Anothermi

I may be having a senior's moment, but for the life of me I can't remember a SYTYCD (US) contestant named Damian who's stated dance style was ballroom. Could someone help me out? All I can come up with is Jonathan Platero who's "dance style" was Salsa and who has danced with the DWTS Troupe and recently choreographed for SYTYCD. (The only other SYTYCD Damian that I remember is from the Australian version.)

I hadn't heard about Robin's injury so Trent Whiddon, as a Pro, is news to me. I googled him (he initially reminded me of Damian Whitewood but that didn't last) and he has experience from DWTS Australia and (meeting what seems to be the new-hire criteria) has worked on Burn the Floor. Only 2 male pros on this roster who haven't done time with Burn the Floor. (to my knowledge neither Brendan nor Anton have done the show, but I could be wrong) I love Burn the Floor, but I expect to hear a lot of moaning about the preponderance of alumni on some discussion forums. ;-) Also really disappointed at Anya not being a Pro this Series. My only consolation is that she is still associated with the show and we might get to see some of her choreography (and perhaps her dancing in those routines?). ETA: Anton... I don't love him, but I don't hate him either. I think his presence is to give a reassuring sense of stability to BBC viewers who aren't happy with the loss of entertainment icon Brucie. (Just a thought, not based on anything really.)

Good to hear about Emma. She hasn't had much of a chance to show off her skills with her celeb partners on DWTS. Although you've spelled the last name differently, I think the James you are referring to is Jaymz Tuaileva. He was on Season 2 of SYTYCD (booted after Top 14) and auditioned as a Jazz dancer. He's from Orem, Utah. The same place as Allison Holker, who was on the same season as he was. Jaymz (don't know if he's kept that spelling or not) also appeared (uncredited most of the time) with the Troupe on DWTS and in various Macy's Stars of Dance routines. A funny story about him is that for (one of) his dance for your life dances he did a Paso. Nigel Lythgoe questioned him about it and he replied that he woke up that morning and "just felt like a Paso...". Jaymz had been on DWTS for at least a couple of seasons (probably more) so consistently that I added him to the Troupe thread over at TWOP. Back in Season 2 of SYTYCD I was not aware of the amount of cross training many of the dancers had, so I assumed Jaymz was delusional when he chose to do a paso (which Nigel reinforced with his remarks) but now I'm thinking that - especially for the Utah trained dancers - he, and probably Allison, took ballroom dancing as well as a lot of other styles when growing up. He certainly was getting work as a Ballroom dancer within 4 years (?) of his SYTYCD Jazz debut on TV. And returning to Emma. I finally caught up with last season and heard her say something about her "former" boyfriend being able to do a great Wookie impression. Does that mean she and Sasha have broken up?

I probably have as much information about Allison's training as you do, and I generally agree with you that Bill Nye showed some ability to do swing dance but I wouldn't extrapolate that the lack of ability that he showed in other forms of dance was all down to Tyne's lack of experience in ballroom/latin. I don't know what experience she did or did not have. I believe, because I've seen this weakness in other newbee pros who DO have extensive ballroom dancing training, that she hadn't figured out the best way to hide Bill Nye's weaknesses and accentuate his strengths. It even took Derek quite a while to hone this this particular skill (although he is now a master at it). However, the main reason I quoted your post was about the section I bolded. While I concur that in recent years the little ballroom that is given to the dancetestants on SYTYCD is highly contemp-ified, Allison was on season 2 and that was not what was happening then. The ballroom was closer to standard than not - and often either hilarious or excruciating to watch. Allison was 18 when her season aired. That was in 2006 - 8 years ago. She indicated back then that she was interested in learning more ballroom/latin dancing and I believe she started taking classes not long after. I also believe that she is a skilled dancer and could pick up a great deal of ballroom technique even if she took classes only half of those 8 intervening years. It is not impossible for ballroom trained dancers to study and become proficient in contemporary dance (see Tanisha Belnap from the current SYTYCD season) so it would also not be impossible for a trained contemporary dancer to study and become proficient at ballroom dancing. All of this is conjecture on my part, but I haven't seen any actual facts that indicate this point of view is less possible than one that suggests Allison has hardly any or merely desultory training in ballroom. I'm willing to wait and see how it goes for her. It will be a big challenge regardless of her degree of training, as it is for all the Pros on the show. I think her biggest challenge will be living up to the hype if/when she has to choreograph a contemporary routine as I think viewers who know her will have extremely high expectations. I hope she can live up to them. (Emma did well with the other Bill, but she wasn't very well known so the bar was pretty low for her as far as expectations go - AND she had an endearing contestant.) One last thought on this subject... It seems that the younger dancers (especially Derek and Mark) don't make a big distinction between ballroom and other forms of dancing. Derek has choreographed for ice dancers, Sonya Teyah (contemporary from SYTYCD) has choreographed for ballet companies (one that Chehon, male winner of SYTYCD Season 9 was in) and Mark Ballas was able to free himself from the traditional expectations of DWTS by choreographing a Cha-Cha for SYTYCD season 8. That may not be what many views tune in to DWTS to see, but it seems to be the way dancing on TV is evolving.

True that! In fact, and I may be alone in this, I thought she looked like a very young Mary Murphy.

I loved that dance and I loved Hani as a competitor. I rewatched the critiques as well and got so angry - again - because the judges were telling Hani he would go far and the Canadian voting public booted him after that dance.

I not addressing this post specifically, but using it as a jump off to express a different perspective. I worked (helped out is more accurate) on lighting for a dance show back in my college days and for a few dances the choreographer wanted strong side lighting that would cast shadows and enhance the body shapes (half the body visible and half in darkness). It was part of the overall feel of the piece. It was very effective - on a live stage. It's a legitimate choice for lighting dance. I'm not sure it works as well for television and I, too, am suspicious that some of that lighting choice was a deliberate move to hide Jacque's feet. However, I did feel it added an ambience to Chehon and Jacque's piece. I remember complaints being registered about Chelsie's fluffy white dress hiding her moves (in her and Mark's 'Tim Burton's Wedding' contemporary by Mia). Sometimes the choreographer makes choices that work for their vision (which is live) and it just doesn't work for ours out in TV land.

Nothing to see. After sober second thought I can't stand by my initial comment.

Ok, found an exit interview for Stanley and Jourdan - with DancePlug, of course. They're both wearing shirts that (to me) express some of who they are. Jourdan's is black with white ballerinas and Stanley's is grey with wispy white swirls and shapes - like his dance movements. They both seem pretty up-beat. I also want to say that I love Jourdan's voice. It is so not!little girly, like so many of the female dancers voices. I think "there's a woman who knows herself" when I hear her speak. That may not be true, but it's why I like her voice. Here is their exit interview:

Interview (by DancePlug again) of Tanisha and Rudy - to start - but then they are joined by Ricky and Valerie. Rudy is once again asked about Jacque and gives an answer that has the interviewer swooning -ish. Tanisha gives heartfelt goodbye re: Marcquet and Brooklyn. Marcquet was Ricky's roommate and did all the cooking, so now Ricky's going to be malnourished (or worse because Rudy offered to cook for him). Given the one show per week format, this seems to be the only window open to actually get to know the contestants. I'm thinking it is the new format (less time) that is responsible for a lot of the lack of contestant-recognition this far into the show. (JMHO)

I've been neglecting the bootees. Sorry guys. This week it was Marcquet and Brooklyn. They auditioned together and they went out together. Fitting. Here is what Mary Murphy said about Marcquet's final night: (with a little plug for National Dance Day at the end) I'll post other items as I find them. Now I have to look up who was booted last week. I've forgotten already. Bad me. :-( (OK, I remembered Jourdan, and as I typed this I went YIKES! how could I forget Stanley! Double bad on me!) This is kind of an exit interview. Actually I liked this format, less of a downer. It's DancePlug with Marcquet, Brooklyn, Emily and Teddy.

Seems we don't have a Guest Judges thread, so here it is, just in time to say goodbye to Misty Copeland. She's been a good influence on Nigel and Mary's critiques. She's back to rehearsals for American Ballet theatre. I'm wondering if TPTB got her on the show to try to win over the established dance community who haven't had a lot of respect for this show in the past (possibly a bit of snobbery on their part, but likely a lot of legitimate criticism as well). She's BALLET! and from a well established company, so nay-sayers would be trash talking her if they trash talked the show. No? I assume there must be psychological resons behind these kind of decisions. I could be wrong. Anyway, here is her DancePlug exit interview.

Dance Plug interview with Jonathan Platero & Oksana (from the DWTS Troupe is why I know her). They talk about the Salsa they choreographed for Emily and Teddy. Due to Emily's dislocated shoulder, she didn't do the dress rehearsal, Oksana stood in for her and was prepared to dance with Teddy on the show. I guess that shows what a trouper Emily is, but now I wish we'd seen Teddy dance with Oksana. Sonya Tayeh, interviewed by Dance Plug. She's another one that seems to have matured and quieted down a bit since she first burst forth with "The Garden" in Season 4 (still one of my favorites due to Mark Kanemura!). She's moved to New York. Wants to work more in theatre. Won't say which company she'll be working with this fall because they haven't announced it yet. Doesn't actually talk about her pieces on the show, but then she wasn't asked to. I'm assuming this is the best place to put these vids because, well, it fits the Now.

Travis Wall talks about his two pieces in this past show (Top 16 Perform). Again with Dance Plug. I find the show's treatment of him influences how I view him - in a negative way. So I tried to put that aside when I viewed this and I noticed that he seems to have matured quite a bit since season 2. I remember him as being kind of whiney back then, and a bit precious. He comes across as more grounded, his voice is lower and calmer. He mentioned he thought about saving his duo routine for later (All-Star partners). His group piece was choreographed more on the fly as the music he had wanted wasn't cleared in time.

Dance Plug interview with Dmitry Chaplin. HE SPEAKS! He is a very charming and entertaining interview-ee really. You'd never know it from his portrayal on SYTYCD and DWTS. [/bitter] I've grow to appreciate him more and more since his Season 2 stint on this show. He hoping to be back this season. I admit that I thought he looked less than pleased with the effusive praise heaped on Travis (during the show), but now I think I should just refrain from trying to read things into people's facial expressions. He may have just been tired. ENJOY!

Although I didn't see them in the audience, it looks like Will Wingfield and his partner, Monique Borromeo, were at this past show. They were interviewed by Dance Plug (of the annoying intro which also exposes their Ricky bias as he shown 3 different times). Will has been continuing his IV Real projects and explains them. He also reveals that they have gone to film school in order to better portray Dance on film. So that explains the moniker "The MΣTA'FIZIKAL" & "Creative and Artistic Designers" title mentioned in my post up thread. He's so gorgeous!

Thanks for the link, Thirteenthjuror. There seems to be quite a few Season 4 alumni in that group: Rock the House Dance Convention. Season IV members: Comfort Fedoke Chelsie Hightower Will B. Winfield (under "The MΣTA'FIZIKAL" & listed as "Creative and Artistic Designers") Sasha seems to be the only non-Season IV member. Further there are a lot of SYTYCD connections among almost all of the other Faculty (bio for everyone found here): Jeff Lapes - listed as chief founder - learned from and was mentored by Dan Karaty Chaz Buzan - assisted Mia Michaels & Brian Friedman at PULSE conventions Talia Favia - worked as an assistant choreographer on SYTYCD and trained with Brian Friedman, Mia Michaels and Wade Robson Noel Bajandas - listed as an original faculty member - "choreographed alongside legendary choreographers like Mia Michaels, Jamal Sims, Toni Basil ..." Taja Riley - (Denise Wall trained) many SYTYCD fans hoped she would audition for STYTCD back when. She was involved as Mia's assistant for the Emmy winning"Addiction" piece and hasn't suffered from lack of work despite never being a contestant. Zakk Manzella - his SYTYCD connection is tangential in that he choreographed for/danced with Wayne Brady. So, of the 11 Faculty bios, only Dha'Sean Serrano has no mentioned SYTYCD related connection. I'm glad to see alums involved in different projects. I wonder how all this works (I'm not involved in dance related things at all, just an appreciate-er)? It seems to me dancers have to constantly be on the look-out for new projects or, as Ellenore does, create their own. It exhausts me thinking about it.

@Turkish, thanks for all that. Re: the quote above, Pasha and Anya admitted to dating for a while, but long before they appeared on SYTYCD. So I don't know if that even counts. But as a partnership? they definitely seem to have "broken up". They've been doing their own separate thing at least since Pasha got the job with Strictly Come Dancing and even after Anya joined that cast, their other work is generally done individually. (Thankfully they are sometimes paired together for the Professional Group Dances on that show because I love watching them dance together.)

That is why I (and perhaps a few others) prefer the static dance partners for the first few weeks. Even in season 1, the couples who drew each other repeatedly could get a grip on a style new to both of them more easily than a newly formed couple.

I think that particular set up was just awkward. Allan wasn't the only one who got to choose who they "didn't want to dance with again". It was presented as some kind of prize!?! IIRC, Allen framed it like "You know I love you, Snow, but I'd like to try different dance partners." (that is not an exact quote) Basically he was excluding her name from the "Hat". It was not a good concept and I think they dropped it fairly quickly. Season One was the only season where I felt you could tell the partner and dance-style draws were truly random. There were a lot of repeat partnering and repeat dance styles for some of the contestants yet not all of them. I found that realistic as far as randomness goes. It doesn't result in no repeats. Now-a-days it's hard to decide about the dance style allocation. We already know that as of season 2 TPTB set up the initial partnerships. I wish they had a rule that ensured someone couldn't do the same style twice in a row - at the very least!

Hee! I wasn't sure if the poster was being literal about the words or was referring to the musical "phrase" which is why I asked if anyone was trying to make a "thing" of it. The musical phrase has definitely been made a "thing" in my mind - to the point of the "dance, dance, dance" part being heard and danced to even when it's not there. Otherwise, I don't actually know what the poster means by "Shoobie Doobie Doo Dance". I guess I wasn't clear.

OK. Here is another interview by Dance Plug. I usually hate their interviewers, but this one is a dancer and is not bad. and Nigel sort of explains to Dance Plug the intent behind his nasty comment to Malene: (I'm getting tired of their theme music already!!!)

So, I pondered making contestant threads, but that is soooo last year's TWoP! Besides, many contestants didn't generate enough interest to keep their thread alive. BUT, I can't help but want to give some attention to the unfortunates who were unceremoniously kicked off. Perhaps threads for individual dancers might crop up, but until then: Here is Nick and Malene interviewed by the Pacific Rim Video Press guy whose name I've forgotten, but who I think is a decent interviewer compared to so many others. Malene impressed me with her philosophical acceptance (and I wasn't a fan of hers). Poor Nick, he is working on that. I like that he and Rudy are just emotional types and they make great friends. Edit to add: The interviewers name is Chris Trondsen.

Have they been trying to make that phase a thing? I didn't notice. What I have noticed is that dancing to that phase at the end of many/most DFYL bits has been a "thing" and may not even be gone now (we just don't get as many DFYLs). I don't remember when the show stopped adding the "dance, dance, dance" ending, but the contestants continued to choreograph movement for it - and not just in the US. They've done it in Canada and Australia too. It's one of those things you hear even when it's not there.

Lots of good ones there @LoquaciousAudacity ! I had forgotten about the Caitlynn ones - and I especially loved the one with Mitchell at the time. Sometimes routines are a lot better OUT of context of the show where the judges or other shenanigans pull focus, or even just having to compare them with other routines on the night. Some good ones escape notice at the time because of that. I love this thread for bringing the good back into focus because it is far too easy to remember the bad stuff (most of which is NOT the dancing).