bruno stops in to help her with her hip action, which (along with your arm work) is really the most important thing in the Samba (oh, along with the Par-Tay!). Bruno likes what he begins to see: “Look at the ass! So much better!”

As they begin the dance, Erin and Maks button UP Maks’ shirt. Very cute. Erin’s dress is fabulous, love the red flutters and her necklace. They did very well, but I feel this was not as earth-shaking as it needed to be. Improvement, yes, fantastic, no. Judges’ Scores: 10-10-9 (which will turn out for me to be the most surprising score of the night).

Evan and Anna is next. They get help from the Great Len Goodman for their Viennese Waltz, which they did all the way back in week one. Chemistry is what is needed here for the two of them here. Evan needs to put more focus and love on Anna, rather than thinking and going to the next move (yeah, Olympian).

Anna choreographed a really, really lovely intro for this Viennese Waltz (her dress is fab), and they kept the connection the entire time when not in hold. Truly lovely. Probably the best Viennese Waltz I’ve ever seen on DWTS. Great work and absolute redemption. Judges’ Scores: 10-9-9

Nicole and Derek have Carrie Ann come in and help out with their Rumba. When they did it the first time, Nicole’s nerves got the bes of her and it was probably her worst meltdown (among quite a few). Carrie Ann really pushes her to take the meltdown and convert it into vulnerability (so use it before rather than after). Really let go and show she’s more than a pretty face and a dancing machine.

Their Rumba is sensitive and beautiful. Nicole is vulnerable and connected to Derek, and Derek himself is more connected to any partner than I’ve ever seen. The choreography is solid and that hold at the end is new and very interesting (she wraps her leg around him and holds herself up, whew). They are completely redeemed here. Carrie Ann’s lift police rant is absolutely necessary here, and I wish she would have just shut up. Judges’ Score: 9-9-10

Freestyle: POP! or fizzzle…

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. This is the most highly anticipated dance of the entire season, and somehow it is always a disappointment. Either the couples go crazy and do stuff that is just “not them”, or they play it safe and do stuff that they would normally do (like a pop star does hip-hop). What will happen for season 10?

For the first time ever, there is a Contemporary/Lyrical freestyle on DWTS. WHAT?? Erin has decided to do something different, and more of what she would do (she had years of ballet and jazz). They even call the lovely Ms. Mandy Moore (woo hoo) in to help out with the choreography. This is unprecedented (there’s that word again, she keeps on using it), and I am anticipating the performance highly.

I expected to love it, but I just…didn’t. And I’m really sorry I didn’t. Erin took a real risk with this and really showed what she wanted to do. I suppose it just looked too odd to me on the ballroom floor, and I felt that contemporary should just stay over on the Fox So You Think You Can Dance set. Plus, there was a bed AND a sofa. Too much, even for a contemporary piece. Off the mark for me personally. However, this dance gave us the best Tom Bergeron moment of the entire season: “In ten seasons, ‘It’s not the bed I rehearsed on’ is the my favorite excuse ever!” Judges’ Scores: 9-8-9

We see Evan and Anna butt heads for the first time this seaon, over the steps for their freestyle. Evan wants to take more chances, and Anna wants to stick to what they do best. They both really want to win, you can tell. Things smooth out when they bring in a choreographer in to help out and be the go-between.

Their freestyle is a prom theme from “Footloose” (this made me think what a great freestyle the prom scene from “Grease” would make). Lots of fun and a huge crowd please. They looked like they had a great time. Technically speaking (except for the impossible lift at the end) that the choreography was a little light, but still super fun. The judges, however, were uniformly disappointed. Judges’ Scores: 8-8-8 Boo.

What, oh what will Nicole bring? Her Pussycat Doll card or something new? I adore their sparkle-y tux outfits with the chartreuse shoes and ties. Really popped. They chose “Little Less Conversation” by Elvis (love it) for their song and they just brought it ALL. This was super-fantastic and absolutely perfect (with a slight hesitation on the lift at the end). Clearly the Winner of the Freestyle Round, and Len hit it right on the nose: He saw all different styles of ballroom dance used together in a new and inventive way. Now THAT’S a freestyle! Judges’ Scores: 9-9-9

So in a surprise on the leaderboard, Erin and Nicole are tied for first with 55 out of 60 points. Evan is second with 52 out of 60 points. The stars and their partners will do their third and fourth dances on the Results show. What will they do? My money is on one dance will be the stars pick and the other will be the judges’ pick. We’ll see. It’s shaping up to be an exciting and very interesting show Tuesday night. My early pick for the winner? Nicole Scherzinger. And she would deserve it. Tune in tonight!

BTW, Spoiler Alert for Season 11: Hugo “Hurley” Reyes wins!!! (thanks to Jimmy Kimmel’s Aloha to LOST show, which helped stop my tears over watching the final episode ;o)

May 18th, 2010 by soullldiva

There are only four couples left in season 10 of Dancing With the Stars: Erin and Maks, Cheryl and Chad, Evan and Anna and Nicole and Derek. I was very sad to see Niecy go, as she was definitely the highlight of this season and really fun to watch crack jokes. But onward!

Last night there were two rounds, the Ballroom Round and the Latin Round. In the Latin Round, each star will be doing their own solo! This is always fun to watch to see if they can really let go and get loose in the face of live TV and millions of viewers (I would certainly be hard-pressed to).

First up was Erin and Maks with their Viennese Waltz. Man, that girl can do amazing things with those legs, really pretty extension. And although I really didn’t care for her dress/pantsuit, it certainly made her legs look even longer. Unfortunately, I think she was super nervous (you see her say that at the end of the dance), she had a chronic issue with trembling ankles. Judges’ Scores 9-9-9 (well, if you don’t include Bruno Tonioli’s “premature” 10 paddle).

Next was Nicole and Derek’s Argentine Tango. Hot, sexy, sharp, passionate, amazing. Really fun to watch and well danced! And the walk down the stairs with her legs wrapped around his was really awesome. Oh yeah, and the move where he lifted her up on his FOOT. This was really a master-choreographed piece. I am going to call Derek out for using the same stag lift move that he used with Lil Kim, though. It’s the first time I have ever seen him re-use a really specific move. Good one, though! Judges’ Scores: 10-10-10

Chad and Cheryl were next with a rather nice and different Waltz. This guy has improved a LOT, and is now able to use that fantastic body of his to the fullest and lengthen and show off those lines. Plus he has an amazing smile and beautiful skin, oh, and that light pink color looks great against it. Ooh, I kinda just fell in love with him there! The did really nicely. Judges’ Scores: 9-9-9

Evan and Anna are next with a Foxtrot. It’s time for Evan to open up a little bit and show some real personality and boy doe he come out of the gate with it with the beginning of this foxtrot. Lots of clicking the heels four feet off the floor! Their dance is peppy, cute and just fantastic and full of chemistry. It’s like this is a new version of Evan, very sparkly (which is a perfect description for a figure skater). Judges’ Scores: 10-9-10

That’s it for the Ballroom round, next up is the Latin round with (dum dum dum) SOLOS. And along with these solos, the stars get to be even more vulnerable with a personal interview. Hmmmmm.

Erin and Maks are first. Erin talks about her childhood and being very tall and skinny, and her fast track onto national ESPN. Then she found out she had a stalker. I thought it was very interesting that she talked about this event (THE video), I actually thought it would have been better to not bring it up. But she was brave to talk about it, good for her.

Their latin dance is a creative Paso Doble. I liked her costume, how the skirt was wrapped up in a top at first and then revealed later on. Her solo was pretty good, she definitely committed to the movement. The Paso as a whole was really fresh, I thought, although non-traditional as Len pointed out. Who cares? Anything to inject new life into the Paso.
Judges’ Scores: 10-9-10

Nicole and Derek are next. Nicole talks about her origins in Hawaii, and being one of 14 in a small house, then moving to Kentucky when her mom met her new husband. She of course didn’t look like anyone in the town, and threw herself into the performing arts to stand out even more!

They do a super cha cha cha to “Kiss” by Prince. She’s even dressed up like him with a purple jacket and “puffy shirt”. Very cheeky, very cute and very well done. Another great piece of choreography by Derek. Her solo was great, but that is her forte, so I felt like it was second nature for her. Judges’ Scores: 10-9-10

Chad and Cheryl are up next. Chad says his first words were “child, please.” His father was in prison and his mother raised him alone. He grew up in a very urban, dangerous community. Football was his outlet, and served him very well. His friends and family talk about how hard DWTS has been for him, and he was surprised at how hard.

Their dance is a Samba. Chad doesn’t let anything hold him back and really enjoys himself out there, especially during his solo. and he has amazing skin. He had the hardest Latin dance and he did well. Big charisma from this guy. Judges’ Scores: 8-8-9

Evan is last. He talks about his Grandmother buying him skates because she wanted to be in the Ice Capades. Once he discovered he could go fast he fell in love. He discovered the lure of competition early on and that he had to work harder to be better. And he’s shy (that we knew). And he’s a great learner (definitely).

Their dance is the Paso Doble to that great Evanescence song. With all the leaps and posing, it’s a cinch that this would be a great dance for Evan. He comes out the box kicking like a wild horse and we really see the skating training come out. But it doesn’t overshadow the dance. Great blend of the Paso and his native abilities. Dramatic kiss at the end! Very well done and big commitment from him. Judges’ Scores: 10-10-10

The Results are TONIGHT!! Who will make it to the Finals? Tune in with me and find out. Try not to bite your nails too much..

April 27th, 2010 by soullldiva

A lot of the ladies on my forum that I chat with said last Tuesday night: “Ding dong, the witch is dead”. And with that, my least favorite contestant of all time left Dancing With the Stars. She goes on to her new TLC show where she gives people relationship advice. Hmm.

OK–ONWARD. And all of those stars that are left are real contenders for the semis and finals on season 10. Tonight are two dances, one tough and the other even tougher. The Samba and the Argentine Tango, which is my all-time favorite ballroom dance. So I will be tough tonight.

Jake and Chelsie seem to have stumbles frequently, and this week was no exception. I have to give it to him, he sure knows how to recover and there is nothing like a big stumble in your dance to bring you completely out of it, and it’s a challenge to finish (another Tom Bergeron moment: “I hope you enjoyed our salt in the wound slow motion replay”). Pretty good on the Samba, which I think is one of the toughest dances to look good in. Judges’ Scores: 7-7-7

Next are Evan and Anna, who also have the Samba. More Hips, More Hips! More hips because Anna will smash your head to the ground if you don’t! Ouch, man. He was so lucky he’s okay, I would not have wanted my neck torqued that way. Their Samba is super good, and Evan even does the Samba rolls well, which are super hard. These two have great chemistry together as well. Bruno gets on him for his lines being too lyrical for the Samba. Carrie echoed him, and Len said it was his worst dance. Bah Humbug, geez!! Judges’ Scores: 7-7-7

Niecy and Louis are the first Argentine Tango of the night. And she asks “Has anyone ever done a funny Argentine Tango?” I want Louis to bust her butt on technique so she gets better scores. He does not disappoint, and I hope it can translate to the dance floor. Good girl on the develope! Keep the cookie away from her, Louis! I thought she worked hard and they did a great job, big improvement. Carrie thinks she’s in the zone, Len thought it was great and Bruno wanted her to stay away from his lunchbox. Judges’ Scores: 7-7-7

Erin and Maks bicker like a married couple (oh, right), and he begs her to stay out of her head and just dance. Please do! I’m trying to figure out what the heck she is wearing and my husband says as he walks across the room: “when are you getting pasties like hers?” My friend who was visiting swore they were going to rip off that feather tutu and it just never happened. Maks’ sleeves and shirt came off, though. Thank you Maks. I thought their Samba was decent, but a little forced. And oh boy, Len did NOT like the non-proper Samba and Maks talked BACK! I have never seen that from a pro before. Whew! Judges’ Scores: 9-7-9

Chad drags Cheryl back to Cincinnati for the Bengals draft party in order to get energized. After they get back for rehearsals, Cheryl tells Chad to manhandle her in the Argentine Tango. She really wants him to lead. He’s strong and forceful and his steps are more precise this week. He’s worked hard and it shows. But IMO Cheryl is still leading. The only partner I think she didn’t lead with was Gilles Marini (ooh, Gilles). Judges’ Scores: 8-8-8

I’m not sure what Nicole’s deal is, but she is over over over analyzing everything and driving Derek crazy. Just dance girl, because you can. Their Samba is the partiest, sexiest, gyratingest samba I’ve ever seen. They do a fantastic job of really engaging the audience and it seems like Carnivale is happening in the soundstage. No more insecurities for Nicole, baby. Len grinds them for not having any voltas or botafogos, two essential moves in the Samba. Judges’ Scores: 9-7-10

My underdog favorite is next, Pam and Damian, doing the Argentine Tango. Pam is such a trooper and a pro, she’s been in the bottom two the last two weeks after great dances, and she just presses on. She looks great in a brunette wig and really looks like Raquel Welch, although Bruno calls her Angelina. They dance really great and do some awesome lifts. Every once in a while she looks slightly awkward on her feet, but it doesn’t affect her character. This chick really knows how to act the dance and carries it over to the interviews (“I like being on top”). Some may say that the sexy is just second nature to her and big deal. But I say that it takes skill and style to use it in the dance and make it work. And while she borders on overly bawdy sometimes, she always manages to keep it clean and put a really great humor spin to it. Judges’ Scores: 7-7-8

The Swing Dance Marathon is new, and I love that they have integrated these more realistic style heats into the show. This is what dance competitions look like. Many couples out on the floor, where anything can happen and elbows and ankles do fly. The spectacular thing about Swing is the lifts (“ooh mother of sweet baby air!” exclaims Nicole), they are always fun to watch. Chad seems to think he can strategize his way through this with x’s and o’s and while that’s cute, I don’t think so.

All the couples look so adorable in their bright colors. The guys wear suspenders and the girls halter dresses and spectator pumps. Much fun ensues, and it’s super cute. But the couples are eliminated one by one until they are down to the winners Nicole and Derek (didn’t he win last year in the Mambo Marathon?). They get to add a whole 10 points to their Judges’ Scores for the evening.

Who will be eliminated tonight? I’m biting my nails in anticipation…