S13.E06: The Next Generation: Top 10 Perform

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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After making it through the auditions and the grueling academy, the top 10 dancers perform in hopes of winning over the judges and viewers at home.

[Tasya]

I thought that the show went surprisingly well. I was pleased with the majority of the routines and most of the kids did a really good job. I can already see that little JT is going to go far. He isn't the best dancer but his cute factor and the audience/judge reaction to it is obvious. Maddie said during his segment that she hoped that he got pushed just as hard as the older kids but I don't see it happening. What I do see ahead is a lot of tears when the routines are outside his comfort zone. We'll see if i'm proven wrong. 

I've already forgotten the performances by Daniela and Shaedyn (christ that name) so I think one of the two of them will go first. I enjoyed Ruby and Jordin the most tonight. 

I thought that as a judge Maddie did ok for a first time out. I'd like to see her comments go a little deeper than how the dancers made her feel and/or how they connected to their partners. However, in her defense none of the other judges really went there with real critiques of any issues. They very much soft-pedaled all of their comments. Hopefully as the season goes on they will offer them responses on how to improve because there certainly is room for them to get better in some things. 

I enjoyed all of the group dances. They only thing that I would have liked them to do that they didn't was to have the kids partner each other. If this show does come back next season they should add that element. 

[adhoc]

I watched parts of the show. I did not care for Kida's lack of humility when he came on the stage to talk to Cat. (I think it was Cat.)  And especially when he said he wanted to show that kids can do whatever adults can do (or something in that vein). I watched him dance with Fik Shun, and while I'm no hip hop expert, I could see that, no, Kida, you may already be 14, but you still have a lot to learn before you're anywhere as good as Fik Shun. 

Kida was not the only kid who had me rolling my eyes in that respect. I imagine these kids as all having agents and head shots...In general, however, I prefer kids who don't talk to adults as though they are their equals and who do seem to exude a little awe and humility at being selected to compete.

[Primetimer]

The ten finalists finally get their chance to strut their stuff, with a little help from their mentors, some of whom have changed a lot since last week.

View the full article

[crowceilidh]

What happened that Jonathan got replaced?  That is, so far, the most interesting aspect of the show.

[DancingD]

Joshua got replaced, not Jonathan. And I think I glanced him in the audience. 

[Tasya]

I think that Joshua was likely replaced because he and the kid he picked do not match up well at all. I was mystified as to why he chose him in the first place. 

[Kira53]

5 minutes ago, Tasya said:

I think that Joshua was likely replaced because he and the kid he picked do not match up well at all. I was mystified as to why he chose him in the first place. 

I believe that the producers chose the contestants not the AllStars; They are producing a show and they want certain personalities.  The All Stars know the deal.  They were cast the same way by the producers.  Maybe Joshua thought the really had a choice and didn't want to participate when he realized his kid hadn't been featured and was probably cast as fodder.  Whereas the little boy as cast as a cute kid with less skills but a strong cute factor.  I think he is just too young to have the level of experience or training to be an equal to the other cast mates.

I didn't watch the auditions and only watched half of the episode before this one but I followed the process with some podcasts and this site.  I thought the choreographers did a great job this week hiding the contestants weaknesses.  Some of the AllStars followed the example of DWTS pros and danced down to the contestants.

[Tasya]

I am looking forward to the coming weeks because the kids will be forced to really rise to the challenge. At their ages, they are all really confident in what they do. They are prodigies so they have been praised, likely constantly, for doing what they do well. Throwing them into a style that they are not comfortable with and having to preform it live in front of a large audience is really going to show who really has what it takes. 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

I counted 1 and a half constructive criticisms in 2 hours. Kida got knocked a little right at the very beginning as Nigel said he wanted to see more expressive eyes or something to that effect. For a split second I thought that might bode well and the kids might actually get some feedback that would help them improve especially as they leave their wheelhouses in the coming weeks.

Alas, it was not to be as only Jason (with producers in his ear no doubt) crushed Sheadyn with a specificity that he never even came close to matching with the other nine kids for the only other real critique of the entire show. The same Sheadyn who didn't get a lick of airtime in auditions and the academy.....and got thrown a partner switch to boot (another mini-me! except for the whole Marko not really being a hip hop specialist thing.) Never change your lack of subtlety on who you want out, SYTYCD lol.

I do wonder the backstory on Joshua's withdrawal......if not injury related (and why wouldn't they just come out and say that if it was the case?) then I guess I'm leaning toward the theories posted up thread. Thing was....the other kid that Sheadyn beat out at the end of the academy was just as much of a non-entity as he was in the early shows so unless Joshua just really really connected with him better (Romeo IIRC) and the producers overruled him for the sake of diversity......that's, interesting.

Ruby and Danielle are going to push the boundaries of age-appropriateness if they are given any other Latin ballroom dances this season...

Cat was almost nails on a chalkboard grating tonight. Something I've never felt in 13 seasons and didn't think was really possible.

Bring on some Bollywood and Russian Folk dance. I'm still rooting for Ruby, but mostly I'm just hate watching for trainwrecks from here on out.

Edited July 12, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Lemons]

I liked the show tonight.  I fast-forward through the kids talking, that part is geared towards the tween audience anyway.  The producers really did match the all-stars with their mini-me.  I think Tate is super talented but what boring choreography tonight.  Sucks she got Tyce.  Jordan got the better choreography and if it keeps going that way she will come out ahead of Tate.  I also love the little girl paired with Comfort.  Comfort was one of my favorites and one of the few dancers I remember. 

That little boy that sucks, well, he sucked tonight too.  He must train with a lot of little girls because he dances like one. 

Is there a requirement that the girls lift their right leg up as far as it will go?  And if they need help they push on their thigh with their hand?  Because except maybe 1 hip hop exception, they all had it in their choreography whether it fit or not. 

[windtrix]

Sheesh, my favorite show is now a big bore. Kid interviews...lame. Maddie...no personality. Children doing sexy ballroom...creepy. Kids dancing with adults...unbalanced and weird. The rest of it...don't remember. Guess my favorite show is not even on my watchlist anymore.

[Gella]

I liked it. Yes, I'd rather have the all adults back but then I'd rather have this SYTYCD then nothing at all. 

The kids did well I thought. Better than what I expected. JT is the weakest technically (he is really very young) but I can see him going far based on his personality and the cuteness factor, plus Robert is popular, and they seem to genuinely have a connection. 

Daniela while dancing very proficiently looked straight up terrified. As opposed to Ruby who was eating up the stage. I hope she doesn't go home first as I actually think technically she is more interesting to watch. 

The kid dancing with Jenna is really genuinely infectiously happy. Plus he is really really good. 

It's going to be a tough choice between Tate and Jordan. 

I'm just happy there is dance on my TV screen. 

[Cuatro1234]

This show was actually better than I thought it would be too, Tasya.  I really wondered how the kiddo-All Star partnering would go, but the only one that felt completely off to me was Jake/Jenna.  She just looked like a giant next to him.  What a challenge for the choreographers, to keep the routines kid friendly and account for (in most cases) a huge physical mismatch.  Kudos to them for all the variations on "Me and My Shadow" they pulled off tonight. 

Did anyone else think that JT looked like a little mouse or hamster climbing all over Robert?

I thought the solos tonight were mostly bad across the board.  30 seconds is just too short.

The final number was a nice preview of the non-HH kids out of their own styles.  Ruby looked very comfortable!

Edited July 12, 2016 by Cuatro1234
I was agreeing with Tasya, not another poster

[WhosThatGirl]

It's...cute. But it isn't the show I used to know and love. I don't know. I still can't get into kids dancing and like I said weeks ago, I watch many kids dancing shows, but this..I don't know. Maddie as a judge was..okay but yeah, I think she needs to offer more input.

[Kromm]

It's a good thing Maddie knows Dance, 'cause I not so sure she actually knows English. "Your Guyses"? Sheesh. I actually heard her say that (and you can too--it's in the critique portion of the Kida & Fik-Shun video clip posted in the previously article).

Edited July 12, 2016 by Kromm

[MillyVanilly]

Well... let me start by saying I am  not one of those who is usually a bit ickied out by adults dancing with children or anything like that or one to cry out when a girl is in a revealing dress or make up. But I found the two male all star female child ballroom routines too much. I also thought the ballroom solos were over sexualised and I know ballroom is a very sexualised field and the kids who compete do "adult it up" but it gave me "toddlers and tiaras" vibes. "I just love how her flipper, and her fake hair, and the padding in her dress top makes her look 25 and not 4!"

Jenna's ballroom on the other hand was probably my favourite, because the choreographer clearly couldn't pretend that her little partner (no clue about names yet) was a grown man and so they found lots of fun way to play with the height differences and the little guy has such a fun vibe. YMMV.

Tasty Oreo is the worst. Honestly he took two beautiful dancers and created a snorefest. Also, aren't butterflies usually colourful? What's with the grey? They looked like moths to me. Moths in the death throes of getting too close to that electric blue zapper thing.

Tiny hamster child JT did well I thought - he will get to the top 3 at least carried by his little gaptoothed smile and his 35 pounds of adorable reaching and extending. I expect 0 emotional connection from him to any of the dances but people won't care about that. And they are probably right because a 7 year old (?) can't connect with a lot of feelings cause he won't have experienced them yet.

The other routines all fell into the "good dancing but leaves me a bit cold" category. Jordan (? Sasha's lil clone) was the most beautiful dancer for me, Tahani and the tap child the funnest, I hate FikShun too much to be able to watch his partner unfortnately.

Judging was useless as usual and the camera work was shocking. I particularly hated the opening routine which felt like it should have contained an epilepsy warning and one of the dances where people just sort of got outlit and were invisible for part of the routine. Being an audience member is worse than going to church these days, what with the constant standing and sitting down and standing and sitting down.

So all in all - just a run of the mill SYTYCD episode... with a tiny bit more ick factor!

P/s: as a gay woman the heteronormativity of the show always bothered me a little (particularly because I feel like in the real world of dance there is a certain homonormativity that I find refreshing and that I really enjoy - it helped me come out and be more myself and a show about dance I feel should respect that), but I feel like it is even worse with the kids. Why ask them a hundred times if they have boyfriends or girlfriends? Just a little bugbear...

[LizBug]

Oh .... Cat, Cat, Cat ... where did you get that outfit and those shoes?  They did weird things to your performance tonight.  Good thing you got that out of your system for the first show.  Now, can we have the Cat we know and love back?

[Diane Mars]

Some comments :

I loved Tyler and Jenna ! I took it in a way like "Ok, mom, we're both sad that daddy's gone, but, I promise you, mom, I'll take you to this ball, and I'll make you the most happiest, beautiful and loved mother of the world". And... I can't help myself, but I surprisingly loved it <3

Jordan and Sasha were totally heartbreaking.

Tate is... I dunno how to say it but... she IS dance ! When I watch her, is like watching Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron ice dancing... It's... fluid, it's so... mesmerizing...

Liked Ruby and Paul too. And I didn't found it over-sexualised at all. It was "fresh". YMMV :)

Reading some comments before watching, I was expecting a kind of "cheesyness" from JT, but... It was not cheesy at all. I liked it. And as Nigel said, "I was wrong, you are more than cute"

I liked Maddie in her judge role too. Not easy for her, as it was a premiere for her, and I think she nailed it. Not too shy, not too loudmouthed, supportive, humble... I liked her.

PS: I try to look at it as a "new" show, not a "spin off" of the "adult" version of SYTYCD. That probably helps in the "likeable" ratio

ETA : The final number was quite good !

Edited July 12, 2016 by Diane Mars
spelling. Again.

[adhoc]

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Ruby and Danielle are going to push the boundaries of age-appropriateness if they are given any other Latin ballroom dances this season...

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Children doing sexy ballroom...creepy.

Glad you guys pointed that out. I was creeped out by Ruby and whoever she was dancing with. I love watching Ruby and thought that they were very good, and I felt that they were in no way making any effort to really bring the sexy. (Ruby didn't have to try, BTW, I think her dancing is mature but her attitude was age appropriate. I mean, it's not like she was casting smoldering looks at her partner or anything. She was just enjoying the dance, not thinking about seduction.) However, the style of dance and beat of the music smack of seduction all the same. And this was a young teen girl with an adult man -- yep, I was uncomfortable.

[pally]

Cat sounded really hoarse and seemed low-energy.  I hope she was just not feeling well last night.  Maddie added nothing to the show but I'm sure the tween group loved her.  

How many standing ovations did the judges do?  Seemed like almost every performance at least one of them stood up.  These kids will never improve if they do not receive legitimate feedback.  Stop treating every performance like it was flawless.   To start with every one of those kids need to be told to stop lip syncing the music

[crowceilidh]

I have just searched the interwebs for news about Joshua's disappearance and couldn't find a thing except a publicity site that posted no pic, but text saying that Josh and Shaeden were practising for last night's show.  They posted about 3 days ago, but who knows what the gap might be between assembling the info and posting....  Josh's twitter account says nothing except to wish the all-stars good luck.

I loved Cat's pantsuit.

[realdancemom]

I thought it was better than I thought it would be.  I'm not looking forward to next week when somebody has to go home.  I know there will be tears.  There might be train wrecks too since couples have to dance outside their style.  This could also show on the All-Stars since I didn't think Comfort was great outside of hip-hop during her season.  She could have improved though.

I was also wondering if Joshua was injured but then they didn't say anything.  So it makes me think the producers wanted Marko because Shaedyn does look like a mini Marko instead of a mini Joshua.  But it's weird since Marko is not a hip-hop specialist.  So they should have asked Tadd, Hok, or somebody else.  And TPTB, of course, will not say that's the reason.  Poor Shaedyn since he was never featured and then he has to switch All-Stars.  I like both Joshua and Marko.  However, when Joshua was an All-Star, he never really played down to the contestants like Twitch did.  So the contestants never looked as good as he did, e.g. when Virgil danced with Joshua.  I'm sure Joshua would have danced down a little but I don't know how much.

J.T. was better than I thought he would be.  Like Nigel, I was thinking that Sage should have been chosen.  However, I re-watched last week's contemporary round and Sage was off.  He was late and he didn't seem like he was really into it.  Robert mentioned that he was holding back.  J.T. looked tiny next to Robert but it was o.k. since it was contemporary.  Jenna and her partner didn't look right size-wise but he was good.

I'm not bothered by Paul/Ruby and Jonathan/Daniela.  However, my DDs danced ballroom and they had to dance with their teachers a lot.  They danced with partners around their own age for competitions but during class demonstrations, they might partner with a teacher.

Cat sounded hoarse but I think she's still great.  She can pull off a crazy pantsuit since she's gorgeous.  I liked her comment about it.

[ketchuplover]

No one totally sucked imo.

[truthaboutluv]

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The kid dancing with Jenna is really genuinely infectiously happy.

And really, really freaking annoying. When Bindi Irwin was on DWTS, many people disliked her for her constant happy, rainbows, perky, "everything is light and beautiful" attitude. But while I felt like being around her would be exhausting, watching her on the show didn't bug me. However, watching Jake makes me finally understand how the people who disliked Bindi must have felt. I know he's a kid and I shouldn't be too harsh but that constant grin is just annoying. And to top it off, I am not impressed with the dancing.

He just seems to do everything at 100% and it's all very, "face, face, jazz hands, speed, cutesy, cutesy..." I just can't. Jenna is definitely one of those who I think made a mistake in her pick. The other boy showed far more versatility than Jake in the other styles and he wasn't annoying. Plus his telling Jenna he's lifted big girls before, in response to her question about how he would feel having to lift on the live show, was hilarious. And unlike some of these other "cute" kid moments, felt completely unplanned and genuine. 

Kida is talented but he's a little too aware of that fact. I thought he seemed arrogant from the audition shows and it was solidified during the Academy. I'm sure he's a sweet boy and there is nothing wrong with confidence but that kind of attitude will not play well to the voting public. I would not be surprised to see him be the season's "shock" boot. That said, I absolutely loved that performance but then again, Christopher Scott can do no wrong in my book. I love that man's work and he is a cutie. 

I knew many would comment on the ballroom girls. The problem is both girls, when in costume and performing, look much older than their ages and yes, Latin Ballroom tends to be very sexy with a lot of the movements. What I don't understand is why both choreographers went with Cha Cha/Salsa like dances. They are aware that Jive is Latin right? They could have given both of these girls an awesome and fierce Jive that would have been age appropriate and not make people squirm. And it would have been a style that would have allowed them to show technique and personality, as well as have fun. I definitely think Ruby's partnership with Paul is going to be the most awkward just because she looks so mature on stage and dances maturely, which is not her fault. It just is what it is. 

It certainly seems like right now it's almost pre-ordained for Tate to win but when you leave things in the hands of viewers, crazy stuff happens. She is definitely beautiful to watch. One of my other favorites is Tahani. I was really surprised at many comments online that Comfort made a mistake because I think she made the absolute right choice. Tahani is cute as a button, so she has the adorable factor but unlike JT and Jake, who are just getting by on cute, she is killing it in my opinion. That was some fierce dancing in her number with Comfort. It's not easy to get me to completely look away from Comfort for most of the dance. And they showed she was able to pick up other styles fairly well during The Academy episodes. 

Edited July 12, 2016 by truthaboutluv

[Keekski]

Jordan/Sasha were my favorites of the night. Everything else, meh. Comfort really needs to lose those terrible braids.

[crowceilidh]

I couldn't take my eyes off Comfort when she was dancing.  Haven't been able to for years, but it gets worse all the time.  She is amazing.

Robert and buddy seemed to have a few awkward interchanges at the beginning.  Wonderful to see that Mandy Moore can choreograph a dance that doesn't look like it belongs in an ad for a strip bar.  I mostly liked this number.

I didn't really enjoy the allstars dance that much nor the contestants dance - they weren't horrible, but they weren't spine tingling either.

I thought the ballroom dancers were all good to watch in their ways.  I was not bothered by the sensuality of the dance, although the lyrics of one of the songs icked me out pretty badly IIRC.

I still don't like Jenna.

[Cuatro1234]

TPTB could lose the problems engendered by having the much older AS dance with the contestants by having the contestants dance with each other.  Maybe they will do a little of each. I really enjoy those pairs better than the AS pair, because the dynamic is completely different.  

Oh, and over on Idol Forums, the speculation is that Joshua got a job, and that's why he's not here any more (and why the producers didn't give the reason.  It seems to me that if he were injured, they would just say that.  They've certainly announced other injuries in the past).

[calipiano81]

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I definitely think Ruby's partnership with Paul is going to be the most awkward just because she looks so mature on stage and dances maturely, which is not her fault. It just is what it is. 

Wait...why would that make them the most awkward? If Ruby looks and dances maturely, and the fact that Paul looks younger than his actual age, to me, they are the best physically matched pair. As long as the choreographers stick to platonic themes, IMO Ruby and Paul come closest to looking like a typical SYTYCD partnership.

I loved all three ballroom routines. Content-wise, I actually think they were some of the best ones I've seen across the series. It didn't occur to me to think of the sexiness factor because a) they weren't trying to be sexy and b) I'm always impressed by ballroom kids being able to master the same intricate ballroom technique as the adults. 

I thought Ruby danced like she owned the stage, Daniela made that super crazy hard salsa look easy, and Jake's personality and showmanship completely made me forget the size difference between him and Jenna.

Overall, I thought it was a fantastic show. I just like watching great dancing and all of the kids delivered that for me.

Edited July 13, 2016 by calipiano81

[crowceilidh]

I was really impressed by the choreography for Jenna and buddy and Robert and buddy because both choreographers seemed to use camera angles to play with the relative sizes of the dancers in interesting ways.  For instance, Jonathan's dance had the factor of size in that he was able to easily do a lot of lifting tricks, but it didn't use camera angles to enhance or minimize the size difference and I felt that the two I mentioned really had more of a "whole bag of tricks" feel to them.

[truthaboutluv]

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Wonderful to see that Mandy Moore can choreograph a dance that doesn't look like it belongs in an ad for a strip bar.  I mostly liked this number.

Yeah she saves those for DWTS and the Pro dances which is why her butt needs to be fired as creative director because she knows nothing about ballroom and I'm sick of all her ideas being "let's just have these women as naked as possible and gyrate all over the place." Yeah I have some feelings about this. 

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Wait...why would that make them the most awkward? If Ruby looks and dances maturely, and the fact that Paul looks younger than his actual age, to me, they are the best physically matched pair. As long as the choreographers stick to platonic themes, IMO Ruby and Paul come closest to looking like a typical SYTYCD partnership.

I cannot speak for anyone else but for me personally, watching them was like a bi-polar experience because of her age. Basically I would be all into it and thinking how fierce and great they look together and then I'd have a, "oh wait, she's 13, this is a little weird..." Again, others may not have that issue and of course I don't think Paul was trying to be overly sexy with Ruby or her in turn but the fact is Latin ballroom dancing is inherently sexy.

And it's just personally, while I appreciated and loved Ruby's talent, I couldn't help being drawn out of the performance a few times, remembering her age. There is a reason kids don't compete with adults in the real world ballroom competitions. And to be honest, while I get treating the kids like any other dancer and not condescending to them, I do think the choreographers could have been more sensitive to the age factor in their choreography.

Actually, pity he is busy because they could have asked Mark Ballas to choreograph something, since he's had to dance with a 14 year old on DWTS and I thought he choreographed some really great stuff with her that never made me squirm.

Edited July 13, 2016 by truthaboutluv

[spanana]

I have no problem with the supposed "sexy" ballroom either.  Maybe I'm immune because I've watched 14, 15 and 16 year olds compete on DWTS with fully adult partners and it was never an issue.  I actually liked Paul/Ruby the most because, which I think someone else said, she almost looked like someone Paul could partner with regularly.  I didn't spend the whole time being distracted at how he was having to dance down to his partner or a ridiculous size difference that throws the whole visual off.   So no, I had no problem with any of the ballroom in that sense.

It's no secret I am not a Jenna fan.  I think Jenna picked her mini-me (or production picked), and as talented as Jake seems to be, I think she would have better off with the older more mature kid that she booted.  Because Jake is the other side of the Jenna coin when it comes to the sort of over the top in your face dancing style and the constantly being ON, which I know is partly just a ballroom thing, but I also think you need to dial it back when you aren't actually competing in ballroom competitions.  What you would do to stand out on a ballroom floor isn't necessary when tv cameras are in your face.  I also was distracted by the size difference and Jenna's obvious need to dance way smaller so as not to pretty much knock the kid off the stage.  Plus the fact that I think she had to move him around as opposed to vice versa.  I don't blame her for that as it was necessary, but it's distracting to watch.

ETA: I get that Jake, because he's so tiny compared with Jenna, pretty much had to be larger than life to stand out.  My problem with Jake so far is the persona off the dance floor.  Somebody in his life must have encouraged him to do the creepy flirty thing with any woman he comes into contact with, and it's not cute.  Kristyn Burtt, who does reporting for SYTYCD said that when she was interviewing Jake he put his arm around her and started playing with hair and etc.  Of course she laughed it off and called him a "ladies man", but why start the kid so young?

Kristyn also confirmed that the all-stars won't be dancing every week and that some weeks the kids will be dancing with each other.  Who wants to call the Jake and JT duet now?

Edited July 13, 2016 by spanana

[luvthepros]

See my post on the "Where Are They Now" thread about Joshua Allen. 

[realdancemom]

2 hours ago, luvthepros said:

See my post on the "Where Are They Now" thread about Joshua Allen. 

Thanks for the info.  Ugh!! 

[phoenix780]

I thought it was fine. I didn't finish because it wasn't super entertaining, but it wasn't awful either (I fast forwarded most of the talking). What's the prize they're going after? 

I didn't find Ruby/Paul to be too sexual in terms of movement. The song lyrics threw me, and they seemed disconnected from the the music. That lift, though, was pretty amazing, and it's mostly what I remember. 

The only other things that hit me- I still love Fik-shun and hate Jenna, though I suppose it's inconsistent because I hate her for her faces and he pulls them too. She's the only contestant I remember from her season though, so good for her. 

If they do another normal season they should give contestants as much talking time as was in this episode. It would have helped. 

[FierceCritter]

I've been absent on the boards for a while because I became so bored with this show, I had nothing to say anymore. Been holding out hope that things would perk up, and so have been loyally watching, only to be disappointed over and over again. I debated watching another season, and when I found out it was going to be kids, I figured the last nail was in the SYTYCD coffin for me. I don't care for kids. Don't hate them, just not interested. Read a good amount of posts in this forum which just confirmed my fears, particularly about the creepy thought of 8-13 year old kids dancing sexy salsas and tangos and the like.

But I have a Roku, and FoxNow. So I watched a few minutes of the academy episodes, and then the full, first performance episode. And I am shocked to say... I didn't hate it. I don't exactly LIKE it, but it's not as horrible as I anticipated.

What's saving it for me is with the kids, new choreographer blood has been brought in, and the returning ones are being forced to get creative to come up with ways to involve children in their pieces. It's the choreography that's been boring me more and more and more with each season. This is saving it a little in my book.

Not sure I'll watch the entire season. But I'm more apt to check each episode out once it's on FoxNow and I can fast-forward through all the interviews and such.

[Adusk81]

Tate and Jordin are fantastic. They temind me of Melanie vs Sasha in their season. Far and away better than the rest of the pack. Ruby and Paul was about as awkward to watch as anything can be. JT and Robert made me tear up a tad. I forget everything else.

[torus351]

I wish Molly Long was one of the judges/choreographers on this show.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was out of town when this episode aired so I am just now catching up. Unfortunately, this episode confirmed why I was originally not excited about this kids' season. Half the time I felt like I was watching a kiddie dance recital for multiple reasons, the two biggest being the watered down choreography and the fact that these kids dance like kids. It's not their size but the quality of their movement and the way they move their bodies. Even from a distance, I can tell that I'm watching kids dance. There were only a few of them who had a more mature quality to their dance (definitely Ruby and Tate). Having all of these little mini-me contestants only emphasized to me that these are young kids and how far they have to go because my eyes kept going to the All Stars.