shimarella

Sorry to see Stanley go since he really got hosed by the telephone routine last week. Jourdan I could take or leave, honestly. I enjoyed the opening routine, it was fun and visually rich. The first lyrical hip-hop routine took a little too long to kick in for me but I enjoyed the intricate hand movements, and they performed it with great charm. Carly did a great job with Luther Brown's hip-hop routine and Serge did his best to keep up. I loved Misty's defense of the routine and her shoutout to being of this generation and loving her some hip-hop..ha ha I'd love to see her throw down. I thought Nigel's critique was another one of his ham-handed attempts to trick the viewing audience into voting FOR the dance. It was almost as unbearable as his stupid lecture about the origins of Ne Me Quitte Pas.. #shutupnigel The jive was charming. Not super-complicated but they registered the right amount of energy and fun. Its always a pleasure to see Anya & Pasha. I agree with most of y'all about the Viennese Waltz. It had its lovely moments but it was a bit overpraised. I was sad to see what Lacey did to her face. I was a fan of hers on her season and thought she looked really luscious then. The blond and the botox(?) are doing her no favors whatsoever. UGH Why did we have to be subjected to two Tyce routines. I could not get into the "flying carpet" routine. The costumes washed out the dancers and the song did not work for the storyline. I use that song when I want to do a sexy and dirty freelance during pole practice.In fact every time I hear the opening line : " You're just a dirty dirty old man" I think of Nigel and not of an exotic magic carpet.

They could definitely stand to mix it up a bit more in the choreography department. A lot of the problem arises from the show believing its own hype and placing the choreographers' egos and concepts ahead of what will showcase the dancers ( as well as challenge them). Too many showy set-pieces and stupid story lines. I've bitched about the Bollywood choreography before. Nakul choreographs at hyper-sonic speed which isn't the only way to dance Bollywood and he only taps into the glittery traditional dress stylings for the dances as well. There's so much fun and campy Bollywood dance to pay homage to. I'd love to see a take on a 60s/70s gangster movie ( the costumes were fab and some of the dancers, like Helen, were legend!) or some of the more modern hip-hop influenced dances. Luther Brown probably has to water down his work for American SYTYCD, an irony for a show where old men openly leer at young dancers, but it would explain why the hip-hop on this show is still not hitting its mark. Take a stroll over to the Season One thread to see how cool some of the hip-hop chorey was. Speaking of former contestants, Allan "Big Poppa" Frias' hip-hop classes are balls-to-the-walls sellouts in San Francisco. I'd love to see him put some work on these contestants.

Well this was a fun ride. The shortened season really worked and the time-jump made sense to me..wrapped up enough things while leaving others open as possible plot points for future or at least up to us to draw our own conclusions. I do hope that they bring 24 and Jack back because the double-whammy of Jack's heartbreak over Audrey's death AND his silent clock is a bit too much for this fan. In a way I can see how the writers wrapped up his super-tragic hero tale correctly...he had a look of peace on his face and unless the sequel involves Godzilla ( hee to the poster upthread) freeing him from the copter OR the Russians needing Jack's help...its pretty clear this is the end of the road for him. Seriously that final silent clock is gonna haunt me. Dammit Jack!

In agreement with much of what has already been said. I was sorry to see Nick go, even though I understood why...I like his personality while Casey didn't even register for me. I would have preferred to see Brooklyn go from the girls or the off-balance ballerina. Malena looked AMAZING and grown sexy in the broadway piece. It sucked for both dancers that Spencer didn't have them ditch the phones sooner. Almost everyone else left on the show is pretty much playing at being grown up now, which is a little boring for me. I liked Rudy & Tanisha's routine, even acknowledging the flaws in it..it was a quirky Apache-esque dance and less boring than the angsty emo contemporary crap. I was glad that Benji called that out, but not so glad about his lift-heavy WCS that barely had any flow to it. It did the dancers no favors and I'm not sure what they could have done with it in return. I'd like to see him do more WCS on the show so hopefully he took the note. Both Hip-Hop routines were very WTF for me although Teddy was enjoyable in his Gumby-esque way. They need to lay off the make-up a little though unless his next routine is a tribute to The Velvet Goldmine. Emilio's outfit was also WTF for me. I couldn't focus on the dance at all. And yes, both girls were middlin' to dreadful. Also: I'm sorry if I missed this, but did they eliminate the DoD for the bottom three/six dancers from this season??? I liked the Afro-Jazz routine primarily for the styling. I thought both dancers were super light on their feet for a routine that asked for them to be warriors but it was still a breath of fresh air after the mostly forgettable dances last night. I liked Misty. She did give them some good notes and I didn't mind that she referred to those notes as she talked to them. That's what I would do too. Also did I miss where they said they were eliminating the DoDs for the bottom 6 dancers?

I was a little startled by the S11 changes at first but its cool and interesting. Just as you think they are taking The Physics of Dance, Y'all! thing too seriously, they end with FikShun flexing his pecs and getting the geometry stats on that, so I ended up laughing :)

Ahhh! So many of my favorite routines have already been mentioned. Perhaps its mere sentimentality but I have a soft spot for Seasons 1-4 because it was a bit before the show got too big for its britches in terms of expecting Emmy nods etc. I agree with the poster upthread who preferred the dances where the dancetestants were clearly having fun whether or not they were all-pro in nailing the technique. That's what I watch for. Did anyone upload the Top 2 girls solo from Season One? It's still one of the best examples of how to do a fierce, abstract duet without overloading it with story. I was never a Melody fan but she danced her little ass off here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9blk5IaiGO0

Oh I agree with you there! Duets like those were running ( tapping ) through my head in unflattering comparison to Zack and Val on the staircase. Sometimes those set/prop "challenges" work but often I find them an impediment to the dance on this show.

Yeah, I think Emilio stumbled a bit on the flare move he was using to get back on the table. The table just seemed a little too high for that trick to get pulled off consistently. He didn't miss it exactly but it was the only bobble I noticed.

I enjoyed this premiere episode of the show more than most. The opening number didn't do too much for me other than create some fun formations but I guess that's the benefit of having 20 dancers to start with. My favorite routine was probably the "Night Shift" number. I get the dissonance of taking a song with tragic roots and turning it into a fun routine...but in a way that's what worked since the set up was about joy in nostalgia. Anyway, the choreography really showcased their individuality and teamwork. Both those boys are total charmers. I also surprisingly enjoyed Jessica and Ricky's duet because Sonya Tayeh actually did some somewhat different movement vocabulary and they both did right by her. Smart to showcase Jessica's ability to be clean and celestial in her technique. My third favorite routine was probably Nick and Tanisha. I know that Malena & Marquet's was more technically proficient but Nick and Tanisha really played up the fun aspect of their dance better for me. Most of the other contemporary/jazz routines didn't make much impression. The ballerinas had some nice things going on but I did think the duet showcased some wonky technique on both of them and they really should have not dressed them alike, for reasons others have stated upthread. The tap routine was more enjoyable for me when they were dancing side by side and you could see their skill. The staircase was for me another one of those SYTYCD choreographer afflictions where the set-piece did not serve the dancers. Watching them race up and down the stairs while trying to smile and tap-dance didn't do much for me. Interesting to have the voting start tonight..not sure who will get cut, although as always the contemporary/jazz dancers for the most part hold my interest the least. Jason Derulo was a fun judge. I hate that song but I loved watching his female dancers pull-up onto the bars and twerk. Get it!

Elle Two Three, what is the best way to get a hold of the Australian SYTYCD? I really enjoyed watching that version of the show in the past. Yeah, I'm not particularly impressed by Bridget so I'm not rooting for her in particular. There's still plenty to look forward to with the rest of Top Twenty so hopefully I can get past the usual producer manipulation etc. My major on-going wishes for the season are that choreographers stop thinking about Emmy set-pieces and just make good dances again...and that we see some interesting categories. They've never done House on the US version and I did enjoy West Coast Swing when they did it. More ballroom dancers maybe will equal some better variety.

I was happy they didn't draw out the callback process this season. I always dislike the "group routine" phase even though I sort of get why they feel it shows them something about the dancers. I think I'd be more interested if like the Canada ( or maybe it was Australia) SYTYCD they would bring back that concept into the show itself by pairing dancers and giving them time to choreograph a duet for the show. Otherwise it just seems like fake boot camp drama. I can't even judge if a group routine was truly crappy because I'm already giving them so many allowances for the amount of time etc. Sorry to see JaJa go. I loved how she and Emilio transformed themselves for the ballroom round. And she is a fierce thing! Also sad that Johnny Waack and Silky didn't make it. Most of the Top 20 men are interesting and diverse and as usual, some of the contemporary/jazz dancetestants made no impression on me whatsoever. Excited that ballroom and tap at least will present some diversity. I know its always manipulative but I was rooting for those two friends to make it because I thought their earnestness about making the Top 20 together was actually totally adorable. Couple other issues: Tattoos. YMMV of course but I'm glad we are now in a time where they don't make the difference as much between getting hired or not. I'm glad that dancers don't have to cover them up in general. It doesn't matter why someone gets them. Mostly though, a beautiful body in motion is generally enhanced for me by a little art ( and especially when the person in question thought about all that when selecting the tattoo). I used to not get gigs ( dance and teaching) because of my tattoos and I'm quite happy that this is no longer the case. Sexuality in dance: I'm also a pole dancer ( competitively, per formatively and recreationally) and I personally think that beautiful fluid floor work that isn't all about falling out of a pirouette and acro tricks is a missing art..especially floor work that expresses sexuality and not just emo yearning. So I liked Jessica's dance style. She's not 12. It didn't feel faked to me. Its her style and she's comfortable with it, and the control she exhibited in some of the floorwork tricks showed me that she isn't resting on pretty. If she can pull it together for the competition ( and keep her hair out of her face) in some routines that showcase her strength, control and flexibility that will help her out wit the naysayers. I always fear for the "sexy dancers" because they start off praised by the judges, then get pigeonholed into choreography that only showcase that and get turned on before getting eliminated. Yes, I'm still bitter about Natalie from Season Two.

yeah! So happy for her. I love the song.

Hi there! Another TWoP refugee here. I had my doubts about BH ( US) Version) because I had liked the original version ( until that awful season finale where they pretty much killed everyone) and didn't think it could get pulled off well by SyFy. Anyway...I have gotten really fond of this cast and have been pretty impressed with the show. I don't know how exactly it will ned...feels like they are pushing hard towards something intense and irrevocable here. I too wish there had been a bit more development in the leap from Ramona the sad child sacrifice ghost to Ramona the Evil Spirit of the House ( I wonder if something got cut) but other than that I am enjoying the final ride. I can't wait for next week! My DVR keeps cutting off the previews so I really have no idea what will happen.