S14.E14: Top 4 Perform

[Kira53]

23 hours ago, Anothermi said:

So, I'm thinking you missed this post up thread:

Sure did miss that post.   I don't care enough to go back and look at the performance.  I hardly watched it in the beginning.  I miss the old days when I was actively involved.  The  choreography was better and the contestants competing as couples was a much more involving way of setting up the show. The manipulations from the very beginning were annoying but the current agendas really reduce the personal involvement for me. I don't know when the last time I voted it.   I still want Lex to win and I miss that Logan was not in the top four I think his dancing is it exquisite, I just prefer Lex for his creativity and unique styles and his mastery of most of the genres for his age .

Edited September 23, 2017 by Kira53

[luvthepros]

On 9/21/2017 at 8:01 PM, fan94 said:

I agree about lifts, but I think the way Lex carried his arms in his tap was better than Gaby's. Really showed his ballet background.

Oh my gosh, yes. I agree with this. I thought, from the first time Lex and Gaby tapped together, I liked Lex's use of his arm so much more than Gaby's. This second time around, I had the same impression. I'm certainly not a tap aficionado but I have watched Astaire, Kelly and O'Connor since I was a child. (many years because I'm old). All three of these icons had different styles. 

In the case of Gaby and Lex, I much prefer Lex's style.

Edited September 23, 2017 by luvthepros

[displayname]

16 minutes ago, luvthepros said:

Oh my gosh, yes. I agree with this. I thought, from the first time Lex and Gaby tapped together, I liked Lex's use of his arm so much more than Gaby's. This second time around, I have the same impression. I'm certainly not a tap aficionado but I have watched Astaire, Kelly and O'Connor since I was a child. (many years because I'm old). All three of these icons had different styles. 

In the case of Gaby and Lex, I much prefer Lex's style.

It's like Zack versus Valerie (though I think Gaby and Lex are both better than Zack, and far, far better than Valerie). Zack had good control of his upper body, whereas Valerie was just sloppy and hunchy. Of course, Gaby is neither, but her upper body in comparison to Lex's is still not as good.

[luvthepros]

On 9/19/2017 at 7:35 AM, kechara said:

I really was taken out of the tap number by Gaby's outfit. The dress ....horrible. 

 

This is the second time I have read that Gaby's dress was disliked in the tap number. From where I was sitting.....Gaby's costume emulated Ginger Rogers' gown with the feathers when she danced "Cheek to Cheek" in "Top Hat" with Astaire. I loved Gaby's costume and in knew immediately what the vision the costumers had for this number.

Edited September 23, 2017 by luvthepros

[evasworld123]

Hoping some one can help me out with this, please :) I’ve been watching the show for many years. In the past I remember America’s favorite dancer (ie the winner of the show) receiving a large cash prize, a role on Broadway, etc.

 

Tonight my boyfriend asked me what the winner got and I realized I had no idea. Just googled and read the Fox website even. Can’t find it anywhere for 2017 show. Did they remove the prize element? Was it announced?

[Anothermi]

17 hours ago, Kira53 said:

Sure did miss that post.   I don't care enough to go back and look at the performance.  I hardly watched it in the beginning.  I miss the old days when I was actively involved.  The  choreography was better and the contestants competing as couples was a much more involving way of setting up the show. The manipulations from the very beginning were annoying but the current agendas really reduce the personal involvement for me. I don't know when the last time I voted it.   I still want Lex to win and I miss that Logan was not in the top four I think is dancing is it exquisite I just prefer Lex for his creativity and unique styles and his mastery of most of the genres for his age .

I co-sign on the losing interest. I still watch the show each year but sometimes it's a delayed watch.  I keep up by reading the comments here. <sigh>

[Andiethewestie]

39 minutes ago, evasworld123 said:

Hoping some one can help me out with this, please :) I’ve been watching the show for many years. In the past I remember America’s favorite dancer (ie the winner of the show) receiving a large cash prize, a role on Broadway, etc.

 

Tonight my boyfriend asked me what the winner got and I realized I had no idea. Just googled and read the Fox website even. Can’t find it anywhere for 2017 show. Did they remove the prize element? Was it announced?

It's 250,000.00 for the winner. Cat apparently announced it. 

[LadyMustang65]

We finally got a chance to watch the show and thought this was a really great evening of dancing.  The Broadway number with Lex and Koine was the highlight of the evening, and we loved seeing the tap dance again with Lex and Gaby.  Every dancer did a great job and showed why they belonged in the finals.  I'm still hoping for Lex to win and would love to see Koine come in second.

[evasworld123]

1 hour ago, Andiethewestie said:

It's 250,000.00 for the winner. Cat apparently announced it. 

Thanks for the quick response :) 250k sounds familiar. When you say ‘apparently’ do you mean you heard it through a third party? Not that it really matters at all haha but now it’s just bothering me I can’t remenber. I felt in other seasons they emphasized that more. 

 

Side note - Also hope Lex wins. Also wished Logan had stayed. A male duet with those two coulda been something else

[jewel21]

1 hour ago, evasworld123 said:

Thanks for the quick response :) 250k sounds familiar. When you say ‘apparently’ do you mean you heard it through a third party? Not that it really matters at all haha but now it’s just bothering me I can’t remenber. I felt in other seasons they emphasized that more. 

 

Side note - Also hope Lex wins. Also wished Logan had stayed. A male duet with those two coulda been something else

My PVR mentioned the winner getting $250,000. And I heard Cat mention it the other night as well.

[Kira53]

4 hours ago, Anothermi said:

I co-sign on the losing interest. I still watch the show each year but sometimes it's a delayed watch.  I keep up by reading the comments here. <sigh>

Yeah, I never watch it live anymore, so of course I no longer vote.  I ff through the judges - don't care what they are programmed to say.....  I don't even listen to the host.  I wonder what it would be like without all the manipulations and picking the finalists before the academy?  When you now the outcome there is no "horse race" so why bet?

[dcalley]

2 hours ago, evasworld123 said:

Thanks for the quick response :) 250k sounds familiar. When you say ‘apparently’ do you mean you heard it through a third party? Not that it really matters at all haha but now it’s just bothering me I can’t remenber. I felt in other seasons they emphasized that more.

You'd expect a reality show to mention a cash prize early and often, but it's only been mentioned once AFAIK, months after it premiered. Someone sure did take a long time to decide how much the prize was! That and the suspicion I have that the elimination process for the season wasn't decided until the last possible moment just leave a bad impression of the show, in my opinion. I don't know if Nigel shenanigans are to blame or Fox interference or what (probably a bit of both).

[Andie1]

It does seem odd this year about the prize money,  $250,000.00 is no small change and yet isn't that what Benji Schwimmer got in Season 2, 10 years ago along with dancing for a Celine Dion show (that he turned down) Wouldn't you think they'd up the prize to at least a  half million?  You've got working dancers competing. 

Its a Million on World of Dance and Americas Got Talent. 

 

I was was watching back the Nappy Tabs hip hop and a couple of observations: again the AllStars got the most air time, with Allison Comfort Marco and Jasmine as stand outs.  Then they put the contestants in ball caps so you can't really distinguish them, while you got full face from the All Stars. But when I focussed on who was under those ball caps Koine and Lex were just killing it, the other two, not so much with Taylor being the weakest by far. They even had to give Kiki a Samba so he'd look good, which gives him a dumbed down highlight. Ballroom Samba has no place in that hip hop. 

Edited September 23, 2017 by Andie1

[Mason]

17 hours ago, dcalley said:

 ... the season wasn't decided until the last possible moment just leave a bad impression of the show, in my opinion. I don't know if Nigel shenanigans are to blame or Fox interference or what (probably a bit of both).

Didn't Cat and Nigel talk about his surgery--pacemaker?--keeping him offsite during the all-star selection process? I've always wondered if that's why there was that sudden switch of... was it Robert?... from one team to another?   

[Anothermi]

So, I finally saw all of Top 4 - instead of a dance here and there - and the big-upping of Kiki was beyond anything I can remember happening before.

- reminders that he didn't plan to audition

- a special clip of how bad he was at Hip Hop to illustrate how much he has improved

- a job endorsement for DWTS

I wish they wouldn't do that because it makes me so angry that I end up discounting the improvements he HAS made. Argh. Ditto for the leave-em-with-a-love-story brought to you exclusively by SYTYCD! Oh yah, and Koine is a great little dancer too but not enough to make a special deal about. Riiiiight. I was enjoying myself for the most part, but the pile up of manipulations wiped the smile off my face.

-----------------------------------------------

But on a completely different note, I was excited to see Anya Garnis choreographing (and the warm hug she got from Travis which I took as him appreciating her time as partner with his brother, Danny Tidwell, on Season 3. Not that I'm correct about that, just that's how I saw it). 

There was another SYTYCD alumnus sitting beside Mia and I assume he was her assistant (or one of them).  It's taken me a while, but I finally realized it was S2 contestant Jaymz Tuaileva. He sticks in my mind partly because I remember and had opinions about all the contestants in the early seasons. I wasn't impressed with him mostly due to his solos. He slid right off the stage at the end of one of them (not what he'd planned) and although he billed himself as a contemporary dancer, he did a Pasa Doble for one of his solos, much to Nigel's consternation. He told Nigel that he woke up that morning and thought "I'm going to do a Paso."  Nigel gave him and another contestant a lecture about the importance of their solos and the need to take it seriously enough to prepare it.

Having given all that background, I have subsequently revised my opinion. It turns out that Jaymz actually studied ballroom (he was from Utah after all) and I've seen him on DWTS, I think as a back-up dancer in one of the DWTS duets that allowed back-up dancers. He may have been in at least one special dance show piece that they used to do with outside performers, as well.

And here he is with Mia. I can't remember if he assisted her before, but I think he's assisted another SYTYCD choreographer before.

I miss having choreography videos that allowed an occasional glimpse of previous contestants getting work assisting choreographers.

Another observation: I'd seen the "convertible" dress design (that Koine wore for her contemporary with Kiki) used for one of Anya's routines (Halloween IIRC) the ONE time she had a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing. Probably just coincidental.

[Andie1]

8 hours ago, Anothermi said:

I was enjoying myself for the most part, but the pile up of manipulations wiped the smile off my face.

Yeah, I was saddened by how the show insists on manipulations.  Anyway I am hoping for a good finale even if Koine winds up in 4th she's #1 in my estimation. They did her no favors throughout the season, but they can't deny the highlights of the show are probably the most watched on youtube... I Rise,  the Door Dance,  the Salsa and the Love Broadway piece. All without a boyfriend/girlfriend backstory, different genres and all danced impeccably.

[realdancemom]

11 hours ago, Anothermi said:

There was another SYTYCD alumnus sitting beside Mia and I assume he was her assistant (or one of them).  It's taken me a while, but I finally realized it was S2 contestant Jaymz Tuaileva. He sticks in my mind partly because I remember and had opinions about all the contestants in the early seasons. I wasn't impressed with him mostly due to his solos. He slid right off the stage at the end of one of them (not what he'd planned) and although he billed himself as a contemporary dancer, he did a Pasa Doble for one of his solos, much to Nigel's consternation. He told Nigel that he woke up that morning and thought "I'm going to do a Paso."  Nigel gave him and another contestant a lecture about the importance of their solos and the need to take it seriously enough to prepare it.

Having given all that background, I have subsequently revised my opinion. It turns out that Jaymz actually studied ballroom (he was from Utah after all) and I've seen him on DWTS, I think as a back-up dancer in one of the DWTS duets that allowed back-up dancers. He may have been in at least one special dance show piece that they used to do with outside performers, as well.

And here he is with Mia. I can't remember if he assisted her before, but I think he's assisted another SYTYCD choreographer before.

I miss having choreography videos that allowed an occasional glimpse of previous contestants getting work assisting choreographers.

It was nice to see Anya.  I would have loved for her to do the cha cha instead of Taylor.  It's also nice that they used a previous contestant that is female.  It seems most of the choreographers that were previously contestants are males.  There was only one show that had female choreographers.  It was during Paul's season when they had alumnae choreographing in one of the shows.   They should do that again.  Last year, they had the kids choreograph and they should have done that this year. 

I remember Jaymz because he is from Utah and knew that he went to Center Stage.  That is the same studio that Jenna and Chelsie Hightower went.  So when he said that he decided to do the Paso, I knew that he actually did ballroom and didn't decide to just do something that he doesn't know.  But Nigel and company like to put their dancers in one genre especially since he was on Season 2.  It's similar to when he says that the hip-hop dancers are not trained.  Since then, they have acknowledged that a lot of the contestants are now cross-trained.  Of course, Nigel now says it's because of the influence of SYTYCD which could be true in some cases.

Anyway, Nigel didn't like Jaymz's answer.  But Jaymz was also cocky.  After he and his partner did a hip-hop and they were criticized, he did say something about how they didn't come in as hip-hop dancers and he would like to see a hip-hop dancer do contemporary or something like that.  I was rooting for him since he was from Utah and I was thinking that he should shut up.  Being mouthy doesn't win you votes.  It is nice that he is now Mia's assistant and I have seen him in several dances in DWTS like you mentioned.  He was also in the High School Musicals as a background dancer like a lot of the Utah dancers.

[nx74defiant]

Gaby's dress in the tap routine - the shorter length instead of the floor length of Ginger Roger's dress chops up her body awkwardly. It didn't flatter her.

[Guest]

On 9/20/2017 at 8:08 PM, Quickbeam said:

I thought Mia was unrecognizable. And in need of a barrette. 

I thought she might be trying to hide her face due to it now having the appearance of cosmetic surgery.  I'm totally not in the know in dance but I would think Mandy Moore would've eclipsed Mia by now, given that I see her working all over show biz, and winning awards.  Maybe Mia does too and I just don't know, though.

My eyes were on Koine most of the duet with Taylor.  I figured Taylor's long limbs lent her a big advantage but to me she just looked gangly in comparison, and the choppy outfit (showing skin in places Koine's didn't, e.g.) just exacerbated it.  

I was disgusted with Jenna's fake tears, and turned it off for a few nights.  Then I was shocked and annoyed that the show seemed to suggest that THEY got Lex and Taylor together, like Twitch and Alison or something.  Though even Lex and Taylor seemed to be rolling their eyes a bit at the suggestion.  Taylor also seemed to over Vanessa's dumb kiss comment.  

I ff over all the judge's comments so not sure how I even caught that one.  What little I've heard from Vanessa, she's just cringeworthy.  So full of cliches ("who'da thunk it?") and faux fawning over choreographers.  She mispronounced one of their names recently, too.  Spencer Lift, I think she said.  

[Guest]

On 9/20/2017 at 10:13 AM, MV007 said:

 I would need to watch the routine again to see where Taylor ends up in that pose.  Is it not possible that Koine just reached her finishing position before Taylor and she's still moving to that position?  I mean her left hand isn't even on the ground yet.  I'd guess she eventually ends up in the proper position.

 

I was curious so I re-watched, because you're right-- Taylor's hand isn't on the ground in that screen grab.  But she never really sticks it.  She gets down only that low and her left hand hits and bounces up a few times then they're out of that pose.  She never got any closer to it while Koine stuck it from the start.  

It's just one pose but that's kind of the trend I noticed throughout... Koine seems to get deeper into the poses requiring back flexibility, and quicker, while Taylor has this erectness to her that looks stiff to me in comparison.  There is some rib isolation type motion at the beginning that Koine did much better.  I think she just has more fluidity, flexibility and control to her core movements or something.

[spanana]

On 9/23/2017 at 6:16 AM, Andie1 said:

It does seem odd this year about the prize money,  $250,000.00 is no small change and yet isn't that what Benji Schwimmer got in Season 2, 10 years ago along with dancing for a Celine Dion show (that he turned down) Wouldn't you think they'd up the prize to at least a  half million?  You've got working dancers competing. 

Its a Million on World of Dance and Americas Got Talent.

I'm willing to bet both shows have a much higher budget, particularly AGT.  It brings in higher ratings, more ad revenue and etc.  I think the amount of money on SYTYCD remains relatively modest because they need to keep the budget minimal in order to even stay on the air.  Nigel doesn't go into the negotiating room with any power when it comes to SYTYCD based on it's relatively bleak ratings that get worse season to season.  Yes, broadcast ratings are struggling across the board but SYTYCD started low in the first place so at some point someone in charge will just axe the thing if Nigel makes too many demands.

[crossover]

On 9/18/2017 at 10:26 PM, GeminiDancer said:

Finally caught the Lex/Taylor Mia duet. That was a load of crap. Horrible choreography, horrible costuming, horrible everything. I hate the blatant producer manipulation. It takes the fun out of watching this.

Manipulation paid off!!  Lex/Taylor duet got >100K youtube views.  2nd & 3rd duets were Lex routines at >60K.  4th and 5th were Taylor duets (albeit the 5th was with Robert).  But only >40K views.  Just think about how many tweens followed that up with votes.  I THINK everyone knew Lex would win but I think the Mia routine may have helped Taylor come in 2nd.

[Guest]

Anyone have tweens that watch the show?  My guess would be that it's skewed more toward grandmas.  

[Mason]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Anyone have tweens that watch the show?  My guess would be that it's skewed more toward grandmas.  

Easy way to find out: how many of us are battling waning metabolisms? :-)