S15.E05: Academy 1 2018.07.09

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

The first round of The Academy callbacks begin at the Dolby Theatre as the talented dancers vie for a spot in the Top 20.

Edited July 10, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Promo:

[luvthepros]

///

Edited July 4, 2018 by luvthepros

[PhD-Purgatory15]

This is always (for me, for you) the hardest episode(s) to have super pointed thoughts about. With the exception of a few solos off the top (hello Darius), all the group rounds are selectively edited snippets that don't really tell you much about the dancers. Really, what you learn is who clearly are the judges favorites...the one's who are able to skate through choreo rounds after dreadful to meh level performances.

Unspoiled, but if I was beginning to put together a Top 20 I'd started writing in pencil:

Tessa (Contemp)

Jensen (Ballroom)

Magda (Ballroom)

Genesys (Contemp)

Kyle Bennett (Animator)

Gabriel (Rated G) (B-Boy)

Darius (Contemporary)

Cole Mills (Ballroom)

Evan (Tapper)

If Jay makes the Top 20, that is seriously going to bug...

Edited July 10, 2018 by PhD-Purgatory15

[crowceilidh]

I was fascinated that Jay chose to start fighting with Nigel (I'd love to know what the edit monkeys did to that scene)- if he wasn't a drag queen so that Nigel has him on to provide the narrative that he's not phobic about men who present themselves "effeminately" that would have immediately got him off the show in previous years.  His attitude when Nigel said that he hadn't been in favour of him going through to academy was basically an accusation about bias rather than a mature acknowledgement that he lost it in his last dance..  I thought Nigel was a pr*ck to say, "You are a very handsome man" in that tone.  Lots of stuff to chew on there.

I don't think Young Arnold is anything like as good as Lindsey, but maybe I'm thinking of Lindsey as she is now.  Hard to tell.

Ryan Green is not going to make the show next year either if he doesn't improve his posture.  He's handsome and talented enough, but that posture is going to make him look like crap in nearly every partner dance.

[Souris]

I've watched all the episodes this season, but I don't feel like I know ANYBODY. It's like speed-SYTYCD, it's crunched down so much.

Also, the girl they said had the best solo of them all? The hell??? I was shaking my head -- I thought her solo was a giant pile of MEH. Not even the best of the very limited number we saw.

Edited July 10, 2018 by Souris

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Clips from this week:

Darius

Jensen

Tessa

 

Nappy Tabs choreography

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Is Vanessa wearing a pajama top? I mean, I guess I should just be glad that it's not sliding off her shoulders like whatever she was wearing during auditions but still.

PSA: no one EVER needs to do a cover of "Be My Baby." The original is perfect so leave it the fuck alone. A whiny emo cover is like the worst possible thing you could do to that song.

You know what I have not missed AT ALL? The stupid camera angles that they insist on using. When I'm watching three pairs of dancers perform a routine, I do not want to watch it from above stage left so that the dancers on stage right are almost invisible and I can't really see the dancing of the people in the middle and on stage left. I'm not here for people to get creative with camera angles. I am here to watch people dance and when try to get artsy with the swoopy cam, I CAN'T SEE THE DANCING.

[Lily H]

I couldn't believe they said Tessa had the best solo. I wasn't impressed at all, and of the few they bothered to show us, there were several I liked more. Also, I was extremely happy to see that Rachel "Baby" got punted early. She was AWFUL, and had no business even being in the Academy round.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mary's ultra blonde hair combined with her reddish skin this week made her looked like a middle aged former sorority girl who got microdermabrasion and then immediately went on vacation and got sunburned.

What I have always hated about Hollywood/Academy "week" is that they cut people after each style of dance. If you happen to get the style that is your weakness in the first or second round, you're screwed. It's also clearly a very biased decision about who gets cut during these rounds because we have seen several dancers over the years who clearly were not cross trained and flat out sucked at several styles of dance but they somehow made it into the top twenty because the judges wanted them on the show.

I loathed Nigel's impatient and bossy "STRAIGHT LINE!" after every group of dancers. He sounded like a pissed off dad for no discernible reason. Vanessa also needs to stop yelling while people are dancing. I don't need to hear her shouting "YEAH! LET'S GO!" and I certainly don't need the camera cutting to her face while she does it. Let me watch the damn dancers, show!

I also hate when any of the routines you to trust your partner enough to do any kind of fall or lift. It seems really unfair to ask that when you're dancing with a stranger who has no partnering experience and has never danced this style before. It's one thing to do that with the top 20 when they are learning one on one with a choreographer and can get individual coaching before attempting any kind of lift or fall. But when there are 50+ people learning in a group and you are thrown together with someone who doesn't know what they're doing, you can get hurt.

Jensen's solo seemed like mediocre ballroom to me, not the kind of WOW audition I was expecting, which makes me think that she wouldn't have gotten this far if not for being Lindsay's sister. Then again, Nigel called her vivacious which I'm pretty sure is code for young and blonde. She wasn't sharp and some of her movements seemed unfinished. I didn't think she looked heavy in her movements as Nigel did but I thought she lacked energy because she looked like she wasn't going full out. That seemed like rehearsal level, not performance level.

When Nigel told Eddie the tap dancer that he couldn't keep his goofy happy go lucky personality in every dance, I just rolled my eyes. You loved it when Jose did it, so why can't Eddie do it too? Realistically, I get what he's saying but it drives me crazy when I hear these hypocritical comments because obviously all of these rules about what you can and can't do don't actually apply to the judges' pets.

I felt bad that Jay/Miss Estranja got saddled with Rachel Baby for the ballroom round. When they danced together, it was obvious that she was dragging him down because she was totally lost. Like the judges, I was hoping that if he danced with someone else, he would be great but instead he kind of lost it. I was surprised they let him stay after that.

[Haleth]

Did we see Arcadian Broad?  Is he still there?

[LennieBriscoe]

I thought this episode was dull and boring. Pets were put through; that's my entire take-away.

[Tikichick]

Mid July and I still feel like I haven't really seen any real dancing out of the show I count on to bring me some real dance surprises.  Auditions were an enormous letdown and I thought this week the show would finally hit its stride.  This many weeks in and I'm still not currently invested?!?1  I'm invested because I've been with this show for every episode since episode 2, season one, but I'm not emotionally into this season all these weeks in.   Come on Fox, give this show some freedom again to return to real form!!!!  Academy week 1 and my best moment by FAR was the departure of Baby.  That's pathetic.

So far I'm here for Darius and Jay Jay(not to be confused with Jay/Miss Estranja).  Since Jay Jay was very obviously hidden from us last night, I'm still wondering if they're hiding the best of the rest from us until Green Mile next week.  I felt that during auditions but I expected to start to finally get the rewards during Academy.   

[crowceilidh]

Quote

Jensen's solo seemed like mediocre ballroom to me, not the kind of WOW audition I was expecting, which makes me think that she wouldn't have gotten this far if not for being Lindsay's sister. Then again, Nigel called her vivacious which I'm pretty sure is code for young and blonde. She wasn't sharp and some of her movements seemed unfinished. I didn't think she looked heavy in her movements as Nigel did but I thought she lacked energy because she looked like she wasn't going full out. That seemed like rehearsal level, not performance level.

ITA - you might even think that she hasn't been going full out because she knows something about eventually making it.  I will be flat out astonished if she isn't top 20 and yet I have been given no reason to expect it from just looking at her dancing.

Quote

When Nigel told Eddie the tap dancer that he couldn't keep his goofy happy go lucky personality in every dance, I just rolled my eyes. You loved it when Jose did it, so why can't Eddie do it too? Realistically, I get what he's saying but it drives me crazy when I hear these hypocritical comments because obviously all of these rules about what you can and can't do don't actually apply to the judges' pets.

Also, how dumb would somebody who looks like Eddie look if he was trying to pull off the "attitude" Nigel thinks is the way to look authentic? I thought he did super well and that, although a funny take on a song that you wouldn't expect to be funny, it was an authentic take on a guy like him dancing to that song.

Quote

I felt bad that Jay/Miss Estranja got saddled with Rachel Baby for the ballroom round. When they danced together, it was obvious that she was dragging him down because she was totally lost. Like the judges, I was hoping that if he danced with someone else, he would be great but instead he kind of lost it. I was surprised they let him stay after that.

I think they let him stay because Nigel is trying to prove something.  I think I will be surprised if he goes through to the top 20, but I suspect he'll get to the Green Mile.  Watching and wondering what's going on in Nigel's manipulative mind (because he's not exactly coming across as super tolerant even though I think that's his intention) I could see them putting him through in the expectation that he will be cannon fodder and then it will be the voting audience's perception that he is "not a dancer"... ??? 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

More thoughts:

At some point Cat made a voice over comment about how the hip hop guys were struggling in the hip hop round, and I thought well yeah....everyone who advanced to the Academy under the umbrella of hip hop was either a b-boy/breaker or an animator (and considering who we saw during the audition rounds, they were almost entirely male except for the contortionist girl who was of Russian origin). If anyone actually auditioned solo with the style of what NappyTabs does they'd get laughed out of the studio or at best be put through to the nonexistent choreo round.

I was absolutely stunned though, that Tyger (one of the b-boys) was actually saved at the end of that hip hop round despite not being great and the judging panel being on the fence as to send him to the Academy in the first place. Usually that never happens. He's not necessarily a pick for me to make Top 20 (and honestly he may have been cut right after ballroom, I have no idea)....but that does make me wonder if they have plans for him to make it all the way to the Green Mile (and maybe lose out to Gabriel the small b-boy who "gave a good effort" in dancing ballroom with the much taller Jensen Arnold).

If the numbers are right, then they literally cut only 10 or 12 people (not counting the one injury withdrawal) in the Hip Hop and Ballroom rounds combined because they started Hip Hop with 53 left. They may have only cut like Ryan, Rachel and two other dancers altogether during the ballroom round.

Edited July 10, 2018 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Tikichick]

While watching the overview of everyone learning the combos with the choreographers I distinctly noticed Jensen dancing with another partner altogether during ballroom.  When they came onstage in pairs to dance for the judges she was dancing with someone else.  Makes me wonder if they pair up as they choose during time with choreographers, then are matched by producers or choreographers when it's time to go before the judges.  

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I figured since there were uneven numbers for M/F and they were down to an odd number of 53, people like Jensen may have performed more than once to act as a partner for the odd folks out who also needed a partner of the opposite sex. 

Also I was not digging "psychobiology" girl's nude-colored outfit. Had to do a double-take when she first came out on the stage.

[realdancemom]

18 hours ago, crowceilidh said:

I was fascinated that Jay chose to start fighting with Nigel (I'd love to know what the edit monkeys did to that scene)- if he wasn't a drag queen so that Nigel has him on to provide the narrative that he's not phobic about men who present themselves "effeminately" that would have immediately got him off the show in previous years.  His attitude when Nigel said that he hadn't been in favour of him going through to academy was basically an accusation about bias rather than a mature acknowledgement that he lost it in his last dance..  I thought Nigel was a pr*ck to say, "You are a very handsome man" in that tone.  Lots of stuff to chew on there.

 

What happened at the end with Jay in the ballroom round?  Because of Trump's announcement, the beginning of my recording was the announcement.  So the ending of the show was cut off.  From the comments, I'm glad that Baby was cut.  She shouldn't have advanced to the Academy in the first place.

[Cuatro1234]

It seems like we are starting with a way smaller number of dancers than we’ve had in previous years.  I really want a Grassy Knoll thread for this site, because my friend and I were speculating last night about how people get paired up for these dances—do the judges put them together, and do they put their favorite contemporary dancers with ballroom dancers in ballroom round, and fave ballrooomers with HH dancers in HH, for example?  And the girl who said “I’m never trying out again”—are they gonna bribe or pay her to try out next year so they have good TV?  And I think they are keeping Jay bc he’s good TV.  May be controversial in some households, and gets people talking. 

Edited July 10, 2018 by Cuatro1234
Because “so” and “do” are different words

[Cuatro1234]

@realdancemom, Jay struggled in ballroom but it looked like it was because he was paired with Baby, who was really awful.  So the jidges has him dance again with a salsa dancer, and he looked even worse.  When Nigel was calling him out about it, he was very confrontational (although admitting he did a poor job) and was not respectful at all. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

9 hours ago, crowceilidh said:

I think they let him stay because Nigel is trying to prove something.  I think I will be surprised if he goes through to the top 20, but I suspect he'll get to the Green Mile.  Watching and wondering what's going on in Nigel's manipulative mind (because he's not exactly coming across as super tolerant even though I think that's his intention) I could see them putting him through in the expectation that he will be cannon fodder and then it will be the voting audience's perception that he is "not a dancer"... ??? 

I agree - I bet in Nigel’s mind, he is being tolerant/accepting and that he wants to come across as the good guy who gave Jay a chance so that when he gets cut early in the top 20, Nigel can say that America didn’t buy him as a strong enough dancer.

The other bonus to Nigel for letting him through is that if he makes the top 20, Jay will most likely be forced to dance as Jay, not Miss Ganja Estranja, in many of the dances (definitely the group routines and any ballroom he is assigned) meaning that like the ballroom round we saw in this episode, he will be in a male costume without the makeup/hair worn as Miss E. And you KNOW that means he would be assigned every ballroom style possible before getting a dance style that would allow for a less traditional male look/more Estranja look (like Broadway, hip hop, or jazz). Although I don’t think Jay is necessarily the strongest dancer out of the 70 who made it to the academy, I would love to see him make the top 20 and get a dance choreographed by someone who embraces the non-traditional (like do I really need to see another contemporary number where the guy lifts the girl up so she can bicycle in the air?). Imagine Jay doing a fun dance with Mark K!

[vast wasteland]

Did Twitch get ditched?  I'll miss him.

Especially because now Nigel gets to prance and preen thinking he has us fooled that he is a young urban street performer  with mountains of cred and a frightening facial rictus that he thinks is stank face.   And to be really gross, which I find him to be, I think the reason he loved the "performance of the night" girl was her final dance stance. 

Yes, you guessed right, I am loving all of your negative comments about that (IMO) odious little pretentious cretin Nigel.   

And YES to whoever said that they couldn't stand the way he so officiously orders the dancers to stand in a straight line.  And YES to those of you who mentioned he probably thinks he has us hoodwinked into thinking he has now embraced homosexuality.  How about two male ballroom dancers, Nigel?  Or better yet, why don't  you get up on that stage and dance with a male ballroom dancer you hypocritical prig.

from 2008

[Kira53]

15 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Mary's ultra blonde hair combined with her reddish skin this week made her looked like a middle aged former sorority girl who got microdermabrasion and then immediately went on vacation and got sunburned.

What I have always hated about Hollywood/Academy "week" is that they cut people after each style of dance. If you happen to get the style that is your weakness in the first or second round, you're screwed. It's also clearly a very biased decision about who gets cut during these rounds because we have seen several dancers over the years who clearly were not cross trained and flat out sucked at several styles of dance but they somehow made it into the top twenty because the judges wanted them on the show.

I loathed Nigel's impatient and bossy "STRAIGHT LINE!" after every group of dancers. He sounded like a pissed off dad for no discernible reason. Vanessa also needs to stop yelling while people are dancing. I don't need to hear her shouting "YEAH! LET'S GO!" and I certainly don't need the camera cutting to her face while she does it. Let me watch the damn dancers, show!

I also hate when any of the routines you to trust your partner enough to do any kind of fall or lift. It seems really unfair to ask that when you're dancing with a stranger who has no partnering experience and has never danced this style before. It's one thing to do that with the top 20 when they are learning one on one with a choreographer and can get individual coaching before attempting any kind of lift or fall. But when there are 50+ people learning in a group and you are thrown together with someone who doesn't know what they're doing, you can get hurt.

Jensen's solo seemed like mediocre ballroom to me, not the kind of WOW audition I was expecting, which makes me think that she wouldn't have gotten this far if not for being Lindsay's sister. Then again, Nigel called her vivacious which I'm pretty sure is code for young and blonde. She wasn't sharp and some of her movements seemed unfinished. I didn't think she looked heavy in her movements as Nigel did but I thought she lacked energy because she looked like she wasn't going full out. That seemed like rehearsal level, not performance level.

When Nigel told Eddie the tap dancer that he couldn't keep his goofy happy go lucky personality in every dance, I just rolled my eyes. You loved it when Jose did it, so why can't Eddie do it too? Realistically, I get what he's saying but it drives me crazy when I hear these hypocritical comments because obviously all of these rules about what you can and can't do don't actually apply to the judges' pets.

I felt bad that Jay/Miss Estranja got saddled with Rachel Baby for the ballroom round. When they danced together, it was obvious that she was dragging him down because she was totally lost. Like the judges, I was hoping that if he danced with someone else, he would be great but instead he kind of lost it. I was surprised they let him stay after that.

How are you going to do a lot better at dancing with someone that you haven't practiced with even one time especially if you formerly had a partner that wasn't good at all? In this situation, I felt a little bit for J because you really couldn't see if he was a better dancer as a partner.No chance to get the timing or any kind of a chemistry with that new partner.  I thought he was plucky for saying "absolutely, let's do it."  He might've been better if he had a chance to practice a bit with her.  It doesn't matter though because Nigel was already planning on pushing him forward to smash him down later.  It doesn't appear that he would be suitable For the Competition portion of the show.  

Edited July 11, 2018 by Kira53

[Quickbeam]

Watched this for a second time. Wondering if it was Jay’s decision to dance as a man or if the show pushed him. I was creeped out by the “ now he’s in proper clothes” vibe from the bench. He’s so slight but I thought he moved well. I think has has potential in ballroom. No way he’s doing lifts though. 

[JenMD]

15 hours ago, Haleth said:

Did we see Arcadian Broad?  Is he still there?

They didn't mention him. 

Spoiler

He withdrew due to conflicting commitments with the Orlando Ballet.

 

Not sure if that's a spoiler or not...

[Zuleikha]

Wondering if it was Jay’s decision to dance as a man or if the show pushed him.

As far as I know, Jay is neither transgender nor genderfluid so presumably spends most of his time presenting male. He said that he only became a drag queen after struggling to book dance work due to his slight frame. His performance and commercial reels both showcase him male presenting.

Laganja is also a big stoner persona, so I don't think he could reasonably compete as her for the family friendly SYTYCD.

[Snow Fairy]

I don't get dancers who said they never danced coreography or similar comments. You know what show you're auditioning for, you know what's coming. 

I know it may be different for "street" dancers, but even they probably have somewhere to go and get to know other dance styles.

[Kira53]

27 minutes ago, Snow Fairy said:

I don't get dancers who said they never danced coreography or similar comments. You know what show you're auditioning for, you know what's coming. 

I know it may be different for "street" dancers, but even they probably have somewhere to go and get to know other dance styles.

I'm blown away by your belief that Street dancers probably have somewhere to go and get to know other dance styles. "Somewhere to go" is probably a dance studio which is rather pricey for some of the street dancers that are subsisting at the poverty level. And even if they could get the money to take one class you might as well say I've never done choreography because you really haven't.

Besides, they should say they haven't had any choreography even if the had a few at a community center because that is a narrative that can be used if they are picked to be on the show.  Compared to trained dancers who have been trained in many cases since three years old with great teachers and summer classes with famous teachers.  In my opinion these dancers for showing up for the opportunity to learn and to possibly get the opportunity of a lifetime. So what if they don't know choreography they might at least be a feature dancerDuring the auditions and have a video to show others to get some other opportunity. For them, the academy really can be an academy, and provide a tremendous learning opportunity.  Maybe somebody will give them a scholarship to a dance studio just becauseOf that experience.

[Tikichick]

19 hours ago, Tikichick said:

While watching the overview of everyone learning the combos with the choreographers I distinctly noticed Jensen dancing with another partner altogether during ballroom.  When they came onstage in pairs to dance for the judges she was dancing with someone else.  Makes me wonder if they pair up as they choose during time with choreographers, then are matched by producers or choreographers when it's time to go before the judges.  

 

12 hours ago, Cuatro1234 said:

It seems like we are starting with a way smaller number of dancers than we’ve had in previous years.  I really want a Grassy Knoll thread for this site, because my friend and I were speculating last night about how people get paired up for these dances—do the judges put them together, and do they put their favorite contemporary dancers with ballroom dancers in ballroom round, and fave ballrooomers with HH dancers in HH, for example?  And the girl who said “I’m never trying out again”—are they gonna bribe or pay her to try out next year so they have good TV?  And I think they are keeping Jay bc he’s good TV.  May be controversial in some households, and gets people talking. 

Good to see someone else is seeing what I am.

Back in the day I loved Academy round.  I had sky high hopes after suffering through the scraps of auditions that I was going to finally get to see what I tune in for.  My hopes soared even higher when I realized Jean Marc was going to handle ballroom.  Come on, Fox!  You've got next to nothing to fill your schedule with, give us two hour episodes already!  

[Snow Fairy]

I'm not from USA so I don't know how it actually works. But there were some street dancers that had some kind of their groups or something similar.

I was just commenting how it looks from someone outside America. Difference in cultures got the best of me, obviously

[Tikichick]

1 hour ago, Kira53 said:

I'm blown away by your belief that Street dancers probably have somewhere to go and get to know other dance styles. "Somewhere to go" is probably a dance studio which is rather pricey for some of the street dancers that are subsisting at the poverty level. And even if they could get the money to take one class you might as well say I've never done choreography because you really haven't.

Besides, they should say they haven't had any choreography even if the had a few at a community center because that is a narrative that can be used if they are picked to be on the show.  Compared to trained dancers who have been trained in many cases since three years old with great teachers and summer classes with famous teachers.  In my opinion these dancers for showing up for the opportunity to learn and to possibly get the opportunity of a lifetime. So what if they don't know choreography they might at least be a feature dancerDuring the auditions and have a video to show others to get some other opportunity. For them, the academy really can be an academy, and provide a tremendous learning opportunity.  Maybe somebody will give them a scholarship to a dance studio just becauseOf that experience.

Given the show's track record with labeling dancers' genres and backgrounds, I think that's a bit of an overstatement.

Case in point, one Ms. Comfort Fedoke was sold to the audience as an untrained hip hop dancer.  In fact she had grown up training in dance, including ballet.   The show does not have a good track record of credibly informing the audience a full picture if it doesn't suit their agenda.  Granted, during Comfort's time as a contestant she definitely had a distinct preference for and higher level skillset in hip hop.  Since her time as a contestant she elected to pursue training in other genres to increase her skills -- mission definitely accomplished.  One of the most skilled alum of the show IMO. 

[Jsage]

Is there no group round for this year's academy? That's always my favorite but I didn't hear them mention it at all.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Snow Fairy said:

I'm not from USA so I don't know how it actually works. But there were some street dancers that had some kind of their groups or something similar.

I was just commenting how it looks from someone outside America. Difference in cultures got the best of me, obviously

In the United States, most classes cost money, even if you go to the local rec center/community center. Classes at a private dance studio can cost hundreds of dollars per month. That's why so many competition dancers are from upper middle class or rich families - they have the disposable income to spend on years of dance classes that can get them to the level of technique you see on the show.

For kids whose families don't have that kind of income, it can be difficult to find affordable dance classes. Even if you can find less expensive classes at the rec center, they're usually limited to beginner level instruction so you can only learn so much. And that's only if these kids are willing to put up with the teasing they would get for taking dance classes.

Street dancing (breaking and early hip hop) was often learned/taught with peers in an informal setting. These days it's a little bit easier to learn some dance thanks to the internet. You can watch tutorials or even just rewind a move over and over to figure it out. The biggest benefit to taking dance class is getting corrections from the teacher. Sometimes people don't know that they're doing something wrong, and often when they do, they don't know how to fix it. Being in a dance crew can help with that a little, but not all dancers are good teachers so if the people in your group aren't good at breaking down moves and spotting how to correct your technique, then you can hurt yourself or just not progress. Being in a crew really varies too. Some of them are based out of their high school or college which means they can reserve rooms and have a place to practice. If not, they're left to their own devices to find space. I've seen some crews practicing in parking garages, at the park, and open cement spaces, which obviously increase the risk of injury since falling on cement is going to hurt a lot more than falling on a sprung dance floor or practice mats.

It's not just dance that's expensive though. Gymnastics is very similar in that it costs a lot to train at a gym but there are sometimes cheaper beginner tumbling classes at the rec center and some kids just teach themselves. Sports and music are often in the same boat. There are some sports where it's easier to find a less expensive way to learn (anyone can buy a basketball and take it to a park with hoops, many public schools offer discounted instrument rentals for the year) but most of the time you are not going to be at a competitive level without your parents paying a significant amount of money for several years whether it's ice skating, golf, playing the violin, etc.

[StrictTime]

12 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

No way he’s doing lifts though. 

This is why Jay will never make it.  He is flat out not strong enough to hold a partner’s body weight, even when her(partner’s) feet are on the ground (that under the body slide they did in the cha cha).  I don’t like the fact that they are using him for PR, because it’s evident that he just is not built for that kind of dance.  That said, I live in the Dallas area and I’m definitely going to see one of his shows here!  He’s such a great performer.

1 hour ago, Tikichick said:

Given the show's track record with labeling dancers' genres and backgrounds, I think that's a bit of an overstatement.

Case in point, one Ms. Comfort Fedoke was sold to the audience as an untrained hip hop dancer.  In fact she had grown up training in dance, including ballet.   The show does not have a good track record of credibly informing the audience a full picture if it doesn't suit their agenda.  Granted, during Comfort's time as a contestant she definitely had a distinct preference for and higher level skillset in hip hop.  Since her time as a contestant she elected to pursue training in other genres to increase her skills -- mission definitely accomplished.  One of the most skilled alum of the show IMO. 

Comfort is one of my favorites of all time.  If I could pick any alum of the show to be able to dance like, she would be the choice.  Her face game is fire along with the skill and attitude.

Edited July 11, 2018 by StrictTime

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, Tikichick said:

Comfort Fedoke was sold to the audience as an untrained hip hop dancer.  In fact she had grown up training in dance, including ballet.   The show does not have a good track record of credibly informing the audience a full picture if it doesn't suit their agenda. 

The show also tried to sell Fik-Shun as an untrained dancer, despite the fact that he attended a performing arts school and took classes in many different styles of dance.

2 hours ago, Jsage said:

Is there no group round for this year's academy? That's always my favorite but I didn't hear them mention it at all.

I loathe the group round because (1) it's totally pointless due to the fact that this show is called So You Think You Can Dance, not So You Think You Can Choreograph and (2) like the group round on American Idol, it's clearly intended to cause drama, sleep deprivation, fighting, power struggles, tears, and all the other staples of ~dramatic~ reality television. I'm here to watch dance, not waste time on a very separate skill which they are (thankfully) not asked to do once the actual competition begins with the top 20.

[Tikichick]

55 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

The show also tried to sell Fik-Shun as an untrained dancer, despite the fact that he attended a performing arts school and took classes in many different styles of dance.

I loathe the group round because (1) it's totally pointless due to the fact that this show is called So You Think You Can Dance, not So You Think You Can Choreograph and (2) like the group round on American Idol, it's clearly intended to cause drama, sleep deprivation, fighting, power struggles, tears, and all the other staples of ~dramatic~ reality television. I'm here to watch dance, not waste time on a very separate skill which they are (thankfully) not asked to do once the actual competition begins with the top 20.

With the curious exception of the kids.  

(Or should I say allegedly the kids?)

[realdancemom]

18 hours ago, Cuatro1234 said:

@realdancemom, Jay struggled in ballroom but it looked like it was because he was paired with Baby, who was really awful.  So the jidges has him dance again with a salsa dancer, and he looked even worse.  When Nigel was calling him out about it, he was very confrontational (although admitting he did a poor job) and was not respectful at all. 

Thanks for giving a summary.  I hope that I can watch what I missed on the internet.

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

The show also tried to sell Fik-Shun as an untrained dancer, despite the fact that he attended a performing arts school and took classes in many different styles of dance.

I loathe the group round because (1) it's totally pointless due to the fact that this show is called So You Think You Can Dance, not So You Think You Can Choreograph and (2) like the group round on American Idol, it's clearly intended to cause drama, sleep deprivation, fighting, power struggles, tears, and all the other staples of ~dramatic~ reality television. I'm here to watch dance, not waste time on a very separate skill which they are (thankfully) not asked to do once the actual competition begins with the top 20.

ElectricBoogaloo, I've really been enjoying reading your reviews and posts.  Joshua was another one that they sold as an untrained dancer.  They try to pigeon hole the choreographers too.  I remember reading Stacey Tookey saying that the show would only let her choreograph contemporaries even though she can choreograph other genres.  Mandy Moore said that the show encourages her to use 80's ballads for her contemporaries since that's supposedly her thing.  I actually prefer Mandy's jazz pieces. 

I agree that the show has group rounds to create drama.  There are some nice choreography pieces done during this round.  But the main goal is drama.  That's why the cameras are also following the people that get cut.  They want to show them crying or having a fit.  The one girl that said she wasn't coming back was not having it.

[displayname]

1 hour ago, realdancemom said:

ElectricBoogaloo, I've really been enjoying reading your reviews and posts.  Joshua was another one that they sold as an untrained dancer.  They try to pigeon hole the choreographers too.  I remember reading Stacey Tookey saying that the show would only let her choreograph contemporaries even though she can choreograph other genres.  Mandy Moore said that the show encourages her to use 80's ballads for her contemporaries since that's supposedly her thing.  I actually prefer Mandy's jazz pieces. 

 

Russell Ferguson, too, right?

[Mason]

3 hours ago, realdancemom said:

Mandy Moore said that the show encourages her to use 80's ballads for her contemporaries since that's supposedly her thing. 

I remember way back  when she choreographed Boogie Shoes for LoFro & Billy Bell. She got heat from the judges for such a simplistic piece. Fast Forward to Lala Land, where she gets an Oscar for something very similar. Though a child of the disco era, I have always hated that song; however, this routine remains one of my favourites, precisely because it is light and fun. 

[ramble]

Late to the party but here is my two cents, or maybe just one and a half:

Jay shouldn’t have gone through. His ballroom was dreadful. The Arnold girl is good enough I guess but I haven’t seen much that makes her stand out. The “best solo” girl wearing the nude bra and panties lost points with me for the stupid nude bra and panties. I didn’t mind Nigel’s blunt “line up” direction. I get tired of the kid glove pretense of what everyone knows is usually a cut and dried procedure. No one really made much of an impact. 

[Rahul]

On 7/10/2018 at 7:44 AM, Haleth said:

Did we see Arcadian Broad?  Is he still there?

Nope. I was keeping an eye out for him too. Ballet has little to no representation this year.

Jensen Arnold is not a good ballroom dancer. Like Kiki Nyemchek and his brother, she has no business on SYTYCD.

So many people (like Jay) who should have been cut lived to see another day, presumably because there were less contestants to begin with for Vegas Academy Week this year.

[realdancemom]

I'm bored with this season and World of Dance.  Well, I didn't like the latter last year anyway.  However, there were contestants that grabbed my attention last year in SYTYCD.  From the auditions and academy, I wanted to see more of Lex, Koine, and Logan.  I liked the other contestants' individual solos too even if I didn't think they would be versatile.   I can't say the same so far this year. 

I love ballet so I'm sad that there isn't any good representation of that.  I don't know what happened to Arcadian Broad but even he didn't captivate me like previous ballet dancers like Danny, Alex, Eliana, Jim, etc.

I also didn't see Marina.  I think that's her name.  She was in the first audition episode and she did a lot of contortion moves.  I loved her too. 

[WhineandCheez]

Quote

Comfort is one of my favorites of all time.  If I could pick any alum of the show to be able to dance like, she would be the choice.  Her face game is fire along with the skill and attitude.

Yes!  And best dance" Girls--Who Runs the World with jasmine, also awesomely fierce (deodorant or not)

[luvthepros]

On 7/9/2018 at 9:49 PM, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

If Jay makes the Top 20, that is seriously going to bug...

Jay has impressed Nigel. Jay knocked it out of the part with his new "look" and I think Vanessa has the hots for him. Actually, Jay impressed me with the ballroom round. I think you may need to purchase some bug spray.

[luvthepros]

Holy cow, Darius. That solo of yours......just WOW. Loved it!

[realdancemom]

2 hours ago, luvthepros said:

Holy cow, Darius. That solo of yours......just WOW. Loved it!

Oh, I did like Darius last year so that is one bright spot.

[luvthepros]

On 7/10/2018 at 7:44 AM, Haleth said:

Did we see Arcadian Broad?  Is he still there?

Good question. I don't remember seeing him. I thought for sure he would be in the T20.

I just found this.......

Arcadian Broad Bows Out of SYTYCD

Edited July 12, 2018 by luvthepros

[mojoween]

I don’t know much about dance, other than watching this show, but it felt like Darius’s solo was about flexibility, and I didn't see a lot of dance.  It did look great, though.

Arnold sister not knowing what dancing heavy meant made me cringe both on her not knowing, and the producers seeming to feed that question to her to make her look bad.

However, it seems she is going to get through so I’ll just have to look forward to not voting for her.

So sad Ryan Green was cut.  I will miss his beautiful smile.

[luvthepros]

On 7/11/2018 at 6:18 PM, Mason said:

I remember way back  when she choreographed Boogie Shoes for LoFro & Billy Bell. She got heat from the judges for such a simplistic piece. Fast Forward to Lala Land, where she gets an Oscar for something very similar. Though a child of the disco era, I have always hated that song; however, this routine remains one of my favourites, precisely because it is light and fun. 

Boogie Shoes will always remain a favorite of mine because of Billy Bell.

[AllAboutMBTV]

Boogie Shoes has been in my Bookmarks list for ages. When I need a little pick-me-up I watch it. It may be light and fun and simplistic, but it's a routine that I watch and think, "Hey, I could do (most of) that", given a day's rehearsal. (Unlike so many of the tortured Contemporary routines that I would never want to do.) I lost my link to Fik-Shun playing a waiter flirting with, argh, I can't remember her name, but he spilled water and she nearly fell later on, but it's such a charming and fun routine. (Apologies in advance to the P.tv PTB if posting links like this is verboten.)