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alonewiththemoonMore or less in order, first the couples:
I just love Sonya Tayeh, especially when set to third generation gothic electronic rock (She Wants Revenge). I thought Ade owned the piece, but the others did well too. Evan's style merged well with Sonya's, I thought, and he was hitting the stops a little harder than he's done in the past. Great start to the show.
Jeanine and Ade's samba--Ade could not get his high butt into gear for this one. Jeanine had the swivel down, but the way Ade typically holds his body, his hips don't have a lot of freedom to move. As a belly dancer, I for once really know what I am talking about here ;-) As usual, ballroom samba leaves me wishing it had been more, and I wish to high heavens that they would use actual samba music. Like Middle Eastern dance, it's a dance form that is tied to the rhythm of the music, and when you take the music away, it's not the same thing any more. Loved Jeanine's costume though!
Melissa and Evan's Broadway--I agreed with the judges, I expected a lot more out of Evan. I thought he looked better in the rehearsals than he did on the stage, maybe because he was more relaxed and letting more personality out. If he had hammed it up as much on stage as he did off, it would have been a better routine. Melissa was fine, though I felt she too held back a little too much, you could see the prissy ballerina in there.
Kayla and Brandon's contemporary--this was beautiful, heartbreakingly so, but beautiful. Last night these two dancers became my favorites for sure, and like the judges I too wished that we'd gotten to see them dance together earlier. This was a wonderful example of two excellent dancers inspiring each other to their best and beyond.
Jeanine and Ade's hip hop--cute concept, and they both did reasonably well with it. I thought Jeanine's concentration was visible throughout most of the piece but she did keep a good sense of character despite that. Ade did get more down and dirty in the hip hop, in the right way. It made me wonder why he couldn't do that for the samba, and think maybe it's because Ade, like most Americans, has seen plenty of hip hop even if he's never danced any himself but probably hasn't seen much samba, so he'd have some idea of what hip hop is supposed to look like but little idea about samba.
Melissa and Evan's quickstep--they really did give it a lot, and poor Melissa had the extra challenge of having to do it with very bent knees and a strong lean back so that she wouldn't tower over Evan. I agree with the judges that it didn't have the snap that we've been told to expect from a quickstep, but I give them props for keeping up with it. Loved Melissa's dress, it would be so easy to convert to a belly dance gown.
Kayla and Brandon's disco--holy light up floors and mirrored balls! That was just crazy! The two of them are just physically spectacular *and* listen to the music. Kayla looked like she was having a blast even while doing incredibly difficult, not to mention dangerous, stuff. Brandon was a little ragged coming in and out of some of the lifts, but Kayla's not a delicate flower and I'm sure those lifts took a lot of effort. Just tremendous!
Girls' superhero routine by Sonya Tayeh--I had wanted more. I suppose it's a stereotype about women that we hesitate to show each other up and self-efface too much, but that really did seem to be going on. They were focusing for the most part more on cooperating than on rocking the house. Nigel commented that Kayla got the hardest moves in the choreography and he wasn't sure what that was about--well, I'm sure it's about the fact that she's better than the other two, but I was struck more by the fact that she did all the serious weight-bearing and strength work in the piece. To me she seemed like the anchor, and stood out for that reason. I liked Sonya's character assignments to each woman, very perceptive of her: Kayla was Storm, Jeanine was Wonder Woman (somebody call central casting, I hear they're looking for one!) and Melissa was Buttercup (though really I'd say she's more of a Blossom).
Solos:
Kayla--she is one impressive woman. Her lines are so clean and gorgeous and she doesn't waste any energy. There was too much movement packed into those 30 seconds, but it's sadly unavoidable with these short solos. If like Kupono you try to focus on being expressive, then you get slammed for not doing enough. But the good thing one can say is that I wanted to see her finish the song, because I thought she did get more expressive and interpretive towards the end.
Ade--he really is so excellent. I did think I saw some missteps, granted with seamless recovery but they were still there. It was funny to hear his voice break when he said his number--he has such a grown man's body that one forgets he's still really pretty young.
Melissa--risky music choice for a short solo, Nina Simone's I Put a Spell on You. Some of what she did was intriguing but overall it just wasn't long enough for me to get a good feel for how well ballet really fit with the music, so I was left feeling uncertain about it. Certainly she did impressive technical stuff but I don't know. I also would have expected less smile and more smolder.
Brandon--reprise of his O Fortuna audition piece. That was just astonishing. He is so physically stunning, he was like Greek statuary come to life. And the variety and creativity of his movements was breathtaking. I especially liked the sort of crawl across the floor where he pulled himself along with his arms, it was almost inhuman. I don't think anybody else's solo was even in the same ballpark last night, maybe not even the same city.
Jeanine--she's a good solid dancer, with amazingly strong feet, but I think Kayla outdid her in essentially the same style. Still enjoyed watching her, though, and I like her sass.
Evan--he does what he does and he does it well, which is what has kept him in the competition this long. IMO he never lives up to that promise in the routines. I hope he is able to make a real career out of dance because it's clearly his calling, but I do not believe he is winning material for this competition.
I meant to vote for both Brandon and Kayla but then totally forgot, so if America screws up and either of them is voted out it's all my fault ;-) I think Brandon really deserves it, especially after that solo, but Kayla is so impressive as well. If her solo had been as focused as Brandon's I'd have a much harder time choosing between them. I've liked Ade quite a bit throughout the competition but I think Brandon has really surpassed him both with his solos and with his versatility in adapting to different styles.
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Date: 2009-07-30 04:19 pm (UTC)And yes, I'll totally keep an eye out for that fabric for you ~ there's a store we go to where if *anyone* has it, they will. It might be a few weeks or so 'til we make the trip there again, but let me know if there's a specific time frame you're needing/wanting it by :)
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Date: 2009-07-30 04:41 pm (UTC)Thanks very much for keeping an eye out for the fabric! It would be cool to have it in time to whip up a skirt and some accessories for an Oct. 25 show, but that's obviously not super urgent.
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Date: 2009-07-30 05:57 pm (UTC)If I find the fabric, how many yards should I pick up for you?
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Date: 2009-07-30 06:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-30 04:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-30 04:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-30 05:21 pm (UTC)N thinks, and I agree, that Kayla must have gotten help from Branden on her solo. Her choreography was much better this week than it has ever been... still wasn't great.
I imagine the doing a solo in ballet is more difficult than doing a solo as a ballroom dancer. At least with ball room there is interesting footwork but with ballet, it's like she's just waiting for her partner to twirl her around or pick her up in each move. In that sense I think solos are unfair to Melissa. Although, I wonder if it would be legal for her to dance another style instead.
I was disappointed by Jeanine's choreography. Her stuff is usually great and last night's was less than mediocre.
N was saying how it's obvious that it doesn't matter anymore who's 3 and 4th now because it's obvious that Kayla and Branden will be 1 and 2. I hope he's right.
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Date: 2009-07-31 02:14 am (UTC)I don't expect Ade to win, but if I don't get to see him in the finale working in a duet with Brandon I am gonna cut someone.
I will be enroute to Turkey when the finale results are announced next week. I know things will get spoiled for me.
P.S. Jeanine needs to close her mouth more when she dances. It's bugging me.
meh
Date: 2009-07-31 02:54 am (UTC)Agreed on Jeanine!