crossover

Darius was my favorite this season. I had Magda as my girl until she did the hip hop. After Magda left, I picked up JayJay. Then it became 6 of one and half dozen of the other. But I felt that Hannahlei had a good support system when she didn't end up in the bottom after the disco and stepping. She's obviously talented. My eyes just weren't drawn to her despite being lifted all the time--even by Genessy. I enjoyed Jensen also. I thought Jensen was better at hip hop. Hannahlei did good in her ballroom routines but Jensen did good in her contemporary/jazz routines. But I think Hannahlei was better at her specialty than Jensen was in hers. Anyway, since my favorites weren't in the running, she was a good choice--versatile and had a couple standouts. I loved the cha cha albeit mainly because of Cole and her box hip hop albeit mainly because of Fik-Shun. Hopefully we'll get a Season 16. And maybe they'll cut down the audition time and increase the competition part.

Really don't remember which routine you are talking about? I remember him being hurt at the end but voting had ended. It seems like the choreographers put him in the front quite a bit in the group routines? I remember one group that had all of them on the edge. Also remember him as not performing with his partner in the beginning. Really doesn't matter. As we've agreed, dance appreciation is subjective. I liked Russell's performances and you didn't. But I don't expect to be dazzled because of the time limit they have. I guess that's why I still enjoy the show, for the most part. World of Dance has some routines that should dazzle most people.

Dance appreciation is subjective. I thought Ellenore was the star of the Sonja piece. For me, Jakob was good at making his partner look good (ex Mollee) because my eyes went to them. Russell was a great performer. So, I have no problem with his win. He was versatile and dynamic in his specialty. At first, Ellenore was my choice that season. After Kathryn danced with Ryan, I changed to her. But I have less of an issue with the Russell win than the Jeanine win. I do agree that she had (or they showed her to have) a funny personality. But when there're two or more dancers better in your specialty and there were no breakout couple routines, I have to put you in the "nice personality" category.

This is an uninspiring group. Hadn't really thought about it in that way. The last time Melanie was an all star, you could tell she had lost weight but she looks even smaller this time. Slavik wasn't good in hip hop. But he is a showman. I guess that's the bboy in him.

Yep travesty is a bit strong. After the S8 winner, anyone is worthy. Besides, I know people on the board don't like Jensen but she was a great competitor. I think it's obvious that they want either Jensen or Hannahlei.

I think the same. In fact, they've promoted her all along but last week was really thick. Even tWitch spread it on. I know Nigel probably knew that JayJay and Darius were gone before last week's show started. So he probably decided to make sure that Hannahlei was foremost on our minds. I don't really have a preference of the four. Jensen and Hannahlei are the most versatile. But Hannahlei is stronger in her specialty than Jensen is in hers. And, most people love Hannahlei. My eyes just aren't drawn to her, except for when she was with Marco. But, someone has to win.

Thanks, Snow Fairy.

I don't think anyone responded to this? Witney, Lindsay and Jenna have won on DWTS.

I don't think Nigel wants to cast effeminate "dancers" for the show either. They don't fit his vision of gender-specific roles for the show. But if the dancer is personally effeminate, I don't think he cares. I don't recall him saying he preferred masculine contemporary dancers, but I believe it. There's nothing wrong with preferring one type. It doesn't mean you don't appreciate others. Most people have a type or style they like best. I prefer the jive over the waltz but I love watching a beautifully performed waltz. I see the show is allowing varying concepts (if that's what you're calling evolving) since they've brought on the All Stars a few seasons back. Maybe they will get where gender-specific is not used? Doubt it. Ratings will can them first.

Nigel's a dancer. I don't think he has a problem with gays or effeminacy. I think his vision for sytycd was/is gender-specific roles. He probably knew it would be hard to sell dance to the masses. He also probably knew his target audience would be tween/teen girls (daydreaming time). Yes, there're dance enthusiasts of all ages and TPTB tried to address those by bringing in accomplished pros/artists back in the day. But the main audience for the pros/artistry don't vote or drive the ratings meter (such as it is) for sytycd. I'm just happy when they slip in artistry with a meaning. I think dance on TV is more accepted now. Maybe someone will create an all out dance show. Didn't World of Dance have the two male contemporary team?

Agree with the bold. A lot of people pick S3 but they weren't versatile like the S4 & S5 casts. And S3 cast mates didn't get along like S4s & S5s. But, S3 cast mastered their specialties. Unfortunately, during S5 is when the excessive manipulation started. Kayla was good and the show didn't want to lose her. But she kept ending in the bottom. So they gave her several jazz/contemporaries in a row, ending with Mia's Addiction number. Even her waltz was more contemporary. It worked--F4. Now people don't bat an eye when a dancer gets his/her specialty several weeks in a row or when the choreographers temper a style toward the dancer's specialty. TPTB have also tried pushing the romance angle and still do for that matter. I wish they'd stop that first because it has nothing to do with dance. Dance chemistry does but not personal romantic chemistry. Viewers can see for themselves if the couple has dance chemistry. After Benjelle, they've been trying to recreate the magic and push it down our throats. Benji coming out should be a clue that it wasn't romantic. I'm not saying it doesn't work, just saying it has nothing to do with dance. I still say Brandon should've won S5. Kayla is good but back then she should've been more than pleased with F4.

I believe you didn't. I just wanted LOVEDANCE to be aware just in case he/she's looking for a response. It's the "quoting", I'm sure. But it seems like I saw that you responded?

I think emphasis is placed on voting for your favorite after the last performance and not who you think did best on the final night. Otherwise, why have all the other weeks? They could just keep people until the final night and vote on that night. Jeanine having the better last night or better solos is subjective. I, for one, disagree. I thought Kayla out performed her in their routine and Brandon out performed her in the PD. I just said people voted for her because of her solos because that was the reason that popped up most times after that season. I know it seems like a ridiculous reason because the show's premise is versatility and solos are in your specialty. It even seem like Nigel brought up her solos in his after dance interview? But you are the first person I've heard say they voted for her based on the one night. Oh well, people vote for different reasons.

LOVEDANCE, you responded to this quote to me. It was really Tikichick. Just in case you're expecting a response. " 5 hours ago, Tikichick said: Racist against African Americans unless they are male hip hop dancers? Wonder if Sabra Johnson, Joshua Allen feel that way? Maybe Jasmine Harper, Will Wingfield or Danny Tidwell might weigh in?"

I'm with Tikichick. I hate to see good AA dancers get sent home but the show shouldn't tinker with the votes. I don't even like the OTT manipulation.

You are missing my point. I was talking about ONLY winners who WEREN'T hip hop. But there's nothing wrong with agreeing to disagree. Maybe the "MeToo" movement will rub off. ETA: Comfort didn't make T10. They brought her back when Jessica got hurt.

They've liked her all season. Didn't the judges really push for her last night; "heavy weight" or something like that? It may be too late. They did the same thing with Kione. But there's no Lex left this season when it comes to versatility. One thing is the vote splitting between Jensen and her leaving Slavic with the win. I really don't have a preference out of this group. I just hope they have a safe and enjoyable week ending with a strong performance night.

I can also name quite a few AAs who made the T10, especially the early seasons. I was talking about AAs who are non hip hop and won. I think the only one was Sabra? That was the season that Nigel pushed for the Sabra win. But, hip hop dancers, regardless of race, normally do well. Voters just like'em. Maybe the teen girls see them as the "bad boys"? Really wasn't talking about the show preferring a certain race. And, really didn't mean to talk about the voters. I don't think the voters purposely decide not to vote for a person because of race. It's human nature to be drawn to those more like you. I would guess the majority of the voters are white teenage girls? So I agree racist is too harsh. It's more like racial bias. Recently, it seems like every year we feel the show won't be back. If it doesn't come back, they still beat the odds. But we can't go by Mia. She's been coming back for group routines for the last few seasons.

Yep, I think you were analyzing this with a seasoned Tahitian dancer in mind. I thought they did great considering they don't do the style and had so many other dances to learn. Just like I don't expect nonSalsa dancers to perform a fast (by Salsa standards) routine, I didn't expect "the hips don't lie" in the Tahitian. I was surprised that both did so well.

Racist against African Americans; not minority as a whole. The voters normally supports the AA male hip hop dancer who's really versatile but that's about it. They probably would support the AA female versatile hip hop dancer but there hasn't been any. But, Jasmine and Sasha were probably helped because they were good at hip hop. It wouldn't be so obvious except they are usually the best for the season or close. AAs should enter the contest to win but they need to be realistic. I mean Brandon, S5, checked all the boxes. But in the end, the viewers voted for Jeanine because of solos? Brandon solos were just as good or better. I think the voters expected Brandon to be good but were surprised by Jeanine. For the tour, she had to have her routines with Brandon and get other routines reworked. That's how unmemorable her performances were, except for Travis' first contemporary (which I really didn't prefer) and her hip hop that she performed with a hip hop specialist. BTW, she was a minority (Hispanic). But the voters couldn't bring themselves to reward Brandon, an AA male non-hip hop dancer, for his stellar performances. I was surprised by the change. Had I known, I would've picked JayJay instead of Genessy. I felt neither JayJay nor Darius would win. I just knew one would have to be in the F4 and that Darius would probably be the one to go (2 males, 2 females). I knew the show was pushing Jensen but I didn't think they wanted her to win. I just thought they wanted her and Slavik for viewership purposes. Hannahlei has no stage presence so I'd be surprised if she wins. Genessy's popularity is tied to Slavik. This is the end so don't see her winning. Slavik is the show's roadblock. They've created a monster even worse than what they did with Kiki. Will throwing him under the bus have time to affect the voters? If they wanted a ballroom winner, why didn't they push Cole down our throats? ETA: We'll also see if there's enough time for Hannahlei. They decided to push her really hard this time.

I've always thought most dancers believe in the bold text. Entertainers/athletes usually want to be accepted on their physical accomplishments. I'm always surprised that people make a big deal out of the shows not making an announcement about gay or straight. They think the show is stopping them from letting the viewers (complete strangers) know. Most probably think it's none of our business.

Magda was my female favorite until the hip hop. She should've gone after that hip hop performance. I don't think you can go far in the sytycd competition w/o decent performances in hip hop and contemporary. As long as you put in the effort for ballroom and don't totally bomb, TPTB gives a pass. But TPTB usually manipulates the routines for these styles if their favorite has a hard time with the style. With last season's F4, they covered as much as they could for Taylor in hip hop and Kiki in contemporary. They gave Lex a pass in ballroom. Then, backed them up with effusive praise. Koine was just versatile. But like you say, the winner should be versatile or look versatile. I think we've only had one winner who wasn't versatile--S8 Melanie. Even with all the manipulations, you could tell she wasn't versatile. Jensen, Hannahlei, Jay Jay and Darius are all versatile. I really don't care for any of the remaining girls. Darius is my favorite. If he goes next week, it's Jay Jay.

I thought the B4 would've been Darius/Magda (Bollywood) and Cole/Hannahlei (Stepping). So I was surprised that Hannahlei was not there. She is a great dancer but I think a lot of people are seeing Koine. She doesn't have the stage presence of Koine. Usually, I ended up watching Cole in their dances. But, I THINK this shows that she has an active fanbase. I felt that Slavik was driving the popularity in his partnership but I thought Gennessy was the better performer of the two last week. So I thought she would've gotten enough support to stay out of the bottom. Not sure if there's more weight on Hannahlei having a great fanbase or Gennessy having a limited one? Not surprised they saved Darius over Cole. I thought Darius had the best solo. When the time was up for his solo, I wondered why his was so much shorter than the rest. Of course, it wasn't. It's just hard for a ballroom dancer to compete in solos. I wish they would allow the ballroom contestants the option to perform with a partner for this portion. I don't see it as being unfair. Older ballroom girls have a hard time getting support on this show? When Magda ended up B4 last week after good performances, I knew she would after the bollywood. I wonder if they would've saved her had she performed a great hip hop? Or, you can look at it that they wanted her gone otherwise they would've given her a lyrical hip hop? I don't buy it that they went with Magda/Cole just because there was such a big vote difference. But, I do buy that they wanted to keep Gennessy so that she could continue to help Slavik. Not a Jensen-hater like a lot of people on this board. She's not my favorite but I think she is versatility. Jay Jay is not a favorite either but he's versatile as well. I thought he was the best out of all the dancers in hip hop and he's great in jazz. I like Jensen/JayJay routines. I just prefer Darius who will probably be gone next week along with Gennessy. They won't need Gennessy because Slavik would've made the F4. Darius just does not have the fanbase of Jay Jay or Slavik. Cole/Hannahlei had my favorite couple routines this week. Cha cha was my favorite couple routine but the bwy was good too. Darius/Magda's hip hop was my least favorite couple dance. I preferred the boys' group routine over the girls' or the combined group routines. Darius did my favorite solo.

I remember this. I also remember the Canadian judges giving Vincent/Lisa bad comments after their clown? hip hop. After seeing Vincent with B.Cru, I looked for that hip hop again. I knew he got the shaft on sytycd. Nico was good but I thought Vincent was better. eta: I think the hip hop was the Raggedy Ann & Andy?

I thought JayJay showed his sweet side when he was concerned about Jensen lifting him. He was worried that he was too heavy for her to lift and immediately checked to make sure she was OK after the move. That's not something arrogant people do.