PRGyro

An actually abridged part 2: 7.) Mark Only going to say a couple of things since he was eliminated. Although I absolutely wasn't expecting his elimination, going so far at the beginning of this episode to imagine him in the finale, his performances with Comfort have gotten more complacent as the weeks go by, with this week's hip-hop decidedly "meh." Mark looked unsteady, which is wild since he always looks at least prepared in styles out of his comfort zone.. except that this week was his style. I thought he's had better solos, too. But when it came to his performance in the Sean Cheesman group number, all I can say is WOW. He knocked it out of the park in that. It goes without saying that the "America's Vote" thing was total nepotism BS and that Kiki should have gone home instead of either Mark or Kaylee, since he is a far worse dancer, but when DWTS stans keep your failing show on life support, you do what you must, I guess. 8.) Koine Skipped over Koine by accident. I thought her Jive with Marko was very cute and they continue to be a seamless partnership, though Marko did look a little too stiff for my liking. I realize that was the character, but still. Was the music a little off to anyone else? In any case, I thought her performance was far more remarkable in the Sean Cheesman group number--both she and Mark totally stole the spotlight. Really hope she stays through to the finale, though she's not my top favorite to win.

Best live show of the season so far: 1.) Opening Broadway Would have liked it a lot better if the dancing didn't look so sloppy and if the choreo didn't look so aimless and arbitrary. Seriously, it felt as though about half of them had but a couple of hours to rehearse the number. I hated the costumes and the wigs completely threw me off; the whole time I was wondering why they were only featuring 8 All-Stars and two contestants before realizing the trickery. Thinking they did that on purpose--Kaylee's brown wig made her look unrecognizable which I guess is the point since TPTB want her out. Even without the flaws, it would have still paled in comparison to last week's vogue opener. After those twenty seconds of Robert slay at the beginning, I finally got affirmation that he wasn't straight--no straight man could look THAT sickening. 2.) Lex New SYTYCD drinking game for this season: take a shot every time Vanessa speaks good and every time the judges give a mediocre routine a S/O. I'm not saying Lex looked BAD in it--though he still didn't look innate, he sure as hell gave the best "real" hip-hop of any non-hip-hopper this season, and certainly danced circles around Gaby. The thing is, we KNOW Lex is good at every style he attempts (excluding Argentinian Tango), but a Luther Brown snoozefest will remain a Luther Brown snoozefest any way you slice it unless your name is Fik-Shun. The uncomplicated, uninspired choreography here didn't challenge Lex in the way that I, at least, think he should be challenged. As strange as it sounds, his perfection is starting to get boring, especially after weeks of not seeing him at his full potential or dancing second fiddle to Gaby. Hopefully, he can take his performance during the Top 8 show, which saw him in his comfort zone and absolutely wallowing in it and apply it to a more diverse set of styles. Hopefully, this show can get fresh hip-hop choreographers for next season, if there is a next season. As for his solo, awesome stuff as usual, but it physically pained me to hear Nigel lie through his teeth saying he had "never seen a triple tour en l'air ever before." You mean the one move almost every male ballet dancer has to master before becoming professional? Like, you've really *never* seen one before?? 3.) Logan I have no idea why every African Jazz routine on this show has to be "tribal" or "animalistic" or "savage" in some way and feature costumes designed by Culturally-Appropriative Ashley from Florida State. Though it wasn't my favorite of the night, Logan and Allison danced this tough, intricate routine incredibly well. Not only did they actually look normal *together*--a rare occurrence, mind you--but it was also a better African Jazz outing than Mark/Koine's bug thing from a few weeks back. From what I remember, theirs was more difficult, but nevertheless, Logan/Allison looked better prepared and their choreo wasn't that much easier. Still, choreographers, if you're going to use a prop, commit to it for more than three seconds or don't use it at all--the skateboards looked very out-of-place. Focusing on Logan, he truly looks like a work of art whenever he has to do some penché or turn, and I was very happy to see some of that included here. He could have gotten a little more into the floor for my tastes, and that spinning lift at the end looked really unstable. Regardless, Logan... was one of my favorites to win. After that awkward, racist shit he and Allison pulled during their Cat Deeley small talk, I'm having second thoughts. I find Logan's solos better-performed and more mature than Lex's, sorry. I also LOVE his taste in music. 4.) Kaylee Unlike Kiki, who the producers want us to believe is the "dark horse" when he really just sucks, Kaylee is the actual dark horse of this season if only before TPTB rig the eliminations against her. Despite weeks of mostly meh choreography, incredibly subpar dancing and partnering from Cyrus, and placement in the background of every group routine, Kaylee has proven that she won't go down without a fight. Ever since stealing the spotlight in last week's fire Cha Cha, Kaylee has been realizing that the only way to go is up--from here on out, any unexciting performance is most surely a plane ticket home. To see her and Cyrus deliver one of the best performances of the season, then, was an exhilarating experience. Tasty Oreo choreographed a seamless Hip-Hop/Contemporary fusion that played to both their strengths--certainly more effectively than their hip-hop from a few weeks ago that was marketed as such--and Kaylee showed up with conviction and a brazen quality in movement and emotion in a way that we've rarely seen on this season. I could seriously watch her perform this number all day.. forget this show, Kaylee would be right at home in Martha Graham Dance Company. The fact that the judges didn't stand up for this is an insult and they should be ashamed of themselves, even more so since their praise was so unflinchingly lukewarm in tone. Love how she and Logan change up their solos every week. Hers are always some of the best of the bunch. 5.) Kiki I have to commend the producers for the ways in which they're giving Kiki, the most overrated contestant in the history of this show, an "improvement" arc: since he can't really do anything with proficiency outside of his comfort zone, the easy choreography he performs week after week is gradually becoming slightly less easy, gaslighting the audience into thinking that he doesn't look consistently mediocre, with plenty of assistance from the judges' turgid praise. This week is no exception, as the dreaded "throwing shit around = actual choreography" number comes back center stage after a much more successful run with last week's Dassy/Mark hip-hop. Though I have attended plenty of performing-arts high school musicals with more interesting and detailed choreography than what Warren Carlyle gave us here, I actually... thought Kiki looked fine in this. Don't get me wrong, Jenna absolutely stole the show here--I truly loved her in this--but regardless Kiki has an expressive face with plenty of collagen, and that alone took him nearly to Jenna's level, although you can't really say the same for the rest of his body. There was something about his dancing where his rhythm didn't feel quite right, almost as if he wasn't plié-ing enough. In any case, I'm not going to get into why the judges gave him a full-on S/O for this above-average routine nor why they shifted around the elimination procedures in his favor because we already know why. I just hope no one votes him into first place. "Daddy Kiki" makes me want to unplug the TV every time I hear it. His solo was impressive, as usual, and could have benefitted without that tacky rose. 6.) Taylor Just as I get annoyed when I see kids on national Little League teams in part because their parents were able to afford a $15,000 backyard batting cage and $200-a-day fielding lessons, I get annoyed when I see dancers like Taylor on SYTYCD, dancers whose entire training has been cultivated in part based on what this show tends to promote. I guess I should rephrase that--I get annoyed when it's so obvious, as in Taylor's case. For instance, SYTYCD contemporary routines tend to prefer certain methods of emotional expression over others; extroverted over reserved, arms that reach into the distance, rolling around on the floor, etc. This shouldn't be the case and choreographers should make art whichever way they see fit, yet one must understand that this emotional contrivance is the SYTYCD brand--a brand that has proven itself popular enough to stay on the air over fourteen seasons. Where else can one find this same brand of emotional manipulation? SYTYCD-sponsored dance conventions, of course, the same ones where Taylor Sieve has become a household name. As a result, emotional manipulation has become engrained in her training, and that's all I feel from Taylor when I watch her perform. She has beautiful technique and long lines, of course, and the judges/TPTB rightfully adore her for those, but watching people who have gone through relatively little hardship attempt to convey joy or sorrow is the exact reason why so many bland white girls were in Season 11, and why so many of them disappeared almost immediately--or, in the case of Jacque LeWarne, far outstayed their welcome. Despite all of this, Robert is the magic dust that turns Taylor into a completely different person, and their gorgeous Mandy Moore routine was tied with Kaylee/Cyrus for the best of the night. Still, I've never felt such indifference watching a dancer's solos week after week or watching a dancer's performances in group routines, even when said dancer's placement is partial to them. I have a strong feeling she'll make the finale, but I'm hoping she doesn't win it all. Part 2 tomorrow

Picking up from where I left off... 6.) All-Star Group Routine I'll always have a soft spot for Travis Wall and his choreography, but this routine, set to a despairingly-beautiful Nina Simone rendition of "Strange Fruit" with equally-striking lighting, was (excuse my bluntness) little more than some white neoliberal nonsense. Of course, we know by know that SYTYCD will never be at the forefront of progressive politics; their bleep-ups range from casual cultural appropriation nearly every season to the most pathetic missed opportunity of this season in having no same-sex couples, clutched pearls and changed channels notwithstanding. And while it must depend on people's intersections/level of care and knowledge to understand why these bleep-ups deserve varying degrees of condemnation, it doesn't take a critical race theory scholar to know that putting white dancers in the spotlight... in a routine set to Strange Fruit, sung by Nina Simone...with an ominous tree as the lone set piece... where 90% of the dance is performed in Black slave clothing... is in very poor taste at best and is downright erasure at worst. Not excluding that eye-rollingly reductive final shot, the downfall of this piece was best-displayed in Robert's close-up towards the end of the dance. His bland, mildly-concerned expression was a perfect indicator of Travis' and the camerapeople's failure here: the centering of white people in a piece whose everything suggests it should be so Black. "Get more Black contemporary choreographers," someone in the back proposes... 7.) Lex A number of people here have been saying that although they liked Gaby in her season, they find her annoying here. I couldn't agree more--in addition to being Co-president of the Connections Club along with Jenna, there's definitely a strange dynamic between herself and Lex. Simultaneously understanding that she's less talented than him and that she's mandated to nonetheless perform a mentor position, she keeps insinuating that Lex is too shy, or something, and that he needs to fix that. I don't know how much of that is a producer-sponsored narrative and how much of it is her real opinion, but a more discriminating partner--or judges, for that matter--could assist Lex where he actually needs it, such as in partnering and realizing that the camera is not located on the floor. Luckily, this week's Broadway number didn't have any substantial partnering, though it did feature thirty seconds of a Gaby solo while Lex sat in a chair. He, of course, excels whenever he's dancing by himself or dancing next to Gaby, especially when they cut to his beautiful center when Gaby falls out of turns. In any case, Taylor and Robert's spectacular Broadway from last week ruined that genre for a bit for me, and this number looked decidedly average by comparison: a good example of a couple where the All-Star burdens the contestant, but the contestant is so good that it doesn't really make a difference. Thought it was hysterical when Gaby got cheeky at the end, blurting out that they've literally done every style but Lex's own.. seriously, when is that going to happen? 8.) Kaylee Speaking of examples of couples where the All-Stars burden the contestants, but the contestants are so good that it doesn't really make a difference, poor Kaylee seems to fall into the first category, but not the second. As highly as I regard Cyrus as a hip-hop dancer, seriously one of the best poppers/animators the show has ever had, it goes without saying that he lends almost nothing as a "All-Star." Not only does he look mediocre in almost every other style of dance, but it appears he also can't assist Kaylee very well, if at all, in the styles of dance that are outside (their) comfort zone. This leads to Kaylee literally having to perform triple the work for every routine: both to look so much better than Cyrus that he doesn't become a distraction and to achieve this in non-native styles, all without much help from her partner with whom she doesn't have much chemistry. If she had Lex's level of technique, this wouldn't be as much of an issue, but alas... poor Kaylee. Needless to say, their Spencer Liff Jazz which showed an incredible amount of promise in concept, music, lighting, and costumes--ADORED the makeup--fell flat on its ass when it came time to dance. I don't know how much the very s****** camera, Kaylee's obvious nerves leading to sloppy-looking jumps and turns, the distinct gap in ease of movement between Kaylee and Cyrus, etc. contributed to it all, but it showed itself one of the most flimsy and disappointing routines of the night. Though I find Kaylee one of the most interesting dancers this season, and far in a way the best, most creative female soloist, I unfortunately don't think her future looks bright unless (God forbid) Cyrus gets injured. And even then... 9.) Sydney Not focusing on Sydney since she was eliminated. Nonetheless, the road wasn't going to be very forgiving for the stiffest, stalest couple of the season, one of whom with mediocre stage presence, the other a foot too short, with nary but an unremarkable contemporary routine and a disaster of a hip-hop to their name. Dug the hell out of those costumes though. Why didn't Paul choose the Russian woman again? 10.) Top 9 Routine Though I found the All-Stars' contemporary poorly executed in terms of its concept, at least the All-Stars danced it beautifully and with conviction. I really can't say the same for the Top 9's Jazz/Broadway routine which, for lack of something stronger, looked like ass. Analyzing past the many missed connections, half-assed overall quality, lack of energy and synchronization, uninspired choreography, and ugly costumes, the piece put on full display the biggest issue with this season's format: that a number of these contestants wouldn't even make the Top 20 on a conventional season, let alone a Top 9. By making the selection for live shows a matter of who the All-Star, a non-competitor, feels most comfortable dancing with, it repudiates what the show should actually focus on: individual contestants who have one or more native styles and at least a passing ability in all other styles. This is a PREREQUISITE, so by the time you cut eleven dancers your Top 9 doesn't look like you didn't really choose America's Best™, but instead someone's boyfriend's cousin or something absurd like that. I understand no one watches this show anymore and if the network forces you to cut from 20 to 10, then there's nothing you can do. Hopefully, the producers can make a compromise so they can save themselves and the audience from future embarrassments similar to this group number. 11.) Taylor A pleasant surprise of this format and one of the few instances in which a dilemma the producers inserted actually had a fulfilling resolution, Taylor and Robert, to use Vanessa's vocabulary, "shine." It really has become some of the most exciting stuff of the season to witness Robert uplift Taylor--a rather by-the-numbers contemporary dancer by herself--into an entirely new person during their performances. While I really don't think I'll remember it ten years from now, I was quite moved by their gorgeous Travis Wall contemporary; their Broadway, from last week, too, was exhilarating. Though I don't feel the performance quite captured the essence of film noir as intended (the choreography and song choice were mostly to blame there), Taylor was the spitting image of Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep. Thus, I'm sad to say that their Samba this week really disappointed me. In addition to their partnering looking awkward for the first time ever, Taylor really missed the mark on mood, embodying less Chita Rivera and more a third grader who decided to go as a ballroom dancer for Halloween. I'm no samba expert, so I didn't notice the advanced technical issues of the footwork; I'm relieved Mary did her job and critiqued whatever it is she did and to Nigel for rightfully criticizing the producers' darling girl. Obviously, she won't be going home, and I look forward to seeing T/R's future collaborations despite this misstep. 12.) Kiki As the least-deserving contestant in terms of proficiency in diverse styles, as well as someone whose career is already established, and thus doesn't really need a spot on this show, I can't stand Kiki nor his equally-opportunistic partner Jenna. Since Week 1 the judges have lauded them with the highest praise for what has only been transparent mediocrity, including a near-standing ovation for one of the tamest and weakest hip-hop routines in the show's history. As a result, it kills me to admit that Kiki's contemporary routine was actually quite good, and one of the Top 3 performances of the night. Though I'm no fan of Mandy Moore's sleepy, samey choreography, Kiki and Jenna performed with such emotional conviction you almost forgot that their courtship is staged for votes, until Nigel and friends tried to convince us otherwise in the nadir of the season so far. As for their critique, while they did perform beautifully, Mary was extra disingenuous to infer that Kiki's performance was the best contemporary done by a male ballroom dancer in the history of the show when Paul was standing right there. Along with Pasha and Dmitry, who are elsewhere getting jobs Kiki wishes he had. In no way, shape, or form is a contemporary routine where the choreographer has to simplify a move because someone can barely position their own two legs in a 45-degree angle the "best" anything, Mary. Once again, hoping Kiki goes away soon to be on DWTS for half a season, but if he ends up winning I wouldn't be surprised at this point. Just realized I forgot to vote.

Hey Luvthepros, I got my info from famousbirthdays.com, and searched "Mark Villaver"

Like last week's episode, this week's was a mixed bag and overall I can't really determine if it was worse or better. If anything, it demonstrates even further the numerous cons of the new format--namely that a number of couples still look very awkward together in spite of the All-Stars' so-called "good judgment" in choosing their partners, and that this crop of contestants is decidedly weaker than Top 9s of past years. The pros are all coincidental, by contrast. I'll cover each contestant's performance with their All-Star. On a not-so-unrelated note, Vanessa offers nothing of value. Also, it seems Maddie Ziegler grew up to be one of those "Look how great of a person I am" types and... massive eye-roller. "It was just really hard for me to portray a rude girl..." 1.) Opening group number I feel like I would have liked this a little better if last week's group disco didn't exist--one of my all-time favorite group numbers, no joke. I found the costumes cute but poorly assembled just like the choreography, the latter of which could have been remedied by showcasing more than the same five All-Stars and Lex. I don't even know if the other twelve or so even got any screen time, especially the other contestants. Comfort killed it just as she kills everything. 2.) Logan Though I love watching Logan by himself, he and Allison truly are one of the most forgettable couples here. Though this piece was light years ahead of their terribly-choreographed Friedman thing from last week, the two have very little chemistry together, and next to Allison, Logan's age and lack of partnering experience stick out; he looks 12 more than he already looks 12. There were some seriously good moments--loved when he had his head following her butt and the leg-kicking thing Mary mentioned--but the dance underwhelmed me overall. In addition to looking uncomfortable with nearly every partnering maneuver, Logan doesn't act very well. This really isn't a problem when he kicks ass in all of his solos, and I'm glad Emma and Sasha gave him a lot to work with here, but when you're on a show where the choreographers explicitly tell you what the piece is about, character building or at least some facial expressions are a must. Let's hope he can learn quickly as he has so much potential. 3.) Koine I wasn't as floored with Koine and Mark's African Jazz number from last week as everyone else... they were trying their hardest and it showed... however, I have a complete change of heart this week: their hip-hop was one of the top three pieces of the night. Mark and Koine have always been one of the happy accidents of this ill-fitted format; from their immediate chemistry and synchronization to their ease of partnering, it seems they've been a near-perfect match from the beginning. Here, however, Koine took the choreography and the story and absolutely RAN with it, leaving Mark well in her shadow. To be honest, I really didn't understand how Mark even fit in the dance, and it could have easily been a solo, but if the point was to highlight the contestant instead of the All-Star then it was a total success. Her character progression from devastated pageant girl to total badass was eminently palpable in her facial expressions and body language; though she wasn't very grounded at times it didn't really matter. Just wish the routine could have been a bit longer. Nevertheless, A+ from me and I hope M/K show up a whole lot more. 4.) Dassy It confused the f*** out of me that "be sexy" was the main advice in Dassy's video package instead of Taylor's since Taylor could have benefitted a great deal more from that and it was totally mismatched for this number. Nothing about the music or the choreography or, really, any aspect of Dassy and Fik-Shun's Jazz routine screamed "sexy" to me in the way Ray Leeper was trying to suggest. The costumes, maybe? As a result, telling Dassy to be sexy in a number that doesn't really call for it put her on the wrong foot from the beginning, and though she was moving relatively well all her effort was big-time showing on her face. It didn't help that her hat was obscuring most of it. The piece could have really done without that one move where Dassy was crawling on Fik-Shun--the one part in the choreography that could have been "sexy" just looked massively uncomfortable. Though it's evident that D/F-S collaborate well together and are well-proportioned for each other, there's something missing when they dance together. The best I can boil it down to is that Fik-Shun doesn't really elevate Dassy, and vice versa, in the way that Koine and Mark or Taylor and Robert do. And though I think she's adorable and she has some of the better solos of the bunch, there remains a chasm in technical ability between Dassy and the other contestants that is rather apparent in the more challenging group numbers. I was shocked she was in the bottom three this week after last week's spunky Bollywood; however, I'm sad to say there's a good chance that it's 8th or 7th place for her unless she can find some spark with Fik-Shun. 5.) Mark Another powerful and emotionally-resonant routine from Mark and Comfort that proves you don't need to have a faux affair with someone in order to play a believable couple. Though the producers' character arcs for the contestants are all painfully obvious and mostly unnecessary--let me put on my glasses--for Mark, the "I can be more than a goof and show the complexities of my acting" direction actually holds weight. At 27, Mark is the oldest contestant, having more experience and, dare I say it, maturity (maybe not) than the rest of the cast. His pairing with Comfort makes all the more sense as she is the oldest or second-oldest All-Star and has shown by far the most growth as a dancer as the years have gone by. Thus, their placement in pieces with more complex, "adult" concepts, like last week's sexually-charged, delicious Jazz number that only landed Mark in the bottom three because Trump's America, is bound to happen given the details of their pairing. Though I think Mark does "BDSM" a little more convincingly than "doomed lover," he nevertheless nailed the emotional delivery and (almost) physical demands of the piece--a contemporary routine where flexibility and variety in one's fluidness were required. Imagine that! It really helped his case that Comfort is his partner; again, Comfort killed it just as she kills everything. Like Mark/Koine and Robert/Taylor, Mark/Comfort are a near-perfect couple and a pleasant surprise of the format. Though Mark, talented ham that he is, could succeed with anyone based off of the merit and creativity of his solos and his affability, his partnership with Comfort has the potential to propel him to win this whole competition. I'll continue with the All-Stars' contemporary routine tomorrow.