hips don't lie but sometimes they say things they shouldn't

[alonewiththemoon]

It seriously hurt my brain to watch Noelle and Russell dancing samba to "Hips Don't Lie"--it's so not a samba! I mostly hear salsa, cumbia and reggaeton in it, but no samba. It was like watching somebody do veil to a drum solo, or cane to a 9/8. Complete cognitive dissonance. I guess Shakira's on the show tonight so they had to work her music in somewhere, but why not just have salsa instead of samba? Or cumbia, that would be something new for the show.

I have to admit I genuinely liked Ashleigh's performance with Jakob last night. Nigel is right that she really benefited from the partnership. It was moving. So was Russell and Noelle's modern jazz duet. Sonia was on fire last night!

Mollee and Nathan's can can hurt my brain too. Little kids playing dress up. The costuming department did them absolutely no favors by outfitting them in bright candy colors, and the classical music choice made them seem all the more immature. It's too bad, because with better outfits and more suitable music it could have been interesting.

That's all i can manage for now, work is crazy...

Loved the technical focus in Najmat's class last night--it was one of those classes with lots of ah ha! moments. Nothing new per se but executed with more thoughtfulness. Time to retrain muscle memory, again...
.

Comments

[crystagoth-31.livejournal.com]

You never really talk to me about this(I have commented over and over on this, and you have never even said hi to me(?). But I will say anyway, I agree with you're SYTYCD assessment.

[alonewiththemoon]

I do not recall ever seeing a comment from you on any of these entries. I just looked at my "other dance" tag entries back to June 2009 and there aren't any comments from you. Maybe you have me mixed up with somebody else?

[polymexina.livejournal.com]

the can can was stupid! were they slightly off beat?

[alonewiththemoon]

Half the time they just looked like they were jumping around without any regard to the music.

[shnells.livejournal.com]

agreed, i thought the can can was awful. i really liked the tango with victor and karen and i think jacob is the best dancer but i really have a soft spot for legacy.

[shnells.livejournal.com]

also a soft spot for russell

[phoenixdancer.livejournal.com]

I agree completely. I was SO excited about the can can...only to be disappointed :-(. Oh well. Not a Mollee and Nathan fan anyway.

[parasitegirl.livejournal.com]

Why is Nigel always "you're a street dancer?!" with Russell?

http://sytycdfans.com/get.php?pageID=Bio&id=198

His bio says he's been dancing professionally from the age of 3, went to the Boston Art Academy, did Boston City Lights.

I do believe he's on the front page of the about site: http://www.bostonartsacademy.org/Pages/baa_about/index

[alonewiththemoon]

I remember even at his audition he was asked about other dance classes, and he stated then that he'd taken contemporary, modern, jazz and African dance. I think very very few of the dancers they call street are totally lacking in any other training.

They kept doing the same thing with Karen, talking about how she was all ballroom or salsa, but she attended the Martha Graham Dance Academy from childhood onwards.

[bintblue.livejournal.com]

He always throws in this stuff about 'street' and hip-hop, there must be some executive decision that harping on 'anyone can do this--even those from the street!' is a big draw.

I have incorporated "You're a popper!" (in Nigel's accent and cadence) into regular conversation when I am surprised at things I see. Luckily I talk to myself a lot.