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S11.E02: Auditions #2


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"Sexy Girl" immediately made me turn up my nose, but then I recalled the season of Lauren Froderman, during which I wrote her off after giving a very sexy audition. Lauren then became one of my favorites that season. I'm giving Sexy Girl a wary side-eye for now.

 

I know, when she popped up and was sooo pretty (and knew it), I was like, oh man, she's gonna be bad. But, despite the hair flipping and the sexy moves, I actually did like her lightness in her dancing and the way her movements flowed together. So I'm hoping she has more up her sleeve (and a hair-tie to pull back that hair) because I think she'd be enjoyable to watch. Barring any major other-styles fails, I bet she'll go pretty far, as she's just what Nigel salivates over.

 

And yes! I loved Lauren in her season, though I think I loved her from her audition right away. She's great at connecting to the audience.

 

 

You guys need to watch the episodes on DVR, because as soon as they hit the commercial break previews I fast-forwarded and consequently saw none of the build-up to the vomiting. Also saved me from the one sob story of the night (the body image girl). I am SO glad we didn't see any dancing daddies or more than the one sob story. I agree with everyone saying this was a great episode compared to last week. 

 

Fabrice was gorgeous (I wish we could've seen HIM dance), and I loved Christina Applegate. I would be fine with those two and Jesse Tyler-Ferguson being the three rotating judges for the rest of the competition. Maybe a little Wayne Brady, but I think he's only fun at the auditions when he can interact more with the dancers.

 

The only one I severely side-eyeing the judges for letting through was the ballet guy who was part of the lovey-dovey couple. He was NOT good and barely did any dancing standing here being the ballerina's dancing pole. I'm hoping he'll just crash and burn in Not!Vegas. 

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If I had to choose (and now that I think about it, I wish I could make this a sudden death face off), I'd rather see fouettés instead of flailing, arm reaching, the "I have a headache" head grabbing, or hair flinging any day of the week. At least fouettés require skill.

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I stopped watching after the first 20 minutes. This show is losing my attention so quickly. Bieber makes anything unwatchable.

 

Who threw up? I see you guys talking about it, and I think I heard Nigel ask for a trash can. Was it Uncle Nigel?

 

Just some dancer who finished up the choreography round and was waiting for his fate. His partner was trying to hold him up then he runs off to the side of the stage and pukes (we see it in a long shot so not TOO detailed but gross enough). All the judges just looked grossed out but that was the end of it really. He comes out of the doors a minute later and says he didn't make it and he puked but oh well.

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Who threw up? I see you guys talking about it, and I think I heard Nigel ask for a trash can. Was it Uncle Nigel?

One of the contestants who I have already forgotten. They saved it for the last few minutes of the program, during choreography callbacks, so thank God for that. Oh, and after all that the dude made it through so I am sure this might come up again during Green Mile. 

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From a non-dancer who just likes to watch -- what's wrong with a fouette? Over-used in ballet, like the reach-out-emotionally move in contemporary? I'd much rather see fouette than endless HMVs. I enjoyed last night's show, but no stand-outs yet for me (though I confess I'm automatically biased against Miss I'm-so-sexy-on-stage-even-if-so-sweet-and-innocent-in-person).

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I kind of enjoyed the scene where they put sparkly-glow on everything Fabrice did to illustrate the Joffrey girl's fandom.  I must admit that now that I've seen him, I relate!

Does anyone know what the music was that was playing under the eating disorder story?  It started with "feet, don't fail me know" but I'm not finding it with that search string.

 

ETA Never mind--I think it might be Lana del Ray!

Edited by Jobiska
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The girl with Alopecia was a great dancer. As was the one with the eating disorder but I can't help but feel dirty watching this because I feel like neither one of them will make the Top 20. Like they are being used in some way. It just comes off like this show is using their stories to create drama and entertainment and that disgusts me as a person and I think the producers should be ashamed of themselves for exploiting people like this for viewers. IDK. Maybe I am overreacting about it but that's just how I feel right now.

 

At this point though- don't the dancers know that being "used" is a possibility (hell, isn't it an asset to have a story)?  It would be even more disingenuous to not acknowledge the girl with Alopecia- there is clearly something different about her.   Now- if either make it to the top 20 and that becomes the overall theme of their journey (at the expense of their dancing talent), I can see how that would be alienating.  As for the eating disorder- I actually thought they did that with some taste as it is something of an issue, of course MMV.

 

I will say that becoming "known" on this show in general is an asset...of all the competition shows I watch this is the only one where I constantly see many of the contestants woking regularly.  Aside from the cash prize- winning this thing doesn't really matter if as a dancer you boost your profile and get a job out of it.  

 

Anyway- "Miley" was the worst, sexy girl is definitely getting side-eye from me and I loved that Joffrey girl had such a crush on Fabrice (which I totally understand), and Mary-Poppins was fun (Plus, she used Sade for her song- win!). I agree that when Fik joined her, that took her to the next level and probably gave the closest approximate to what she can do on a live show.

 

Overall, I really enjoying this audition but just once I would like to see the jidges say "That was a beautiful contemporary piece but I'd like to see if you krump..."

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He was NOT good and barely did any dancing standing here being the ballerina's dancing pole.

Well, as Nigel pointed out- that is kinda what the man does during the non-variation part of the pas des deux.

 

However, even as a pole, he was a bit shakey.  But who cares- he'll get weeded out, and I'm sure Nigel sees him going home and her staying as a great story, because they are so in love.

 

 

From a non-dancer who just likes to watch -- what's wrong with a fouette? Over-used in ballet, like the reach-out-emotionally move in contemporary? I'd much rather see fouette than endless HMVs. I enjoyed last night's show, but no stand-outs yet for me (though I confess I'm automatically biased against Miss I'm-so-sexy-on-stage-even-if-so-sweet-and-innocent-in-person).

I think that particular audition it was just that every freaking girl went up and did a set of 16.  (And I think it was more in contemporary dances than ballet. Ballet didn't used to get much respect on this show, so you didn't see it much.)

Edited by Skittl1321
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I loved the crap out of Marie, especially when Fikshun joined her. She was so genuine - something I had yet to feel through these auditions, between the sob stories and the sad-looking-off-into-the-distance montages - I loved her joy! More of that, please.

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It's been great to watch the segments based solely on the comments here. Y'all are right on! I keep going back to Mary Poppins and Fik-shun. She glows, and he is charm personified. That was a genius way to show her partnering. It also really injected some extra fun and sexiness into the show, I thought. I hope she's good at lots of styles, that she makes the show, and that they can find a male dancer who's tall and strong enough to throw her around. Technical term: throw her around. :)  I love her expressiveness. Her emotions seem so accessible and genuine.

 

I agree with those who've said how nice it is to see the alums. ::waves at Cyrus::

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For Steph01924 and/or anyone else who wanted to see Fabrice dance, I found this pas de deux on Youtube.

 

elsbad, Thanks for the link.  The dancing was lovely, although it was (ahem) a bit difficult to concentrate on it.

 

However, even as a pole, he was a bit shakey.  But who cares- he'll get weeded out, and I'm sure Nigel sees him going home and her staying as a great story, because they are so in love.

 

He was more than a bit shaky, unless you consider this a bit shaky.  (I kid, I kid, but it's still worth watching.)

Edited by ToxicUnicorn
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For Steph01924 and/or anyone else who wanted to see Fabrice dance, I found this pas de deux on Youtube.

 

 

@elsbad Thank you! Man, he's got some legs! He looks so graceful. That was some interesting outfit - was that supposed to be Swamp Thing arms? haha

 

Well, as Nigel pointed out- that is kinda what the man does during the non-variation part of the pas des deux.

 

However, even as a pole, he was a bit shakey.  But who cares- he'll get weeded out, and I'm sure Nigel sees him going home and her staying as a great story, because they are so in love.

 

 

I understand, he wasn't supposed to have much to do in that dance, but yes, what he did do lacked any grace or form and fluidity. I mean, just check out the video above and compare. Granted, maybe the guy isn't a company-level ballet dancer, but he didn't really deserve the praise he received. Regardless, you are probably correct - Nigel would love to tear the two of them apart and put some sad music to it, wouldn't he? 

Edited by Steph01924
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I'm a weirdo, but that one sweeping blond curl plastered to Mary's head was driving me cray. I do dig the sweeping Farrah bangs and have rocked them myself on occassion (TMI;) But that one stuck in the middle of her head was making me batty. [/shallow nit] Yeah, OK they fixed it later, but it was too late heh.

Edited by ari333
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Okay, it took me a while to gather thoughts because I had an unutterably shit day yesterday, but surprisingly, the show was actually pretty good (sans Beiber -- my son walked through the room when JB was on and said, "He is high, right?" So.).

 

Went back and did some rewatch because of my terrible ability with names:

 

Jessica (sexy hat hair girl) actually had very good technique. I'm with those that will wait and see.

 

Justine was lovely, lanky, and a little quirky.

 

Kyle (Wichita) was merely okay, and will get eaten alive in Not!Vegas (whoever coined this -- nice), but had such a great time that I enjoyed watching him.

 

Puppet Guy (can't remember everyone's name) should have gone to choreo.

 

Mary Poppins, I agree, was extremely likeable. Watching her with Fik-shun, I have to say that I don't think that was at all pre-choreographed.He is just SO DAMN GOOD at partnering, which is something I am realizing that those who do battles really excel at, even if the dance vocabulary is wildly different from contemporary/ballroom. His (and her) actions and reactions were so cool, but you could tell just what incredible facility he has, not just with movement but with the sort of sixth sense of how almost to pre-respond to what he figured she would do. I liked Fik-shun last year (christ it would be like hating a puppy), and of course I thought he was good, but WOW. He is more than good. Plus, for those that say maybe he pulled focus away from her -- I actually thought he was super-generous and tryed to do movements that showcased her and made her look great. Awesome! And yes, what this show should be about. Get out of the way Nigel (and mostly he did tonight!) and look what happens!

 

I knew of JaJa before last night, and I like her, but I didn't love her audition piece. Still think she could go far. I am starting to get really excited about this top 20!

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I absolutely love this show even when it's driving me crazy.  So far I've found the auditions to be mostly good, but there haven't been many who have really grabbed me, and there have been several times where I wondered what the judges were seeing that I wasn't.  There were a couple they put straight through that the dh and I were thinking were less-than-stellar.  As several have previously noted, ballet guy from loving couple was one.  I know enough about ballet to know that there's not much for the guy to do in a piece like that, but he seemed to me to be rather lacking in grace and lightness of movement.  I was really surprised they put him straight through.  She was gorgeous, but he was much less so.  I loved puppet guy and am happy he went through.  I'll be amazed if he can partner at all, but he was just so different to me and so much fun to watch, that I found myself agreeing with Mary that he deserves a chance for more people to see him.  I was sorry the guy from Kansas didn't make it through choreo.  I really enjoyed him, and I'm happy he got to battle with guys he looked up to.  The solo ballet guy was okay, but I didn't think he was all that.  When Christina compared him to Cheon and they showed the two clips side by side, it was really obvious, I think, that this guy was no Cheon. 

 

I honestly didn't think alien girl was all that good.  There were places where she was, but there were a lot of places where I didn't think she looked all that strong in her dancing.  We'll see, I guess.  The girl who said she was doing jazz/punk or something just seemed like more contemporary to me.  I'm already tired of contemporary, and we're only partway through auditions. 

 

The one I absolutely flipped for was Marie Poppins.  Dancing by herself she was wonderful - I love her look, her elegance, the way she carries herself . . . all of it.  When Fik-shun joined her, dh and I thought it was just pure magic.  I'll be heartbroken if she doesn't make it to the show.  She's so far the only one who has really grabbed me and made me feel really excited.

 

And is it my imagination or have we seen very few "street" dancers - breakdancers, hip hop, krump, popping, animation, etc.  I know there have been some, but it just seems to me that they've been very light this year.  Or maybe there were fewer in previous years than I think there were? 

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Poor Pukey...he's this year's Dislocated Knee Girl. He seemed cheerfully resigned to his immortality, though, so points for that.

 

I'm on record for having zero patience with the "tee-hee, people say I'm...sexy!" contingent, so Hat Girl set my eyes a-rollin'...but there seemed to be some technique underneath the StripperCize routine, so I'd like to see what the choreographers can bring out and/or beat into her. And I actually gave Nigel the tiniest bit of credit for recognizing her stupid hat as a trilby and not a fedora!

 

The second Not!Miley appeared I muttered "Nigel catnip," and was validated. Again, maybe there are some skills in there? Dance, don't talk, child.

 

I'm Team Jaja for the moment, just because I so enjoy seeing a woman tear it up with some krunk, heh. I was also delighted to see Fik-Shun again, raising Marie Poppins to a whole 'nother level. His sheer joy in moving just blasts out of the t.v. screen! I also enjoyed the alopecia girl, and can only assume Sonya felt, like, a disturbance in the Force and ran directly to the theatre to work with her immediately.

 

As for the Beebs, can't they just quietly cut him his check and have Cat record the remaining crew intros? Please?

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 I also enjoyed the alopecia girl, and can only assume Sonya felt, like, a disturbance in the Force and ran directly to the theatre to work with her immediately.

 

lol!

I've now watched the Marie/Fik-shun thing five or six times, because I love that final move of theirs so much. That move--so sexy and perfect, and so in line with the lyrics (smooooth operator)--is the one thing that makes me wonder if they planned their duo. That would be perfectly okay with me! Feel free to plan more of same, Fik-Shun!

But there are at least a couple of moments in the routine that make me think it was *not* planned. The first is that moment when he holds out his hands to her as if to entice her closer. That looked cool and unplanned to me, but I really have no idea. The other was when he was standing above her, she was on the floor and looked up at him, and he made "puppet master" gestures, as if to say, "I'll pull the strings, you be my puppet now."

Spontaneous or planned, either one, I loved it.

Also! There's a moment when Nigel points them toward the stage.

Edited by picklesprite
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Also! There's a moment when Nigel points them toward the stage.

 

Oh!  I missed this.  I would love to think the whole thing was unplanned.  I tend to think so, from the way Fik-Shun was so elated when he was hugging her, and from MP's emotional reaction when she finally turned around at the end.  It would lose a little bit of its magic for me if it were planned, so I hope we don't find out, if it's true.

 

His sheer joy in moving just blasts out of the t.v. screen!

 

I liked Fik-shun last year (christ it would be like hating a puppy), and of course I thought he was good, but WOW

 

Perfectly said.  I thought he was adorable last year but was not entirely convinced he was a worthy winner.  However, that performance with Marie Pippins validates everything.  More Fik-shun!

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(unlike marketing major whose parents paid for college and now presumably are still paying for her to follow her original dream of dance.  She rubbed me the wrong way.) 

 

Me too. Of course, with this show that's a constant issue I have...it's either a sob story about a fam sacrificing everything to buy a thrice-used toe shoe or someone from a family that could just finance their own reality show because dance is about that expensive. 

 

Mary Poppins was my favorite because she brought something different to the table. I can't say who was the "best" dancer of them all, because I find myself running all the contemporary women together in my head. 

 

I don't know Wichita guy's story...does someone that only dances at home really drive to try out for this show? But it made for a great tv moment. I wish him the best because he seemed earnest. 

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How do they "know" that puppet guy can partner dance? The fact that he wasn't sent to choreo was mind boggling to me.... unless they are setting up fodder ....which, if so,  is sad.


Sexy girl... my eyes rolled right out of my head ....and down the hall.


OK, maybe I'm a fart fossil in my head, but I just don't get the pull your joints out of their sockets dancing. I don't feel joy when watching it. I cringe and have to look away or change the channel.

 

When people look back on this style in 50 years are they going to say ...WTF? or will it be ever so cool?

 

bah. Get off my lawn and show me some ballroom.

 

And I'm not that old....really...

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How do they "know" that puppet guy can partner dance?

 

How do they know any of the contemporary girls can do ballroom or hip-hop?  There is such a double standard towards studio dancers already, it's nice to see the other specialties getting through.  (Plus, it's apparently fake and they all do choreography.)

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How do they know any of the contemporary girls can do ballroom or hip-hop?  There is such a double standard towards studio dancers already, it's nice to see the other specialties getting through.  (Plus, it's apparently fake and they all do choreography.)

 

I do see your point and that speaks to me not loving that kind of "dancing" (puppet guy, disjointed guy.) So I guess I answered my own question.

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How do they know any of the contemporary girls can do ballroom or hip-hop?  There is such a double standard towards studio dancers already, it's nice to see the other specialties getting through.  (Plus, it's apparently fake and they all do choreography.)

Exactly. This show is biased toward contemporary dancers almost exclusively. I suspect they aren't so concerned about them doing other styles because this show is heavy on the contemporary even when a routine doesn't require it. I remember seeing a few ballroom routines the last few years that have had a ridiculous amount of contemporary to accommodate the contemporary dancer for no good reason. Lets be real, 75-80% of the live routines we are going to see are going to be some variation of contemporary(I count Jazz, jazz Funk and Broadway under that umbrella as well). They will wait to give the favorites the ballroom and hip-hop or "specialty" routines so even if they are bad at it most won't care. For example, Melanie's awful hip-hop routine with Twitch and Sasha's ballroom late in their runs. The ones they want to weed out early will get those routines the first few weeks. For example, Ivetta one of the best ballroom dancers that has ever auditioned for this show(and the credentials to prove it) getting a bollywood number her second week and going home.  

Edited by Turkish
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Kyle (Wichita) was merely okay, and will get eaten alive in Not!Vegas (whoever coined this -- nice), but had such a great time that I enjoyed watching him.

He won't be going further, he pulled himself out of choreo.

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Nigel, please bring Fabrice Calmels back to dance for us!

 

 

Loved, loved, loved Deise Mendonca! (the ballerina of the duo that's "in love")!  She was a beauty to look at, and her dancing was beautiful to watch. 

 

I also really enjoyed JaJa's dancing.   The whole routine with Marie Poppins was a ton of fun, but I'm unconvinced that she's really that good of a dancer.   I hope she changes that impression, because her persona was so joyous and light.

 

I loved the show bringing past favorite contestants back to take the stage during the audition rounds.  It's a very welcome new element!

 

I didn't enjoy Franchesca's dancing much at all.  If she didn't have alopecia, I don't know that there was much else that would have made her stand out, at least to me. 

 

Finally, and it can't be said enough, why oh why are they practically keeping Cat Deeley locked in a closet?   Get rid of the Beebs (urg!) and the truncated dance crew clips, and give me more Cat Deeley.  Her interactions with the auditioners has always been a highlight for me. 

 

 

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I loved Jaja. I literally got chills and teared up. There's just something so powerful about her movement that I haven't seen before.

Justine was divine. I love seeing dancers who put themselves into their movement, instead of just prettily doing a bunch of moves. I have no problem with girls who use their sexuality while they dance for that very reason, but I'm sure there's a lot more to these girls than their sexuality. 

I also loved Marie Poppins. She has so much joy in her, you can see that she loves dancing. Fik-shun was so cute with her. 

I liked Jenna, Jessica, Hailee and Dani just fine. 

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I feel like these girls have grown up on this show and just start auditioning right out of these competition schools as soon as they are old enough. They haven't really lived yet.

 

It makes complete sense.  Those girls were eight or nine years old when this show premiered. Every time Nigel starts dirty-old-man-ing at one of them I desperately hope she'll say something like, "... and I've been watching this show since I was in second grade!" just to remind him (and us) that he's basically leering at a fetus.

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Wow, these urban dancers giving up midway through the choreography round is becoming a theme, isn't it?


Oh, and putting up with canned bits of Blieber pretending to care is going to be a constant each week?  It's not, like you know, he's done anything controversial lately!

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They will wait to give the favorites the ballroom and hip-hop or "specialty" routines so even if they are bad at it most won't care. For example, Melanie's awful hip-hop routine with Twitch and Sasha's ballroom late in their runs.

The fact that they didn't do this in earlier seasons made those early seasons SO much better.  I will never forget Ryan C's transformation from hip hop boy with spiky hair to smooth, slicked back, salsa boy in Season 1.  I think it was that surprise that made me fall in love with the show.  I never thought S8 Melanie had shown all that much versatility.  She might have been the strongest dancer during her season, but I don't feel that she earned nearly the same respect (from me) as other winners had.

 

What they have been doing in these latest seasons reeks of manipulation.  It really was much better when dances could plausibly have been pulled out of a hat.

 

I'm a big fan of putting the "geniuses" (whether they are contemporary or ballroom or hip hop or puppets) straight through to Not!Vegas.  These dancers must have the experience of their lives by going to Vegas week and I like that they're giving dancers of all types that experience.  It used to be that only the contemporary dancers got the pass and everyone else had to go to choreography, and that pissed me off, because all these other dancers were arguably just as good in their fields, and sometimes better.

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I'm not quite sure why, but Not!Miley kind of bugged me.  Not because she said the "I'm the nice Miley" thing--I couldn't care less about that--just something vague I haven't settled on yet.

Edited by Kromm
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for some reason, I couldn't get excited about this episode.  Definitely some nice moments but still an overall dullness to me.  I did love Witchita guy, and I'm not necessarily a fan of that style, but he had a lot of joy that came across. I'm glad he got his moment in the Battle and I certainly didn't mind seeing the other three get a little highlight too.  I hope they remember lessons from the past though, and make sure that anyone who makes it onto to show can actually partner.   I hope there are not too many more audition episodes.  After this one, I'm already ready for Not!Vegas week.

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I'm not quite sure why, but Not!Miley kind of bugged me.

She bugged me because she was ON! Her family was ON! Every question asked of her resulted in an answer that was ON! I wanted a button to turn down the ON! she was puking all over the stage. She exhausted me with her ON!-ness.
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Not!Miley was definitely a little manic in her presentation, I thought. And don't forget she seemed to be threatening us with a dad dance. I was surprised and relieved that it didn't happen.

I've been looking at Mary Poppins battle videos on YouTube. Here's one from 2012. She's so good, maybe a little too subtle in her movements to really get the crowd into it, but the technique is very strong, imo.

Edited by Ketzel
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How do they "know" that puppet guy can partner dance? The fact that he wasn't sent to choreo was mind boggling to me.

Nigel asked him point blank if he had any partnering experience and puppet guy said no, so they knew that when they sent him through to LA.

But unless you have ballroom or pas de deux experience, most dancers don't have much (if any) partnering experience. There are usually so few boys at regular dance studios that there aren't enough to have a partnering class.

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First what the hell was Mary wearing? A turtleneck with a sweater vest with a sparkly short skirt? Her hair is starting to veer into Charlie's Angels territory too. I think she looks good for her age but she just needs a stylist. Hell, let Cat style her!

 

I do love Mary (really!) but my kids and I were cracking up at how emotional she would get and YOU COULDN"T SEE HER FACE MOVE AT ALL.  Full on sobs, no facial movement.  Ease off the Botox, please!!  You look great, we love you, no more!!

 

I do agree with the poster above who said that the alopecia girl's difference was so obvious that NOT to explain it would have been weird.  It's a fine line with the sob stories.  There's something inspiring about "I broke my back in a car accident and had to learn to walk all over again" and watching an awesome audition, but it often gets taken too far IMO.

 

I was so so glad that the mechanic guy was actually good, and I thought he really held his own in the battle.  If nothing else, he got a chance to dance with some great people he admires, and that's worth a trip.  Good job!

 

My fave dancer of the night was the Joffrey ballet girl.  She seemed joyous and light with good technique--a great combination.

 

What a nice feel-good show this time.  Delete the vomit and the polyamorous family (ha!  love it!), and it would have been even better.

I was just wondering about Not!Miley's father and his "friend".  I'd like to hear more of that family dynamic.

 

I could easily imagine parents are divorced, Dad is gay, that's his new partner.  Or of course….it could be the dad's, you know, actual friend!

Edited by Cuatro1234
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Is hair-ography really a thing?  I mean, is it actually taken seriously?  As in, it's choreographed and when you're in the studio, there's time devoted to learning how to flip your hair?

 

I'm not a Western-style dancer so maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think jazz/contemporary dancers get formal training on how to flip their hair. But I am a long-haired dancer, and it is absolutely important to choreograph and include your hair when you're leaving it down. It's not hairography in the Glee sense of using it to hide an inability to dance but hairography in the sense of acknowledging that long hair responds to dance moves in an eye-catching way that needs to be accounted for. Also, you need to account for it landing in your face after certain moves. 

 

Essentially, leaving your hair loose as a dancer is making it a dance prop. It's not always the right choice, but I thought Jessica used it effectively in her dance and it fit the way she was interpreting Man's World. I didn't really think her number was that sexy either. If I had to nitpick it, I would say it was too technical and could have used a bit more grit.

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Please correct me if I am wrong but wasn't Fik-shun a Vegas street performer.  And if Marie is they may have crossed paths at some time.  If that's the case it may have been a spontaneous dance and a joyful hug between two member of the same "tribe". I sort of hope so. When I watched them dance it kind of had that teasing, sparring feeling between two people who already have an idea of what to give and what to take.

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I'm not a Western-style dancer so maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think jazz/contemporary dancers get formal training on how to flip their hair. But I am a long-haired dancer, and it is absolutely important to choreograph and include your hair when you're leaving it down. 

 

Of course they are not, it's just a thing that some girls do in a more exaggerated way than others, to the point where it sort of takes over what they are presenting.  Often times in a pretty balletic lyrical hair is left down soft and straight or in soft curls, just pulled back at the top with a barrette or clip to keep it out of the dancers eyes in the last five years or so on the competition circuit.  The biggest worry being that it may stick to lipstick, which is hard to resist moving away, which would be a mistake.  

Looks like HatGirl makes it far from the spoilers, so many of our impressions about her otherwise may belie her actual skills.

 

Remembering the actual sequence of taping compared to what we see, I think it's often known who steps out of the choreography round but still goes on to a solo for us to see because of the singular skill of the individual in their specific genre.  Meaning WichitaGuy got his battle after he stepped out of choreo and not before - because they enjoyed him just that much and he did very much hold his own amongst his fellow dancers, in that style.  He got to have fun, we got to have fun watching!  I think they know when folks are able to learn choreography in some way that will benefit them by a trip to some master classes at "call-backs" and they give them that opportunity.  I thinks that aspect of it is kind of wonderful for the dancers that it is afforded to.

 

It may be aggravating to see the "contemporary" dancers get "a pass" but that's not really the order of the events at these auditions, and the bottom line is that these kids often cross train in many styles, go to workshops and master classes that cross five and six genres give or take to hone their skill at learning choreography, as I am sure is the case for many "ballroom" dancers.  Street dancers, or self taught urban dancers make up their own choreography often, meaning that the skill of picking it up - is not honed, making it a real stretch for them to make it to the Top 20.  I don't think it is a prejudice or unfair, it just is what it is, it's why some of our favorites like tWitch took a few years to make it on the show... they went off and took classes across other genres and learned pick up in them, while honing their craft in there own syles.

Edited by NextIteration
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.......Oh, and putting up with canned bits of Blieber pretending to care is going to be a constant each week?  ......

The impression I got was Bieber is introducing the crews just for the audition episodes. We have only two more opportunities to endure this guy. Once the competition begins, the "crews" segment will be done until the finale show when the winners will perform.

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Please correct me if I am wrong but wasn't Fik-shun a Vegas street performer.  And if Marie is they may have crossed paths at some time.  If that's the case it may have been a spontaneous dance and a joyful hug between two member of the same "tribe". I sort of hope so. When I watched them dance it kind of had that teasing, sparring feeling between two people who already have an idea of what to give and what to take.

 

Yep, that's what he was doing before he made the show.  I assumed they already knew each other, but I couldn't decide if it seemed like he knew she was going to be there and dancing together was planned or not.

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Sexy girl Jessica annoyed me right away. Any time someone tells me they are sexy, I just roll my eyes. And to be honest, when girls have really long hair (especially longer than waist length) like that but it's thin at the ends (meaning they refuse to trim it), they usually have a large part of their identity wrapped up in their appearance and looking a certain way. I hated the way she used the hat. I'm fine with prop dances and I've seen some cool hat dances, but when the only purpose of a hat is to hide your long hair and then you throw off the hat, leave it on the floor for a while, then roll around to grab it and throw it again, just leave the hat out entirely. I was unimpressed with most of her dance because there was too much posing and rolling around but not enough dancing. The only part that showed any technique was the single fouette into a triple (or maybe quad?) pirouette. Based on that combination alone, I would guess she is capable of much more than the dreck she showed during her audition. I felt like this was the dance equivalent of resting on pretty (TM Tyra Banks). This is the exact kind of dancer who I want to see dancing Jabberwocky style with her hair pinned in a bun and a mask over her face. Once you take away the long blonde hair and the pretty face, how good is her dancing? How interesting is her routine? If she had done the exact same routine with her hair pinned up, a more covered up outfit, and a mask so the judges couldn't see her face, I doubt they would have been as enthusiastic and I really doubt they would have given her a ticket to Not Vegas.

 

Heh, it always cracks me up when they hold auditions in the same city where the next round will take place. Come and get your ticket...to the city we're already in! I guess "come and get your bus transfer" doesn't have the same ring to it.

 

I always wonder about people like the tapper. She's from Indianapolis but she came to the LA auditions instead of the ones in Chicago. I mean, I get wanting to take a trip somewhere warm but it's so much more expensive and time consuming to fly halfway across the country than to drive a few hours.

 

I loved seeing so many SYTYCD alumni watching the auditions. Dancers love watching other dancers!

 

Kyle from Kansas was so fun to watch and I love that, unlike many of the contempo dancers who have gotten through so far, he's much older than 18, he spends most of his time working and only dances in his free time (unlike the kids whose parents are paying for them to spend 10-20 hours in a dance studio every week). It's easy to love dance when you have the time and money to devote to it, but you see who really loves it when they do it despite having very little time or money for it. The FikShun/Cyrus/Legacy battle with Kyle was so fun to watch. It reminded me they made it on the show in the first place. I really love Kyle and Legacy rocking the old school breaking and popping.

 

I didn't love deadpan Justine's actual routine, but her joke about contemporary was enough to make me like her for now.

 

I wish we had seen more of the Asian ballerina and the Asian ballet guy who got tickets (separately) instead of the in love ballet couple. On a shallow note, I really hated her zebra striped leggings with the cutouts. I agree that Mauicio had very little to do but stand, pose, and pick her up a few times. That was a showcase for Deise so I guess they were hoping he would get through on their story. Normally I don't like when the judges get weepy, but I didn't mind when Christina did it this time, partly because she wasn't crying for an emotionally manipulative dance about death or some other kind of hardship. She was crying because it was beautiful to watch them dance together and be so in love. I always think it's magical when two people who share the same art fall in love and can create together. But I think the other reason I didn't mind Christina crying about this was that she seemed so sincere when she said that she wanted to be a ballet dancer but she couldn't handle it because of the pain. I think that seeing someone else do what she couldn't moved her. Honestly, I think Mauricio should have been sent to choreography just to be fair since he barely danced at all during his audition, but I guess we'll see what happens in the next round.

 

Awwww, Breaksk8! I love that this new segment is turning into the return of ABDC. I liked them on their season of ABDC but I felt like they weren't well suited to the format of ABDC, so it's nice to see them back.

 

I was cracking up that Bieber's choreographer did most of the talking this week. The kid is so high he can't even handle reading a teleprompter anymore.

 

Why did Nigel ask faux Miley about her hair in the first place? She seemed a little too on for me. It kind of cracks me upthat Nigel always fall for the faux quirkiness factor. He's like the clueless suburban guy who sees a girl dressed in head to toe Hot Topic and thinks she's so unique.

 

ITA that I do not need to see the judges' (or audience members') facial expressions or reactions during the auditions. I don't care how dumbfounded or moved they looked. I want to see the dancing, damn it!

 

One thing I really liked about Sebastian's audition is that he just wore a tank top and regular shorts. I feel like some dancers come to the auditions trying to look a certain way (some of them are trying to look like a certain type of dancer) and he just came in looking like a dude who had been sitting on his sofa on a hot day. We didn't have any ballet guys last year so my guess is that we'll have one in the top 20 this year.

 

Normally I hate the sob stories but I felt like Dani's eating disorder was more pertinent because it caused her to quit dancing (and it was probably brought on, at least in part, by dancing). People like to pretend that dance is just this pretty thing but there is so much pressure to have a certain look and stay very thin and eating disorders are prevalent with dancers. It's hard not to when you are being judged for the way your body looks in skintight leotards and tights. What I like is that Dani's body looks very healthy and strong. But oh, Nigel. Once again his double standards rear their ugly heads. It's beautiful to see her with her arm behind her head at a weird angle, but when bone breakers do it, he makes it a point to cringe and talk about how freaky it is.

 

Marie Poppins gets extra points for using a less traditional song for her routine. Normally I'm all emo-ed out after watching one episode of auditions so hearing Sade was nice to hear just on that principle, but it was also nice to see a song that you wouldn't expect to hear for a popping routine. What I really liked about her popping was that sometimes with popping and breaking, there can be a kind of hunched over posture but by staying so upright, Marie made it look very elegant. I liked that she had on a regular outfit too. No crop tops, no booty shorts, nothing weird or crazy or overtly sexy.

 

It was so nice to see so many older contestants (heh and by older I mean older than 19). Off the top of my head this week, Kyle is 28, Sebastian is 24, and Marie is 27.

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I always wonder about people like the tapper. She's from Indianapolis but she came to the LA auditions instead of the ones in Chicago. I mean, I get wanting to take a trip somewhere warm but it's so much more expensive and time consuming to fly halfway across the country than to drive a few hours.

 

Maybe she did audition in Chicago and got cut and wanted to try again?  Pure speculation of course.

 

Personally?  I don't think love of dance or devotion deserves any delineation.  Kids whose parents pay for them to be in the studio 20 hours a week on top of school and any other activities are not any less devoted to dance than anyone else.  They still have to have the requisite commitment and sacrifice - even on someone else's dime.  My opinion and all that! 

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Loved your post, ElectricBoogaloo.  Too long to quote in its entirety, but I agree with a lot of it.

 

All this reaction to sexy dancer Jessica is making me think that sexy young girls (even if I didn't find her terribly sexy) are in a no-win situation.  If they do it well, I wonder if female viewers might react more negatively than not.  If they try, but miss in some way, then they're potentially the objects of ridicule or disdain.  Yet, I do think there is a time and a place for sexy dancing.  In rumba, or in Argentine tango, I love watching it - I could watch it all day.  Maybe it's only a double edged sword in contemporary?  I don't know. 

 

And this has to make me wonder if there would be a double standard if a man tried it.  Anyway.  This is what happens when I start to think.  (doesn't happen often)
 

Heh, it always cracks me up when they hold auditions in the same city where the next round will take place. Come and get your ticket...to the city we're already in! I guess "come and get your bus transfer" doesn't have the same ring to it.

 

HAHA!
 

Please correct me if I am wrong but wasn't Fik-shun a Vegas street performer.  And if Marie is they may have crossed paths at some time.  If that's the case it may have been a spontaneous dance and a joyful hug between two member of the same "tribe". I sort of hope so. When I watched them dance it kind of had that teasing, sparring feeling between two people who already have an idea of what to give and what to take.

Yep, that's what he was doing before he made the show.  I assumed they already knew each other, but I couldn't decide if it seemed like he knew she was going to be there and dancing together was planned or not.

 

OH - this explanation makes me very happy.  If they knew each other ahead of time, and Fik-shun felt inspired to riff with her and also knew she'd be ok with it, and the whole thing was improvised ... yes, I love to believe that is what happened.  Win!

 

I am so glad to keep going back to Danny's post with the links, but I humbly offer that I get confused when the video is above the headline.  I instinctively look for the headline, and then expect the video afterwards.  (Could just be me.)  This made me think Marie Poppins was a boy!

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(edited)

I thought this ep was better than the first one - more actual dancing, only the one sob story, some interesting people, and less jidge nonsense.  I love that one moment where it sounded like they were going to bring a dad on stage and then they did NOT.  And I thought the little girl dancing (although she was clearly more of a gymnast) was a lot nicer than most of the relatives being pulled on stage.

 

The Miley look-alike got on my nerves, but I liked her dancing.  I just don't want to hear her talk - too much nervous energy.  If she could calm down a bit, she might be better, but I don't see it happening. I liked Mary Poppins a lot though she won't get far, which is fine.  She clearly enjoys the heck out of what she does, and it was great to see them showcase someone older, who just wants to dance for the love of dancing, not for the fame.

 

Didn't care for the sexy girl.  The tapper's face reminds me of some actress - can't place it, but I liked her.  Just so sunny. I don't think she'll do as well as last season's Alexis, who I thought was awesome, but she deserved her ticket, I think. 

 

Fikshun was definitely the best in the dance-off, and using that guy as an excuse to see them seemed fine to me.  He wasn't going to make it to 'Vegas', but it was entertaining, and they did not outclass him.  I do think it's interesting that several guys in a row have been all "I don't want to screw my partner".  Makes them seem like nice guys.

 

Bieber, yeesh.  I just fast-forwarded through most of it but I did catch the bicep comment. What are they thinking putting him on TV when he's so obviously baked?

 

ETA:  I meant to mention, the dancer on that ep I most want to see featured in 'Vegas' is the Asian ballet dancer in the quick pass. Her dancing was impressive and she looks like she has a personality they'd feature.

Edited by aethera
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I always wonder about people like the tapper. She's from Indianapolis but she came to the LA auditions instead of the ones in Chicago. I mean, I get wanting to take a trip somewhere warm but it's so much more expensive and time consuming to fly halfway across the country than to drive a few hours.

 

Maybe she had a conflict when the auditions were in Chicago (or couldn't get through the line), and so she went to the LA ones instead?  That's what I always assume happens in cases like that.

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Maybe I have to watch again and pay better attention, but I didn't like Mary Poppins.

 

I also didn't like "alien" girl.  I noticed several times that she would plant her foot for a move (non-dancer here) and the foot would move and she would sort of reposition it.  She also seemed really shaky in several moves.  I think they ONLY let her go through because of her alopecia and I hate that.

 

I agreed that the puppet guy should've been given the ticket to Not!Vegas for his innovation alone.  He won't make it far but it's a nice way to recognize his contribution.  It wasn't really my style, so I thought it was weird, but I still like to give credit where credit is due.

 

LOVED Jaja.  Is she a new member to the group since ABDC?  What happened to Chachi? 

 

What else? Not enough Cat and way too much Bieber.  I love seeing the ABDC (and other) crews and am looking forward to them being on the show so we can see more.

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