June 30th, 2010 by soullldiva

Well hello, once again! I thank you all for being so patient with me, we are fully in our beautiful new home and getting settled. Now that we have our UVerse cable installed (love it), I won’t be missing ANY more episodes of this season’s SYTYCD (whew)!

I’m so behind I don’t even know who was eliminated last week. Oh, Cristina. Sorry, doll, I liked you.

First up is AdeChike with Lauren doing a nerdy hip-hop. Very hip, cute and fun. And what’s THIS? Sexy nerds–right up my alley. Hip-hop with a gigantic measure of personality and hot chemistry mixed right in. A perfect recipe in my estimation. I wanna get up and move myself, I am enjoying this so much. Judges luh-huv it. A good sign for AdeChike, as it seems that he has finally “shown up” to the party. This is a great piece from choreographer Dave Scott, must get a mention in for him.

Next is Ashley and Ade doing a piece from newcomer Dee Caspary. The piece is very fast and flowy and has a lot of power. It seems to have all the right elements, but I still feel it’s missing something. Like it’s too fast the whole way through. There is a short pause, but for me it’s not enough give and take in the dynamics. Dee was true to his word, she does practically no movement without help from Ade. I watch it again just to be sure that I’m not missing something, and it still bugs me a little. Masterfully danced by the both of them, but possibly just too rough and tumble for my tastes and hard to digest visually. Judges love it, now I feel bad. Oh well. Purple breezes and glasses of scotch.

And oh, it’s been so long I forgot–SOLOS! Billy’s up first with amazing purple stretch jeans, amazing flexibility and a love to just get it all out there. Well done.

Robert is up next (wow, what a story with his mom, huh?) dancing a Sonya Tayeh jazz number with all-star Courtney. Sonya’s goal is to show America how wrong they were to put him in the bottom last week. These two are in great synch with each other; when they do the moment where they jete together, it’s perfectly in time. I don’t quite get the ferocity from Robert that Sonya really wanted from him, but they looked really go together. His main note is to study ballet. I take this moment to note that they actually don’t ever dance ballet on this show. Hmmm. Not exciting enough? What about traditional Russian dancing. Was THAT exciting enough? Just sayin’, is all.

Jose’s solo is up and he uses one of my fave super soul classics, James Brown’s “Super Bad”. And it’s the original, no sampling here. You go, Jose. He’s a cutie and his solo rocked.

Tapper Melinda’s inspiration is old time hoofer Dr. Harold Cromer whom she has studied with for a few years. It’s really fun to see a youngling studying with a true seasoned pro. She’s got to show her sexy side with a Salsa by Fabian Sanchez and with Pasha. Right out of the box she’s got the hotness, but her heel gets stuck in her dress and even though she has to get it out, she doesn’t miss a beat. Love the stuff on the floor. Ok, this is hot stuff and super super good. She’s really enjoying her self and who wouldn’t dancing with the Pash?? But wow, she gets crushed by the judges. What am I missing here? Plus, Adam Shankman and Mia Michaels both say that she should have been let go last week instead of Cristina. This really frustrates me and I’m going to move on now.

Kent has is solo next. He’s a super cute ball of energy, but it’s too much reaching out and up for me in the solo.

Alex comes out of the gate with his sheer perfection solo to music from Planet of the Apes (odd, but so right) and I have to rewind it twice. Love this guy, because not only has he got the chops that can’t stop, he has the emotion there and ready to go when its needed. Sigh.

Next Lauren and Neil are up with an Joey Bowling Broadway number, and I’m looking forward to this. Broadway always needs a huge amount of chemistry, a lot of back and forth between the couple and they had it, just not in spades. Mia points out that as an athletic dancer, Lauren needs more femininity, and I would agree with her. Just a little more sauciness. And yes, the dress broke, but then we’re just watching the dress and not her. I enjoyed the dance, though, Joey gives good Broadway.

Ashley gets her solo next, and I don’t quite get her first count of 8 because she barely moves. But then she’s gone and all over the stage. Powerful, but I don’t get her as a dancer in this infinitely short amount of time. Right about now is when I say that I think they should get rid of solos all together and just keep the dance for your life. It is really tough to find just the right combination of elements to please everyone yet show off the best of your abilities in 20 seconds. Give em a break.

Interestingly enough, Billy Bell’s inspiration is Legacy from season 6. Wow, that is actually super cool that a dancer who moves like Billy was inspired by a breaker who moves like Legacy. Neato. Billy and Katherine do a contemporay by Stacey Tookey. This piece is a great balance of dance and emotion through dance and connection–which they had the most of at the end moment, as Nigel pointed out. Katherine was there for him 100% of the time (damn she’s really good) and he didn’t quite match her with being there in the moment. Technique, check. Emotion,

Robert’s solo is next to Ray Lamontange, who I adore. His solo hit me in a good place (where would that be you ask), and I just was able to sit back, watch and enjoy. He’s really gorgeous to watch dance like that alone. Ahhh.

Jose’s influence was Bruce Lee, and this is not the first time I’ve heard a breaker talk about Bruce as an influence. It has been said that Bruce’s fighting style was the basis for the creation of break dancing. Jose gets to do a Samba with Anya (and Dmitry Chaplin, welcome back), and here we go. Right away he looks like a solid partner with the catch off the table. The arms aren’t quite there but he’s pretty darn good for a B-Boy doing frickin’ samba. And he loved dancing with pretty Anya. I actually couldn’t take my eyes off him. The judges echo my sentiments. Whew, I’m not completely crazy, huh.

Melinda does her tapping to Alicia Keys and I’m really not sure what the judges were talking about her musicality. Sounds perfectly fine here to me. I liked it.

Kent gets to tackle a jazz piece by Mandy Moore with Allison. Kent’s lesson is to be a MAN. While he held is own with Allison in the choreography, there was no sizzle between the two of them. Allison is such a hottie tottie and and she was right there for him, but he wouldn’t bite (to her, that’s to say; he loved to play to the audience). And the song is Heartburn for gawd sakes! Burn, baby burn!

AdeChike supposedly raised the roof with the dance for his life last week and I’m looking forward to this solo. Strength, power and beauty. That coupled with gentleness is what gives this guy his swag.

Lauren. Here is a gal who knows how to pack everything needed into a 20 second solo. Technique, passion, leaps, new stuff, emotion, audience connection, connection to the song, restraint. Pure satisfaction.

Alex’s NappyTabs hip-hop number with Twitch is probably the most anticipated tonight, since guys are rarely put together at this stage of the show. And I have to sincerely say, this is THE MOST enjoyable number of the entire show for me, I’m practically yelling at the screen “yeah!” at the top of my lungs. Excellent work done by Alex, I would have never known that he had no experience with hip-hop. He had the moves down, and was perfectly in synch with Twitch, and great chemistry with him to boot. The whole concept was a home run with the song “Outa Your Mind”, the story with the shrink/patient, the NappyTabs moves, throwing in Alex’s ballet, on and on and on. Amazing. Alex has sealed himself as my early front-runner favorite on the show. Early prediction, he could win it!

Whew! That was a whirlwind. Who will be in the bottom and who will be safe? We’ll find out tomorrow!

March 24th, 2010 by soullldiva

Found this really fun video from Jon M. Chu (of LXD fame) on my Twitter list. They are busy busy busy shooting Step Up 3D (I really liked the first two movies, this should be interesting).

Sometimes when you’re on a set at all hours of the night (and have gotten no sleep on your 8 hours off) thinks get kinda weird, wooly and wild.

What better thing to do than freestyle?

Dija see B-Boy Legacy poke his lil’ face in there? Sweet. Thanks for the vid Jon!

February 5th, 2010 by soullldiva

I found this video while cruising one of the great SYTYCD sites out there (thanks SYTYCDism!).  Breakdancer Jonathan “Legacy” Perez, fabulous finalist from season 6 of SYTYCD has been busy busy busy exploring, dancing, and making videos of himself. If you find his page on YouTube there’s plenty of them to enjoy. But this one stood out to me, because of the opposite choices he makes. He’s a fast-paced B-Boy who is amazing at tricks, yet the video is mostly still shots of him in action, and closeups of his face (with those big eyes just looking). His usual music fare is of course quick and booming, that would lend itself to his moves. Yet the music he chooses is “Better Man” by James Morrison, a beautiful, soft and flowy lyrical song. Just check it out and see what I mean:

I wasn’t misled when I singled him out as a special dancer with a special heart. He had a revelation during his SYTYCD run, and it’s sticking with him. Keep going, Legacy!

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!

December 9th, 2009 by soullldiva

W-O-W, what an evening last night on So You Think You Can Dance!

The Top 8 were set to perform, and right off the bat I was super confused. Wait, what’s going on? Something’s wrong. Then I saw it: Ashleigh did not do her beginning solo. What had happened? Host Cat Deely took a few moments before calling Ashleigh to the stage, and she walked on with her arm in a sling. Oh, injury. How really, really sucky. Apparently she completely dislocated her shoulder that very day doing a dress rehearsal, and was not being cleared by the doctors to dance. And boy, did she want to dance. But she kept it together, and after the next break she came back on stage to give her 888 number, asking for votes. This is really a sad predicament for her. Can her performances and hard work from the past weeks keep her in this competition? I put her in my “long haul” list, and I really hope so. It will be very interesting to see how the results unfold tonight.

On with the night, Ryan and Kathryn were up first with a Dori Disco routine. This is another great pairing, with a fun and difficult routine (and the Discos are usually ball busters). Kathryn looked SO gorgeous in her skimpy halter dress (which, interestingly enough was Dori’s doing, I didn’t realize that the choreographers had a huge hand in the costuming, interesting!). Ryan looked…well, disco-y. They did excellent work together and looked like they were having a ball, especially Ryan. He’s such a great partner-ing partner. Kathryn kicked butt and did super well in this new style for her.

Next was Molle and Jakob with my favorite Viennese Waltz–EVER. I’m serious, here, this is a wonder to behold. Fresh, young, full of breath and life. Thank you choreographer Jason Gilkison!!! And thank you to Mollee and Jakob for dancing a picture of young love in springtime, with very intricate steps, fast and energetic (not your usual Viennese Waltz, I’m telling you). They had a beautiful connection, and looked beautiful, Jakob in his white pants/vest/shirt and Mollee in her white blouse and ankle-length sunny yellow pleated skirt, complete with a bow in the back. Fantastic, on all sides, and even though this was only the second of 8 dances, I am not afraid to say my favorite of the night!

Another potential power couple was next: Ellenore and Legacy. They got Travis Wall and a Contemporary number that I was SO excited to see from the rehearsal footage I could taste it. Travis had a concept of two killers that are married and want to kill each other at the dinner table. Very “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Unfortunately, for me this was a little to literal in the fight choreography and a bit one note. I saw a lot of hate and anger and not much lust/love, which it absolutely could have had (would have made for a better dynamic). They used a napkin for most of the dance and traded it back and forth during moves, which I thought was just distracting. And Ellenore’s dress was awful, just looked like two strips of fabric. OK! That said, they danced it extremely well, were very fearless with difficult moves and nearly impossible timing, and they did have a good connection.

Then came Russell and Ashleigh’s Shane Sparks Hip-Hop number. The rehearsal footage showed fantastic clips of Shane teaching Ashleigh how to shake her booty. Super funny! Looking back ( I watched it a couple times), this was probably the BEST Hip-Hop dance of the entire season, very “old school” as judge Nigel Lythgoe said. Russell just exploded off the stage with energy, enthusiasm and smiles. He shines like a star and does excellently. Unfortunately, his partner was so distracting because she was not nearly the caliber of dancer that Russell is (or Ashleigh for that matter). And I thought that was odd, considering she’s Shane’s assistant. Oh well.

Mollee’s solo is the only solo I’m going to mention in this post. And why? Because SHE ARRIVED. To the show, to her womanhood, to the party. I saw this girl for the first time this season with her solo to Alicia Keys’ “Heartburn”, which she also sang along to during her dance. Now, I will say that she had improved last week with Russell and was stunning in her Waltz with Jakob earlier in the night. But this is a dancer who made an entrance here, and I was riveted. She flirted, had fun, flipped and twirled and had me wrapped around her finger. Yeah, this is what dance is all about! Well done to her.

Whew. I get no downtime as Kathryn and Ryan are next with a Jason Gilkison Cha Cha Cha. I learn that Jason is responsible for Burn the Floor, currently on Broadway (where have I been?), no wonder he’s standing out for me. And know how I said his Viennese Waltz was the best I’ve ever seen? This Cha Cha Cha is the BEST Cha Cha Cha I’ve ever seen (enough Cha’s for ya?). Jason rocks the Casbah, baby, I’m in love. I was glued to the screen during this dance, it amazed me. Kathryn and Ryan had a hot chemistry and connection, flirt-y sultriness. Ryan looked so hot in his hat and suspenders, and Kathryn was SO sexy in her fishnets and feathers–great use of feathers, by the way, long straight ones as a skirt instead of the fluffy emu-type. Ryan and Kathryn attacked the choreography with great relish, which was syncopated so well with Joss Stone’s song “Put Your Hands On Me”, great choice. Can I have a cigarette, please? They climb on judge Mary Murphy’s Hot Tamale Train, which she has only done one or two times this season.

Mollee and Jakob once again wipe up the dance floor with a Joey Bowling Broadway number to “Easy Street” from Annie (excellent music choices for this show, that is one of my faves). They are lovely and amazing and cute and mischievous. Did I mention they danced amazingly? This style also suited them well, and Nigel encouraged Mollee to get over to Broadway, they were waiting for her. This looked easy and joyous for them. Brilliant.

Ellenore and Legacy were up once again with a Nappy Tabs Hip Hop dance about aliens. This was good fun, but not fantastic, like I was hoping. The choreography didn’t really push them to their limits of what they could do, although it started off well, with the backwards masks. Shame on Tabetha and Napoleon for not really challenging these two.

After Ryan’s solo, he interrupts Cat while she’s giving his number to give Ashleigh’s number. This is a man who loves his woman. I was touched. What a mensch.

Last is Russell (and Ashleigh’s) Bollywood. And Bollywood it was, with a bit of funk and soul injected from Russell. You could just see it in his movement. Bollywood is so relentless in it’s movements and hand/head/finger/foot positioning (we learn that a wrong hand position can offend in India), and Russell was right there the entire time, never looking tired, and always having that sparkling smile ready. The execution was superb, and judge Adam Shankman said that he radiated pure joy for the art of dance. I whole-heartedly agree. Bonus that Russell’s partner was up-to-speed with him, and when I saw the move that dislocated Ashleigh’s shoulder (leap and swing over the head and around to in front of his legs), my shoulder hurt a little, too.

Needless to say, I am very torn about the finale. They all deserve to be there, including Ashleigh. I want everyone to win. But then, it wouldn’t be a competition, would it? Well, I voted for everyone and put a few extra votes in for my favorites.  Who will be in the finale for season 6? Tune in tonight and find out!

(Images courtesy of FOX Television)