SYTYCD
I should stop saying I like dancers, it seems to curse them. Poor Ashley! Maybe it's just bad luck, but the traumatic injury rate makes one wonder how much is too much for bodies that haven't quite left adolescence yet. Didn't one of the all-stars have a similar rib thing last week or the week before, I think Lauren, replaced by Katee to dance with Billy in that Cats number?
There was some good/great dancing last night, but Mark's Tahitian--OMG!!!! I guess Lauren was okay too but I could not take my eyes off Mark. I think he had to have done some South Pacific dancing before to have been that strong with it; being from Hawaii and of partial Hawaiian descent, it seems likely. His thighs and feet and legwork were amazing, and his presence was so compelling. I could have watched two hours of just Mark and his Tahitian. He rocked the costume, too. Lauren's was a bit too showgirl distracting and hid some of her movements, but he looked sleek and oh so manly. Yes, I am swooning as I type this.
Ok, so other people danced too... Adechike and Anya's salsa, I didn't think it was a terribly fair choreography to hand Adechike. Too many grueling physical tricks on top of a completely new dance style. He did well enough; Mia's critique was fair this week, that with more work it would have been really good, but as it was, it had too much visible thinking going on. Anya must be one of the strongest women in the world, what with that crazy extended backbend sequence.
José, finally the judges assessed him honestly, and obviously he came up lacking. He did give it a good shot, and he's got buckets of natural talent, but he's just too untrained to carry that kind of thing off. Also, I can't hear that song without mentally seeing Ben Vereen's performance to it on the Muppets in my head, and nothing could live up to that. His b-boy routine with Dominic didn't really improve things. As I noted last week, even in the free dance in the closing credits Dominic totally schooled him, and he did it again on stage. I thought it was a wretched choreography to boot. The intro was exciting, but it got bogged down in that fakey fake fight sequence, and the sword in the stone thing was just wtf, seeming to come from out of nowhere. I get that their costuming was supposed to be hip hop knight inspired, but the music had nothing to do with what was going on and they hadn't paid any attention to the sword before that point. Dominic's exit with the sword was amusing though!
Robert and Allison's Travis Wall piece I was prepared to hate from the discussion leading up to it, plus it was to Coldplay who I rather loathe, but it was deeply moving. Robert's personal connection to the subject of looking after one's mother propelled his performance into a place he hasn't gone on the show before, and Allison was so moving as the once strong mother now vulnerable and needing help. That feet walking bit at the end killed me. Lump in the throat, seriously. I wish I had anything to say about his and Kathryn's disco number, but at that point I started dozing off, having performed myself earlier that evening.
Billy did a lot better partnering with Anya in their jive this week than in any of his previous partnerships, and I think Anya should get a lot of the credit for that, educating him with her world of experience. (As an aside, she must be the hardest working person on the show this year, since it's mostly boys left and she's the only female ballroom/Latin partner for them) Billy's hips are just astonishing. He was sometimes too loose and large for the style, but it never slowed him down. One of the things I liked best about his dancing in this was the way he could stop on a dime and pick right back up again. The Mandy Moore dancing shoes routine with contestant Lauren was nice and relaxed, and again, he partnered much better. Lauren was very good in it too; they came across as a couple of friends hanging out, which is maybe what helped make the partnering seem more natural. The routine was fluff, but it was fun and showed them both off well.
Tangent on Billy: I think it's no secret that he's gay, even without the sex bum comment. I have gotten the sense from him more than once during the season that he doesn't have a lot of patience for the strictly heteronormative conventions of partner dances as presented on SYTYCD, very justifiably, and that's where some of his partnering issues have come from. Additionally, I think he dances how he likes to dance, and doesn't see the point of forcing himself to be something he's not for the sake of pleasing the judges or audience. I'd thought that before last night, but the way he responded to Mia saying something about how he has a regal bearing and even if it's not appropriate to the style it's what makes him Billy Bell as he dances really confirmed it. I have a world of empathy for that feeling, but it will also keep him from winning the show. But you know, I'm not sure he cares. He's a fascinating person.
Back to recapping: I do not like Kent but I have to admit he was good in that Broadway baseball number with Neil. I think dancing alongside a grown man helped him break out of that aw shucks demeanor he has around the women. They were a bit physically mismatched, with Kent looking like a kid next to Neil, but in a way, that suits baseball mythology, the kid struggling to succeed. Adam Shankman was right, he could have an excellent Broadway career ahead of him. He danced well with Adechike too, who in turn partnered well with him. I'm glad the imbalance of women and men in the remaining dancers has forced the show to feature same-sex duets, because there's a whole world of storytelling that has opened up as a result. I gather Nigel has always been strongly opposed to the concept, but he has no choice this year. Anyway, they certainly got across the bro she's no good for you story, and interacted like they really cared not only about each other but also about the invisible girl in the chair, in Kent's case.
I think José definitely ought to be in the bottom two, but other than that, I think arguments can be made for and against most of them. Kent I have to admit more than earned his safety net of votes this week. I thought Billy was great, and in terms of what the judges say they want to see in the show, showed the most development, but he doesn't have a ton of audience support (see tangent above--he doesn't work on winning the audience, they can like him or leave him. Again, my empathy). Robert may benefit from the emotional content of his piece, but will it be enough to lift him up in the standings? I think Adechike is listening hard and learning and incorporating what he's being told into his dancing, but it's probably not enough to keep him around for much longer. Lauren's routines may have been too wierd for the voters to draw them in, but she has charisma and an attractive honesty as a dancer which might have already won her some loyal fans to carry her through.
If it were up to me, José would go home this week. I could also accept Robert going home, even though he was so good in the contemporary piece--he's just not quite at the same level as the other male modern/contemporary dancers. I'd be sad to see Adechike go, but I could understand it. I think I would want to see any of those three go home over Ashley, not just because that would mean her injury wasn't that bad, but because I think there's something explosive in that girl about ready to come out and I want to see it.
This will always be the season of "what if," though, with Alex being cut. I was glad to hear that his surgery looked like a success. I also have a bit of "what if" about Christina, the salsa dancer who was cut earlier on. I thought she had wonderful potential.
Is Mia Michaels trying to hide a bad eyelift with her makeup? She's been looking just awful the last few weeks.
In other news, I've listened to the new M.I.A. album, and I like a lot about half of it, the loud abrasive non-autotuned half. Not so convinced by the softer side. As far as the singing and autotuning go, her unique voice has always been a major draw for me, and this material detracts from that. Only listened to it through once though, so I'll give those songs some more chances.
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There was some good/great dancing last night, but Mark's Tahitian--OMG!!!! I guess Lauren was okay too but I could not take my eyes off Mark. I think he had to have done some South Pacific dancing before to have been that strong with it; being from Hawaii and of partial Hawaiian descent, it seems likely. His thighs and feet and legwork were amazing, and his presence was so compelling. I could have watched two hours of just Mark and his Tahitian. He rocked the costume, too. Lauren's was a bit too showgirl distracting and hid some of her movements, but he looked sleek and oh so manly. Yes, I am swooning as I type this.
Ok, so other people danced too... Adechike and Anya's salsa, I didn't think it was a terribly fair choreography to hand Adechike. Too many grueling physical tricks on top of a completely new dance style. He did well enough; Mia's critique was fair this week, that with more work it would have been really good, but as it was, it had too much visible thinking going on. Anya must be one of the strongest women in the world, what with that crazy extended backbend sequence.
José, finally the judges assessed him honestly, and obviously he came up lacking. He did give it a good shot, and he's got buckets of natural talent, but he's just too untrained to carry that kind of thing off. Also, I can't hear that song without mentally seeing Ben Vereen's performance to it on the Muppets in my head, and nothing could live up to that. His b-boy routine with Dominic didn't really improve things. As I noted last week, even in the free dance in the closing credits Dominic totally schooled him, and he did it again on stage. I thought it was a wretched choreography to boot. The intro was exciting, but it got bogged down in that fakey fake fight sequence, and the sword in the stone thing was just wtf, seeming to come from out of nowhere. I get that their costuming was supposed to be hip hop knight inspired, but the music had nothing to do with what was going on and they hadn't paid any attention to the sword before that point. Dominic's exit with the sword was amusing though!
Robert and Allison's Travis Wall piece I was prepared to hate from the discussion leading up to it, plus it was to Coldplay who I rather loathe, but it was deeply moving. Robert's personal connection to the subject of looking after one's mother propelled his performance into a place he hasn't gone on the show before, and Allison was so moving as the once strong mother now vulnerable and needing help. That feet walking bit at the end killed me. Lump in the throat, seriously. I wish I had anything to say about his and Kathryn's disco number, but at that point I started dozing off, having performed myself earlier that evening.
Billy did a lot better partnering with Anya in their jive this week than in any of his previous partnerships, and I think Anya should get a lot of the credit for that, educating him with her world of experience. (As an aside, she must be the hardest working person on the show this year, since it's mostly boys left and she's the only female ballroom/Latin partner for them) Billy's hips are just astonishing. He was sometimes too loose and large for the style, but it never slowed him down. One of the things I liked best about his dancing in this was the way he could stop on a dime and pick right back up again. The Mandy Moore dancing shoes routine with contestant Lauren was nice and relaxed, and again, he partnered much better. Lauren was very good in it too; they came across as a couple of friends hanging out, which is maybe what helped make the partnering seem more natural. The routine was fluff, but it was fun and showed them both off well.
Tangent on Billy: I think it's no secret that he's gay, even without the sex bum comment. I have gotten the sense from him more than once during the season that he doesn't have a lot of patience for the strictly heteronormative conventions of partner dances as presented on SYTYCD, very justifiably, and that's where some of his partnering issues have come from. Additionally, I think he dances how he likes to dance, and doesn't see the point of forcing himself to be something he's not for the sake of pleasing the judges or audience. I'd thought that before last night, but the way he responded to Mia saying something about how he has a regal bearing and even if it's not appropriate to the style it's what makes him Billy Bell as he dances really confirmed it. I have a world of empathy for that feeling, but it will also keep him from winning the show. But you know, I'm not sure he cares. He's a fascinating person.
Back to recapping: I do not like Kent but I have to admit he was good in that Broadway baseball number with Neil. I think dancing alongside a grown man helped him break out of that aw shucks demeanor he has around the women. They were a bit physically mismatched, with Kent looking like a kid next to Neil, but in a way, that suits baseball mythology, the kid struggling to succeed. Adam Shankman was right, he could have an excellent Broadway career ahead of him. He danced well with Adechike too, who in turn partnered well with him. I'm glad the imbalance of women and men in the remaining dancers has forced the show to feature same-sex duets, because there's a whole world of storytelling that has opened up as a result. I gather Nigel has always been strongly opposed to the concept, but he has no choice this year. Anyway, they certainly got across the bro she's no good for you story, and interacted like they really cared not only about each other but also about the invisible girl in the chair, in Kent's case.
I think José definitely ought to be in the bottom two, but other than that, I think arguments can be made for and against most of them. Kent I have to admit more than earned his safety net of votes this week. I thought Billy was great, and in terms of what the judges say they want to see in the show, showed the most development, but he doesn't have a ton of audience support (see tangent above--he doesn't work on winning the audience, they can like him or leave him. Again, my empathy). Robert may benefit from the emotional content of his piece, but will it be enough to lift him up in the standings? I think Adechike is listening hard and learning and incorporating what he's being told into his dancing, but it's probably not enough to keep him around for much longer. Lauren's routines may have been too wierd for the voters to draw them in, but she has charisma and an attractive honesty as a dancer which might have already won her some loyal fans to carry her through.
If it were up to me, José would go home this week. I could also accept Robert going home, even though he was so good in the contemporary piece--he's just not quite at the same level as the other male modern/contemporary dancers. I'd be sad to see Adechike go, but I could understand it. I think I would want to see any of those three go home over Ashley, not just because that would mean her injury wasn't that bad, but because I think there's something explosive in that girl about ready to come out and I want to see it.
This will always be the season of "what if," though, with Alex being cut. I was glad to hear that his surgery looked like a success. I also have a bit of "what if" about Christina, the salsa dancer who was cut earlier on. I thought she had wonderful potential.
Is Mia Michaels trying to hide a bad eyelift with her makeup? She's been looking just awful the last few weeks.
In other news, I've listened to the new M.I.A. album, and I like a lot about half of it, the loud abrasive non-autotuned half. Not so convinced by the softer side. As far as the singing and autotuning go, her unique voice has always been a major draw for me, and this material detracts from that. Only listened to it through once though, so I'll give those songs some more chances.
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