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alonewiththemoonOverall, not as strong as the opening night, but still some really good dancing. I think overall this is a higher quality group on average than last year's dancers were. The fact that the judges are able to give more detailed technical critiques is I think testimony to that.
I never thought I would say a disco number was a standout for me on SYTYCD, but I thought Brandon and Janette's disco was pretty spectacular. They managed to move at the speed of light and for the most part look like they weren't deeply concentrating on it. Moreover they really threw themselves into it both physically and performance-ly (there must be a word for what I mean there...). Though as far as Brandon not working out goes--maybe he doesn't technically go to a gym, but he's doing some Pilates or something, you don't get that kind of sculpting soley by dancing.
Another standout was the pop jazz royal power struggle of Max and Kayla. I loved everything about it, from the music to the costuming to the story and of course the dancing. I happen to be reading a novel right now with a power struggle between a royal brother and sister so perhaps I was already in the right frame of mind to appreciate the choreography, but I thought they evoked their story beautifully. As Cat Deely said, Max was a dirty rat from Ratville on his way to Rat Town. I liked the Ballet Russe gone glam look to the costuming and thought it very appropriate for the piece. I have no idea what the rest of America will make of it, but I loved it.
I also really liked Melissa and Ade performing a Sonya Tayeh jazz piece. That looked brutal on the body, but they didn't look scared of it and threw themselves right in. Melissa is a bit of an early favorite for me so I'm glad to see her continuing to thrive. Karla and Jonathan's contemporary number by the Canadian choreographer was very well done.
Everything else was eh though. I was really disappointed by Evan's jive, I expected him to get right into it but Nigel was right, he didn't have the fundamentals of jive movement down. And a couple of times Randi's dancing was so much stronger it looked like she was leading and not Evan. Jason and Caitlin's hip hop was a wreck; each of them might have been okay independently but their styles clashed so badly that it was somewhat painful to watch. I forget which judge said it, but it was indeed like watching Michael Jackson and Britney Spears try to do a duet. Asuka and Vitolio's waltz left me cold. I don't know how Asuka can say Vitolio's not attractive, as he is one fine looking man, but apart from her lack of 20/20 vision, for her to be so unable to set that aside and *act* like he was attractive to the point where they had to change the meaning of the choreography from love story to some rather incomprehensible ode to orphans was profoundly unprofessional of her. She was a favorite of mine after the auditions but sadly she has really fallen in my esteem. Vitolio unfortunately didn't have much technique going for him in the waltz; his lifts of course were great but his feet were well outside his hips most of the time, making his waltz clumsy. Phillip and Jeanine's tango was another sad story. I felt badly for Jeanine because it looked like she knew what she was doing and could have really shone with a better partner, but Phillip was just not getting it. I think Phillip felt badly that all the judges' feedback focused on how badly Phillip did without acknowledging how well Jeanine did--he knew he did badly. (OTOH it is very cute that he had a roomful of reptiles growing up--that might well explain some of his movements ;-) Finally Ashley and Kupono's hip hop was just not happening. The shadow concept was probably too ambitious for dancers who were inexperienced with hip hop, their skill level just wasn't there, and frequently they were out of sync with each other.
I think any of those couples in the above paragraph could/should be in the bottom three, although I think Phillip's fan base will keep him out. Not sure who should go home, except that I think Jeanine really should not go home, I'm willing to give Phillip a pass in the hopes that he will be a faster learner next time and I'd rather not see Randi, Evan or Vitolio go. Caitlin is probably my least favorite woman at this point, I think we've already seen the limit of her ability to learn. Sadly though I admire Kupono's style very much, he might not be versatile enough for the competition. It really will come down to the solos tonight.
I got mangoes in the fruit of the month club this month, and so M and I made a sort of poke for dinner last night with raw ahi tuna, mango, avocado, cucumber, green onions, olive oil, sesame oil, chile sauce and ginger. Yum yum yum! As M noted, somehow free mangoes resulted in spending over $25 for one dinner, but it was so worth it as an unexpected midweek treat!
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I never thought I would say a disco number was a standout for me on SYTYCD, but I thought Brandon and Janette's disco was pretty spectacular. They managed to move at the speed of light and for the most part look like they weren't deeply concentrating on it. Moreover they really threw themselves into it both physically and performance-ly (there must be a word for what I mean there...). Though as far as Brandon not working out goes--maybe he doesn't technically go to a gym, but he's doing some Pilates or something, you don't get that kind of sculpting soley by dancing.
Another standout was the pop jazz royal power struggle of Max and Kayla. I loved everything about it, from the music to the costuming to the story and of course the dancing. I happen to be reading a novel right now with a power struggle between a royal brother and sister so perhaps I was already in the right frame of mind to appreciate the choreography, but I thought they evoked their story beautifully. As Cat Deely said, Max was a dirty rat from Ratville on his way to Rat Town. I liked the Ballet Russe gone glam look to the costuming and thought it very appropriate for the piece. I have no idea what the rest of America will make of it, but I loved it.
I also really liked Melissa and Ade performing a Sonya Tayeh jazz piece. That looked brutal on the body, but they didn't look scared of it and threw themselves right in. Melissa is a bit of an early favorite for me so I'm glad to see her continuing to thrive. Karla and Jonathan's contemporary number by the Canadian choreographer was very well done.
Everything else was eh though. I was really disappointed by Evan's jive, I expected him to get right into it but Nigel was right, he didn't have the fundamentals of jive movement down. And a couple of times Randi's dancing was so much stronger it looked like she was leading and not Evan. Jason and Caitlin's hip hop was a wreck; each of them might have been okay independently but their styles clashed so badly that it was somewhat painful to watch. I forget which judge said it, but it was indeed like watching Michael Jackson and Britney Spears try to do a duet. Asuka and Vitolio's waltz left me cold. I don't know how Asuka can say Vitolio's not attractive, as he is one fine looking man, but apart from her lack of 20/20 vision, for her to be so unable to set that aside and *act* like he was attractive to the point where they had to change the meaning of the choreography from love story to some rather incomprehensible ode to orphans was profoundly unprofessional of her. She was a favorite of mine after the auditions but sadly she has really fallen in my esteem. Vitolio unfortunately didn't have much technique going for him in the waltz; his lifts of course were great but his feet were well outside his hips most of the time, making his waltz clumsy. Phillip and Jeanine's tango was another sad story. I felt badly for Jeanine because it looked like she knew what she was doing and could have really shone with a better partner, but Phillip was just not getting it. I think Phillip felt badly that all the judges' feedback focused on how badly Phillip did without acknowledging how well Jeanine did--he knew he did badly. (OTOH it is very cute that he had a roomful of reptiles growing up--that might well explain some of his movements ;-) Finally Ashley and Kupono's hip hop was just not happening. The shadow concept was probably too ambitious for dancers who were inexperienced with hip hop, their skill level just wasn't there, and frequently they were out of sync with each other.
I think any of those couples in the above paragraph could/should be in the bottom three, although I think Phillip's fan base will keep him out. Not sure who should go home, except that I think Jeanine really should not go home, I'm willing to give Phillip a pass in the hopes that he will be a faster learner next time and I'd rather not see Randi, Evan or Vitolio go. Caitlin is probably my least favorite woman at this point, I think we've already seen the limit of her ability to learn. Sadly though I admire Kupono's style very much, he might not be versatile enough for the competition. It really will come down to the solos tonight.
I got mangoes in the fruit of the month club this month, and so M and I made a sort of poke for dinner last night with raw ahi tuna, mango, avocado, cucumber, green onions, olive oil, sesame oil, chile sauce and ginger. Yum yum yum! As M noted, somehow free mangoes resulted in spending over $25 for one dinner, but it was so worth it as an unexpected midweek treat!
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no subject
Date: 2009-06-18 06:35 pm (UTC)I totally agree. I thought it was unprofessional of her too as a dancer. I'm not sure how old she is but she started taking ballroom in college and seems to be able to lack...I don't know...experience? I'm not sure if that's the right word but totally agree.
I hope Phillip gets a pass too!
When I heard Disco, I groaned and thought 'Oh no!' but they were great especially at that speed. I can't watch Disco if it isn't done well.
Also disappointed in the execution of the Hip Hop routines. I loved the choreography tho.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-18 07:17 pm (UTC)I kind of wonder if part of Caitlin & Jason's problem was fallout from last week/awkwardness over the kiss. Regardless of that, I that Caitlin has probably reached the limit of her ability to grow on the show. I think Jason's performance was a lot stronger, and I'd be sad to see him go. I'm not feeling Jonathan at all, but I'd be surprised if he were in the bottom 3 this week.
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Date: 2009-06-18 07:47 pm (UTC)Yeah, it had to do with their not making any connection while dancing as a couple, and Asuka said it was because she didn't find Vitolio attractive. So the choreographer changed the focus of the waltz, because it was going to flop as a romantic waltz.
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Date: 2009-06-18 07:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-18 08:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-19 03:46 am (UTC)