S13.E11: The Next Generation: Top 5 Perform + Elimination

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

The show celebrates 250 episodes; the top five dancers perform.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Cat mentioned that this week, each all star will be choreographing their duet. Fingers crossed that this will result in some Emmy nominations for people other than the usual suspects (ahem, Tabitha & Napoleon, Travis, etc).

[Folake]

I have been a long time reader of previously but as a nigerian I felt compelled to create an account after this episode to post this. I really appreciate Comfort for teaching Tahani a bit of Yoruba (She must have picked that when she was a judge on one of our dancing shows in Nigeria). "Oga O" is one of those phrases that can't exactly be explained. It's sort of like saying 'Wow' which can be used as an expression in different scenarios. I am not Nigel's biggest fan but I also appreciated the fact that he tried to repeat it back to Tahani as "Nga o" until he totally ruined it by adding Hakuna matata....just no!.

I was really impressed by Kida's choreography. I was screaming when Dave Scott added the popular shoki dance step in his hip hop routine...nice

[crowceilidh]

I'm sad that Comfort is gone for a week.  Not surprised that Tahani is gone.

I would like to know how much of that choreo those kids really did.  Kida's was amazeballs, if he actually did it.

The only judge I listen to is Jason.  It's worth it about half the time, which is certainly a LOT more consistent than the other three.  I'm glad I've now seen Maddie Ziegler dance, now can she go away? 

Travis did seem out of shape.

I miss this board.  The disappearance of almost all of my former friends here makes it even harder to keep watching the show -- in fact, the format change is bothersome, but the consequent disappearance of posters here (I'm sure worsened by the 2-week Olympic hiatus) is drowning my enthusiasm.

One thing I don't like about the new format is how often the dancers get their own or related styles.  It's boring.  It's boring when they do it with the older dancers on the regular show too (Melanie).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On a shallow note, I Cat looked gorgeous this week. Her hair, her makeup, and that beautiful red color - everything was great. What a change from last week's green velvet number with the French braids.

When I saw the name of the song for the opening group number, I just assumed it was choreographed by Mandy Moore. Then they started dancing and I thought huh, this doesn't look like Mandy's movements. 

I feel like the judges aren't even bothering to make specific comments anymore at this point. Now they just say, "Wow, that was great. Thanks to the choreographer for that amazing number. [Dancer] is amazing!" The exception is Paula who still manages to blather absolute nonsense at least once per episode. But after watching this episode, I can kind of see why the judges have nothing new to say because the dancers we have left dance the same every week. Why? Because they get to dance in their own style almost every week. The show is really propping these kids up and not challenging them very much (there was one week when the kids had to dance with each other and they got random styles and many of them did not do well so I guess the producers don't want to repeat that and risk hurting anyone's feelings).

Tate and Katherine's Stacey Tookey number in the yellow dresses was good. They both have such beautiful technique. I liked the concept of the dance Tate choreographed with the masks. It really drew attention to the fact that she dances with her entire body, meaning that even though I couldn't see her face the entire time she conveyed emotion with her arms, her legs, her posture, etc. Great dancers are also great actors because they need to convey the emotion, not just perform the steps. Facial expressions are important, but I think it's telling when you can get that emotion without seeing their faces.

Kida and Fikshun's Dave Scott number was okay but not great. The second piece with the robots was fun but nothing groundbreaking. The best thing about it was his sense of fun and his sense of humor, but the steps themselves were not anything worthy of OMG. I did appreciate all the old school stuff he used though, from the Michael Jackson choreography to the popping and locking. When you choreograph for yourself, you should choreograph to your strengths and make yourself look good but once again I thought Fikshun outshone Kida. I think of the boys, Kida is better in his style than JT is in his, but Kida having Fikshun as a partner is both a blessing and a curse because my eyes are always drawn to Fikshun because he has more oomph and a little something extra whenever he dances. Like I said last week, Fikshun's sharp moves are always sharper than Kida's which is why my attention gets pulled towards him.

Loved Emma and Gabby's Savion Glover routine! Using Ella Fitzgerald always gets an A+ in my boo and I loved their classy tuxedo outfits. High five to Emma for choosing a Pentatonix song for her other routine! And I agree with her that singing can be a better way to learn choreography than just counting, especially when the steps aren't just on each quarter note. I know very little about tap, but I enjoyed this routine. And what a sweet ending pose. Although there are a lot of aspects I dislike about this season, one thing I really like is seeing how much the dancers have bonded with their all stars.

I loved seeing Gabby dressed as Audrey Hepburn in the Al Blackstone routine. The hair people did a great job recreating that iconic Holly Golightly hairdo.

I feel like I shouldn't even bother commenting on JT because I say the same thing every week which is that he dances very immaturely (which is understandable considering his age, but it's also why he shouldn't be on this show). But Stacey Tookey summed up his entire existence on this show thusly: "It doesn't matter because you're cute." Nigel confirmed this when he said that JT is finally starting to point his toes a little but it doesn't matter because everyone is looking at his cute face. GAWD.

Comfort seemed very low energy in the tribal hip hop. She still did an awesome job but she just seemed like she was really tired or her heart wasn't 100% into it. I think my facial expression was the same as hers when Nigel said "hakuna matata." It's like he deliberately goes out of his way to be as culturally ignorant as possible.

Travis and Maddie's dance was so hyped but I thought it was just meh. It was a typical Travis contemporary, nothing exciting or new.

I would have preferred losing one of the boys instead of Tahani, but I knew that both boys would stay.

[Primetimer]

SYTYCD celebrates 250 episodes with a few special (and not-so-special) guest stars.

View the full article

[Tikichick]

Simply do not believe the kids did the choreo.  Why would that choreo be so much head and shoulders above what they generally do for their solos? 

I didn't think it was a matter of Travis being out of shape.  I thought it was much to do with partnering with an inexperienced partner dancer who can execute some moves, independently or in a group, but does not understand what it takes to take on the task of holding your own in a lift with a partner.   I was hoping Travis would not sustain an injury.  He certainly has been exploring a lot with theme and aesthetics where he can this season.

I've been noticing Comfort's low energy in a lot of instances for a few episodes now.  Not that she can't bring it to the dance floor and light up the entire theater, but simply something's been dimmed on several occasions recently.

[spanana]

I don't know that there is much new to be said.  Not sure I buy the kids totally did their own choreo, but I do think Tate was up to the challenge. She's used to having to do a lot of improv, which is a similar idea. 

I agree with the idea that this season has bored me largely because the kids just dance in their own genre week after week, with few exceptions, so after awhile it all looks the same.  Tate is amazing technically but I feel like every choreographer gives her the same type of dance with eight million leg lifts, which while cool, gets boring after you have seen it a million times.  I thought it was interesting that Tate deliberately steered away from what all of the regular choreographers give her week after week and she seemed to get that she needed to do something a little different.

It was no surprise that JT made the finals.  He may even win.  I hope somebody is around to bring this kid back down to earth when this season is over cause he's good for his age, but he isn't the dancer that they make him out to be.  It might be disappointing for him when he gets his first dose of reality.

Oh, meant to say I wasn't all the impressed by the Travis/Maddie piece.  I know it was super difficult and I'm not saying it was bad by any means, but I think it also showcased some of Maddie's shortcomings.  Maybe it was what was said above that Maddie doesn't yet know how to partner in that way and so she wasn't holding up her end of the lifts. 

Edited August 30, 2016 by spanana

[Madding crowd]

I dislike the way Maddie also says the choreographers did a good job tonight; she comes across as being condescending. You are a kid judge Maddie-not Nigel. Just something off putting to me I guess. I don't believe the kids did all of the choreo themselves either-I just don't think they have the time or the ability.

JT always looks like he is so out of breath after he dances; more so than the other kids. I wonder sometimes if they are working him too hard for a kid his age. I agree he is talented and I like Robert, but because of JT's size and age they always seem to give him dances where he is Robert's pal or some kind and is lifted up they do the arms around the shoulder thing. There is repetition among all of the dancers, but JT more than others. I wouldn't be surprised to see him win. I liked Ruby the best, of course she is gone. 

[WhineandCheez]

Tahani always seems like a typical Disney kid, with the facial gestures and attitude (talk to the hand cute stuff) to match.  Why did Ruby get booted so early?  She was such a good all around dancer!  Anyway I would like to see Emma win, with Kida as 2nd.  Emma just seems all around awesome. Tate is zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz to me.  I didn't even watch that entire mask schtick she did.  HMVs all day, all the time.

[Cuatro1234]

I thought this show had tons more energy than last week's show.  Waaay better. 

Does Comfort seem low-energy (she doesn't to me) because she's trying not to overpower Tahani?

is this a really desirable job, for an All Star?  Or is this just something to do if you don't have a better offer?

Maddie seemed ... heavy... in her dance.  I don't mean her weight, just overall feeling and movement.  

On August 29, 2016 at 9:20 PM, crowceilidh said:

 

I miss this board.  The disappearance of almost all of my former friends here makes it even harder to keep watching the show -- in fact, the format change is bothersome, but the consequent disappearance of posters here (I'm sure worsened by the 2-week Olympic hiatus) is drowning my enthusiasm.

 

THIS!!!!!!!!!

[Laurie4H]

1 hour ago, Cuatro1234 said:

 Is this a really desirable job, for an All Star?  Or is this just something to do if you don't have a better offer?.  

It's possible that some of them are still under contract and have no choice but to do this?

 I met a dancer in LA that told me SYTYCD was great to have on your resume 5 or 10 years ago but now it isn't respected .  Could be true unless she was just bitter she didn't make it on the show (assuming she auditioned).   

Maddie is a grea dancer.  This dance didn't showcase it.  I figured it would be a bunch of lifts anyways and not much dancing.   

Edited September 1, 2016 by Laurie4H

[Tikichick]

12 hours ago, Laurie4H said:

It's possible that some of them are still under contract and have no choice but to do this?

 I met a dancer in LA that told me SYTYCD was great to have on your resume 5 or 10 years ago but now it isn't respected .  Could be true unless she was just bitter she didn't make it on the show (assuming she auditioned).   

Maddie is a grea dancer.  This dance didn't showcase it.  I figured it would be a bunch of lifts anyways and not much dancing.   

 

No, they would have signed a contract for the season to appear on the show.  It's a pretty good paying, steady gig that gives a lot of people exposure to your talents -- and some more (higher quality lighting) filmed footage for your dance reel.  It may not have the ratings it did several years back, but this show provides a large amount of networking contacts that an awful lot of dancers would kill for.  Several of the past contestants have been part of dance companies headed by various choreographers on the show, and some of the past contestants have subsequently become a part of those dance companies after those choreographers become familiar with their abilities while they were on the show.   That tagline on the resume also affords opportunities to work the dance convention circuit in a variety of roles.

Dance jobs are still hard to come by and any edge is often appreciated -- as is the opportunity to collect a paycheck as a dancer.  If that opportunity comes with the opportunity to dance on television with your name attached, it's valuable. 

[Tikichick]

14 hours ago, Cuatro1234 said:

I thought this show had tons more energy than last week's show.  Waaay better. 

Does Comfort seem low-energy (she doesn't to me) because she's trying not to overpower Tahani?

is this a really desirable job, for an All Star?  Or is this just something to do if you don't have a better offer?

Maddie seemed ... heavy... in her dance.  I don't mean her weight, just overall feeling and movement.  

THIS!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely agree the heaviness didn't come from Maddie's weight since she's quite slender and fit.  I think it's simply her inexperience at partnering showing.  She can execute moves and would understand what her position should be to make the connection, during the lift and leaving the lift.  It takes experience to understand and execute the core strength it takes to fully perform as a true partner when you're the one being lifted and recognize there's much more to it than what JT brings to the equation working with Robert.  Because of the extreme disparity in size and weight there the lifts simply require JT to be at point A or point B, facing this way, arms like this, legs like that, voila, it's a lift.  Maddie definitely was further along the learning curve than that, although I think if we watched Travis work the number with Ruby or perhaps Tate there would likely have been a perceptible difference.    

[Lemons]

5 hours ago, Tikichick said:

Absolutely agree the heaviness didn't come from Maddie's weight since she's quite slender and fit.  I think it's simply her inexperience at partnering showing.  She can execute moves and would understand what her position should be to make the connection, during the lift and leaving the lift.  It takes experience to understand and execute the core strength it takes to fully perform as a true partner when you're the one being lifted and recognize there's much more to it than what JT brings to the equation working with Robert.  Because of the extreme disparity in size and weight there the lifts simply require JT to be at point A or point B, facing this way, arms like this, legs like that, voila, it's a lift.  Maddie definitely was further along the learning curve than that, although I think if we watched Travis work the number with Ruby or perhaps Tate there would likely have been a perceptible difference.    

Tate and Ruby have the sort of training for lifts that Maddie doesn't.  I've always been impressed with Maddies dancing given her crappy dance school.  Imagine if she went to an excellent school like Tate?  

[Court]

I wanted JT to go home. Ugh.

[Tikichick]

16 hours ago, Lemons said:

Tate and Ruby have the sort of training for lifts that Maddie doesn't.  I've always been impressed with Maddies dancing given her crappy dance school.  Imagine if she went to an excellent school like Tate?  

Honestly I've always found Maddie rather average at best, but I've grown used to seeing an awful lot of comp dancers.  It's definitely shown since Maddie has been receiving different training she has absolutely made improvement.  In my eyes it's still nothing to make her stand out from the pack, and absolutely nothing to qualify her to sit on a judge's panel.  She would have been a much better fit for this show as a rehearsal room/backstage commentator, in short doses.  Sad but true, for me the fact that she so publicly stepped away from academics in pursuit of a show business career bites her back when she is ill equipped when attempting much more than a few brief comments publicly.  The repetitive nature of critiquing at the judge's table really highlights her limitations in this area.

I don't doubt Ruby was well versed in all sorts of partnering, which would absolutely have given her a leg up in performing the number with Travis and I believe were we given the opportunity to compare both attempting the number the contrast would have been stark.  I'm not as positive Tate's training has encompassed partnering as extensively, however her work on the show thus far leads me to believe she has some experience and also could have made a very good showing in the number with Travis.  Maddie was by no means bad in the number, it's simply that her training hasn't put a lot of focus into the partnering aspect yet and it did show.

[spanana]

On 9/1/2016 at 11:41 AM, Tikichick said:

No, they would have signed a contract for the season to appear on the show.  It's a pretty good paying, steady gig that gives a lot of people exposure to your talents -- and some more (higher quality lighting) filmed footage for your dance reel.  It may not have the ratings it did several years back, but this show provides a large amount of networking contacts that an awful lot of dancers would kill for.  Several of the past contestants have been part of dance companies headed by various choreographers on the show, and some of the past contestants have subsequently become a part of those dance companies after those choreographers become familiar with their abilities while they were on the show.   That tagline on the resume also affords opportunities to work the dance convention circuit in a variety of roles.

Dance jobs are still hard to come by and any edge is often appreciated -- as is the opportunity to collect a paycheck as a dancer.  If that opportunity comes with the opportunity to dance on television with your name attached, it's valuable. 

I definitely agree with all this.  A paying dance gig is a paying dance gig, let alone on national tv.  I would reinforce though at this point I think the networking piece of it is probably the most important part since I think the LA dance world is fairly small and there are all sorts of choreographers floating in and out every week.  Everything in general is about getting noticed by the right people for the next gig.

I'm not sure how much the exposure to the mainstream audience is doing for these kids anymore.  The established all stars have fanbases to some extent, largely from their original seasons and in some cases cross exposure with other shows (DWTS and etc.)  But the kids that made the finals this season all have twitter pages and after how many months of competition, they have generally a whopping 2,000-3,000 followers.  Tate maybe having a little more, but I expect she had those prior to SYTYCD.  Compare to Dance Moms kids that have maybe a half million plus.  I know followers don't mean much and 3,000 followers is more than they had before, but in the context of a national television show that is not a lot for the exposure they are technically getting.  I'd be curious to know what sort of votes are even coming in, but I'm willing to bet it's not a lot.

[Anothermi]

On 2016-09-02 at 8:55 AM, spanana said:

I'd be curious to know what sort of votes are even coming in, but I'm willing to bet it's not a lot.

I'm guessing that you mean number of voters, because Cat made it clear that there was a limit of 20 votes per method. Gone are the days of power voting and Cat announcing how many millions of votes were cast. Yeah, I'd be interested in knowing that too.

ETA: moved the rest of the post to Episode 9, Top 8 where it belongs. Sorry for the chaos.

Edited September 3, 2016 by Anothermi
clean up

[Lemons]

On ‎9‎/‎2‎/‎2016 at 10:10 AM, Tikichick said:

  I'm not as positive Tate's training has encompassed partnering as extensively, however her work on the show thus far leads me to believe she has some experience and also could have made a very good showing in the number with Travis.  Maddie was by no means bad in the number, it's simply that her training hasn't put a lot of focus into the partnering aspect yet and it did show.

Tate goes to a professional ballet school.  They prepare them for partnering early on.  Plus Tate is advanced for her age so she might have partnering classes already.

Where does Maddie train now?

[Court]

7 hours ago, Lemons said:

Tate goes to a professional ballet school.  They prepare them for partnering early on.  Plus Tate is advanced for her age so she might have partnering classes already.

Where does Maddie train now?

According to this, still at ALDC. 

http://www.designntrend.com/articles/80479/20160711/dance-moms-season-6-spoilers-maddie-ziegler-reunites-aldc-concert.htm

[Chewy101]

The Maddie/Travis number was so disappointing. I love his choreography, and I think Maddie has incredible stage presence.... But Travis did NOT show his skills picking this number to use with this particular partner. He should have played up to what this little girl does well, and not gotten all abstract and confusing. Very disappointing. That was terrible.

I cry foul that these kids really choreographed these numbers, but since they were all decent and enjoyable, I will take it. I really feared this season would be so much more sub par than it has been, so I will choose to be grateful with this Disney nightmare version of what was once a great show.

[Tikichick]

On 9/2/2016 at 11:55 AM, spanana said:

I definitely agree with all this.  A paying dance gig is a paying dance gig, let alone on national tv.  I would reinforce though at this point I think the networking piece of it is probably the most important part since I think the LA dance world is fairly small and there are all sorts of choreographers floating in and out every week.  Everything in general is about getting noticed by the right people for the next gig.

I'm not sure how much the exposure to the mainstream audience is doing for these kids anymore.  The established all stars have fanbases to some extent, largely from their original seasons and in some cases cross exposure with other shows (DWTS and etc.)  But the kids that made the finals this season all have twitter pages and after how many months of competition, they have generally a whopping 2,000-3,000 followers.  Tate maybe having a little more, but I expect she had those prior to SYTYCD.  Compare to Dance Moms kids that have maybe a half million plus.  I know followers don't mean much and 3,000 followers is more than they had before, but in the context of a national television show that is not a lot for the exposure they are technically getting.  I'd be curious to know what sort of votes are even coming in, but I'm willing to bet it's not a lot.

Speaking of networking, did you catch the web in the piece about Tate's lucky charm?  A key necklace given to Kathryn by Stacy Tookey's sister is now passed on to Tate.  I don't know about Stacy's sister, but Stacy is absolutely one of the choreographers with a dance company who has had several members compete on the show.

Jaci Royal who came back last night to choreograph also happens to have a dance company.  My daughters actually danced with someone who joined her company a year or two ago. 

[realdancemom]

Maddie did dance heavy.  However, I do think she's improved tremendously with her performances after she started doing Sia videos.  It showed in Travis' piece too.  Her flexibility also improved.

I think the kids came up with the concept for their dances and mentioned what moves they would want in the dance.  But I don't think they choreographed the whole routines themselves.  I think Tate is probably the only one that could do that.  I do like how Tate tries to change up the look of her solos and she tried to do that with her duet with Katherine.  She even decided not to put leg extensions which Nigel and we have mentioned she keeps doing because other choreographers want her to do them in their pieces.

[Tikichick]

6 minutes ago, realdancemom said:

Maddie did dance heavy.  However, I do think she's improved tremendously with her performances after she started doing Sia videos.  It showed in Travis' piece too.  Her flexibility also improved.

I think the kids came up with the concept for their dances and mentioned what moves they would want in the dance.  But I don't think they choreographed the whole routines themselves.  I think Tate is probably the only one that could do that.  I do like how Tate tries to change up the look of her solos and she tried to do that with her duet with Katherine.  She even decided not to put leg extensions which Nigel and we have mentioned she keeps doing because other choreographers want her to do them in their pieces.

I'm very doubtful the kids had much at all to do with their "self choreographed" routines.  Had a conversation with my daughter who has a long dance background and she said there was no way a kid who did not know what syncopated rhythm was one week would know it well enough to choreograph a number with it the next week.   She's convinced me the All Stars choreographed the numbers for their contestants.  The kids looked so good in them because if anyone knows their strengths to play to, it's their All Stars.

[realdancemom]

2 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

I'm very doubtful the kids had much at all to do with their "self choreographed" routines.  Had a conversation with my daughter who has a long dance background and she said there was no way a kid who did not know what syncopated rhythm was one week would know it well enough to choreograph a number with it the next week.   She's convinced me the All Stars choreographed the numbers for their contestants.  The kids looked so good in them because if anyone knows their strengths to play to, it's their All Stars.

I think the All Stars or outside choreographers choreographed their routines too.  What I meant is the kids could have said, I want to do a story about this and I want to do these certain moves, e.g. a certain jump, hip-hop move, etc.  Then the choreographer is the one that made up the routine.  I do think kids can choreograph.  My daughters have been doing it since they were young.  But there is definitely a difference between what they choreographed then and what they do now.

[Tikichick]

Oh, there are kids who can choreograph.  There were times in dance class where they were challenged to choreograph, not so much as to actually come up with a full on number, rather to get them thinking about the music in a different way and the movement they would choose to express the music.  It was also a regular part of dance class to line up in two lines and improvise a full run across the floor.

Those kinds of things can open up a dancer's relationship to the music and/or the movement in a different way, and frequently demonstrate to the teachers some skills they don't realize a student has.  Sometimes those kinds of exercises trip up very proficient technical dancers who only approach it as parroting moves back by rote with no underbelly of emotion to what they're doing -- also very common in younger ones who are just being exposed to those types of improvisation.  

[realdancemom]

17 hours ago, Tikichick said:

Oh, there are kids who can choreograph.  There were times in dance class where they were challenged to choreograph, not so much as to actually come up with a full on number, rather to get them thinking about the music in a different way and the movement they would choose to express the music.  It was also a regular part of dance class to line up in two lines and improvise a full run across the floor.

Those kinds of things can open up a dancer's relationship to the music and/or the movement in a different way, and frequently demonstrate to the teachers some skills they don't realize a student has.  Sometimes those kinds of exercises trip up very proficient technical dancers who only approach it as parroting moves back by rote with no underbelly of emotion to what they're doing -- also very common in younger ones who are just being exposed to those types of improvisation.  

This is why I think Tate is capable of making up her own routine.  She belongs to a good ballet studio and those studios usually do various improv exercises.  I know some competition studios do it too but ballet studios emphasize them more.  Some students like my daughters do choreograph whole routines even when they are young.  They just loved dancing and choreographing even when they were not in class.   They still do and teach/choreograph for various studios and groups. 

[Blue Plastic]

Tahani looked like she had been informed ahead of time that she was going home.

I'm starting to think that awful little JT is going to win.  He is not even that cute.  He's just small and not afraid to let Robert toss him around like a little rag doll.  When he gets older, he is not going to be cute anymore and then what is he going to do?  He will have to work very hard on his dancing if that's really what he wants to do when he is older, as people are not going to just hand him raves and paying jobs for being cute when he is 20.  Sorry that was harsh, but it is true and it's really a bummer that Ruby went home so the little rag doll can continue to stick his arms and legs out like a starfish while Robert hurls him to and fro.

So agree about the repetitive nature of the routines.  These kids have gotten so many dances in their own style, and worse than that they are all the same theme.  Tate always gets a "serious" number while JT, Emma, and Kida always get something lighthearted.

No way those kids choreographed all that themselves, not without a lot of help.  Maybe Tate could have but not the others.

I don't even know what the judges said because I skip right over that every time.

[WhineandCheez]

Quote

and it's really a bummer that Ruby went home so the little rag doll can continue to stick his arms and legs out like a starfish while Robert hurls him to and fro.

HA!!  Well let's see how you fell when he wins, because he is so winning.  Isn't this the old moniker "America's FAVORITE (Child) Dancer?"  Not the best. Yeah, those "Gee Golly" looks and bowties aren't going to look as good at 20 are they?  I think JT keeps going because he's like (for anyone old out there) Webster or Gary Colemen from the 70s/80s.  He looks 4 but he's really much older (10?), so you think he's a wunderkind when he's not.

[luvthepros]

From the moment I saw JT, I thought he was like what Jess LoProtto must have been like as a child. Jess is all grown up now and is still a small man but he is an awesome Jazz dancer. I saw Jess on Broadway in "Newsies" and I was blown away by his skill. I would hope JT will work on his technique and be a great Jazz dancer when he matures.

[brokefromdance]

On September 10, 2016 at 0:53 AM, Blue Plastic said:

No way those kids choreographed all that themselves, not without a lot of help.  Maybe Tate could have but not the others.

Tate is capable of choreographing by herself and has done so in the past, not sure about the others though. Tanja, Tate's mother, has choreographed some wonderful group and solo numbers and I do believe that skill has been passed on. Tate and my daughter have danced at the same studio prior to both girls moving to other studios. Improvisation was worked on there, as is in most studios, which would build on choreography skills as others have previously mentioned. My own daughter surprised me by choreographing a pointe solo (not her strongest genre either) for a school talent show at that age and it surpassed my expectations (don't tell her that lol). My daughter's number was close to 3 minutes long and these so called self-choreographed numbers were much shorter than that so it could quite be possible that they mostly did it on their own. I imagine the older kids have all had improve training at their studios. The younger ones not as much, JT is the one I had the most doubts about, to me it seemed that his number basically was just using a lot of the moves combined from some of his previous numbers. 

In my opinion Tate has been poorly showcased in this entire season. She has trained in all forms of dance, not just ballet or contemporary, although those are her strengths. I imagine she's not the only contestant that has done so though so I don't know why they didn't allow all the kids to diversify more in the show. To those interested in 2014 Tate performed at The Dance Awards a number she choreographed herself and sang the song to: 

[brokefromdance]

4 hours ago, WhineandCheez said:

HA!!  Well let's see how you fell when he wins, because he is so winning.  Isn't this the old moniker "America's FAVORITE (Child) Dancer?"  Not the best. Yeah, those "Gee Golly" looks and bowties aren't going to look as good at 20 are they?  I think JT keeps going because he's like (for anyone old out there) Webster or Gary Colemen from the 70s/80s.  He looks 4 but he's really much older (10?), so you think he's a wunderkind when he's not.

I agree with you, this show is a popularity contest, not about making the most technically talented kid the winner. If it was that then Tate would take it. I'm naturally rooting for Tate based on a more personal connection with her than the others and will be disappointed if she doesn't win but I'm pretty sure she won't. I think that the cuteness factor of JT is too hard to overcome. How a kid that had to be reminded so much to point his toes made it this far is beyond me though. Thought that was Dance 101 from a pretty young age. Seeing as I highly doubt Tate will win I'm rooting for Kida as I think he deserves it more than JT. However my guess for placing tonight will be Emma 4th, Tate 3rd, Kida 2nd and JT will take it. It could go between JT and Kida though. Hope I'm wrong, guess we'll soon find out!