SYTYCD

[alonewiththemoon]

I felt a bit bad for Evan last night, who really did seem to try his hardest but was decidedly outclassed by everyone else.  See, teenaged girls and Broadway people, what irresponsible fan worship does to its object?  It puts that object up on a pedestal where the air is too thin to breathe and then they suffer.

Jeanine, OTOH--wow!  She finally busted out all that power and confidence I kept wanting to see from her.  The control she exerted to slow down her spins in her solo was just awe-inspiring!  And she was on fire in all three of her duet numbers.  I think she might have been better suited to peak like this last week to get people in the right mindset to vote for her this week, but she has a seriously legitimate chance at the win.

And Brandon is just crazy good.  He dances with so much pride, but it's not an alienating pride.  His dancing is exhilarating and pulls you along with it.  I voted for him.  Everything he does he does with so much conviction and exactly the right technique.  The split at the end of his solo made me gasp, and  his and Jeanine's Paso Doble in PVC to Matrix music was an amazing cap to an amazing season.

Kayla, I love her, but she didn't seem to be really there last night, sad to say.  Maybe she was at the same level of excellence that she's always been at, but last night everybody needed to step it up.  She didn't look out of place the way Evan did, but she wasn't as strong as Jeanine or Brandon.  She even looked a little wishy washy next to Jeanine in their duet.  Could be exhaustion, could be the net result of giving so much week after week.  I was impressed that she was able to manage all her high kicks and extensions with those heavy cowboy boots though.

The routines:  Sonya's was full of really interesting movements and I wish Jeanine had a better partner for it.  Mia Michaels' dance of the seven skirts was a little flawed by the skirts not always cooperating, but it was a good concept.  Kayla was a bit too unfocused in the routine but Jeanine looked hellbent to get across that stage and made walking look hard, which is a real skill.  I did like Adam's comment about how they were like two fine racehorses, it was apt.  Tyce's Bye Bye Life number was what a finale number should be, full of flash and drama.  I thought Kayla was at her best last night in that number, perhaps because she was partnered with Brandon.  Laurieann Gibson's Nasty Boys number mostly served to highlight how much better a dancer Brandon is than Evan, and also pointed out that while Evan is an excellent character actor, the types of characters he can portray is sharply limited.  Tony and Melanie's jive with Evan and Kayla was just eh.  Kayla was a bit robbed on that one, I think she held herself back to Evan's level (something the judges have commented on her doing before, with other partners) and lost by it.  Some moments were good, like those slow motion lifts, but overall it was lacklustre and I'd have to agree with Nigel that it wasn't really a finale type routine.

I was actually a bit disappointed by the Wade Robson group routine.  The idea of it wasn't very original, at least not in terms of what one expects from Wade Robson, and I didn't think the choreography was all that great either.  Ah well.  I guess it can't be crazy dead rabbits all the time.

So, I would be very surprised if Brandon doesn't win, but I could see Jeanine just edging him out after her performances last night.  Much as I love Kayla, I think she lost her chance last night.  And if Evan wins, then the show has officially become a popularity contest and not something about skill, which would irk me no end.



I did a Shoulder Shape-Up yoga DVD last night, or at least part of it--it was very good for me and I think I will buy a copy for myself.  It's a well done instructional, with a section first on breathing (which I skipped, thinking I knew a lot about that already, but will probably go back and watch because the instructor had a lot of good insight on other subjects), then a workshop version of the workout, in which the instructor demonstrates how to do the movements, provides modifications if you can't do them fully and talks through the mechanics of them, and then the workout itself, which doesn't pause for explanations.  I did the workshop part last night and my shoulder girdle felt so open and free afterwards.  I thought I would be more sore today--my arms were shaking when I made dinner later--but I'm not very.  Just based on what I've done so far, I'd recommend this DVD to anybody who is concerned about shoulder posture, works at a desk, drives a lot or is otherwise constricted. 
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