S16.E06: Academy 1

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

The first round of the academy callbacks begin with dancers vying for a spot in the top 10.

Original air date: 7/15/19

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Hip hop round boys perform contemporary

First group of guys perform contemporary

Sarah McCreanor (Smac)

Edited July 16, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[displayname]

Why does Gibson look like she's being exorcised half the time?

[healthnut]

First time tuning in this season, I LOVE Laurie Ann from Making the Band days and I even watched her short-lived reality show on E! I think she’s a welcome addition and certainly a vast improvement over Paula and Maddie and whoever the young chick was, I forgot.

I liked that they showed a lot of the routines. I agreed with all the eliminations, the two solos were very underwhelming. 

[Samwise979]

Maybe it was just how it was edited but it seemed like the judges made that one twin dance for his life right then and there with no prep time but then they gave the woman some practice time. 

I wish the audition episodes were cut down to only 1 or 2 episodes (or none!) and beefed up the academy episodes. We went through 3 of 4 choreography rounds in one episode! Iirc at the beginning of the episode Kat said 79 made it to academy and I think it was stated 54 got to the contemporary round but we definitely didn't see 20 something eliminations (or 54 yes's). I'd much prefer to see more finalists dancing the routines than all the auditions. 

So, what happens if there's not an equal male/female number for the ballroom round? Do some people volunteer to dance (unjudged) a second or third time? 

Edited July 16, 2019 by Samwise979

[slaterain]

1 hour ago, Samwise979 said:

Maybe it was just how it was edited but it seemed like the judges made that one twin dance for his life right then and there with no prep time but then they gave the woman some practice time. 

I think that was simply because he was in the last group of that round to go - usually they wait to do all dance for your lives at the end of the round. Sucks that they couldn't give him 5 minutes even to gather himself. Meanwhile the woman was in a middle group so she got some time. I agreed with both cuts and really loved Crack's (?) attitude at the end - it was refreshing to see the respect she had for the show and the other dancer's as opposed to the cuts who claim that it was a travesty that they were cut - cue eye roll!

Same with the 30 year old who came as his drag queen persona last year. I actually wish they had given him a chance to solo or go again. Maybe it was because they were so heavy on contemporary boys. His respect and growth and love of dance was so evident! 

Quote

I wish the audition episodes were cut down to only 1 or 2 episodes (or none!) and beefed up the academy episodes. We went through 3 of 4 choreography rounds in one episode! Iirc at the beginning of the episode Kat said 79 made it to academy and I think it was stated 54 got to the contemporary round but we definitely didn't see 20 something eliminations (or 54 yes's). I'd much prefer to see more finalists dancing the routines than all the auditions. 

YES!!! I actually always enjoy the academy eps as you usually get to see more of their work ethics, personalities come out, and some surprises. I actually was one of the few who enjoyed the group challenges but thought that it was stupid to give it to them at the end of the day. They didn't show them all going through their solos again so I'm guessing because they way all the auditions were vetted and brought to LA that they didn't need to. The ep felt very rushed to fit in 3 rounds of choreo in an hour. Again - still don't really know anyone except the ones who got cut!!! 

I was bummed that the unique kidnap audition woman was cut. I understand it but was bummed as she was the only audition that I actually remembered!

[Keekski]

If Eddie makes top 10 this year, all will be right in SYTYCD world. 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

79 dancers made the academy. 3 female hip-hop dancers of any style. Zero African American female hip hop dancers. That's either pathetic on the show's part....or that's an incredibly poor overall turnout for female hip hop dancers...I'm not sure which.

The ballroom contingent is interesting this year. We've seen more than a handful and I have zero idea who are the "show favorites" at this point. 

Does anyone else think of the old hotel chain every time Howard Johnson shows up to dance?

If I was betting on some people to make top 20 so far....it would be Eddy Hoyt, Mariah Russell, Sophie Pittman, at least one of the 3 female hip-hoppers, that Benjamin Castro guy that they seem to be in love with, and maybe one of the two pint size hip hop guys that did the contemporary choreography together (Bailey or John Jay). I also have a feeling they are going to give Madison Jordan a wildly undeserved slot simply because of the uniqueness (from the alopecia) of her look...

Edited July 16, 2019 by PhD-Purgatory15

[displayname]

1 hour ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

That's either pathetic on the show's part....or that's an incredibly poor overall turnout for female hip hop dancers...I'm not sure which.

Why not both? Hip hop women have hardly been treated well on this show's part.

[Maya S]

1 hour ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

79 dancers made the academy. 3 female hip-hop dancers of any style. Zero African American female hip hop dancers. That's either pathetic on the show's part....or that's an incredibly poor overall turnout for female hip hop dancers...I'm not sure which.

The ballroom contingent is interesting this year. We've seen more than a handful and I have zero idea who are the "show favorites" at this point. 

Does anyone else think of the old hotel chain every time Howard Johnson shows up to dance?

If I was betting on some people to make top 20 so far....it would be Eddy Hoyt, Mariah Russell, Sophie Pittman, at least one of the 3 female hip-hoppers, that Benjamin Castro guy that they seem to be in love with, and maybe one of the two pint size hip hop guys that did the contemporary choreography together (Bailey or John Jay). I also have a feeling they are going to give Madison Jordan a wildly undeserved slot simply because of the uniqueness (from the alopecia) of her look...

I thought Sophie was cut?  I may be mistaken, she did really well in the rounds.  

If Madison keeps doing as well as she did in the ballroom round, she could make it.  I hope they let her dancing speak for itself though, she's good enough to not rely on an inspiring contestant storyline.  

[Samwise979]

You guys talking about Madison made me remember something. During the rehearsal of the ballroom round they showed Madison and her partner dancing (her partner being a ballroom dancer!) and her fiance came up to them and started showing her how to do a particular move. Did anyone else catch that? I thought he was the choreographer at first but then realized it was her fiance in the next scene when they showed him waiting for her back stage. If I was her dance partner that would have really made me mad. Especially if my specialty was the style we were practicing!!

[Terrafamilia]

After they told Smac to prepare for her solo they didn't come back to show what happened to her partner. I was trying to make him out in the crowd during the next round without any luck.

[Tikichick]

22 minutes ago, Samwise979 said:

You guys talking about Madison made me remember something. During the rehearsal of the ballroom round they showed Madison and her partner dancing (her partner being a ballroom dancer!) and her fiance came up to them and started showing her how to do a particular move. Did anyone else catch that? I thought he was the choreographer at first but then realized it was her fiance in the next scene when they showed him waiting for her back stage. If I was her dance partner that would have really made me mad. Especially if my specialty was the style we were practicing!!

I had to rewind and make sure I saw what I thought I saw.  I could have understood if they were both out of genre and really struggling, but to insert himself in when she was dancing with an experienced ballroom partner, who was doing a good job to boot?   

[Lifesabeach]

Just a casual watcher now after being a solid watcher since S1E1.    This seems so staged now,  uucckk.  The only interesting part is the actually dancing.  It really cuts the watching time with a DVD......🐕

[Maya S]

2 hours ago, Samwise979 said:

You guys talking about Madison made me remember something. During the rehearsal of the ballroom round they showed Madison and her partner dancing (her partner being a ballroom dancer!) and her fiance came up to them and started showing her how to do a particular move. Did anyone else catch that? I thought he was the choreographer at first but then realized it was her fiance in the next scene when they showed him waiting for her back stage. If I was her dance partner that would have really made me mad. Especially if my specialty was the style we were practicing!!

I agree, that was invasive and out of line.  If she was really struggling he could still support her without taking over the partnering.  She was with a ballroom dancer in the ballroom round, she didn't need her fiancee teaching steps he was just learning too.  I don't think she would've danced as well as she did in ballroom if she was partnered with her fiancee, it usually pays off if you're paired with someone who knows dances that you don't know.  

[Haleth]

On 7/16/2019 at 3:19 PM, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

If I was betting on some people to make top 20 so far....it would be Eddy Hoyt, Mariah Russell, Sophie Pittman, at least one of the 3 female hip-hoppers, that Benjamin Castro guy that they seem to be in love with, and maybe one of the two pint size hip hop guys that did the contemporary choreography together (Bailey or John Jay). I also have a feeling they are going to give Madison Jordan a wildly undeserved slot simply because of the uniqueness (from the alopecia) of her look...

I think you are absolutely right even though I don't think Eddy or Madison looked particularly good.  I'm surprised they didn't keep the twins for the inevitable comparison but am actually glad they are both gone, and I was surprised Maia (not My-ah) did so poorly.  I think the two non blonde female hip hoppers will make it.  I'm glad they got rid of all the quirky auditioners who had no business being there.

Edited July 18, 2019 by Haleth

[luvthepros]

GINO  GINO  GINO

Will be in the Top 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just watched his audition again. This must happen.

[luvthepros]

20 hours ago, Maya S said:

If Madison keeps doing as well as she did in the ballroom round, she could make it.  I hope they let her dancing speak for itself though, she's good enough to not rely on an inspiring contestant storyline.  

I find Madison to be heavy on her feet......no lightness to her movement. Now....contrast her movement to Gino's movement. Gino moves as if he is suspended in water. His landings are so light, there is no sound when he reaches the ground. He is terrific.

[realdancemom]

2 hours ago, luvthepros said:

GINO  GINO  GINO

Will be in the Top 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just watched his audition again. This must happen.

I think Gino will make it.  I also think one or both Sosas will make it too.  All three of them are cross trained which is what the show likes.  There are better ballroom dancers than the Sosas.  They were just shown in montage so we don't really know that much about them.

22 hours ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

79 dancers made the academy. 3 female hip-hop dancers of any style. Zero African American female hip hop dancers. That's either pathetic on the show's part....or that's an incredibly poor overall turnout for female hip hop dancers...I'm not sure which.

The ballroom contingent is interesting this year. We've seen more than a handful and I have zero idea who are the "show favorites" at this point. 

Does anyone else think of the old hotel chain every time Howard Johnson shows up to dance?

If I was betting on some people to make top 20 so far....it would be Eddy Hoyt, Mariah Russell, Sophie Pittman, at least one of the 3 female hip-hoppers, that Benjamin Castro guy that they seem to be in love with, and maybe one of the two pint size hip hop guys that did the contemporary choreography together (Bailey or John Jay). I also have a feeling they are going to give Madison Jordan a wildly undeserved slot simply because of the uniqueness (from the alopecia) of her look...

I remember Howard Johnson making it very far on one of the years.  His name does remind me of a hotel chain from a long time ago.  He has good technique.

Like the judges, I like Castro.  He just put so much soul into the contemporary routine.  The same could be said about the two hip hop guys.  But the two hip hop guys are too similar so probably only one of them will make it.  But they would need to find a short female as a partner.  This usually isn't a problem for the show.  I also agree with Haleth that if a female hip hop dancer is going to make it, it's going to be one of the two non-blonde ones. 

17 hours ago, Tikichick said:

I had to rewind and make sure I saw what I thought I saw.  I could have understood if they were both out of genre and really struggling, but to insert himself in when she was dancing with an experienced ballroom partner, who was doing a good job to boot?   

I noticed that too and the show pointed it out.  I think he's really protective of her probably because he saw how Madison was bullied when she was younger.  She is lucky to have a ballroom dancer as a partner for the ballroom part but ballroom dancers are not necessarily trained in lifts.  So if the boyfriend already figured it out with his partner and noticed they were having problems with this one lift, I can see why he would want to help.  It just made both of them look better.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

I'm actually not sure the show is going to axe the blonde hip hop girl with tattoos (Anna Linstruth iirc).

The opportunity was there to axe her in the hip hop round, clearing the way for a head to head versus Desi and Sumi (who both got so much more of a spotlight placed on them in the audition episodes). They didn't do it then, and then they focused on her again during the ballroom round and she survived again (and was complimented by the judges as well). I just wonder if she is showing them a lot more in the other styles than what Desi and Sumi are able to. I also wouldn't be shocked if Sophie Pittman turned out to be incredibly cross-trained in (at least studio) hip hop...she seems like she can legitimately fake it as a hip hop dancer, at least in the context of the other out-of-style females we saw doing hip hop this year.

[luvthepros]

4 hours ago, realdancemom said:

......if a female hip hop dancer is going to make it, it's going to be one of the two non-blonde ones. 

1 hour ago, luvthepros said:

The Asian girl is the best of the three Hip Hop girls. I'm not a dance expert but I can see her movement is so on point. I think she is a strong Top10 contender.

Edited July 17, 2019 by luvthepros

[realdancemom]

2 hours ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

I'm actually not sure the show is going to axe the blonde hip hop girl with tattoos (Anna Linstruth iirc).

The opportunity was there to axe her in the hip hop round, clearing the way for a head to head versus Desi and Sumi (who both got so much more of a spotlight placed on them in the audition episodes). They didn't do it then, and then they focused on her again during the ballroom round and she survived again (and was complimented by the judges as well). I just wonder if she is showing them a lot more in the other styles than what Desi and Sumi are able to. I also wouldn't be shocked if Sophie Pittman turned out to be incredibly cross-trained in (at least studio) hip hop...she seems like she can legitimately fake it as a hip hop dancer, at least in the context of the other out-of-style females we saw doing hip hop this year.

I wonder if they know Anna from other things because hip-hop and ballroom are supposedly the first two rounds.  From what they've shown, she's not that good.

I don't remember Sophie in the hip-hop round but I wouldn't be surprised if she was cross-trained since a lot of the competition kids are.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that I agreed with the judges with Jay, Smac, and the twins.  I never thought they were great to begin with even though there are positives for all three.  Jay has improved a lot since last year.  The twins are really good for only doing dance for a short amount of time.  Smac is an entertainer and has really good musicality.  All three things that were evident during their auditions but not good enough to make it to Top 10.

[Tikichick]

23 hours ago, realdancemom said:

I noticed that too and the show pointed it out.  I think he's really protective of her probably because he saw how Madison was bullied when she was younger.  She is lucky to have a ballroom dancer as a partner for the ballroom part but ballroom dancers are not necessarily trained in lifts.  So if the boyfriend already figured it out with his partner and noticed they were having problems with this one lift, I can see why he would want to help.  It just made both of them look better.

So the choreo rounds are offering up combos that not only challenge dancers out of their training, but require moves that dancers trained in the genre wouldn't be expected to have proficiency in?

[Lifesabeach]

On 7/16/2019 at 7:24 PM, Lifesabeach said:

Just a casual watcher now after being a solid watcher since S1E1.    This seems so staged now,  uucckk.  The only interesting part is the actually dancing.  It really cuts the watching time with a DVD......🐕

DVR not DVD 🙃

[realdancemom]

39 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

So the choreo rounds are offering up combos that not only challenge dancers out of their training, but require moves that dancers trained in the genre wouldn't be expected to have proficiency in?

I think the contestants that go to the dance conventions have the best chances of making it through the choreo rounds.  They only give you 90 minutes to learn a routine so you need to be a fast learner.  That's why a lot of hip-hop dancers that are actually better than the studio dancers at hip-hop sometimes have a really difficult time during the hip-hop choreo round.

As for ballroom dancers knowing lifts, it depends on the type of ballroom dancer they are.  But for the most part, Emma and Sasha's choreography will be easier for Latin ballroom dancers since it was mostly Latin dancing.

[luvthepros]

Watched the Academy #1 show again last night. I realized with the second viewing that Gino did not do the lift at the end of Sasha and Emma's Ballroom choreography. Others did not do the lift either. I assume Sasha and Emma gave them an alternative final trick and pose if the dancers did not feel comfortable with the lift.

Gino is may absolute favorite and I'm hoping he will become proficient with lifts if he makes it to the live shows.

[Tikichick]

3 hours ago, realdancemom said:

I think the contestants that go to the dance conventions have the best chances of making it through the choreo rounds.  They only give you 90 minutes to learn a routine so you need to be a fast learner.  That's why a lot of hip-hop dancers that are actually better than the studio dancers at hip-hop sometimes have a really difficult time during the hip-hop choreo round.

As for ballroom dancers knowing lifts, it depends on the type of ballroom dancer they are.  But for the most part, Emma and Sasha's choreography will be easier for Latin ballroom dancers since it was mostly Latin dancing.

Obviously dancers who are used to learning and performing choreography have always had an advantage over dancers who aren't used to picking up choreo quickly and being able to demonstrate it.  That's always been the case with the show from the beginning.  

Every single ballroom audition I can recall that we were shown this season was Latin style.  Matter of fact the only ballroom auditions I can recall outside of Latin over all 16 seasons was Benji Schwimmer, his cousin Heidi G. and sister Lacey Schwimmer, who auditioned with West Coast Swing.   I know from time to time we've had some "less than serious" auditions break into faux waltz, etc., but I believe when it comes to the ballroom auditions Latin has been king.        

[realdancemom]

33 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

Obviously dancers who are used to learning and performing choreography have always had an advantage over dancers who aren't used to picking up choreo quickly and being able to demonstrate it.  That's always been the case with the show from the beginning.  

Every single ballroom audition I can recall that we were shown this season was Latin style.  Matter of fact the only ballroom auditions I can recall outside of Latin over all 16 seasons was Benji Schwimmer, his cousin Heidi G. and sister Lacey Schwimmer, who auditioned with West Coast Swing.   I know from time to time we've had some "less than serious" auditions break into faux waltz, etc., but I believe when it comes to the ballroom auditions Latin has been king.        

I was trying to answer your previous question which I copied below and I wasn't clear enough.  West Coast Swing and cabaret dancers do lifts.  Competition Latin ballroom dancers are not allowed to do lifts.  So they might not have experience doing them.  What I was trying to say is that Emma and Sasha's routine had maybe one lift (not sure) so even if somebody messed up on the lift, the judges would have probably let them through if they were really good at doing Latin ballroom.  Based on luvthepros' last post, the lift might have been optional.

5 hours ago, Tikichick said:

So the choreo rounds are offering up combos that not only challenge dancers out of their training, but require moves that dancers trained in the genre wouldn't be expected to have proficiency in?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Nigel's comments usually make me roll my eyes but what he told the first b-boy group was the truth for anyone who wants to be a professional dancer. If you make a mistake or lose your place in the choreography, you just have to keep going without giving it away in your face or your body language. That's what separates the amateurs from the professionals. When a pro dancer makes a mistake, they keep going and they do it with so much confidence and purpose that you will believe they had a solo.  That's what you have to do whenever you make a mistake, whether it's during an audition or while you're performing for a paying audience.

Despite the fact that Sumi got barely any closeups during the hip hop round, even in the long shots my eye was drawn to her. If they end up taking only one hip hop girl, I hope she's the one!

I felt bad for Colton's partner during the ballroom section when he said that she had to do all the leading. As a female dancer, it sucks to be in that position. Leading is a skill that you have to learn so any of the guys who have no experience in it are at a disadvantage, as are their partners. Therer are some parts of ballroom that you can pull off without the guy actively leading, but as Emma pointed out with that one specific move, this isn't just two people dancing near each other.

In Colton's defense, I know he wasn't the only guy with no partnering experience so I'm not specifically picking on him. His comment just reminded me now difficult it can be for a female to do ballroom when the guy isn't leading at all. I remember when I took a ballroom class and I had to lead every guy I danced with because they didn't know how. It is definitely a challenge so I always feel bad for any female dancers who are being judged while trying to drag their partner backwards.

I hate how obvious it is that the judges have their favorites and that they just ues the academy rounds to cut everyone else. Eddie was terrible in the ballroom round but they kept him and cut other people who weren't nearly as obviously bad.

I didn't have an issue with Jarrod's advice for Madison because when I went back and rewatched, I could see that he was standing behind Madison and her partner while they practiced, so I assume he was watching in order to give feedback (which is very common with dancers). The comment he gave her wasn't ballroom specific so he wasn't stepping on her partner's toes. It was about the way she was going into the lift/flip. He told her that she was jumping into it rather than letting her partner lift her.

The info he gave her should help both Madison and her partner with that trick. Females sometimes do jump into tricks like that thinking that it will help (and for certain lifts/tricks, it does help so that your partner isn't bench pressing your entire body weight over his head) but it can cause your partner to have to catch your downward trajectory when they should be pushing you up. It's the difference between someone tossing a heavy medicine ball at you (which requires you to bend slightly to catch it) as opposed to someone holding that same heavy medicine ball and then you reach underneath to take the weight of it and then move your arms upward to lift it away from the first person.

What I liked about Smac's solo was that she had a clear story. I also liked that she is obviously a performer who is there to entertain the audience. I think she has dance skills (her center split leap was great) but that her solo didn't include enough technical skills to convince the judges to keep her. The judges are so used to seeing solos that are trick after trick that in comparison, Smac's looked like nothing. I think if she had included just a few more technical dance skills, that would have shown the judges more of what she's capable of doing.

I always root for the b-boy and hip hop dancers to do well in contemporary so I was thrilled that Bailey and John John did so well but I know that the judges will not take both of them into the top 10. How much do you want to bet that the judges will bring both of them out together and say there's only one spot left? Or are they going to save that for the Sosa siblings? Or maybe Madison and her boyfriend? As soon as they eliminated one of the twins, I was like welp, which twosome are they going to get to fulfill that tearful "only one of you is in the top 10" spot?

Edited July 18, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[luvthepros]

While Googling Spielberg's remake of West Side Story, I came across an article about the Broadway revival of WSS coming February 2020.

Gino Cosculluela has been cast in the Broadway revival ensemble. Rehearsals begin October 2019.

Congratulations Gino!!!

Edited July 19, 2019 by luvthepros

[displayname]

12 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I think she has dance skills (her center split leap was great) but that her solo didn't include enough technical skills to convince the judges to keep her. The judges are so used to seeing solos that are trick after trick that in comparison, Smac's looked like nothing. I think if she had included just a few more technical dance skills, that would have shown the judges more of what she's capable of doing. 

I agree this is why she was probably let go, but at the same time it's so annoying that flash is opted for over interpretation and musicality. Although I do think she can make a nice interpretation and have it be a technically demanding piece, too, so it's sad we never got to see that either.

I was more impressed this week than I was during the auditions. I liked the BBoys doing contemporary, and Castro, too. I got only a few glimpses of Sumi, but I agree she was impressive, much more so than in her auditions for me. Sad that Smac was let go, but I think she is probably right (as she says on her YT vid) that she's not meant for the show. I don't think I am impressed by a single contemporary dancer outside of Castro thus far, so I am not looking forward to the usual Chosen One (which will probably be Cosculluela).

[Jsage]

Quote

Watched the Academy #1 show again last night. I realized with the second viewing that Gino did not do the lift at the end of Sasha and Emma's Ballroom choreography. Others did not do the lift either. I assume Sasha and Emma gave them an alternative final trick and pose if the dancers did not feel comfortable with the lift.

I noticed a lot of the the couples didn't do the lift at the end. I think Emma and Sasha put that in there so that the especially talented dancers had a way to stand out. I don't think any of the other dancers were cut if all they did wrong was omit that one trick.

[realdancemom]

4 hours ago, displayname said:

I agree this is why she was probably let go, but at the same time it's so annoying that flash is opted for over interpretation and musicality. Although I do think she can make a nice interpretation and have it be a technically demanding piece, too, so it's sad we never got to see that either.

I was more impressed this week than I was during the auditions. I liked the BBoys doing contemporary, and Castro, too. I got only a few glimpses of Sumi, but I agree she was impressive, much more so than in her auditions for me. Sad that Smac was let go, but I think she is probably right (as she says on her YT vid) that she's not meant for the show. I don't think I am impressed by a single contemporary dancer outside of Castro thus far, so I am not looking forward to the usual Chosen One (which will probably be Cosculluela).

I think Smac just needed one maybe two more technique moves.  The problem is that the judges should have given that type of constructive criticism during her audition so she could have implemented it.  Maybe, they didn't because she did do a little more technique in her audition but even then I wanted to see maybe one or two more moves.  Of course, I don't want a competition trick heavy routine either.

I also liked this episode more than the auditions.  In my previous post, I mentioned that I enjoyed the BBoys and Castro's contemporary because they put their souls into it.  I would rather see that then somebody who is technically great but dances stone faced.  I think Gino (is he Cosculluela?) is very good but I think he would be even better in one or two more years.  Then he would have a little more maturity to his dancing.  But I wouldn't be upset if he made top 10.

I thought Sumi was also great in her audition.  I liked her audition more than Desi's.  I also liked her the best out of the three hip hop women during the hip hop round.  She's sharp, sexy, and funny at the same time.  Desi is a beast although she tried to do emotional during her audition.  I think Desi is cross-trained but I'm not sure how much cross training Sumi has.

1 hour ago, Jsage said:

I noticed a lot of the the couples didn't do the lift at the end. I think Emma and Sasha put that in there so that the especially talented dancers had a way to stand out. I don't think any of the other dancers were cut if all they did wrong was omit that one trick.

Now that I think about it, I seem to recall couples that made it through that botched up that lift.  As I previously mentioned, I doubt the judges would cut anybody that was really good at ballroom but screwed up the lift.  However, you would get more brownie points if you did both well.

[displayname]

1 hour ago, realdancemom said:

I think Smac just needed one maybe two more technique moves.  The problem is that the judges should have given that type of constructive criticism during her audition so she could have implemented it.  Maybe, they didn't because she did do a little more technique in her audition but even then I wanted to see maybe one or two more moves. 

It is possible, yeah. I wish the judges would just give another chance on the very same routine, instead of this "dance in your own genre" stuff, because not only does it not make any sense to make a contemporary dancer stay based off their contemporary skills when they're weak in ballroom, it's entirely possible they'll be doing the shtick they were accepted for during the auditions (maybe even due to what the producers told them to do).

1 hour ago, realdancemom said:

  In my previous post, I mentioned that I enjoyed the BBoys and Castro's contemporary because they put their souls into it.  I would rather see that then somebody who is technically great but dances stone faced. 

Yes, me too. Hate it in figure skating, hate it in dance. I'd rather see someone dance with soul or fire and have slightly sloppy technique, than have perfect lines but bad emotion.

1 hour ago, realdancemom said:

 I think Gino (is he Cosculluela?) is very good but I think he would be even better in one or two more years.  Then he would have a little more maturity to his dancing.  But I wouldn't be upset if he made top 10.

Yes, that's Gino. I think he's technically alright, but I agree he needs to mature. I will be fine with him making the top 10, but I'd rather someone better were pushed (as someone inevitably will be), rather than yet another technically sound, immature contemporary dancer, though. It'd be better if he were showing a great range of movement, or musicality, or creativity in his solos, because maturity and age are tied together somewhat, but his audition solo wasn't interesting either, IIRC, quite a generic contemporary solo.

1 hour ago, realdancemom said:

I thought Sumi was also great in her audition.  I liked her audition more than Desi's.  I also liked her the best out of the three hip hop women during the hip hop round.  She's sharp, sexy, and funny at the same time.  Desi is a beast although she tried to do emotional during her audition.  I think Desi is cross-trained but I'm not sure how much cross training Sumi has.

I had to check my comments on Sumi. I remember her, but not what she did, and I was right that I hadn't found her routine the most interesting during the auditions. She seems technically very, very good, maybe won't be versatile, but I'll have her in the top 10 over several others, at least as long as someone else doesn't catch my eye next week. I didn't even remember Desi, though.

Edited July 19, 2019 by displayname

[realdancemom]

23 minutes ago, displayname said:

It is possible, yeah. I wish the judges would just give another chance on the very same routine, instead of this "dance in your own genre" stuff, because not only does it not make any sense to make a contemporary dancer stay based off their contemporary skills when they're weak in ballroom, it's entirely possible they'll be doing the shtick they were accepted for during the auditions (maybe even due to what the producers told them to do).

I had to check my comments on Sumi. I remember her, but not what she did, and I was right that I hadn't found her routine the most interesting during the auditions. She seems technically very, very good, maybe won't be versatile, but I'll have her in the top 10 over several others, at least as long as someone else doesn't catch my eye next week. I didn't even remember Desi, though.

Yes, I like your idea better about re-doing the routine.  They let the three hip-hop females do that.  You're right that it makes more sense than doing a dance for your life solo.

For Sumi, her audition wasn't the most interesting of all the auditions.  But I like it the best out of the three hip-hop females.  The blonde one was montaged but I still could tell that I liked Desi's and Sumi's auditions better.

[realdancemom]

On 7/18/2019 at 5:54 PM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I hate how obvious it is that the judges have their favorites and that they just ues the academy rounds to cut everyone else. Eddie was terrible in the ballroom round but they kept him and cut other people who weren't nearly as obviously bad.

I remember this comment because both Eddie and Anna were ballroom partners.  Both of them were terrible at ballroom.  Yet, they made the top 20.  Desi wasn't outstanding in ballroom but I did think she did a lot better than Anna especially since she danced at the same time with two strong ballroom women, Ashley and Sofia.  I thought Desi also was better during the hip-hop round.  Since they didn't show them during the contemporary round, I can't do a comparison with that.  But yeah on judges choosing favorites.

Edited July 23, 2019 by realdancemom
Edit since I mixed up Sofia and Sophie. Sofia is the strong ballroom dancer. I like Sophie too as I rewatch the hip-hop round. But I don't remember what she did in ballroom.

[Cuatro1234]

It seems from past shows that the judges take the choreographers’ opinions into consideration as well, so if someone has trouble picking up the choreo quickly or is whiny, that could be factored in, even though to the viewing audience, the audition routine went well.  I think Nigel even referenced that in this week’s show (Academy #2) when he said “these dancers don’t realize that every second here counts” (or something similar).