And SpenserJ – I think they should really go look up Danny Tidwell on youtube while they are at it – I liked the link you put up awhile ago with all his plieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s

Well, they should do that whether they’re interested in the show or not – as I can assure that a life without some Danny F*#king Tidwell Youtubes is simply not a life worth living.

Spense, gotta love everything you said, ceptinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢the lyrical comment. Dissing on contemporary? Meet me on the playground and weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll discuss it. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll be the one in the Lacey tube socks.

Tee Hee – so to clarify: First, I adore Lacey and her tube socks. So, maybe I’m a tad dismissive of the genres, and that’s not entirely fair. Like I’ve said previously, I think Mia Michael’s genious is in the fact that she gives contemporary choreography a flow that it doesn’t always have.

kerfluffle, I agree that all of those dances were amazing. But again, I think those dances were performed by dancers who weren’t just technically proficient in that genre, but dancers who infused the dance with their musicality from the heavens. Anyone new to this show should watch the Park Bench, Heavenly Reunion and Hummingbird on Youtube.

By the way, I think the most stunning part of the Hummingbird dance was Jamie’s controlled plie’s. (Again another Denise Wall trained dancer). Jamie’s lines & extensions were the finest I’ve ever seen – until last night – when I got a look at Kelli Baker. That girl has mad skilz and is a force to be reckoned with.

The judging is just SO much better on this show. The judges know what they are talking about and don’t over-pimp or underpraise just because they can. And unlike the “cranky British judge” on Idol, DWTS and America’s Got Talent, Nigel only gets curmudgeonly during the auditions and it’s usually completely deserved. For the most part, he’s actually… okay. Go figure.

In your recap, you said:

… I saw the other permanent judge, Mary Murphy on Idol Gives Back and had no idea who she was. I thought she was a comedianà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’she had this horrible routine where she kept screaming. Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s actually an expert in ballroom dance who judges competitions. I expected her to be way more annoying. So far so good. …

Mary knows her stuff – buuuutttt … she does scream in her critiques when she really loves a routine. She says the dancer(s) just climbed aboard the “Hot Tamale Train.” (I guess it would be the equivalent of Randy Jackson identifying a performance as a red-hot-molten-lava-bomb, or whatever inane clichà © it is that he uses.) The other judges sitting at the table are usually given a warning to cover their ears before she, ummm … lets loose. Fortunately, that at least gives viewers the chance to do the same (or hit “Mute”). I think she really does mean well. :unsure_tb:

sumidol
May 29th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
… I love dances and songs that make me à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“feelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  too. (saying quietly, I know its the wrong place but – thats why I love Mr Castro the mostest.)

Me too, also. :mrgreen_wp: (BTW: There’s no wrong place to mention Jason Castro, who is a special gift to those of us who “get him.”)

And thanks for the kind words about my “name”. It’s a fun word to say. Another is: “brouhaha.” :lol_tb:

I love me some Contemporary, too: Park Bench and Sunflower (Travis and Heidi), Hummingbird and Flower (Hok and Jaime), Umbrella (Ivan and Allison – that was “Contemporary,” no?), Heavenly Reunion (Neil and Lacey) … I could go on, but those are some of my favorites. Very moving. Beautiful!

Kelli Baker is an early favorite for me (thanks for the recap, mj, so I could look up her name), as well as some others whose names I don’t yet know.

Oh and a part of the show that I loved was that you got to see the dancers in practise, goofing around or getting upset, struggling or excelling. I liked how you got to really know each contestants real personality. This is something I wish they did with the Idols

Imagine a show that recognizes talent spanning many genres of dance rather than focusing on finding a predetermined style and sex.
Judges who are attentive and humane, giving props to those whose passion for dance is left on the stage even if they are not right for the show.
One can actually look forward to what the judges have to say.
Looks and personality can not be overlooked as Nigel books his harem, I mean talent, for his show.

Oh, and Nigel, I will forgive you most of your sins against Taylor if you would just keep Pageant Girl off my screen. (Yup, I hate her that much)

One thing I have always enjoyed about SYT is it has a core of sheer joy, for the most part. The (good) dancers soar. The judges are thrilled to see genuine talent displayed, even old curmudgeonly Nigel. While nerves are in evidence, it is nothing like you see on Idol.

Oh, and the group dance numbers are, to use the overused word, awesome! No pointy poses these! They are professional and shockingly good. These will come when the regular competition starts. NOT to be missed.

I love Cat as the host. She is so easygoing and SO not into herself. (Loved the fall on the ice last night! Pure Cat!)

As SpenserJ noted above, you get hip-hoppers who turn innate grace and body control into true dancers. And you get surprises like ballroom experts or ballet types who turn into krumpers and street dancers extraordinnaire. (Benji, Danny, Neil and many others.) And vice versa (Hok. And that guy in S1 who turned into a magnificent ballroom dancer … gotta look him up!)

This is a thoroughly entertaining show and I even enjoy the tryouts because of some of the performances you see that have everyone hollering Holy CatDeeley! Did you see THAT?

I LOVED Sara. She was probably my favorite of the girls, and ended up being so versatile. She gave some of the best performances of the season last year, IMO.

Sara is an excellent dancer and she was my favorite of the girls last year too.

I also liked the big black popper dude (Joshua) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  but heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s got ballet in him too, did you notice at the end of the show clip he was doing one of those very controlled twirls (perioà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ette? sp?)

He did throw several fancy turns in there, and I said to myself – whoa, there’s more to this story than hip hop.

In S3, Dominic and Sara went further than any other street dancers ever had (Top 8), and though I think Sara had some training, Dom had NONE. It will be hard for the next generation of B-girls, B-boys and poppers to top Sara and Dom and how versatile they ended up being, but thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the great thing about this show, watching them learn and grow.

See, here’s my theory on this: People who study dance all of their lives can end up with amazing technique that can really be quite impressive. Then, you see them dancing at the club, and they are hysterically way off the beat (i.e. Paula Abdul). It’s because they have training, but no natural rhythm. Then, you have those hip hoppers with no training – who do absolutely amazing things with their bodies.

They stand out amongst the other hip hoppers (or B-people or whatever Nigel likes to call them) because they have amazing body control and an innate sense of rhythm. People like this can pick up technique very quickly. The switch up of the styles in this show as we start the top 20 serves these people well. They pick up the Latin dances faster than the trained technicians and of course they kick ass in the hip hop choreography. So, as long as they don’t screw up too bad in the Modern & lyrical crap (styles of dance that require no rhythm or musicality at all), they can make it quite far.

This, I believe, is why Dom with no training and Sara with a little training when she was younger advanced so far. The gifts they were born with added up to more than all of that training some of the others had.

Sabra, last season’s eventual winner, had the least amount of training amongst the technical dancers yet she won. Because her natural ability allowed her to keep improving exponentially above her competitors.

That’s why for some of us Danny was so amazing, he had the total package: tons of training, a strong sense of innate musicality and an insane amount of natural body control.

That’s my theory anyway – and I’m sticking with it.

MJ – I too find the audition rounds of this show rather plodding – and I really don’t pay much attention until the Top 20, when things get really interesting.

The show does get more interesting as you get to know the personalities. I usually don’t even bother to watch the auditions, but I’m watching this year because I figure it may help me a little in the pool. We’ll see!

I really liked the basketball shorts guy (Matt) – he’s obviously a well-trained ballet guy — did you see his toe point? Seems very ernest and cute.

I also liked the big black popper dude (Joshua) — but he’s got ballet in him too, did you notice at the end of the show clip he was doing one of those very controlled twirls (perio…ette? sp?)

Should be great to see it all play out. I’ve never actually voted, never been that invested, but we shall see. Fun to have somewhere to talk about it.

It will be hard for the next generation of B-girls, B-boys and poppers to top Sara and Dom and how versatile they ended up being, but thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the great thing about this show, watching them learn and grow.

I LOVED Sara. She was probably my favorite of the girls, and ended up being so versatile. She gave some of the best performances of the season last year, IMO.

The show really dragged for me last night, but there were definitely some standouts – Chelsie, Arielle, and Kelli. I also really, really liked Matt Dorame. He’s an early favorite of mine, for sure. Gorgeous dancer.

I also love that they don’t treat one style of dance as being superior to any other. Ballroom, contemporary, hip-hop, street dance, etc. If you’re good, you’re good and they do a great job of showcasing all these different styles.

She was good and you know she is going far in this competition.

As for Overtanned Pageant Girl.. PLEASE GO AWAY. Ugh. Why is she going through if not for her comedic, albeit unintentional, charms?

I liked the girl whose mom is a choreographer – what was her name? Was it Nicole? She was so graceful!

She really was. I was impressed with her too.