inmyeyes

I saw a preview of this and completely loved it! The first one was really special, and I think this sequel retains some of that magic. Didn't feel like 2 hours at all, and despite the long wait, it still felt like I knew these characters. Jack-Jack was easily my favourite this time.

I laughed way too hard at this. (Thor 4D has spoilers for the actual plot, so don't watch until after you're seen the movie!)

I'd just like to chime in with some love for Misha Gabriel, esp after his routine didn't get good feedback from the judges. I thought the issue with Jaja & Edson's performance was execution, not necessarily choreography. Misha's stuff has a pretty specific style/execution and it's difficult to get it to look "right" if you're not familiar with it. (Similar IMO to Marty Kudelka's stuff, and also Shaun Evaristo's stuff. Coincidentally, the pieces they've done for SYTYCD all got lacklustre judges' comments.) Anyway, to get a sense of what Misha's style is like: Also, I was super excited that they invited Luam to do the Team Street performance two weeks ago! (Even though I thought the execution wasn't quite there.)

In case anyone's interested,Keone & Mari Madrid danced their Stay With Me routine at Urban Dance Camp:

Paul & Brittany dancing for Ed Sheeran at the MTV EMAs: http://bit.ly/1xqXCTT

If you thought Kim couldn't be any more of an attention-whore... http://www.eonline.com/news/597163/naked-kim-kardashian-s-oiled-up-bare-butt-is-rounder-and-more-out-there-than-ever-in-paper-s-attempt-to-break-the-internet I hope whoever photoshopped that cover got paid the big bucks, and no E!, it's not "genius marketing", it just reeks of desperation.

Ed Sheeran released a behind-the-scenes video for Thinking Out Loud. There's some footage of NappyTabs talking about the choreography and Paul & Brittany rehearsing with Ed.

I felt like Amanda had too much goat in her voice, and that her enunciation wasn't very clear at times. Not that Taylor was very much better. The vibe during their 2nd rehearsal when they could barely look at each other was so strange though. I thought for sure that Adam would pick Jonathan and I was pleasantly surprised that he picked Chris (whom I love). Kinda funny that we lost two 4-chair turns in the first two battles they aired. I am loving Team Pharrell! I still think it's his to win and his coaching (along with co-mentor Alicia who I thought was genius for that Aretha Franklin version of Maybe I'm Amazed) made a difference for his contestants. Griffin seemed so much more interesting after he let loose, and I'm feeling positive that Pharrell will steer Luke in the right ways. Also enjoyed his deliberation over who to pick, I think he was being strategic about keeping Luke and gambled that Griffin did well enough to warrant a steal. Considering that I wasn't too excited with the 48, I thought this was quite a solid battle episode and that some of them really rose to the challenge.

And Paul assisted with that Ed Sheeran choreography as well! Ivan Koumaev is still on tour with Justin Timberlake. In addition to watching the JT concert, I also got the chance to take class from him when they were in Australia. He is really an amazing dancer and it's awesome that his dream to dance for JT came true! As for class, I found him to be an engaging teacher and he seemed really genuine about giving the best experience for everyone instead of just throwing his choreography at us.

Even beyond just this last year when his profile became more mainsteam, Pharrell has a really solid resume and reputation that spans back to the late 1990s with his production work with the Neptunes. For me, if Pharrell turns, and you're a pop/R&B/hip-hop artist, you pick him. It boggles my mind when Pharrell goes all in and the contestant picks another coach. Adam must have some pretty strong mojo in person (and I say this as someone who still loves that douchecanoe, haha). I think whether a particular coach's pitch works really depends on the personality and goals of the contestant. Like Adam's pitch to the Gravity guy; it worked on him because that was what he wanted from a coach, advice on how to get better. For others, a coach saying that they'll help refine who are as an artist is what attracts them. I think that if Gwen can find an angle that works for her, she could be more successful. She does need to remove the words "cute", "fun" and "total package" from her pitch, IMO. Those types of comments add no value to her pitch and have zero persuasive power to convince a contestant to join her team. In contrast, I think Pharrell picked up the game very quickly (much more quickly than Usher, who I thought became more effective in pitching in his 2nd season) and figured out his unique selling point.

Agreed to all the above. Alex's hip-hop routine could've easily gone the other way, at least in terms of choreography. They could've treated him with kid gloves and given him hip-hop lite, but Nappytabs gave him the content AND he nailed it. I've watched that routine so many times, trying to pick it apart and nitpick Alex's execution, but there's nothing to fault. In contrast, while I do think Tanisha and Carly did pretty well in their hip-hop routines, if I really tear it apart, I can find flaws. But yes, I do agree that the hip-hop choreography so far has lacked that dynamic build-up... it can be tough to achieve that in a 1:30min routine. I hatehatehate the "wow, you pointed your toes"-compliment, cos it's so lowest denominator. I wish they'd stop saying it, but I know they won't. Even though we have seen dancers do well out of genre in past seasons, I think what is lacking is this season is that X-factor, charisma, stage presence, whatever-you-wanna-call-it combined with the technical talent. Tanisha, I think, has displayed some of it... but we haven't really seen any memorable must-be-reprised-in-the-finale moments yet. What I do find interesting: every season, there's a dancer who gets by on charisma/personality and it's almost always a hip-hop dancer. This time, we have Rudy.... and if we still had DFYL-solos, I don't think he'd make it against the other guys who are still in the competition.

Thanks for the info on The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Absurdist1968! I didn't know that they required such versatility from their dancers. That said, I do think that they are an anomaly rather than the norm. Most industry jobs, be it Broadway, dance companies, commercial work like music videos or tours, almost always require a specific skillset and people who specialise in one genre will have a leg up. And by specialise, I mean having 90% of your dance training in one genre. Most dancers, depending on what their dream job is, specialise in whatever will lead them to achieving that dream. Time for dance training is finite, and the more you practise something, the more likely you'll be great at it. Not saying it's not possible to be versatile, but as someone mentioned upthread, it would likely lead to the jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none syndrome. I know some dancers dabble in other genres, but my guess it's more for benefits like increasing body awareness, expanding movement vocabulary, which are things they can apply in their home genre. Within the context of the show, I think most of the winners showed that (a) they were damn damn good in their own style; and (b) competent enough in other styles. What we're missing right now... is both of those, haha. IMO, so far, no one has been mind-blowing in their own style and they've only been passable in other styles. There hasn't been any real surprises like Alex Wong killing hip-hop, which, I think, is why we're feeling some ennui. Maybe the All-Stars will inject some life. I remember watching an interview where Teddy said that the reason he categorised himself as hip-hop was because when he auditioned, he had been been training specifically in hip-hop for the 8 preceding months, and he was in a hip-hop frame of mind. It might have also been a strategic decision, to downplay the rest of his dance training?

That entire bodysuit was mesmerizing -- it has to be high on the list of "most risque" costumes ever on this show. She worked it but dayum. The back of the bodysuit had those nude illusion panels, yes? At least it looked like it to me. I can't imagine having to dance without them, it'd be a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen, even if everything was taped down. Also, I actually didn't notice the white panties until you guys pointed it out and now I can't unsee it.

For anyone interested in how that Willdabeast routine should've looked like:

Tanisha has really been growing on me and the hip-hop routine sealed for the deal for me. She nailed the character and the feel of it, and her body language was very convincing for me.I wish there was a bit more content in the choreography, but mannnn Tanisha sold it for me. Rudy was all right, but as always, I find there's a lack of nuance and dynamics in the quality of his movement. Teddy looked like he was carting around a sack of potatoes. Yikes. Also, the position and placement of Emily's hands were not pretty at all. I continue to love Zack. I did like the jazz routine but I thought it need more bite? Jacque was a little too soft for my liking; there wasn't enough snap in her movements, and not enough fierce. I think it might've been lack of commitment; for example, when she was on Zack's shoulder and her hands were touching herself, there was no feeling, no commitment to it and it just looked like random flailing. Great to see Wildabeast choroegraphing for the show! Casey and Brooklyn, however, were slightly painful to watch. They lacked groundedness, and that hip-hop feel and that made everything awkward. Really enjoyed Bridget/Emilio. It had some cool moments like when Emilio lifted Bridget and she did the really quick circular fan kick while he turned, and when Emilio was on the floor, and she stepped to him and dropped into a HMV. Thought that Emilio did the partnering really well.