Pop Goes The Word

SYTYCD - Top 8 Results

2009-12-11T14:50:00.007-08:00

Alright - this is your recap of Wednesday night's results show. I'm not really sure how it will turn out, because it's taken me the entire 41 hours since the show ended to even work up the energy to write it.

To say I'm disappointed is a bit of an understatement ~ but I'll get to that near the end.

The show opened with a piece choreographed by Sonya Tayeh, set to 'Pon de Floor (Samantha Ronson Remix)' by Major Lazer feat. VYBZ Kartel. As is typical with Ms. Tayeh's routines, this was quirky, jerky and high energy. I did kind of wonder why the dancers were dressed as Jolly Rancher candies, but the song choice didn't lend to any particular costuming demands - so I think they just went with weird. Right away it was obvious that Ashleigh was still not dancing, and that made me analyze the routine for how Sonya & the dancers must have had to alter the choreography to accommodate the lack of one dancer. The alterations were fairly seamless, though it was a bit odd to have Russell just completely disappear off stage for a chunk of the performance, only to leap back in. I'm also getting pretty tired of Jakob always being a large focus point in these routines. I like Jakob as a dancer/contestant just fine BUT we know he can pirouette, jete and bend like Gumby alright? We don't need it shoved in our face at every opportunity.

I'm realizing that I'm sounding bitter while writing this - and for that I apologize.

Up next we get a short filler piece, introducing Samantha Ronson and explaining her participation in this week's music choices. She is on the sickly looking side of skinny. Interesting to hear from her though - as I get the impression that though she is a very popular DJ, you don't honestly "hear" a lot from her directly. She dated some sort of coked out has-been actress didn't she? LOL!

Right on to the results of the voting to discover the bottom 2 boys & girls.

The Guys

Russell - Safe. This was fairly predictable. Russell has a huge following.
Legacy - Not Safe. **SOB!** Okay I predicted this myself, and at this point in the show I still held out hope that my favourite dancer would be in the finale.
Jakob - Safe. Again pretty obvious. I will admit that Jakob has been presented as the most talented dancer this year.
Ryan - Not Safe. With only 4 dancers to choose from, Ryan would have been MY choice to go home. Not because he isn't a good dancer - he is - I just believe he isn't the most well rounded and hasn't grown as much as the other dancers. And he's not Legacy. *SOB!*

The Girls

Kathryn - Safe. SQUEE! Certainly my fave girl this year.
Ellenore - Not Safe. Huh. That NappyTabs (yeah I said it *rolling eyes*) routine really sank Ellenore & Legacy. Or maybe it was the stupid Alien language. Either way - Unfortunate.
Mollee - Not Safe.
Ashleigh - Safe. Listen - I'm an Ashleigh fan, don't get me wrong - but WTF!? This girl didn't dance and she gets a free pass through to the finale? Because that's what this is - a Free Pass.

And while in your head's you can recall the mediocre performance from "Asia's Number 1 Pop Group - The Wondergirls!" I'm going to go off into a little rant...a pre rant...because there will be another towards the end of this recap.

I've already made the statement that I think Ashleigh is a talented dancer. I think of all the girls (yes even above Mollee) she has shown the most growth throughout the season. The judges didn't have much confidence in her while she was in Vegas, and in fact Did Not originally include her in the Top 20. She ended up grabbing that last spot in the Top 20 because another dancer chosen could not continue in the competition. At that point I was happy for her - because I thought it would be an interesting storyline to the season, what with her having to prove herself possibly even more than any of the other girls. There was also the 'cute' factor because she was going to be able to share her journey with her husband - the very much hyped Ryan.
But now that I've made that declaration - I have this to say. Ashleigh should have been in the bottom two tonight. At this point in the competition, where every routine matters, Ashleigh did not perform - at all. Of course - if the results are truly in America's hands, this is no one's fault really. Ashleigh has a large following, which was only increased by Ryan's plea for votes for her. I don't know that there was any other way to fairly prevent Ashleigh from going directly to the finale - but I have to say to my American friends "what were you thinking?". I want to say that Ashleigh should have been the girl to go home, because her injury didn't allow her to take part. There are those who will say that would have been just as unfair - this time to Ashleigh directly - but there really is no good way to solve a situation like this.

Okay - onward we go. I'm going to let you again use your own imaginations to envision the performance by Kris Allen (it took me a minute to remember this kid's name) - because I didn't watch it after the first 30 seconds. Boorrring. I think it's quite telling that the winner of the last American Idol was given a spot on the 2nd to last show - and the runner up (Adam Lambert) was given a spot on the finale. BUT - I haven't watched American idol since Carrie Underwood won (though I do like David Cook) so I don't know much about either singer.

Here are the results:

Girl going home: Mollee. Poor little thing looks devastated but manages to keep it together. All in all I have to agree that she is a good dancer, but up next to Ellenore & Kathryn (I'm leaving Ashleigh out of this) she is the weakest.

Guy going home: Legacy. *Great Heaving Sobs!* Okay so maybe I'm exaggerating - but I'm not happy about this. At. All.

Rant # 2. This stinks of conspiracy. A numbers fix. Do we really think that the American public wants to see Ryan & Ashleigh dance together so badly that they voted for them instead of Legacy & Ellenore - who arguably had the best performance of Tuesday night's show.

In truth I think this was more a case of the voting public thinking that Legacy was safe with everyone else's votes and so they voted for Ryan instead. Does that make me feel better? No.

I haven't been shy in proclaiming my like (all right Love) of Legacy. I think he is a seriously talented young man, whose desire to learn and improve has been proven throughout this season. He has grown by leaps and bounds and broken the limits that most B-boys are held to. At the beginning of the season, I certainly didn't think he would get this far. As the season has gone on, I've grown more and more invested in his journey. It's been hard this year to pick that one standout performer (as Brandon was last season). We've had some incredible dancers showcase some incredible talent this year. But when you line them up (or when I do and I've already said I'm biased haven't I?) you get this: Russell the astonishingly versatile Krumper, Jakob of the miraculous jetes, extensions and leaping, Legacy of the unimaginable growth and Ryan of the...well...phenomenal abdominal muscles?

Alright that may be going a bit far - Ryan IS talented. But is he the best dancer this season - No. Is he going to win SYTYCD Season 6? I highly doubt that (and if he does I may throw up).

I'm going to stop there and continue on, remembering that this is just a reality competition show and not the end of the world. :)

Kim is back next week to cover the Finale Performance and Finale Results shows. I will be laid up recovering from some pre-holiday surgery that will only allow me to watch the shows in a drugged-out stupor. Which is probably for the best all in all.

Oh - one more thing - Cat did mention that auditions for Season 7 would begin in January, so we shouldn't have to wait too long for our next SYTYCD fix.

Keep Dancin'!
Carly

SYTYCD - Top 8 Performance

2009-12-09T15:25:00.008-08:00

Good Day to All! I had a busy night last night - with 2 hours of SYTYCD, 2 hours of Biggest Loser finale and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince all in my TV watching lineup. I made it through the marathon and am here now to recap the Top 8 performances for you.

I must say that I am a big fan of Cat Deeley and her fabulous wardrobe & makeup people, but they must have been suffering from an egg nog hangover last night. What the hell was she wearing? Some sort of silver/pewter lame jumpsuit shorts mess. Ugh. Her hair wasn't much better, looking a lot like she just rolled out of bed and hit the stage without brushing it.

Anyhow, on to tonight's show. Ashleigh was conspicuously absent from the dancer intro portion of the show, but that mystery was cleared up right away. Ashleigh dislocated her shoulder during rehearsals and while she said she felt well enough to dance, TPTB wouldn't clear her to perform in the show. This is critical because this is the last show before next week's finale. My brain automatically went into a spiral of confusion - Finale? Last season they whittled down the contestants to the Final 4 before the finale. We (Kim & I) think it's because they didn't want to have the finale week the same week as Christmas, but who knows really. Well, Nigel Lithgow & Co. do I suppose.

Onward to the performances. A reminder that each couple is a NEW pairing tonight, and will be dancing two separate routines. As well each dancer with be performing a solo. I'm going to try to pay attention to the solos tonight, because I think that they may be the deciding factor with some voters.

Kathryn & Ryan
'Last Dance (Samantha Ronson Remix)' - Donna Summer
Doriana Sanchez/Disco

In the first routine of the night my favourite female was paired with the Prince of Ballroom for a fast paced Disco routine. Is there such thing as a slow or moderately paced disco routine? These two dancers seemed to do well together, though Kathryn looked tiny next to Ryan's great height. Watching this, I could certainly feel the energy they were trying to get across, but something just didn't feel right. Maybe Nigel was right and Ryan wasn't loose enough or something. As usual, Ryan's partnering was great but I'm losing my enthusiasm for him. Certainly he has proven that he can be every girl's dream partner. They don't need to worry that he'll ever drop them in a lift for instance. But - and this may be a big BUT, whenever his partnering skills aren't necessarily needed (such as in a hip hop routine or his solos) Ryan falters. He's a good dancer, but not as versatile as the others. Kathryn is, as usual, beautiful - with graceful lines and seemingly effortless movement. A good routine, but it left me feeling slightly 'meh'. I also have to disagree with Adam Shankman and say that Ryan's sequined pants were awful - it looked like he had been attacked by a drunken bejeweller.

Mollee & Jakob
'Ordinary Day' - Vanessa Carlton
Jason Gilkison/Viennese Waltz

I'm not exactly sure what makes a Viennese Waltz - Viennese. Though I get the impression that this means it is less structured than a traditional waltz. While Jason says that the story of this routine is that Jakob is Mollee's friend who is trying to help her get back her mojo - watching the routine I don't know that I got that. Maybe I missed something? That said, this was a very pretty routine. The tricks throughout the number worked and Mollee & Jakob made this seem effortless. The 'butterfly' flips (I think that's what they are called) in particular were awesome. Mollee continues to redeem herself, but I'm growing weary of the judges talking about her 'growth' as a performer. Jakob just can't take a wrong step, and is an incredible dancer but for some reason I just can't work up a lot of feeling for him. He kind of leaves me with the blahs - not sure why. I was kind of expecting a train wreck but I was pleasantly surprised. A pretty routine - but for me not the most memorable.

Solo: Ashleigh Song: None because the poor girl can't dance tonight. They bring her out anyway to remind us how sad it is that she can't perform. Then we get her # to call? I was surprised they didn't show any past dance footage for Ashleigh, but it was perhaps determined to be unfair?

Ellenore & Legacy
'Machine Gun' - Portishead
Travis Wall/Contemporary

It was explained to us that the story here is about two assassins - who are married - who have been hired to kill each other. Uhhh Mr. & Mrs. Smith anyone? I'm not sure if they left the title of that obvious inspiration out on purpose because of some sort of copyright/licensing rules or if Travis/Ellenore/Legacy just didn't get the connection. Anyhooo - I LOVED this, from the choreography to the music, from the dancers to their dancing.. After a worried moment spent wondering if this was going to be another 'desk' routine this moved into a perfect combination of Ellenore's contemporary skill and Legacy's B-boy athleticism. Rough & tumble, exciting and effortless. I could watch this again and again (and I probably will). I totally agreed with Nigel's assertion that the danger in this routine made it an incredible experience to watch. And really - I'm not just saying this because Legacy is my favourite contestant - honest. Travis Wall certainly is a choreographer to be watched in the future.

Solo: Jakob Song: 'When You Say My Name' - Mario Spinetti
And this is just another contemporary solo to me. Spins & flips and expressive grabbing at nothing.

Russell & Rachel (substituting for Ashleigh)
'Too Much Booty 2 (Bobby J Remix)' - Soundmaster T & Jah-Rista feat Korveil
Shane Sparks/Hip Hop

Okay I hope I'm not going to offend Shane Sparks' assistant Rachel here but I think Russell didn't suffer for having her as a substitute for Ashleigh. I know we're not supposed to be judging Rachel, but if we were I don't think she'd come off very well. She seemed really sloppy to me. Russell rocked this start to finish. He hit each movement hard and with precision. It was great to be able to focus on a single dancer throughout this routine - and really pay attention to how well this was done by that one dancer. Is anyone getting the feeling that Russell is bad luck though? First Noelle and now Ashleigh?

Solo: Mollee Song: 'Heartburn' - Alicia Keys
And again - more flips, more tricks, more writhing about the stage. Meh. A big fat MEH.

Kathryn & Ryan
'Put Your Hands on Me' - Joss Stone
Jason Gilkison/ChaCha

Wow - just Wow. While I'm sure this certainly isn't a traditional ChaCha - it was fabulous. Here, Ryan is in his element, able to partner with Kathryn to showcase her as the star. Again - I don't think being a great partner is going to be enough to get him through. Kathryn certainly played her part well. The characters were certainly smoldering on the stage. Not surprisingly (to me) Kathryn was able to learn this new style well and come off smelling like a rose. The final flip was incredible! This was Hot - one of my favourite routines tonight. Not sure why Mary seemed to get 'veclempt' during her schpiel but maybe she just loves the ChaCha just that much. Oh! I almost forgot - Mary offered up two tickets on the Hot Tamale Train to Ryan & Kathryn - and in a season where tickets have been few and far between that's high praise.

Solo: Legacy Song: 'Fancy Footwork' - Chromeo
Aaannnd it's a B-boy solo. Surprising, No? Not sure what was up with the cordless phone - other than Legacy seemed to indicate that it was 'America' calling - perhaps to vote for him?

Solo: Ellenore Song: 'I Got the Feelin'' - James Brown
Hate me if you like - but I do not like James Brown. While I make it no secret that I'm not fond of the solos - this was really boring. These dancers are really not putting a lot of effort in tonight. Sheesh.

Solo: Russell Song: 'Holiday Buckness' - The J Squad
Russell pulls the Bizarre card this week and makes me exclaim out loud "WTF?" Dressed as Santa, krumping, losing a shoe and pulling an accessorized teddy bear from a bag - this was too much to take in. He gets points for being the most memorable solo of the night and that's about it.

Mollee & Jakob
'Easy Street (Samantha Ronson Remix)' - Annie (original TV soundtrack)
Joey Dowling/Broadway

You know - I would think that when an element of choreography simply isn't working, even after it's been altered slightly - the choreographer would just drop that element out - wouldn't you? That bench slide right at the very beginning simply didn't work, and in fact made the routine seem clunky to start. They moved on quickly though and this ended up being a really nice broadway routine - in your typical nice broadway routine way. Jakob shows off some more of his incredible jumping & flipping and Mollee hams it up . I liked the costume 'change' in the middle of the routine - though truly it was just a layer removal. Jakob & Mollee seemed really into this and embodied their characters with enthusiasm. Fun to watch. I think Mollee & Jakob did well together tonight and have a good chance to make it into the Top 6.

Solo: Kathryn Song: 'Shadowfeet' - Brooke Fraser
Another pretty contemporary solo from Kathryn. *sigh*

Ellenore & Legacy
'People Are Strange (District 78 Remix)' - The Doors
Napoleon & Tabitha Dumo/Hip Hop

I'm just going to leap right into this - what a freaking White Hot Mess. What the hell where Napoleon & Tabitha thinking? Just because the routine was supposed to be quirky and yes, strange - doesn't mean that the choreography can be a disaster. I agreed with Mary when she said that the beginning of the routine was exciting, but the rest of the routine really fell short. It was messy, there was no synchronization and indeed, very little dancing. Nigel said that the concept got in the way here, and I wholeheartedly agree.

Solo: Ryan Song: 'Din Da Da' - Kevin Aviance
This was the most memorable solo of the night for me. Not for the dancing - which was a really standard ballroom solo - but for the heartfelt plea from Ryan for America not to forget to vote for Ashleigh. I've snarked a bit on how sickeningly sweet the 'marrieds' are - but this was very touching. I really felt how much Ryan wants this, not for himself but for Ashleigh. And he gets a Standing O from the judges for his efforts.

Russell & Alycia (substituting for Ashleigh)
'Spirit Of Rangeela' - Rangeela (original soundtrack)
Nakul Dev Mahajan/Bollywood

I was expecting a very large and horrific trainwreck with this routine. Surely this should have been the genre where Russell faltered. So many intricate movements, so many ways to go wrong. I have never been so happy to be wrong. Russell proved, once again that he really loves to dance. As Adam said, the joy that radiated from every pore in Russell's performance made this a huge success. Congratulations Russell!

Alrighty people - I'll be back later on tonight (possibly tomorrow morning) with the recap of tonight's results show. Remember this elimination is the last before the finale next week. If I was forced to make any predictions about who would go home I would say that I can only guess. Based on my feelings alone - I'm going to say Ryan & Legacy (sob!) will be the bottom two guys and Mollee & Ashleigh (because she didn't dance! how can one vote for a dancer who didn't dance above any of the other dancers) for the girls. It would be sad if our marrieds were eliminated together tonight - but I don't think that will happen. To be honest, based on my pretend psychic talents to interpret fan feeling - I think Ryan & Mollee will be eliminated tonight.

We'll see you later - until then... Keep Dancin'!

SYTYCD - Top 10 Performance & Results

2009-12-02T22:32:00.008-08:00

Hi! Carly here, recapping last night's SYTYCD Top 10 performance show - I'll also be covering the results show later tonight.

To get things started lets go over some of the changes Tuesday's show brought: This show is the first of the season where America votes who goes home. The guy & girl with the least number of America's votes will be leaving us tonight - and from the cheering at the judges table, I'd say they're relieved. Also, the couples we've grown to love have been separated and each dancer will be dancing with a new partner this evening. I was very excited to see what kind of fun these new partnerships would result in. Remember though, America is voting for their favourite individual dancer - not couple.
Each couple was given two routines to perform and each dancer had a solo as well. Now we must remember that I'm not a huge fan of the solo dance aspect of the show, so the recapping there will be slim - BUT I did enjoy several of the solos tonight and I'll comment on those.

On to the show - and boy was I pleasantly surprised when I noticed that there was no 'filler' before each routine (more on that later).

Noelle & Ryan
'Give It To Me Right' - Melanie Fiona
Napoleon & Tabitha Dumo/Hip Hop

I thought that this was well done, though something about Ryan's performance was a bit conservative - and I'm not talking about the costuming. It felt like he got all the steps and movement - but he wasn't loose enough and I got the impression he was holding back. Noelle looked and performed better in this. She looked great and threw herself into routine with abandon. As a side note to this routine - while I was watching this I thought to myself 'Gosh, this seems a little familiar. Was there a desk used in another routine that is making this seem already done?' And sure enough, I was right. Kim was quick to point out that this routine was a rip off of the routine Mandy Moore choreographed for Sabre & Neil, set to the song 'Sweet Dreams' by the Eurythmics (please don't ask me what season - it was before my time). The routine was featured in the "Best Dances" episode, and that's where I saw it. I'm not going to say that Napoleon & Tabitha 'borrowed' from Mandy Moore - but the implication is there.

Ashleigh & Legacy
'Poison' - The Prodigy
Garry Stewart/Contemporary

What a refreshing change of contemporary pace! I REALLY liked this. Contemporary pieces can sometimes (well a lot of the time) feel like servings of flowy, happy (or maudlin), touchy feely plates of beautiful goodness. Not that I'm complaining - contemporary pieces are almost always my favourites. BUT this, more aggressive, offering was certainly fabulous. I loved the push/pull between the dancer's throughout the whole routine. The movements where these two used each other's bodies to fly into a spin or push into the next move were great. There was definitely a fabulous Capoeira feeling to this choreography. The 'fighting' elements were awesome and the finishing headstand was incredible. These two dancers couldn't be more different but they really pulled this off. And I'll say it again ~ I LOVE me some Legacy! That said up front (because I wanted to put my bias out there), has anyone else noticed that while Legacy continues to show a tonne of talent to pick up new styles easily - when he's provided with a contemporary routine he truly shines. Great job!

First solo of the night is Mollee - and I'll just repeat what I said last night, out loud, to my TV 'Crap! Filler!' I'm not going to recap any of that - it's all just blahdeblahblah to me.

Solo: Mollee Song: 'Rock the Beat' - LMFAO
There was nothing really special or mind boggling in this solo. In fact it felt like a lot of jumping and running around the stage. Meh.

Solo: Russell Song: 'Outros' - Black Milk
I really like Russell, so I wish there was something here that I could praise (or even snark on) - but there wasn't really. We know this guy is an amazing krumper - and this was just a re-assertion of that.

Kathryn & Nathan
'Choreography' - Danny Kaye
Spencer Liff/Broadway

This was cute. That's it - cute. While this definitely made Nathan seem more mature, I couldn't get past the goofball look on his face. I think that I just don't like Nathan and that's tinting my view a bit. Kathryn continues to be my favourite girl in this competition and she outshone Nathan tonight (for me) by a mile. Overall this was a nice routine - but certainly not overly memorable.

Ellenore/Jakob
'Four Brothers' - Manhattan Transfer
Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin - Quickstep (or DDD - Dreaded Dance of Doom)

I'll repeat myself - I know nothing about quickstep. However, even I could tell that this was very well done. The judges agreed. I like Ellenore & Jakob together. They fit well. They pulled the DDD and came out smelling like roses. Very well done!

Solo: Ryan Song: 'Rock You Like a Hurricane' - Scorpions
Okay WTH? This was just weird...and that's all I have to say.

Solo: Kathryn Song: 'Beautiful' - Bethany Dillon
While Kathryn certainly was 'Beautiful' here and it was a lovely solo, there was really nothing spectacular to report.

Mollee & Russell
'It Must Have Been Love' - Roxette
Mandy Moore/Lyrical Jazz

First off I have to say that when I was a young teenager (oh so many years ago), Roxette was my absolutely favourite group. So when I heard the first few notes of music here, I shouted 'Woot!'. My husband came in from the next room and asked me what the hell I was doing. Unfortunately - while the song used here was one of my favourites (and maybe because of that) I noticed all the glaringly bad edits to cut the song down to the required 90 seconds (?it's still 90 secs right?). Anyway - Mollee & Russell were wonderful together. Mollee came across as more adult being partnered with Russell. The lifts were well executed and there were some very creative movements included in the choreography. I loved the backward jump, linking elbow lift/drop move (really technical sounding right? LOL). A great partnership - too bad this is the only week they'll be together.

Solo: Nathan Song: 'Golden Train' - Justin Nozuka
Alright I'm going to mention the profile clip here: Are you kidding me Nathan? Crying? This wouldn't happen to be the result of Adam Shankman's comments about how you need to be a bit more careful about how you come across in your profile clips would it? Perhaps you think if you can show a little emotion you'll generate more fan feeling? Gah - I can't even comment on his solo because I was so disgusted about the profile clip I didn't watch it.

Back to the top of the list for the next round of couples routines.

Noelle & Ryan
'Jeau d'eau' - O (Cirque du Soleil Soundtrack)
JT & Tomas/Smooth Waltz

This was very pretty. Excellent lifts and wonderfully smooth & lightweight movement. I'm not really surprised because Ballroom is Ryan's forte. Noelle is lovely and was good with this, but I couldn't help feeling like she was just following Ryan's much more talented lead. In this, Ryan dominated no doubt about it.

Solo: Ellenore Song: 'Beatbox Harmonica' - Yuri Lane
What a great solo! Quirky and fun, this showcased Ellenore's unique personality perfectly.

Ashleigh & Legacy
'Slow Down' - Bobby Valentino
Dave Scott/Hip Hop

I think this was supposed to be vampire-esque. Legacy was costumed to look like an old-school vampire {and by this I mean he wasn't dressed as Edward Cullen ;)} He did really well with the cape as a prop, and it didn't seem cumbersome at all. Unfortunately - this is the end of my good commentary about this routine. I think I understand that while Legacy was the vampire, Ashleigh was supposed to be the girl he wanted to...uhh...entrall? I didn't get her costume because other than the colours it didn't seem to fit in with the 'story'. I didn't really get the whole story anyway - I don't think. This was the one point in the evening where I wished there had been a rehearsal clip before the routine. I'm going to stop here and just quote some of the judges comments, because they really summed up how I felt about the entire routine. Nigel said he "didn't feel it" and that there was "not enough dancing" throughout this routine. He did seem to place the shortcomings firmly on Dave Scott's shoulders - for which I am glad. Adam also summed things up nicely when he said he felt this routine was "not challenging enough" at this point in the competition. This shortfall is certainly choreographer error in my opinion and I just hope it doesn't reflect badly on Legacy & Ashleigh.

Kathryn & Nathan
'Walk on By' - Aretha Franklin
Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin/Rumba
This was nice - but I certainly didn't feel any chemistry between Kathryn & Nathan here. Nathan does seem more mature with Kathryn as a partner, but everything he does just comes off feeling disingenuous. Both dancers danced well, but individually. There was no real partnership feeling to me. Hopefully Kathryn will be luckier in her choice of partner next week and to be honest, I hope Nathan isn't here next week.

Solo: Legacy Song: 'No Air' - Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
This was awesome. It's no secret I love Legacy, but it's really the his true joy of dancing that comes through every time he steps on stage that I adore. I smiled the whole way through this solo. I smiled even more when I heard that Kathryn was offstage "screaming her head off" during the whole solo. Okay I admit it ...I want these two to Lurve each other...and there are rumours that they are. (small squee)

Ellenore & Jakob
'Tore My Heart' - OONA & Dave Tweedie
Sonya Tayeh/Contemporary

This routine was interesting. I'll admit that I had to watch it twice before I decided that I really liked it. The pairing of these two dancers is really fabulous, and their performance was the best of the night. I still can't decide how to describe this - Matador-esque, dark, gothic, Victorian - it had elements of all of these. Ellenore's quirky meshed with Sonya's quirky and they dragged Jakob along for the ride and he loved it. Incredible dancing - incredible routine. Loved it. They deserved the standing 'O' they got from the judges.

(I've loved a lot tonight - I'm sorry - I'll try to bring more snark next time)

Solo: Ashleigh Song: 'Batacada Por Favor' - Bob Azzam
Yeah this was a ballroom solo - and while Ashleigh looked great in her dress (though it kind of reminded me of a 1970's lampshade) there wasn't anything to make it stand out.

Mollee & Russell
'Land of 1000 Dances' - Jimmy Barnes
Anya & Pasha/Jive

The joy Russell brings to every routine makes every routine he dances a joy to watch. Mollee was really cute here too and did a good job keeping up with Russell. Mollee certainly mastered the shimmy and shake. This routine was great and a lot of fun to watch.

Solo: Jakob Song: 'Always Midnight (Acoustic)' - Pat Monahan
In typical Jakob fashion this was very nicely danced, but again was just another solo to me. Not much else to report other than the shorts he was wearing were god-awful.

Okay - that's it for the performance show. I'm not going to predict who will go home tonight because it's just too hard to tell at this point. I have my picks as to who I WANT to go home, but we'll see how things turn out.

And now - because it's taken me all day to get this portion written I'm going to pull a Kim and add the recap of the results show to the bottom here.

Results Show
This is going to be short & sweet people. You don't need a lot of filler from me. :) I'm recapping on the fly as well - so you'll see my instantaneous reactions.

Cat Deeley looks incredible. Holy crow her wardrobe budget must be amazing!

Group Routine - Choreographed by Tyce Diorio
'It's Still Rock & Roll To Me' - Billy Joel

Fun! This routine gave a lot of the dancers a chance to individually shine while still allowing them to play off of each other throughout. AND lest we forget - it also gave Ryan & Ashleigh a chance to not only dance together, but to make out in front of millions of viewers. *rolling eyes*

Cat moves right on into the recap of last night montage...and because I just recapped the entire show myself - I skip through it.

Up first the bottom two girls are revealed. We are reminded that the bottom voted dancers will dance solos again tonight but the solos cannot save them. They are simply a chance to perform one last time.

Oh - they're all still costumed from the group number. Interesting.

Ellenore - Safe
Mollee - Safe
Noelle - Not Safe - Bottom 2
Ashleigh - Safe
Kathryn - Not Safe - WHAT??? No!
**added note: Kathryn looks almost unrecognizable in her costuming & makeup - awesome but unrecognizable.

Now we've got the guys:
Ryan - Not Safe - Bottom 2 - Uh Oh could our marrieds be separated tonight?
Russell - Safe
Jakob - Safe
Nathan - Not Safe - YES! oops sorry to all those Nathan fans out there.
Legacy - Safe (thank you thank you thank you)

Up next a performance from the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers - dancing to 'Yellow' by the Vitamin String Quartet, a great cover of the Coldplay song. This is a melding of classical dance with hip hop, b-boy and contemporary movement. Wow. This was incredible. And I promise this is the last time I'll gush my love tonight - but I can really see Legacy being a part of this troupe in his future.

Solo - Solo - Solo - Solo

Snoop Dogg - Ugh. Moving On.

Okay taking a deep breath before the results.

Girls first: Noelle is going home - Oh thank the Goddess! Okay look - Noelle is lovely, but she's not as good as Kathryn. Period.

And the Guys: **crossing fingers - knocking on wood** Nathan is going home. *fist pump in the air* Uhhh yeah, just didn't like this guy.
Loving Ashleigh & Ryan embracing off stage...a close call for them. Sickening - but sweet.

That's all folks. Thanks for joining me tonight for this combined recap. I'll be back next week as my lovely sister is going to New Orleans for a few days to celebrate her birthday (or hide from it).

Have a good weekend and I'll see you all next week!

Carly

SYTYCD - Top 12 Performance & Results

2009-11-25T21:11:00.005-08:00

I've done it again. Time got away from me, so you again get a blended recap. Too much going on these days. Also, I wrote part of this this morning and am doing the rest now, so if it seems a little off, that's why.

It was Top 12 week and each couple did two dances each, which was good because I was having serious anxiety about the amount of filler necessary to fill a two hour show if they were each only doing one.

This was overall a pretty strong night for our gaggle of dancers. There were some definite weak spots, but I don't think anyone came out as a definite 'going home' contender. I think when you looked at ALL the performances there was a clear choice - if only because compared to everyone else they were the last couple standing. Not mentioning names at this point. Everyone had better bring some pretty great solos out for the results show tonight. On to last night's dancing!

Ellenore & Ryan
Lindy Hop by Carla Heiney
'I've Got to be a Rug Cutter' by The Boilermaker Jazz Band

Was this the one Nigel said looked 'twee'? I can't remember and don't have my PVR in front of me. Regardless, this one was 'twee' to me. Well danced and all that, but maybe I just don't get the style. These two are ultimately really talented regardless, I don't think they've got anything to worry about.

Kathryn & Legacy
Jazz by Sonya Tayeh
'So Deep' by Hot Chip

You all know I love me some Sonya, and this dance was no exception. I love the fact that she really tailors the dances to her dancers strengths, which really worked well for Legacy in this piece. The two of them mastered the 'photograph moments' where all movement just stops for a second. I love it when those are done well, no shaking, no shifting. It's like a sculpture with momentum. Additionally, Sonya tends to pick music that some might have problems finding the 'musicality' with when dancing. Definitely not a problem with this pair. Really well done. Love me some Legacy, he's become my FAVE dancer at this point.

Karen & Victor
Tango by Tony Meredith & Melanie Lapatin
'Montserrat' by Orquesta del Plata

Going into this, I was worried about Victor. He's a soft, flowy, Contemporary dancer. Could he pull off the strength of stature needed here? Definitely. Both Victor and Karen were fully invested in their characters and it showed. Aside from the point Nigel pointed out where Victor's ass was sticking out, the form was solid and held the whole way through. Very dramatic and well done. Thumbs up to the costume department here too. I think Karen had more fabric on her body in this one dance than she's had in all her other dances put together.

Mollee & Nathan
Hip Hop by Jamal Sims
'Ring-a-Ling' by Black Eyed Peas

Maybe this was the one Nigel called 'twee'. Okay - what the heck is 'twee'? It definitely qualified. But not necessarily in a bad way. Considering the concept, I'm not sure this could've been anything other than cute, especially with these two dancing it. It could've been hit harder by both, but overall, it was pretty good. Mollee and Nathan aren't going anywhere and, like the judges, I'm interested to see how they do paired up with other dancers.

Noelle & Russell
Samba by Tony & Melanie
'Hips Don't Lie' by Shakira

This is gonna be one of those dances that hurts this pair and may spell an ouster for at least one of them. Russell was in it, but I don't think Noelle was completely comfortable here. I agree - she was a little stiff. We've had the pleasure of seeing some really good Samba's on this show before (both the US and Canadian versions) and this wasn't one of them. Something just felt off the whole way through. Adam was right - it just wasn't 'oogie' enough.

Ashleigh & Jacob
Lyrical Jazz by Sonya Tayeh
'Time Flies' by Lykke Li

Admission up front: knowing Sonya's affinity for vampire/Twilight stuff, I had to double check the New Moon soundtrack to see if this was the Lykke Li song used on it. It wasn't. Second admission up front: writing this the day after the show, I'm having a difficult time remembering this piece. I remember thinking it was great at the time, agreeing with Nigel that it was a great piece by Sonya, but I'm drawing a complete blank now. Wait...this was the one where Jacob had to wear the horrid purple pants right? Right. That's all I can remember. So to sum up, it was good, but...it appears...not very memorable. Certainly not as memorable as the earlier Sonya piece, but still good. Ashleigh is proving herself (again) to be very versatile.

Ellenore & Ryan
Broadway by Spencer Liff
'Razzle Dazzle' from Chicago (Original Broadway Cast)

Being the non-Broadway fan I am, I was actually pretty surprised to find myself liking this one. Mostly because it seemed like Ryan was totally channeling Ed Grimley in his movement - made me chuckle the whole way through. Seriously though, this was fun. Two thumbs up for Ellenore & Ryan. Did anyone else pick up a 'goth-y' vibe from this? I liked this very much, and was for once drawn to Ryan's dancing more than Ellenore's. They're both awesome.

Kathryn & Legacy
Viennese Waltz by Jean-Marc Genereux & France
'Your Guardian Angel' by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Not to go with a theme or anything, but I do love me some Viennese Waltz. Jean-Marc (Com'ON!) and I have bonded over the Viennese Waltz before on the first season of the Canadian show. I agree with the judges that this had some technical issues throughout, but I just thought on a performance level it was lovely. Legacy is just so earnest in everything he does (as evidenced by his teary-ness after this dance) and I love that he wears his dance heart right out there on his sleeve. Going to shout my Legacy love again! Kathryn was definitely the stronger dancer of the two with this, but the pair of them really brought it together.

Karen & Victor
Hip Hop by Laurieann Gibson
'Moving Mountains' by Usher

This one was just a mess for me, flat out. The judges were right in that the music didn't fit the dance at all (which isn't the dancers' fault), the steps seemed messy (which is the dancers' fault), and you all know that Laurieann's choreography just doesn't do it for me. They couldn't move a mole hill with this, much less a mountain. Weakest showing of the night for me. I'm going to come right out and say it - this was badly choreographed but the dancer's didn't even try to bring it. Unfortunate.

Mollee & Nathan
Cancan by Tyce Diorio
'Cancan Suite' by Offenbach/Ponchielli

Okay, this dance really couldn't have been done by any other couple. I was all prepared to hate it, but it was actually pretty enjoyable. Like I said, perfectly tailored for these two with the spins for Nathan and all the cutesy stuff for Mollee. Much better than that Russian Folk horseshit (Bwah!) last year.

Noelle & Russell
Contemporary by Tyce Diorio
'A Case of You' by Diana Krall

It's so much better when Tyce does Contemporary as opposed to Broadway. He has real talent with these pieces. Add to that, the great song choice (original is by Joni Mitchell) and the strength of these dancers together and all in all this was a great performance. Easily made you forget the earlier samba.

Ashleigh & Jacob
Cha Cha by Jean Marc & France
'Cha Cha Heels' by Rosabel feat. Jeanie Tracy

This dance was a great way to end the show and this was pretty much a lock for Ashleigh & Jacob. Right in line with Ashleigh's own style and a great use of Jacob's abilities. Ashleigh rubs me the wrong way a bit, but even I've gotta admit this was hot. She's got great legs - and I loved to watch her enjoy her own style so completely. These two are Top 10 bound and beyond.

RESULTS

Okay, again, I just watched the group number and the results, so Carly's going to have to fill in some of the blanks a bit.

I've decided I much prefer Napoleon & Tabitha's group numbers to their pairs routines. Tonight's group number was awesome. The dance, the props, the costuming, the make-up; all top notch. For a few seconds at the beginning I thought "did they get Wade Robson to choreograph another routine?". Loved the Alice in Wonderland feel. I'll watch this one again (hooray for YouTube!)

Our bottom three couples were Mollee & Nathan (a little surprising), Ellenore & Ryan (slightly more surprising) and Karen & Victor (not really that surprising - not at ALL surprising from this corner).

After much monologuing from Nigel (which I'll rant about in a sec), our evictees tonight are Karen & Victor. Not really surprising (Called it Last Night), but for one thing in regards to the guys, which I intend to rant about...now.

Nigel, in his discussions with the guys, gave Victor a whole heap of praise for his solo and even more for the amount of growth he's experienced this season thus far. Then moving on Nathan, he says Nathan hasn't really shown any growth at all and doesn't really even mention his solo. Yet, it's Victor who's going home. YET - Nigel did say that if it was up to him Nathan would be going home. This wasn't a unanimous decision. The judges need to come to a decision on exactly what kind of show this is. If it is in fact, the search for America's favourite dancer, then I guess they made the right choice tonight seeing as Nathan's probably got a larger fan base. If that's the case though, they need to stop spewing about how 'this is a dance competition' and how the less trained dancers need to work on the technical, because that's clearly not the case.

Que sera, sera. See ya Karen & Victor. Sadly, your paycheques won't extend into the tour.

That's it for this week. You might be seeing more of Carly's posts over the next couple of weeks as next week is vacation prep for me and the following I'll be letting the bon temps rouler in New Orleans. A little cajun flavouring for my birthday this year! Should I mention which birthday it is? Not unless I don't want a Christmas present...LOL

Cheers! Salut!

SYTYCD - Top 14 Performance and Results

2009-11-18T21:41:00.004-08:00

Alright kids. I meant to do this earlier, but I came down with a major case of the fuckits. The fuckits generally pop up after a busy day at work, usually immediately post-afternoon-nap. The worst symptom of the fuckits is a general 'don't give a shit-ness' about pretty much anything, so I figured it best to postpone the recap until the symptoms had diminished a bit.

Subsequently, I'm throwing both the performance show and results (the few bits I watched of it) into one post. So here we go.

Best thing about no more tap dancers on SYTYCD? No more mic'ing the stage for the tapping! God that was irritating. It fucked up the sound and threw everything off. Intros rolled along much better. Also, Mary clearly went directly from the taping over to the New Moon premiere in LA that night 'cause she was photographed on the red carpet wearing that exact outfit. How embarrassing! I liked her outfit - worth wearing to two events I think.

On to the dancing!

Ashley & Jacob
Hip Hop by Tabitha & Napoleon
'Whatcha Say' by Jason Derulo

This started off a little messy for me, but they seemed to pull it together really quickly and did a really good job with it. They were sharp and hitting it hard and while these two pretty much scream 'WE'RE NOT HIP HOP DANCERS' they really pulled it off. I'm with the judges in that these two are a lock for the Top 10.

Karen & Kevin
Broadway by Spencer Liff
'If My Friends Could See Me Now' from Sweet Charity, performed by the 2005 Broadway revival cast.

One word for this...BOOOOOOOOORRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGG. OMG Yes. And did you see Kevin's face? He kept 'remembering' to smile. There wasn't really anything to this routine and I just got a big ole' Debbie Downer 'wah wah' out of it. Next.

Noelle & Russell
Fox Trot by Eddie Simon
'Baby, You've Got What it Takes' by Michael Buble with Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings

This was pretty good. Better for Russell than the first time around, but I think Noelle stood out more. She really seemed to work the lifts and the extensions. Well done all around I'd say, but I'm not sure that these two are destined for Top 10.

Channing & Victor
Jazz by Tyce Diorio
'Blackbird' by Bobby McFerrin

Right off the bat, I'm totally with the judges that the song choice was distracting. Agreed. The concept for the piece was very cool and the dance itself was great but the song took something away from it. There are so many great versions of that song that could've been made to work, it's disappointing that the one chosen took away from the dance. I think Channing and Victor did a good job with this, but it's hard to be objective about the dancing when the music kind of set me off.

Kathryn & Legacy
Paso Doble by Tony Meredith
'Pursuit' from the Cirque du Soleil show 'Ka'

Legacy's on the fast track I'd say. He's pretty clearly in this thing to win it. Whether or not he can - considering he's up against trained dancers - tough to say, but he's doing everything he can to make it happen. He definitely showed it on this piece. Kathryn was pretty good as well, aside from the near miss with her feet at the end, (I internally said 'grab it grab it come on!) but I get the feeling she's riding Legacy's popularity a bit.

Ryan & Ellenore
Contemporary by Travis Wall
'Your Ex-Lover's Dead' by Stars

Oh, Travis Wall. How I do adore you. *le sigh* I want you to be my friend. You make such wonderful art. I just wish you had gotten different dancers for this one. Sorry guys. I've got a permanent case of the fuckits where these two are concerned. I realize Ryan is all popular and shit and Ellenore is great but I Just. Don't. Care. I'm going to forfeit to the judges on this one because I can't be objective about the dancers here. I like the dancers but think these two REALLY benefitted from great choreography tonight.

Mollee & Nathan
Pop-Jazz by Laurieann Gibson
'Bad Romance' by Lady Gaga

There was so much working against these two in this dance for me specifically. First, I loathe the song. I think they need to put a permanent ban on Lady Gaga songs on this show, it's so overdone. Secondly, I don't really care for Laurieann's choreography. She does too much 'side-by-side', 'matchy-matchy' dancing and not enough stuff that relies on chemistry and partnering. Did you also notice how far apart Mollee & Nathan were from each other throughout the whole routine? And what the hell were those 'wheels on the bus' moves about? I just don't get it. That being said, Mollee and Nathan did a good job with what they were given here. They were 'matchy-matchy' where they needed to be and hit hard the whole way through. Good job on a bad piece. I was surprised that the judges liked this so much. I was kind of waiting for this routine to be over from about 15 seconds in.

RESULTS!

Okay, straight up, I only watched the group performance (killer!) (Woot! Wade Robson) and fast forwarded to the results at the end. Sometime over the weekend I'll come in and post the music for the solos and stuff so you have them for reference.

The group routine, choreographed by Wade and Amanda Robson was truly awesome. It just goes to show that you don't need the choreographer to explain the theme/story before the dance in order to get it. Truly a great piece. Loved the music choice for this as well. 'Aha!' by Imogen Heap.

Our bottom three couples tonight were Mollee & Nathan, Karen & Kevin and Channing & Victor. Mollee & Nathan were a little surprising, but according to the judges, they really pulled it out with their solos, so they were the first ones in their respective groups sent to safety. I agreed with Nigel's admiration of Mollee's aerial cartwheel drop to the knee move - Wow!

Ultimately going home are Channing and Kevin. Eh. Can't say as I'm all broken up about it. Channing, for all her talent, never really stood out and Kevin's up against a lot of really talented dancers.

So, Goodbye Picadilly, Farewell Leicester Square to Channing and Kevin and hopefully I'll be kissing off the fuckits before next week's show!

Cheers!

SYTYCD - Top 16 Results!

2009-11-12T11:10:00.005-08:00

Okay kids, I left my notes at home this morning, so I'm doing this from memory today. I'll come back in and post song info once I get a hold of my notes.

The first results show group dance of the season was an African inspired Hip Hop number choreographed by Dave Scott ('Warrior Pt. 2' by Lloyd Banks). Very, very cool. The dancers were all really in it and it came off really well. For some reason I don't normally go for Dave Scott's stuff, but this was great.

Moving right along, after much (not really) suspense and teasing from Cat, we learn our bottom three this week are Ellenore and Ryan for their lacklustre Hip Hop, Pauline and Peter for their boring Quick Step and Karen and Kevin for their ho-hum Hustle. Hehe...ho-hum Hustle.

I've got to give it to Nigel for giving Nathan a verbal slap upside the head for his stupid comment on performance night. After receiving a series of fairly unflattering critiques, coming back with an 'IT WAS HOT!' struck me as incredibly disrespectful. Especially when he clearly knew his performance was anything but hot. Let's not forget that you're there to learn, boy, so sit your ass down and listen. As inane as the judges can be at times, they do know what they're talking about a good deal of the time and you'd do well to remember that.

We get a performance from three dancers from the Alvin Ailey (sp?) Dance Group which was pretty cool. Yes, I did actually watch it.

Onto solos and...yeah...aside from getting the song names (I'll add those in later), I skipped through these. Probably not a bad decision either, considering the rant they all got from Nigel about not being nearly good enough.

Solo Songs

Ellenore - 'Eleanor' by Alexa Woodward
Ryan - 'Jump With My Baby' by Big Bad VooDoo Daddy
Pauline - 'Took the Night' by Chelley
Peter - No song
Karen - 'Celia Y Tito' by Celia Cruz & Tito Puente
Kevin - 'I Question Mark' by Wade Robson

Have I mentioned that an hour is entirely too long for a results show? I swear this seemed to go on forever and I skipped through a lot. Follow Canada' lead and go for a half-hour version! Moves right along, wham-bam-you're going home-see ya!

Finally, the judges made their decision and Pauline and Peter are going home. Eh, I'm not heartbroken. Although I will miss getting to hear Cat say 'Pauline' the way she does. It's kind of like it should be spelled 'Powline'. Very cute. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get over it.

That's it for this week. Dancers better snap to it for next week, the judges sound like they're getting moody!

SYTYCD - Top 16 Performance!

2009-11-11T12:06:00.007-08:00

Happy SYTYCD night! Tonight's Top 16 episode is the first night viewer's from the US can vote on their favourite routines and to celebrate that, Cat Deeley is rockin' the Goth look. And sweet Goddess I'm dying for Cat's shoes! Our Top 16 sashay onto the stage to be introduced (as usual) and the first thing I'm struck by is the incredible awfulness of Ashleigh's pants. Who the hell approved that wardrobe choice? Red, ruffled, gaucho pants? Terrible. Seriously, she looked like she was attacked by a deranged Fraggle.

Next, some information is passed to us about the Dizzyfeet Foundation Gala and who will be performing that night. SYTYCD's Season 5 Top 10, dancer's from ABC's Dancing with the Stars, and crews from America's Best Dance Crew. Mary Murphy will also be dancing some sort of latin routine (Salsa? Samba?) with one of the contestants (Pasha?) from a past SYTYCD season. Sorry about the vagueness, my two year old was colouring on my notes and I had already deleted tonight's show from my PVR. Note to self - Next time - check notes before delete. Maybe Kim can fill in the holes in my details.

Tonight - I'm going to change things up a little bit and list the pair of dancers, the choreographer and music right at the top of each segment, then I'll move on into my thoughts about the performance. This way YOU will be able to find the song titles etc. a bit easier. Or skip them if you like. I'm not going to go over the "thing America should know about" for each dancer, that's just filler and honestly I FFwd through a lot of that stuff.

Karen & Kevin ~ Maria Torres/Hustle ~ Music: 'Come to Me' - France Joli

Right away I'm going to break my rule about not going into the "stuff" portion of each performance: Holy crap! Karen and her husband, who auditioned with her but was cut during Vegas week, decided to DIVORCE after Vegas week. Apparently things hadn't been good for a while, but jeez Karen, fishing for a sympathy vote? Okay, how did I miss this? I didn't hear that at all! Anyhow, the Hustle was one of the last dance styles to come out of the 70's Disco era, and why they didn't leave it there I don't know. I just don't get it. While the music was upbeat, I wasn't dancing along in my seat. Something was missing here. The dancers seemed to get it, and had the choreography down but there was no real feeling and energy was low. Lifts were all done well, though the 'death drop' spins looked and felt awkward, and Kevin had a noticeably nervous look on his face with each 'drop'. I'm still not feeling like there's anything special about Karen, though the judges disagree. Kevin again got shuffled off to the side as Karen received the lion's share of the praise. And there was praise, but nothing said by the judges indicated that this was a spectacular performance.

Ashleigh & Jakob ~ Mandy Moore/Jazz ~ Music: 'Relax' - Frankie Goes to Hollywood

The first routine tonight to use a prop of some sort (and there were a few this evening). Mandy Moore has worked a cane into the movement and wants it to be used not to hold up the dancers but as an extension of their bodies. Overall I liked this. Instead of feeling awkward, the cane really worked, and the costuming was great. Ashleigh is really starting to grow on me and looked fabulous tonight, especially her hair. I still don't like her personally, but she is a great dancer. There were a couple, super brief moments where the cane tangled them up a bit, but A&J moved on so smoothly that I almost didn't notice at all. I loved the fact that these two dancers were within inches of each other throughout the routine. There was a co-ordination of movement that really showed off their talent. This was fun to watch, the chemistry was good and I think I can safely say that these two, even if they won't be the TOP couple tonight (and they won't), will be safe for another week. Though now that I've written that down, they may be doomed.

Pauline & Peter ~ JT & Tomas - NEW!/Quickstep (or Dreaded Dance of Doom 'DDD') ~ Music: 'Hey Baby! (Shake Those Hula Hips)' - Big Kahuna & The Copa Cat Pack

Our dancers are dressed as an army guy and a hula girl, which suits the 40's war era style of music. Pauline really doesn't have the 'hula hip' action I think she needs here. She's awfully stiff and not smooth and flow-y as I think hula dancers should be. Peter's got some good energy and a big smile on his face, like he's loving every minute of this routine. The actual quickstep steps, though I'm certainly no expert, don't seem quite right and feel almost as though they are a half beat behind where they should be. I have to agree with the judges on this one and say where the technique could have used more polishing, the enjoyment the dancers obviously had performing this routine made up for it.

Kathryn & Legacy ~ Andy Blankenbuehler/Broadway ~ Music: 'I Wanna Be Like You' - Swingin' Fireballs

First of all, I love the choice of music, which is actually from the Disney movie 'The Jungle Book' and not 'Tarzan' as Adam mentioned. (I double checked - Adam did say 'Jungle Book') This was Fun Fun FUN to watch. I'm constantly amazed at how well Legacy is doing with whatever style gets thrown at him. The props in this routine worked too, from the beer can to the hat and arm chair. These accessories didn't weigh down the routine at all (which we'll see later on tonight). I will say that in some parts, I noticed a lack of chemistry between Kathryn & Legacy, which seems odd considering that chemistry has been so good in the past two weeks. The minute the judges mentioned that Kathryn's performance seemed a bit juvenile I said "Ohhh that's what was wrong". I went back and immediately re-watched the number (thanks to the miracle of PVR) and agreed with the judges assessment. Kathryn didn't seem like she was taking the character seriously enough. While the whole routine was supposed to be fun, if she had maybe vamped it up a little bit, instead of playing like a little girl, a missing piece would have been filled in.

Channing & Victor ~ Stacey Tookey/Contemporary ~ Music: 'Be Be Your Love (Live at KCRW)' - Rachael Yamagata

In a piece themed around a toxic relationship, Channing & Victor proved that in their own style they can really shine. Victor really didn't need to prove this, but Channing certainly did. I FINALLY like something Channing performed, and her chemistry with Victor seems to click. Much better than it did with Phillip anyway. There were some really beautiful examples of contemporary movement. I have to wonder though, if that can be put down more to the genius of Stacey Tookey's choreography (Yay for Canadian choreographers!), than to the talent of the dancers. Because while this was really lovely and enjoyable to watch, it wasn't all that memorable. Channing still gives off more of a clunky athlete vibe, rather than a graceful dancer. A good routine, but just that...Good. Again - I agree with the judges assessment when they said that Channing & Victor, in their own style were expected to be good and so they should have given us something Incredible.

Ellenore & Ryan ~ Lil C/Hip Hop ~ Music: 'Lost Boiz Anthem' - The J Squad

This had such potential, but from the minute I saw Lil C trying to teach swagger to our favourite ballroom guy, I dreaded the result. Dressed as bank robbers (though in white? huh?) and tossing around money bags, this had the opportunity to be really awesome. Here is where the use of props becomes laboured and a hindrance (much like the tennis rackets last week). The money bags led to some really clutzy moments and it immediately felt as though Ellenore & Ryan were SO concerned about catching the bags they forgot about character and the mood of the piece. Luckily the bags were discarded just a few seconds into the piece. I thought that Ryan & Ellenore worked really hard at pulling this off. I enjoyed the effort, but a few things just seemed off. Ryan is WAY too tall- the length of his arms and legs seemed to get in the way. There was a stiffness to his movement (most likely the result of his ballroom training) that I just couldn't let go of. Ellenore's movement certainly had more swagger but instead of coming off as hard hitting, just felt sloppy. There was NO synchronicity from the very start and they couldn't pull it together. This was the first time watching Ryan, that I KNEW I was watching a ballroom dancer trying to perform in a different genre. While Adam & Mary tried to hand out some good critique with the not so good, Nigel was having none of that and said flat out that he didn't like this routine At All. Oh dear - one of our dream teams fell flat this week. Let's hope they'll get another chance to prove themselves. I have a theory about this one...I've never seen them have Lil' C choreograph in anything other than Krump. I'm thinking these two originally pulled Krump and when they came to the realization that these two weren't going to be able to get dirty enough for it, dialled it back to Hip Hop.

Mollee & Nathan ~ Gustavo Vargas - NEW!/Salsa ~ Music: 'Quimbara' - Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco

Gustavo Vargas is a new choreographer to SYTYCD US, but those of us loyal Canadian watchers will recognize him from SYTYCD Canada ~ Again YAY! for Canadian Choreographers. Gustavo's routines on the last Canadian season proved he's an exceptionally talented choreographer and our American friends should love what he has to offer. I was certainly excited to see what Mr. Vargas would give our Teen Dream couple to work with. And well...uhhh I...well this just didn't work. At All. While I believed Nathan more than I did Mollee, neither dancer sold this. Sloppy moves, no real sexy salsa hip action, missed & messy hand holds, no sync between the dancers and the end lift was awkward to say the least. From step one this was a mess. I won't go so far to give it my ultimate bad critique of "White Hot Mess" - it was bad, and the judges agreed with me. Mollee and Nathan should be worried.

Noelle & Russell ~ Sean Cheesman - NEW!/Afro-Jazz ~ Music: 'Frog Dance' - Mickey Hart & Planet Drum

WoooHoooo! Another fabulous Canadian choreographer - what a night for Canada! This style (a mix of African tribal and Jazz techniques) has been used on seasons past of SYTYCD Canada and is really fun to watch, so excitement filled my brain waiting for this to begin. I wasn't disappointed! Russell playing the role of the Frog Prince and Noelle as the African Princess were So Much Fun to watch. I loved how Russell threw such joy into the whole routine. The smile on his face the whole way through made my night. Noelle was great as well, but I do think she's going to have to work very hard to outshine Russell's star. The tribal movements were well executed and the flips and tricks were amazing. The tumbling roundabout was incredible. Obviously my favourite routine of the night - can you tell? The judges agreed and congratulated Sean Cheesman for bringing this new style to SYTYCD so successfully. While the judges called Russell the King of Afro-Jazz, I'd have to say I disagree and say that title belongs to Mr. Cheesman.

So here we are at the end, and I'm going to make some predictions regarding the bottom three couples. Please don't make any bets on my guesses though, I'm certainly no prognosticator. I'd have to say that there are two couples tonight that have a VERY good chance of being in the bottom 3, and they would be Mollee & Nathan and Ryan & Ellenore. However - all of these dancers are fan favourites, so we may be surprised by one or both of these couples making it through. The third couple in the bottom tonight was, for me, Pauline & Peter. They pulled the 'DDD' and while the performance aspect of their routine was good, I don't think it was good enough. Unfortunately for Pauline & Peter, I believe that if they end up in the bottom 3 this will be the end of the line. Both have been selected by the judges to be in the bottom previously , and at this point how many chances can they be given?

That's it for me dance fans. Kim will be back later to expound on the results show. Have a lovely week!

SYTYCD - Top 18 Performance and Results!

2009-11-03T21:39:00.004-08:00

I'm back! After a week like no other (for various good and bad reasons) I'm back on for blogging.

So we're here for the Top 18, and like last week, we're doing all the performances as well as judges' eliminations all in one night. I gotta admit, I kind of like this format...moves things along at a good clip that's for sure.

Before we get into performances, some good news from Nigel; Billy Bell - who left the Top 20 due to illness - will be allowed to re-enter the competition in Season 7 during the Top 100 in Vegas. Additionally, Brandon - who stepped in in Billy's absence - will be allowed to try out again in Season 7, even though he technically made the Top 20.

First dance of the night is Noelle and Russell who've drawn a Jamal Sims Hip Hop number to 'Move Shake Drop Remix' by DJ Laz, Flo Rida, Casely. It's tennis themed and the dancers each have tennis raquets. I sort of thought there was just too much going on in this dance and it ended up looking kind of messy. It started out okay. They were both really strong in the beginning but then it went all over the place. I honestly think there was too much 'stuff' in the choreography. The judges were kind of meh about the whole thing too.

Next up was Ashley and Jacob doing a Viennese Waltz choreographed by Tony and Melanie to 'At Last' by Etta James. Is anyone else completely over this song? It's just been so overdone. The judges really liked this but I just couldn't get enthusiastic about it. Maybe the song wrecked it for me, but I just didn't like it.

Following that was Bianca and Victor. They got a Tyce Broadway number to 'Maybe God is Trying to Tell You Something' from The Color Purple soundtrack. I could see where Tyce was trying to go with this, but I don't think B&V pulled this off. It just seemed like they were way too focused on hitting all the steps just so and it lost the performance factor. Had they just let go a bit it would have been excellent. As it was, it was just okay.

Then we had Mollee and Nathan doing a Bollywood routine by Nakul Dev Mahajan. The song was 'Azeem O Shaan Shahenshah' from the Jodhaa Akbar soundtrack. These two are just too cute, aren't they. I generally prefer when they do Bollywood as a group routine, but this was really good. Nathan does these cool spins and then just stops on one foot and stays there. Very cool. I think they both have the potential to go really far in this competition. Nathan's been one of my faves right from the start. The judges thought it was fantastic.

Channing and Philip came next with a Tony and Melanie Samba to 'Maracatu Funk' by The Samba Squad. Channing was clearly the stronger of the two in this piece. I totally agreed with the judges when they said the lifts seemed labored. There were parts when it was almost like the stopped to calculate what was going to happen next. It was pretty obvious that they weren't comfortable with this piece.

Next up was Karen and Kevin doing a Hip Hop number choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha to 'Ice Cream Paint Job' by Dorrough. Yeah, I don't think anyone will be unhappy with the wardrobe department for putting Karen in that cat suit. The woman just exudes sex all over the place and I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I gotta say, Kevin could be a complete screw up and no one would notice, 'cause everyone's watching Karen. The dancing is really strong and shows just how weak the earlier Hip Hop piece was. In addition to last week's 'AOOGAH's from Adam, this week he's falling out of his chair over Karen. Dude cracks me up all the time.

Contemporary is up now with Catherine and Legacy doing a Stacey Tookey piece to '2 Steps Away' by Patti LaBelle. Yay Stacey Tookey! She's probably the strongest choreographer from the Canadian series and her pieces are always excellent. This one was no different. Great, great dance. That sideways leap that Legacy does to wrap around Catherine's waist is just outstanding. There's just some wonderful movement here that is executed so well. Legacy is really growing on me. The judges love it and are almost teary over Legacy's growth.

Up next is Pauline and Pete with a Jazz/Contemporary/somethingorother routine by Wade Robson. Yay Wade! They're dancing to 'Little Green Bag' by the George Baker Selection, which is ironic because I think Wade was dipping into the 'Little Bag of Green' when coming up with this one. I just love it when Wade's whacked out. Loved this piece. The dancing was excellent. All the little moves stayed little and sharp and the bigger moves were surprising in contrast. Costuming, props, stage...whole thing was fantastic. The judges think that some viewers may not get it (which is a fairly consistent comment from the judges with Wade's stuff), but I think they will. My favourite of the show.

Finally we had Ellenore and Ryan doing an Argentine Tango by Miriam LaRici and Leonardo Barrionuevo to 'Violentango' by Astor Piazzolla. Are these the same choreographers that did the Matrix-y Paso Doble last season? I think they are. Anyway, these two danced this fabulously. Especially when you consider that Ellenore's dress was caught on the heel of her shoe for at least half of the routine. At first I thought that was intentional - it sort of worked! They were both so focused and in it that it was like she didn't even notice the wardrobe malfunction. Great, great job.

Then it was up to the judges to determine the bottom two guys and girls (because apparently we're throwing tradition to the wind and not basing it on paired couples like it's supposed to be at this stage in the game) and after much yammering from Nigel we learn that Noelle, Bianca, Philip and Victor are in the bottom. Not such a good night for the tappers.

Solos, solos, solos....Songs are below:

Noelle - 'For a Reason' by Zhane
Victor - 'Navras' from The Matrix Revolutions soundtrack
Bianca - 'Tootsee Roll' by 69 Boyz
Philip - 'Almost Like Being in Love' by Nat 'King' Cole

And going home tonight are....Bianca and Philip! Bianca looks a little pissed. Philip is gracious and holds it together really well, especially considering his father died a week and a half ago. That's really impressive, sincerely. The safe group is losing it off stage.

And that was that. Things are all back to normal next week with the viewers voting on the dancers and an actual results show - Yay for group routines! While I usually skip through the majority of the results shows, I always look forward to the group routines and I've missed them in this compressed format.

We'll be back next week for the Top 16 and, if I have time, I'll try and find some performance show spoilers and post them here.

And for those who may be interested, I posted a quick post U2 show report on my blog and will be posting a full review (hopefully with pictures) fairly shortly.

Cheers!

SYTYCD Top 20 Performance AND Results!!

2009-10-28T17:05:00.003-07:00

Good Evening Dance Fans! and welcome back to Pop Goes the Word!

This is Carly, taking care of the recap tonight because Kim is getting ready for her trip to Vancouver to see U2 tomorrow night. Excitement levels being what they are, and the fact that my sister is a packing procrastinator means I've had to take the reins tonight.

A quick note about the semi-promised recap of Monday night's Top 20 Performance Only show. It didn't happen. LOL. As Kim mentioned a few posts down, we are very busy these days and unfortunately that means, that while the show was watched by all of us, none of us actually got around to writing anything about it. It was great to see all the Top 20 dancers together in their own genres, show off the talent that got them to this point. Suffice it to say that the show was AMAZING, and makes me (as well as Kim) Very Excited about the prospects for this season. Speaking for myself, SYTYCD Canada was a bit of a disappointment in terms of excitement and performances that made me smile, tingle, dance in my seat etc. From the first routine of the night, I smiled all the way through. SO looking forward to this season of SYTYCD US.

Okay - let's get on with the recap. First of all tonight, Cat fills us in on some housekeeping details. No results show this week, because of MLB tomorrow night. All the dancers will perform tonight and then at the end of the show, the judges will decide which guy and girl will go home. Tonight. No pressure. Ack! Billy Bell will unfortunately NOT be continuing in the competition because he has fallen seriously ill. Also, Noelle has suffered an injury to her knee (Ouch! I have knee issues and this makes me squidgy), Melanie LaPatin (choreographer) will be dancing with Noelle's partner. Cat makes a good point when she says that it's a "packed show" tonight so we'd better get on with it.

Our first couple of the night is: Channing & Phillip. WhooooBoy. Okay, to be honest here, these two have been my least favourite contenders since they first appeared in auditions. Channing is the IceCream scooper girl right? Yeah, irritating so far, but she could be really great so I'm trying not to judge right away. Phillip comes off just a little arrogant, another trait I don't appreciate, but again - don't want to judge too early. They are dancing the Jive, choreographed by Jason Gilkison. Music is 'Rockin' Robin' by The Jackson Five. Sweet Jeebus Phillip's pants are Terrible! Why are they pulled up (with suspenders no less) almost to his nipples? and why are the ankles of the pants so tight? Overall this is cute, but choppy. The jive IMO should be snappy and sharp, quick and fun. The feet on the butt trick lift was a bit of a mess, and the whole routine felt really sloppy to me. The judges' (Shankers! WOOT) commentary seems to agree with me, though they did have some good things to say. They also had the additional comment about these two dancer's not having enough chemistry together, and thinking about it I have to wholeheartedly agree.

Second up tonight: Ashleigh & Jakob. Of course we know Ashleigh, because the story of her and her husband, Ryan, has really been one of the major focusses of the audition process. Both made it to Top 20. Unfortunately, Jakob doesn't ring any bells with me and other than seeing him the night of Top 20 selection and last night's performance show, I really know nothing about him. They've pulled a broadway routine, choreographed by Tyce Diorio. Kim has expressed her opinion to me, that she wishes they would give Tyce more contemporary routines to design and pull him away from Broadway. However, I've only been watching for two seasons (one US & one Canada) so I'm not so bored/frustrated with Tyce yet. Tyce says this is a "sultry broadway" routine. Music is 'Hit Me With A Hot Note (And Watch Me Bounce)' from the Sophisticated Ladies original soundtrack. Wow, Jakob really gets some air. He flipped and leapt into the air several times during the routine , seemingly without effort. He has some major talent. Ashleigh is sultry in this, but somehow I'm having a hard time believing it ~ don't quite know why. The judges give another good review all around, with Adam offering a few tips to Ashleigh about needing to finish her lines properly. Overall Jakob gets the better side of the judges commentary, but Ashleigh didn't suffer.

Ariana & Peter are next with a Hip Hop routine choreographed by Tabitha & Napoleon. Side Note: I do not refer to these choreographers as NappyTabs. I absolutely refuse. Stupid. Dancing to 'Black & Gold' by Sam Sparro, these two are off and running. Inspired by Robot Love, this is a funky routine and I'm bopping along with the music and the initial movements of the routine, but then everything seems to slide away into messiness. However, I'm not reminded at all that Peter is a tap dancer. In fact, the choreography includes some breakdancing moves that Peter pulls off well. BUT ~ and this is a BIG BUT ~ they're not quite together. These two dancers are supposed to be robots in love, connecting ~ and they aren't. At all. This again, is a little sloppy. Oh look ~ the judges agree with me.

Noelle & Russell are up next. Wait. Noelle is not performing tonight because of the aforementioned knee injury. We are offered a few minutes of the two together in rehearsal with their choreographers, Melanie Lapatin and Tony Meredith. Tony & Melanie have created a Foxtrot routine for the dancers, which now Melanie will have to perform with Russell. A great song is used, 'Vagabond Shoes' by Vic Damone. Hey, I like this. Russell is really holding his own with the expert Melanie. Some of the moves he's pulling off are incredible. Melanie has really great legs. Russell is just great, really fun to watch. So far, Russell is my favourite guy in the competition. The judges again, agree with me. I'm on a roll tonight. while offering some constructive critisism, all three judges seem very impressed. Way to go Russell!

Travis Wall choreographed the next routine for Bianca and Victor. The music used as the backdrop here is 'Wasted Time' by Me'shell N'degeocello. Is Bianca a tapper? You'd never know it ~ she's incredible. Kevin has beautiful lines. The movement here is beautiful, the dancers have really connected. I loved so many parts of this routine; Bianca clinging to Victor's leg and rolling with him as he walks away, Bianca leaping to Victor's back and coming to a complete stop. So much strength, so many powerful moments. Travis Wall certainly has created a beautiful routine, and Bianca and Victor pulled it off with grace. So far my favourite routine of the night.

Karen & Kevin are paired with a Cha Cha - Choreographed by Melanie Lapatin and Tony Meredith. We learn that Kevin has been a model and - OMG Kevin "smized"!! - sorry got distracted. This guy is HOT! I don't think I really noticed it before.Holy Crap! the song is 'Push It' - the GLEE CAST version! Wooooot! Love Glee! Karen knows how to work it, and Kevin's none too shabby. Karen's boobs just about fall out of her top and she has to re-adjust at the end. Funniest moment ~ Adam says Karen made his eyes pop out of his head with an "Aaoooga" a la Jim Carrey in The Mask "and for those of you who know [him] that's not really [his] thing" Bwah!! Funny, but really I'm just not feeling it with Karen. Sure, she knows her stuff, she gets the hot, spicy latin vibe but I'm left feeling a little cold. Overall consensus is that this was Karen's world and Kevin was just visiting. Mary gives Karen a ticket on the Hot Tamale train - first of the season! Don't worry though, Kevin is waiting on the platform, just about ready to board.

Ryan & Ellenore are together in a contemporary routine, put together by Sonya Tayeh, with an Angelic Creature theme. This should be interesting to see because ballroom dancers (to me) seem to have a hard time letting go enough to perform contemporary well. I'm interested to see what the song choice is here, because Sonya always picks something quirky. I'm not disappointed, the music is 'Arcadia' by Apparat. This is hauntingly beautiful. The twitchy-ness isn't bugging me, which it usually does, and I'm very drawn in by the movement overall. Costuming is well done as well. Ryan is proving to be a powerhouse, even in this, his first competitive dance performance. Ellenore is lovely, and really does embody the broken angel of the piece. Lovely.

Next up is Brandon & Pauline, performing a smooth waltz routine, choreographed by Jason Gilkison and featuring 'You Light Up My Life' by Whitney Houston as the music. Ugh. Anyway, this routine is supposed to be "smooth" hence the name "smooth waltz". Unfortunately, Brandon and Pauline just don't pull this off. While there are pretty moments throughout, the entire piece seems...well...pieced together. I think this is simply a case of not having enough time to really perfect the technique (a day and a half). The weakest routine of the night for me. While the judges did acknowledge the difficulty of the situation, they did say that this just didn't measure up.

Tonight's quirkiest routine features Legacy & Kathryn, in a Hip Hop piece choreographed by Dave Scott. Costumed as cave people, quirky and humourous, Legacy & Kathryn seem to be having a lot of fun. Set to 'On & On' by Missy Elliot, I loved watching this number. While I could have done without the imaginary picking of the bugs & eating them - this pair have a lot of chemistry and that really came across in their performance. To quote Mary Murphy (and Fred Flintstone, I guess) "Yabba Dabba DOO!"

Mollee & Nathan have been paired, and are facing a tough Disco routine set to 'Turn the Beat Around' by Gloria Estefan and choreographed by the Queen of Disco, Doriana Sanchez. This should be fun to watch, but I have a hard time disecting the Disco routines because a lot of it is just flailing around to me. Nathan & Mollee look and work great together. The lifts and flips in this routine are fantastic! Fun, Fun, Fun! Not much more to say here other than I think that these two clearly have a great thing going as partners, and I look forward to their future routines. The judges again agree with me, even Mr. Shankman who says he doesn't normally think of Disco as 'competitive' dancing.

Okay - we're heading to the big moment. The judges will be picking the bottom four, after which those four will be dancing solos. I'll just note here that like Kim, I'm not all that interested in the solos themselves. So I won't be going into the blah-de-blah-blah about them.

Nigel mentions that it is important to note that the judging of who goes home, will be based on everything the judges have seen from the dancers this season, not just the solos this evening. The four people chosen to dance for their lives tonight are: Pauline, Brandon, Ariana and...WHAT?...Russell? What kind of stunt is this? The crowd is vocally upset, and I'm left wondering if the judges are full of crap. I don't recall any negative commentary after Russell's performance that would lead to him being in the bottom four. Stunt judging.

Solo ~ Solo ~ Solo ~ Solo

And now the final choices. Ariana goes home. Brandon goes home. Nigel says that in Brandon's case he will be speaking to Fox broadcasting to see if they will bend the rule that says once a dancer makes it to the Top 20, they are disallowed from trying out for the show again. No guarantees, but Brandon deserves another chance. Pretty classy Nigel.

Anyhoo...it's been a long night, an even longer recap (that at 5:01pm PST - Wednesday is finally done!). It was a really good night, with more fanstastic performances in this one show than Canada saw in most of their entire last season. Catch you all next week for more amazing dancing!

SYTYCDC - Season 2 Finale!

2009-10-25T18:54:00.002-07:00

Alright, fair warning...if you haven't watched yet and don't want to be spoiled, stop reading now!

Seriously, right now.

Stop reading.

You were warned.

Alright, that should buy enough safety space.

So overall, not terribly surprising that Tara Jean took the title and Vincent in second place. The replay dances were all pretty good, but I imagine the rest of the Top 20 is feeling a little gypped at coming out when only 6 or 7 of them were featured.

The two original pieces tonight were wonderful. Sean Cheesman's Afro Jazz piece for the Top 20 was just fantastic. Great music, uplifting choreography, just lovely.

As to Mia Michaels piece for the Top 10...I'll start off by saying that I've found Mia to be a bit off her game during the last season of SYTYCD US and the little that she did this season in Canada. The power in her pieces just hasn't been there. Think back for a bit to Travis and Heidi's 'Bench' routine, or Lacey and Kameron's 'Dancing' routine, or the killer group numbers she's done. Her more recent pieces just haven't measured up.

But tonight's piece was a return for me to classic Mia. It was inspired and powerful and twisted and I just loved it. Not to mention the costuming and set for the whole thing. Just loved it all. A little too bad that it was pre-taped and not done live, but that's a small price to pay.

If Mia had to quit SYTYCD to get this kind of spirit back in her work, then I support her decision whole heartedly.

Other than that, a pretty hum drum finale to close out a hum drum season. Tara Jean and Vincent's 'Mental Illness' routine by Stacey Tookey is easily the best of the season. Stacey Tookey has definitely proven herself the powerhouse as far as the Canadian show goes. Hopefully she gets pulled out to the American one a few times in Season 6.

Congratulations to Tara Jean and all that. Here's to an even better season next year.

Tomorrow night's a 'Meet the Top 20' episode of SYTYCD US. I might come in and post something after that, I'm not sure. I will definitely be back in for the Top 20 Performance competition on Tuesday and Carly will be looking after the results on Wednesday.

Cheers!

No, We're Not Dead!

2009-10-22T09:12:00.002-07:00

Alrighty, I've been meaning to do this for a bit and just haven't been able to get around to it until now.

I'm sure some of you are wondering what the hell happened to the recaps over the last month or so. Well, there's a few things to admit here.

Life just plain got busy for all of us and finding the time to dedicate to writing and posting the recaps became a little more difficult with day jobs and life stuff.
Juggling to separate runs of SYTYCD, even though the US ones were only hour long audition eps, was a lot. Three hours of shows roughly turns into at least four hours of time investment when adding writing and posting. For me, I know I wasn't putting my best effort into it and I was finding my posts incredibly repetitive.
To be completely honest, none of us here at PGTW have been completely enamored with the dancers on this seasons' So You Think You Can Dance Canada. They all did fine, but there just hasn't been anything this season worth jumping on the couch (a la Tom Cruise) over. Last season's dancers and the routines they were given were so stellar, and this year's just haven't measured up for us.

So those are our excuses. Feel free to commence commentary flogging if necessary.

All that being said, there is some excitement building over the newly crowned Top 20 on SYTYCD US. There are some very compelling dancers in that group that could make for some great watching if they're given great routines to go with.

Carly and I have committed to coming back starting next week with the Top 20 performance show, however, the recaps probably won't be as detailed as they once were. You guys are watching too, so you don't need us to reiterate the specifics of what the judges say. I'm envisioning them more like reviews as opposed to recaps; what we liked, what we didn't, who was a jerk, who was irritating, etc. I haven't talked to Carra about it, but I'm sure she'll pop in when she can as well.

Finally, this is me going public...I've started a separate blog of random stuff that doesn't necessarily fit under the rubric of what we're doing here at Pop Goes the Word. If you'd like to pop over for a read, please do so!

So that's it for today. I might jump in on Sunday to write some stuff on the SYTYCD Canada finale, but we'll have to see. I'll be in for the Top 20 Performance show on Tuesday and Carly's going to have to take the results show on Wednesday, because I will be happily engrossed in the wonder that is U2 in Vancouver (and likely bawling my eyes out...just like last time!).

Cheers!

SYTYCD - New Orleans Auditions!

2009-09-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

Double the auditions this week! Tonight we’re in New Orleans, Louisiana for the first time. I love, love, love New Orleans. I’m heading back there for a vacation in a couple of months and I can’t wait!

On the judging panel tonight are Mary, Lil’ C and Adam Shankman. This was taped when Nigel was getting his honorary doctorate, so he’s not here this time. Between the characters that are sure to be found in NOLA and Shankers’ tomfoolery, it’s bound to be an entertaining evening!

First up is Shelby ‘Skip’ Skipper doing New Orleans Bounce, which is sort of like Hip Hop but with some N’awlins flair. Lil’ C’s going to love this. It’s actually pretty cool to watch, but you’ve gotta wonder if he can pick up anything else.

Mary loved it. Adam says he’s an expert (not really)and Mary makes some lewd comment about him doing the New Orleans Bounce last night which sets them all off in fits of giggles. He thought it was unbelievable. Lil’ C thought it was bucc. The judges put him straight through to Vegas.

Jonathan Litzler is on deck with a Contemporary solo. There’s lots of acrobatics in his piece and it all flows together really well. Adam says it was one of the best auditions he’s ever seen. Lil’ C says it looked effortless. Mary thought it was amazing. He’s off to Vegas.

Good dancer montage featuring Alison Nance, Calvin Turner Jr., and Edward Spots. All three are off to Vegas.

Uh oh. Eric Le Blanc is up and he’s apparently done nothing but drink energy drinks all day. This doesn’t bode well. Well, he’s definitely got lots of energy and he’s funny, but I’m not thinking he’s going much further. Mary shuts him down on his Tamale Train hopes. There’s a lot of screaming. Mary calls him a fun guy and Lil’ C commends his passion. Adam shuts him down for choreography, but Mary and Lil’ C send him through...I’m guessing for entertainment value. Yup, he’s headed home.

Justin Kenney’s a hip hop dancer who has recently survived a pretty serious car accident. He’s pretty good, lots and lots of tricks. Mary thought he was terrific and Lil’ C says it was impressive. Adam says it was a great, great solo. He’s off to choreography and ultimately makes it to Vegas.

Day 2 starts with a party in the lobby including full brass band. Those of you that haven’t had the pleasure of visiting to New Orleans might think this was staged for the show, but I can tell you, you just never know when or where the band will show up to start a party.

We start Day 2’s auditions with Kimalee Piedad (her partner isn’t auditioning) whose style of dance is similar to pairs skating - minus the ice and the skates. She’s very good. The lifts are amazing in this and there’s lots of ‘Wow’s’ from the judges. Mary thought it was fabulous. Lil’ C calls it graceful and visually informative. Adam’s curious to what she can do on her own. She’s off to Vegas.

Next up is Hip Hop dancer Micah Mixon. Wow he’s got a thick neck. His pops are incredibly sharp and the gliding is great. He’s pretty good. The judges bought it completely and send him through to choreography, but unfortunately he doesn’t get to Vegas.

It’s time for the Montage of No’s with Lloyd Ballard, Tierney St. John, Casey Crisosto, rolling into ‘Mary’s Rules of What Not to Do’ demonstrated by Adam. Hee.

Next up is Jakob Karr. He gets an ‘Oh my word’ from Adam right off the top. His control is really something. (For those interested, the song is ‘Elephant in the Room by Richard Walters). Mary’s yelling and screaming and Adam says he freaking rocked. Lil’ C calls it phenomenal. He’s straight on through to Vegas.

Finally we’ve got Diana Drexler who’s grandfather has passed away while she was on her way to the audition. Awww...my heart is cold and long dead, but that really sucks. She’s a good dancer, nice piece. Mary says it was beautiful and effortless. Adam gets her talking about her grandfather and commends her strength for carrying through her audition. She gets sent through to choreography. She ultimately makes it through to Vegas.

Next week we’ve got the final stop in Salt Lake City, Utah and the next round in Vegas.

I’ve got to say, as much as the audition process is drawn out with these one hour shows, how refreshing it is to watch them when the majority of the dancers they show are so good. I like this format judges. Take note.

That’s it for me tonight.

Cheers!

SYTYCDC - Top 10 Results!

2009-09-30T17:42:00.001-07:00

From ten down to eight! It’s results night in Canada.

We start the show with a group number choreographed by Stacey Tookey to ‘Hometown Glory’ by Adele. For some reason this really reminded me of the group number Mia choreographed last year; Not because of any blatant similarities, just the feel of it. Really nice.

Straight to results as always and the girls are up first. Amy’s not safe. Kim is safe. Tara Jean is safe. Jayme Rae is safe and Melanie is in the bottom two. I’m thinking Amy’s back stage packing her bags.

On to the guys. Everett is safe. Cody is in the bottom two. Vincent is safe. Emanuel is safe and Austin’s in the bottom two. I don’t know about this one. My gut says Austin, but I had a big lunch, so that could just be indigestion.

Solos on now. They mean nothing now, but we’re doing them anyway.

Amy’s up first dancing to ‘Belief’ by Gavin DeGraw. It’s nice enough, but I sort of get a resigned feeling from her.

On to Melanie dancing to ‘18th Floor Balcony’ by Blue October. Cute solo. She’s so good.

Next up is Cody dancing to ‘Butterfly’ by Jason Mraz. I like that Cody doesn’t always necessarily pick standard hip hop music for his solos. Nice job.

Finally it’s Austin dancing to ‘Genesis’ by Justice. This is different for him. Lots of popping, a little more hip hop than usual for him. Kinda cool.

Jean Marc says both girls are amazing dancers and he’s glad he doesn’t have to pick who’s going home. Lowest vote getter for the girls is Amy and she’s going home. Amy’s very cute with her farewells with not one note of snark.

On to the guys and Tre says they’re both strong dancers with lots of potential. Going home tonight is Austin. Well there you go.

So that’s it for tonight. Carra’s got book club tonight, so I’ll be back in a bit with the New Orleans auditions for SYTYCD US.

Later!

SYTYCD - Atlanta Auditions!

2009-09-29T21:04:00.003-07:00

Back again! This week we're in Atlanta for the next stop on the audition tour.

Joining Mary and Nigel tonight is Lil' C and it looks like Atlanta is raring to go.

First up is Billy Bell who's only been dancing for five years. He's a very compelling contemporary dancer. Really nice. Nigel critiques some small technicalities, but the judges end up sending him straight through to Vegas.

Next up is Amber Jackson. Holy shit is she ripped (I mean well built, not drunk). She's a really good dancer, but there's not much in her face. Over to the judges and Nigel starts with 'You're movement is tremendous, the performance is shit', meaning her lack of connection to the audience. They send her through for the choreography round and ultimately she's off to Vegas.

Apparently that lacking connection Amber displayed is a common ailment with Atlanta dancers. We go through a montage of mostly half decent dancers with nothing in their faces.

Now we've got Travis Dennison who says he previously auditioned for The Wade Robson Project and that Wade is the reason he became a dancer. Ummm....let's not blame for Wade this. Travis' stuff is fun, but it's not really the kind of dancing for this show. Nigel asks if he's related to Adam Shankman (there is a remarkable resemblance) and Lil' C calls him 'The Hip Hop Adam Shankman' while giggling to death. And then they send Travis home.

Jamal Jackson's up now and he's really good. Straight through to Vegas for him.

Following Jamal is Contemporary dancer Victor Smalley. In my notes all I have is "Like, like, like". He's got great spins and overall a really good performance. He's on to Vegas.

Back for another year are Anthony and Antwain Hart. They've auditioned a few times before and have never broken through. As I remember, they're both really good hip hop dancers, but if I remember correctly, they seem to fall apart during choreography. The judges comment on the amount of growth for both of them and send them through to choreography. Anthony ultimately makes it to Vegas, but sadly Antwain does not.

On to Day 2 and up first we've got Matthew 'Boogie Links' Pollard. He seems slightly more concerned with picking up girls than dancing. He's on stage for his hip hop solo and does a lot of that double jointed weirdness that always wigs the judges out. It's decent enough, but we've seen a lot better. The judges send him off to choreography but ultimately he gets sent home.

Next up is Jessica Jensen who lost her right hand and part of her forearm to cancer. We learn later that she was back in the studio dancing two weeks after surgery. Wow. Her solo is really well done, however, I'm having a hard time envisioning her with a partner. The judges praise her dancing and her courage and ask her to come back for choreography. Sadly, she doesn't pull it together in the ballroom piece and is sent home.

Oh dear. Now we've got Jonathan Bryant who thinks he's just so fantastic. That's generally a pretty clear sign that he's not. Yeah. The solo starts out looking like he's having some sort of seizure or fit. It's all over the map with no real semblance of composition. Lil' C says he needs more control, otherwise it's more like an argument instead of a conversation. Mary starts to criticize but the kid interrupts her before she can really get anything out. And then he keeps interrupting. Over and over and over again. Nigel calls him on it and he starts to cry like a little girl with a skinned knee. Buh bye.

Then there's a lot more crying in the Montage of No's.

Finally, we've got Thomas Hamilton who has clearly had a bit of a rough life thus far. He was born addicted to drugs and was raised by his aunt as his mother was - and still is - a drug addict. His solo is really strong though I'm getting a little of that lacking connection again. Nigel loved the dancing but comments on the insular-ness of the dance. The judges send him through to choreography where he does quite well and eventually gets sent to Vegas.

That's it for tonight. Auditions continue tomorrow night in New Orleans! I'll refrain from blabbering on about how much I love New Orleans because I will blabber. Looks like it'll be a fun show.

I'm back tomorrow for Canada's results and the next audition show. See you then!

Cheers!

SYTYCDC - Top 10 Performance!

2009-09-29T18:44:00.004-07:00

We’re getting down to it...it’s time for the Top 10!

Before I get started, for those who missed it, there’s some preliminary tour info here. It doesn’t look like a complete list of dates yet, so keep checking back.

Montage, montage, dancer intros and here we go! We’ve got new partnerships tonight and joining Tre and Jean Marc on the judging panel are Luther and Blake. Blake’s always snippy on the panel, should be entertaining.

First up tonight are Vincent and Melanie and they’ve drawn the Paso Doble, choreographed by last season’s Natalli and Francis! Rehearsal clips are really short tonight - we’re getting right into it.

They’re dancing to ‘Conquest’ by The White Stripes. Melanie’s killing this thing and Vincent’s right there with her. They’re both throwing down on the stage and just givin’ er. When the judges say Melanie's a beast, they really mean it. Great routine and great start to the show. I really liked this - Vincent is becoming my favourite guy.

Luther says everything was great and it was a perfect start to the Top 10. Blake says Melanie is the most versatile performer on the show and he now gets why Vincent is Mia’s favourite. Tre gives a ‘job well done’ to Melanie and says Vincent danced through every inch of himself. Jean Marc gives a shout out to Natalli and Francis and says both dancers were committed to the dance. He says it was great.

Up first for solos is Kim dancing to ‘Kiss From a Rose’ by Seal. I can’t remember if we’ve ever seen her solo before, but she’s really good. Great musicality.

Next is Everett with his solo to ‘Everybody Dance’ by Chic. It’s a very hip tap piece. Very good.

Back from the break and we’ve got Cody and Amy. I think this is a great pairing. They’ve picked a Contemporary (I think) piece with Stacey Tookey. Looks like there’s a few difficult lifts here.

They’re dancing to ‘Come Home’ by One Republic featuring Sara Bareilles. I always forget that Cody’s a hip hop dancer. He just falls into these pieces so well. They’re both very together the whole way through. This may be the first time that I’ve paid this much attention to Amy. As I guessed, this pairing works really well. Sweet piece. This is the second (?) time Cody has had to do contemporary and each time I've thought 'Wow - this kid SHOULD be a contemporary dancer' He has great fluidity and this genre suits him. Loved this.

Luther praises Cody’s effort but says Amy fell flat for him. Blake agrees with Luther and says Amy needed to commit more. Tre sees a lot of growth from Cody and says Amy gave a strong performance but fell a little flat. Jean Marc says Amy was very, very good and calls Cody an inspiration. I agreed with all these comments - Cody stood out, Amy not so much.

Jayme Rae’s up now with a solo to ‘Make Me Over’ by Keyshia Cole. She’s definitely working the sexpot thing. It’s okay I guess, but not wow-worthy.

Austin’s up for his solo to ‘Always Midnight’ by Pat Monahan. Hasn’t he done this before? He’s definitely a strong dancer. Just throws himself into the piece. Nice job.

Next up is Emanuel and Tara Jean . They’ve picked the Samba with Tony and Melanie and it sounds a little more like an entree than a dance.

They’re dancing to ‘Samba Vocalizado’ by Luciano Perrone. Eeeh, I don’t need to see Emanuel shake his ass like that again. That being said, these two are really sharp and into the piece. We’ve seen one or two other sambas this season and this one definitely stands out as one of the better ones. Emanuel does this wild sort of spread eagled jump into Tara Jean’s face which frankly scares the shit out of me, but is very cool. The last lift-y-spin-y thing is a little shaky, but overall a really good number and a great performance. This was fun - but I think that it had a LOT to do with the music. These two danced really well but the song had be boppin' in my seat.

Luther says there was a lot of ‘situations’ up there. Hee. He says TJ is the hardest working dancer up there. He says they both smashed it. Blake completely believed the piece and says it was a hot performance. Tre’s breathy over Emanuel and his hips and says Tara Jean’s dancing out of her clothes. (??) Jean Marc says Emanuel’s upper body needed some work but he attacked it. Tara Jean’s ‘figure eight’ was excellent.

Solo again with Amy dancing to ‘Wanted’ by Vanessa Carlton. You all know I’m no good with solos, but this just seems like the same old thing from Amy.

Cody’s solo now to ‘I Need a Girl’ by P. Diddy featuring Ginuwine, Loon, Mario Winans & Tammy Ruggeri. I like Cody’s style because it’s not all just tricks, it seems like actual dancing.

Now we’ve got Everett and Kim. They’ve picked Jazz with Sean Cheesman. This sounds like a fun piece about a guy who visits the corpse of his girlfriend in an attempt to reanimate her. Sean’s kinda twisted - I like it. You would. :)

They’re dancing to ‘St. James Infirmary Blues’ by The White Stripes. Okay, did The White Stripes pay for a plug this week or what? I'm not really a White Stripes fan but I liked both songs tonight. All the little elements in this are fantastic. Some very creative choreography here that is so well performed. These two pair together very well. All the little bits and pieces are super together and right on the mark. Fun, fun, quirky, weirdo piece. Loved it. Mee Too

Luther says it was a hot piece and says Kim is one of his favourite dancers and commends Everett for holding it down. He loved it. Blake says they were both great and commends them for the cleanliness with the intricacies. Tre says this was her favourite performance of the entire season. Yeah - this was good, fun, funky, weird - but the best of the season? Not for me. Wow. She says they were both incredibly believable and it was a bang on performance. Jean Marc was blown away and puts them both on the VD list.

Melanie’s up for her solo to ‘The Fame’ by Lady GaGa. Seems like an OK solo, but nothing really stands out for me.

Vincent now dancing to ‘Can You Feel It’ by Reel 2 Real. Does anyone else think it’s kind of odd that he’s kept all the same costuming and fake tattoos from his earlier piece? Solos from ballroom dancers always seem weird to me, but I guess this was good.

The last paired dance for the night is Austin and Jayme Rae who’ve picked Hip Hop with Sho Tyme. It’s apparently all about connection.

They’re dancing to ‘Da Rockwilder’ by Methodman & Redman. Jayme Rae seems like the stronger of the two here. I’m definitely buying it more from her than Austin. They’re pretty together and hit all the right marks, but I’m just not excited by this piece. It’s good enough, I suppose, but not a Wow for me. Jayme Rae's HAIR pissed me off this whole performance - I couldn't pay attention to the dancing because her hair was in her face the whole time. Costuming/Hair Fail. And the dancing was Meh for me - standard hip hop, nothing mind blowing.

Luther says Jayme Rae is his favourite female dancer and says Austin pulled it through. Blake wanted more investment from Austin but on the whole it was a good job. Tre says Jayme Rae has all the swagger but Austin needs more for hip hop. Jean Marc says Jayme Rae held it down while Austin was a little more of an echo.

Tara Jean’s up for her solo to ‘Relief’ by Chris Garneau. I don’t know why but I really liked this one. It’s like she squeezed in a whole lot into the 30 seconds and made it seem longer.

Finally Emanuel’s up for his solo to ‘Bridge’ by Amon Tobin. The faces have got to stop. Really. It’s a decent solo, but all the mugging is distracting.

So that’s it for tonight. I’m not even going to speculate on who’s ending up in the bottom. It’s just too hard to predict! I'll take a guess here and say Amy & Cody, because of Amy's blah effort - Austin & Jayme Rae, because I just didn't believe it - and ummm argh I guess Melanie & Vincent (though it kills me) only because I think Tara Jean killed tonight (with Emanuel tagging along) and the funkiness of Kim & Everett's piece & really positive judges comments will win them votes.

LATER EDITED TO ADD: I'm an idiot and apparently don't understand how judging works now. Individuals - Not Pairs. I can't give my picks again now because I already know some of the results - I'll do better next time.

Time to take a break and then I’ll be back for the next round of auditions for SYTYCD US.

Back in a bit!

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Tour Info!

2009-09-29T10:22:00.004-07:00

Morning kids!

So info is starting to trickle out about the So You Think You Can Dance Canada tour and it looks like we won't have to wait long after the end of the season for the live shows. So far, I've found seven dates, but I wouldn't be surprised if they add more. **Updated - the full list is up now **

If I've done my calculations correctly, this season should finish up on October 21st. That leaves just over a month until the first show on the tour. The dates I have are as follows:

** Updated with more dates **

Kelowna, BC - November 25 - Prospera Place
Vancouver, BC - November 27 - GM Place
Edmonton, AB - November 30 - Rexall Place
Saskatoon, SK - December 1 - Credit Union Centre
Calgary, AB - December 2 - Saddledome
Winnipeg, MB - December 4 - MTS Centre
Sudbury, ON - December 6 - Sudbury Arena
Windsor, ON - December 8 - WFCU Centre
London, ON - December 9 - John Labatt Centre
Toronto, ON - December 10 - Air Canada Centre
Hamilton, ON - December 12 - Copps Coliseum
Kingston, ON - December 13 - K-Rock Centre
Montreal, QC - December 15 - Centre Bell
Ottawa, ON - December 18 - Scotiabank Place
Quebec City, QC - December 19 - Colisee Pepsi
Saint John, NB - December 21 - Harbour Station
Halifax, NS - December 22 - Metro Centre

I know that the Kelowna date is going on sale this weekend at Select Your Tickets, and it looks like the some of the others go on sale this weekend as well, through Ticketmaster.

As I get more information, I'll post it here. I figure they'll probably make the 'official' announcement tonight on the show.

Keep checking back for more info!

So You Think You Can Dance - Boston Auditions!

2009-09-23T21:48:00.004-07:00

It's audition night in SYTYCD world and we are headed into Boston for the first time ever.

Our judges are Nigel, Mary and Tyce Diorio, who I sometimes enjoy, and sometimes think is a bit of a jerk... wonder what tonight will bring!

So our first guy, Teddy Tedholm, has some very interesting taste in clothing... he picked up his pants at an online golf store, and it kind of shows!

He fancies himself a whimsical fellow, and hopes that his dancing reflects this.

He wins me over with his choice of music - If it Kills Me by Jason Mraz - and I find his number very entertaining. To me, he is a bit more of a performer than a dancer, but a really great piece regardless. I love this song - but it's getting overused.

The judges love him, and after a couple of minutes of gushing, send him straight through to Vegas. He's a cutie - I'm glad he got through. He reminds me a bit of Travis Wall. There were some inklings in his performance that there's more dancing know-how there than meets the eye. I have high hopes.

B-Boy Jean Lloret is up next and we learn that what he lacks in training he makes up for in confidence... and holy smokes! He's really very good! OMG my elbows hurt several times during this...ouch!

No commentary whatsoever, just a standing O from the judges and a ticket to Sin City. Three of them, in fact. Okay I think this guy is talented ...but can he do anything else? I would have given him a wholehearted and well meant vote to choreography. Agreed. In between the tricks there wasn't much in the way of dancing. I'm guessing Vegas will be a write off here.

A quick glimpse at Kimara Wood, who is also on his way to the casinos.

Ice cream scooper Channing Cooke is a contemporary dancer who has been waiting and waiting to audition, and now that she is 18, her time has come. To irritate the HELL out of me. sorry.

She gives a lovely performance and the judges seem mesmerized.

Nigel calls her a bit of a tomboy and praises her quality and control. Mary loved it and found it to be a very strong performance. Tyce loves her, and calls her awesome and amazing... but then they put her into choreography. I thought for sure she was going straight through. However, she does make it through to Vegas in the end.

Now here's a tall lad... 6' 8" tapper Ryan Casey takes the stage next. You can tell Nigel is diggin' the performance all the way through...

Nigel says it was a pleasure watching him, but at times found him a little ungainly. Mary says he really brought it and had great rhythm. Tyce comments that he could have controlled his arms a bit better, but otherwise it was beautiful.

Into choreography he goes. Unfortunately he doesn't make the cut for Vegas, but he says he's going to keep working at it. At 6'8", unless he was absolutely amazing, I doubt he'd have made it through anyway. Partnering with someone that tall would be really tough.

Krumper Russell Ferguson is next and I'm loving the music! He's a wow for me - great movements and isolation and fantastic musicality. Loved it! It should be mentioned here that Cat says a Krumper has never made it to Vegas "could he be the first?"

Nigel calls him bucc... which sounds funny coming from him. Mary asks if he's had any training in other genres, and yes he has, in ballet, modern dance and tap. Tyce calls the performance filthy and dirty in all the right ways and says he is his favorite person in Boston. Wow... in all of Boston!

And into choreography he goes as well. He has a happier ending and collects his ticket.

After Russell leaves the stage, Tyce does some strange thing with his foot, and then... let's one rip and pretty much clears the room. Huh. Yeah, I didn't get this, although watching Mary and Nigel absolutely lose it was funny.

Next up is Fabrizio "Breeze" someone (sorry, they are flashing the names ever so quickly!) - he's kind of a popper guy... and ooops! I think he just fell down. But he recovers very nicely and just keeps on keepin' on like it never happened.

Nigel has to ask, of course, if that was indeed a trip up, which Breezes openly confesses. Nigel commends his ability to keep on going, and says it was a lot of fun. Mary agrees, as does Tyce, who adds that if he got some training he'd be really good.

2 votes for choreography, but unfortunately for Breeze, he twisted his ankle in the fall, and drops out so that he doesn't take down another dancer. Decent of him...

About 30 dancers make it into the choreography session with Anya and Pasha, and it seems like about a dozen of them in total make it through.

On to Day 2 of the Boston auditions!

Nigel starts the day off by saying if you're not a star, just go home - otherwise Tyce just gets mean. Hee!

First up for the day are married couple Karen and Matthew Hauer. They're ballroom dancers, and they are very... very good. Super hot, totally in sync, with a great finish. They rocked.

Mary calls Karen a hot tamale and says she's like Jennifer Lopez kind of hot. Tyce calls them fantastic, and Nigel just hands over the tickets. They're the first married couple to ever make it through.

Up next is Gene Bersten, and Cat comments that he is in love with himself. *eyes rolling* He says he is a very sexy dancer with the ability to mesmerize all the girls. I hate when they start off like this. He looked familiar to me...is he a repeater?

However, I am pleasantly surprised, he's a great dancer. Fantastic feet and hip movements... and those eyebrows! He was good...the pants were not.

Mary is all smiles (clearly she's mesmerized) and says that he is a great dancer, but uses too many facial gestures. His eyebrows are way too all over the place. Umm Hello? The guy ripped his shirt open! I hollered at the TV! And not in a good way! Yeah...have people not learned that the ego should be shelved. Even if you make it to Top 20, overconfidence never seems to lead to votes in this game.

Tyce agrees with Mary and says that when you use your face like that, you come off a little desperate.

Nigel says he had great musicality, and sends him into choreography, where he ends up walking away with a ticket to Vegas.

46 year old Paul Magliato is next, and although he knows he's too old to be in the competition, he wants to give it a try anyway. To 'Viva La Vida by Coldplay' no less...

Kind of wish he hadn't. I hate watching people embarrass themselves. Even though... he doesn't really seem embarrassed. Oh dear God - those pants! My eyes! Yeah, I have a tooth brush that is now dedicated to scrubbing my eyes clean...

Nigel says that while it wasn't really dancing, it sure looked like fun. Mary says it was entertaining, but he looked kind of crazy. (Note to Mary - don't tell crazy people they're crazy. They don't like it.) Tyce says he was wondering the whole way through if this guy was serious, but yes... he can see indeed he was. Okee dokee then...

They wish him well and send him on his way, and as he walks out the door he says he still thinks he can dance, dance, dance. I have to admit, this cracks me up. I do that all the time... So You Think You Can Dance, dance dance...

This last performance seems to wake the dormant mean side of Tyce, and now he's just on a whole. Calling people boring, disgusting, like nails on a chalk board. I often find him unnecessarily mean. I used to find it entertaining, but not so much anymore. I'm not so jaded with Tyce ...I loved this!

Last guy of the night is Kevin Hunte. He auditioned back in Season 3, didn't make it, but is here to try again.

Another Boom Boom Pow performance (Kim must be hating it - oh she is! - and Carly, but good thing for me, I like the song!), and I think this guy is really good.

Mary asks what training he has taken since they last saw him and he replies that he has been taking contemporary. Nigel says he has great musicality, and his waves and popping were good.

And Tyce, staying in form, in a bit of an asshole to him. Basically calls him a liar about taking the training, blah blah blah, just being a jerk, really. I don't understand why Tyce made such a big deal about this...the Krumper from earlier had a crapload of training in other genres and didn't use them and no one said anything about him Not using those genres. Come on now ladies, Tyce is an Emmy nominated choreographer now. He knows all and is always right, even when being blatantly contradictory.

They send the guy to choreography, where he does make it through to Vegas, and I'm glad. So there, Tasty Oreo, take that.

A quick glimpse at the choreography session and 20+ of them get their tickets, and we are done again for the night.

Have you noticed that there are a lot less auditions from people who've auditioned before? Last season seemed like a very 'repeater' heavy season, so I'm glad we're seeing mostly new folks this time around.

Join in next week for auditions in Atlanta!

Thanks everyone, and goodnight! Bye!

SYTYCDC - Top 12 Results!

2009-09-23T21:26:00.003-07:00

Hello everyone - here we are for a very important night, where we find out who our Top 10 dancers are, the crew who make it for the Tour...

The night opens with a Luther Brown hip hop, danced to The Jump Off by L'il Kim. It's good, not wow, but holds it's own for sure... I find it interesting how Kim is so prominently featured... is this foreshadowing for the Top 4, I'm wondering?

No fluff, no filler, they bring the first 3 couples out... Kim and Emanuel, Cody and Melanie and Austin and Corryne.

Before I go on, I have to say I didn't really watch last night's performance show. Had some technical difficulties, and didn't end up recording the show. But I did breeze through all the numbers on youtube, with the exception of Austin and Corryne, because for some reason I couldn't find that one.

Anyway - Canada has deemed Kim and Emanuel worthy of Top 10 positions, but the other 2 couples are on their way to get ready for their solos.

No hesitation before we get to the next 3 couples... Tara Jean and Everett, Jayme Rae and Daniel and Amy and Vincent. I would have thought Amy and Vincent, but Canada feels differently and have put Jayme Rae and Daniel in danger.

The solos are next, and I didn't catch any of the songs. I'm lost without Kim's input in this arena.

Melanie is up first, and I thought it was okay, but not wow... Corryne is next and I kind of feel the same about hers, nothing's really moving me. Jayme Rae really works the hair in her number, and this is likely the best of the solos so far.

Now for the guys - Cody is up first and you can hardly hear Leah announce him over the 19 year old girls screaming their lungs out. If it's a popularity contest alone, Cody's got it in the bag. However, I don't see much has evolved in his performance, and I'm thinking it's a good thing he's cute. Austin takes the stage next, and wow! Can this boy spin! And spin... and spin... Even though I don't feel much of a connection to him, I think he may be one of the strongest dancers on the show this year. Last up is Daniel, and I think this performance is a little lacking... usually I'm impressed with his solos, but I'm kind of meh tonight.

A quick commercial break while the judges work it all out, and we are back for the results.

As usual, JM gets to deliver the bad news.

He starts of by calling Melanie a beast (again), but... oh, there's no but, she's safe... He then comments that Jayme Rae has been in the bottom 3 two times, and that while Corynne has a great career in front of her, it won't be on SYTYCDC. Jayme Rae is safe and Corryne is sent packing.

Finally the girls are behaving themselves and Corryne holds a very stoic face as she says they've got a fabulous Top 10 group.

Over to Tre to devastate one of the guys now... even though at this point, no one is a loser, everyone's a winner, baby... I'm guessing the guy who gets cut will disagree, but...

Anyway, Tre comments that all of them have struggled in one way or another, but lucky for Cody that Tre is very protective of him - he's safe and into the Top 10. Leaving Austin and Daniel. At this point, I'm thinking both of them are much more solid dancers than Cody and it's a real shame to lose either one of them. Cody just became my Isaac.

However, if I had to pick between the last two guys standing, I would save Austin. Which they do... he's safe and in the weeping arms of the Top 10, and Daniel is heading home.

So there you have it, your Top 10 group of Season 2...!

Watch for a posting on the Boston auditions of SYTYCD US - should be up in just a little bit!

SYTYCDC - Top 12 Performance!

2009-09-22T19:37:00.003-07:00

And we’re back once again for the Top 12 Performance show!

Advanced warning - I’m in a foul mood. I’ll do my best to keep it out of the post, but no guarantees.

Dancer intros and, honestly, Emanuel’s gotta get a stylist or something ‘cause he always looks atrocious during this part. Same goes with Austin’s hair. Every week it looks like he’s used a vat of Dippity Do in that mop of his.

Joining Tre and Jean Marc this week are Mia Michaels (Yay!) and Rex Harrington. Hopefully this means Mia’s doing the group number tomorrow.

General judge gabbery, blah, blah, dance your ass off, blah, blah, COME ON!, blah, blah.

On to the dancers!

Up first are Tara Jean and Everett. They’ve picked Theatre with Sean Cheesman this week. Sean’s working some Tap into it to work with Everett’s strength.

They’re dancing to ‘The Joint Is Jumping’ from the Ain’t Misbehavin’ soundtrack by the Original Broadway Cast. Everett’s obviously really comfortable in this space and Tara Jean’s holding her own too. The lifts are great, they keep the energy up the whole way through, all around a great job.

Mia’s all excited about the Tap and says they’re totally amazing. Rex says it was incredible, great and fantastic. Tre says it was a bang on performance. She says they’re on the way to the Top 10. Jean Marc gives a COME ON to Sean and says they set the stage on fire. He says they’re going to be here a long time.

Back from the break and Leah tells us that Luther will be choreographing the group number tomorrow night (What? Why? Did we forget that Mia’s here? We can get Luther any old time). Bah.

Moving right along quickly (it’s only an hour long show this week), we’ve got Melanie and Cody who’ve drawn Jazz with Melissa Williams. She says it’s a dark, twisted, vampire piece. Just hoping this isn’t a rip off of something we’ve already seen.

They’re dancing to ‘Glory Box’ by Portishead (inspired choice Melissa). Okay, I just totally forgot to write while I was watching that. My fears of the dance being a copy of a previous dance were completely unjustified. What a great piece. And danced really well. Considering how ‘cute’ these two are, it’s hard to imagine them pulling off sexy and alluring, but, like they do every week, they surprised me. Great job.

Mia loved Melanie’s performance but thought Cody was a little lacking in this genre. Rex doesn’t think Cody stepped up enough for this one, but thinks Melanie is a beautiful dancer. He does say that they’ll be in the Top 10. Tre believed Melanie and says Cody allayed her worries about him in this genre. Jean Marc critiques Cody’s transitions but praises his growth. He says Melanie is a force of nature.

Up next we’ve got Corryne and Austin who’ve pulled Salsa with Tony and Melanie. It’s going to be flirty and sexy with lots of pelvic thrusts apparently.

They’re dancing to ‘I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)’ by Pitbull. This is one of those songs that’s getting terribly overused. Austin should not be in that shirt. It’s all kinds of wrong. And the pants are too tight. And his mugging is not helping. He looks a bit like a caricature out there. As to the dancing, it seems...okaaay, I guess. There’s just something off about the flow of it or something, to me. They get all the pieces right (by the looks of it) but it’s just turning me off on the whole and I can’t really say why (besides Austin’s styling).

Mia says it was the most forced sexiness she’s ever seen. THAT’S IT! Thanks to Mia for figuring that out for me. She says Corryne didn’t own it, but Austin did. Rex agrees with Mia and says Austin is one of the strongest men in the competition. Tre says that this was obviously tough for Corynne, being that she’s a classical dancer, but she committed. Austin did a great job. Jean Marc was originally afraid for them, but he’s not afraid anymore. He loves them and thinks they sold it. He says they deserve to be in the Top 10 (really Jean Marc? Even if they’re both in the bottom 3 for a third time?).

On deck now we’ve got Kim and Emanuel. They’ve drawn Hip Hop with Luther this week, who says it’s a hot sweaty situation (which I think is what he says every time he choreographs).

They’re dancing to ‘Respect My Conglomerate’ by Busta Rhymes featuring Lil’ Wayne and Jadakiss. Jadakiss is still around? Who knew? Kim’s totally believable in this but I get a little bit of ‘trying too hard’ from Emanuel. They’re both hitting hard and ugh! Kim had to grab Emanuel’s nether regions! GAH! I think I need to go scrub my eyes with my toothbrush after that! Think of the children Luther! Aside from that, they both danced great in this. Well done.

Mia says Luther’s hot. She says it was rough and raw and says Kim slayed it. There’s some squealing about the crotch grabbing. She says Emanuel’s commitment was there but she’d like to see him hit harder. Rex says it was incredible and sleazy and he loved it. He says Emanuel is one of the strongest dancers they have and Kim is sexy and amazing and makes him ‘question parts of [him]self’. HA! Tre says Emanuel got into it and grounded and got dirty and says Kim is damn strong and she murdered it. Jean Marc says Kim’s swagger was amazing and Emanuel exceeds his expectations.

After the break we’ve got Jayme Rae and Daniel. They’ve picked Contemporary with Blake and it’s about their wedding. Everybody seems to think it’s very intense.

They’re dancing to ‘It Must Have Been Love’ by Kari Kimmel (the original - and much better - version of this song is done by Roxette). Ugh, Blake. Between the brutal cover of the song and blatant rip off of the make-up thing from the Zombie routine from last season’s SYTYCD US? Turn. Off. The dancing’s good here and all and I’m sure the judges will give it raves and kiss Blake’s ass but it’s a big ugh for me. And that’s really too bad because it’s all because of stuff that the dancers have no control over. I’m giving the dancers a ‘Well Done’ here, but Blake needs a slap.

Mia says they were committed to the piece and it was a special piece. Rex says we saw Jayme Rae’s soul and says Daniel partnered her beautifully. Tre praises Jayme Rae’s style and says Daniel did okay with it. Jean Marc is choking up again over Jayme Rae and says Daniel did well with limited tools (I think that’s what he was getting at).

Finally, we’ve got Amy and Vincent. They’ve picked Jive with Tony and Meredith. This is Vincent’s style so that’s a plus for them.

They’re dancing to ‘Pony Time’ by Chubby Checker. Amy seems to be keeping up with Vincent really well here. The synchronization is good and the energy is staying up. Great flow, really together. Great job.

Mia says it was so much fun. She says Amy was real and hot and Vincent is her favourite male dancer here. Rex loved it and says they did a fantastic job. Tre says they did one hell of a routine. She says Vincent is a transformer and Amy shone. Jean Marc says they looked like pros in parts of that and was impressed that Amy was able to keep up.

Aaaaaand we’re at the end again. I’d say there are three couples who are a lock for Top 10 here: Melanie and Cody, Kim and Emanuel, and Jayme Rae and Daniel. Which leaves the other three for our bottom three. Based on what the judges were saying tonight, it’s tough to say who out of those three couples would be sent home. It’s another wait and see, I guess.

Carra’s back tomorrow night with the results and Auditions #3 for SYTYCD US. We’ll see you then!

Cheers!

So You Think You Can Dance - Arizona Auditions!

2009-09-16T22:48:00.005-07:00

A new season and a new city - we've moved on to Arizona for the first time in SYTYCD history!

Our judges tonight will be Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy and Mia Michaels - I so enjoy when she's part of the auditions!

After Cat does a quick recap of the rules and regulations we get started with an... interesting pair... Brandon 'Shorty' Smallwood and Dimetrio 'Biggy' someone (sorry, didn't catch the last name). They're kind of popper-hip hoppers... I think...

The whole way through, Mary can't stop laughing, and by the end of it all the judges are enjoying a serious chuckle...

Nigels says that anyone who watched them would find them enjoyable, but thought that Dimetrio wobbled more than he popped. He felt that Brandon was the more technical of the two, but together they put on a great act. Mia says she loved them, but... I didn't quite catch what Mary said, but no matter, because Nigel over rules them and sends the pair to choreography. Not sure what I think about that.

Contemporary dancer Sasha Mallory is next. She auditioned back in Season 4, and she's returned this time with her family in tow. She gets very emotional when she speaks of her family, and they are obviously very close.

I think she is a lovely dancer, with very intricate movements. I enjoy her performance.

Nigel says she was very clever and then turns it over to Mia, who says she had the perfect combination of showing her technique and her ability to use the stage. Mary tells her she is beautiful, and the girl just falls to pieces. And she pretty much cries until they give her a ticket to Vegas. And then she cries a bit more. This got OLD really fast...it's an emotional process I understand, but pull it together.

A couple of snap shots of Katie Muth and Ellie Soto, and I believe both of them make it through to Vegas as well.

Up next is contemporary dancer Allison Becker. Spinal meningitis has left her hearing impaired, and she says that she dances more by feeling the music rather than hearing it.

After a solid performance, Nigel asks her if she reads lips, which she does. He tells her that her movement is beautiful, her face is beautiful and she has a lovely expression in her eyes when she dances. Her technique isn't quite where he'd like it to be but overall she's fantastic.

Mary agrees with everything Nigel says and then gets very emotional when she speaks of a cousin with a similar condition. Mia asks her what inspires her to dance, because for her, it is the music that moves her... Allison tells her that she can hear the music too, she just hears it differently.

Nigel starts to ask her how she'll do in choreography if she... and she cuts him off with a simple "I'll be great!" Good for Her! - and she's in. And she's right, she does do great, and gets a ticket to Vegas.

Taking the stage next is a same sex couple, a pair of Latin dancers - Jacob Jason and William de Vies.

Once they are finished dancing, Jacob tells them that it is amazing for a gay couple to be able audition for a show like this...

Mary says they were emotional and passionate with great lines and technique. Mia is quite emotional as she says she celebrates their courage. Nigel thanks them for showing him same sex ballroom dancing, and puts them both through to choreography. They did really well there too, and off they both go to Vegas.

Jonathan Noronha is up next, and he's... wow... kind of all over the place. He has lots of props, baton kind of things, as well as... letters! Gimme a D... gimme an I... a S.... a C.... and O my, it's a picture of Mary!

Nigel says it was a fun performance, but probably not right for the show. Both Mary and Mia say it was entertaining, but all over the map. It's a no go.

All in all, 30 dancers make it into choreography, where half way through Demetrio jams and admits he really can't do any other genre other than his own. You know, by Season 6, it may be good for people to realize that they may have to dance outside their comfort zone. I'm just sayin'.

His buddy Brandon doesn't make it through either.

But 12 others do. No idea who.

On to Day 2.

First up is Jarvis Johnson. And he's excited. Very excited. In fact, I can't really make out a work he's saying, he'sgoingamillionmilesasecond. Fast forwarded through almost this entire segment ...Can't. Handle. The. Screaming.

His performance is actually quite good... until it gets kind of lame at the end, but... Yeah no...didn't find this good at all.

Nigel calls him a dancing fool. Mary calls his dancing frantic, but tells him he has a great personality. Mia says she loved when he danced himself out of his shoes and when he was smacking his own ass (those apple bottom jeans will get you every time...) - and while he's not a great dancer, he is a great entertainer.

Mia says no to choreography, but both Mary and Nigel send him through, and after a whole lot, and I mean a WHOLE LOT, of screaming, I think Nigel is regretting his decision. The guy was cute at first, but by the time he exits the stage I'm thinking OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST RELAX ALREADY!

Odd couple Brandon Gordon and Nicole Peterson are next in a kind of football player/cheerleader kind of thing, and Mia admits to being confused. And it just goes down hill from there, and we get a "strange dancers" montage.

Nigel asks how close they are to Roswell... it's just... that... strange.

So in context, when Kelsey White takes the stage, she seems amazing!

Nigel asks her if she had the hiccups (a previous dancer was possessed with hiccups) - she says no. He asks her if she's ever been abducted by aliens (because a previous dancer was) and she makes the mistake of trying to be funny and says yes, but just once. Nigel's had enough by this point and actually walks away. Exit stage left. Loved it!

Mary and Mia are left there to discuss Kelsey's fate, and over the microphone, like the great and powerful Oz, we hear 'SEND HER TO CHOREOGRAPHY'. I'm waiting for him to add "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...!" For me, it's the best part of the show.

In the end, Kelsey goes through to choreography, but does not make it to Vegas.

After a commercial break, Nigel summons the strength to return to the panel in time to see B-Boy Jonathan 'Legacy' Perez, who is really quite impressive. My eyes popped out of my head I'm sure - when he spider walked across the stage on his HANDS. Holy Crap!

Nigel says that what he does hugely exciting, and Mary says that he is tremendous and very confident. Mia calls him a powerhouse, and stupid. Real stupid. And then sends him to Vegas.

22 make it through to choreography with Pasha and Anya, and part way through, screamer Jarvis Jacob collapses! Drama! They've got the oxygen mask on him and he thinks he's having a heart attack. Thankfully he's not, but it does spell the end for him. I feel a little bit bad for him.

And there's Arizona for you. Wonder if they'll make it part of the regular regime? LOL maybe - if they bring tin foil hats to block the weirdness next time.

Not sure what the schedule is for next week, but we can be guaranteed of another jam packed week...

Until then...!

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Top 14 Results!

2009-09-16T19:28:00.001-07:00

Hi there everyone and thanks for popping by Pop Goes the Word for the Top 14 Results!

Well they certainly are getting good use out of Lady GaGA this season, aren't they... I actually enjoy her quite a lot more than Kim does, but even I have to say, it's getting a bit much!

As Leah informed us last night, Blake choreographed this number, and it certainly is entertaining - kind of like a big dancing orgy! There's lots of glitz and glamour, cool costumes and wigs - except they make it almost impossible to pick out any one dancer.

Our judges are at the panel - Dan, Karen, Tre and Jean Marc (JM) - and ready to go.

We waste no time bringing out the first 4 couples - Melanie and Cody, Austin and Corynne, Amy and Vincent and Jayme Rae and Daniel. After a quick review of last nights performances, we learn that Melanie and Cody live to see another week, as do Austin and Corynne - but the other two couples must go back stage to prepare to dance for their lives.

The next 3 couples take the stage - Kim and Emanuel, Tara Jean and Everett and Natalie and Danny. Another quick review and the first two couples are safe and we'll be seeing solos from Natalie and Danny.

The girls are up with their solos first, starting with Amy. I think her musicality in this is great, it's a very sharp performance.

Jayme Rae is next, and I have to say, I could do without the hat. It distracts me the whole way through.

Last up is Natalie, and I'm kind of meh on this one. If it's based primarily on the quality of the solo, I'm guessing this might be her last one.

The guys are up next, and Vincent takes the lead. Wow! He does the worm! I think the last time I saw that, there was a fair amount of alcohol being consumed...

Next up is Daniel, and I think this is the best solo of the night. It's very cool, sharp and entertaining.

And last but not least is Danny... except that this one is kind of lacking in substance for me. Do I sense the elimination of a complete couple tonight?

We take a quick commercial break and now we've got the girls lined up awaiting their verdict. As usual, JM is the designated grim reaper. He tells Amy that she nailed the performance last night, and tells Jayme Rae that she is one of their strongest performers, but her dancing last night was not the best. He says to Natalie that for a krumper, she's come a long way.

He goes back to Jayme and tells her she is safe. And so is Amy. And this is the end of the road for Natalie.

And finally we get a girl get that exhibits some class. While she's teary, there's no anger burning in her eyes. There's no attitude! Good for you Natalie! She thanks everyone for the opportunity and holds herself together very admirably.

And now over to Tre, whose job it is to deliver the news to the guys. She tells Vincent that last night was his best performance so far - but he has been in the bottom 3 times previously. To Daniel she says that he performs very well, but last night wasn't his best. She calls Danny a very good, technical dancer. But unfortunately we haven't seen enough of his personality, and it's time for him to go.

And we're down to only 5 more episodes before we are ready to crown someone Canada's favorite dancer, if you can believe it... doesn't time just fly!

Check back soon - I'll be posting the US auditions shortly!

SYTYCDC - Top 14 Performance!

2009-09-15T20:43:00.009-07:00

Evening all!

Sorry for the late start tonight. Too many things happening all at once in Kim-land.

Anyway, here we are for the Top 14 Performance Show. Things are moving right along. We’re down to a 90 minute show now! Yay!

As per usual we start with dancer intros and as per usual Emanuel tries to do his ‘sultry’ stare at the camera, which really comes off as sleazy. Blue Steel! He needs to stop doing that. And Austin has really bad slicked down hair.

Joining our Jean Marc and Tre on the judging panel tonight are Dan Karaty (YAY!!) and Karen Kain (link added to wikipedia entry ~ though it doesn't mention that she is currently the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada. Nor does it mention how important she is/has been to Canadian dancers) , who has a very impressive resume that I can’t hope to get right here. I’m very excited because we haven’t seen Dan in ages. All the judges comment on last week’s eliminations and Jean Marc talks about some of the injuries plaguing the dancers. Sounds like it’s been a crazy week. Broken bones, missing teeth... wow!

Filler aside, we get started with Cody (Teen Dream!) and Melanie. They’ve pulled Hip Hop with Luther this week and it looks like it’s supposed to be kind of nasty. Hopefully they can pull it off.

They’re dancing to ‘Turnin’ Me On’ by Keri Hilson featuring Lil’ Wayne. Melanie is consistently surprising. Like the Krump routine they had, she’s just nailing this. Cody’s right in there with her, hitting it hard and very nasty. The shirt move at the end is fantastic. Well done. I thought this was great - they really got into it.

Dan makes mention of all the grinding and says they both played the part well. He says they nailed everything. Karen says they had convincing physicality and attitude and she really enjoyed it. Tre says they had style, swagger and syncopation. They get a well done from Tre. Jean Marc says it was exuberant and they survived the ‘Luther-minator’. Hee. In a very (not) convincing Schwarzenegger impersonation, he says they’ll ‘be back’.

Second up is Vincent and Amy performing a Cha Cha choreographed by Gustavo Vargas. Vincent says it’s a dangerous routine. Looks like there’s some challenging lifts here.

They’re dancing to ‘Rie y Liora’ by Celia Cruz. Amy seems really into this one. Looks like they’ve got the footwork mostly down and the lifts are coming off really well. Their enthusiasm is great in this piece and I’m glad to see they didn’t break the table this time. Great job. I enjoyed this one as well - I thought they both got right into it and I loved how she landed on the table at the end.

Dan says they nailed it. It was fun, sexy and the lifts were great. Karen says she really enjoyed it. She says Amy needs to pay more attention to her feet and it was obvious it was Vincent’s area of expertise. Tre says they sold it and did a great job. Jean Marc loved it and says they did a great job.

Up next is Tara Jean and Everett. They’ve got House this week with Sho-Tyme. Everett says this is faster than the quick step. Sho thinks they work good together. Huh, I didn’t know that no other SYTYCD uses House in their programs. Way to be Canada!

They’re dancing to ‘When Love Takes Over’ by David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland. Their synchronization in this is great and they seem to have gotten a good handle on the rhythm. Tara Jean’s energy seems to wane a bit towards the end. She was right on it in the beginning and seemed to die off a bit at the end. Maybe I just don't understand the style but this whole routine looked messy to me. I noticed TJ running out of steam at the end as well, but overall I thought they pulled this off.

Dan is a huge fan of Sho-Tyme and says Tara Jean and Everett made it look easy. He says they rose to the occasion and hit it. Karen only just learned what House was, but she says she really enjoyed the performance and says their chemistry was great. Tre says it was sick and dirty and fantabulous. They did an awesome job. Jean Marc says these two aren’t going anywhere and he loves them.

Back from the break and we’ve got Kim and Emanuel who’ve pulled Contemporary with Stacey Tookey. It’s about a couple reflecting back on life. Stacey says they’re going to have to fight for it.

They’re dancing to ‘To Build a Home’ by The Cinematic Orchestra, which is a fantastic song. The lighting is fantastic in this piece setting certain parts sepia tone like old photographs. I can see why they were finding this piece challenging. There’s some very different moves here which they seem to have really grabbed on to. These two are both really incredible dancers, much as I hate to admit it in Emanuel’s case. Loved it. Hate that I'm loving him, though...

Dan says it was flawless. Their timing was right on and he says he forgot he was judging. Karen says it was a brave piece that showcased a ‘quiet artistry’. She commends them for rising above their injuries and doing so well with the dance. Tre agrees with Dan and says it was perfect. Nothing else to say. Jean Marc loves them both and says (while choking up) that they made a memorable moment and rose to the challenge. I kind of love how emotional Jean Marc is. He chokes up at least once a week! Time to up the meds! ;) jk

Alrighty, Jamie Rae and Daniel are on deck now. Melissa Williams has choreographed a Disco piece for them this week. Looks like Jayme Rae has a problem with giving up the control. Melissa thinks they’re going to smash it.

They’re dancing to ‘Disco Inferno’ by The Trammps. They’re doing pretty well as far as the steps are concerned, but this seems....heavy to me. The timing’s all good and the lifts are pretty smooth, but something’s just off a bit and I don’t know what it is. This was 'meh' for me - and I really really like these two, so I'm disappointed. I agree, Carly...

Dan says it was a great routine but not very well danced. He says they needed to get cheesier with it and doesn’t think they committed to it. Karen enjoyed it and says it was entertaining. Tre says it was sexy and disagrees with Dan. She says they killed it. Jean Marc says it was total liberation and the vibe was all there. Huh. I kind of agree with Dan.

Now we’ve got Danny and Natalie. They’ve drawn West Coast Swing with Benji Schwimmer. The story is about a girl who tears out a guy’s heart. Nearly literally, it looks like.

They’re dancing to ‘Love Lockdown’ by Kanye West. Benji always puts such a modern twist to his dances. There are elements of this piece that are just fantastic. Little curious moves that grab your attention. However, in between those moves, it’s pretty clear there are some issues. They both seem to struggle in a few parts with getting their hands into the right positions and grabbing the right way. I get the feeling that neither of them were particularly comfortable with this style. SYTYCD US - Season 5, Jeanine (the winner) and Phillip (the Chbeeb) danced to this song - I had a hard time not comparing the two routines. BUT - after I watched this one a couple of times I really started to appreciate it. Well done kids! Too bad they used a Kanye song the week of Kanye/Taylor-gate. Yeah, when I saw the song choice, I got an instant bad taste in my mouth... he's such a jackass.

Dan really liked the performance and says it was a different approach to the West Coast Swing. Karen says they owe Benji some gratitude because he created a piece that made them look great. Tre says it’s difficult to critique but says the performance was well done. Jean Marc says their connectivity was really good and says Danny really showed up this week. He loved it.

One more pair and it’s Austin and Corynne. They’ve got Jazz with John Byrne who I think is new. It’s apparently Old Hollywood style Jazz and it looks like it’s got some challenge to it.

They’re dancing to ‘Paparazzi’ by Lady Gaga (Kim's Favourite! lol). Right off the bat they get that first lift really well and she does this great sideways leap into his arms that’s fantastic. Okay can we have just one week without the dancers making out. It’s like it’s become a plot device on this show that’s getting really tired. It works when it flows, but it’s starting to feel forced. Aside from that piece, this is a great dance. Had these two been paired from the beginning, I don’t think we’d have seen either of them in the bottom three at all so far. Great partnership. I think this was my favorite number of the night - the lifts were incredible!

Dan says it was very well danced and says they both shined. He says it completely worked. Karen really enjoyed the whole thing, especially their chemistry. Tre says they have a dirty crowd and Jean Marc is the leader of it. Hee. Dan says it’s Canada. Hee. She says both of them are destined for Top 10. I agree. Jean Marc says it was fantastic and clean and lean.

That’s all folks! Up for the Bottom 3 this week? Tough to say for sure. I’d say perhaps Jayme Rae and Daniel, but they’ve got a good fan base working for them. Maybe Natalie and Danny. They could see some unfortunate Kanye West backlash. Ugh. It’s getting too hard to pick now! There’s too few couples! Not even going to offer guesses here...the voting public of Canada is too unpredictable.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Tomorrow’s results show features a very hot group routine from Blake - although, wouldn’t it be great if they postponed that and did a Patrick Swayze/Dirty Dancing tribute, all things considered? It was announced this morning that one of those 'other' dance shows will be doing a tribute. Probably won’t happen but maybe next week? Come on Jean Marc. I know you’re reading. See what you can do!

Carra’s back tomorrow night with another round of results as well as the second episode of SYTYCD US auditions. Stay tuned for more!

Cheers!

A Little Potpourri

2009-09-15T11:30:00.003-07:00

Heya readers!

Before we get to the Top 14 Performance show recap tonight, I wanted to fill you in on a few things here on the blog.

This past Sunday marked the one year anniversary of Pop Goes the Word. I meant to post a little something on Sunday, but we all know how time can get away from me! It's been a great year with lots of fun and much snark and we appreciate you visiting and sharing it with us.

August was also a record month for us in terms of blog visits. No wonder, considering how much was going on on the SYTYCD front! For those of you new to site, we're glad you found us and for those of you who keep coming back, we really appreciate it.

Also, for those that missed it, we've added a guest blogger to our roster. My sister Carly will be popping in from time to time to add comments to our recaps and filling in here and there when we just can't pull it together. So in addition to my comments in white, Carra's in pink, look for Carly's in green.

I've made a couple of format changes that I thought I should let you know about. First of all, Dick Clark Entertainment has gone completely crazy with pulling SYTYCD videos off of YouTube. I don't really understand why, considering they don't release SYTYCD on DVD, so it's not like they're losing money, but what do I know? So if you're reading an older post and it seems like it's missing a video, it probably is. For the time being, I've just removed the videos that don't work anymore.

Secondly, for some of the really long posts (particularly the performance show recaps), I've reformatted them with a 'jump'. So what you'll see displayed on the front page of the blog is the first paragraph or two of the post followed by a 'Keep Reading!' link. Click on that link to read the remainder of the post. This saves you some scrolling on the front page and tends to make the blog load a bit faster. The most recent post will be displayed in full on the front page...until it isn't the most recent anymore! ;)

Anyway, that's it for now. I'm back later today with the SYTYCD Canada Top 14 Performance show recap and Carra will be back on Wednesday with the Results as well as the SYTYCD US auditions.

Cheers!

So You Think You Can Dance US - L.A. Auditions!

2009-09-09T21:51:00.006-07:00

Well, this is starting off on the wrong foot for me - I thought I had it all under control, had the VCR (yes, I still deal in old technology) set early and everything all prepared... only to find out that the auditions were on a different channel than I thought! So early apologies for all that I miss and names that I butcher.

We're officially into Season 6 now of So You Think You Can Dance US, and it's going to be interesting to see how we juggle two shows at once! I'd like to ask the producers if maybe next year they can cut us some slack and give us just a little more time between Seasons... :) Ditto

So tonight on the panel we have Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy and yay, Adam Shankman. I always enjoy him and what he has to say. Yay Shankers!

Cat gives us a quick overview of how the auditions work and tells us that Pasha and Anya will be handling the choreography sessions.

Our first guy is Cole Clemens, who feels he's a bit of a trendsetter, and hopes that Nigel will at least tell him he's unique. And off we go. Nigel keeps asking for them to cue the music, until he realizes... there isn't any for this particular piece. But Cole has it all under control. He utters "Allure. Seduce. Shatter. Shatter. Shatter." And then "The candles blow out on us too." Whoosh. As in, blowing out the candle of life, I suppose.

Not so much dancing as an interpretive... haiku or something. The audience is... very... quiet... and then the judges send him on his way. We hear Adam mutter something that gets bleeped out... tee hee! Perhaps he should've used that word in his dance?

Mollee Gray is next... and right of the bat, I think she is lovely. We get a story about how her family moved from Utah to California so that she could pursue her dream of dance, complete with a few emotional words from her mother.

She's dancing to a cool cover of Phil Colin's Against All Odds by The Postal Service, and yes indeed, she is lovely. The judges seem mesmerized by her. They call her adorable, with amazing potential and send her straight to Vegas. What a little cutie! Totally cute. Great potential.

They breeze through a few more dancers - David someone, Amanda Kirby and Brandon Dumlao... I think they all get tickets to Vegas, but it's hard to be certain as they are going so quickly. I guess that's what happens with just one hour.

Now here's a familiar face - Ryan Kasprzak... He auditioned last year with his brother Evan, who made it all the way to the Top 4 last season. He does a cool number that is tap and commentary/singing... and the judges eat it up. Adam gives him a standing O and calls him a "freaking artist". They tell him he has great style and dignity, and that he is unique and brilliant. And off to Vegas he goes. I see the Top 20 in his future this year.

Another return from last year is Bianca Rebels, another tap dancer. Last year when she didn't make it, she said she wasn't going to come back, but after re-evaluating the situation, here she is.

The judges ask her if she's ever done a tap battle before, and indeed she has - and now she wants to take on Ryan! Fun!

But first, Ryan informs us that tappers don't "battle", they "trade". Good to know.

Now this is cool. I have to wonder if they've practised this, because it's fantastic. Really great. I'm definitely seeing at least one Tapper in the Top 20 this year.

Adam in speechless, but then recovers enough to say he has the greatest job in the world. And then they send Bianca to Vegas as well.

Next up is Christopher Aguilar. He has a plan. Which is to produce a film. Of which we get a small sample. It's called Drum Song.

He does a performance to All That Jazz from Chicago, and if nothing else, the judges are enjoying the song. In fact, they seem to be on uppers.

This routine is... a bit... odd! Odd? Really? I'm thinking more....craptastic?

The judges tell him he does not have the technical skills and that he needs to train more, take more classes. He goes on about some thesis, something about trading male and female characters to see if it... I don't know, he lost me at hello... They send him on his way.

And zip zip through choreography, we don't get to see any of it, or find out who made it through to Vegas.

Day 1 is over, and now it's a new day.

Amber Williams is up first and we learn about a surgery her mother had to remove a cyst on her spine. But the doctors screwed something up, and she came out in a wheelchair. Wow. How much would that suck.

Amber does a contemporary piece and the judges look enthralled with her. They commend her for her technique and call her a beautiful dancer, and then give her a ticket to Vegas.

Christina Santana takes the stage next with a partner to do a salsa, with a little bit of hip hop mixed in. I'm not sure how I feel about the mix, but the judges seem to love it, and another one heads to Sin City.

They do a "bad dancer" montage, which looks somewhat entertaining, but we don't really get any details.

Another tapper, Phillip Attmore, is up next, and he's friends with Ryan, they've roomed together in the past. Cat tries to get some dirt on Ryan, and we find out that he has a happy face tattooed on his butt. Huh. Cat's off to confirm that for us. He does strike me as a 'butt tattoo' kind of guy. Not at all surprised to learn this about Ryan.

This guy is really good, and the judges are thrilled with him. They call him superb, fantastic, a really clean dancer, and give him a ticket.

Boom boom bap, another choreography session that we see nothing of, but we do learn that 10 more dancers have been given a place in the finals.

It's into Arizona next week (not sure what day, or even what channel!) - and that, my friends, is that. Talk about flying through it all!

Have a great night!

Now I have to go watch my latest addiction, thanks very much to Kim. Like there isn't enough TV to watch these days... Glee, here I come!

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Top 16 Results!

2009-09-09T19:30:00.006-07:00

I've said it before, I'll say it again - LOVE Canadian results night! 30 minutes, right down to it, no filler, no nonsense... it's great! Seconded. THIRDED (is that really a word?)

The show opens with an Afro-Brazilian number brought to us by Jean Marc (JM) and his wife. We've been warned that this will be hot, hot, hot... and judging by the costumes, I'd say a whole lot of waxing occurred today! For the ladies at least *rolling eyes* Sheesh JM - we know you like the ladies, but this was a bit blatent doncha think?

Dancing to Magalenha by Sergio Mendes - this is cool with lots of details... I love when the guys slide across the floor through the girls legs! This was cool. Definitely different for Jean Marc and France.

Leah arrives in a cute black prom-like dress and tells us that we Canadians voted a million times last night (we don't seem to be able to break through that ceiling!) and then does a quick intro of the judges - Sean, Melissa, Tre and JM.

And let's get to it!

The first four couples take the stage and after a quick review of last night's performances, we learn that Tara Jean and Everett are safe, as are Kim and Emanuel. This leaves us with Jenna Lynn and Nicolas and Natalie and Danny. I'm thinking the latter... and I'm wrong. Jenna Lynn and Nicolas head backstage to get ready to dance for their lives and Natalie and Danny are safe. I'm sorry, but Jenna Lynn is just not likable. ding ding ding - you hit this on the head I've tried, but I just can't. I don't think it was any coincidence that she was paired with such a happy-go-lucky guy like Nicolas.

And straight into the next four couples.

Another review of last night, and Amy and Vincent are cut right away and sent backstage. Jayme Rae and Daniel (haawwwwtt - oops sorry *grin*) are safe and so are Corynne and Austin, which leaves Cody and Melanie dancing for their lives. Not that they remotely have anything to worry about. Nope not Teen Dream and "the Beast" lol

After a quick break, we start off with the solos from the girls.

Jenna Lynn is up first, dancing to I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas. Ooops, it looks like she may have slipped a bit there... yeah, and judging by her reaction at the end of it, she looks utterly dejected. pfft.

Amy is next, and I don't know what song this is. Kim is the guru, so I'm sure she'll clear it up. Not a great solo, I didn't think, came off a little... tight. I was pressed for time last night, so I haven't got this one yet. Will check tonight.

Melanie is the last of the girls, and while this number is the best solo so far, it's merely alright in my opinion.

The boys are next and we start with Nicolas. He's doing his B-Boy stuff to a Spanish sounding song, and it's an interesting contrast. I do enjoy his solos. So do I - but as with ballroom solos there's only so much a B-Boy can do.

Vincent is next dancing barefoot to Reet Petite by Jackie Wilson, and he's really good too. I like his style.

Cody is the last guy up, and there is definitely something about the way he works the crowd that I like. Cutie!

Okay, here we go. JM has to deliver the news to the girls. He tells Melanie that last night was not her strongest performance, and says that Amy was out of her genre... but she is safe. He goes back to Melanie and tells her she is safe as well. This leaves a crying Jenna Lynn on the stage for the last time. She's quite upset but says that she was learned that she's important and was meant to be a dancer. We watch her See Ya Later montage and by the time it's over, she really seems quite annoyed. What is with the attitude from the girls this year (at least the ones voted off so far)?? It's not like they're God's gift to dancing or anything. We've had a lot of reflection on past seasons recently, and when you watch Heidi and Lacey from the US version and Natalli from Canada's first season, these girls just don't measure up. They need to take the attitude and SIT DOWN. These girls are giving Canadian Girls a bad name. It's a competition, be a good sport when you're eliminated and be thankful (honestly and sincerely) that you got this far. It's called Class ladies - lets try to have some mmm'kay?

And over to Tre to break the news to the boys. She calls Nicolas an entertainer and tells Vincent that he is probably the most versatile dancer they have. Cody, of course, is a pleasure to watch and the most popular dancer right now. Of all the things said so far, I'm fearing for Nicolas... and yes, for good reason. It's the end of the road for him, and wow, he has such a great smile. He is happy for the opportunity he's been given and very proud of himself. As well he should be. Very gracious. The girls need to take some notes. I feel bad for him - but I'll say it again: This was a case of his partner dragged him down. Too bad, because I felt he was proving himself to be very talented.

And just like that, we're done.

Keep coming back to check for the next posting - Season 6 of SYTYCD US - it's the first night of auditions!

See you in a bit!

SYTYCDC - Top 16 Performance!

2009-09-08T20:15:00.009-07:00

Evening possums! Sorry for the lateness of this post. I had to wait for the jackhammering to stop (don’t ask) before I could sit in peace and watch and blog.

Before we get started with the SYTYCD Canada recap, did anyone catch the season premiere of The Ellen Degeneres show today? Our Season 5 SYTYCD US Top 10 made a special appearance at the end of the show. If you missed it, here it is! I (Carly) did miss it ...but wow! FUN!

Alright, business at hand. Where are we now? Top 16 right? For some reason it feels like we should be farther along!

Joining Jean Marc and Tre on the judging panel this week are Sean Cheesman and Melissa Williams (who looks killer tonight by the way ~Except for the HUGE earrings which I think are ridiculous and call to mind a quote from Walter on Fringe "I believe with proper demodulation, you could receive satellite television for free". Leah (who looks smokin' in that dress) says we’ve got a hot show ahead of us, so let’s get to it!

First up we’ve got Kim and Emanuel. They’ve pulled Jazz with Blake this week. It’s about a magician and his assistant, who assists him with love, sex and magic. Blake is a dirty, dirty beast....I love it.

They’re dancing to ‘Love, Sex, Magic’ by Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake. Great costuming and make up right off the bat. I’m totally buying this from them. They’re both fully into it and rockin’ it hard. Blake’s worked some minor illusions into it that work really well and - Christ! - Kim ends up in her underwear! Ha! All in all, great piece. Well done. I hate to admit this but Emanuel is really winning me over - I was SO ready to hate him. This routine was awesome.

The judges are on their feet and Leah’s yelling ‘SHE LOST HER CLOTHES!’ Ha! Sean’s in love with this piece. Kim’s making him blush. He’s a huge fan of Emanuel’s too. Melissa is amazed with everything about this piece. Tre says Kim was beyond expectations and Emanuel was meant to dance. She’s doing some testifying here! Jean Marc praises the choreography and the dancing. He says they were totally committed. Then he says ‘Easy oodini!’! Ha!

Back from the break, oh goodie. We get to do background on the judges too! Filler. Moving on.

Amy and Vincent are up next with Hip Hop. We’ve got a new choreographer this week: FLii Stylz. This looks like it’s going to have a lot of intricate movements.

Dancing to ‘Boom Boom Pow’ by the Black Eyed Peas, Amy and Vincent seem to have gotten a handle on all the little movements. Amy’s perhaps a little stronger than Vincent. This is definitely fast paced and clearly a challenging routine. It - to me at least - was really well executed. Loved this one - even though I can't handle BEP

Sean says they made it their own and that they worked it. Melissa’s a huge fan of them, and says they didn’t disappoint this week. She says it could’ve been hit a bit harder, but they did well. Tre loved it. There were elements that needed some work but they both did it well. Jean Marc calls it fast and furious. He says Amy has a lot of funk in that little trunk. Hee. Vincent had plenty of fly style. I love it when Jean Marc tries to be hip.

Up next are Austin and Corynne. They’ve drawn Contemporary with Stacey Tookey. It’s about the end of a relationship and the reluctance to move on. It looks like a very physical piece.

They’re dancing to ‘Never Say Never’ by The Fray. Okay does The Fray have some sort of deal with SYTYCD? There's always at least one, if not more, routine using their songs. I like the Fray but there are other great bands out there... There are some really neat movements right in the beginning. The synchronization is great and then she just launches herself at his back. The throw is excellent. This is one of those pieces where the judges talk a lot about trust in the partnership. They’re both right there when they need to be and it seems like they’ve been paired since the beginning instead of just this week. Very well done.

Sean says Stacey choreographed gold. He says he really saw Austin dance this week and Corynne was stunning to watch. Melissa says it was amazing. She says they lived the story and that they were emotive and in the zone. Tre says Corynne has huge potential and says she saw connection from Austin for the first time. She also mentions the trust between the two. Do I know what I’m talking about, or what? Jean Marc says he loved the conversation on the dance floor. He calls Corynne the Contemporary Queen and Austin is now Austin Power. I think these two have finally found the right partners - this was the first week I've liked what they've done and actually connected with them.

Melanie and Cody are on deck now and they’ve pulled Mambo with Gustav Vargas. There’s definitely some struggles with the tricks in rehearsals. Hopefully they can pull it together.

They’re dancing to ‘Suena Ahora’ by Michi Sarmiento. These two are just great. Really cute. They seem to have the basic movements down, a little tentative with some of the tricks. There was one trick with a pretty obvious stutter to it, but they pulled it together and cleaned it up at the end. Good show. Good show yes - but could they not have found something for Cody to wear that wasn't made for a Ft. Lauderdale senior citizen? Sheesh.

Sean says it was the cutest Mambo he’s ever seen. He says for the first time Cody wasn’t outshined by Melanie with this. He says there were nervous moments with the lifts, but their recovery was good. Melissa thinks the piece was perfect for them. They needed to get into the floor more, but overall they did a great job. Tre thought the technique was lacking a bit for her, but the energy was great. Jean Marc says the taste of it was great. He critiques the technique a bit, but says overall they did really good.

Now we’ve got Tara Jean and Everett who’ve drawn the dreaded Quick Step with Pierre Allaire. According to Pierre, there’s no story, just pure dancing.

‘Chicago Overture’ by the Hot Rolls Ragtime Band is the song selection for this piece. That first lift-y thing wasn’t terribly smooth. It looks like overall they’ve got the steps down, but there’s something just kind of...meh...about his one. I’m not sure what it is. Maybe the performance is just a little too ‘put on’ for me. 'Meh' is right.

Sean says they’re the most consistent couple in the bunch. Sean’s praying that he gets the chance to work with Tara Jean and wants Everett to stop holding back that little bit. Melissa says they are consummate professionals. She wants them to come out of their shells a bit more. Tre praises the first lift/dive thing (really? really?) and says they just keep popping. Jean Marc says they could’ve been a little more connected but they really used the space well. He says they murdered it. Huh.

Back from the commercial and Leah tells us that Jean Marc and France are choreographing tomorrow’s group number. You all may remember that Jean Marc took my suggestion for a piece last year when he choreographed a group number. I haven’t made any recommendations this season, so we’ll just have to wait and see what he comes up with on his own.

Next up is Jayme Rae and Daniel. They’ve chosen Hip Hop with Luther this week. This is the first time we’ve seen him choreograph since semi finals in Toronto. It seems very grabby.

They’re dancing to ‘Pucker Up’ by Ciara. Jayme Rae is very Lady GaGa styled. Aaaand Daniel shirtless is not a bad thing. They’re both very sharp. The performance quality with these two is always fantastic. Daniel’s totally playing it up and I love it. Yikes, there are some fairly suggestive moments in this. Their parents must be soooo pleased! Great piece. These dancers have become my favourites to watch - Jayme Rae is killer and Daniel...well...I could watch him all day. ;)

Jean Marc is fanning Tre from the hotness. Sean’s dancing in his seat saying how much he loves this show. He says these two are his favourite dancers. He loves the way Jayme Rae dances. He’s raving about her! He calls Daniel ‘chocolate love’. Hee. He says he’s smooth and a work of art. Melissa says Jayme Rae was totally Miss Thang through the piece. She says Daniel has so much to offer and totally came to Jayme Rae’s level. Tre says to Daniel ‘PUT YO PANTS BACK ON and don’t you take them off when you come walkin’ over here again!’ I rewound that three times to listen to it. She’s weaving and grunting and it’s all a good thing from her. Jean Marc says ‘WOW’. He says Daniel is a smooth criminal and for both of them, the swagger is out the wazoo. He needs to say wazoo more often. It’s all good from Jean Marc.

Nearing the end and we’ve got Nicolas and Jenna Lynn. They’ve picked the Hustle, choreographed by Benji Schwimmer, the season 2 winner of SYTYCD US. It’s the end of the world and they’re gonna dance. This looks like it’s going to be a very tricky piece.

They’re dancing to ‘Canned Heat’ by Jamiroquai. Has there ever been a SYTYCD season anywhere that didn’t use this song at some point? Jamiroquai is a secret indulgence for me...great beats, great groove, great dance tunes. Kissing right off the bat! Always a vote getter. So far the tricks look good. There are moments where Nicolas is struggling to remember where his hands go. There’s a flippy thing near the end that looked a little screwy to me. Overall, clearly a tough routine that was pretty well danced. Nicolas needs a new partner - Jenna Lynn is dragging him down IMO.

Sean says Jenna Lynn is amazing, but her partnering skills could use some work. Sean is amazed by Nicolas’ ability to pick up the choreography. Melissa says Jenna Lynn is the most dynamic female dancer in the competition, but she needs to focus more. Like Sean, she praises Nicolas' ability to pick up the choreography and his partnering skills. Tre says they obviously felt each other and made it believable. Jean Marc says it was a difficult routine that they did fantastic with.

Finally we’ve got Natalie and Danny who’ve picked the Rhumba with Gustavo Vargas this week. There’s some definite challenges for these two with this style, so hopefully they can pull it together.

They’re dancing to ‘Historia De Un Amor’ by Perez Prado. Natalie seems to have found her sensuality somewhere along the way. I don’t know anything about technique, but these two seem to do pretty well with this. It’s smooth and fluid, but overall not really exciting. There’s just something kind of missing.

Sean anticipated a disaster with this piece, but is freaking out with how not a disaster it was. He critiques a few minor technical bits and says Danny needs to believe in himself more. Melissa feels the same way about Danny. She wants him to own it. She wants Natalie to open up more, but says she rose to the challenge. Tre says it was a great attempt, but says Natalie needs to extend more. She loved Danny, but she needed more for this one. Jean Marc talks a lot of technical that I don't really grab. He says it was a good effort, but the lack of technique was pretty noticeable. He says straight out that they’re at risk.

So that’s the end for this week. Honestly, I’m not even going to hazard a guess at the bottom three here. Mostly all the dances were pretty fantastic, so I can’t even begin to pick who’s in the bottom.

Carra will be back with the results recap tomorrow as well as the recap for the first round of auditions for SYTYCD US Season 6! Let the insanity begin!

Cheers!

So You Think You Can Dance - Season 6 - The Best 15 Routines EVER!

2009-09-02T21:56:00.012-07:00

Seriously. Did Season 5 not end about 20 minutes ago?

Tonight is a special edition where we will be looking at The Best 15 Routines Ever from the past 5 seasons - and we start off in an empty theatre... it's just you, me and Nigel. We have a very cosy night ahead of us.

This won't be a critique night at all. This is a night honouring some of the highlights of the past 5 years, and pretty much it's all been said before.

We begin with Season 1. Flashing back to the auditions, it's crazy to see the changes in the judges! The hair cuts, the clothes! Wow!

As I said below, my sad sad VCR is very busy these days, so I won't be able to go back and catch all the songs and dancers, but I will do my very best, and hopefully I should be able to post most of the numbers from youtube as I go along.

Our first recap number is a hip hop piece performed by Destiny and Jamile to Shake by Pitbull. Because it's from waaaay back in Season 1, I haven't seen this before and it's really good!

The second number is Nick (who went on to win the season) and Melody dancing to All That Jazz from Chicago. Fun!

The first season was such a success that they decided to expand their auditions for Season 2... and here are some of the highlights!

The first recap is Benji (Season 2 winner) and Heidi dancing to the Black Mambo by Angel and the Mambokats. Wow. This is just fantastic. Kind of makes the rest of them look like... amateurs!

Season 2 also brought us Ivan and Allison doing a contemporary number to Why by Annie Lennox. This was choreographed by Tyce Diorio and brought the show it's first ever Emmy.

Here's one I'm sure we've all seen before - Travis and Heidi with the Bench Routine. Choreographed by Mia Michaels and another Emmy for the show...

Tee hee. They've composed a little montage of Mary screaming. As annoying as it is, I have to admit, I always laugh. With her or at her... it's really all the same, isn't it?

We're moving into Season 3 now, and I'm taken back... back to a time when it was all new and exciting... my very first season. And oh look! It's Danny! And Neil! And Lacey! And... sigh... loved them all so very much.

Of course one of this seasons highlights is Jaimie and Hok doing the Hummingbird and Flower piece... which got them yet another Emmy... ummm... as much as I love this one... didn't we just see all the Emmy numbers in the last episode of Season 5? About 20 minutes ago?

And this one, this one was fantastic - a definite favourite from Season 3. The table dance with Neil and Sabra performed to Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics.

Oh, and I really did enjoy this one... it's Lacey and Danny dancing to Hip Hip Chin Chin.

I realize as I am watching this episode how much my play lists have been influenced by this show. There are so many songs I have added to my collection that I likely would not have been drawn to - at least 50 of them (I just counted...!).

It also occurs to me that I think I'd like to see a dance off between Danny and Emanuel...

Season 3 had a lot of good stuff! Here's Pasha and Lauren doing their Transformer number to Fuego by Pitbull. This one is excellent! And it brings another Emmy nomination, this time for Shane Sparks...

Into Season 4 we go, another season I was very invested in... Such strong dancers, Katie, Josh, Twitch, Chelsie, Mark, Courtenay - all of them so fantastic!

This is one of my favorite songs that I picked up that Season - The Garden by Mirah... with Mark and Courtenay doing a jazz piece choreographed by Sonia... loved. it. One year, I want one of the quirky people to win, just one time.

I remember this next one as being the first number of Season 4 that was truly fantastic. Mark and Chelsie dancing to Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis, one of the better ones choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon, and nominated for an Emmy as well. I watched this one so many times, I couldn't even count...

Now here's a contemporary one I had forgotten about. Josh and Katie dancing to Hometown Glory by Adele, choreographed by Mia Michaels. This is such a strong dance, it actually gives me goosebumps. Can't believe it had slipped out of my mind!

It honestly seems way to soon to be having recaps of Season 5. But since they're part of the show, I guess we'll take a look at them...

Brandon and Janette with a really fantastic disco...

Now this is one I could watch over and over... so amazing... Kayla and Kupono with Mia Michael's addiction number. Danced to Gravity by Sara Bareilles. Every time I see this one, I am so taken with the intricate movements and gestures...

Oh, I'm glad this one made it in, probably my favourite number of the season. Jason and Jeanine (Season 5 winner) dancing to If It Kills Me by Jason Mraz. Travis Wall is the choreographer, and it was just lovely. One of my new favourite songs as well...

Nigel tells us that after the break we will get to see his favourite number out of all the seasons gone by. I'm intrigued! There's so much to pick from, what's he going to choose?

Ah. Of course. The Breast Cancer dance with Melissa and Ade. Danced to This Woman's Work by Maxwell.

And that makes 15.

Season 6 is just around the corner, says Nigel, with auditions starting in LA on September 9th.

With the recaps behind us, I'm curious to see what talent turns up next week, so keep tuning in to Pop Goes the Word for regular updates and commentary!

Have a great night!

p.s. I think my VCR has exploded. Thanks Kim. :)

SYTYCDC - Top 18 Results!

2009-09-02T21:27:00.005-07:00

Hi everyone, and thanks for tuning in for our Top 18 Results night!

Another million votes have been cast and tonight we lose another 2 dancers... curious to see if the level of drama remains as high as it was last week!

We start off with a Group Dance, it's a Bollywood number choreographed by Longinus Fernandes, who choreographed for Slumdog Millionaire. The music is from a soundtrack, and that's about all I caught, sorry! I can't even rewind to grab the name... don't ask why that is, or I'll have to start on a tirade against Kim and her menacing ways...! All I can say is DAMN her!

Bollywood is always so much better when it's danced in large groups like this, isn't it? It kind of loses it's effect when they have just a couple perform it.

Leah goes on to tell us how much she hates Wednesday's (come on Leah, it's HUMP DAY, cheer up!) and then introduces us to the judges... Mary Murphy, Luther Brown, Tre Armstrong and a very serious looking Jean Marc Genereux (JM).

We get right to it and bring out our first 4 couples. After some quick reviews of last night, we learn that Natalie and Danny are safe, and so are Melanie M. and Cody. We are left with Amy and Vincent and Corynne and Anthony... I'm feeling pretty certain... yes, Corynne and Anthony have to dance for their lives.

After a commercial break, they march out the last 5 couples, and right off the top Jenna Lynn and Nicolas are told they need to dance for their lives, but Tara Jean and Everett are safe. (It finally struck me tonight who TJ reminds me of - Kate Hudson! Anyone else see it?) Kim and Emanuel have made the cut as well, and we are down to Melanie B. and Austin and Jayme Rae and Daniel... I'm thinking... yes, Melanie B. and Austin head back stage to get ready for their solos.

For the guys, the first up is Anthony dancing to King of the Dance Hall by Beenie Man. I do like him, I find him a really sharp dancer. But I have a bad feeling for him tonight...

Next up is Nicolas dancing to Superbad by James Brown. He's such a performer, isn't he! When B-Boys do their solos, they never fail to impress.

Lastly for the guys is Austin dancing to Overkill by Colin Hay. He gets such amazing height, and he comes off so incredibly determined!

The girls are next and the first one up is Corynne in a lovely white tutu dancing to The Moment I Said It by Imogen Heap. Nice performance, but nothing that blew me away.

Jenna Lynn takes the stage next, and I realize that she reminds me quite a bit of Sabra from Season 3. She's dancing to No Man by Nina Storey and she does a really good job - she's really a very tight dancer...

And lastly is Melanie B. and sorry, not sure what the song was. Or should I say, Kim wasn't sure what the song was, as she was the one who provided me with the songs and artists for the solos tonight... A good piece, but will it be enough to save her?

Leah is bracing herself for the devastating news and after a commercial break, we get straight to the cuts.

JM starts off sounding like he's going to cut Corynne, but no, she's safe. Jenna Lynn and Melanie B. are left on the stage, and JL has tears streaming down her face - man, our dancers are an emotional bunch this year! But no reason for her to cry, she's safe too, and Melanie B. is heading home. She says she has no emotions left, so she's not crying, and she starts giving what sounds like an inspirational speech, but it quickly turns kind of aggressive and she's basically telling the judges they've made a mistake. Huh. Another fine example of grace under pressure - 2 for 2 this season!

Tre gets to deliver the news to the guys and she says she will put the one going home quickly out of his misery... it's a curtain call for Anthony, and he looks so sad and resigned, like he's working really hard at holding back the tears. I feel badly for him, and I don't think it was quite time for him to go.

The girls on the side lines are a mess again, but at least there is no wailing this week.

So there you have it, and now I must go watch the first night of the 6th US Season. Holy hannah - two seasons at once - this is going to be killer!

SYTYCDC - Top 18 Performance!

2009-09-01T20:26:00.014-07:00

Surprise surprise! A little earlier than I originally expected, here is your Top 18 performance show recap!

Whew, Leah’s hair is much better this week. Cute dress too. Whatever she had happening last week definitely didn’t work.

After the dancer intros (where Emanuel does some creepy staring, which I’m sure he thinks was alluring) we meet our judges for the night; joining Jean Marc and Tre this week are Mary Murphy and Luther Brown. Oh, I hope Jean Marc has toned down the uppers this week or it’s going to be a particularly loud show. I think Tre looks amazing tonight, like a 50's movie star!

First up are Melanie M. and Cody. They’ve pulled Krump with Lil’ C! Yay! I definitely noticed that this style was missing from the last season of SYTYCD US. Looks like Melanie’s definitely got a handle on this which is....surprising.

They’re dancing to ‘Buck N’ Roll’ by Tha J-Squad. ‘Kay, I gotta say it. Melanie is kicking the shit out of this thing! Cody’s not doing bad either, but Christ on crutches, whoever woulda thought that little wisp of a girl would rock this style! Nice routine (it feels wrong to use the word ‘nice’ when talking about krump, but whatever) and really well danced by both. This one was good, better than I expected... and wow did Melanie ever kick it!

Mary thought they were terrific. She thinks Cody was good but not great, but she raves about Melanie. Luther says Melanie was bucc, and thought Cody was pretty good. Tre (who’s got killer hair tonight) says Melanie was a star and saw Cody’s swagger. Jean Marc thinks Cody needs to be more gangster and that Melanie is a super dancer.

Up next is Everett and Tara Jean and they’ve got Salsa with Tony and Melanie (helped out by Natalli and Francis from last season). Looks like it’s going to be full of lifts and plenty of steam.

They’re dancing to ‘Ana Pa’ Mi Tambor’ by La Excelencia. Well, they definitely didn’t lose any of the wardrobe budget on Tara Jean’s outfit. I’m not sure if Tara Jean is fully in touch with ‘sultry’ yet. They’re a little stiff...some of the lifts seem a little...calculated, like they’re afraid of them. There’s some stutters here and there too. It was okay, a concerted effort for sure. A for effort. I thought it had some awkward moments as well, and wasn't totally blown away by it...

Mary says it was ‘really somethin’ and calls Tara a hot tamale. Everett was there for her every step of the way. Oh we’ve got screaming and the bleeding train is back. Luther thinks Tara Jean really stepped up and Everett was good when he had his hands on her ‘situation’. Hee. You don’t see Luther get flustered often. Tre is aroused and I’ve got nothing to say about that. Jean Marc’s back with the ‘COME ON’s. Tara was hot and Everett was in control the whole way through. They’re on the VD list. You mean... V... I... D... don't you...?

Leah’s got some news! For tomorrow night’s group routine, we’ll have a Bollywood number choreographed by Longinus Fernandes (fantastic name!) who worked on Slumdog Millionaire. Sheesh! Canada’s getting the big guns this year!

Back to business, we’ve now got Emanuel and Kim. They’ve got Theatre with Sean Cheesman about a ‘ditzy’ girl with a bad boyfriend. Oh dear. Poor Kim is spending a lot of time in the area of Emanuel’s ass during rehearsals.

They’re dancing to ‘Maybe This Time’ by Connie Fisher. Alright, I’ll admit it. Emanuel is doing really good with this. Although I do think the part of the arrogant prick is somewhat familiar to him. Seriously though, he’s doing well. Until he nails Kim in the face. Hopefully there’s no blood spilt this week. Kim’s doing equally well. Lots of good here all around. Sigh. I kind of feel like I'm coming around with Emanuel... I mean, his dancing is fantastic, virtually without flaw... and... he actually seems to be holding back the attitude, which has really been the problem all along for me... I'm not convinced yet that it's genuine, so I am reserving full judgment a little while longer.

Mary thought it was really terrific. She praises Emanuel’s abilities and says Kim rocked it. Luther says this showed us why Emanuel is here and says that Kim is one of his favourites. She was quirky and fun. Tre says Kim is a powerhouse and loves Emanuel. Jean Marc says they’re both artists. He says they’re both amazing and beautiful.

Back from the break, dancing next is Vincent and Amy who’ve drawn Contemporary this week with Blake! Can’t wait to see what he’s doing. It’s a dark love story about an obsessive, controlling partner.

Song selection is ‘When You Say My Name’ by Mario Spinetti. Wait, are they going to make Amy dance the whole thing with duct tape on her mouth?? And I’m not sure I get Vincent’s makeup. Costuming aside, they’re both right into this piece. Oh good, they took the duct tape off. Really great choreography here and they both danced it really, really well. I really liked the costuming in this one, very dramatic. And I must say - this, in my opinion? The best thing Blake has ever done. Loved. It.

Mary thought it was remarkable and memorable and they danced it so well and made it believable. Luther was speechless and says they made every detail so big. He says it was a brilliant piece. Tre says it was wrong and strong - and I actually get what she’s getting at here. The wrongness of it all made it exactly right. Jean Marc is choked up. He says they embraced Blake and brought it to another level.

Now we’ve got Daniel and Jayme Rae. They’ve got Dance Hall this week with Jaeblaze. They’re going to have to get grimy and into it.

They’re dancing to ‘So Fine’ by Sean Paul. They’re completely together in this. Jayme Rae’s definitely got ‘hot’ down pat. Daniel may be a little lacking in the ‘grimy’ department, but they’re both hitting it. Really well done. I was alright with this one... I must say Dance Hall just doesn't quite... I don't know! I guess I don't really know what I'm looking for!

Mary’s not familiar with the style, but she loved it. Luther says they committed to it and and thought it was fresh. Daniel’s creeping his way to the top and Jayme Rae’s a beast. Tre’s doing an awful lot of grunting tonight. Methinks someone needs to get laid post haste. She says they passed with flying colours on this one. We get another ‘COME ON’ from Jean Marc. He gives them VD for last week (he forgot) and this week too! A double dose of VD! Yay!

Corynne and Anthony are on deck now with a Paso Doble by Tony and Melanie. From the rehearsal piece Anthony’s definitely got this in the bag. Hopefully Corynne can step up too.

They’re dancing to ‘Fuego’ by Bond. Carra’s going to love that skirt. I TOTALLY loved the skirt!! In fact, it was the very first thing I wrote down... "LOVE skirt!!!!" They’re doing well, the lifts are good and they’re together and OH! They totally bailed! And not even on a lift! It looked like maybe Anthony tripped on her skirt during that dragging thing. They get right back up and keep going and finish on time (at least it appeared so to me). I played that one back, and it looked like he just got caught in the momentum and went over... They were moving so fast, and I think he just lost his balance. Damn. Until then, I thought they were doing really well.

Mary insinuates that it was in fact costume issues that caused the trip up. She credits them for being able to pick it right back up which is apparently difficult to do with the Paso Doble. She says aside from the fall, they were hot. Luther reiterates what Mary had to say and says they did a good job. Tre critiques Corynne’s running but says overall she was good. Anthony was strong and pulled it together. Jean Marc doesn’t make mention of the fall and praises them on a lot of technicalities.

Next up is Nicolas and Jenna Lynn doing Hip Hop with Sho Tyme. Jenna Lynn is having some issues but Nicolas thinks she’s up to it.

‘Blast Off’ by G. Dep, Loon, Mark Curry & P. Diddy& The Bad Boy Family is the song selection for this piece. Nicolas’ definitely in his comfort zone here. Jenna Lynn’s hitting it hard too although she seems to lose a little oomph about half way through. Overall really well done. I thought the music worked really well for this one, and yeah, Nicolas looks so natural here, it's great!

Mary says Nicolas did a great job and says ‘way to hang in there’ to Jenna Lynn. Luther gives much credit to Nicolas for getting all the bits and pieces in between the tricks. He says Jenna Lynn needs to get into it more and focus more. Tre says Nicolas was amazing and he was in it. She says he outdanced Jenna Lynn. Jean Marc gives a COME ON for Sho Tyme and the choreography. He loved Jenna Lynn and was convinced. He says Nicolas is very very special.

Second to last is Danny and Natalie. They’ve drawn Jazz with Melissa Williams. Danny looks like he’s getting his ass kicked in rehearsals.

They’re dancing to ‘Please Don’t Leave Me’ by P!nk. Natalie is clearly having a lot of fun with this. She’s right into it. Danny’s great too, right there with all the catches and grabs...and it does get grabby. They’re just attacking it. Great routine. Well done. Having trouble choosing a favorite tonight, there really have been a couple of fantastic ones, and this is sure one of them. I thought it was freaking fantastic, I was riveted the whole way through.

Mary says they had lots of passion and they were so committed. She says she expected more from Danny but his passion covered it. She was surprised by Natalie. Luther praises Natalie for putting everything into it. He says Danny’s dope but needs to take it further. Tre says it was special. She says Natalie was beautiful and Danny was very strong. Jean Marc says Natalie embodied it and says Danny is an amazing dancer.

Finally we’ve got Austin and Melanie B. who are a new couple this week. They’ve picked the Smooth Waltz with Danny Quilliam this week. There’s lots of spinning in this one and if Melanie doesn’t control the ticklishness, they’re going to have trouble with the lifts.

They’re dancing to ‘Nights In White Satin (Notte di Luce) by Il Divo. Melanie’s dress is lovely. The piece is very dramatic. Perhaps not quite as smooth as it could be. They’ve both got the performance factor down, though I foresee some nitpicks about technique. The beginning was cool with the dress and the fans and the music, very impactive.

Mary says the setting was beautiful, but the dancing wasn’t as strong as it should be. Melanie was bunched up in parts but was shocked by Austin. Luther says it showed that Austin put his heart in it, but he expected more from Melanie. Tre says the entertainment value was high and praises Austin for his ability to pick up the genre but wanted more from Melanie. Jean Marc says they had a ‘big overture, but a little show’ and he’s not happy about it. Melanie needed to bring more and Austin did pretty good. So definitely not a rave there.

That’s a wrap for tonight. There was definitely more energy from the dancers this week. They all definitely seemed more comfortable with the arena this week.

As to bottom three, I’d say Austin and Melanie B. are a pretty safe bet. Everett and Tara Jean maybe and maybe Corynne and Anthony because of the fall. All the rest were really excellent. If my bottom three guess is right, I’d say Melanie B. should be seriously worried, tough to say for the guys. I think you are probably gonna get this one right...

We’ll just have to wait and see. Carra’s back with the results show recap and a recap of the So You Think You Can Dance US special tomorrow night. As of next week, we’ll be juggling two separate SYTYCD’s...you’ll probably see some more guest blogging from Carly once that starts so we don’t go completely insane with scheduling!

Until tomorrow folks! Cheers! x2!

Programming Note

2009-09-01T09:18:00.003-07:00

Morning readers!

Just wanted to let you all know that the recap for tonight's SYTYCDC Top 18 performance show probably won't be up until tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon. I'm booked up tonight and it's my turn to cover recapping.

But not to worry. I'll make sure the performance show recap is up promptly tomorrow afternoon and then Carra will be looking after the results show and the one hour SYTYCD special as well. I'm sure Carly will have lots of comments on that one as it'll probably have a lot of dances she's never seen!

So, while we'll be lacking tonight, there'll be lots to read tomorrow!

Cheers!

SYTYCDC - Top 20 Results!

2009-08-26T18:03:00.008-07:00

First eliminations of the season!

We start our very quick results show with a Michael Jackson inspired group number to ‘I Want You Back/ABC’ by The Jackson 5, choreographed by Gil Duldulao. It’s a pretty good number, great costumes. My only gripe about the group numbers this early in the season is that it’s hard to pick out who’s who because there are so many of them. All in all a cool number. I’m sure Carra will like it. Loved it! Loved the costumes, loved the dancing, loved it!

After the judges intro, we get right down to business with our first five couples. Natalie and Danny are safe. Corynne and Anthony are safe. Jayme Rae and Daniel are safe. Tara Jean and Everett are safe. Melanie B. and Taylor are in the bottom three.

Next five couples are up (have I told you how great it is that we just whip through the results shows on the Canadian version!). I can't agree with you enough on this - 30 minutes is perfect for results night! Amy and Vincent are in the bottom three. Jenna Lynn and Nicolas and Melanie M. and Cody are all safe. Kim and Emanuel are safe and Austin and Tatiana are bottom three. I really thought it was going to be Kim and Emanuel... I think he did too...

Girls are up first for solos:

Melanie B is up first dancing to ‘Land of 1000 Dances’ by Wilson Pickett. She’s got tons of energy and is squeezing a lot into 30 seconds. Nice job.

Next up is Amy dancing to ‘Possession’ by Sarah McLachlan. She’s got great extensions and really nice lines. Well done.

Finally we’ve got Tatiana dancing to ‘Starstruck’ by Lady Gaga. Those tights aren’t doing anything for her. She’s not using as much of the stage as the other two girls did. It’s pretty good, but nothing to write home about. Yeah, the tights were not the best decision, didn't work at all for me...

Now we’ve got the guys’ solos:

First up is Taylor dancing to ‘Swans’ by Unkle Bob. He’s very tall. Expansive is the right word I think. I like his solo.

Next we’ve got Vincent and I’m sorry, I have no clue what this song is. If you know let us know in the comments. It’s a nifty kind of number, but not terribly exciting.

Last we’ve got Austin dancing to an instrumental piece that I have no hope of identifying though it does sound familiar. Again, if you know, let us know in the comments. He’s got lots of tricks and really high jumps. Nicely done. (Edited to add: It has been drawn to my attention that perhaps Austin was 'inspired' by Brandon's ovation receiving solo in the last season of SYTYCD US. There are some rather....heavy handed similarities; the shirtlessness, the classical/instrumental music. What do you think? Do we have another Natalli/Heidi controversy here?) As I watched this I totally thought of Brandon - the powerhouse music, the tricks and flips and of course the shirtlessness... I don't think it was as direct of a rip-off as the Natalli/Heidi copycat-gate, but nooooot too far off...

Back from the commercial and we’re straight into the results. Girls are up first. Jean Marc says they’re all amazing and the judges decision isn’t unanimous. Tatiana is going home. The rest of the girls are really blubbering over this. Like sort of excessively so. Tatiana looks pissed. The judges are all weepy too. Oh yeah - she's MAD... understandable to be upset, but grace under pressure is always a nice motto to keep in mind...

Okay. Wow. The reaction from the sideline was like they were slaughtering puppies on stage! The wailing and gnashing of teeth was unbelievable! This season is going to be a complete Train Wreck if the reaction is like that every time someone gets cut - which, for any new viewers? It's every week, so they might want to get used to it and medicate beforehand. I wish I had taped this episode so that I could go back and watch the drama just one more time...! In all the seasons, I've never seen a response quite like this - and it's only week one! Wow.

Moving on, we’ve got the guys. Tre - who is still trying to hold it together - says they’re all amazing but Taylor’s going home. Taylor deals with it much better than pretty much everyone else.

Wow..Tatiana is really pissed. She’s fuming. The camera pans to her after Leah’s end of show spiel and you can almost see smoke coming out of her ears. I get the feeling she's going to go out and get really drunk tonight, and maybe break something...

So there we have it. Week one down. Next week, we’ll be back for the Top 18 Performance show on Tuesday, results on Wednesday and also on Wednesday, the special one hour ‘Best Of So You Think You Can Dance’ US show. Get ready for a busy dance season folks!

Cheers! x2!

SYTYCDC - Top 20 Performance!

2009-08-25T19:55:00.013-07:00

Here we are, readers! Ready to get going on another season of So You Think You Can Dance Canada?

After a couple of weeks of auditions and eliminations, we’ve arrived at our Top 20 who are no doubt raring to go with this week’s performance show.

A couple of notes for any new readers before we get going with this week’s recap:

As a rule, I don’t generally bother to comment much on the filler footage (i.e. the ‘What we didn’t know about x dancer’ or ‘What would x dancer be doing if they weren’t dancing’). I’m here for the dancing.
If you or someone you know will be attending a taping of the performance shows, let us know! Feed us spoilers! Or tell us where you’ll be posting about it and we’ll link to you!

Alrighty, on to the main event. Leah’s got something all wrong up with her hair tonight. I think it’s the centre part. Totally not working.

After the dancer intros (Thank god, Emanuel’s gotten rid of that atrocious hair-do and facial hair he had during auditions (I agree ~ Woot!) we meet our judges for the night. Joining Jean Marc and Tre are Luther and Blake. I’m kind of over the whole ‘judges dance across the stage’ thing. Really, just stop. I actually kind of like that, makes them a more interactive and involved...

After watching the judges each do their little intro spiel, I’m convinced that Jean Marc is a fan of the Botox. Seriously. Watch him when he’s doing all that yelling. His forehead moves less than Nicole Kidman’s. And he really does a lot of random yelling tonight, doesn't he...

Okay, first up is Everett and Tara Jean. They’ve drawn Jive tonight with Melissa Williams. It’s apparently going to be a ‘stank’ jive and involves lots of sweating. I think it's funny that TJ says she sweats like a man.

They’re dancing to ‘Lust for Life’ by Iggy Pop. Trust Melissa to start out the season with a killer (and different!) song choice! I've never cared much for this song... They’re a little stiff right off the bat but seem to loosen up as they get into it. The flow isn’t fantastic here. They’ve got all the moves down, but I think they need to get more comfortable with each other. Which is odd, cuz they seemed they would have a good connection from what we saw in rehearsals.

Luther thought it was good and that it flowed. Blake enjoyed it but was looking for more energy. Tre thought the energy was perfect and loved it. Jean Marc says the energy was amazing and thinks Everett is going to be a threat. Tara Jean needs to work on her retractions more, but she was great too.

After the break, Blake lets us know that choreographer Gil Duldulao is in the audience (he choreographs for Janet Jackson) and - surprise, surprise! - he’s choreographed a Michael Jackson tribute for the results show tomorrow night! I’m quite looking forward to that. Me too!

Back to the business at hand, next up is Vincent and Amy. I think this could be a strong pairing. They’re doing Samba with Tony Meredith and Melanie Lapatin. The lifts look challenging in this one.

‘Batucadas’ by Mitoka Samba is the soundtrack for this piece. I sure hope Amy wasn’t shy before this because that outfit is really puttin’ it all out there. Oops, that lift did not go as planned, but they carry on really well. Looks like her shoe slipped on his pants. Aside from that they seem to have a really good hold on this number. They meet up at all the right points and stay together even when they’re apart. Nice job.

Luther gives Amy credit for carrying on after the flub. Vincent was great and a strong partner. Blake thinks it wasn’t the best performance they’ll do but the performance quality was great. Tre praises them for continuing well after the lift issue. Jean Marc lists off all the things that they did ‘amazingly well’. He also says Amy has ‘Tabasco Toes’, which frankly makes me concerned about hygiene.

Oh look! Some of last year’s dancers are in the audience. We learn some of what they’re doing and (yay!) we get a video montage of Nico’s hijinks (I’d like to hijink Nico). And, wait! He’s here! Fantastic new buzz cut and all. Leah and Nico talk ab......

Sorry guys. Didn’t hear anything they were saying. He’s just. So. Pretty. Uh huh. (as I wipe the drool off the corner of my mouth).... :)

On deck now is Melanie M. and Cody and they’ve pulled a Contemporary piece with Stacey Tookey and Nico. Cute coupling and good pick for a first dance.

They’re dancing to ‘Taking Chances’ by Celine Dion. I admit - this song resides on my iPod. It doesn’t get played often, but has its place in the right playlist. And if you tell anyone, I will hunt you down. It sounds the least like Celine of all her songs, if that helps justify it's place on your iPod... Cody seems a bit nervous but he’s throwing himself right into it. Melanie’s definitely the more confident of the two but they both do really well. Very cute routine and they have great chemistry together.

Luther’s wowed by the cuteness and praises the chemistry. Blake stands up for them and says they were endearing. Tre saw heat on stage and calls Cody ‘Teen Dream’. I, personally, will only refer to Cody as 'Teen Dream' for the rest of the season. She says Melanie was beautiful and she couldn’t tell Cody wasn’t a Contemporary dancer. Jean Marc says Melanie was magnificent and Cody was a smooth operator. (pronounced ope-erator!) As he raves, it sounds like he’s getting choked up a bit. Ugh and he’s brought back the VD list. I didn't get choked up - but I certainly enjoyed this performance. It was the only performance tonight that really made me smile :)

Up next is Kim and Emanuel. They’ve got Hip Hop with Sho-Tyme. Sho-Tyme doesn’t necessarily seem all that impressed with Emanuel. I'm not necessarily impressed with this pairing, cuz I really like Kim and want to see her at least Top 10.

They’re dancing to ‘Here Comes the Hammer’ by MC Hammer. Way to go old school! Kim’s definitely more butch than Emanuel is and she’s hitting harder too. He’s holding his own, but Hip Hop is definitely not his thing. Alright, but not fantastic. The costuming choice didn't help here, what was up with that?

Luther thinks they both went for it, but he’s not raving. Blake says it started strong, but really fell off. He focuses on Emanuel a bit and it looks like Emanuel’s trying really hard not to fume. Tre saw the performance from Kim and praises their team work. Jean Marc loved it and says it was entertaining.

Now we’ve got Corynne and Anthony. They’ve got the Viennese Waltz with Pierre Allaire. It’s a graduation theme with a lot of spinning and turning.

They’re dancing to ‘The Time of My Life’ by David Cook. They’re really smooth and the form looks pretty solid. Really good flow and they make the lifts look easy. I thought this one had a little bit of stiffness to it, and could have been better through the extensions.

I can't find this post on youtube... sorry!

Luther says it was a very romantic performance. Blake thought it was ‘nice’ but wanted to see more. Tre enjoyed it a lot and thought it looked effortless. Jean Marc says it was a ‘real’ performance and says they didn’t pretend. He says the sky’s the limit for them.

Now we’ve got Natalie and Danny who’ve chosen another Hip Hop with Sho-Tyme. Lucky break for Natallie and apparently for Danny too with all the ass grabbing!

Song choice is ‘Get Buck In Here’ by DJ Felli Fel featuring Akon, Ludacris, Lil’ Jon & Diddy. Seriously, who comes up with these names? Natallie actually seems a little stiff, at least in the beginning. Danny’s got a good grasp of the persona and he’s doing really well. They stay together through the whole thing and move really well. Much better than the last one. I like this kind of HipHop music and that made this routine even better for me - really great.

Luther’s already ‘Yes’ing before Leah even throws to him, so we know he thinks it was good. He says Natallie threw down and Danny brought it. Blake calls Natalie a beast (in a good way) and doesn’t say anything about Danny. Tre compliments Danny’s smooth swagger and gives a ‘way to dance’ to Natalie. Jean Marc says he loved it.

Now we’ve Jayme Rae and Daniel. They’re doing Afro Jazz with Sean Cheesman. It’s about a man who goes to see a Voo Doo priestess. Ohh...I’m intrigued.

They’re dancing to ‘The Path’ by Ralph MacDonald. Great job with Jayme Rae’s costuming. These two are really great dancers. They’re exuding strength through the whole thing and one isn’t outshining the other. Potentially my favourite of the night. Very cool music - not that keen on her skirt though... Otherwise, it was all fantastic!

Luther says it was the best piece of the night. Blake was hypnotized and also says it was his favourite. Tre says they did an awesome job and there’s nothing to critique. Jean Marc says it was fantastic and they are his favourite couple of the night.

Next up is Jenna Lynn and Nicolas. They’ve got Disco with Melissa Williams. It’s going to be fast and ferocious and crazy.

They’re dancing to ‘Waking Up in Vegas’ by Katy Perry. This doesn’t seem as fast as some of the other discos we’ve seen on the show before. Oooh sparklies! Okay, Nicolas’ giant grin the whole way through cracks me right up. They did pretty good, but not a memorable performance. I thought this one was fun, very entertaining to watch... and yes, the sparklies were a nice touch!

Luther says it was obvious it wasn’t Nicolas’ genre and praises Jenna Lynn’s spunk. Blake says it was one of his favourites (really?) and they did a good job. Tre says they gave groove and presence and entertainment. Jean Marc calls them a disco queen and Travolta. Jeez, then he starts singing. Jean Marc’s definitely been into the uppers tonight. I wonder how many more times we’re going to hear ‘COME ON!’ out of him tonight. "Come on! Give it away!"

Up next is Tatiana and Austin and they’ve drawn Capoeira with Paul Becker. Paul needs to get out of the dance studio and get some sun. He’s scary pale, and I know pale. lol! I don’t know that we’ve ever seen this genre with a boy/girl pairing. Usually this genre comes out Final Four when the top two guys dance together. Interesting.

They’re dancing to ‘Segura O Coco’ by Axe Capoeira. The look on Tatiana’s face right at the beginning make her look like she’s going to eat him alive. This is a tough number for week one, but they do really well. It looks like she misses a couple of things here and there, but it’s hard to tell, so if she did she covered pretty well. That roll thingy at the end was pretty cool. Wow. This looked hard! There were a couple of rough spots for sure, but overall, I thought they both did really well!

Luther expected this to be just okay and, I think it surpassed his expectations. Blake wants to do the roll thing every night. I always knew he had a bit of kink. He really enjoyed it. Tre critiques some of the technicalities but says they did a great job. Jean Marc’s yelling some more and makes some comment about women wanting to be on top. I think he liked it. What the hell is JM on tonight!!! Holy crap, he's gonna bust something, like a blood vessel in his head!

Now we’ve got Melanie B. and Taylor. They’ve picked the Tango with Tony and Melanie. It’s a blend of Argentine and American style tango.

They’re dancing to ‘Diferente’ by the Gotan Project. I’m liking this piece. It’s a little artsier than usual. Both of them have legs that seem to go on forever. Really sharp and what seems like a solid connection between the two. And at the end Melanie strips off Taylor’s jacket which.....is not a bad thing at all. Well done. I felt that Taylor held a bit too stoic of a stance for this one, and it kind of interfered with the connection between them... but I thought it was a good performance overall.

Uh oh. Taylor’s bleeding, apparently from the teeth. Holding back the urge to say something really awful about his teeth. He's a cutie but his smile is very distracting when in interviews etc. Somewhere in the beginning he got hit in the face. I’ll have to rewind and recheck. I watched for it, but I never saw it actually happen!

Luther thought it was a cool performance and thought they worked well together. Blake says they did an okay job but he wants them to raise the bar. Tre enjoyed the entertainment value of it. Jean Marc thought they did an amazing job and they stepped up to the challenge.

Are we through ten already?? Huh. Well there you go. That’s it for tonight. I’d say the judges went easy on them a bit tonight, but it’s just week one, so I’m willing to let that slide.

As to Bottom Three, I’d say the only ones that don’t have anything to worry about are Melanie M. & Cody, Jayme Rae & Daniel and Natallie & Danny. The rest were alright, but lacked the wow.

All in all, a good start to the season. We’ll have to see how it all plays out tomorrow night. I’ll be back for the recap tomorrow and fair warning for those that don’t want to be spoiled; I’ll be watching the time-shifted showing on the Newfoundland channel, so the recap could be up as early as 5:00pm PDT, so if you don’t want to know before you see the show, save your visit until after you watch.

Until then! Cheers! x 2!

SYTYCDC - The Top 20 Finalists!

2009-08-23T20:58:00.005-07:00

Hello everyone, and welcome to Pop Goes the Word!

We're here tonight to find out who our Top 20 Finalists are, and of course, there are some key people I quickly grew attached to during the auditions, and am feeling hopeful to see them in the show for the season... guess we'll find out soon!

Tonight, everyone must do their solos with no feedback or comments from the judges, who, by the way, are Jean Marc (JM), Tre Armstrong, Luther Brown and Blake McGrath.
First up is Amy Gardner dancing pretty much in lingerie and knee highs, and the judges (by which I mean JM and even Blake!) are quite enjoying the performance! I liked her. I hadn't noticed her before, but she was good here. (Song: 'Glory Box' by Portishead)

Vincent Desjardins takes the stage next and JM is all smiles and wow's as he watches.

Juliet Irons is all nerves back stage, but comes out and does a great job...

A few shirtless guys follow, and Tre is just lovin' her job tonight!

Danielle Gardner and Taylor James do their solos, followed by Kim Gingras who does a very steamy number... I like her and really hope she makes it... I gotta say it; Her eyes weird me out a bit.

I'm noticing that Blake seems a lot more upbeat tonight - I think I've even seen a smile once or twice!

Melanie Mah does her solo next, and then hip hopper Nicolas Begin, who ends his number by giving Tre a rose... nice move! Kiss ass! (Kidding!)

Austin Du Iulio is the last to perform his solo (as usual, they flew through everyone so quickly, I missed a lot of people) and his gymnastics are awesome.

So the finalists have left their hearts and souls on the dance floor, and now for the moment of truth...

First to learn her fate is Tara Jean Popowich. She's concerned about her contemporary session with Blake, she knows she kind of flubbed it... but after a nice fake out from JM, she's in - the first of our finalists!

Jonathon Arsenault, who says dancing is his life, takes the stage next. Luther says he has no criticism for him, but there just wasn't enough connection with the camera for them, but he came so close, please come back next year. He's so disappointed, but holds his head high, saying this is just a blip... Sigh. I wanted him in this year. Me too.

Natalie Heath is going in to learn her fate next, and she is feeling positive, saying she thinks it's her time and she feels good about what she has done there. But no, she doesn't make it.

Corynne Baron is all smiles as she takes the stage. JM tells her she is a wonderful dancer with legs that go on forever. But is that going to be enough to be a finalist? Yes it is. Finalist number 2!

Sebastian Mersch goes in next, and is quickly told no, but Blake asks him to please come back next year.

Tre tells Nicholas Begin that he is one of the best B-Boys she has ever seen, and comments on the rose he gave her during his solo... She says it wasn't enough to get him into the Top 20.

But fortunately his dancing was, and he's in! Nice fake out, Tre, I actually bought it for a second!

Danny Long (not sure if that is his last name) takes the stage next - and I don't remember him at all from the auditions, I don't think we specifically saw him? Anyway, Luther wonders if Danny is ready for the show or not, Danny assures him he is, and good thing, 'cause he's in!

Taylor James says he is so nervous, he feels sick. Blake says he came back this year tougher and stronger and he, too, is in our Top 20.

Rodrigo someone (didn't catch the last name) is up next and Luther tells him he is a strong, masculine dancer, but his technique wasn't strong enough to make the cut this year.

Moses Linco (sp?) suffers the same fate, as does Kloe Schultz... DAMN. I really wanted her to make it in this year.

Vincent Desjardins takes the stage next, and JM tells him he would be the best partner for any of those girls... it's a really difficult decision, says JM.... and.... he's in!

Ahhh, my favorite, Gessuri Gaitan. They tell him that he is truly one of a kind and that his movement is beautiful. But.. he didn't do as well in the choreography as they would have liked so it's a no for him this year. My heart breaks. I wonder if Mia is sad too. I'm not entirely surprised here. I had a feeling he'd have some trouble with the other styles. I have no doubt he'll be working with Mia in the future though.

Jayme Rae Dalley goes in to learn her fate, and Tre says that it must have been really hard for her to have her sister cut, and she wonders if Jayme may want to leave the competition as well. No, says Jayme, shaking her head... and good thing, 'cause she's in the Top 20!

Danielle Gardner (I love the colour of her hair!) is up next, and the judges say they had a really hard time, she was the hardest decision for them, but they just don't think she pops enough, so it's a no for her.

Gevard (sp?) Blackwood comes forward next, and Luther tells him he's a good hip hopper with a great personality, and please come back next year because he was so close.

Oh, here comes Cody Bonnell - I'm feeling hopeful for him. Tre tells him to pick up his phone and call his mom, 'cause he's made the Top 20! Yay! He won me over when he offered to dance for his life during the finals... I like him, but I don't see him lasting long in the Top 20.

Jenna Lynn Higgins is on the stage and she has to pee, apparently... Blake notes that it's not a good combination... He tells her she is a strong dancer with a vibrant personality, but sometimes she falls under the radar. He wasn't even sure how much she wanted to make the Top 20 until he saw her solo, and then he knew... and she's in!

And so is Melanie Mah! I'm happy with that, I quite like her...

A quick series of those who get cut - Yonni Fernier, Charlene Hart, Nicole Bowser, Owen Selkirk and Breanne someone... Breanne was the one who used the Dan Mangan song in her original audition. I liked her dancing.

Tapper Everett Smith is up next and he says he is shaking in his boots. JM tries for another fake out before telling him he's in... wow! Not often you get a tapper in the Top 20!

Jeff Mortenson takes the stage next and they tell him he has amazing tricks, that he is extremely unique with amazing extensions... but no. Take some more classes and come back next year. I'm disappointed by this decision, I think he's fabulous.

Amelia Randall also gets cut.

Natallie Lyons comes to learn her fate and Luther tells her he's never seen a white girl krump like her... and she joins the Top 20!

Amy Gardner is up next and Blake tells her she is a beautiful dancer with haunting vulnerability (cool choice of words) and that she's not Top 20 material - more like Top 4! She's in...

And so is Anthony Grafton.

Camille Norton, who came to her audition with Danny from last year, is next to learn her fate, and I am very hopeful for her, I think she's been fantastic... What? No? Seriously? I don't understand! She was great... Another disappointment.

Another series of no's - Jason Noel, Nina Strazzulla, Michael Chang and Juliet Irons are all told they have not made the cut...

Tatiana Parker takes the stage and Luther tells her he thinks she's sick... in a good way, of course, because she's made it in. I'm glad for that, I've liked her all along.

Daniel Dorey (sp?) is up next and they say he is a good dancer, but he sucked at choreographing... but regardless, he's made it through. It doesn't sink in at first, so they tell him again, and now he gets it! He's Top 20!

Oooh, Kim Gingras, girlfriend of Vincent from last year, takes the stage... she's a fabulous dancer and Tre doesn't even try to fake her out - she's in! Yay! She says Vincent is going to be so proud of her...

The last two girls take the stage, Melanie Buttarazzi and Yana someone (sorry, another name I didn't catch) and they say the judges have spoken in depth about these two... And after much debate, they ask Yana to practise some other styles and come back next year, because Melanie has made it to the Top 20.

And now for the last two guys. Emanuel Sandhu and Austin Du Iulio. They start by telling Emanuel that when he auditioned last year, he did fabulous tricks, but he needed to work on his actual dancing (and his attitude, as far as I'm concerned). Then they tell Austin that while he may not have had the tricks, he was good in all of the genres.

They tell Austin that he's made it in, and for a second we see Emanuel's freshly grown humble attitude slip away... but just in time, the judges tell him they need one more guy, and it's him. No shit, just in time. That hissy fit was boiling up in there and about to let go.

Huh.

So there we have it...

So congratulations to our Top 20 Finalists...

TARA JEAN POPWICH!! EVERETT SMITH!! JENNA LYNN HIGGENS!! AUSTIN DU IULIO!! JAYME RAE DALLEY!! DANIEL SOMEONE!! KIM GRINGAS!! DANNY SOMEONE!! TATIANA PARKER!! TAYLOR JAMES!! MELANIE BUTTARAZZI!! CODY BONNELL!! NATALIE LYONS!! ANTHONY GRAFTON!! AMY GARDNER!! EMANUEL SANDHU!! MELANIE MAH!! VINCENT DESJARDINS!! CORYNNE BARON!! NICOLAS BEGIN!!

Tune in on Tuesday at 8pm (PST) to watch the first performance show and then join us afterwards for another edition of Pop Goes the Word!

Good night!

Gessuri Gaitan Audition

2009-08-22T12:30:00.003-07:00

Finally, it's been posted. Possibly my favourite audition of all time... fantastic!

GOT IT!!

2009-08-20T17:52:00.004-07:00

Okay, I know there are many of you out there looking to find out what the hell that song was that Gessuri Gaitan from Calgary used in his audition on Tuesday night.

I am proud to say....I found it! A bit of a Google fluke, but the song is:

'God's Away on Business' by Tom Waits!

So there you go, searchers. Happy listening!

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - The Toronto Finals!

2009-08-19T20:32:00.007-07:00

Here we are at the finals and we've got about 200 dancers congregating in Toronto for a couple of days of what looks like torture. We get a quick preview of what's to come... and it looks like... lots and lots... of tears. It looks fierce.

But wait! LOOK! It's NICO! Sigh. He does a little pep talk, telling them to remember that they love dancing, to take a deep breath, and have fun!

Our judges tonight are Jean Marc (JM), Tre Armstrong, Luther Brown and Blake McGrath. After some advice from all of them - "leave no regrets!", "dance your asses off!" - we get started with the first challenge.

A 90 minute hip hop session with Luther Brown. And then into small groups for judging.

Pretty much from this point on, I am overwhelmed by names. I'll do my best to keep up, but my apologies early for any missed names and spelling mistakes!

Tara Jean Popowich from Alberta makes it to the next round, but our cheerleading friend Troy Miller does not.

Corryne Baron has to dance for her life (DFL), and she continues on. Emanuel Sandhu makes it through as well. Vanessa Polly, the girl dancing in memory of her mother, does not make it.

Blake says no a lot. But then yes to Melanie Mah from Ontario. And another yes to Tatiana Parker. I like her, I think I said that when she first auditioned...

Kloe Schultz from North Bay moves on, so does Natallie Lyons from Halifax. Vincent Desjardins and Sean Fraser move into the next round as well.

Twins Jayme Rae and Jenny Dalley make it through, and so does Sebastian Mersch from Ontario.

Jeff Mortenson is asked to DFL and he makes it into the next round.

Tiger still has a good attitude, even after being asked to DFL. Alvin Caliente DFL's as well, and it's a go. Same for Victor Tran and Jonathon Mendoza.

Best line from Blake so far? Wowzy woodles! Not sure who he was referring to, but it was worth mentioning.

B-Boy Paul Kus makes it to the next round and so do James Jones, Nick Robinson and Josh Martin.

Jeremiah Hughes, who auditioned last year, and this year for the American version, continues on for now and oh! Gessuri Gaitan! Love. Him. Moves on to next round.

Nina Strazzulla makes it through, and so does Tarzan Boy Alexander Topanova. And that, I think, is the end of Day 1. Wonder how many I missed... sheesh, they are moving fast and not making it easy for bloggers!

Day 2 starts with Challenge 2 - a jazz routine choreographed by Tre. I don't know if I've ever seen her dance before, she's good, and man has she got some pipes on her!

The judging starts and Anthony Grafton and Tara Jean Popowich make it through, as does Emanuel Sandhu... but... interesting... his partner Aeriel Swan is cut. She may not have come off well by saying that she couldn't connect with her partner, it sounded like she was sluffing the blame, but... ummmm.... if he makes it through, I have a feeling we are going to hear a lot more along those lines. I think this guy could be poison, I really do.

Vincent's girlfriend Kim Gringas makes it through to the next round, as does Moses.

It's a no for Shana Nolan and Jeramiah Hughes pretty much gets told not to come back anymore.

Sunshine Melissa Charlot gets cut and so does Sophie Richards.

Corynne Baron, Amy Gardner, Vincent Desjardins and Jonathon Arsenault (yay!) all make it into the next round.

Jenna Lynn Higgens, twins Jayme and Jenny, Sante Fortunato, Paul Kus and Melanie Mah - a yes to all of them for the next round.

I kind of feel like I'm just rattling off names at this point, but if you don't mind, neither do I, so let's just keep whipping through them!

Cody Bonnell makes it and Tiger has to DFL again. Austin Du Iulio makes it, and so does Tatiana Parker, even though she falls down.

Thankfully Gessuri Gaitan is still in.

A series of those who DFL make it through, like Victoria Marshman, Justin David and Vicky Luo, the little sweetheart who did the Mongolian dancing. Brook Jones, Rachel Wainright and Everett Smith are successful as well, but bad news for Alexander Topanova and our friend Tiger is gone as well. Oh, and 3 more, Catherine Turcotte, Camille Norton (yay!) and Sebastian Mersh are on to the next round as well.

Phew!

Everyone following along?

Good!

Let's move on to the next challenge, where things are bound to get even tougher. It's samba time with Jean Marc and his wife (I'm sorry, I never catch her name) - and I have to give it to them... wow! Can they ever dance! When they were doing their demo I was riveted. They are truly fantastic.

However, JM is a tough, crusty cookie and he's getting testy early in the game. Testy turns into a big blow up pretty quickly and the dancers are left looking subdued.

We get into the judging, and after just a few couples (Mitchell Jackson, Victoria Marshman and Alvin Calentes are all sent home and Natallie Lyons is asked to DFL) they halt the procedures and all take turns giving them the gears. A solid few minutes of yelling, and then back to the dancing.

It must have helped because the following folks make it through to the next round: Vincent Desjardins, Melanie Mah, Camille Norton, Nicholas Begin, Amy Gardner, Charlene Hart, Jayme Rae and Cody Bonnell. (Hey, I'm starting to remember the last names without looking back at my notes!)

I think Mongolian dancer Vicky Luo gets sent home, but they don't say specifically. Damn. I liked her.

Rachel Wainwright and Sean Fraser both get the boot, and Sean... well, Sean doesn't take it very well. He and JM get into a yelling match (with Rachel standing to the side looking mortified) and he ends up getting escorted out by security. Sean, not JM, just to be clear. But he doesn't seem to want to go, in fact he seems more intent on wanting to make a complete asshole of himself. He does a very good job. Poor Rachel says she needs a vacation.

We end this part of the challenge with another successful group - Victor Tran, Amanda Someone, Moses Someone, Nina Strazzulla, Sante Fortunto (frankly, I am a bit surprised by this) and Natallie Lyons are moving on to the next round.

And guess what the next round is! Everyones favorite, group choreography. I honestly think this is the first real test, it always seems to show the weakest link. I'm sure we won't be disappointed.

We see a fair amount of conflict within the groups as usual, but nothing that really stands out.

First thing in the morning each group takes to the stage to show the judges what they came up with, and all I can do is try to pick out key people in each group to differentiate them.

The first group has Austin Du Iulio and Blake is hiding in his seat saying it was the scariest thing he has ever seen, and not at all in a good way. I have to say that as much as I liked Austin in the auditions, he is coming off a bit of a whiner, and so the punishment is that he has to DFL.

The second group all make it through, and I don't even get a chance to see who was all there.

They really aren't focusing on any specific groups now, just flying through, but I catch that Melanie Buttanazzi and Natallie Lyons have to DFL as well.

Cody Bonnell's group is up next and they say Corynne Baron was a disaster and both Blake and Luther think Cody messed up. Tre defends him and says no way does he have to DFL. Blake says something about her needing glasses and they go a couple of rounds as to whether Cody should go on or not. Cody steps in and volunteers to DFL if that will help Blake and Luther come to an easier decision. Brave kid, I gotta say. So he does, and he makes it through. He's got me on his side after that, for sure!

Oh, there's going to be a bit of conflict here - Jonathon Arsenault's group is up next and this is the group with Shelaina Anderson - during the rehearsal, apparently all she wanted to do was go to bed, and this didn't sit well with the rest of the group.

After their 'performance', Tre calls it a hot mess and said it looked like they needed more rehearsal time. Someone asks what time they called it quits, and when they say 4:15am, the judges are shaking their heads. Luther picks up on the eye-rolling in the group, and Shelaina gets thrown under the bus in about 1 second flat. Catherine Turcotte and a couple of others are asked to DFL, and then Tre says she doesn't think Shelaina should have to, because she should just be sent home. Guess she'll be able to get lots of sleep now. (Why do I have the feeling if she's reading this that she just gave me the finger...)

A few more DFL and make it through to the next round - Owen Selkirk, Corynne Baron, Nicole Bowser and Jenna Lynn Higgins (she was really good, I have to say) are moving on.

Moving on to what, you ask? Well, something pretty comparable to hell, I'm thinking. Contemporary. With Blake. 90 minutes of choreography with Blake. They look scared to death. Leah asks Blake to be nice to them. Nice try Leah, I'm thinking...

Once they get into the judging, they really, and I mean really!, start to fly through the results... all I have now are pages of names, so I'm just going to list them off...

Those who make it through: Jonathon Arsenault (yay!), Juliet Someone, Anthony Grafton, Jason Ego Noel, Nicole Bowser, Austin Du Iulio, Melanie Buttanazzi...

The Dalley twins are up next, and uh oh. Only one of them is going to make it... They pick Jayme Rae to stay and send Jenny home. They are both devasted, and out in the lobby we see them both crying, but Jenny is still able to spit out a "I'm so proud of you" to her sister.

Kim Gringas (yay!) Nina Strazzulla, Cody Bonnell, Charlene Hart and Melanie Mah are making it through to the last cut.

Sante Fortunato, Paul Kus and Victor Tran are sent home.

Amy Garder, Natalie Heath, Jeff Mortenson (yay!), Kloe Schultz (yay!), Breanne Someone, Sebastian Mersch, Corynne Baron and Vincent Desjardins all live to see another day, but Catherine Turcotte is cut.

Emanuel Sandhu is up next, and Blake gives him a 'no'... interesting! However, he gets a yes from the other 3, so I guess we'll find out his fate tomorrow. I have a feeling, a bad one albeit, that we are not going to see the backside of him for a while yet.

Now I hope you were all paying attention, because there is going to be a test on who made it, and who didn't.

Ha, yeah right! I'm half delerious myself from all the name dropping and am kind of thankful this night is over.

Tune in Sunday night at 9pm (PST) to see the final results and to meet our Top 20 dancers!

See you then - and again, apologies if I butchered your name, or missed you completely...

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Montreal and Edmonton Auditions!

2009-08-18T19:58:00.010-07:00

It's night 3 of the auditions and we are heading to Montreal and Edmonton for our final 2 stops to check out the local talent, and then tomorrow night back to Toronto for the finals.

Montreal auditions have proven successful in the past... In fact 50% of last years Top 10 guys were from Quebec, including, of course, Canada's Favourite Dancer Nico Archambault.

On our panel tonight are Jean Marc (JM), Tre Armstrong, Mia Michaels and L'il C. Vincent from last year is here as well to give the pep talk and tells them all they need to kill it.

We start off with returning B-Boy Nicolas Begin from Quebec City... He 'practise so hard and he 'opes to do his best...' and wow! He's fantastic, lots of cool tricks and dancing to a great version of Fever.

The judges love him and just put him straight through. Tre actually is petting his face... kind of funny!

Next up are a couple of Latin dancers from Trois-Riviere, Catherine Turcotte and Vincent Desjardins. Nice strong performance from the both of them.

JM says wow, amazing, great feet and lots of flair. Tre said the performance allowed her to enjoy ballroom and that it was fun to watch. Mia says that Latin dance is the 'most sexiest' genre of dance, they were hot, she's a fan. L'il C seconds everything and off they go to the finals.

Sonia Sutherland of the very fancy nails is up next. She's pretty much a club dancer.

Very quickly into her number L'il C calls for the music to be cut and says they only need to see about 20 seconds of her to know what she's got, and it won't be enough for the show. JM says no, thank-you.

Oh look! It's Vincent's girlfriend Kim Gringas. She auditioned with Vincent last year, but only he made it through.

She's a great dancer, lots of style, very cute!

L'il C says it was a good blend of styles, a hearty, ryhthmical full course meal (?). JM says it was a solid performance, not like a bad buffet... huh? What's with all the food analogies?

Tre says her confidence is sexy and she's super talented. Mia tells her she's got it all and gives her a ticket to Toronto.

Hip hopper Cody (Babyface) Bonnell from Unionville is returning from last year and he's determined to make it this time.

As he's dancing Tre is commenting that he needs to look up more often, and C is singing along with the music...

JM welcomes him back and says that he loves him. Tre says he's a beautiful and adorable dancer and that the number was amazing, but they needed to connect with him a bit more. Mia says that she feels like he's in his own world, and it's kind of cool, makes him mysterious. L'il C says he was fluid, chill and relaxed. Off to Toronto goes Cody.

Contortionist Sante Fortunato from Vancouver is up next and she says she has difficulty choosing between dancing and circus, but right now she's focusing on the dancing.

Hmmmm... I'm not entirely sure of that.

Tre says there was lots of lip licking and sashaying but not so much dancing. For some reason, she likes her anyway, she's obviously very flexible with lots of personality. Mia says she can only imagine what she would do on a pole and that she's not a fan of stripper dancing. It was entertaining to a point, but sexiness shouldn't be force fed.

L'il C says she definitely sold her flexibility and sex appeal and she obviously knows what works for her. JM feels her energy was misguided and that she used her circus training too much, it was over the top, and maybe not the impression she wanted to give. They send her to BBC to see if she can do anything else. She makes it through to Toronto, but not without some debate.

Twins Jayme Rae and Jenny Dalley are up next, contemporary dancers from Montreal. They perform beautifully and their choreography rocks.

Mia asks right off the top who did their choreography and she is duly impressed when they say they did it themselves, it was fabulous. She thinks Jayme Rae might be a bit stronger, but together they are gorgeous. L'il C says it was beautiful.

JM gets all choked up. For quite a long time. I'm not quite sure what is going on, everyone seems to be crying. Oh. His son is a twin (I think that's what he said?) and he will never get the opportunity to experience something like that with his sister. I think. His son was a twin (in utero) but the twin was what is called a vanishing twin - and so was never born. Nonetheless, it's a very emotional moment. Tre thanks them for the performance, and blesses them. And sends them to the finals. Gotta admit - choked me up a bit. Oh, Jean Marc.

Jason Noel and his ego are here to perform for us next, and wow, is this guy full of himself. He says he has a flame inside that's like ecstasy. Huh. Okay, gotta say it. How much you wanna bet this guy's never got laid? It's just like he's trying too hard to prove he's a sex machine. Blech.

His shirt comes off right away, and I'll give him that he's a very intense dancer.

Tre says he has gorgeous choreography and movements. Mia says he dances best with his clothes off... and has nice lines. L'il C says he enjoyed... no he 'understood' the message, and he was sending a female message in a male body, if you follow... He said it was beautiful, but it needed to be a bit more dominant. JM says something about something and then calls him amazing. Yet they put him into BBC to see what else he can do. In the end they send him, and his ego, to Toronto.

Hip hopper Melissa Charlot performs next and I really like her, she's kind of funky.

L'il C says he enjoys watching hip hop when there is a quality bounce to it. JM says she has flair and personality. Tre says she is bright like sunshine. Mia hopes she can do other things, because she is so what this show is about. They put her into BBC and ultimately through to the finals.

This should be good. Camille Norton auditioned last year with Danny, who made it into the Top 20, and now she wants her chance. And her partner is... Danny! Fun!

What a great number - anyone know what this song is? Seriously, I need to know. I trust Kim will come through for me on this one...('Feelin Love' by Paula Cole, you're welcome.) This is such a sultry, hot piece, I love it.

JM says it was amazing, her legs and feet were fantastic, her mobility and use of space fabulous. Tre says she is very easy on the eyes... Mia is wow'd by the chemistry and asks if they have a history, if they are a couple. Camille says they used to be and shoots a look that seems to me like she wouldn't mind having a second shot at that... L'il C says she has a great look, that the cameras would love her, as would all of Canada. I agree, she was fantastic. She gets a ticket to Toronto. I'm hoping for Top 20 for her.

A series of people go through to the finals, but they whip through them so fast I don't catch all their names... except for Justin Jackson, tapper Jean someone and Mindy someone who says she took classes from Mia in North Bay a few years back and it changed her world, so in awe that Mia would come to such a small community to teach dancing. You can tell Mia is touched.

Day 2 in Montreal starts off with ballroom couple Yevgeniya Taftay and Yvan Piwovarov. They do a jive that is really sharp and good fun to watch.

JM says it kills him to see beautiful dancing like this. Tre says they are multi-talented, that it was beautiful, wonderful... Mia says there are awesome, fantastic dancers and she loved the fusion between them. L'il C says they did a great job and he enjoyed the pace of it. They both get sent through to the finals.

Hoop dancer Rebecca Halls from Comox, BC, is up next, and I'm not sure about this one. She's really good with a hula hoop, that I'll give her, but there isn't much in the way of dancing. Yeah, not really much dancing here.

JM says she is very talented at what she does, but he agrees with me, there wasn't much dancing. Tre says it was a psychedelic dance trip, and I'm not quite sure what she means by that. Mia says it doesn't have the weight behind it that it needed. L'il C says that she kept the hoops spinning, but other than that it was one dimensional. They send her to BBC anyway, but in the end she gets sent home.

B-Boy Kurtis Preston from Calgary is next and he is really good. That scarf around his head isn't helping him any. It looks like he's suffering from a head injury.

C says he was in da house, that it was a really good solo, but the tops weren't as nasty as they could have been. But overall a really solid piece and very unique. JM says he is his own personality and very good. Tre says being a B-Boy is where he belongs but needs to work on his musicality. Mia says he is really unique and special, and is her favourite B-Boy that she has ever seen out of all the shows. They put him through to the finals.

This... person... is really... interesting. Bisma Raza. She's going to win the competition, you know. That's what she tells us. I can't get away from how much she looks like... a man.

When you start off doing the moonwalk and lip synching, you just know it isn't going to go well. Are we just ignoring the no pants thing?

JM says she would make a better actress than a dancer. Tre says no, just... no. Mia says she can't get past the pantyhose on the outside, that she just doesn't get it, sorry. L'il C says she did the moonwalk one too many times. At least. They send her home. She says "$#@! you judges." Bye bye Bisma.

We go through a quick series of those who do not make it through before we get to this wonder.

I'm going to see if I can find this audition on Youtube and post it if I can, because it was freaking fantastic, best so far of all the auditions. I won't be able to say enough about this one...

Gessuri Gaitan from Calgary performs for us, practically leaves his soul on the stage. He's a contemporary dancer with so much style and quirk I can hardly stand it. Love the shot of Mia with her mouth gaping open! And again, what is this song? Kim? Please? If I could get more of the lyrics I could probably find it, but it's a little hard to understand. I'll keep working.

Mia is just entranced as she watches and C is almost out of his seat. I want to watch it again and again.

JM says they could do a whole show just on him. Tre says the whole world just comes through him when he dances. Mia says he was phenomenal, she is totally wow'd, and she could have watched him for a long time. L'il C says he is soooo bucc, he almost tackled him, it was the best solo he has seen so far, one of the elite, pure, sincere, honest.

They're not done yet. Mia says the marriage of their talents would be disgusting and she proposes to him. He apologizes that he doesn't have a ring. She gives him a ticket to Toronto instead. Oh please please let him be Top 20. He really was incredible. I'd like to spend a day following him around (not in a stalker way) just because you have to figure he does everything a little differently.

Phew. I'm done for a minute.

....

....

....

Alright, onto a series of those who make it to Toronto, and the only name I catch is Tiger from last year. Remember how aggressive he was when he didn't make it last time? He seems to have taken some anger management courses since, so it will be interesting to see how far he goes.

And now for Blake's Boot Camp (BBC) - uh oh.... hoop girl shows up 30 minutes late and Blake is pissed, understandably. She went to meditate and fell asleep. Yeah. She gets the boot.

And we are done with Montreal.

Now for Edmonton. This is the first time they've held auditions there and on the panel we have JM, Tre, Luther Brown and Stacey Tookey. And Miles is here! I love Miles, it's so great to see him. His advice is don't hold back, give it everything you have.

First guy up is Jeff Mortenson. He started his dance career with Ukrainian dancing, but today he'll be doing a contemporary number. What a great dancer. He has some fabulous flips, and I'm thinking a ticket is pretty much guaranteed. He was really really good. For those interested, the song is 'All We Are' by Matt Nathanson.

The judges fake taking a break, and walk away... oh yeah, sorry, we forgot to give you your ticket. Funny bunch.

Nathan Young is next and he says his size brings a lot of focus to his personality. He's a pretty good performer, but possibly not cut out for this show.

JM says he was definitely a lot of fun to watch. Tre says for a bigger guy he is really light on his feet. Luther said it was clear he was having fun, but maybe not for this show. Stacey says there wasn't enough for her but she found him very inspirational.

JM says he would like to send him to BBC, but the other 3 over rule him, and Nathan goes home.

Contemporary dancer Shelaina Anderson performs next and she is a lovely dancer with lots of expression. And I like her name.

Luther says wow, that was great! Stacey calls her a breath of fresh air, that watching her made her want to dance, and that she has beautiful technique. JM says the vocabulary she uses with her body is so loud. Tre says she had goose bumps right down to her pinky toes. Into the finals with her.

Anther contemporary dancer, Joel Ronnie from Ponoka, Alberta dances next. He has some really neat moves, like the kick that goes right into a summersault... really cool. ('Always Midnight' by Pat Monahan)

Luther says he did a good job, but would like to see him make it a bit more masculine, that he needs to hold it down for the boys. Stacey says he has nice things happening, but it needed just a bit more finish. JM says he landed like a cat in some of his jumps. They send him to BBC, but I think I would have put him right through. He makes it through to the finals anyway, so that's okay.

Back from last year is B-Boy James Jones and I like him, his performance made me smile all the way through.

Tre says he was fun, humorous and entertaining. Luther says pretty much the same thing, and comments on his character and personality, but also says that he has to make the steps count as much as his personality.

Stacey says it was great and that she loved all the tricks, it was very entertaining. JM says he showed us some new stuff from last year, and that he was happy to see him again, that he was amazing. They give him a ticket to Toronto, like they did last year.

Anthony Grafton from Calgary takes the stage next with a partner and they give a really sharp performance.

Luther commends the partner and says he was hoping for a bit more of a connection between the two of them. Stacey says she found she was watching the partner more than she was Anthony, but it was still good. JM says he is a strong male dancer and a really good partner. Tre asks why the partner isn't auditioning and it's because she is only 17, so next year... He goes through to the finals.

Native hoop dancer Eric Pipstem is up next and wow. He is totally mesmerizing, I couldn't take my eyes off him!Very cool.

Tre says she has never seen anything like that before. Luther asks what all the symbolism was, and we learn that the symbols of the hoops represent a person's life. Stacey says he was impressive and JM thanks him, says it was beautiful and they send him to BBC. Sadly, he doesn't make it to Toronto, but he says he will be back next year.

Corynne Baron is our last audition of the night. She's also a ringette goalie - talk about diverse interests!

She does a contemporary number that really is fantastic, beautiful lines and expressions.

The judges each hold up a piece of paper - COME GET YOUR TICKET

Ahhh, she's a little cutie, all embarrassed that she (and her dad) are crying. I like her.

Another series of those who get their tickets, and as usual I don't get any names, but the African Krumper guy looked cool!

A quick look at Blake's Boot Camp and we're done for the night, but not without seeing a preview of the finals tomorrow night with JM freaking out on them on the stage - should be good!

See you all in Toronto...!

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Schedule Info

2009-08-18T11:27:00.005-07:00

Morning all -

Just wanted to post a quick update on scheduling for So You Think You Can Dance Canada.

Auditions continue tonight at 8pm with the Edmonton and Montreal Auditions.

Toronto Finals are tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 8pm.

Finally, our Top 20 is revealed in a special one hour episode on Sunday, August 23rd at 9pm.

The first performance show is one week from today, Tuesday, August 25th at 8pm with results on Wednesday.

Side note, if anyone out there is attending the taping (which I believe happens Sunday) and would like to send spoilers along, please do! (popgoestheword at gmail dot com) Or send us a link to where you'll be posting them and we'll link to you!

Carra's going to be looking after recapping the rest of the auditions, Toronto Finals and the Top 20 reveal, while I'll be back for the Top 20 performance show next Tuesday.

Also, for any new readers to Pop Goes the Word, you may want to check out our 'About Us' post for a little background info on what we're all about. It's been almost a year since we started this here blog and we're glad to have you all along with us for the ride.

Cheers!~

SYTYCD Choreographer Arrested on Rape Charges

2009-08-18T11:19:00.004-07:00

TMZ is reporting that former So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Alex DaSilva has officially been arrested on charges of rape and assault.

Specifically, the eight charges are broken down into four counts of forcible rape, two counts of assault with intent to commit rape and two counts of penetration with a foreign object.

Ew.

DaSilva was picked up back in April on similar allegations, however, the District Attorney declined to press charges citing further investigation was necessary.

I'm all for innocent until proven guilty, however, considering the no charges in April, I would guess that the 'further investigation' found some pretty considerable evidence to result in an arrest and these specific charges.

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Vancouver and St. John Auditions!

2009-08-12T19:54:00.005-07:00

Well, we're into night two of auditions and have moved west to Vancouver. I always look forward to seeing what kind of dancers we're going to get here, and the nerd that I am, I'm always watching to see if I recognize anyone... Of course, I never do... :)

After lots of familiar landscape, Stanley Park, Coal Harbour, the downtown core, we head straight into the Centre of Performing Arts.

The same judges are on the panel here, Jean Marc (JM), Tre Armstrong, Luther Brown and Mary Murphy, and joining them is Isaac from last year, telling the dancers they just need to hit it hard and leave it on the dance floor.

We start with B-boy Kenny "Muggy Mug" Mugisha from Surrey. He tried out last year, but didn't make it through, so he's here to try again. He's been training hard for the past year and is determined to impress JM.

His performance has lots of tricks and seems to be pretty good.

Luther starts off by saying that while there were lots of sloppy, unfinished moves, it was a great performance, very entertaining, he just needs to tighten it up. Mary loved the floor work and the tricks and thought that millions of people would love his face.

Tre called the flip he did from his head awesome and JM puts him right into the finals.

Next up is contemporary dancer Amelia Randal from Red Deer, Alberta, and I thought this was quite good, a very precise performance.

JM makes a comment on the fact that she's always had the same dance teacher, and that might not be a good thing because you don't get exposed to new challenges. Tre agrees with him, but thought she was good, but lacking in an urban feel.

Luther says he didn't feel the magic right at the beginning but was enjoying it by the end. Mary said she was fabulous, with beautiful lines and that the camera would adore her. They put her through to Blake's Boot Camp (BBC). By the end of the night, she makes it into the finals.

Ahh, I remember this one from last year - Stephanie Sy from Richmond, the girl who broke her foot in two places during the auditions. She's all healed up and back to try again. When they showed the replay of her ankle twist/foot breaking I physically cringed. So bad!

A contemporary piece that is really, really good, and I'm thinking they will put her straight through.

Mary calls her remarkable and JM says she is a great example to follow. Tre says she kept it short and sweet and that it was an amazing performance. Luther says she was great, and indeed they put her into the finals.

Oh lord. Spandy Andy Rimer. Really? He puts the "ment" into entertainment. Or something. Oh, and he has a hole in his tights. Right in his crotch. So this should be good.

All you can hear is Luther crying "no, no, no, make it stop". I hear ya, brother. Oh sweet Jesus, now the shoes have come off and he's got them on his hands. But the hole in the crotch really is stealing the show.

Mary says he was showing us his kibbles and bits (hee), and that he was entertaining, but probably not for the right reasons. JM says they need to be a bit more selective and they send him on his way.

Danielle Gardner is up next, a contemporary dancer from Surrey. She does a lovely dance and has really cool hair. Kim will like it.

JM says she looks like the girl next door, and I kind of wonder what that has to do with dance critique, but whatever. Tre says she's special, a real star and Luther calls her a breath of fresh air. Mary loved her and puts her straight through.

We take a commercial break and after a quick plug for the 2010 Olympics we move on to Victor Tan from Surrey. He's a B-boy that tried out last year... wow, lots of them coming back this year, aren't there!

Luther says he was fun to watch with good energy and character. Mary found him absolutely charming, yes she did, and loved his humour and confidence. JM says he was fantastic, very smooth, and Tre calls him a smart dancer, one of a kind. And onto the finals he goes. But not before making some weird analogy about 5 grilled cheese sandwiches.

Charlene Hart from Abbotsford is up next, and she's been training in New York and taking some ballroom classes as well to increase her odds. Little did she know all she had to was...

Oh dear - her top just came down. Ack!

The judges show mercy, cut the music and just put her into BBC. Good call. She's mortified.

Tyler Jacobs from Vancouver auditioned last year, and at that time we learned he was a champion native dancer, but he auditioned hip-hop. They told him he should have stuck with his skill set, so that's what he is doing this year, full on. He's returned in full native garb, a very impressive costume that he made himself.

Mary loves the costume and says that he is a joy to watch. He responds by telling her how hard he's worked in the past year, learning new things, and getting into shape. In fact, he's lost 25 lbs. Wow, good job! JM says that he sending the right message and that this show is supposed to be inspirational, pushing people to work harder. He says the dance was very powerful.

Tyler goes on to say that he can't afford to take lots of other dance classes, so he puts his energy into the native dancing, and JM is moved by this, enough to put him into BBC. Unfortunately, he doesn't make it into the finals, and almost walks out on Blake, but stays in the end and says he enjoyed the experience.

Natalie Heath from Surrey was here last year as well, and she made it into the finals, but not the Top 20, and wow, is she ever a great performer!

Luther says she entered the stage as if she owned it and Mary is wow'd, telling her she has unbelievable feet. JM remembers her from last year and felt that this year she tried to add more sex appeal, which didn't necessarily work because it didn't feel genuine. Tre says she has a purity like Allie did and they put her into the finals.

Up next is hip hop dancer Josh Martin from Winnipeg, Manitoba and he says he's a natural dancer at heart. His performance was good, I liked it.

Luther says he has lots of good energy and Josh starts talking but I don't really catch it, mainly cuz he was kind of talking over Luther. That's never a good thing. We've watched contestants talk themselves right out of contention on this show. Mary comments that he likes to talk a lot, and coming from her, that really is something... She says he was enjoyable to watch, but... it wasn't quite enough. JM says he really showed us what he can do. Tre feels it would be a shame to lose him at this point, so they put him into BBC. But that's not good enough for Josh, he's really unimpressed with that decision, figures he should have been put straight through, and maybe right into the Top 20, if he had his way about it. However, in the end he does make it into the finals. I don't know how I feel about this, I'm a bit put off by his attitude.

Another one from last year, contemporary dancer Taylor James from Vancouver and he does a really good job, wow, he was good.

JM says he has everything they need, and that his is the perfect example of smooth and passionate. Tre says he looked great and danced wonderfully. Luther says he has lots of potential and Mary says it was great, very unique and it kept her attention. Straight through to the finals.

Bonnie Rose Buchart is up next from Victoria and whoa! Did we just see... I think she just flashed us her hoo hoo... Oh yeah, for sure she did, cuz JM just wet himself... Wow. Way to leave an impression.

The judges are having a really hard time keeping it together and she looks a little bewildered as to why that is. I guess she'll catch it on the reruns when she gets home, because that's where she's going.

We go through a quick series of dancers who make it through without us really seeing their auditions. I didn't catch any of the names.

B-Boy James Suh from Surrey does his number next, and he's really quirky and fun, but his hat keeps trying to jump off his head.

Tre references her love for Miles from last year because he really brought the B-Boys to the front. She thinks he's funky. So does Luther. Mary says it was a lot of fun and very entertaining and JM says he is just what we need. They put him straight into the finals, but I kind of think he should have gone to BBC.

Rachel Wainwright from Vancouver is back again this year, and this year she's brought a friend, a girl named Ariel (I'm sorry, I didn't catch her last name). They are both really sexy dancers and JM is thrilled. After a lot of ooooh'ing and ahhh'ing they just put them into BBC. And they both make into the finals as well.

Oh for God's sakes - Spandy Andy is back, and he's teaching Blake about double beating it. I.... I'm just going to leave that one alone. I have to. Not with a ten foot pole would I touch that. Although it was nice to finally see a friggin' smile on Blake's face!

We're into our first session of BBC, and Blake looks pretty much as cranky as he did last night. And wow, talk about conflicting messages - first he's screaming that they are rushing it, and in the next breath telling them they look lazy. Sheesh.

From west to east we go, over to St. John's, New Brunswick, and we're mixing up the judges here. Of course, we still have Tre and JM, but joining them are Melissa Williams and Sean Cheesman. As well, we get a guest appearance from Allie, telling the dancers how this show has changed her life. Nice to see her again, she was one of my favorites.

We start with hip hop dancer Kyle Gartshore from Fredericton and his music is really cool, a rappy version of Oh Canada. I'm liking it.

JM says he has the concept of what this competition is about and that he kept every one's attention. Tre said he was very cool and Melissa says he was intriguing. Sean says he appreciates that Kyle came prepared, and for that he feels respected. He goes right into the finals.

Another hip hopper, Desiree Sampson from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Her performance is alright, but isn't quite enough for me. This just looked like club dancing to me. Nothing particularly special about it.

Tre says she has great isolations but it kind of lost it's fervor by the end. Melissa said it fizzled out, but her look is great. Sean thought she was great and very unique (really?) and JM offers to teach her French. Why, I'm not sure... They put her over to BBC, where she ultimately gives up and doesn't make it to the finals.

Another familiar face from last year, cheerleader Troy Miller from St. John. He still has his moves from last year down as he dances to Womanizer by Britney Spears.

Tre says that she can tell he's tightened up some of his moves, but he still comes across as a cheerleader. Melissa doesn't think he's right for this show and I have to say I agree.

Sean wants to go party with Troy and doesn't know why he shouldn't be on the show, why they were so intent on cookie cutters... JM kind of cuts him some slack by blaming the song. And then they put him through to BBC. Really. And can you believe it - or, as Troy says, "Shut the Front Door", when they put him into the finals. Wow. Interesting.

Next up is Tara-Jean Popowich from Lethbridge, Alberta. She's a contemporary dancer who gives us lots of expression and emotion in her piece, and she's really good.

Tre says she danced gloriously and Melissa was sad when it was over. She had great control and took risks and it was fabulous. Sean calls her an artist and says he was blown away. Maybe because she's from Alberta - he does seem to have soft spot for those Albertans... JM gives some analogy about dancers and artists and then gives her a ticket to Toronto.

Contemporary dancer Gabriel Doucet takes the stage next and he's not bad at all.

Sean says he has nice technique and loves that he was trying so hard that he lost his balance, Kind of a lemons to lemonade theory in my opinion, but nonetheless, they put him into BBC. I didn't catch if he made it into the finals. Anyone?

Vanessa Polly is up next and in her montage we learn that her mother recently passed away from cancer. I've been watching long enough to know that when we get a montage, we usually get a finalist....

She gives a good performance, but I didn't think it was fantastic.

JM says the same and that he thought she was being a bit too careful. Tre says she has great potential and a great body, she just needs to develop more. Melissa says that she found it a bit boring in parts and that she needs to use her loss to develop more passion. Sean loved it, but also thought she could expand. They put her into BBC, where she comes out with a ticket to Toronto. I anticipate a Top 20 finalist here. She strikes me as having the potential to really grow from week to week. I'm crossing my fingers for her.

Breanne Wasylenko from Calgary (uh oh, watch out Sean) Alberta is up next and she is quite good. She gets beaucoup bonus points from me for using Dan Mangan's 'Journal of a Narcoleptic' for her music. I've sung Dan's praises on this blog before and I will take any opportunity to continue to do so. If you don't know him, look him up. Uber talented guy. I also really enjoyed Breanne's dancing.

Enough to get everyone weepy, in fact. Melissa says she was blown away. Once Sean makes the Calgary connection he gets all like he does and at that point I stop listening, because seriously? I'm from Calgary too. And the sheer fact of it does not make me, or millions of others, outstanding dancers.

JM says he felt like a photographer when he watched her, taking snapshots with his mind and Tre said it was breath taking and that it gave her goosebumps. No surprise she's going to to Toronto.

A quick look at what goes on in Blake's Boot Camp and we're at the end of the show.

Next Tuesday we will be going to Montreal (I always look forward to these ones) and to Edmonton - hey, did they audition in Edmonton last year, I don't remember... Perhaps it was Calgary last year?

See you then!

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Season Two! Toronto Auditions...

2009-08-11T21:50:00.019-07:00

I don't know, maybe it's the patriotic side in me coming out, but for whatever reason, I just love So You Think You Can Dance Canada, and am thrilled that the second season has started.

We see a quick recap of last season, and happily, there is lots and lots of Nico. As I watch all of last year's dancers in quick glimpses I am struck with how much more connected I felt with all of them in comparison to the US season just gone by. Agreed.

This year, they are giving away $100,000, plus TWO cars, one going to the season's runner up... that's a new twist, I think I like it!

Our auditions are starting in Toronto, and on the panel we have Jean Marc (JM), Tre Armstrong, Luther Brown and Mary Murphy, and we get a quick cameo of Natalie from last year, there to give the dancers a pep talk.

After a quick review of the rules and regulations and learning that Blake will be conducting the choreography sessions - Blake's Boot Camp (BBC) - we move on to the first audition.

Interesting. Emanuel Sandhu from Vancouver. Figure skating champion. I remember him well from last year. How fantastic he was, and how much he thought so too. It was his prima donna attitude that got him cut last year, so I'm interested to see what, if anything, has changed.

He is such an intense, beautiful dancer, really he is... Really? All I got from him was....Bruno. He just comes off as a total poser with the hair and the eyeliner and the put on humble attitude.

JM calls him a beast, that he came back with flair and serves as the best example for years to come. Tre says his tricks were 'off the roof'. Emanuel interjects that he took all their comments to heart last year and came back determined to meet and surpass all of their expectations. I think he came off somewhat humble, as least as much as you could hope for...

Luther calls him a true artist, with true confidence and tells him he did a great job. Mary says she saw him last year and had been praying he'd take note of what was said and come back fighting. She says she's talked about him to reporters many times since and she can see the growth from last year, and then gives her trademark scream.

JM goes on to give some fine wine analogy and then puts him straight through to the finals. It will be interesting to see if that humble attitude lasts once he's put in groups with other dancers in the finals.

Natallie Lyons from Halifax is up next, she's a Krumper... and she's alright. I wasn't completely blown away but the judges seem to really like her and put her into BBC where she ultimately goes on to the finals.

Yana Gorjanova, a Latin dancer who brings a partner, is performing next. Tre asks the partner why he isn't auditioning and he says he has missed the cut-off age. Tre is disappointed because she thought he was brilliant. However, Yana was brilliant too and had star factor. Luther said she was very strong and passionate.

Mary tells her she is very dynamic and has a natural stage presence, all fire and spice. I'm waiting for the hot tamale train, but we are spared. JM tells her he's in love and puts her through to the finals.

Up next is Melanie Mah from Richmond Hill and I quite liked her performance, very quirky.

JM says she was a real surprise, like a bomb that's about to explode. Yeah, I guess that would be a surprise to find, wouldn't it... Tre loved her, called her quirky and freaky. Luther says she did a great job and Mary calls her a powerhouse. They put her through to BBC and then into the finals.

B-boy Paul Kus takes the stage next and I thought he was really good.

Mary says it was a very exciting performance and JM comments how he demanded attention and space. Tre says he rocked it and Luther really felt the music with him. Straight through he goes.

Oh, I remember this girl - Tatiana Parker. She's back again after spending the past year in classes.

Mary said she came off very confident and put out a really good vibe. JM says she is full of personality and precision. Tre remembers that last year she kind of fell apart when she didn't make it through and asks if she feels she is up for the potential criticism this year. Luther tells her she has flavour and calls her Miss Sassy. They put her over to BBC, where she makes it to the finals.

Contemporary dancer Sebastian Mersch is next and he is really, really good. The judges love him and put him straight through.

We go through a segment of lots of 'no thank you's' and Leah calls it a bump in the road.

Another girl from last year, Melanie Buttanazzi, is back again, this time with a partner, Jesse Valvasori. To me this one was kind of lacking in energy, but the judges all liked them and put them both into the finals. Meh.

Next up is Vicky Luo with some Mongolian dancing and wow! Wow! She is just freaking fantastic, and what a little sweetheart! Definitely my favorite performance of the night so far.

The judges are equally as blown away, calling her beautiful, unique, present, extraordinary, dedicated and disciplined. And off she goes to the finals. Probably should've sent her to choreography first, but regardless, she was awesome!

Lyrical hip-hopper Brook Jones from Brantford is next on the stage and he's pretty good.

JM says he has great musicality and calls him a smooth oper-ator (I love where he places his em-pha-sis), Tre liked it but felt he could have given more. Luther calls him dope but that he needs to pick it up a bit and Mary enjoyed it but agreed that it needed to be a bit stronger. They put him over to BBC, where he makes the cut and into the finals.

Kate Barett from Newmarket takes the stage next and after what seemed to be a bit of hesitancy in the beginning, she gives a really good performance.

Mary says it was very enjoyable, a very strong piece, Tre says it was beautiful and Luther calls her (or the dance) sick. They put her straight through.

Noel "something" Wosu from Ajax is up with hip hop and I thought this one was good. Luther says there was a bit of sloppiness but overall it was great. Mary says there was lots of power and energy and calls him 'super-bad'. JM calls him a pro in his style and Tre puts him right into the finals.

Victoria (didn't catch last name) is up next and we find out that she took a year off school to train for this competition - but then they don't show us her audition! Nonetheless, she does make it into the finals, but... I wanted to see!

Then we zoom through a whole bunch of them that have made it through without seeing them dance. I don't like that!

Now for BBC and wow! Does Blake ever look cranky! Maybe because it's midnight, and it's been a really long day for everyone, but still! The fact that only one guy walked out seems like pretty good numbers to me.

We move onto Day 2.

Sigh. And why are we starting Day 2 with this guy? I think they are calling him Captain Canada or something, and seriously? I hate when people like this represent our country, mainly cuz they are trying out for a dance competition and he. can't. dance. Leah kind of gives him a hard time and has a look on her face like "Go Home".

After a painful minute or two on stage, the judges really humour him and then send him on his way.

Jenna Lynn Higgens from Ajax performs next and I'm thinking they are going to put her straight through.

Tre calls her 'the truth', and that she is fearless and beautiful. Luther is wowed. Mary says she has the whole package going on and calls her a cutie. JM says that she has fantastic attitude, and that she is petite, but so loud. And then puts her into the finals.

Another guy from last year is back - Manual Dos Santos doing the salsa. Last year they told him he should have brought a partner, but it doesn't seem he took their advice. Oh but wait! 3/4's through he pulls one from stage left and finishes the performance with this random girl. That we learn he just met her two hours ago.

Mary says it was entertaining, but not enough substance. JM says it was a 'wow' audition, but lacking a bit. Tre gives it a 10 for fun. Luther says it was a lot of fluff with quick foot and arm movements, but was nonetheless entertained.

The random girl gives him quite the testimonial, swaying the judges to put him through to BBC. He does not make the cut, but says he will be back again next year.

Contemporary dancer Johnathon Arsenault from Kitchener takes the stage next and he is really good, I quite liked this one. Loved him. Loved him. For those interested, the music is a cover of Peter Gabriel's 'In Your Eyes' by Jeffrey Gaines. Great track.

JM tells him he looks like the real deal, very creative with explosion in his leaps. Tre says his elevation leads her to congratulate him. Sometimes she's a bit L'il C, isn't she.

We learn that Johnathon has a malformed something (blood vessel) in his frontal lobe that causes him to have migraines and sometimes seizures, but to have surgery to correct this could cause him to lose his motor skills and at this point he is not willing to take that chance. He gets put through to the finals.

Christian Ancheta is next and wow! He quickly strips down to a unitard, definitely taking the judges off guard.

Luther says he achieved the shock factor and his performance was amazing. Mary says it was lots of fun with good energy. JM said it had all the ingredients to make him remember this performance. Tre says the dancing wasn't hot, it came off a little sloppy, but she found it entertaining. They put him over to BBC but in the end he doesn't make the cut.

Katie Purcell from Kitchener takes the stage and I was a bit mixed on this one. Lots of really good spins but kind of a low in energy.

Mary says it was enjoyable, but she needed a bit more. JM says she has great extensions. Luther needed to see the fire. They put her into BBC and she makes it through to the finals.

Last year he saw Everett Smith audition in jazz hip-hop, and he's back again, but this time doing tap. I find his music choice odd - dancing tap to Drift Away? However, music aside, he is really good and very cool tap running shoes!

Tre says he was amazing to watch and that she wants his shoes. Tee hee! Luther says he was confident and alive with a great energy. Mary liked everything about him, his attitude, his confidence, and calls him a star. Off to the finals he goes.

Flamenco dancer Anjelica Scannura is next and whoa! She pretty much strips down to a bathing suit, and I'm thinking JM is sure to enjoy this one. The dancing, however, is all over the place and Luther calls for the music to stop. He seems all at odds with what to say, and that he just didn't know what to expect. Mary says the beginning was really strong, but then she moved it into hip hop and it just didn't work. JM says she tried to incorporate too many styles. Tre tells her she started off hot but then it just died. For an audition you need to stick with what you know, she tells her. This was really a hot mess.

They put her into BBC because she does seem to have potential, and in the end she does make it into the finals.

I remember this next girl from last year, and I really liked her - Kloe Schultz from North Bay is back to try again, and I'm pretty sure she'll make it straight through.

JM says she controlled her space very well. Tre says she is glad to see her again and comments on the sparkle in her eye. Luther tells her she is the best they've seen all day and Mary is wow'd, calling her really beautiful, with great lines and lots of passion. And into the finals she goes.

A triple - quadruple jointed Nina Strazzulla dances next and it's just crazy what this girl can do with her body. Into the finals with hardly a comment.

Sigh again. Sadly I remember Marcel Martinuk from last year as well. The guy in the cowboy hat who can't dance.

Tre says "It was fun. Thank you." Luther said that while he did the same move over and over about 80 times, he sure did it with passion.

And then they send him home.

The last audition we get to see is from Austin Du Iulio, who is back this year with shorter hair and in better shape. And wow! Is he ever good! What a fantastic centre he has when he spins!

The judges are more than impressed, commenting on his transformation and how much more seriously he seems to be taking it this year. Into the finals he goes!

Then we get another series of those who made it in, but we don't get to see why... damn, I hate that! I know that we only have two hours, but... well, at least I can say we didn't get too many of the really ridiculous auditions, which seem to be mostly filler.

Another peak into Blake's Boot Camp, where one guy sprains his ankle, and another guy calls Blake a devil, a freak, and says he feels lucky just be alive after that session...

A whole bunch don't make it through, and I've commented above on the ones we learn did.

And there's night one of auditions! Tune in tomorrow for Vancouver (where the really good dancer are!) and St. John!

Good night!