Okay, so we've been a little lacking on the posting front of late, but 'tis the season to procrastinate!
Anyway, last night as I was laid up on the couch with the stomach flu, I finally got around to watching 'Knocked Up'. Really only because there was nothing else on TV, it was on, I'd heard it was reasonably funny, so why not, right?
Sheesh.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't really get Judd Apatow/Seth Rogen/Jonah Hill thing. I just don't find it funny. The only time I laughed out loud was during Ryan Seacrest's hissy fit:
Aside from that, I just don't get it. It wasn't funny.
December 29, 2008
Wow...That Was Really Not a Very Good Movie
Posted by Anonymous at 6:38 PM 0 comments
Labels: Jonah Hill, Judd Apatow, Knocked Up, Ryan Seacrest, Seth Rogen, Sucked
December 11, 2008
Cirque du Soleil & Criss Angel: Believe
*Sigh*
I so wanted this to be a post extolling the virtues and wonders of the new Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil show. Alas, this was not to be.
Those of you that have been paying attention know that I went on a short vacation to Las Vegas last week with a friend of mine. The main reason we decided to go to Vegas was to take in 'Believe', the new show at the Luxor Hotel and Casino, by Cirque du Soleil featuring Criss Angel.
Before I get into it, a little background. Prior to seeing this show, I had the good fortune to take in four other Cirque du Soleil performances: 'O' and 'Zumanity', both in Las Vegas, 'Varekai' in Vancouver, and 'Saltimbanco' here in Kelowna. I love Cirque's performances. The music, the acrobatics, the dancing, the costumes - all second to none. So let's just say I was going into 'Believe' with a certain set of expectations.
I'm going to start with the pluses for 'Believe'.
As usual, the music, costumes and dance sequences (all choreographed by the incomparable Wade Robson) were excellent. Some of you may have seen this preview on So You Think You Can Dance US last summer:
There was a second dance sequence featuring moles that was equally killer.
Unfortunately, that's where the good ends.
Prior to going into this show, I had made the (mistaken) assumption that it would be primarily a Cirque show with some of Criss Angel's illusions worked into it. What a great show that would have been.
Sadly, what the show turned into was a venue for Criss Angel to talk out of his ass and promote his television show.
When entering the theatre area in the Luxor, there is a parental warning stating that the show is not suitable for those under 18 due to the 'dark' nature of the show. Aside, from some swearing and penis jokes from Angel, that was about it for unsuitable material. It wasn't particularly dark (and I know dark). It wasn't disturbing. It didn't make me uncomfortable.
Every illusion that Angel performed came with a reference to what season of his show (Criss Angel: Mindfreak on A&E) it was originally seen on. There was no original material from him. He made sure to reference the season each time, just so you'd know which ones to buy on DVD.
When he was speaking to the audience (which happened a lot), he was crass, rude, obnoxious and arrogant. Then he'd go into an act and try to play the tortured artist. I certainly didn't buy it and it didn't seem that anyone else did either.
Ultimately I was incredibly disappointed with this show. And it seemed the rest of the (small) audience was too. A significant number left before the show was over! Never, have I seen that happen at a Cirque show before.
If I had my way, I would have Cirque du Soleil and for that matter Wade Robson completely disassociate themselves from this show. Take their names, logos, everything off of it. License the costumes, music, choreography, whatever, to Criss Angel for use in his show and never have the show reference them again.
If I had attended this show with someone who hadn't previously seen a Cirque du Soleil show, I would have felt obligated to buy tickets to another show just to show them exactly what a real Cirque show is all about. If this had been my first exposure to Cirque, I wouldn't be buying tickets to any of their other shows.
So in closing, I will say this: If you were thinking of seeing this show, DON'T. It's a waste of your hard earned money and nowhere near the kind of art that is normally presented by Cirque du Soleil.
I so wanted this to be a post extolling the virtues and wonders of the new Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil show. Alas, this was not to be.
Those of you that have been paying attention know that I went on a short vacation to Las Vegas last week with a friend of mine. The main reason we decided to go to Vegas was to take in 'Believe', the new show at the Luxor Hotel and Casino, by Cirque du Soleil featuring Criss Angel.
Before I get into it, a little background. Prior to seeing this show, I had the good fortune to take in four other Cirque du Soleil performances: 'O' and 'Zumanity', both in Las Vegas, 'Varekai' in Vancouver, and 'Saltimbanco' here in Kelowna. I love Cirque's performances. The music, the acrobatics, the dancing, the costumes - all second to none. So let's just say I was going into 'Believe' with a certain set of expectations.
I'm going to start with the pluses for 'Believe'.
As usual, the music, costumes and dance sequences (all choreographed by the incomparable Wade Robson) were excellent. Some of you may have seen this preview on So You Think You Can Dance US last summer:
There was a second dance sequence featuring moles that was equally killer.
Unfortunately, that's where the good ends.
Prior to going into this show, I had made the (mistaken) assumption that it would be primarily a Cirque show with some of Criss Angel's illusions worked into it. What a great show that would have been.
Sadly, what the show turned into was a venue for Criss Angel to talk out of his ass and promote his television show.
When entering the theatre area in the Luxor, there is a parental warning stating that the show is not suitable for those under 18 due to the 'dark' nature of the show. Aside, from some swearing and penis jokes from Angel, that was about it for unsuitable material. It wasn't particularly dark (and I know dark). It wasn't disturbing. It didn't make me uncomfortable.
Every illusion that Angel performed came with a reference to what season of his show (Criss Angel: Mindfreak on A&E) it was originally seen on. There was no original material from him. He made sure to reference the season each time, just so you'd know which ones to buy on DVD.
When he was speaking to the audience (which happened a lot), he was crass, rude, obnoxious and arrogant. Then he'd go into an act and try to play the tortured artist. I certainly didn't buy it and it didn't seem that anyone else did either.
Ultimately I was incredibly disappointed with this show. And it seemed the rest of the (small) audience was too. A significant number left before the show was over! Never, have I seen that happen at a Cirque show before.
If I had my way, I would have Cirque du Soleil and for that matter Wade Robson completely disassociate themselves from this show. Take their names, logos, everything off of it. License the costumes, music, choreography, whatever, to Criss Angel for use in his show and never have the show reference them again.
If I had attended this show with someone who hadn't previously seen a Cirque du Soleil show, I would have felt obligated to buy tickets to another show just to show them exactly what a real Cirque show is all about. If this had been my first exposure to Cirque, I wouldn't be buying tickets to any of their other shows.
So in closing, I will say this: If you were thinking of seeing this show, DON'T. It's a waste of your hard earned money and nowhere near the kind of art that is normally presented by Cirque du Soleil.
Posted by Anonymous at 9:46 PM 1 comments
Labels: Ass Talk, Believe, Cirque du Soleil, Criss Angel, Disappointment, Las Vegas, The Luxor, Wade Robson
December 7, 2008
So You Think You Can Dance Canada - FINALE!!!
First thing I'm going to say is, I'm posting this at approximately 8:30pm, PST, meaning those of you in the western provinces without satellite/digital cable time shifting haven't gotten through the whole show yet, so if you don't want to be spoiled, stop reading now and please come back later! ;)
We start the show with a Luther Brown hip-hop routine for our Top 20. I don’t know what the song is, but the dance is hot with lots of feature performances, though with this many, and all the hats, it’s hard to tell who’s who. It was kind of fun playing that game again!
We get introductions of all the Top 20 so we can be reminded of all those who didn’t make it. Awww... Lara, Francis....Danny....Arassay!!! I've MISSED everybody.
Leah’s got great hair tonight.
Joining our regular band of merry judges tonight is Mia Michaels, Rex Harrington and Mary Murphy! I was hoping that Mary would have been a bit more involved over the whole season... I think she was only on 3 times?
Leah does a quick overview...it’s hard to believe it’s only been nine weeks. We get some final thoughts from the judges, much praise for Canada and the talent here, the diversity presented by our dancers.
Journey Montage! All the way back to auditions! Eeehh...I’m almost a little teary here. There was so much amazing stuff this season.
Natalli and Nico are back doing their disco routine. Still just as sharp and hot as the first time. For some reason, I actually preferred it the first time around, and I don't know if I could actually say why that was...
Luther’s favourite dance of the season was Danny and Allie’s mambo. Awww this one was so great. Allie turns into such the little sex kitten on this one and Danny’s right in his element.
Mia’s favourite dance was Blake’s mirror piece with Lisa and Miles. Convenient since there are so many similarities to Mia’s ‘door’ piece. And we’re back with the over-emoting from Lisa. I still find the hand prints distracting.
Yay!!! Arassay and Nico are back doing their theatre piece to ‘Somebody to Love’ by Queen. Sigh. Arguably my favourite piece of the entire season. I’ve missed Arassay and of course it’s always good to see Nico. Leah sends Nico all over the stage to pick up all the lost feathers so she can sell them on ebay. Hee. This was one of my favourites as well, and I would like Leah to send me some of the feathers.
Tre’s favourite performance was the Jive with Allie and Danny. Again! Hmmm...a hint to the winner perhaps? This is fun! They were so good together. While this one was good, I don't think I would have picked it for a favourite. In fact, some of their choices overall have surprised me...
World Dance Montage! Maculele! Dancehall! Step! Capoeira! Bollywood!
Lisa and Vincent are back doing their African Jazz piece dedicated to the memory of Debbie Laliord (okay I know that’s not right, but I don’t know who that is, so if anybody does, help me out in the comments). This is just one of those spirit lifting pieces that you don’t need to analyze to death. Just enjoy.
Leah addresses the fact that Vincent never got his goodbye montage...so we get to see it now! I think it's great that they showed this, as I really thought it unfortunate that they ran out of time when he (wrongly) left us...
Now we’ve got Natalli and Francis doing their salsa routine. Hot. (Yes, I know, I’ve softened on Natalli a bit...I still don’t think she should win!) Another one I'm not sure I would have picked. However, the purple costume built out of strings is equally impressive the second time around.
Blake’s favourite routine is Lisa and Vincent’s house routine. I don’t think I loved this one the first time around. It’s still just okay for me.
Lara and Miles get to re-do their krump routine. Those flips that Lara does at the beginning still amaze me. She’s crazy talented and probably should have lasted longer than she did. She absolutely should have made it into the Top 10. I'm disappointed she won't be on the tour.
Mary’s favourite dance was Natalli and Vincent’s contemporary routine. I’m not sure I’ve ever realized this before, but, Vincent is one pale dude. And I’m pale, so I know pale. If he were blonde I’d say he was albino... Great dance.
Rex’s favourite performance was Allie and Izaak’s hip hop routine. I think this might have been the ‘okay, let’s give Izaak one’ dance. Allie really is incredibly transformative. While she’ll never be truly butch, she does a pretty good job all around with all the parts she has to play.
Arassay and Nico are back with their jazz routine to ‘Man’s World’ by James Brown. Hmmmm....we’re seeing a lot of Nico tonight...clue? This is a great dance. I can just see them crawling into bed together after they walk off the stage (sorry Arassay’s parents!).
JM’s favourite dance is the Paso Doble with Natalli and Francis. This was really good the first time around. Equally as good the second time. This is my favourite Natalli piece of the year. It was perfect for the both of them, so well suited.
Lara and Miles return to do their fox trot. Lovely again. Still loving that dress.
Injury Montage! Ugh...the broken nose pop! I just put my hands over my face until it was over.
Now we’ve got jazz with Kaitlyn and Izaak. Easily their best routine. I think this was the only one where the two of them came off equally strong at the same time. This one was my favourite for these two - still blown away by the spin right after she jumps off the table...
Allie and Miles are back doing the samba. Allie seems less awkward in the beginning than she was the first time they did this. Very cool dance.
Allie Montage! We’re starting to get down to it, guys! The judges have some words for Allie revolving around how adaptable she is and how genuine she is. They all say lovely things and I guarantee Carra’s crying. Just for the record? The crying started when they all came out on stage. At the very beginning of the night. Allie looks close to tears herself. I imagine it would be hard to keep yourself together with seven people telling you fabulous things about yourself.
Miles Montage! He’s choking up a bit before the montage even plays! Mia’s choking talking to Miles..she makes me a little teary. All the judges find him inspiring.
Now we’ve got the quick step with Natalli and Nico. They really did seem to truly get this dance. And considering we’ve had it done twice - well - on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, it makes you wonder why it’s been a problem on all the other stages.
Natalli Montage! Natalli tries to make an inspirational speech and Leah cuts her off before she can finish. Hee. The judges all praise her strength and ability to ‘leave it on the stage’. Tre’s blubbering through her words.
Nico Montage! ‘I don’t love to dance, I am dance’....sigh. Yep, that's where it started for me and Nico - when he said that during the audiences. I've never looked back. Mia makes a slight pass at him. I think Rex does too. All the judges talk about heart and soul. Nico gets teary when Mary says he’ll go down in history as one of the best on any SYTYCD. JM chokes up complimenting him.
Yay! New routine! It’s a full on take out of Dirty Dancing with the whole Top 20! Eek shirt stripping! Sorry again parents! Nico is full on playing the Johnny Castle part! Fun! Fake out! Shirtless boys! Great Fun! No apologies from me, they can take their shirts off any old time they want to! I thought this one was just fantastic - what a great number to end the show! I didn't catch who choreographed this one?
Leah brings out the Top 4 for what I can only assume are the final results. I’m going to pause and say that, while we all know that Carra and I are fully rooting for Nico to win, there is no doubt that all of the Top 4 have been in some amazing dances this year. While we might think there are others who deserve to be there more than some, they’ve all made the show extremely enjoyable.
Okay, on to results. The boys are still shirtless! Bonus!
Ack...back from commercials and the boys have shirts on. Bah.
Leah’s already having trouble keeping it together. Natalli’s out...Allie’s Top 2! Miles is out which makes Nico Top 2! This is exactly how I pictured it weeks ago.
NICO WINS IT!!!!!!!!!! THE JUDGES ARE ON THEIR FEET! THE AUDIENCE IS ON THEIR FEET! LEAH’S CRYING! (when she's not thrusting the cheque in his face) NICO’S CRYING! THE JUDGES ARE CRYING! No need to ask what I'm doing at this point.
YAY!!
Nico and Arassay share a cute long hug at the end...awww.....Okay wait...does Lisa seriously have her cell phone in her hand?? What is that? It's actually a camera. I went back and watched to make sure.
We start the show with a Luther Brown hip-hop routine for our Top 20. I don’t know what the song is, but the dance is hot with lots of feature performances, though with this many, and all the hats, it’s hard to tell who’s who. It was kind of fun playing that game again!
We get introductions of all the Top 20 so we can be reminded of all those who didn’t make it. Awww... Lara, Francis....Danny....Arassay!!! I've MISSED everybody.
Leah’s got great hair tonight.
Joining our regular band of merry judges tonight is Mia Michaels, Rex Harrington and Mary Murphy! I was hoping that Mary would have been a bit more involved over the whole season... I think she was only on 3 times?
Leah does a quick overview...it’s hard to believe it’s only been nine weeks. We get some final thoughts from the judges, much praise for Canada and the talent here, the diversity presented by our dancers.
Journey Montage! All the way back to auditions! Eeehh...I’m almost a little teary here. There was so much amazing stuff this season.
Natalli and Nico are back doing their disco routine. Still just as sharp and hot as the first time. For some reason, I actually preferred it the first time around, and I don't know if I could actually say why that was...
Luther’s favourite dance of the season was Danny and Allie’s mambo. Awww this one was so great. Allie turns into such the little sex kitten on this one and Danny’s right in his element.
Mia’s favourite dance was Blake’s mirror piece with Lisa and Miles. Convenient since there are so many similarities to Mia’s ‘door’ piece. And we’re back with the over-emoting from Lisa. I still find the hand prints distracting.
Yay!!! Arassay and Nico are back doing their theatre piece to ‘Somebody to Love’ by Queen. Sigh. Arguably my favourite piece of the entire season. I’ve missed Arassay and of course it’s always good to see Nico. Leah sends Nico all over the stage to pick up all the lost feathers so she can sell them on ebay. Hee. This was one of my favourites as well, and I would like Leah to send me some of the feathers.
Tre’s favourite performance was the Jive with Allie and Danny. Again! Hmmm...a hint to the winner perhaps? This is fun! They were so good together. While this one was good, I don't think I would have picked it for a favourite. In fact, some of their choices overall have surprised me...
World Dance Montage! Maculele! Dancehall! Step! Capoeira! Bollywood!
Lisa and Vincent are back doing their African Jazz piece dedicated to the memory of Debbie Laliord (okay I know that’s not right, but I don’t know who that is, so if anybody does, help me out in the comments). This is just one of those spirit lifting pieces that you don’t need to analyze to death. Just enjoy.
Leah addresses the fact that Vincent never got his goodbye montage...so we get to see it now! I think it's great that they showed this, as I really thought it unfortunate that they ran out of time when he (wrongly) left us...
Now we’ve got Natalli and Francis doing their salsa routine. Hot. (Yes, I know, I’ve softened on Natalli a bit...I still don’t think she should win!) Another one I'm not sure I would have picked. However, the purple costume built out of strings is equally impressive the second time around.
Blake’s favourite routine is Lisa and Vincent’s house routine. I don’t think I loved this one the first time around. It’s still just okay for me.
Lara and Miles get to re-do their krump routine. Those flips that Lara does at the beginning still amaze me. She’s crazy talented and probably should have lasted longer than she did. She absolutely should have made it into the Top 10. I'm disappointed she won't be on the tour.
Mary’s favourite dance was Natalli and Vincent’s contemporary routine. I’m not sure I’ve ever realized this before, but, Vincent is one pale dude. And I’m pale, so I know pale. If he were blonde I’d say he was albino... Great dance.
Rex’s favourite performance was Allie and Izaak’s hip hop routine. I think this might have been the ‘okay, let’s give Izaak one’ dance. Allie really is incredibly transformative. While she’ll never be truly butch, she does a pretty good job all around with all the parts she has to play.
Arassay and Nico are back with their jazz routine to ‘Man’s World’ by James Brown. Hmmmm....we’re seeing a lot of Nico tonight...clue? This is a great dance. I can just see them crawling into bed together after they walk off the stage (sorry Arassay’s parents!).
JM’s favourite dance is the Paso Doble with Natalli and Francis. This was really good the first time around. Equally as good the second time. This is my favourite Natalli piece of the year. It was perfect for the both of them, so well suited.
Lara and Miles return to do their fox trot. Lovely again. Still loving that dress.
Injury Montage! Ugh...the broken nose pop! I just put my hands over my face until it was over.
Now we’ve got jazz with Kaitlyn and Izaak. Easily their best routine. I think this was the only one where the two of them came off equally strong at the same time. This one was my favourite for these two - still blown away by the spin right after she jumps off the table...
Allie and Miles are back doing the samba. Allie seems less awkward in the beginning than she was the first time they did this. Very cool dance.
Allie Montage! We’re starting to get down to it, guys! The judges have some words for Allie revolving around how adaptable she is and how genuine she is. They all say lovely things and I guarantee Carra’s crying. Just for the record? The crying started when they all came out on stage. At the very beginning of the night. Allie looks close to tears herself. I imagine it would be hard to keep yourself together with seven people telling you fabulous things about yourself.
Miles Montage! He’s choking up a bit before the montage even plays! Mia’s choking talking to Miles..she makes me a little teary. All the judges find him inspiring.
Now we’ve got the quick step with Natalli and Nico. They really did seem to truly get this dance. And considering we’ve had it done twice - well - on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, it makes you wonder why it’s been a problem on all the other stages.
Natalli Montage! Natalli tries to make an inspirational speech and Leah cuts her off before she can finish. Hee. The judges all praise her strength and ability to ‘leave it on the stage’. Tre’s blubbering through her words.
Nico Montage! ‘I don’t love to dance, I am dance’....sigh. Yep, that's where it started for me and Nico - when he said that during the audiences. I've never looked back. Mia makes a slight pass at him. I think Rex does too. All the judges talk about heart and soul. Nico gets teary when Mary says he’ll go down in history as one of the best on any SYTYCD. JM chokes up complimenting him.
Yay! New routine! It’s a full on take out of Dirty Dancing with the whole Top 20! Eek shirt stripping! Sorry again parents! Nico is full on playing the Johnny Castle part! Fun! Fake out! Shirtless boys! Great Fun! No apologies from me, they can take their shirts off any old time they want to! I thought this one was just fantastic - what a great number to end the show! I didn't catch who choreographed this one?
Leah brings out the Top 4 for what I can only assume are the final results. I’m going to pause and say that, while we all know that Carra and I are fully rooting for Nico to win, there is no doubt that all of the Top 4 have been in some amazing dances this year. While we might think there are others who deserve to be there more than some, they’ve all made the show extremely enjoyable.
Okay, on to results. The boys are still shirtless! Bonus!
Ack...back from commercials and the boys have shirts on. Bah.
Leah’s already having trouble keeping it together. Natalli’s out...Allie’s Top 2! Miles is out which makes Nico Top 2! This is exactly how I pictured it weeks ago.
NICO WINS IT!!!!!!!!!! THE JUDGES ARE ON THEIR FEET! THE AUDIENCE IS ON THEIR FEET! LEAH’S CRYING! (when she's not thrusting the cheque in his face) NICO’S CRYING! THE JUDGES ARE CRYING! No need to ask what I'm doing at this point.
YAY!!
Nico and Arassay share a cute long hug at the end...awww.....Okay wait...does Lisa seriously have her cell phone in her hand?? What is that? It's actually a camera. I went back and watched to make sure.
Great show. Perfect winner.
Carra will be on later to post her comments so keep an eye out for that. To reiterate, I was a bit surprised with some of the numbers we saw tonight, and more surprised by what was missing... particularly the Nico and Lisa photo shoot, the Miles and Allie train station, and an early contemporary piece with Vincent and Lisa.
Otherwise, I quite enjoyed the layout of the show, and preferred how they kept all 4 of them in the game right until the end. Thrilled of course that Nico won. Apparently his family will be getting the car (sorry Leah) as it turns out he doesn't have a drivers license...
And I’ve got a few posts to add in over the next few days about my fabulous trip to Vegas, including my review of the newest Cirque du Soleil show featuring Criss Angel, ‘Believe’. Here’s the preview...it’s not terribly positive.
Anyway, thank you readers, for a great season of SYTYCD Canada! There is much more to come on the blog, so stay tuned!
And as a final comment on the whole we love Nico situation? Okay come on. Someone reading this knows Nico. A family member, a friend... someone! So I think that someone should encourage Nico to drop me and Kim, his faithful fans, a line on our gmail acct (popgoestheword@gmail.com) just to say hello. :)
Posted by Anonymous at 8:28 PM 0 comments
Harry Potter vs. Edward Cullen
Harry Potter and Edward Cullen have been involved in a pretty fierce debate as of late.
And this weekend finally provided the results...
A draw. Well, really, a win win.
As those of you have been following the battle between Kim and myself know, Kim was fairly determined to have me see the movie Twilight this weekend while she was in town... so determined in fact, she saw fit to drag the innocent public (I did not drag....I merely offered them the option of having a say!) into the middle by placing a poll in our blog, which several of you voted on. The results didn't point in any clear direction, but in the end that didn't matter... because I made up my own mind and decided I would indeed put myself directly in the line of danger and risk the possibility of taking on another obsession.
But then Kim would have to risk the same and finally take her first steps through the doors of Hogwarts, hand in hand with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
So... I saw the movie yesterday. And of course, I liked it, and thought about vampires all night long. I think I even dreamt in vampire.
Was it cheesy? Oh yeah... it was. Full of teenage angst, giggling girls and glittery boys... okay, well, just one glittery boy, but still... However, for some reason, this only added to the enjoyment, making me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. And good news for me, I didn't cry once! I admit to ALMOST crying once, but the point is that not one tear escaped my eye. You didn't tell me that when I was still there!
Favorite part of the movie? The baseball scene. Oh, and Jasper's creepy behaviour in general.
Kim was kind enough to give me the first book of the series as part of my Christmas present and I'm debating putting my current read on hold in order to get started. Hee hee hee...
In return to subjecting me to this new obsession, Kim has committed to reading the first 2 Harry Potter books and watching the first movie by the end of the year. I mentioned in a previous posting that she would never have to admit out loud just how much she enjoys them, so we may never know for sure... but we do, don't we... I will commit to being as honest as you have been here...
The irony that Robert Pattinson has played a part in both of these movies (granted, a much larger part in the Twilight series, being the main character and all) did not escape me. Funny, the webs we weave...
And this weekend finally provided the results...
A draw. Well, really, a win win.
As those of you have been following the battle between Kim and myself know, Kim was fairly determined to have me see the movie Twilight this weekend while she was in town... so determined in fact, she saw fit to drag the innocent public (I did not drag....I merely offered them the option of having a say!) into the middle by placing a poll in our blog, which several of you voted on. The results didn't point in any clear direction, but in the end that didn't matter... because I made up my own mind and decided I would indeed put myself directly in the line of danger and risk the possibility of taking on another obsession.
But then Kim would have to risk the same and finally take her first steps through the doors of Hogwarts, hand in hand with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
So... I saw the movie yesterday. And of course, I liked it, and thought about vampires all night long. I think I even dreamt in vampire.
Was it cheesy? Oh yeah... it was. Full of teenage angst, giggling girls and glittery boys... okay, well, just one glittery boy, but still... However, for some reason, this only added to the enjoyment, making me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. And good news for me, I didn't cry once! I admit to ALMOST crying once, but the point is that not one tear escaped my eye. You didn't tell me that when I was still there!
Favorite part of the movie? The baseball scene. Oh, and Jasper's creepy behaviour in general.
Kim was kind enough to give me the first book of the series as part of my Christmas present and I'm debating putting my current read on hold in order to get started. Hee hee hee...
In return to subjecting me to this new obsession, Kim has committed to reading the first 2 Harry Potter books and watching the first movie by the end of the year. I mentioned in a previous posting that she would never have to admit out loud just how much she enjoys them, so we may never know for sure... but we do, don't we... I will commit to being as honest as you have been here...
The irony that Robert Pattinson has played a part in both of these movies (granted, a much larger part in the Twilight series, being the main character and all) did not escape me. Funny, the webs we weave...
Posted by Carra at 3:04 PM 0 comments
Labels: glittering boys, Harry Potter, Hogwarts, movies, Robert Pattinson, Twilight, vampire
December 3, 2008
So You Think You Can Dance Canada - The Final Four!
Wow. The Final Four. Hard to believe we've blown through a full season.
The entire Top 20 are with us tonight, with 16 of them watching from the balcony above.
We are informed right off the top that the Season Finale will NOT be tomorrow night, but instead will be aired on Sunday night. Damn! I was so looking forward to watching it with Kim and signing off the season together. It just seemed... fitting. Oh well - maybe we'll go catch a movie tomorrow night instead!
Our judges tonight are Luther Brown, Blake McGrath, Tre Armstrong - looking very glittery and shakin' her thang all over the stage, and of course, JM.
The Top 4 are greeted with the treat of Dan Karaty, here to choreograph the night's group number. It's a hip hop, quirky street jazz piece, on the mad hatter side... and Nico informs us that it's very natural to him to look a bit twisted. Miles says he's tired.
The song is Genesis by Justice and the guys are decked out entirely in red suits, complete with red top hots. They are both wearing eyeliner, just for Kim I'm sure. Natalli and Allie hold their own completely and the overall effect is fantastic.
This is a very cool number.
Luther gives a shout out to Dan and gives props to the dancers. It's been 9 weeks of non-stop dancing, and it's as much a competition of endurance as it is anything else. Blake says they were great in spite of all their injuries and congratulates them all.
Tre has a secret for us - Leah has won a Gemini for... I actually didn't catch exactly for what, but possibly for being hot? She goes on to tell the group that they have all developed into beautiful and versatile dancers. JM says Leah is not only hot, but also smart. Much like his wife. That's always a wise move. He also tells us that we have made SYTYCDC the new #1 show in Canada.
The first duo of the night is Natalli and Nico doing a salsa. Imagine Natalli getting salsa!
Choreographed by Gustavo Vargas, we have another briefcase number. Before they start we learn that Nico is very talented at... making noises. He acknowledges he had a lot of time on his hands as a kid.
Dancing to La Pelota by Ray Baretto, Natalli comes out looking really hot all dressed up in business attire. Very similar to how I dress for work, in fact.
This is a piece that seems very complex, lots of twists and turns and tricks - and ack! They kissed, but apparently it was an accident.
Luther tells them they look good together and that 'y'all move with ease'. And even though Nico is not a salsa dude, Natalli is a beast and they both bring the passion. Blake tries to fake them out, but ends up confessing that they were strong, hard and sexy. Tells them both that they are sex on the floor. There are so many comments for me to make, but I want everyone to please note that I have chosen to be graceful and I will just leave it at that.
Tre loved it and said that they both conquered the minor details. They have her heart for life. JM calls them the dream team. He says that Nico can handle any lady, and with a lot of flava... and again, I am just going to smile. He commented that the lead and follow could have been a bit tighter, but it was all good.
Time for some recaps and solos, with Allie up first.
Have we seen a lot a recaps this season or is it just me...?
Allie dances her solo to Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap. Donning her usual tutu, this was a good piece. She really does have great extensions.
Luther calls her a joy and then seems to get all bashful. Blake says she's the heart of the competition. Tre is all emotional and tells her she is beautiful and that her technique is flawless. JM feels she has transformed the most.
Miles is our next recap and solo, danced to I Can Make You Dance by Slick Dogg. He's still got the eyeliner on. He must have read Kim's last post.
Luther feels that Miles is the most improved dancer of the season. Blake tells him that he is the funkiest white boy he knows, other than himself and JM, and that he has endless potential. Tre says she would vote him the most entertaining dancer of the season and calls his hand isolation brilliant. JM calls him the Renaissance Man.
Our next couple of the night are Natalli and Miles, dancing to Let's Get Dirty by Redmen, and choreographed by Sho-Tyme.
As I'm watching I can tell this piece is a bit out of time, which seems to happen quite a lot in hip hop. But to be honest, I'm going to have to go back and watch again, because I really did not see Miles butcher it to the level he obviously thinks he has. His stricken face throughout the judging absolutely breaks my heart, and I give a shout out to Natalli for standing by him with such concern, because he is seriously melting down.
The judges all go well out of their way to try and get him back on track and yes, you screwed this one up, but no one is going to die, and Blake implores Miles to get that look off his face and just roll with it. He's got a couple more numbers ahead of him and he needs to shake it off.
Allie and Nico are up next with contemporary. And imagine THAT one. It'll be nice to see Nico be given the chance to do this type of dancing, because he really hasn't been given the opport... oh... wait... sorry. Nico getting contemporary is kind of like Natalli getting salsa.
However, we are learning a lot about Nico this week - he is apparently deaf in one ear.
To a piece choreographed by Stacey Tookey, they dance to Permanent by David Cook. I think this may be one of my favorite contemporary numbers of the year. By the end, pretty much everyone is crying.
Luther says it was seamless, with them flowing in and out of spirituality. Blake says it was Stacey's best work all season and calls it a breath of fresh air.
Tre is crying and gives them a standing O. She says they danced as a unit and they were brilliant. JM is extremely emotional and tells them they are very special, inspirational.
Back to recaps and solos with Natalli.
She dances to Spanish Lesson by Madonna, and I have to say this is my favorite of all her solos this year. Way to work that skirt, it was awesome! Worth posting, and I normally don't post solos.
Luther agrees that is was her best solo so far, and says that she's really pulled through. Blake commends her on having a different style of solo week after week and calls her a sexy wild child.
Tre says she's a superstar and that no one should hold her down. JM calls her a gypsy and a diva, and the most unique dancer in Canada.
And Nico. Mon Dieu. My crush on him grows deeper and deeper each week.
He does his solo to Blue Orchids by The White Stripes and it is raw and sexy, and just... Nico. Okay, I'll post this one too. Damn. To be fair, I'll go back and post the other solos.
Luther tells him he is every choreographers dream come true, and likely the most popular dancer on the show. Blake says that he has murdered everything he has been given this season, and that he is a blessing to work with. He asks Nico to pick him up some day in his new Mercedes.
Tre says she loves his positive, confident swagger, and that he is technically sound. JM says he is a sexy rock star, masculine and raw, and a true inspiration.
Then my phone rang and it was Kim calling from Las Vegas to see how the show was going and to say - ahem - that she had seen my previous posting... so I missed this one, and now must go back and watch it. So that's what I'm going to go and do.
...
...
...
Alright, I'm back, and I took a few minutes to re-watch the Miles and Natalli hip hop piece. And yes, indeed, Miles did forget a portion of it, which was fairly obvious when you were looking for it. And at this stage of the game, he knows that's not cool... I suspect he will judge himself harder and longer than any of the judges ever will.
Now back to regularly scheduled blogging.
We have a theatre piece with Allie and Miles choreographed by Sean Cheesman performed to Move (You're Steppin' on my Heart) from Dreamgirls.
It's a battle of the remote control, and another battle of the sexes. I thought this one was fun, and that Miles really pulled himself together.
Luther gives a shout out to Sean and says it was a really cool concept. While some of the movements were a bit short, he enjoyed it overall, and commends Miles for stepping up. Blake also thanks Miles for getting back in the game, and that he enjoyed it a little, but not a lot. He didn't feel they owned the stage.
Tre says she enjoyed it - it was fun and lighthearted and that they had a great connection. She also comments on Miles comeback. JM said that the energy was cool, and that the stage and the audience loves them. He then goes on to make some comment about men owning the remote control, and for a moment I fear for him, as I think Tre really might beat him up. She's really very tall, so much taller than him.
And now for the interesting combinations - usually my favorite of the season. We start off with Natalli and Allie and they are dancing Go Go.
It's a piece choreographed by Melissa Williams and danced to Drums a Go-Go - sorry, I didn't catch who does that song.
The girls begin by dancing up on the tower and then work their way down the stairs and onto a platform. I'm thinking the guys will be loving this one. It's kind of interesting, but perhaps not that strong.
Luther is not really sure, but I think overall he wasn't blown away by it. Blake says they looked hot, but agrees with Luther and says they needed to command it. He didn't love it.
Tre says they didn't maximize the potential of the piece, and that it was good, but not great. JM loved it. Of course he did. He goes on to imitate Austin Powers, and I'm not sure he should do this again. He says it was fantastic - go-go boots, go-go dresses and go-go two girls. Huh.
The last number of the night is the two guys. I always, always think of the fantastic piece Mia Michaels put together a couple of seasons ago with Neil and Danny (danced to Are You the One? by the Presets - which I still listen to on a regular basis) when it's time for the two guys to dance together. Nothing has measured up since for me.
This one is a Capoeira choreographed by Paul Becker danced to A Amizade/Sacode A Poeira by Mestro Barrao (sorry if I butchered that!). And my oh my. They are both shirtless. What a way to end the night...
By the way, I looked up Capoeira and it is "an Afro-Brazilian art form that ritualizes movement from martial arts, games and dance. It was brought from Brazil to Angola sometime after the 16th century... The game is marked by fluid acrobatic play, feints and extensive use of sweeps, kicks and headbutts..." All this from Wikipedia.
I seriously cannot imagine how difficult this would be to pull off this late in the season. They are all utterly exhausted, and this piece looks like it would require so much strength.
They start off holding poses that make my muscles quiver at the mere thought of it. This one is full of funky moves, full of control. Very cool.
Me and Luther, again on the same page - he acknowledges the difficulty of this dance, especially at the end of the season. He says they smashed it. Blake says he's so proud to be a male dancer because of them.
Tre says she was entertained and that they gave the moves pure justice. JM makes a Stanley Cup reference I didn't quite get and then goes on to tell them it was a beautiful, well orchestrated fight. It blow his socks off. And to prove it, he showed us his socks.
And we're done for the night.
The judges do a recap. Luther - "proud". Blake - "blessed". Tre - "exceeded all my expectations". JM - "thank you for bringing your heart, soul and craft to this stage".
Nothing now until Sunday night - can't believe we have to wait this long to see Nico - I mean, the winner crowned Canada's favorite dancer!
Please take a moment to read the next posting, and since you're already in the voting groove (cuz I KNOW you all voted tonight, right? Right Canada?), please feel free to vote on our latest poll. Help bring Harry Potter to Kim!
Posted by Carra at 10:09 PM 0 comments
So... I've Been Thinking...
So... I've been thinking about this whole Twilight thing... And if you are not familiar with this topic, please take a moment to look here.
And while it seems I still have a chance, based on the voting, of making up my own mind about this, I've decided I will indeed see the movie this weekend with Kim while she is in Vancouver.
On one condition.
However, before I offer up the terms of that condition, let me give a little bit of history.
I'm sure everyone remembers a little series called Harry Potter?
I'm sure Kim does, even though she hasn't actually seen any of the movies or read any of the books. Oh, to be sure, she had her reasons for choosing to sit that phenomenon out... "too much hype", she said. No matter how many people recommended it to her, we were all dealt the same flat out refusal... nope, no way, just not interested in anything with that much hype around it.
Fair enough. To this day, and to my knowledge, she has stayed true to her word, and has never so much as set foot into the wonder that is Hogwarts.
Now... about this whole Twilight series. I'll admit to not knowing much about it at all. But here's a couple of things I've heard.
I know that it's a series about vampires. I know that the main guy in it is supposed to be really hot.
I've also heard that the 6th Harry Potter movie, which was supposed to come out a week or so ago, was pushed back from it's original release date to prevent it from going head to head with no other than - in Kim's words - "what is sure to be a blockbuster series"... Twilight.
Now, I don't know if any of that's true or not, but based on nothing else other than my own observations, it seems that there is a certain amount of, shall we say... hype, surrounding this movie.
So, on to my conditions...
I happen to be in possession of the first 5 Harry Potter DVD's. Don't you think it's about time that Kim opened up her heart, and finally let Harry, Hermione and Ron work their magic on her? I'm not suggesting I subject her to all 5 movies, at least not in one sitting - because that would be mean, and that's not what I'm about... that's Kim's specialty... I'm just saying perhaps the first one or two movies, and then perhaps sending her off with the first book? Or maybe her sister would be kind enough to lend her the whole series! And I would never even make her admit as to much she enjoyed them!
See the poll on the side, and please, feel free to have a say in this ongoing battle of the wills...
Posted by Carra at 5:24 PM 5 comments
Labels: Carra Can Be Mean Too, Harry Potter, Twilight
November 27, 2008
So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Top 6 Results!
I admit going into this episode just a little bit nervous, because honestly? It could go terribly wrong. I'm all but holding my breath. Me too!
Our group dance tonight, choreographed by Tre Armstrong, is a nerd/hot girl battle danced to Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani.
The nice thing about the group dances now is that you can tell who's who. But other than that, I find myself feeling meh once it's over. There's been so many great numbers this season, but this isn't one of them. I thought Lisa's timing was off in a number of places. A lot of dance styles you can hide that, but not so much in this one.
We get a quick intro to our judges from last night - Mary, Sean, Tre and JM - and we learn that last night Canada voted a record breaking 3 million times. About half of those were mine, I think...
We start off with solos from the girls. I guess Lisa missed the memo that tonight all the girls need to wear strange outfits, because she looks quite nice. Her solo is good, on the funky side, I liked it.
Natalli's up next and my first words were - "What is she wearing?" This kept me distracted for about the first 15 seconds, and then I got over it enough to mark down that her solo was pretty good.
Last for the girls, Allie, decked out in a number of interesting articles of clothing. I did like the red pointe shoes, though. A very Allie-esque piece, always enjoyable.
Commercial break and then back for the guy's solos. Miles is up first, and I quite like this one. It's smooth and funky, a little bit different than his usual popping moves.
Izaak comes out in a mask (which apparently scared Leah) and does a more than respectable piece. His solos are his strongest point.
And last but certainly not least, Nico. Shirtless Nico no less. And he was words all over his shirtless-ness! Who got the thrill of doing that, I wonder, and where can I sign up for that job... Leah wants to know the same thing, but Nico can't hear her over the screaming girls in the crowd. And the eyeliner....mmmmm....guys in eyeliner just flat out do it for me. Yummy.
Time for the results. Oh please Canada, oh please do the right thing.
The girls are up first, and after a quick recap of last nights performances, Leah tells Natalli to go sit down. How mean of them to make us wonder if there's really a chance Allie might not make it through. You had to know they were going to do that!
But she does. HUGE sigh of relief. Lisa's time to go home has come, and she holds it together just fine, and actually so does Leah. She says she's sad to go and wants to stay on the stage forever. She still looked a little smug to me, considering she just got booted.
Now for the guys. I'm thinking that Nico is going to be the first one told to take a seat - and yes, he's safe and into the Final 4. Left on stage are Miles and Izaak, and while I know it's going to be Izaak, I am still sitting on the edge of my seat. Considering what's happened previously, you just couldn't be sure.
And now I can breath properly. After a long guy hug, Miles goes and joins the last standing and we watch the good bye Izaak montage. Izaak starts off strong, and I'm thinking good for him. He's made it much further than anyone would have bet, including himself, I'm sure. He falls apart a little bit at the end, but that's okay... it wouldn't be a results night without a few tears.
To recap, I have only two words.
Thank God. No kidding.
Our group dance tonight, choreographed by Tre Armstrong, is a nerd/hot girl battle danced to Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani.
The nice thing about the group dances now is that you can tell who's who. But other than that, I find myself feeling meh once it's over. There's been so many great numbers this season, but this isn't one of them. I thought Lisa's timing was off in a number of places. A lot of dance styles you can hide that, but not so much in this one.
We get a quick intro to our judges from last night - Mary, Sean, Tre and JM - and we learn that last night Canada voted a record breaking 3 million times. About half of those were mine, I think...
We start off with solos from the girls. I guess Lisa missed the memo that tonight all the girls need to wear strange outfits, because she looks quite nice. Her solo is good, on the funky side, I liked it.
Natalli's up next and my first words were - "What is she wearing?" This kept me distracted for about the first 15 seconds, and then I got over it enough to mark down that her solo was pretty good.
Last for the girls, Allie, decked out in a number of interesting articles of clothing. I did like the red pointe shoes, though. A very Allie-esque piece, always enjoyable.
Commercial break and then back for the guy's solos. Miles is up first, and I quite like this one. It's smooth and funky, a little bit different than his usual popping moves.
Izaak comes out in a mask (which apparently scared Leah) and does a more than respectable piece. His solos are his strongest point.
And last but certainly not least, Nico. Shirtless Nico no less. And he was words all over his shirtless-ness! Who got the thrill of doing that, I wonder, and where can I sign up for that job... Leah wants to know the same thing, but Nico can't hear her over the screaming girls in the crowd. And the eyeliner....mmmmm....guys in eyeliner just flat out do it for me. Yummy.
Time for the results. Oh please Canada, oh please do the right thing.
The girls are up first, and after a quick recap of last nights performances, Leah tells Natalli to go sit down. How mean of them to make us wonder if there's really a chance Allie might not make it through. You had to know they were going to do that!
But she does. HUGE sigh of relief. Lisa's time to go home has come, and she holds it together just fine, and actually so does Leah. She says she's sad to go and wants to stay on the stage forever. She still looked a little smug to me, considering she just got booted.
Now for the guys. I'm thinking that Nico is going to be the first one told to take a seat - and yes, he's safe and into the Final 4. Left on stage are Miles and Izaak, and while I know it's going to be Izaak, I am still sitting on the edge of my seat. Considering what's happened previously, you just couldn't be sure.
And now I can breath properly. After a long guy hug, Miles goes and joins the last standing and we watch the good bye Izaak montage. Izaak starts off strong, and I'm thinking good for him. He's made it much further than anyone would have bet, including himself, I'm sure. He falls apart a little bit at the end, but that's okay... it wouldn't be a results night without a few tears.
To recap, I have only two words.
Thank God. No kidding.
Posted by Carra at 8:25 PM 2 comments
November 26, 2008
So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Top 6!
So here we are just one week away from the end!
Yowsa...Leah’s got some boobs going on tonight!
Joining Tre and Jean Marc this week are Mary Murphy and Sean Cheesman. I can't believe I'm saying this, but how lovely to see Mary again!
Up first are Natalli and Nico dancing disco with Melissa Williams. There’s a lot of bum shaking in the rehearsal video and Nico says he can’t shake his bum...”I have a stiff bum!” he says. Sweetie, I can help you with that. Call me. No, no... don't call Kim. She's mean. ME. That's who you need to call...
They’re dancing to ‘Knock on Wood’ performed by Amii Stewart. It’s sharp right off the bat. I’ll admit Natalli looks hot in that outfit, as does Nico, of course. It’s hot. Again, really sharp, right on point.
Mary thinks it was great, Natalli was crisp and she thought Nico hit it hard and did A-OK with the bum shaking. Sean says they were a powerhouse, I agree. He says he wants to be Nico when he grows up. Tre is excited about it and praises Melissa. She thinks they conquered it. JM thinks they had great energy but needed a bit more connection. Ultimately seamless.
First solo is Miles dancing to ‘Get Up’ by Vernon Burch. I love his outfit. I have those socks! Pretty typical Miles performance.
Ugh...poor Allie is stuck with Izaak this week. Uh oh. They’re dancing hip hop with Luther. I think this is the best style Allie could hope for considering she’s dancing with Izaak. The song is ‘Tell Me’ by Diddy featuring Christina Aguilera. Allie’s looking kind butch, Izaak looks like he’s putting it on a bit. He’s not hitting very hard. Eek, Allie’s turning a little sexpot on us! She’s definitely more ‘in it’ than Izaak is. I think Allie did so much better on this one than the last time she had hip hop. You can see how much she's grown throughout this show for sure.
Mary thinks it was good, but not great. She praises Allie for getting into it and gives it to Izaak a bit for not. Sean thinks Allie was a ‘funkatrina’, which I think is good. He says he’s still waiting for Izaak to blow him away, but thinks he killed it (?). Ummm...okay. Tre agrees with Mary in that it was just good. They need to give a lot more. JM thinks Allie delivered and Izaak was in his pocket.
Natalli’s up for her solo dancing to ‘She Wants to Move’ by N*E*R*D. Girl is ripped. This is more hip hop/contemporary than her usual style. It’s interesting.
Now we’ve got Lisa and Miles doing contemporary with Blake. Oh goody...there’s a story attached. I really think the choreographers should keep the personal stories to themselves until after the performance show. I totally agree. It's like giving the dancers a free pass when they get this.
They’re dancing to ‘The Face’ by RyanDan. They start in front of a miror which is kind of odd. Wait...they move the mirror to the side so it looks like a wall separating them and...isn’t that the same set of moves Mia used in her ‘Mercy’ choreography with Twitch and Katee last season? Lisa’s putting on the inner turmoil a little too much. I’m finding the fingerprints on the glass distracting. It’s good, but not one of my favourites.
Mary says it tugged at her heartstrings, she praises Miles’ growth and says she got what she expected from Lisa. Sean’s trying not to cry. Lisa is amazing and Sean’s favourite and Miles is evolution! Tre thinks Lisa is getting hotter and hotter and loves how much Miles is improving. JM praises the concept and says the performance is priceless.
Izaak’s up for his solo dancing to ‘Alibis’ by Marianas Trench.I always think he does way better with his solos because they’re un-choreographed and not necessarily limited to one particular style. I like it, but not enough to make me vote for him.
Natalli and Nico are back with quick step with Tony and Melanie. They’re dancing to ‘Swingin’ at the Savoy’ by Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88’s. Their form looks pretty good as far as I can tell. They’re right together and the lifts look good. Her lips get a little too close to his for my liking. I yelled out "Don't you DARE kiss her!" All in all I think they did a great job. They do much better together than I would have expected.
Mary thinks they did it fabulously! They’re her favourite couple tonight. Sean thinks it was brilliant and effortless. Tre loved it. JM makes note of the fact that Nico took out all his piercings to fit the piece. He praises them both and sounds pretty sure they’ll be in the final.
Lisa’s up for her solo dancing to ‘The Hop’ by Radio Citizen featuring Bajka. Again, this is more hip-hop than her usual. It’s pretty good.
We’ve got Allie and Izaak again doing Jazz with Melissa Williams. Allie’s frustrated that she has trouble picking it up. I can't imagine how tired they all must be at this point... It’s a ‘jazz fairytale’(?) to ‘Forever’ by Chris Brown. This is cute, they look like they’re having a lot of fun. I think maybe that’s what’s missing for Izaak a lot of the time. I like it. I thought this was Izaak's best performance of the year. Keeping in mind that we are already in the Top 6, I'm not sure how much that should count for...
Mary says it made her go ‘awwwww’ and thought Allie looked like an angel. Sean thinks it was beautiful. Tre thinks it was wicked. JM praises Izaak’s entrance and says it was overall a good performance.
Nico’s solo is to ‘Reckoner’ by Radiohead. Nice song choice Nico! He always strikes me as being really connected to the music. Nice.
The last pair dance for the night is Miles and Lisa doing the Cha Cha with Tony and Melanie. Theyr’e dancing to ‘Just Dance’ by Lady GaGa featuring Colby O’Donis. Doesn’t seem like there’s quite enough energy in it. I felt the same way, it seemed a little limp. They’ve both got the performance down, but there’s something that’s lacking. Oh and they rip Miles’ shirt off at the end, which, as much as I appreciate his form, is getting a little old.
Mary’s all embarassed. She says it was ‘Cha cha hot!’ They’ve got first class tickets on the hot tamale train. And there’s the screaming. Sean thinks it was fierce! Tre says something that I think means she thinks they’re going to be in the finals. JM puts them on the VD list. He says they needed to be more grounded but loved it nonetheless.
Final solo is Allie dancing to ...I’m just gonna say a Tchiakovsky piece, ‘cause there’s a lot to type there and I've got other stuff to do tonight! This doesn’t necessarily seem as spunky as her usual, but it’s good.
After the recap the judges impart their usual words of wisdom. JM harps on the voting some more, and I’m going to go with him this time. Last week was wrong guys. There are people still on the stage that shouldn’t be, so you’ve got to vote to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
That’s it for tonight. Carra will be adding her comments later on and heading up the results show tomorrow night. She’s also in charge of next week’s performance show finale as I’ll be enjoying my last day in Vegas. I’ll be back with Carra in Vancouver for the Finale on Thursday...perhaps we shall blog together!
Oh and don’t forget to help decide Carra’s movie going fate during my visit to Vancouver. The question is, should Carra have to see Twilight (I will even go so far as to say I will buy her ticket)? Tell us what you think! The poll is on the top right of this blog and the back story is here.
Yowsa...Leah’s got some boobs going on tonight!
Joining Tre and Jean Marc this week are Mary Murphy and Sean Cheesman. I can't believe I'm saying this, but how lovely to see Mary again!
Up first are Natalli and Nico dancing disco with Melissa Williams. There’s a lot of bum shaking in the rehearsal video and Nico says he can’t shake his bum...”I have a stiff bum!” he says. Sweetie, I can help you with that. Call me. No, no... don't call Kim. She's mean. ME. That's who you need to call...
They’re dancing to ‘Knock on Wood’ performed by Amii Stewart. It’s sharp right off the bat. I’ll admit Natalli looks hot in that outfit, as does Nico, of course. It’s hot. Again, really sharp, right on point.
Mary thinks it was great, Natalli was crisp and she thought Nico hit it hard and did A-OK with the bum shaking. Sean says they were a powerhouse, I agree. He says he wants to be Nico when he grows up. Tre is excited about it and praises Melissa. She thinks they conquered it. JM thinks they had great energy but needed a bit more connection. Ultimately seamless.
First solo is Miles dancing to ‘Get Up’ by Vernon Burch. I love his outfit. I have those socks! Pretty typical Miles performance.
Ugh...poor Allie is stuck with Izaak this week. Uh oh. They’re dancing hip hop with Luther. I think this is the best style Allie could hope for considering she’s dancing with Izaak. The song is ‘Tell Me’ by Diddy featuring Christina Aguilera. Allie’s looking kind butch, Izaak looks like he’s putting it on a bit. He’s not hitting very hard. Eek, Allie’s turning a little sexpot on us! She’s definitely more ‘in it’ than Izaak is. I think Allie did so much better on this one than the last time she had hip hop. You can see how much she's grown throughout this show for sure.
Mary thinks it was good, but not great. She praises Allie for getting into it and gives it to Izaak a bit for not. Sean thinks Allie was a ‘funkatrina’, which I think is good. He says he’s still waiting for Izaak to blow him away, but thinks he killed it (?). Ummm...okay. Tre agrees with Mary in that it was just good. They need to give a lot more. JM thinks Allie delivered and Izaak was in his pocket.
Natalli’s up for her solo dancing to ‘She Wants to Move’ by N*E*R*D. Girl is ripped. This is more hip hop/contemporary than her usual style. It’s interesting.
Now we’ve got Lisa and Miles doing contemporary with Blake. Oh goody...there’s a story attached. I really think the choreographers should keep the personal stories to themselves until after the performance show. I totally agree. It's like giving the dancers a free pass when they get this.
They’re dancing to ‘The Face’ by RyanDan. They start in front of a miror which is kind of odd. Wait...they move the mirror to the side so it looks like a wall separating them and...isn’t that the same set of moves Mia used in her ‘Mercy’ choreography with Twitch and Katee last season? Lisa’s putting on the inner turmoil a little too much. I’m finding the fingerprints on the glass distracting. It’s good, but not one of my favourites.
Mary says it tugged at her heartstrings, she praises Miles’ growth and says she got what she expected from Lisa. Sean’s trying not to cry. Lisa is amazing and Sean’s favourite and Miles is evolution! Tre thinks Lisa is getting hotter and hotter and loves how much Miles is improving. JM praises the concept and says the performance is priceless.
Izaak’s up for his solo dancing to ‘Alibis’ by Marianas Trench.I always think he does way better with his solos because they’re un-choreographed and not necessarily limited to one particular style. I like it, but not enough to make me vote for him.
Natalli and Nico are back with quick step with Tony and Melanie. They’re dancing to ‘Swingin’ at the Savoy’ by Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88’s. Their form looks pretty good as far as I can tell. They’re right together and the lifts look good. Her lips get a little too close to his for my liking. I yelled out "Don't you DARE kiss her!" All in all I think they did a great job. They do much better together than I would have expected.
Mary thinks they did it fabulously! They’re her favourite couple tonight. Sean thinks it was brilliant and effortless. Tre loved it. JM makes note of the fact that Nico took out all his piercings to fit the piece. He praises them both and sounds pretty sure they’ll be in the final.
Lisa’s up for her solo dancing to ‘The Hop’ by Radio Citizen featuring Bajka. Again, this is more hip-hop than her usual. It’s pretty good.
We’ve got Allie and Izaak again doing Jazz with Melissa Williams. Allie’s frustrated that she has trouble picking it up. I can't imagine how tired they all must be at this point... It’s a ‘jazz fairytale’(?) to ‘Forever’ by Chris Brown. This is cute, they look like they’re having a lot of fun. I think maybe that’s what’s missing for Izaak a lot of the time. I like it. I thought this was Izaak's best performance of the year. Keeping in mind that we are already in the Top 6, I'm not sure how much that should count for...
Mary says it made her go ‘awwwww’ and thought Allie looked like an angel. Sean thinks it was beautiful. Tre thinks it was wicked. JM praises Izaak’s entrance and says it was overall a good performance.
Nico’s solo is to ‘Reckoner’ by Radiohead. Nice song choice Nico! He always strikes me as being really connected to the music. Nice.
The last pair dance for the night is Miles and Lisa doing the Cha Cha with Tony and Melanie. Theyr’e dancing to ‘Just Dance’ by Lady GaGa featuring Colby O’Donis. Doesn’t seem like there’s quite enough energy in it. I felt the same way, it seemed a little limp. They’ve both got the performance down, but there’s something that’s lacking. Oh and they rip Miles’ shirt off at the end, which, as much as I appreciate his form, is getting a little old.
Mary’s all embarassed. She says it was ‘Cha cha hot!’ They’ve got first class tickets on the hot tamale train. And there’s the screaming. Sean thinks it was fierce! Tre says something that I think means she thinks they’re going to be in the finals. JM puts them on the VD list. He says they needed to be more grounded but loved it nonetheless.
Final solo is Allie dancing to ...I’m just gonna say a Tchiakovsky piece, ‘cause there’s a lot to type there and I've got other stuff to do tonight! This doesn’t necessarily seem as spunky as her usual, but it’s good.
After the recap the judges impart their usual words of wisdom. JM harps on the voting some more, and I’m going to go with him this time. Last week was wrong guys. There are people still on the stage that shouldn’t be, so you’ve got to vote to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
That’s it for tonight. Carra will be adding her comments later on and heading up the results show tomorrow night. She’s also in charge of next week’s performance show finale as I’ll be enjoying my last day in Vegas. I’ll be back with Carra in Vancouver for the Finale on Thursday...perhaps we shall blog together!
Oh and don’t forget to help decide Carra’s movie going fate during my visit to Vancouver. The question is, should Carra have to see Twilight (I will even go so far as to say I will buy her ticket)? Tell us what you think! The poll is on the top right of this blog and the back story is here.
Seriously? Fine. Whatever. But if I have to go against my will as the crowd seems determined to have me do, then you have to pay for my ticket... :)
Cheers!
Cheers!
Posted by Anonymous at 6:56 PM 0 comments
Labels: Cha Cha, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Jazz, Quick Step, So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Top 6, Vote
November 24, 2008
Twilight and Retribution...
If you asked anyone who knows me whether they thought I'd be a fan of the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, most, if not all would say "no way!"
Yet...here I am. I devoured all four books (roughly 2500 pages total) in about a week and a half. I saw the movie this weekend. Thoroughly enjoyed it in all its cheesy splendor. Was it fantastic? No. But it was worth seeing and a decent starting point for what is sure to be a blockbuster series. Now that they've secured a larger production budget for the second movie (and gotten the green light for the second movie), it can only get better. Besides, Rob Pattinson could read the phone book on film and I'd still pay $10 bucks to see it.
It is also a movie I would see again for fun.
Now, I'm going to shift subjects slightly for moment. Carra occasionally finds movies that she thinks I'll love and...I won't say forces....but, persuades me to watch. Two of these have been 'Moulin Rouge' and 'Chicago'. HEY! I didn't force you OR persuade you to go and see Chicago! You OFFERED, missy... Moulin Rouge... okay, well, yeah. There might have been some forcing. Let's just say they're not in my must see again column. Oh yeah? Huh. Well. Considering I have both of them on DVD, AND you're staying at my house for 3 nights, you might well find them appearing in your dreams, playing through the night, absorbing into your consciousness while you sleep. And when you wake up humming "Oh yes oh yes oh yes they both oh yes they both oh yes they both reached for the gun the gun the gun the gun oh yes they both reached for the gun for the gun", and you don't know why?
So here is my question to you; Should I drag Carra to Twilight when I'm in Vancouver next week? She hasn't read any of the books and doesn't really know anything about the story. I'm thinking it could be kinda fun for me...
I'm going to put a poll up so you can vote. Does she deserve it for making me sit through Moulin Rouge? Or, in the spirit of the upcoming holiday season, should I spare her? You could decide her fate!
Yet...here I am. I devoured all four books (roughly 2500 pages total) in about a week and a half. I saw the movie this weekend. Thoroughly enjoyed it in all its cheesy splendor. Was it fantastic? No. But it was worth seeing and a decent starting point for what is sure to be a blockbuster series. Now that they've secured a larger production budget for the second movie (and gotten the green light for the second movie), it can only get better. Besides, Rob Pattinson could read the phone book on film and I'd still pay $10 bucks to see it.
It is also a movie I would see again for fun.
Now, I'm going to shift subjects slightly for moment. Carra occasionally finds movies that she thinks I'll love and...I won't say forces....but, persuades me to watch. Two of these have been 'Moulin Rouge' and 'Chicago'. HEY! I didn't force you OR persuade you to go and see Chicago! You OFFERED, missy... Moulin Rouge... okay, well, yeah. There might have been some forcing. Let's just say they're not in my must see again column. Oh yeah? Huh. Well. Considering I have both of them on DVD, AND you're staying at my house for 3 nights, you might well find them appearing in your dreams, playing through the night, absorbing into your consciousness while you sleep. And when you wake up humming "Oh yes oh yes oh yes they both oh yes they both oh yes they both reached for the gun the gun the gun the gun oh yes they both reached for the gun for the gun", and you don't know why?
So here is my question to you; Should I drag Carra to Twilight when I'm in Vancouver next week? She hasn't read any of the books and doesn't really know anything about the story. I'm thinking it could be kinda fun for me...
I'm going to put a poll up so you can vote. Does she deserve it for making me sit through Moulin Rouge? Or, in the spirit of the upcoming holiday season, should I spare her? You could decide her fate!
Posted by Anonymous at 5:46 PM 0 comments
Labels: Chicago, Kim is mean, Moulin Rouge, movies, retribution, Robert Pattinson, Stephanie Meyer, Twilight
November 20, 2008
So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Top 8 Results!
This post can be subtitled "WRONG ON SO MANY LEVELS!"
The opening number was excellent again, a sort of pirate-y/Zorro-esque piece with great costuming again. This one was choreographed by JM and wife, which I thought was kind of cool, as I don't think he has worked on any other pieces this season? I wrote down the name of the song, but now I can't find it... but it was Brian Setzer...
Everyone gets to do solos tonight! This is kind of cool because there are some that we don't get to see solos from very often so it's refreshing. I'm no good at critiquing solos, so I'll leave that to Carra to comment on.
I found that the solos didn't accurately reflect the dancers tonight. Natalli's was more enjoyable to me than usual while Allie and Lisa seemed tired and not quite as sharp. Arassay fell right in the middle.
And, as Dan points out later, Izaak's solo was really good, probably the best of all 4 of them. Miles did a good job, but I was neither here nor there with Vincent or Nico, which is unusual for me...
We go straight into determining the bottom 2 guys and bottom 2 girls. After a quick recap of last night's dances we learn that our bottom two guys are Vincent and Izaak and our bottom two girls are Lisa and Arassay. While I'm happy that Izaak is in the bottom, I'm very nervous. When we get this close to the end it's too easy for things to go horribly, horribly awry.
Watching their faces, Izaak is already playing the farewell montage in his head, he so is expecting to pack up... I'm not getting much off either Lisa or Arassay.
We come back from commercial and get down to the business of sending two of our dancers home. The judges all get their chance to say their piece about the bottom four. JM and Tre both look on the verge of getting teary.
Alright...here we go. Wrong on so many levels. Going home tonight are Vincent and Arassay. It's not right you guys. I'm sorry, I appreciate what Izaak does but there is no way that he deserves to be this close to the top! I'm begging you all, next week please vote for anyone other than Izaak. He shouldn't have made it this far and he certainly doesn't deserve to make it any further.
The fact that he could be in the Top 4 BOGGLES me. And it seemed to me that Leah kind of said the same without really meaning to when she said that Vincent leaving this year felt like Will leaving last year. As in, IT SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING. Actually Leah was more shrieking at that point and was completely losing it - and Tre had this look on her face that said "I will kill her before I cry in public... for the love of God, make. her. stop."
The opening number was excellent again, a sort of pirate-y/Zorro-esque piece with great costuming again. This one was choreographed by JM and wife, which I thought was kind of cool, as I don't think he has worked on any other pieces this season? I wrote down the name of the song, but now I can't find it... but it was Brian Setzer...
Everyone gets to do solos tonight! This is kind of cool because there are some that we don't get to see solos from very often so it's refreshing. I'm no good at critiquing solos, so I'll leave that to Carra to comment on.
I found that the solos didn't accurately reflect the dancers tonight. Natalli's was more enjoyable to me than usual while Allie and Lisa seemed tired and not quite as sharp. Arassay fell right in the middle.
And, as Dan points out later, Izaak's solo was really good, probably the best of all 4 of them. Miles did a good job, but I was neither here nor there with Vincent or Nico, which is unusual for me...
We go straight into determining the bottom 2 guys and bottom 2 girls. After a quick recap of last night's dances we learn that our bottom two guys are Vincent and Izaak and our bottom two girls are Lisa and Arassay. While I'm happy that Izaak is in the bottom, I'm very nervous. When we get this close to the end it's too easy for things to go horribly, horribly awry.
Watching their faces, Izaak is already playing the farewell montage in his head, he so is expecting to pack up... I'm not getting much off either Lisa or Arassay.
We come back from commercial and get down to the business of sending two of our dancers home. The judges all get their chance to say their piece about the bottom four. JM and Tre both look on the verge of getting teary.
Alright...here we go. Wrong on so many levels. Going home tonight are Vincent and Arassay. It's not right you guys. I'm sorry, I appreciate what Izaak does but there is no way that he deserves to be this close to the top! I'm begging you all, next week please vote for anyone other than Izaak. He shouldn't have made it this far and he certainly doesn't deserve to make it any further.
The fact that he could be in the Top 4 BOGGLES me. And it seemed to me that Leah kind of said the same without really meaning to when she said that Vincent leaving this year felt like Will leaving last year. As in, IT SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING. Actually Leah was more shrieking at that point and was completely losing it - and Tre had this look on her face that said "I will kill her before I cry in public... for the love of God, make. her. stop."
But can you imagine... Seriously? You're Vincent. And you're standing up there with Izaak. AND YOU GET SENT HOME? I have to give it him... if he was thinking anything along those lines while he was up there, he didn't show it at all - and how come we didn't get a Goodbye Vincent montage? Was the production crew scrambling madly to flip the tape over between that one and the Goodbye Izaak one they already had queued?
And Arassay...I won't hesitate to say she fell victim to bad partnering. I think virtually any of the other girls, had they been paired with him, would have suffered the same fate. And potentially could next week. It's unfair. I had my sights fully set on seeing her in the final four with Allie. My final four as been drastically altered, and I don't necessarily do all that well with change. I want Arassay back.
Now I'm depressed. So wrong. It's all just so wrong.
Posted by Anonymous at 4:17 PM 0 comments
Labels: Results, So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Top 8, Wrong, WTF
November 19, 2008
So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Top 8!
Can you believe we are already at Top 8? It seems like just yesterday we were just watching auditions... ahhh how our little ones have grown...
Leah comes out in a dress that for the whole night I cannot identify the colour. Is it rose, is it purple, is it reddish, I just don't know. I don't really care what the colour was...it was all bad prom dress to me.
We get the usual recap of the prizes and the tour and the intro to our judges - and fantastic! Mia Michaels and Dan Karaty are here for the fun, along with Tre and JM.
Tonight each pair will be dancing twice, and the best part of that means no solos! I find that the solos don't provide me with much to work with, so I'm good without them.
Miles draws Allie out of the hat, and their first dance is the Samba, choreographed by Eric Caty. (Interesting that all three of them are from Calgary...)
Performed to Aguanile by Hector Lavroe, Miles and Allie are portraying Adam and Eve, complete with dancing barefoot. I'm wondering if that makes this particular style of dance more difficult. It looked like perhaps it did for Allie. She looked a little uncomfortable right off the bat.
Wow, there is so much potential in this one for Allie to have her pretty little head splattered all over the place, but thankfully Miles makes sure that doesn't happen. They both do a fantastic job with lots of neat moves, and Allie just has the most beautiful hand movements, a ballerina right down to her fingertips.
Oh, and did I mention? Miles. Shirtless.
Mia noticed. Tee hee. "You should wear that AAAALL the time" she says to Miles. And Allie too, because really? Walking around looking like that in shiny leaves would be nothing but a good time. Mia says that if Adam and Eve danced like that, then the world would be a very different place. The energy was amazing, it was grounded and earthy, and she loved it.
Dan comments how he remembers Allie from the auditions (I guess we're all doing some reminiscing tonight...!) and is not surprised she is still here. He says they both owned the stage, loved the partnering tricks and thought they did a phenomenal job.
Tre enjoyed it as well and says to Allie "Hold 'em down mama, 'cause THAT was sexy!" JM gives a shout out to Eric for the choreography and says that he's proud of a whole bunch of technical words that I just didn't catch, even when I played it back. He also says that now he knows the REAL meaning of the Calgary Flames, 'cause that was sizzling!
Next up we have Arassay and Izaak... I'm hopeful that Arassay can hold her own in this partnership.
Their first number of the night is a Lindy Hop choreographed by Benji, who informs us the Izaak has a winking problem. Huh. I actually had not noticed this.
Dancing to Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance, my first thought is WOW! Arassay is just a bundle of dynamite out there! But I am quickly distracted by the music... I don't like when they take a traditional dance and punk it up like this - a punk Lindy Hop just doesn't... sit right for me. They did it with the Jive the other night as well, and I didn't like that either. I actually like it when the choreographer goes out of the box for song choice, but I think this one was a little too much.
Anyway, this one is definitely entertaining, if not just a little sloppy. I enjoyed the ending when they both jumped off into the crowd.
Mia says wow, that was hard. And a little sloppy. She calls Arassay a beast, in a good way, (I totally agree) and tells Izaak he needs to step up. He's adorable, but needs to be more physical and that there needs to be more reality in his performances.
Dan admits to being a little confused by the concept of this number. He feels that on a performance level, they kind of blew it, as the performance in itself did not make sense. When I hear comments like that, I think, now is that a problem of the dancers or of the choreography? However, he thought the dancing was unbelievable and thought they had a true partnership.
Tre didn't get the theme either, but said the dancing was "absolument". And that's it. JM said it was a bundle of energy, raw, mean and fun. He admits that possibly he was a little 'arsh on Izaak last week, but hey, that's tough love and done with the intent of creating a better dancer. Or at least a dancer who gets voted off this week. Oh, that last part? My words, not his. Not entirely inaccurate though.
Natalli and Vincent get to dance the Krump next, a number choreographed by Lil 'C. I notice right off the top that Natalli seems a bit more comfortable in front of the camera during the rehearsal part.
Dancing to Lost Boiz Anthem by Tha J-Squad, my main comment is... bad timing. They seem off all over the place. It's on the loose side with lots of rough edges. I thought Vincent was excellent. He was into it. Natalli seemed to light and was just not hard enough for this.
Mia says they got the faces down, they got the movements down, and points out that Natalli forgot a part, but we shouldn't judge her on that.
My turn to rant.
So tell me how this would work, because I'm not a dancer. But say I was. Just for fun. 'Cause I always wanted to be. Anyway, I go to an audition for some fantastic part. And I get up there, and then... I forget.
Would I still get the part? Say over some other dancers who DIDN'T forget what they were doing? Or would I get passed over in the JUDGING PROCESS that I'm sure happens when all the producers of said fantastic audition get together to make a final decision.
'Cause if you tell me I'd still get the part, I'm dusting off the old tap shoes and trying out for something - ANYTHING, just as soon as I possibly can. Watch for me on Prime Time.
So because I'm annoyed I kind of don't hear much of what Dan has to say, because it's pretty much the same as what Mia said.
Tre says she couldn't tell gender in this piece, which was a good thing, because then she could just focus on the dancing. But then doesn't say what she actually thought about the dancing. JM says that Krump is a bit like Contemporary, but in high speed. And then doesn't seem to give any actual feedback either. Huh. We, the audience, are left on our own to make a decision it seems. Which really? Not too hard.
Our last duo is Lisa and Nico, and their first dance is Jazz Funk choreographed by Blake McGrath. Performed to When I Grow Up by the Pussycat Dolls, this one is cool. A hot shot model and a (sexy) photographer. It's high energy and all full of attitude and sass. I think I said Wow! about 11 times. And of course, by the end all I can say is that Nico can pull my hair like that any old time he wants to. By that I mean, if he finds himself just sitting around thinking "Huh, I really feel like pulling someones hair right now, all rough and sexy... but... who to call...?" ME. Call ME. The lip biting just about killed me. I'm lucky the bottle of water I had in my hand had a cap on it, because I dropped it. I also think Lisa was so well suited for this dance. It's the one scenario where her ego helps her.
Mia calls Blake a dirty, dirty, filthy, filthy man. Says it was hot, danced amazingly, they hit it, they killed it, and was pretty certain she has more to say... but she forgot. Yes, Nico has that effect.
Dan points out that there are clearly different rules in Canada regarding censorship, because no way could they get away with something like that in the States. Yep, we pretty much rock up here... He said they were performers first and dancers second, and that they really turned it (and me) on. And if the goal was to entertain, they did a great job.
Tre admits to being entertained and then she growls at Nico. Tee hee. I know, Tre, I know. I laughed when she said "when I grow up I wanna be y'all!" JM says that Blake moved them from Stars to Superstars, that they were crazy and totally embraced it. And then he asks my favorite question of the night.
"Would any girls here like to pose for Nico tonight?" Okay, remember? I said ME. Call ME.
Time for Allie and Miles to perform their second number of the night, and African Jazz piece choreographed by Vicky Lambert. I think I got the song right - Shosholoza by the Soweto Gospel Choir.
I love this one. It's joyful and pure, and again, I just marvel at Allie. She is such a beautiful, organic dancer. And Miles was fantastic. They had great timing and played off each other perfectly. I adored this. It was so well done that I could see the train station around them.
Mia tells Allie that for a ballerina girl that was amazing. And tells Miles she is his biggest fan. Now THAT'S a compliment. Dan calls it a beautiful feel-good piece, and that this time, Miles owned the stage.
Tre says it was grounded in feet, body and emotion, and she loved it. JM said it was perfect in "some ways"... I don't really know what he means by this, and he doesn't elaborate. But he says that the combination of B's (B-Boy and Ballerina) gives them an A+.
Arassay and Izaak perform their last number for the night, a Tango brought to us by Alex daSilva. They are dancing to Pa' Ballar (Instrumental) by Bajofondo.
They both look the part, but I notice a few things that aren't working particularly well. The drag across the stage looks a bit stiff to me, and it seems that Izaak is concentrating too much, and making it look a bit awkward. Arassay pulls off a neat move, basically the splits while Izaak spins her around, but then she seems to land with a bit of a bump and a pause while Izaak recovers himself. The only thing that saved this dance is the fact that Arassay is such a strong dancer that you're forced to watch only her. She could've been out there entirely on her own for all the 'partnering' Izaak gave her. He was there for the lifts but just screamed 'out of my league'.
Mia gives a shout out for the choreography and says that Arassay has so much passion, and was trying so hard to connect with Izaak, but... she says there's just a numbness about Izaak's performances. Makes the comment we already know, that he has so much potential, but he's just not there yet.
Dan thought it was good, and was speechless over Arassay. He tells Izaak that he needs to dig in more, and that he needs to not worry so much about himself and pay more attention to his partner. Overall though, he found it entertaining.
Tre tells Arassay there's nothing she can't do and compliments Izaak on keeping a strong frame. JM comments on the fact that this was a difficult routine (unlike all those easy ones they usually hand out), and tells Arassay she's all about spice. And many other things. Yuck. I don't like it when he says things like that.
Last piece for Natalli and Vincent, a contemporary number. This one is choreographed by Stacey Tookey and danced to Happy Ending by MIKA. I see the same thing as I saw in their first routine. Out. of. sync.
Besides that, it has some interesting moves and some great catches, and overall I was alright with it.
Mia says the two of them danced it brilliantly and praises Stacey Tookey for growing into a beautiful choreographer. Dan keeps it short and to the point - the best performance of the night. I disagree with Dan here. It was a good routine, but nothing I'm still squee'ing over today.
Tre loved it, and says that she loves everything they do. JM is giving a standing O. And he's almost in tears. Which I don't get. I mean, it was good, but it wasn't something that would get one all choked up. Trust me, I would know. I cry over everything. Diamond commercials, that stupid show Full House (don't ask) - but this one didn't bring me even close to a teary moment. Oh well, to each their own.
Last dance of the night - Nico and Lisa doing hip hop to a Luther Brown piece. In the rehearsals, Nico confesses that while the choreography is going well, they are having some issues with their props. We then get to see suitcases flying all over the place. Could be dangerous.
Dancing to Whatever You Like by T.I., I am, for a change, able to suspend my schoolgirl crush on Nico and actually watch them dance. Like, in a non-biased, take off your shirt kind of way. And holy smokes. Nico is an absolutely fantastic dancer. Lisa certainly holds her own next to him, but some of his movements are so Wade Robson (as I've said before), and I think he has an enormously successful future ahead of him, regardless of the results of this show.
Mia says the style was ridiculous, it was fun and they danced it "just awesome". Dan says of all the shows he's judged that the Canadian show is second to none. I so hope he's not just saying that for effect, cuz I pretty much burst into patriotic tears with that one. He said they had unison, feel, flow, and that it was an amazing performance.
Tre loved it, said it had swagger and confidence and that she wanted to see them in the Top 4. JM sings for us a little bit and then says it was fun and down to business.
My predictions to go home, you ask? Izaak and Natalli. I don't know who will be the other bottom two, and it almost seems irrelevant, as long as they aren't the ones to leave.
Kim will be adding her comments and doing the results show tomorrow night, so we'll see y'all then!
And Nico? Call me.
Posted by Anonymous at 10:46 PM 2 comments
Labels: Nico can pull my hair anytime, Top 8
November 14, 2008
So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Tour Info!!!
Okay everyone, all we've got so far are dates for the tour, but as soon as I have specific on sale dates for the tickets, I'll be updating this post with that info.
UPDATE: All the purchase info for every city EXCEPT KELOWNA is here. Kelowna's info is here. There is an internet presale beginning Friday, November 21st. Check the appropriate ticketing site for start times (it's mostly 12:00 noon local time, except for one or two exceptions). If you are going to purchase your tickets on the internet I have a few words of advice. Set up your account before they go on sale. If you can, save your credit card info in your account. This will make your purchasing situation much easier and you will be less likely to run into any issues.
January 30, 2008 - Vancouver, BC - GM Place
January 31, 2008 - Kelowna, BC - Prospera Place
February 2, 2008 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
February 5, 2008 - Calgary, AB - Stampede Corral
February 7, 2008 - Saskatoon, SK - Credit Union Centre
February 8, 2008 - Regina, SK - Brandt Centre
February 9, 2008 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
February 10, 2008 - Thunder Bay, ON - Fort Williams Gardens
February 12, 2008 - Sudbury, ON - Sudbury Arena
February 13, 2008 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
February 14, 2008 - Montreal, QC - Place des Arts
February 15, 2008 - Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place
February 17, 2008 - Hamilton, ON - Copps Coliseum
February 18, 2008 - London, ON - John Labatt Centre
February 21, 2008 - Kingston, ON - K Rock Centre
I'm unfortunately seeing no love for the Maritimes fans. Kick up a fuss you guys! Maybe they'll add a date or two for you East Coasters!
Keep an eye on this post this week. As soon as I know on-sale dates and prices, I'll update this with links to the appropriate ticketing sites.
Cheers!
UPDATE: All the purchase info for every city EXCEPT KELOWNA is here. Kelowna's info is here. There is an internet presale beginning Friday, November 21st. Check the appropriate ticketing site for start times (it's mostly 12:00 noon local time, except for one or two exceptions). If you are going to purchase your tickets on the internet I have a few words of advice. Set up your account before they go on sale. If you can, save your credit card info in your account. This will make your purchasing situation much easier and you will be less likely to run into any issues.
January 30, 2008 - Vancouver, BC - GM Place
January 31, 2008 - Kelowna, BC - Prospera Place
February 2, 2008 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
February 5, 2008 - Calgary, AB - Stampede Corral
February 7, 2008 - Saskatoon, SK - Credit Union Centre
February 8, 2008 - Regina, SK - Brandt Centre
February 9, 2008 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
February 10, 2008 - Thunder Bay, ON - Fort Williams Gardens
February 12, 2008 - Sudbury, ON - Sudbury Arena
February 13, 2008 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
February 14, 2008 - Montreal, QC - Place des Arts
February 15, 2008 - Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place
February 17, 2008 - Hamilton, ON - Copps Coliseum
February 18, 2008 - London, ON - John Labatt Centre
February 21, 2008 - Kingston, ON - K Rock Centre
I'm unfortunately seeing no love for the Maritimes fans. Kick up a fuss you guys! Maybe they'll add a date or two for you East Coasters!
Keep an eye on this post this week. As soon as I know on-sale dates and prices, I'll update this with links to the appropriate ticketing sites.
Cheers!
Posted by Anonymous at 9:02 AM 0 comments
Labels: Dates, SYTYCD Canada, Top 10 Tour
November 13, 2008
So You Think You Can Dance - Top 10 Results!
I suck on so many levels, I hardly even know where to begin.
So all day I'm looking forward to tonight's show, particularly for the opening number, because I love Mia Michaels and I really want to see the opening dance.
But I'm tired. I've been fighting this cold for over a week now, and I'm tired. So I thought, well, I've still got over an hour before the show, if I just take a little nap... I'll set my alarm and make sure to be up in time... no worries!
Yeah. I know. You see exactly where this is going.
I'm suddenly jolted awake up in one of those panics where suddenly you're standing in the middle of your room, heart racing, blindly pushing buttons on the TV without knowing why. You just know something's wrong. OH NO! I've slept through the first 9 minutes, missed the first dance, AND learning who the bottom 4 dancers are.
Okay, I'll jump in here and say the group dance was awesome. It was so very typically Mia, and I loved it. You can tell that Mia is the sort of person that sees the world differently, and puts that into what she does. It was quirky and odd and dark and just fabulous.
So all day I'm looking forward to tonight's show, particularly for the opening number, because I love Mia Michaels and I really want to see the opening dance.
But I'm tired. I've been fighting this cold for over a week now, and I'm tired. So I thought, well, I've still got over an hour before the show, if I just take a little nap... I'll set my alarm and make sure to be up in time... no worries!
Yeah. I know. You see exactly where this is going.
I'm suddenly jolted awake up in one of those panics where suddenly you're standing in the middle of your room, heart racing, blindly pushing buttons on the TV without knowing why. You just know something's wrong. OH NO! I've slept through the first 9 minutes, missed the first dance, AND learning who the bottom 4 dancers are.
Okay, I'll jump in here and say the group dance was awesome. It was so very typically Mia, and I loved it. You can tell that Mia is the sort of person that sees the world differently, and puts that into what she does. It was quirky and odd and dark and just fabulous.
I know. I suck.
The solos are about to start, and we've got Kaitlyn and Natalli dancing, not for their lives, because, as Leah explains, their fates have already been sealed.
I'm alright with both of these girls being here... until Kaitlyn starts to choke up right after her solo. I'm sick, overtired, still ticked over missing Mia, and waaaay over emotional... and now I'm sobbing. This night is not getting any better...
And hey! Is that... Izaak in the crowd? As in, he's NOT in the bottom 2 guys? Huh. Wonder how THAT happened, JM... Yep, you called that one. The judges need to learn to not go over the top with the criticism, because it ALWAYS backfires.
Natalli does an interesting solo, very different from anything else she's done before, and I thought it was kind of cool. But I'm still crying, and clearly not thinking straight.
Now for the two guys - Miles and Danny. Miles and Danny? This is so not good! This just made me feel bad all around. I realize that now that we're in top 10, good dancers are going to go regardless, but it was at least one week too early for both of these guys.
They both do great solos, and I am saddened at the thought of either of them leaving. With Izaak watching from the sidelines.
And onto the results. Starting with the girls, JM says a few words about trusting Canada with their vote and hands it back to Leah to drop the axe. On Kaitlyn. Who is doing her best to hold it together, and is doing about as good a job as I am. All the girls on the sidelines are crying - well, almost all of them. Farewell montage time and more tears.
Tre's up and talking to Miles and Danny now, telling them both what wonderful dancers they are... oh and I just know either way this one's gonna hurt... Miles makes it through to the Top 8 and we are left to say goodbye to Danny. There just was no right answer here.
I have been awake for about 18 minutes and have been a mess for about 16 of them. I'm thinking I should just go back to bed.
So there we have it. If anyone has any comments on the opening number, feel free to tell me what I missed! I'll try and find it on youtube later tonight.
And on a final note - how exciting! A Canadian Top 10 tour! Will post dates and cities once they have been announced. I'll be putting together a post about the tour very shortly for everyone!
Posted by Carra at 8:14 PM 0 comments
Labels: Danny, Kaitlyn, Mia Michaels, Miles, Natalli, Top 10 Tour
SYTYCDC - Exciting News!
SYTYCD.ca is reporting that Mia Michaels is looking after the choreography for the group number on tonight's results show!
How exciting! I've been missing me some Mia on this version and am very glad we'll get at least one appearance from her.
Now has anyone heard anything about a Wade possibility?
Posted by Anonymous at 9:49 AM 0 comments
Labels: Choreography, group number, Mia Michaels, Results, So You Think You Can Dance Canada
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