S14.E05: Academy Week #1

[dcalley]

23 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

Too much talking, not enough dancing. I miss the two-hour shows. We hardly got to see any of the solos, yet we have time to rehash the dancers back stories, replay initial audition moments, and watch the "all-stars" blather on endlessly.

And we had to see/hear Napoleon shout "you're supposed to be the best of the best, "etc. at least three times.

[mojoween]

One thing that I am super glad about is that blonde guy got cut.  That "solo" was horrific.

I hate starting to pick teams after one round.  What if in future rounds there are four people you like BETTER?  Then you're stuck.

Edited July 18, 2017 by mojoween

[crowceilidh]

With you on Ryan being cut.  It was quite instructive to see him after Vassily and Kristina.  They came across a bit old school BUT actually super modern in the amount of interpretation they were doing of the music..  He was just trying to be "modern:" for no reason.  IRyan held my interest vaguely, but overall, it was fugly for  no reason.  And the part I'm objecting to is "for no reason".

Vasslly and Katrina actually took my breath away -- (sorry WOD comment for those who are watching that nonsense:  that's how DNA should be coming across, but they are not and I blame the bad wife-picking for that problem.)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The best part about Ryan's solo for the All Stars was when the cameras cut to the line of All Stars in their director chairs to show one of them giving extreme side eye. Normally I loathe when the cameras go to the judges for reaction shots, but in this one instance, it was totally worth it because it reflected exactly what I was thinking ("WTF is this guy even doing here?"). I think it was maybe Paul who gave the side eye? I can't remember now but it was GLORIOUS. I actually had to pause the episode because I was laughing so hard. 

[healthnut]

LOVE Vassily and Katrina! I really like Lex, Impavado/Katie, and Robert Green.

The team stuff is so confusing. Last year they picked teams right after solos so I'm fine with them picking people now but having people unassigned is so strange. Do they have to be assigned to a team after the next round? I watched last year and it kind of sucked knowing that only person from each team would make it. If Lex is on Team Gaby, there's no way I'm picking her team if I have a choice.

I do, however, prefer the all stars over the regular judges. I'm not worried about Jenna picking Kiki at this point, if the producers don't want him in the top 10, he won't be, its their call. An besides, I find Lex being in Shaping Sound (and Kate in S12, Lauren in S3) to be a far greater conflict.

[crowceilidh]

Even though I'm not entirely averse to this set-up (and yes, I watched the whole friggin kids' season, because when I missed the one season (the time they did two in a year and I just couldn't with all the dance shows) I have been sorry ever since when people talk about it).  I wish they stuck to a top 20.  AllStars pick 2 each and then they get partnered up. or whatever.  10 is just NOT enough.

Edited July 19, 2017 by crowceilidh

[Mason]

5 hours ago, cali1981 said:

Kevin, in going with Allison, took the latter path. 

Maybe he's hoping to get an in with Twitch :-)

[Laurie4H]

This show has become so staged.  I'm surprised so many of you believe the All Stars actually pick who they want on their team or the dancers pick who's team they want to be on.  All scripted.  You can't be upset with Jenna for picking KiKi when it's the producers that instructed it.  I love Allison as a dancer but she is so fake on this.

[luvthepros]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

The best part about Ryan's solo for the All Stars was when the cameras cut to the line of All Stars in their director chairs to show one of them giving extreme side eye. Normally I loathe when the cameras go to the judges for reaction shots, but in this one instance, it was totally worth it because it reflected exactly what I was thinking ("WTF is this guy even doing here?"). I think it was maybe Paul who gave the side eye? I can't remember now but it was GLORIOUS. I actually had to pause the episode because I was laughing so hard. 

It was Robert. Great shot of that! (It was probably scripted though)

[jewel21]

Was I the only one who didn't recognize Robert at all? I adore him but I had no idea it was him the whole episode. I just sat there wondering who was this guy was that no one wanted to be teamed up with.

Edited July 19, 2017 by jewel21

[crowceilidh]

Did you watch last year's show?  I found Robert instantly recognizable, but then he was imprinted on my retinas by last season's show.

[NorthstarATL]

Marko is looking more and more like Harry Shum Jr. They have the same facial expressions. And Comfort looked like Rutina Wesley! I watch way too much TV! As usual with the culling of the herd, I rarely recall any of the cut dancers enough to feel for them when they are sent packing.

Quote

Wow, could blondie from Utah have cared less that her partner of almost a decade got cut first???  Those few tears she squeezed out at the end didn't make up for her making it all about her and her excitement at going through.  I felt bad for him.

I can't decide whether she really IS that cold (they supposedly danced together since they were 11?) or if she pissed off someone in editing so that she was made to appear that way, but, yes, my first reaction was the same! "Sucks to be you; I got THROUGH!"

[Anothermi]

1 hour ago, NorthstarATL said:

Marko is looking more and more like Harry Shum Jr. They have the same facial expressions. And Comfort looked like Rutina Wesley! I watch way too much TV!

While I don't think they look much alike, I'm good with Marko resembling Harry Shum Jr.  They are both great dancers. I've been a fan of Marko since his season (he was shot and survived! if you recall his back story). He's also been one of the most chameleon-like dancers in terms of styles. I can see why they call on him again and again. He also not a big ego, just a great dancer. (ditto for Paul re: not a big ego)

Comfort has turned out to be a bee -u-tiful woman. She has her own style. This year she may look like that person you mentioned, but last year, the year before and probably next year, you will get something completely different but equally wonderful. Another fave All Star that I don't get tired of.

I do agree with those that question Cyrus as an All Star. But, whatever. It will only bother me if his pick wins!      ;-p

ETA: forgot to add that it may be that the contestants know that Robert's pick won the ... uh... "young folks" season last year and assume his pick can't possibly win again.

Edited July 19, 2017 by Anothermi
added thought

[calipiano81]

Fik-Shun's partner Kida won last season, Robert's partner J.T. came in second.

Some of the All-Stars' pitches to the contestants came across a little high and mighty to me, which was off-putting.

Edited July 19, 2017 by calipiano81

[Anothermi]

1 hour ago, calipiano81 said:

Fik-Shun's partner Kida won last season, Robert's partner J.T. came in second.

Some of the All-Stars' pitches to the contestants came across a little high and mighty to me, which was off-putting.

Clearly that season was an afterthought to me. I guess I thought the very cute JT went a good deal farther than he should have which made me think he won.  Sloppy memory.

[WhineandCheez]

Quote

One thing that I am super glad about is that blonde guy got cut.  That "solo" was horrific.

Sock puppets on his hands would have helped.  His movements were very sock-puppety.

Wow, let's embarrass Robert by showing what a loser he is.  Sounds like fun, production!

Has Jenna had facial work?

Allison was wearing the ugliest red dress I've ever seen.

[khyber]

18 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Too much talking, not enough dancing. I miss the two-hour shows. We hardly got to see any of the solos, yet we have time to rehash the dancers back stories, replay initial audition moments, and watch the "all-stars" blather on endlessly. We don't need to cut away from a what little dancing we did see, so we can see the all-stars falling out of their chairs in OTT amazement, and we don't need to waste time hearing them "pitch" the dancers with all the same stupid arguments on why they should pick them. This is not the voice, it's not about the coaches. Ugh! 

Yup, Mr. Khyber said, "I wish they'd get rid of the other crap and just show more dancing'"   Also, I don't are about the judges reactions while someone is dancing. Don't cut away.

[Tikichick]

20 hours ago, cali1981 said:

Like others I felt that the inclusion of Cyrus was a joke.  He went way too far in his season and was absurdly pimped by the judges every week.  As I recall when he had to dance other styles, the choreography had to be dumbed down.  Fiction, on the other hand, turned out to be good at most other styles and his partnership with Amy was outstanding.   Comfort, while she didn't necessarily excel at styles other than Hip Hop, nevertheless, did pretty well. Those who make it to the teams have tough choices.  Do they stick with a mentor who works in the same style or go with one who might help them raise their game in "alien" dance styles.  Kevin, in going with Allison, took the latter path. 

I wonder about what the inclusion of Cyrus means to how the format of the show will operate.  Inflicting Cyrus on any contestant in any genre outside of his own amounts to production choosing the dancer they are eliminating.  Fikshun has a few more skills -- and better overall performance quality to mask his lack of technique in other genres.  Make no mistake, Fiskshun benefited immensely from Amy carrying much of the load in their routines -- and the benefit of choreographers including moments for him to shine with his skillset in dances outside of his genre.

Comfort was a flat-out misdirect by producers in season four.  Yes, we were sold a hip hop gal who was fish out of water in other genres, but that's simply not the case.  Comfort had trained in ballet and other disciplines.  She simply chose to audition as a hip hop specialist, and that's how her narrative on the show was force fed to the audience.  Granted, from what I could see Comfort was a dance student who trained in some of the other disciplines -- but hip hop was where her heart was, so hip hop got most of her training efforts.  I was annoyed by the feedback she got as a contestant, attempting to praise her far too much for anything she did outside of hip hop -- always referencing the fact that she was untrained in those styles.  The first time All Stars came into the series they were assigned a partner & danced whatever genre their partner was dancing.  Comfort was a part of that format.  She flat out blew me away.  Her body had changed significantly from Season 4, so I knew she'd been working hard.  Her performance in non hip hop genres was incredible, so I knew part of her body change was working her ass off with a lot of dance training.  She also had clearly put in a lot of work to bring her hip hop skills into the stratosphere.  She is absolutely one of the most skilled all around dancers this show has ever produced. 

Frankly I'm worried with the edit given to the All Stars portion of the show this week that Cyrus may have been cast on the show specifically for drama that was referenced when he was a competitor but not really allowed to become the focus of the show at that time.  If that is the case I may be ready to say goodbye to the series.  That's after faithfully tuning in to all but one and one-half episodes over all these seasons. 

[lavenderblue]

I only followed the kids season through discussion here and videos of Paul and Ruby, but my understanding for that format was that the contestants danced in their own genre with their All-Stars and only went out of genre when with other contestants. It's not clear how closely this year's format is tracking with last year's -- and it's even less clear if Allison, say, ends up with the hip hop dancer, or Cyrus with contemporary, since last year the contestant and All-Star genres matched -- but I do suspect at most we might see fusion approaches in these teams rather than Cyrus having to do a cha cha or the like. And the bigger style challenges will be left to contestant/contestant routines, if the show is actually allowed two hours to include that sort of thing.

Edited July 19, 2017 by lavenderblue

[realdancemom]

9 minutes ago, lavenderblue said:

I only followed the kids season through discussion here and videos of Paul and Ruby, but my understanding for that format was that the contestants danced in their own genre with their All-Stars and only went out of genre when with other contestants. It's not clear how closely this year's format is tracking with last year's -- and it's even less clear if Allison, say, ends up with the hip hop dancer, or Cyrus with contemporary, since last year the contestant and All-Star genres matched -- but I do suspect at most we might see fusion approaches in these teams rather than Cyrus having to do a cha cha or the like. And the bigger style challenges will be left to contestant/contestant routines, if the show is actually allowed two hours to include that sort of thing.

I'm guessing that Cyrus' partner will do hip-hop when she/he dances with him.  They will only be out of their style when they dance with another contestant or All-Star.  That's my guess.

[crowceilidh]

Do we KNOW that Cyrus hasn't been cross training since his season?  Somebody who can move his muscles as minutely as Cyrus can seems to be a candidate for being tolerable in other disciplines with a little more time in.  

His Nutcracker gives me chills, but doesn't exactly scream I'm a ballet guy:

Cyrus Nutcracker

Edited July 19, 2017 by crowceilidh

[realdancemom]

19 minutes ago, crowceilidh said:

Do we KNOW that Cyrus hasn't been cross training since his season?  Somebody who can move his muscles as minutely as Cyrus can seems to be a candidate for being tolerable in other disciplines with a little more time in.  

His Nutcracker gives me chills, but doesn't exactly scream I'm a ballet guy:

Cyrus Nutcracker

Don't know but I had to comment on Comfort.  She might have been trained in other styles during her season.  However, if she did, you can tell that she was a beginner.  Her feet were horrid and she really wasn't that great in other styles.  She wasn't Cyrus' level but I'm not sure if she was Fik-Shun level either.  I know for sure that she wasn't Joshua level good in other styles.

Since then, she has become versatile in other styles, and as Tikichick pointed out,  and is phenomenal in hip-hop.  Her style has also changed and she's very beautiful.  I remember her being cute in Season 4 but I wouldn't say gorgeous.  Now, she is.

[Keekski]

18 hours ago, Laurie4H said:

 I love Allison as a dancer but she is so fake on this.

I have never, ever liked Allison. She annoys me like no other has on this show. She is so fake and manufactured.

[jewel21]

16 hours ago, crowceilidh said:

Did you watch last year's show?  I found Robert instantly recognizable, but then he was imprinted on my retinas by last season's show.

No, I gave up on the show when I heard they were doing a kid's version.

Edited July 19, 2017 by jewel21

[Tikichick]

1 hour ago, realdancemom said:

Don't know but I had to comment on Comfort.  She might have been trained in other styles during her season.  However, if she did, you can tell that she was a beginner.  Her feet were horrid and she really wasn't that great in other styles.  She wasn't Cyrus' level but I'm not sure if she was Fik-Shun level either.  I know for sure that she wasn't Joshua level good in other styles.

Since then, she has become versatile in other styles, and as Tikichick pointed out,  and is phenomenal in hip-hop.  Her style has also changed and she's very beautiful.  I remember her being cute in Season 4 but I wouldn't say gorgeous.  Now, she is.

So funny you mention horrid feet -- I genuinely think that may be Fikshun's middle or last name!  I say that as someone who really appreciates Fikshun's talent and personality, but the feet kill me in anything but hip hop!

[spanana]

5 hours ago, lavenderblue said:

I only followed the kids season through discussion here and videos of Paul and Ruby, but my understanding for that format was that the contestants danced in their own genre with their All-Stars and only went out of genre when with other contestants. It's not clear how closely this year's format is tracking with last year's -- and it's even less clear if Allison, say, ends up with the hip hop dancer, or Cyrus with contemporary, since last year the contestant and All-Star genres matched -- but I do suspect at most we might see fusion approaches in these teams rather than Cyrus having to do a cha cha or the like. And the bigger style challenges will be left to contestant/contestant routines, if the show is actually allowed two hours to include that sort of thing.

That is how I assumed it would go as well, where the all-stars are only performing with their partners in their own genre.  So none of the newbies should be dragged down by their all-stars lack of cross training.  What the newbies may be dragged down by is their all-stars popularity, as I expect many viewers will want to vote for their fave all-star.  The partners of the more known/popular all-stars will like have a leg up (see Allison).  

Edited July 19, 2017 by spanana

[crowceilidh]

I always thought Comfort was gorgeous, but the experience on the show, especially the S4 bonding, seems to have changed her into a confident Queen of the Universe.  She reminds me of George Clinton now, for some strange reason to do with hair, I suspect.

I can't stand Allison.  Not happy when she's on DWTS and even unhappier that she's on SYTYCD all the damn time.

Like:  Comfort, Cyrus (if they could make Comfort and Cyrus dance together again, I'd be all for that), Jasmine, Marko (reluctantly,  I still have PTSD from his association with Melanie) 

Hmmm: Paul,  Gaby, Fikshun (<-- WOD is making me dislike him; I have been a huge fan in the past)  Robert (I was all Robert in his season, but I hate the role he plays as an AllStar)

Dislike:: Allison, Jenna

It'll be interesting to see if there are any changes to the way I feel about that line-up as the season unfolds.   Both Jenna and Allison get worse and worse all the time.  This time last year I would have had Fikshun on the like list etc.

[talktalk]

Is KiKi gay? he is cute wearing that glasses and he is "soul mate" with his ballroom partner. Besides, he picked a guy as his hip hop partner.  

[slaterain]

20 hours ago, Tikichick said:

Frankly I'm worried with the edit given to the All Stars portion of the show this week that Cyrus may have been cast on the show specifically for drama that was referenced when he was a competitor but not really allowed to become the focus of the show at that time.  If that is the case I may be ready to say goodbye to the series.  That's after faithfully tuning in to all but one and one-half episodes over all these seasons. 

What was the drama when Cyrus was a competitor?!? 

I definitely don't think he is near as skilled as the other all-stars and was surprised that they brought back two hip hop focused all stars. I can't think of another season where they did that except to bring in someone for an episode here or there.

[Tikichick]

Just now, slaterain said:

What was the drama when Cyrus was a competitor?!? 

I definitely don't think he is near as skilled as the other all-stars and was surprised that they brought back two hip hop focused all stars. I can't think of another season where they did that except to bring in someone for an episode here or there.

He had rather abruptly and coldly dumped his girlfriend out of the blue.

????? Why is that germane?  The girlfriend was none other than a slightly salty Jasmine Harper, who also qualified as a competitor that same season.  She happened to be a MUCH more skilled all around dancer, and still didn't manage to make it as far as he did in the season, IMO largely because of the generous critiques and edit Cyrus received.

Incidentally, for anybody who didn't recognize her with the major change in hairstyle, Jasmine has returned to join the All Star panel as well this year.  The unmistakable edit focusing on rivalry between the All Stars makes me worried the producers won't be able to resist digging up their past history for added drama.   Back in the day of their season it was mentioned via Nigel's obviously scripted question to Jasmine, it was obvious she had feelings, there was judge's reaction to her "revelation" -- and we thankfully never heard about it again.  With the dramatic change in tone this year I'm not sure we're going to catch that same break.

[crowceilidh]

Quote

Back in the day of their season it was mentioned via Nigel's obviously scripted question to Jasmine, it was obvious she had feelings, there was judge's reaction to her "revelation" -- and we thankfully never heard about it again.  With the dramatic change in tone this year I'm not sure we're going to catch that same break.

Gah.  I remember that.  It was excoriatingly embarrassing.  Blerg.  I hope you are wrong, but I bet you're not.

[cali1981]

1 hour ago, Tikichick said:

He had rather abruptly and coldly dumped his girlfriend out of the blue.

????? Why is that germane?  The girlfriend was none other than a slightly salty Jasmine Harper, who also qualified as a competitor that same season.  She happened to be a MUCH more skilled all around dancer, and still didn't manage to make it as far as he did in the season, IMO largely because of the generous critiques and edit Cyrus received.

 

I vaguely recall something with Cyrus and Jasmine and Nigel being wildly inappropriate when referencing it but to me the real drama was that week after week Cyrus clod hopped his way through almost any genre other than his own and that the judges just gushed over him.  It was very frustrating to see superb dancers bounced every week so that Cyrus could continue on.  The judges naked attempt to stack the deck was very distasteful.  Cyrus ultimately finishing ahead of the brilliant Cole Horibe was a joke. We had always been faithful fans of the show but that situation was a real turn off.     Thankfully the season was redeemed when Eliana  and Chehon  ended up winning. 

[Tikichick]

30 minutes ago, cali1981 said:

I vaguely recall something with Cyrus and Jasmine and Nigel being wildly inappropriate when referencing it but to me the real drama was that week after week Cyrus clod hopped his way through almost any genre other than his own and that the judges just gushed over him.  It was very frustrating to see superb dancers bounced every week so that Cyrus could continue on.  The judges naked attempt to stack the deck was very distasteful.  Cyrus ultimately finishing ahead of the brilliant Cole Horibe was a joke. We had always been faithful fans of the show but that situation was a real turn off.     Thankfully the season was redeemed when Eliana  and Chehon  ended up winning. 

Absolutely agree.  I don't even "dislike" Cyrus.  He's very good -- at what he does.   A huuuge frustration for me that season was Cyrus not only getting a pass, but getting that gushing praise for his less than stellar results out of his genre -- while Cheon got called on the carpet harshly for lack of performance quality and not being loose enough with his hips, etc., with Cyrus clomping his way through every genre, never changing emotion in his face and still getting praise?!  He absolutely did not deserve to finish ahead of Cole either -- he could really bring the emotion in his performances!  Killer paso with Lindsey.

What will frustrate me even more is if the show begins to engage on camera in petty drama, thinking it will fuel interest.  No.  It will not.  Show me great dancing.  If you must personalize it with backstory, do it in a positive way that makes me want to invest even more in the talent I tune in for.   Show me the All Stars pulling out all the stops to help their team/partner win.  Show me friendly rivalry.  Amaze me, make me smile and even make me cry if that's the emotion of the dance.  Don't BS me with agenda driven drama.

[slaterain]

Ah! it's all coming back to me now! they do love their - untrained hip hopper most improved - trope - unfortunately I don't think Cyrus was even close to so many of the other hip hoppers that have come through. <cue giant eye roll> And I had forgotten how he bumped Cole out too. ugh. 

[realdancemom]

52 minutes ago, cali1981 said:

I vaguely recall something with Cyrus and Jasmine and Nigel being wildly inappropriate when referencing it but to me the real drama was that week after week Cyrus clod hopped his way through almost any genre other than his own and that the judges just gushed over him.  It was very frustrating to see superb dancers bounced every week so that Cyrus could continue on.  The judges naked attempt to stack the deck was very distasteful.  Cyrus ultimately finishing ahead of the brilliant Cole Horibe was a joke. We had always been faithful fans of the show but that situation was a real turn off.     Thankfully the season was redeemed when Eliana  and Chehon  ended up winning. 

This.  Cole was my favorite male that season.  I wanted him to win the favorite male dancer that season.  I don't dislike Cyrus and he is really good at what he does.  He is not versatile enough to be ahead of Cole.

 

3 hours ago, Tikichick said:

He had rather abruptly and coldly dumped his girlfriend out of the blue.

????? Why is that germane?  The girlfriend was none other than a slightly salty Jasmine Harper, who also qualified as a competitor that same season.  She happened to be a MUCH more skilled all around dancer, and still didn't manage to make it as far as he did in the season, IMO largely because of the generous critiques and edit Cyrus received.

Incidentally, for anybody who didn't recognize her with the major change in hairstyle, Jasmine has returned to join the All Star panel as well this year.  The unmistakable edit focusing on rivalry between the All Stars makes me worried the producers won't be able to resist digging up their past history for added drama.   Back in the day of their season it was mentioned via Nigel's obviously scripted question to Jasmine, it was obvious she had feelings, there was judge's reaction to her "revelation" -- and we thankfully never heard about it again.  With the dramatic change in tone this year I'm not sure we're going to catch that same break.

Cyrus and Jasmine were not on the same season.   Cyrus was in Season 9 when Eliana and Chehon won.  Jasmine was on Season 10 when Amy and Fik-Shun won. 

[Tikichick]

4 minutes ago, realdancemom said:

This.  Cole was my favorite male that season.  I wanted him to win the favorite male dancer that season.  I don't dislike Cyrus and he is really good at what he does.  He is not versatile enough to be ahead of Cole.

 

Cyrus and Jasmine were not on the same season.   Cyrus was in Season 9 when Eliana and Chehon won.  Jasmine was on Season 10 when Amy and Fik-Shun won. 

You are correct.  Now that you say that I realize that I have blended the seasons.

[Tikichick]

14 hours ago, talktalk said:

Is KiKi gay? he is cute wearing that glasses and he is "soul mate" with his ballroom partner. Besides, he picked a guy as his hip hop partner.  

Who cares?  If he can throw down on the dance floor I want to watch.

[dcalley]

16 hours ago, crowceilidh said:

I always thought Comfort was gorgeous, but the experience on the show, especially the S4 bonding, seems to have changed her into a confident Queen of the Universe.

Ugh, this just reminded me of Joshua Allen. Does anyone know if he was convicted? All the articles I see are from when he was charged. It's funny how many places reported on the charges, but no one said anything about the result.

15 hours ago, talktalk said:

Is KiKi gay? he is cute wearing that glasses and he is "soul mate" with his ballroom partner. Besides, he picked a guy as his hip hop partner.  

They were far from the only same-sex partners. The producers apparently didn't force people to work with a member of the opposite sex, so yay, progress for this show!

I've never had strong feelings one way or the other about Allison's personality (though I only started watching in season 3), but she was bugging me in this episode. She was trying too hard. I also don't like her syntax or something. I just did not like the way she spoke. (And my last two sentences here are not the most eloquent or illuminating!)

Seeing and hearing Paul always caught me off guard a bit because he was so much more reserved and professional that it was quite the contrast. I liked that.

Thanks to those who said there was a preexisting relationship between Lex and Gaby (plus his tap experience), because that choice seemed odd to me.

[Mason]

6 hours ago, slaterain said:

I was surprised that they brought back two hip hop focused all stars. I can't think of another season where they did that except to bring in someone for an episode here or there.

I think it was deliberate: one male/one female ballroom All-Star, one male/one female hip-hop All Star, evenly divided male/female All Stars . They may have let Academy participants choose either sex, but I don't think TPTB will!!

[slaterain]

46 minutes ago, Mason said:

I think it was deliberate: one male/one female ballroom All-Star, one male/one female hip-hop All Star, evenly divided male/female All Stars . They may have let Academy participants choose either sex, but I don't think TPTB will!!

I meant to say two MALE hip hop dancers - they actually have 3 overall this season - Fikshun, Cyrus, and Comfort. 

[crowceilidh]

Cyrus and Jasmine weren't on the same season, BUT I seem to recall knowing something about Cyrus dumping his girlfriend in his season and the show basically made a package about Cyrus and Jasmine in her season which was very very annoying.

Edited July 20, 2017 by crowceilidh
Remove link to hastily read article about the wrong guy.

[SnarkyTart]

5 minutes ago, crowceilidh said:

Josh Allen sentencing and appeal news.

It requires a subscription to read it.  Can you give a summary?  TIA.

[crowceilidh]

Because it's AUSTRALIAN about an AUSTRALIAN guy - doh!  I didn't read carefully enough.

[saks10111]

3 hours ago, dcalley said:

Thanks to those who said there was a preexisting relationship between Lex and Gaby (plus his tap experience), because that choice seemed odd to me.

I do get what you mean about Gaby being an odd choice for Lex minus the shaping sound connection. But honestly, as someone who has been rewetting Lex's audition over and over again since I first saw it, I tried to think before the Academy episode of who I'd want him to be paired with most. Surprisingly, Gaby was the person I ended up deciding on.

My process of elimination was - I very stereotypically I admit eliminated the guys because I'd love to see Lex paired with a girl, since most of his Youtube stuff is solo or with other guys (not a Nigel no homo, don't worry - I'd love to see him dance with other guys too!). That leaves the girls, and I did want him to be paired with a contemporary girl/girl who does most styles well, which in my head rules out Comfort (who I love, but probably wouldn't elevate the contemporary routines as much as hip hop) and Jenna (ugh). That left Allison, Jasmine and Gaby. Allison annoys the hell out of me with her overacting during any 'emotional' contemporary plus she's one of the older ones around so while technically amazing, probably wouldn't share a modern, fun chemistry with him - it would feel very much like older sister and kid brother. Jasmine is a beast, but I think she would dominate him physically as she is so tall and let's face it, you can't take your eyes off Jasmine when she dances so it might not be a good enough showcase for Lex's talents. Gaby seemed like the perfect fit when I thought about it - she has a similar personality in that she's not overtly Type A annoying SYTYCD dancer who feels the need to ham for the camera all the time (another reason I'm loving Lex so far apart from his insane dancing plus she killed all styles in her season so would allow Lex to dance multiple styles, including tap which he apparently knows and would be a great card up his sleeve to reveal at the right time.

I think Lex-Gaby, the Japanese contemporary dancer and Marko, Fik-Shun-Dassy, and Paul and the ballroom girl seem like good fits so far! I desperately wish Kiki hadn't ended up with Jenna even though now after reading this thread I realise there's this whole DWTS connection. I like him but he should have first had to prove himself in another round, and secondly, ended up with someone like Jasmine perhaps or even Robert, who would help him develop further and not just essentially be a ballroom partner. 

[crossover]

13 hours ago, saks10111 said:

 secondly, ended up with someone like Jasmine perhaps or even Robert, who would help him develop further and not just essentially be a ballroom partner. 

As I recall, Jenna is as much a contemporary dancer as a ballroom dancer.  She was a favorite of the contemporary choreographers when she was on sytycd.   That's one reason Nigel kept saving her during her season.

[Duke Silver]

I have been such a cynic about reality competition shows in general, and SYTYCD in particular (really??  a effing kids version???  GROSS AF), but you know what?  I really liked this episode.   I like how they're using the All Stars, at least up to this point.  It's weird that I'm allowing for the possibility I can do more than hatewatch this show.

[Tikichick]

Do not discount Comfort's abilities to work a contemporary number down to every single note -- and pluck your heart out of your chest if that's what it calls for.  When she returned to the show as an All Star years ago her contemporary work is what really got my attention.   I expected her to kill in the hip hop, but she did in contemporary as well.

Jenna is capable of bringing it to whatever choreography is assigned.  I thought she matched Mark Kanemura step for step when she danced with him in her season.

Thinking of Gaby as primarily a tapper is only because of the show hanging that narrative on her.  She comes out of the same Miami pipeline as Ricky Ubeda(also a Shaping Sound member) and a lot of the other dancers who have done great work on SYTYCD over the years. 

Many of the dancers from Stacey Tookey's company have also done well over the seasons, others had previously worked with Mia Michaels, Nappy Tabs and others even before appearing on the show.  It's the nature of the dance world. 

[spanana]

I think many of the dancers are a lot more cross trained than the show lets on, or let on in the all-stars original seasons, because of their need to put them in boxes by genre.  I can't stand Jenna's performance style and over emoting (hello camera mugging), but she could have easily claimed contemporary as her primary genre.  She's as equally trained and accomplished in contemp as she is in ballroom. Now if the show tried to sell her as a hip hop dancer, I'd laugh, but she's equally strong in both other styles.  In general most of the dancers that come out of that whole Utah ballroom system are generally cross trained.  See Witney Carson, Lindsay Arnold, and just about anyone else DWTS has hired.

As for Comfort, while I do think she has vastly improved since her original season, with hip hop dancers it's also the shows need to boast how untrained they are outside of hip hop and then act surprised if/when they kill other genres.  Even if they have other training, the show usually omits that from the narrative for sake of story.  See Joshua Allen.

But I do think sometimes it works to the dancers benefit.  Like it was to Gaby's advantage to be categorized as a tapper as opposed to a contemp dancer as it gave her more attention and therefore she stood out more since contemp dancers are a dime a dozen on this show.

[calipiano81]

Does the fact that multiple All-Stars were gunning for contestants outside their genre for their teams, plus the fact that some of them were making pitches like "we can combine our strengths in different styles," "I can help you grow in different styles," "I'm not just x, but I can do y and z" suggest that the partnerships will actually be doing different styles together? 

I would LOVE that, if this were the case. The show has really strayed over the years from its original premise, which was demonstrating versatility in dance. Also, while I like having All-Stars in that it brings back familiar and popular dancers, the fact that they were always brought back to do their specialties made their impressive performances actually a little less impressive to me and didn't always prove to me why they should be considered "All-Stars."

[Canada]

If Cyrus has to do anything other than hip hop, I'm going to spend large parts of this season cringing and feeling embarrassed for him.  Unless something has drastically changed since he was on the show originally.