S15.E10: Top Ten Perform

[realdancemom]

17 hours ago, pally said:

Stepping and disco.... that bus came straight for Hanneli and Cole.  

Yup especially since Nigel gave the chemistry critique to Cole at the end.  That's the same chemistry critique all the judges kept giving Chelsea and Evan.  Since last week, it was very obvious that those were the two that the judges wanted at the bottom.  So the elimination was not a surprise.  Agree with the volutold comment.  Evan and Chelsea made it very clear in the show last week that she didn't take that many tap lessons and it was years ago.

Also agree that stepping needs to be done in a group not as a duet.  I wonder if the show said something to Doriana last year after Lex was injured.  The disco was not a lift fest.  I enjoyed it more than some of her other ones because of this.  The dancers had time to breath and just dance cheesy.  Disco is still not my favorite though.

You can tell the judges really want Slavic and Genessy to work.  They keep giving them standing Os.  They do have great chemistry but I don't think any of their dances deserved that.  Even though Genessy is the trained dancer, I prefer Slavic in last week's hip-hop and this week's jive.  Not that the jive was done correctly but he did it better.  Their other routines were just o.k.

The Smooth Jazz was done well.  I'm worried for Magda since she's an older ballroom woman which doesn't do well on this show.  She was already at the bottom this week.

I know there were some technical issues with the African Jazz but it was the only other dance that I enjoyed. 

Vanessa got six Teen Choice awards.  I guess that's why she's on this show.  Glad SYTYCD got one too. 

[Lunula]

9 hours ago, crossover said:

Hannahlei & Cole got the shaft with dance styles.  Neither of their styles are vote-getters. 

I absolutely hate what the producers of SYTYCD have done when it comes to "assigning" dancers a style for the week. Wish they'd go back to the early seasons' format and draw a style randomly. 

Something with this show just isn't clicking with me anymore. Maybe I'm just getting too old...

[ramble]

Did lovely Cat make somehow mad? Her hair was like something my kids would’ve worn in pre-school and her dress was something I’d pass over even on the sale rack at my local resale shop. 

That awful song full of long pauses and deep breathy sounds was a distraction from what might have been an okay routine. It’s... snowing... ... ... outside... my.... win... dow. Shut! Up!

I rarely like disco and while I like the two participants who danced it this episode it was still a disco. Speaking of styles I didn’t like let me be a whiner and say that I didn’t like the stepping. How is it stepping with just two people and they’re dancing to music where we can’t hear anything? It definitely felt cheerleaderish to me. And more whining - I either love Bollywood or can not stand it. There’s no middle ground usually. This was in the can not stand category.

I loved the smooth jazz. It was just pleasant to watch. I’ve been completely over jazz on this show seeming to be only about the sexy all the time. This was a wonderful change of pace. 

[Mason]

We need to remember that in terms of show experience, these kids are at Top Twenty. Normally, they'd have had several weeks of dancing with their partners/All Stars before making the Top Ten. 

[yourpointis]

4 hours ago, Tikichick said:

For me instantly the costumes brought me to Ramalama.  The style of movement led me somewhere else entirely.  Initially I really thought it was possibly Mark Kanemura.  Then I went to a tepid -- Wade?  Until I reminded myself that Wade has evolved, and generally Wade these days is a collaboration with his wife.  I never could have come up with Luther on that one.  I did enjoy watching and I do give Luther props for not being one note.  

You could absolutely tell that Magda felt very vulnerable, and she feels some of it because of her age.  That's a shame.  She is a wonderful competitor and very much deserves her place in the Top Eight.

I don't think they feel technical critique interests the audience very much.  Frankly I also don't think this year's crop would hold up well to the reflection in the mirror of technical critique.  Despite their claims of possibly the strongest Top Ten I don't see an Alex Wong, a Will Wingfield, a Cheon, a Twitch, a Robert Roldan,  a Neil Haskell, a Marko, a Janine, a Jasmine, an Ellenore, an Elianna, a Kathryn, a Koine, etc., etc., etc. who were going to take in the criticism, work on it, put their back and their blood and sweat into it and bring you back a gem.  

I wish I could give this quote a million likes for the mere mention of past competitors. Oh how I miss them as well as actual critiques. Heck, even Dan Karaty (ugh!) would give technical critiques after a performance. Now it's all fluff and outright favoritism. Could it be anymore obvious that the show wants Gennesy, Slavic, Jensen, and ? as the final four? Not quite sure as to who the second male is the preferred finalist. I don't care and haven't cared who wins this show anymore. I just want to enjoy the performances each and every week without the interference of TPTB.  ymmv

[Kira53]

2 hours ago, Lunula said:

I absolutely hate what the producers of SYTYCD have done when it comes to "assigning" dancers a style for the week. Wish they'd go back to the early seasons' format and draw a style randomly. 

Something with this show just isn't clicking with me anymore. Maybe I'm just getting too old...

But I never believed that the draws were random.  They never pulled out of the hat while all the contestants were all in the room and were picking they style after each other.  It would have been easy to put slips with only one style in the hat since they filmed the picks in isolation

Personally, I find that the failure to at least try to hide the manipulation is one aspect of ruining the show for me.  The lack of fresh choreographers is a factor that makes it lackluster.  A new Bollywood choreographer would have had a fresh take that Darrius and Magda could have wowed us with.  Other dances were lackluster.  Give someone new a chance.  I think the tired chorographers will dilute the dance styles if the producers want that, which they seem to want a mishmash.  

[rtb]

First post! 

It was so unfair to announce a bunch of safe dancers right before Slavik and Gennessy performed their second number. They had to immediately perform not knowing if they were safe. Since neither of them were actually in the bottom 4, why couldn't Cat have named them as part of the safe group?  Very cruel and unnecessary to single them out for that. 

[jewel21]

5 hours ago, Tikichick said:

For me instantly the costumes brought me to Ramalama.  The style of movement led me somewhere else entirely.  Initially I really thought it was possibly Mark Kanemura.  Then I went to a tepid -- Wade?  Until I reminded myself that Wade has evolved, and generally Wade these days is a collaboration with his wife.  I never could have come up with Luther on that one.  I did enjoy watching and I do give Luther props for not being one note.  

 

At first I thought it was Mark's work as well. As it went on, I became less convinced. I never thought Luther for a second, though. It is nice to see he has range. 

[AlleC17]

20 hours ago, yourpointis said:

Tonight's episode was sponsored by the letter H for hyperbole. What was with all the over praise for the performances? At least Twitch was more subdued with his critiques tonight versus last week. As another post above mentioned there were lots of bobbles and out of sync portions yet the standing O's and OTT praise for partner chemistry and storytelling that I was ready to throw my flip flop at my tv screen. (no tv's were harmed during tonight's episode)

 

I get the judges (producers) have an agenda but they're taking all the fun out of the show for me. Imho no dance tonight was flawless. I don't mind a misstep here and there, but don't try to convince me the viewer that any of the performances tonight deserved a standing O. I've seen every episode of this show and I've seen quite a few SO dances whether I liked/loved the dancers but not tonight. Gah! This fun little summer show has me incoherently rambling on a message board lol. Obviously they didn't want to break up the partners or Cole should have went home before Evan imo. Also, Nigel I don't believe you for a minute that Chelsea volunteered to tap last week. More like voluntold.

 

Where was the nitpicking in the Step routine like last week's tap? It came across as more of a cheer routine than an actual step. I felt secondhand embarrassment for the choreographer for "dumbing down" the choreography. I hope Magda and Darius are both able to survive next week's bottom four. I enjoy their dancing the most. Of course older female ballroom dancers (over 25?) don't normally fare well on this show. 

Thank you!  The difference of the comments between producers favorites and non favorites is quite glaring. 

[mojoween]

Argh Jay Jay and Jensen WERE NOT PERFECTION!  Why are they so incredibly averse to pointing out their mistakes?

Jay Jay needs a new partner.  

I really want an abdomen like Magda has, but I also want to eat tortilla chips.  So I compromised and ate tortilla chips while running around the living room.

And god help me I have completely come around on Magda and I love her.  I want her to speak Polish to me all day long.  She seems really fun now, when I thought the complete opposite last year.  I wonder if that’s why she ended up in the bottom.

Slavic makes me smile too, tWitch.  I want to see what Slavic did when he left the stage after the jive that excited the audience.

I really love Chelsea and it sucks she’s going, but I’d rather her be gone than get shit on every week way more than anyone else.

Also I feel like Travis basically saying he likes to make up his choreo as he goes along is a real disservice to the dancers.

[Terrafamilia]

Opening: Rama-Lama meets The Greatest Showman. With very off-putting makeup.

Magda/Darius

Bollywood: What are the judges smoking? It wasn't nearly crisp enough and that brought the energy level down.

Jazz: Much better. They brought the sizzle and smolder.

Chelsea/Evan

Hip Hop: I couldn’t figure what mood Evan was trying to express. Chelsea did much better in that regard.

TW Contemporary: I was wondering how fake snowflakes affect one’s footing. Loved Chelsea’s outfit though.

Hannahlei/Cole

Stepping: Oh, Mickey, you’re so fine. You’re so fi… er.. sorry, I was having a bit of an 80’s flashback there.

Disco: Probably my favorite Donna Summer song. One of the better disco numbers Doriana has done. Particularly since they didn't have to sign a waiver before they performed.

Jensen/Jay Jay

Contemporary: Well, it was a contemporary number all right. They certainly did a good job, but how many times have I seen this number before?

African Jazz: Though they looked like a couple of tie-dyed chickens I certainly enjoyed it more than their first number.

Genessy/Slavik

Jive: This needed to be performed with more snap (that’s a criticism that’s been floating around a lot of this season)

Broadway: That was just lovely. Sure, it wasn’t exactly technically demanding but after some of the other lackluster numbers tonight it was a good one to end the episode on.

I agree that the truncated format doesn't allow the sort of development we've seen dancers go through in years prior. Slavik would especially benefit from that.

[chocolatine]

21 hours ago, Kira53 said:

The Bollywood hairdos and costumes were horrendous. Did a preschooler design and paint their Bollywood outfits?

I thought the Bollywood costumes were a nod to Holi, the Indian festival of colors. I'm not saying it was well-executed though. 

20 hours ago, kechara said:

Was there a botched lift in the African jazz? 

There was a very labored lift in the African jazz, plus botched lifts in both this week's contemporary and last week's samba, and yet Jensen and JayJay never got called out for those.

21 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I was liking Evan and Chelsea's lyrical hip-hop fine, not great but fine, until at the end Cat had to say how much it reminded her of Misty Blue and then I just missed Misty Blue :(

 

19 hours ago, allypenguin said:

For real. I like Genessy and Slavik a lot but the Broadway was just okay. It was sweet but I cannot see how it moved them to tears. And on a petty note, for some reason the bench in their number just reminded me of "The Bench" which actually did move me a lot.

 

10 hours ago, WhineandCheez said:

They are always trying to re-create Ramalama, and they never ever will...

That's too much derivative choreography in one episode. I'd love to see some new choreographers to bring in some fresh material.

[allypenguin]

So Evan was my favourite guy, and I'm sad that he didn't have a chance to really bloom on the show :( I really love his dancing from other things I've seen him in and I think he is extremely versatile. But then again, just because you are a good class dancer/performer doesn't always translate to doing well on the show! Here's some vids in case you haven't seen him in anything else beyond the show!

Also my dad who knows nothing about dance was outraged when I told him that the judges were bussing Chelsea. He thought she was the best :(

 

Evan starts at around 1:23

 

 

Evan's group starts at about 7:20

Edited August 15, 2018 by allypenguin

[SnarkyTart]

Stepping as a genre was just wrong, so wrong, and Doriana Disco has needed to be retired for many seasons now. That said, Hannaleigh kicked Cole's ass in stepping, and I was relieved that Doriana didn't choreograph her usual injury-inducing, potentially career-ending, disco routine. At least Hannaleigh and Cole both survived the Doriana Disco Dance of Death.  But which of this pairing are the producers trying to bury?  Both of them?

I thought Jay Jay kicked Jensen's butt in the Afro-Jazz routine. Other than the missed lift, I couldn't take my eyes off him and had to watch it a second time to notice how lackluster Jensen was in this routine. But she's a producer favorite and destined for final 4.

I like Slavik, but was so distracted by his major shoulder slump problem in the jive that I was entirely distracted from evaluating anything else about that routine. 

I adored Darius and Magda's smooth jazz routine. The choreo was wonderful and they both danced it so well.  But, Darius, OMG! At this point, I've settled on Darius as my choice to win. 

Edited August 15, 2018 by SnarkyTart

[cali1981]

12 hours ago, WhineandCheez said:

I always enjoy the micro mini--black hair bow combo..  Schoolgirl/Prostitute always works.

Mini-rant here:  They are letting all the girl's long frizzy hair get in the way of the lines of these dances.  It started the first night with Jamie and Allison having a tangled mass of frizzy hair flying around in a distracting manner. Last night, I didn't like Magda's hair for a Bollywood--it was California girl-style, I would have liked to see more of a stylized look that didn't fly around. Also, Hannalei's hat shaded her face the entire time.  i agree with the poster upthread that the lack of budget is showing.

 

They are always trying to re-create Ramalama, and they never ever will...grapher

It was the first thing that I thought when the routine began. It seemed very derivative and I figured that Wade Robson was the choreographer. I was shocked when it was Luther Brown.  I was actually impressed that he could pull a number like that off.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

I like how Nigel couldn't just bus Chelsea and Evan all last week, he had to run them over again one more time on the way out the door. Basically blaming Chelsea for being ambitious and saying she'd had some tap training. I'm sure 0% of Chelsea thought going into Top 10 she'd be tapped (pun intended) to try a full-on tap routine choreographed by Anthony M.

Also unsurprising that it came down to Chelsea and Magda. SYTYCD voting history says that Magda was never going to be long for this show once fan voting started. She gets....one more week.

As for the dancing last night, Really only Cole/Hannahlei's Stepping piece stood out as really bad. I was ducking as soon as they were told what style they had. Also count me as one who was happy that Doriana didn't kill one or both of them in their Disco routine.

I thought Slavik/Genessy's jive was much worse than advertised despite having a lot of the jive feel. Slavik my man.....can't dance every routine like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Also much worse than advertised, Magda and Darius's Bollywood. Oof, that looked so slow and mechanical in too many parts.

Not sure if Jay Jay showing off a million dance trophy's was necessarily the smartest decision. If you are splitting hairs between Darius and him....being the cockier, arrogant one isn't a great look. He also about ran over Magda or Jensen in the intro solos which was a little odd.

It feels very much like Cole and Magda got one week reprieves and will get the boot next week. Maybe with each being in the bottom with Jay Jay and Hannahlei or Genessy...

[allypenguin]

31 minutes ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

I thought Slavik/Genessy's jive was much worse than advertised despite having a lot of the jive feel. Slavik my man.....can't dance every routine like the hunchback of Notre Dame

This description killed me hahaha

[PhD-Purgatory15]

On the other hand, if Benji comes back and choreographs a West Coast Swing for Slavik/Genessy next week....he's already got that one move/pose down perfectly :-)

[kb3]

I've scanned through the comments.  Did I want to watch my PVR and see for myself? Nope.

I've watched this show from the beginning (excepting the junior version). And now I'm done.

Deleted the series from the PVR and deleted the episodes.  

After seeing people like Mark, D-Trix, Comfort,tWitch, f'ing Alex Wong and the rest become named beings that I recognized in pieces and followed through the interwebz, I cannot give a rat's about this lot.

Maybe it's the crammed and shortened season. Maybe it's the useless "critiques" from Vanessa, what hair am I wearing today, Hudgins.  It's lost on my radar.

Maybe it's watching World of Dance, listening to the judges comments, that the judges actually are working dancers and the quality of the dance is worth watching.

The pairings that were magical with Katie and Joshua, Benji and Donelle, Fikshun and Amy.  Mia Michaels.  The dances that I have saved on a YouTube playlist.

Yep deleting it was the right move. 

 

And that Kyle Hanagami/Ed Sheeran - on a loop.

and this one at about 4:27  GROUP 5: Jade Chynoweth Evan DeBenedetto

Edited August 15, 2018 by kb3
to add reference and spelling counts

[crossover]

8 hours ago, mojoween said:

Argh Jay Jay and Jensen WERE NOT PERFECTION!  Why are they so incredibly averse to pointing out their mistakes?

It wasn't just JayJay and Jensen.  Everyone had flaws that could've been brought out, including my favorites--Darius/Magda.  I can understand them being lax this week but did they really have to do the SOs?

Except for Chelsea, they haven't pointed out much of anything.   It's almost like they don't have a preferred F4 and are trying to see where the votes are.  Last season, they knew from the start.  Looking at how the judges reacted to the couples, I'd say Slavik/Genessy and JayJay/Jenson got the early votes.  But I don't think they want Slavik or Genessy in the F4.  They just want to get the ratings up as much as possible.

[crossover]

6 hours ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Not sure if Jay Jay showing off a million dance trophy's was necessarily the smartest decision. If you are splitting hairs between Darius and him....being the cockier, arrogant one isn't a great look. He also about ran over Magda or Jensen in the intro solos which was a little odd.

I thought JayJay showed his sweet side when he was concerned about Jensen lifting him.  He was  worried that he was too heavy for her to lift and immediately checked to make sure she was OK after the move.  That's not something arrogant people do.

[kechara]

I like Magda. Especially in combination with Darius, but her age, plus being ballroom will count against her with the voters who skew younger I think

[mojoween]

2 hours ago, crossover said:

It wasn't just JayJay and Jensen. 

Agreed.  My beef in that instance, though, was Vanessa specifically gushing that Jay Jay and Jensen were perfection, when they clearly were not in their first routine as there was an obvious botched trick.

As a ballroom specialist, Jensen’s difficulty with lifts surprises me, because the errors they’ve made the last two weeks appear to be on her, not Jay Jay.

[Tikichick]

11 hours ago, allypenguin said:

So Evan was my favourite guy, and I'm sad that he didn't have a chance to really bloom on the show :( I really love his dancing from other things I've seen him in and I think he is extremely versatile. But then again, just because you are a good class dancer/performer doesn't always translate to doing well on the show! Here's some vids in case you haven't seen him in anything else beyond the show!

Also my dad who knows nothing about dance was outraged when I told him that the judges were bussing Chelsea. He thought she was the best :(

 

Evan starts at around 1:23

 

 

Evan's group starts at about 7:20

 

Thank you for sharing these.  It really points out the sham that is these dancers being unknown to producers going in.

3 hours ago, crossover said:

I thought JayJay showed his sweet side when he was concerned about Jensen lifting him.  He was  worried that he was too heavy for her to lift and immediately checked to make sure she was OK after the move.  That's not something arrogant people do.

If I could say something in his defense, I know several dancers who have worked with JayJay -- his sweet side is him, not arrogance. 

[crowceilidh]

I didn't think JayJay was arrogant - it was more like a sweet sense of his trophies giving him a sense of security and confidence.

[Mumbles]

Quote

I’m surprised by how much I’m enjoying Magda so far.

Yeah I hadn't really noticed her but was gobsmacked at how beautiful her and Darius's lines were in the Mandy Moore routine. I'm rooting for them now.

[khyber]

On 8/13/2018 at 8:09 PM, yourpointis said:

Tonight's episode was sponsored by the letter H for hyperbole. What was with all the over praise for the performances? 

I get the judges (producers) have an agenda but they're taking all the fun out of the show for me. Imho no dance tonight was flawless. I don't mind a misstep here and there, but don't try to convince me the viewer that any of the performances tonight deserved a standing O. I've seen every episode of this show and I've seen quite a few SO dances whether I liked/loved the dancers but not tonight. Gah!

 

 

I'm debating about not watching the rest of the show. This has always been my favorite competition show, but its a weak shadow of itself. 

[Tikichick]

16 minutes ago, Mumbles said:

Yeah I hadn't really noticed her but was gobsmacked at how beautiful her and Darius's lines were in the Mandy Moore routine. I'm rooting for them now.

Darius' incredible lines have stood out for me since his audition.  I said something about his lines to my daughter this week and she told me that in fact he frequently isn't using correct technique to achieve his lines.  I don't have enough technical knowledge to understand what she meant, but as a parent who paid big bucks for her to have that technical knowledge I'll accept her insight.  

[fpbl83]

I am sensing a lot of hostility on this forum, bordering on the personal, towards Jensen. People on YouTube are noticing it as well. I don't know what show you're watching, but she seems like a goofy, funny, genuine girl to me. 

[Kira53]

On 8/13/2018 at 11:32 PM, Brookside said:

That Bollywood routine was dreadful.  How has it got to the top 10 with so many dancers unable to at least wing another style?

And what the hell was Cat Deeley wearing?

IMHO, the choreography was dreadful not the execution.  Naku’s choreography has been more lackluster as the seasons have gone by.  He has no fresh ideas and cannot recycle or steal from thousands of Bollywood dances in movies.  He can’t come up with 2 good minutes of this style.  Give someone else a chance.  He didn’t even make sure they were in in costumes that brought out any joy.  Was he instructed to tank this couple?

Edited August 15, 2018 by Kira53
spelling

[Tikichick]

9 minutes ago, Kira53 said:

IMHO, the choreography was dreadful not the execution.  Naku’s choreography has been more lackluster as the seasons have gone by.  He has no fresh ideas and cannot recycle or steal from thousands of Bollywood dances in movies.  He can’t come up with 2 good minutes of this style.  Give someone else a chance.  He didn’t even make sure they were in in costumes that brought out any joy.  Was he instructed to tank this couple?

Despite the first words out of my mouth being oh no when I saw Nakul in the audience, I'm not sure we can lay the terrible costumes at his feet.  Costuming has been horrendous this year. 

[realdancemom]

On 8/13/2018 at 8:39 PM, LexieLily said:

Cole is going next week unless something miraculous happens, who is up on the girl's side?

Unfortunately, I think it's Magda.  She was at the bottom having a Travis Wall contemporary last week.  That's usually popular with the voters.  It was one of my favorite routines last week.  This week, she had Bollywood and a Smooth Jazz.  I think the latter would appeal more to older viewers.  As I and others previously mentioned, older female ballroom contestants don't do well on this show.  I don't think ballroom technique is appreciated as much as ballet/contemporary/jazz technique on this show.

[Brookside]

51 minutes ago, Kira53 said:

  On 8/13/2018 at 8:32 PM, Brookside said:

That Bollywood routine was dreadful.  How has it got to the top 10 with so many dancers unable to at least wing another style?

51 minutes ago, Kira53 said:

IMHO, the choreography was dreadful not the execution.  Naku’s choreography has been more lackluster as the seasons have gone by.  He has no fresh ideas and cannot recycle or steal from thousands of Bollywood dances in movies.  He can’t come up with 2 good minutes of this style.  Give someone else a chance.  He didn’t even make sure they were in in costumes that brought out any joy.  Was he instructed to tank this couple?

Yes, you're right.  I should have made two paragraphs, since the second part was more a generalisation, not specific to the Bollywood routine, which I agree was down to choreography.  It's been said before, but for way too many of the routines, if I turned the sound off, I would have no clue what genre I was watching.

Edited August 15, 2018 by Brookside

[cali1981]

20 hours ago, Terrafamilia said:

 

Disco: Probably my favorite Donna Summer song. One of the better disco numbers Doriana has done. Particularly since they didn't have to sign a waiver before they performed.

 

True that on Last Dance. In the second David Foster concert in Las Vegas [Hitman II) Donna Summer closed the show with the best version of Last Dance I've ever heard.  As she got older,  her voice got deeper with much more body and substance. I believe that she was 61 at the time of that show and she just killed it. It's still hard to believe that less than a year later she was gone. Doriana's disco number on Monday was very good but tepid compared to the classic Brandon and Janette routine in Season 5. Of course that was so insane that less talented dancers might have ended up in hospital. It could probably never be repeated because Fox couldn't afford the insurance premiums.

[Steph01924]

On 8/14/2018 at 9:54 PM, allypenguin said:

So Evan was my favourite guy, and I'm sad that he didn't have a chance to really bloom on the show :( I really love his dancing from other things I've seen him in and I think he is extremely versatile. But then again, just because you are a good class dancer/performer doesn't always translate to doing well on the show! Here's some vids in case you haven't seen him in anything else beyond the show!

Also my dad who knows nothing about dance was outraged when I told him that the judges were bussing Chelsea. He thought she was the best :(

 

Evan starts at around 1:23

 

 

 

Evan's group starts at about 7:20

 

Aaah, THAT'S where I've seen Evan before! I love Kyle Hanagami's choreography/channel. They should do a night where they highlight YouTube choreographers, give some lesser-known people a break (yes, I know Kyle isn't a no-name since he choreographs for people like J-Lo, but I'm sure there's plenty others).

[Ilovepie]

A Stepping routine with two people is stupid. It just is. And frankly, so is Bollywood. I would be fine never seeing either again. The only time I liked Bollywood was Joshua and Katie.

I am sick of the over praising of contestants AND choreographers. This is definitely not the best top 10, and these choreographers are not as good as the early seasons. Travis Wall is not a god!

Despite these complaints, I did enjoy Magda and Darius’ jazz routine, but some of that is probably because I love that song. 

I also love Slavic -I know all the remaining guys are better dancers than him but  I can’t help myself - all the way back to Dominic I find myself rooting for the b-boys.

.

[Cuatro1234]

I think the perfect judging/critiques were given by Misty Copeland.  Always respectful, with pertinent and useful information.  I think good critiques help me, a non-dancer, enjoy this show even more.  I dislike Vanessa--even when I'm ff'ing through her judging, the way she moves her hands annoys me.  I did catch her saying tonight "I have to agree with you, Nigel" and I thought "you probably DO have to agree--it's probably in your contract!"

I do like the format this season, but it feels rushed.  It seems more like the older seasons.  I liked having them do routines in their styles last week, and out of them this week.  Solid plan.

I really like Magda, but her core seemed very stiff in that "Fever" jazz dance.  And that song..... I used to hear new songs on SYTYCD but now we are hearing songs that are either tired like this one  (and is there not another song in the whole world that a jive can be danced to, besides "Jump, Jive"?) or old-but-not-retro ("Exes and Ohs"?)

I liked the opening number!  We haven't had any girls' or boys' group routines, and I miss them!

I was a little surprised and mildly disappointed that Slavik and Genessy were put through to Top 10, but now I am really enjoying their partnership.  They really remind me of the fun, strong partnerships from past seasons.  I think Jay Jay and Jensen are a strong partnership, but Slavik and Genessy are more fun to watch because it's more of a nice surprise when they do well.

I thought Evan in particular was trying too hard in the lyrical hip hop.  And someone should have really told him to close his mouth and breathe through his nose when he's listening to the critiques.  Standing there with his mouth open made him look like a bit of a doofus.  I agree that Nigel came across as an ass for blaming the tap fiasco on Chelsea.

The Step did not work at all for me.  The sound seemed off and it just wasn't as exciting as as Step show.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

16 hours ago, Tikichick said:

Darius' incredible lines have stood out for me since his audition.  I said something about his lines to my daughter this week and she told me that in fact he frequently isn't using correct technique to achieve his lines.  I don't have enough technical knowledge to understand what she meant, but as a parent who paid big bucks for her to have that technical knowledge I'll accept her insight.  

An easy to understand example of someone achieving nice looking lines with bad technique is center splits. It takes flexibility to do center splits. Doing it properly means your knees should be pointed straight up at the ceiling, but that's more difficult so some people cheat by using bad technique with their knees pointing forward. If told to do center splits with their knees pointed up, they wouldn't be able to get all the way into 180 degree center splits. Hope that helps!

[Tikichick]

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

An easy to understand example of someone achieving nice looking lines with bad technique is center splits. It takes flexibility to do center splits. Doing it properly means your knees should be pointed straight up at the ceiling, but that's more difficult so some people cheat by using bad technique with their knees pointing forward. If told to do center splits with their knees pointed up, they wouldn't be able to get all the way into 180 degree center splits. Hope that helps!

Thanks.  Your explanation is kind of ironic if you knew my daughter, and probably explains why she noticed Darius' technique.  During her dance years her instructors realized she was what I call freakishly flexible and pulled in mini tramps for her to do splits on because a full 180 split on the floor didn't stretch her and they were worried she could injure herself if she didn't stretch before dancing.  She's always the weirdo in the flex situations -- HS phys ed teacher went and got the other 2 PE teachers to observe her run through the flexibility maneuvers, kicked herself in the head with her pointe shoe at barre, in college had an entire sunrise yoga class stop their workout to watch gumby girl bend far beyond normal. 

[displayname]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

If told to do center splits with their knees pointed up, they wouldn't be able to get all the way into 180 degree center splits.

So Darius points his knees forwards in all his lines? I thought arabesques are supposed to have knees pointing forwards. Maybe you mean knees pointing in the wrong direction, though...

Edited August 16, 2018 by displayname

[ElectricBoogaloo]

35 minutes ago, displayname said:

So Darius points his knees forwards in all his lines? I thought arabesques are supposed to have knees pointing forwards. Maybe you mean knees pointing in the wrong direction, though...

No, I wasn't talking about Darius specifically. I was giving an example of how you can create a clean line with bad technique.

Ballet arabesques do not have knees pointing forward. Both legs should be turned out so if you are doing an arabesque with the left leg as the supporting leg, the left knee should be pointed 90 degrees to the left so that the knee is facing the wall on the left and the right leg in the air should have the right knee facing the opposite wall.

[displayname]

11 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Ballet arabesques do not have knees pointing forward. Both legs should be turned out so if you are doing an arabesque with the left leg as the supporting leg, the left knee should be pointed 90 degrees to the left so that the knee is facing the wall on the left and the right leg in the air should have the right knee facing the opposite wall.

Oh, I had this in mind (I was looking at a picture), but I I thought of it as "facing the audience" sort of forward :P So, "with turnout" would be the best way to define how to extend properly?

Edited August 16, 2018 by displayname

[allypenguin]

7 hours ago, displayname said:

Oh, I had this in mind (I was looking at a picture), but I I thought of it as "facing the audience" sort of forward :P So, "with turnout" would be the best way to define how to extend properly?

As someone who has truly horrible technique it's now my time to shine! Yes improper turnout is one way to see if they are using proper technique or not. Another thing that I'm VERY guilty of is in arabesque a lot of people "cheat" to the side and do not have their legs fully behind them in order to gain height. Sometimes when this happens you can see that their hips are uneven and not level because they're hiking their legs up (you can see this strongly in attitude position as well). And finally a lot of the time in order to get height, although this is kind of a rookie mistake, dancers will sacrifice their upper body e.g. hunching forward in a kick to the front to hike that leg up there, but that's a no-no unless it's choreographed that way.

[luvthepros]

On 8/14/2018 at 10:22 AM, WhineandCheez said:

They are always trying to re-create Ramalama, and they never ever will...

I thought for sure that was Mark Kanemura's choreography for the opening number. Imagine how surprised I was to find out it was Luther Brown. Where did that quirky style come from in him?

[Tikichick]

12 hours ago, luvthepros said:

I thought for sure that was Mark Kanemura's choreography for the opening number. Imagine how surprised I was to find out it was Luther Brown. Where did that quirky style come from in him?

And there you have it.  For the number of Luther routines we've had over the years he still somehow manages to fly under the radar of faithful viewers with his range of styles -- probably due in part to the fact that he's never been on the list of choreographers guaranteed a tongue bath of judge critiques simply by deigning to show up. 

[HerkyJerky]

Quote

On ‎8‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 7:13 PM, mojoween said:

I really want an abdomen like Magda has, but I also want to eat tortilla chips

 

Don't we all!

[kechara]

I still miss SYTYCD Canada. There were some really interesting routines choreographed. Although Jean Marc, Luther and Stacy Tookey moved on to this one. Blake, from season 1 and his sister did some good stuff too

[allypenguin]

On 8/15/2018 at 11:05 PM, Steph01924 said:

Aaah, THAT'S where I've seen Evan before! I love Kyle Hanagami's choreography/channel. They should do a night where they highlight YouTube choreographers, give some lesser-known people a break (yes, I know Kyle isn't a no-name since he choreographs for people like J-Lo, but I'm sure there's plenty others).

I would love for Kyle to choreograph on the show. I'm so surprised they haven't got him on yet considering he choreographs duets a lot (something like Sweater Weather would be perfect for the show). Would love to see him, Yanis Marshall, Jake Kodish, Janelle Ginestra, Nika Kljun, and Erica Klein on the show

15 minutes ago, kechara said:

I still miss SYTYCD Canada. There were some really interesting routines choreographed. Although Jean Marc, Luther and Stacy Tookey moved on to this one. Blake, from season 1 and his sister did some good stuff too

I'm so happy you said this! SYTYCDCa has been on my mind lately; I recently watched a video on youtube called top 15 solos from the season 4 girls or something to that effect. I forgot how amazing that show was and how incredibly strong all the dancers were. Damn you CTV for cancelling it *shakes fist*

[kechara]

I didn’t care for what’s her face though. The imitation Cat. I loved the friendship between Mary, Luther and Blake. Remember when they went to the cottage?  So funny

[crowceilidh]

I always think about them going to the cottage when Luther is choreographing on SYTYCD - that was such a surprising adventure.  I LOATHED imitation Cat - given how incredibly strong everything else about that show was, I blame her for its demise, fair or not.  She was disgustingly schmarmy and whiny and fake.  How anyone tapped her for the Cat role is beyond me -- I always felt that she had to have done sexual favours for someone.