November 11th, 2009 by soullldiva

Excitement is in the air as it’s now in America’s hands to vote for their favorite dancers on So You Think You Can Dance. So make sure you DO VOTE, or lament as your favorite dancer is sent home.

I love a good Disco routine, and opening the show with Karen and Kevin doing a Hustle to “Come To Me” was just what was needed to kick things off right. Karen and Kevin are finally really gelling as a couple, and it showed in this dance. They had great connection, and Karen (once again, miss hottie) really sparkled, but in the same way that she has the past few weeks, completely overshadowing Kevin. And as I watched Kevin, I thought “wow, this guy does not have lines like a hip-hopper.” His arms were fabulous, his jete popped magnificently, and his double pirouette was excellent. Once or twice there was a shadow of awkwardness, but they were very synchronized as a couple.

My pick as favorite dance of the night was Ashleigh and Jakob, doing a Mandy Moore Jazz routine to Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ”Relax.” The addition of a cane to the mix did nothing to diminish their dancing, nor distract. Where Noelle and Russell got sidelined a little by their rackets last week, Ashleigh and Jakob integrated their cane directly into their dance, so it became an extension of their movement. There was real relish in their dancing and I thoroughly enjoyed backing up to watch this again. Mandy put together a great piece with super hip movements–and managed to include another Jakob famous leap that blended in well.

Next was Pauline and Peter with the unlukiest draw from the hat, the Quickstep. Fortunately, JT and Thomas created a fantastic routine for them, incorporating great characters and story: an Army GI falls for an island hula girl. This is a great departure from the traditional ballgown/tails, no story Quickstep. Joy, personality and boisterousness erupted from Pauline and Peter as they danced, even if precise technique didn’t. I only spotted one big misstep, and overall they were really fun to watch.

Newcomer choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler created an adorable Broadway number for Kathryn and Legacy. As is the norm for Broadway, big characters and story were at the forefront for Kathryn and Legacy to sink their teeth into. It was a simple tale of the sports loving boyfriend and the put-upon girlfriend.This piece was just so frickin’ cute, I really loved it. They worked great as a couple but Legacy really outdid himself, bending his B-Boy moves seamlessly into the Broadway standard, amazing me with a backwards flip/headstand into an easy chair. This guy is growing in leaps and bounds as a dancer. Judge Adam Shankman wanted more anger from Kathryn, and I found myself agreeing with him, as it would have added a deeper dynamic to the couples relationship that would have cooled the cuteness slightly and made for an even better routine.

New couple Channing and Victor seemed to have gotten the luck of the draw, as they are both Contemporary dancers, pickedConteporary out of the hat, and had Stacey Tookey crafting for them. I really liked this routine that portrayed a toxic relationship and was set to Rachel Yamagata’s “Be Be Your Love” (amazing song). Channing and Victor danced with explosive, emotional movements that were stunning and told the story of two lovers who should save themselves the heartache and call it quits. I saw great connection in their very first dance together with lots of dynamics and sensitivity in their movement. Their emotional roller coaster definitely got to me. Judge Nigel Lythogoe, however, raked them over the coals for not being absolutely brilliant. I can see his point, as they’re both in their element and were able to super-humanly excel. He simply felt they didn’t take it to the next level, and sure told them so. Ouch.

With another big stretch, Ryan and Ellenore took on a Lil’ C Hip-Hop routine where they attempted to find their “swagger.” Swagger they definitely got, and they did pretty good. This was a huge change for Ryan who expanded himself greatly here. Unfortunately this piece just wasn’t a favorite of mine, the choreography fell slightly flat for me, and it lacked excitement. Oh well.

Next we went from flat to disasterous, with Mollee and Nathan’s Salsa. Gustavo Vargas gave them a super cool routine to do, but this was just so far out of both of their scopes that they really struggled with it (and looked like it, too). They were not in synch with each other on many moves, looked awkward on the lifts, and there were several moments where I had to back up the DVR, saying “what just happened there?” This was super tough, and I give kudos to the kids for attacking it with what they had. Mollee rolled those hips fantastically and looked very sexy in her dress.

The evening ended with a bang when Noelle and Russell performed their Sean Cheeseman Afro-Jazz routine. I adore African dance movement, and Noelle and Russell did not dissappoint, throwing their bodies around in the frenetic movement. Sean gave them characters of a princess and a frog, and their story came through as they attacked it and gave their all. I will make no bones about it, Russell is my personal favorite on the show, and I was so happy to see him in something that he could easily excell in (Afro-Jazz is not totally 180 from Krumping). Noelle, as well was able to shine with this movement as her Contemporary style lends itself well to Afro-Jazz. And yes, Russell is still on the Hot Tamale Train. Woo Hoo!

That’s it for this week, please please PLEASE vote for your favorites, or they may not be there next week!

(Images courtesy of FOX and buddytv.com)

November 4th, 2009 by soullldiva

The dancers (well, at least those that are in for the long run) are beginning to “settle in” as the top 18 performed last night on So You Think You Can Dance. More talent is coming through, and nerves as well, and its easy to see at this stage who is going to be eliminated at the end of the night.

I am always thankful that the dancers have Cat Deely as an anchor on stage when they’re coming down off their performance and have to face the harsh reality of the judges. Besides being amazingly tall and devastatingly beautiful (not to mention a fashion maven), she really takes care of the kids and makes sure there’s positive spins on everything, as was the case last night when Channing was called a “sack of potatoes” by Nygel Lithgoe.

Some pieces on Tuesday night fell a little flat, such as Bianca and Victor’s Tyce DiOrio Broadway routine, and Channing and Phillip’s Samba, but there were some jewels as well.

Wade Robson has a fierce, fantastic imagination and was able to look at Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and play with the idea that there were once people in the painting and Vincent got rid of them (which makes them come back for mischevious revenge). He comes up with an amazingly quirky and mesmerizing jazz routine for Peter and Pauline that cranked with immense enjoyment. The dancers really committed to the movement and their characters and it really worked for me.

The only not-so-great thing about this piece was the darn screen in the background, making me so dizzy with a spinning “Starry Night” that it was hard to concentrate on the dancers!

Since Mia Michaels is not on this season (sniff), Wade is now my favorite choreographer. I must have watched his group piece to “Comanche” ten times on my DVR, I loved it so much. His choreography just has a hungry, on-fire attack to it that lends itself so well to the dancers this season. They seem to love performing his stuff (almost as much as I love to watch it)!

Karen and Kevin got a Tabitha/Napoleon hip-hop number where they got to be a manly mechanic and a sexy racing groupie. I realize that NappyTabs is not always a total crowd favorite, but the combination of Karen/Kevin, racing and sex really percolated into something fabulous, clever and fun. Much gyrating! It’s safe to say that Karen is the SYTYCD resident hottie this season (Mary Murphy already put her on the Hot Tamale Train last week). It’s well deserved on her part, as she really made the hip-hop moves work for her, even though she was out of her element. And she plays the sexy card uber well (did we mention she’s sexy?).  Judge Adam Shankman fell out of his chair describing her and the rest constantly say they can’t keep their eyes off her because she’s a magnet on stage.  Kevin has his work cut out for him.

Argentine Tango is by far my favorite ballroom style dance, and last night’s Ryan and Ellenore Tango really delivered. Choreographers Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo created a slow and sultry dance with a ton of precision work with the feet. Ryan and Ellenore smoked on the stage, with a quiet fierceness and “laser-like connection” (Adam Shankman’s words).

Image courtesy of FOX

They committed completely in both technique and the emotion the Argentine Tango demands. In fact, they were so focused that even Ellenore’s dress being caught in the heel of her shoe for about 40% of the dance didn’t faze either of them one bit. Amazing.

So it was with sadness, but no surprise that the two sent home by the judges at the end of the show were Phillip and Bianca, both of them tappers. Well, at least there is one tapper left–good luck Peter, I’m rooting for you from my living room. Hopefully, there are more out there who are rooting as well.

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.