S17.E10: Head 2 Head

[luvthepros]

7 hours ago, Melonie77 said:

I thought the same thing and I rolled my eyes when I saw they were dancing Broadway. But what really surprised me is that they put them in costumes resembling uniforms yet again. I think that was the third time they dressed Beau in something that brought the image of bus driver Ralph Kramden to mind. Did the producers see the resemblance too?

Oh Gosh, I literally laughed out loud at the part where Gleeson really gets into it - the part where the ballroom dancer joins him in the kitchen.
The 1950s Honeymooners was before my time but it still aired for decades after it ended and I remember seeing it as a child. It's certainly an iconic show and I wonder how many other people may have noticed the resemblance to Beau. It's definitely a funny comparison but I do honestly admire Beau's comedic side. I just didn't think he should have been kept on this long.

I have a feeling JoJo may be a bit of a stubborn 'brat'. IMO she is too young for the role of judge on the show. 

Hubby, who does not watch SYTYCD, but is aware of it because I watch it, said Jo Jo is too young to be a judge on this show and I agree with him. She needs some more hard knocks before she should be thrust into that position. I miss Nigel.

[sharifa70]

7 hours ago, Melonie77 said:

Beau's participation this year brought back memories of Cyrus for me. While Cyrus was a better dancer within his style than Beau, he had a lot of trouble with other styles and I remember the show having to work around his lack of cross training. He was kept in the back of some group numbers and I think I remember one routine where he was not included at all. I did love his animation though and his robotic dance with Twitch is one of my all time favorites.

This is also an absolute favorite of mine. 

But, as inexperienced as he was in other styles (I’m going to stop saying untrained because there’s nothing “untrained” about him), he was able to hold his own with the lovely Jaimie in this contemporary in what I have always. thought was one of his better out-of-his-style performances.

I agree that Jojo shouldn’t come back. 

I guess we can argue that it was really the judges who kept putting Beau in a uniform because they kept keeping him around. 

Edited July 31, 2022 by sharifa70

[luvthepros]

3 hours ago, sharifa70 said:

This is also an absolute favorite of mine. 

But, as inexperienced as he was in other styles (I’m going to stop saying untrained because there’s nothing “untrained” about him), he was able to hold his own with the lovely Jaimie in this contemporary in what I have always. thought was one of his better out-of-his-style performances.

I agree that Jojo shouldn’t come back. 

I guess we can argue that it was really the judges who kept putting Beau in a uniform because they kept keeping him around. 

Beau would not have been competing this season if Nigel were on the judge's panel. I miss Nigel.

[realdancemom]

On 7/29/2022 at 6:46 PM, crowceilidh said:

I'm in the middle of watching the epi and came here to comment that the judging on the Essence-Keaton-Alexis number from JoJo seemed like a direct battle response to Twitch's take-down of Beau the dance earlier.

And other than that, so far I'm enjoying the dances.  There is no tension to this format.  Beau shouldn't have made it into the top 20, I don't care what JoJo thinks.

I like Essence and previously mentioned that she has the IT factor.  But I agree with Jojo on this one.  Essence puts her all into the routines and it worked for Bollywood and disco.  But when it comes to jazz and contemporary, her lack of technique shows especially when she can be compared with another female in a dance like Alexis.  I think Jojo really appreciates Alexis as a dancer.  However, I did notice that she never gives constructive criticism to Beau.  Only Leah and Twitch did that in this episode.  I agree with all the constructive criticisms.

Even though we didn't get to vote, I think the studio audience did a good job choosing from each pair.  Essence and Ralyn was the only pair where I would have been happy either way.

[Melonie77]

12 hours ago, sharifa70 said:

This is also an absolute favorite of mine. 
But, as inexperienced as he was in other styles (I’m going to stop saying untrained because there’s nothing “untrained” about him), he was able to hold his own with the lovely Jaimie in this contemporary in what I have always. thought was one of his better out-of-his-style performances.

Oh yes! That was a terrific dance and Cyrus did indeed hold his own! I'll have to go back and watch a few more of his dances. I think the times I remember him not doing as well were during a couple of group dances. He was great with solo animation spots in group dances but couldn't keep up as well in other parts. I still enjoyed him though and I thought he grew during the season. IMO Cyrus had more to offer than Beau.

14 hours ago, luvthepros said:

Hubby, who does not watch SYTYCD, but is aware of it because I watch it, said Jo Jo is too young to be a judge on this show and I agree with him. She needs some more hard knocks before she should be thrust into that position. I miss Nigel.

I hope both Nigel and Mary are back next year. 

[mojoween]

Cyrus is my all-time favorite, so wonderful to see those routines again.

Jojo’s barrettes and shirtless-blazer were a very incongruous match.  She was a kid on top, but trying to be an adult lower down and it was odd.

[DEL901]

3 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Cyrus is my all-time favorite, so wonderful to see those routines again.

Jojo’s barrettes and shirtless-blazer were a very incongruous match.  She was a kid on top, but trying to be an adult lower down and it was odd.

Her life has been strange.  It was only last year on DWTS that she ditched the pony and bow for the first time and then later in the season she was invited to an awards show and wanted to dress grown up, it was Jenna, her partner on the show, who took her shopping for her very first heels.  

[vibeology]

I think with JoJo, she would be fine as one of three judges where all three were dance experts. Mary and Nigel (and Mia and Adam and all the others) had pet favourites over the years. A few judges prided themselves on staying positive most of the time It mostly was fine because there were two other strong dance experts to balance out any lack of critique. The problem is Leah is not a dancer and cannot speak to technique when JoJo doesn't so it leaves Twitch to do all the heavy lifting and critiquing on technical issues. It just leaves the panel very unbalanced. JoJo is a great dancer and despite her young age has both years of experience dancing and being in front of a camera under her belt. She has the potential to be a great judge and TV personality. It's just with an unbalanced panel, she sticks out too much. Put someone stronger than Leah on there and I do think it would feel different so I wouldn't be mad if she got another year to see if things get better.

[displayname]

With Jojo, even some of her talk about the dancing was confusing to me though. She was clearly biased about Beau, OK, whatever, but she thought Carter's half of that Salsa he did with Anna was good, and I just don't see how or why she'd say that. Leah actually got it right that time.

I think Jojo needs more professional experience, although yes she does have dancing experience and can become a good TV personality. She's young enough to be a contestant herself lol, not even 20 let alone 25 or 30. I wish to see a Ballroom expert along with tWitch, the third can be a rotating judge. IDK if Nigel will come back, but I wouldn't mind him rounding out a fixed panel either.

Edited August 2, 2022 by displayname

[realdancemom]

2 hours ago, vibeology said:

I think with JoJo, she would be fine as one of three judges where all three were dance experts. Mary and Nigel (and Mia and Adam and all the others) had pet favourites over the years. A few judges prided themselves on staying positive most of the time It mostly was fine because there were two other strong dance experts to balance out any lack of critique. The problem is Leah is not a dancer and cannot speak to technique when JoJo doesn't so it leaves Twitch to do all the heavy lifting and critiquing on technical issues. It just leaves the panel very unbalanced. JoJo is a great dancer and despite her young age has both years of experience dancing and being in front of a camera under her belt. She has the potential to be a great judge and TV personality. It's just with an unbalanced panel, she sticks out too much. Put someone stronger than Leah on there and I do think it would feel different so I wouldn't be mad if she got another year to see if things get better.

I think Jojo is there to attract younger viewers.  I agree that she would have been fine if there were other dance experts on the panel. Fox had a great opportunity to replace MM with a ballroom expert or Nigel but chose Leah instead. 

[Mason]

I'm reminded of the difference between a connoisseur and a critic. A connoisseur knows what's good and bad. A critic knows how to explain to someone else what's good and bad. tWitch is a critic. JoJo is, at best, a connoisseur. Leah knows what she likes.

[leocadia]

Despite her personal experience as a dancer and performer (which can't and shouldn't be denied), I don't think JoJo has enough life experience absorbing the whole of the dance world along with it's history and references.  In other words, she was so busy doing dance/being on tv that she hasn't had the time to watch, experience and appreciate the art of dance.  Several times she has claimed that a performance was "the best she's ever seen" when any fan of this show can (and have in this very forum) point out multiple past routines that far surpassed anything on this season.  And that is only within the narrow confines of one show about dance, let alone the rest of the abundance of dance history.

[luvthepros]

Wondering if Jo Jo is aware of Mikhail Baryshnikov.

[displayname]

21 hours ago, leocadia said:

Several times she has claimed that a performance was "the best she's ever seen" when any fan of this show can (and have in this very forum) point out multiple past routines that far surpassed anything on this season.  And that is only within the narrow confines of one show about dance, let alone the rest of the abundance of dance history.

I don't think she means it when she says "it's the best I've ever seen in my life", I'd assume she's engaging in hyperbole. For "the best on the show" comments, I'm less certain, since it's very much possible she's not watched the older seasons.

Edited August 3, 2022 by displayname

[crowceilidh]

Well, she thinks she's inventing something that happened on Season 1 of the show with Allan who was a much better dancer than Beau and I would say, bigger.  Tedious.