S11.E05: Pasadena Callbacks

[Bella]

I find myself staring at the tattoos and not focusing on the dance.  Not a good look for most dancers.  The problem is what some might consider a beautiful tattoo, others might see it as a monstrosity. 

 

This is the problem as I see it. I have no tattoos, but many of my friends do, and I know from talking to them that the tats are deeply personal and meaningful to them. However, without an extended conversation, I couldn't possibly tell you the significance of a given tattoo. For most people, that's a "so what?" But dancers perform in front of others. So if a dancer has a visible tattoo that is not beautiful, it has potential to detract from the image that the dance is meant to convey.

[luvthepros]

......I have to say, I wasn't getting the Ricky love at all, but damn if that solo wasn't one of my faves of all time on this show. That was just on another level.......

 

 

Here is another solo of Ricky's that is humous, showing us another side of himself.....

http://youtu.be/wZTLFWqRzh8

[Jobiska]

There are several guys I like, Marcquet, Ricky, the two friends.  The guy tap dancer was adorable.  I love Stanley,

 

Have to say I agree with Kara on all these.  I was sorry that silky and Johnny Waacks got cut too.  I had to go back to the audition recap to check the name of the ballerina with a crush on that guest judge, and was sorry to see she'd been cut.  The only woman who has made much of a favorable impression on me is the female tapper.  

[Steph01924]

Here is another solo of Ricky's that is humous, showing us another side of himself.....

http://youtu.be/wZTLFWqRzh8

 

Ha, that was pretty funny and creative! He seems like he has a fun personality. Thanks for posting!

 

I did really love his final solo of the callbacks. It was different, which is what I'm looking for after seeing so many seasons - give me something interesting in your routine.

[Jobiska]

Oh, meant to say--they showed the four final dance crews and no Bieber!  Please let that have been the extent of his presence on the show!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I never miss Mia. She's the queen of nasty. There was a season where she had a couple of clear favorites and then she just shredded everyone else, and Adam just sat next to her and parroted her. Ugh.

I never miss Mia. As a judge she makes no attempt to hide her personal bias about the contestants. If she likes someone she fawns all over them no matter what they do. If she dislikes someone, she verbally trashes them no matter how well they dance. As a choreographer, she's overrated. She loves her reputation as being tough on the dancers and relishes telling them how hard her routine is going to be. Then you look at something like Dead Daddy Dance and it's literally two people standing around a stage for 90 seconds doing almost no dancing at all.

So no meet the top 20? We go right to the elimination round? That's been my fave episode each season without the voting and elimination shenanigans. Just pure, beautiful dancing in their own styles.

My tv listings show next week's episode as Meet the Top 20 so I guess we will see! I hope they do it again this year. I love watching the dancers get to do something in their style together.

[legaleagle53]

I also believe that Louis Van Amstel choreographed a couple of the numbers for Meet the Top 20.  He tweeted this yesterday:

 

 Started 1st rehearsal for #sytycd Meet the top 20. The show airs July 2. So excited to be back on the show @dizzyfeet @FOXTV #ChaCha #Samba

 

 

Is it July 2 yet?

[luvthepros]

......My tv listings show next week's episode as Meet the Top 20 so I guess we will see! I hope they do it again this year. I love watching the dancers get to do something in their style together.

I've read that the viewers will be voting on "The Meet the Top 20" show. It's not only a showcase of the dancers in their own genres but the start of the competition.

[NextIteration]

Oh, meant to say--they showed the four final dance crews and no Bieber!  Please let that have been the extent of his presence on the show!

 

He was in the same clothes for all 4 audition episodes, so he probably spent about 20 minutes recording the whole thing - I'm pretty sure he never called the crews out by name.  If he did, he never said who was leading in tweets or whatever, he and his choreographer just pointed at the bottom of the screen.  This is all to say, that I think there is a good chance that we won't see him again.

[Gardencrown]

 

I've read that the viewers will be voting on "The Meet the Top 20" show. It's not only a showcase of the dancers in their own genres but the start of the competition.

What the wha??? How is that going to work? We vote for individuals or couples or...how do they put couples together, etc. etc.

 

Sad to hear that Nigel is being a defensive tool on Twitter.

 

 

This show may not have a season 12. Moreover, look at how well Cyrus did with his rawness and how poorly Mariah did despite her cross-genre excellence. There's no way to predict who the audience will gravitate to. IMHO, better to cut one of the contemporary women and let Jaja take her chances this year. Worst case scenario she's a relatively earlyish cut who gives the audience some solo diversity and (hopefully) a good Meet the Top 20 number.

This is exactly where I come down on not casting JaJa. Blueprint anyone? Jose from Season 7? Legacy? None of them great at other styles. (Frankly, I never loved Jose in his own style, but maybe that's just me). And as many have pointed out, TWitch and Cyrus were no great shakes at a number of dances, but dude, they were engaging and many cared about them. And let's not forget Comfort, dog love her, in Broadway, etc. But she was so so so worth it to have on the show. I would argue that Comfort is one of the show's greatest legacies. WIsh, wish we could have seen JaJa. And IF IF there is a season 12, there dang well better be some JaJa!

 

I'm trying not to have negative assumptions about anyone, but Bridget rubs me the wrong way. I thought that Jessica and Bridget proved that if you were "castable" in terms of style and looks, judges will slip you through the rounds that you suck at. On Jessica -- I actually think there's real technique under the sexy schtick. So I'm willing to give her a shot.

 

Random thoughts: Landon looked SO freakin' heartbroken about being cut. My cold black heart almost melted. I wanted Silky (who for some reason I kept calling Slinky, which could have made for fun for me in messing up his name). And I thought that Johnny Whacks was going to get cut because no matter how great of a partner he was or how great of an individual dancer, he didn't fit Nigel's vision of "dancing like a dude."

 

So...Ricky, Marcquet, perhaps Jourdan? I vow to keep an open (ish) mind. (Damn, no JaJa, damn)

[auntlada]

I don't remember who most of the top 20 are (at least by name) so I watched some of the audition videos on YouTube. Casey Askew (whose audition episode I apparently missed so I don't know where he auditioned) looks like Val Kilmer when he was considerably younger. The extra tall hair contributed to that.

[NextIteration]

I am not as in love with Ricky as everybody else is. I think he is ok, a good enough dancer, but he is so young and he dances immaturely.

 

Neither am I, I find his dancing reading feminine as well, which I really don't like.  He reminds me of Jakob Karr and Billy Bell; I know I'm supposed to think they are amazing, but they honestly leave me rather cold.  The over-flexibility and odd feet well, I can't quite put my finger on it, but I don't like it.  I'll go quietly sit in the corner by myself on this, lol.

 

For different reasons, I felt the same way about Melanie, she still leaves me cold.

Edited June 27, 2014 by NextIteration

[90PercentGravity]

I hadn't even noticed him before his solo last night, but it really got my attention. That said, when I watched some of his numbers on the YouTube I thought his choreography was often way too literal. That shouldn't be an issue on show, though, since he will have better (supposedly) choreographers.

 

Even though I can't stand Nigel, I did enjoy his swipe at Dance Moms.

[DanaMB]

So are we having a top 20 with one winner and not top ten girls/top ten boys with a winner from each?

[luvthepros]

What the wha??? How is that going to work? We vote for individuals or couples or...how do they put couples together, etc. etc.

 

I've watched all the FOX T20 interviews and it seems the pairings for next week's T20 showcase is only for the first week. The dancers are paired with dancers who specialize in the same dance genre, just as previous seasons have done. I'm not sure if there will be groups routines or just couples but the voting will be for individual dancers. This will be the first time the viewers get to vote on the contestants dancing their specialty genre. I think this is going to work out just fine, IMHO.

So are we having a top 20 with one winner and not top ten girls/top ten boys with a winner from each?

Yes, that's correct. One winner......Yay!

Neither am I, I find his dancing reading feminine as well, which I really don't like.  He reminds me of Jakob Karr and Billy Bell; I know I'm supposed to think they are amazing, but they honestly leave me rather cold.  The over-flexibility and odd feet well, I can't quite put my finger on it, but I don't like it.  I'll go quietly sit in the corner by myself on this, lol.

 

For different reasons, I felt the same way about Melanie, she still leaves me cold.

What is odd about Ricky's feet? Are they also over flexible? I think he's got great toe point. I'm not a trained dancer so what do I know?

Edited June 27, 2014 by luvthepros

[NextIteration]

What is odd about Ricky's feet? Are they also over flexible? I think he's got great toe point. I'm not a trained dancer so what do I know?

 

If I could articulate it better I would, laughs, that's why I said I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  And I'm not positive that "feminine" was the right adjective either... but aside from saying straight out that they "bug me" without any reason I'm trying to express part of what bothers me about them and leaves me cold.  I can see that they are good dancers, but I never "feel" anything about them, except wishing that someone else were in their place.  It's rather illogical, I'm aware. ;)

 

And yes, it is somewhat, for lack of a better description the over articulation in his feet.

 

I realize that I am an odd duck.  And?  I'm just a dance mom, not a trained dancer.

[Bosman]

Watching the show last night, I realized that I've gone from loving this show to hate-watching this show. Maybe I'm tired of the format. Or the inconsistent judging. And the stunt judging. Tara Lipinski? WTF? Then there is Nigel. Ugh. They will probably introduce stripper pole as a style so that he can save his gross crush Jessica for more inappropriate drooling. And dead-dad girl? So very average and uninteresting. I can only think she was cast as fodder.

 

Add me as someone else who hopes that Mia does not make an apperance. I can't stomach another of of her VERY IMPORTANT ROUTINES!!!!

[Cuatro1234]

 

I would have preferred to see Armen Way in the Top 20, but I don't know who I would like to have seen cut.  He seemed very strong in all styles, so I have to think it came down to casting.  What didn't he have in that respect that the other ballroom boys did?

 

Bourbon, I'm wondering if Armen looked too much like Ricky.  Ricky definitely seems to be a jidges' fave.

 

 

I like Ricky.  I'm glad he shaved his facial skrag.  He looked like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

 

Bwah ha, thanks for the laugh!  And I hope you had to look up how to spell "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad!!

 

Scoot over and make room for me on the "missing JaJa" bus :(

 

I also find many of the tattoos distracting.

Edited June 27, 2014 by Cuatro1234

[ElleTwoThree]

Neither am I, I find his dancing reading feminine as well, which I really don't like.  He reminds me of Jakob Karr and Billy Bell; I know I'm supposed to think they are amazing, but they honestly leave me rather cold.  The over-flexibility and odd feet well, I can't quite put my finger on it, but I don't like it.  I'll go quietly sit in the corner by myself on this, lol.

 

For different reasons, I felt the same way about Melanie, she still leaves me cold.

 

I don't know about femininity, there is a certain beauty in feminine male dancers I believe, I just find that his dancing is very immature. I can see that he has wonderful flexibility, his musicality is not bad either, but to me (important, YMMV!) there is nothing behind it, it is 1-2-3-4, 2-2-3-4 without the feeling behind it. Which is normal because he is 18 and probably a competition dancer (which means he has done 50 routines that all look very much the same in fairly quick succession). And I agree, I thought Billy Bell (couldn't remember his last name) when I first saw him and I can see the Jakob Karr comparison too. And both left me cold too (though I warmed to Karr right at the very very very end) for similar reasons. And I think it also bothered me that they showed him do a 3 minute routine and then did not show anybody else's final solo, but that is not at all up to him and I shouldn't blame him for it.

But let's wait, he might blow us away in other styles (or he might have everything catered to him as he is clearly a favourite), it is not really fair to make a judgement call this early on.

 

Watching the show last night, I realized that I've gone from loving this show to hate-watching this show. Maybe I'm tired of the format. Or the inconsistent judging. And the stunt judging. Tara Lipinski? WTF? Then there is Nigel. Ugh. They will probably introduce stripper pole as a style so that he can save his gross crush Jessica for more inappropriate drooling. And dead-dad girl? So very average and uninteresting. I can only think she was cast as fodder.

 

 

I admit, I don't own a TV so I watched it all in assorted youtube clips and missed out the whole intro. Was Tara Lipinski the woman whose head was 4 times too big for her body? 

Since none of the judges give constructive criticism anyway, I don't mind the random guest judge. They are not going to make a difference. Back in the day when people like Wade would guest judge, the criticism helped improve the dancing, but in the last few years it is just "you are amazing" "you let me down" and "wow, your growth is astonishing" (as well as "AHHH BLABLABLA TRAIN!"). I think they should have choreographers guest judge, ideally those who have worked with them (so each week one choreographer should sit out from doing choreos and judge instead, or the group choreographer should judge), that way they would be able to actually tell the dancers something rather than just "guide the audience" (which is what they do right now).

 

In my rant yesterday I forgot my main rant I had while watching: why the hell do they do the dance for your life bit? It is clearly just to showcase certain dancers better (but Jaja for example didn't even make it through, so all that showcasing led to nowhere) because obviously they were amazing in their own style otherwise they wouldn't be there (plus they watched them in their own style like 3 days ago when they arrived and if they are really looking to see if their own style was great, they could look at recordings (from 3 days ago!!) rather than have them do another dance that will look identical to that one). The problem is not in her own style, it is in other styles, why watch Jaja krump again? We know she can krump! The issue is she can't chacha or whatever (I can't remember which dance she got "dance for your life"d for, I know it wasn't ballroom, chacha is just a stand-in for whatever it was). I wanted Jaja to go through because I love me a female hiphopper (Sara!) but it was blatant that she was not nailing the other styles (except for the ballroom, that was unexpectedly amazing), I thought what we saw of her in contempo (or jazz) looked anything but graceful. Which is fine, none of the b-boys look graceful or point their toes and they (often) make great additions to the show, but there is no point in seeing them b-boy in exchange for a bad round of choreo. Instead they could just accept it, remember (because it was 3 days ago!) that they loved them in their own style and give them a pass without the whole "dance for your life" charade.

Edited June 27, 2014 by ElleTwoThree

[Bella]

Neither am I, I find his dancing reading feminine as well, which I really don't like.  He reminds me of Jakob Karr and Billy Bell; I know I'm supposed to think they are amazing, but they honestly leave me rather cold.  The over-flexibility and odd feet well, I can't quite put my finger on it, but I don't like it.  I'll go quietly sit in the corner by myself on this, lol.

 

For different reasons, I felt the same way about Melanie, she still leaves me cold.

 

For me, Ricky was an odd mix of three types: 1. I like him and he draws me in; 2. He doesn't draw me in enough, yet I feel like I'm expected to like him more; 3. He's definitely too competition-oriented or too-something. I felt like Jakob, Billy, and Melanie were mixes of the first two, but not so much the third. I really disliked Ricky's YouTube performance someone linked to yesterday (sorry). I felt he was ticking off a checklist of tricks. It will be interesting to see if he does well outside of his genre - I am prepared to be won over, but he'll have to show me something I haven't seen yet.

 

Add me as someone else who hopes that Mia does not make an apperance. I can't stomach another of of her VERY IMPORTANT ROUTINES!!!!

 

Me, too. I can't stand her biases as a judge, and I'd just like to see dancers do her choreography without all the pre-performance worship from Nigel et al.

 

In my rant yesterday I forgot my main rant I had while watching: why the hell do they do the dance for your life bit? It is clearly just to showcase certain dancers better (but Jaja for example didn't even make it through, so all that showcasing led to nowhere) because obviously they were amazing in their own style otherwise they wouldn't be there (plus they watched them in their own style like 3 days ago when they arrived and if they are really looking to see if their own style was great, they could look at recordings (from 3 days ago!!) rather than have them do another dance that will look identical to that one). The problem is not in her own style, it is in other styles, why watch Jaja krump again? We know she can krump! The issue is she can't chacha or whatever (I can't remember which dance she got "dance for your life"d for, I know it wasn't ballroom, chacha is just a stand-in for whatever it was). I wanted Jaja to go through because I love me a female hiphopper (Sara!) but it was blatant that she was not nailing the other styles (except for the ballroom, that was unexpectedly amazing), I thought what we saw of her in contempo (or jazz) looked anything but graceful. Which is fine, none of the b-boys look graceful or point their toes and they (often) make great additions to the show, but there is no point in seeing them b-boy in exchange for a bad round of choreo. Instead they could just accept it, remember (because it was 3 days ago!) that they loved them in their own style and give them a pass without the whole "dance for your life" charade.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for articulating what I've been thinking since I began watching this show in Season 3.

[Haleth]

I like Ricky's performances on the show, not so much the YouTube videos.  I'm happy Marquet made the show and surprised Armen was cut.  Nigel really really dislikes him I guess.  Most of the others kind of blend together, especially the girls.  I remember sexy dance long hair blonde and 11 sibling blonde but not much else.  The tapper girl is from my city so I'll be rooting for her.  Looking forward to next week!

[tvloserlife]

So this is my first time posting here, I've been quietly lurking in the background but wanted to chime in quickly to comment.

 

I love the top 10 guys but I really cannot tell the girls apart.  I am particularly excited for the ballroom boys and Ricky.  Also extremely disappointed about Jaja - I have such a soft spot for hip hop girls!  There are never enough of them and the ones that make it through don't make it very far!  Also sad that Silky didn't make it through since I adored his audition and would vastly prefer him to Rudy.

 

Also quick comment on this:

They will probably introduce stripper pole as a style so that he can save his gross crush Jessica for more inappropriate drooling.

Pole dancing is a very legitimate dance form when done properly.  Eliana did pole dancing and she was beautiful, and personally I would love if they allowed pole dancing to be a category, except I understand the issue with logistics of bringing a pole to an audition. (Full disclosure: I pole dance)  That said, I worry what someone like Jessica would do with it because she would probably only help to perpetuate the stigma against it.

 

That being said, I have mixed feelings about Jessica - you can definitely see she has some technique, and she is not as grating as Jordan from season 8, so there's still some potential there.  We'll see how the live shows go!

[beeble]

So Nigel tweeted that there may not be a season 12…anyone know why? This show gets strong ratings, as far as I can tell, and gets nominated for or wins Emmys, thereby increasing some of Fox's artistic cred, and who wouldn't want to watch Cat Deeley in the summer?? She's my summer time BFF!

 

Add me to the list of grumpies who can't figure out why Tara Lipinski got to be an important decision making judge. I'll never forgive her for stealing Michelle Kwan's gold medal back in '98 so she has a lot of explaining to do.

[OakGoblinFly]

Unpopular opinion, I don't find Marquet's dancing appealing.  I don't like the blonde ballroom girl (everything about her screams fakey-fake and little girl trying to play at being sexy grown-up) and I all the contemporary/jazz dancers blur together.  I only remember Stanley and Ricky mostly because of their personality.

 

I did like the one male tap dancer (Zach I think); I noticed him every time he showed up on screen and I really like Marlene (she's the dark haired ballroom dancer, yes)?

[crowceilidh]

I think that many of the criticisms laid at Mia's door are things the show did to her.  I think they asked her to play nasty judge and I think the sycophantic hallowing of her choreo is on the show, not her. I loved most of her choreo and found some of her judging to be very interesting/useful.  I was annoyed by some of her antics, but I didn't think they really originated with her.  I also miss 'lil' C, especially his judging which, verbose as it was, is more interesting than anything Nigel or Mary have ever said.

And, I can't stand the dead-dad girl and think it's unlikely that anyone who has been given so much airtime is being cast as fodder.

[Jrae9233]

So this is my first time posting here, I've been quietly lurking in the background but wanted to chime in quickly to comment.

 

I love the top 10 guys but I really cannot tell the girls apart.  I am particularly excited for the ballroom boys and Ricky.  Also extremely disappointed about Jaja - I have such a soft spot for hip hop girls!  There are never enough of them and the ones that make it through don't make it very far!  Also sad that Silky didn't make it through since I adored his audition and would vastly prefer him to Rudy.

 

Also quick comment on this:

Pole dancing is a very legitimate dance form when done properly.  Eliana did pole dancing and she was beautiful, and personally I would love if they allowed pole dancing to be a category, except I understand the issue with logistics of bringing a pole to an audition. (Full disclosure: I pole dance)  That said, I worry what someone like Jessica would do with it because she would probably only help to perpetuate the stigma against it.

 

That being said, I have mixed feelings about Jessica - you can definitely see she has some technique, and she is not as grating as Jordan from season 8, so there's still some potential there.  We'll see how the live shows go!

I'm a pole dancer too and I do a way more sexualized type of dance than Jessica and I really do not see anything stripperish in what Jessica presented.  She has some good technique and I really enjoyed her Feeling Good performance.  I hate that if you dare to be even a little bit sexual and female you are deemed stripper.  There is nothing wrong with a bit of sexuality. 

 

I think people didn't mind when Eliana did her pole routine because both times she used the pole, she showed off her tecnique and strength, which is an awesome part of pole work.  I believe if she had added a body roll or a cat pounce she would have been called a stripper too.

[ElleTwoThree]

 I don't like the blonde ballroom girl (everything about her screams fakey-fake and little girl trying to play at being sexy grown-up) and I all the contemporary/jazz dancers blur together.  I only remember Stanley and Ricky mostly because of their personality.

 

I did like the one male tap dancer (Zach I think); I noticed him every time he showed up on screen and I really like Marlene (she's the dark haired ballroom dancer, yes)?

 

Yeah, I am not a fan of blond ballroom girl either but did like the split second we saw of a couple of girls we magically never saw pre green mile (one does ballet, the other one contemporary I believe). I agree that she looks fake and her dancing hasn't impressed me either so far.

 

The tap dancer looks fun, he kind of reminds me a little of Benji Schwimmer with his funny face and all (but again is so young... I actually went on wikipedia to see if I was just being ageist but 8 out of ten boys are 20 and under with most of them being 18, and 8 out of 10 girls are 21 and under. That is ridiculous! Are all the other dancers 20 and over employed? Where are they??).

[bourbon]

Bourbon, I'm wondering if Armen looked too much like Ricky.  Ricky definitely seems to be a jidges' fave.

 

 

 

Hmmm, I don't know, considering how many times they've cast interchangeable-looking female contestants in the past (I'm still not sure I can tell Tiffany and Audrey apart).  I'm wondering what the target audience for this show is...I have a theory about his Armen not being cast, and I think that TPTB are trying to aim for a teenage dance-fan.  They tend to go with sexually non-threatening males on the show for the most part.  Even the male dancers that are very handsome or "ballroom sexy" seem to be basically non-threatening.  I think there's something sort of aggressive and adult about the way Armen dances, unlike cute ballroom boys Nick and Marquet or even Serge.  Is something like that off-putting for the audience they're trying to court?  I don't know.  Maybe they thought he was just an a-hole.

[waving feather]

I did like the one male tap dancer (Zach I think); I noticed him every time he showed up on screen

ITA. I have never seen him before but whenever he was dancing, even in other styles, he really stood out. Especially in that group contemporary dance with Johnny Waacks and Malene. There were about 3 or 4 contemporary specialists in the group but my eyes kept going to him in a good way, so he must be doing something right. There's a quality of movement that reminded me a bit of Jess Leprotto's. I'm excited to see him do tap and also other styles. Not so excited the girl tap dancer though. She's not as smooth or quick on her feet in other styles.

 

Emilio is also adorable and stunning in his own style. Let's hope he can do other styles too.

 

I don't think Jessica's dancing is stripper-ish. She has good technique and with all the talks about dancers falling out of their turns (i.e. Ricky), I've noticed that Jessica always completes her turns and never wobble to one side like the other contemporary dancers. The only thing I have issue is that she dances immaturely (because of her age). Ricky has the same problem. He is like Billy Bell to me. I disagree that Jakob Karr is anything like them though. Jakob definitely has more maturity in his dancing (IMO).

 

I didn't like the short blonde hair ballroom girl. There's something so mechanical about her dancing. She's just doing the steps without any attitude. Same with the other ballroom girl, Brooklyn.

 

Bridget was annoying with her tearing up all the time and she was super awkward in her solo. They cut Justine for her?!

Edited June 27, 2014 by waving feather

[ElleryAnne]

Pole dancing is a very legitimate dance form when done properly.  Eliana did pole dancing and she was beautiful, and personally I would love if they allowed pole dancing to be a category, except I understand the issue with logistics of bringing a pole to an audition. (Full disclosure: I pole dance)  That said, I worry what someone like Jessica would do with it because she would probably only help to perpetuate the stigma against it.

 

 

I'm a pole dancer too and I do a way more sexualized type of dance than Jessica and I really do not see anything stripperish in what Jessica presented.  She has some good technique and I really enjoyed her Feeling Good performance.  I hate that if you dare to be even a little bit sexual and female you are deemed stripper.  There is nothing wrong with a bit of sexuality.

 

 

Welcome to the boards, fellow pole dancers.  Though I'll admit I haven't been near a pole in a couple of years.  I really should get back to it.  

 

I may be one of the few who actually likes Jessica, but I realize she does come across as trying to be sexy while pretending that she doesn't know why everyone thinks she's sexy.  It's a bit disingenuous, but I attribute at lot of that to the fact that she's eighteen, and at that age not everyone owns their sexuality yet.  I think she has the makings of a good dancer, though.  And I find her entertaining, hat and all.  

 

Can't wait to see who gets paired up with whom this season!

[90PercentGravity]

I don't like the blonde ballroom girl (everything about her screams fakey-fake

I have no idea who this is? Is it the one with the sharp nose and asymmetrical bob?

[Biosynth]

Kudos to all of you who can remember these people's names so soon!  The only one I really remember is Jaja as she was my favorite and should have gone through.  I thought her Ballroom was really nice and she was good at everything.  Even her Contemp was good.  Well, I wish her luck.

 

As for the rest of the season, I'm so fed up to the teeth of contemporary.  As of last year I had to start fast forwarding through it all.  I know that sounds bad, but it always seems the same to me.  Leap.  HMV/HMS.  Leap.  Writhe on floor.  HMV/HMS.  Maybe I'll watch one or two to see if I like it any better this year. 

 

I am, however, thrilled that ballroom, ballerinas, tappers and some Hip hoppers are in.  But you know they'll go quickly.  I predict another contemporary win this year.

 

As for those we can't stand, I am not so much a Mia fan, but I detest Sonya even more.  I just can't stand her!

[shimarella]

I was happy they didn't draw out the callback process this season. I always dislike the "group routine" phase even though I sort of get why they feel it shows them something about the dancers. I think I'd be more interested if like the Canada ( or maybe it was Australia) SYTYCD they would bring back that concept into the show itself by pairing dancers and giving them time to choreograph a duet for the show. Otherwise it just seems like fake boot camp drama. I can't even judge if a group routine was truly crappy because I'm already giving them so many allowances for the amount of time etc. 

 

Sorry to see JaJa go. I loved how she and Emilio transformed themselves for the ballroom round. And she is a fierce thing! Also sad that Johnny Waack and Silky didn't make it. Most of the Top 20 men are interesting and diverse and as usual, some of the contemporary/jazz dancetestants made no impression on me whatsoever. Excited that ballroom and tap at least will present some diversity. I know its always manipulative but I was rooting for those two friends to make it because I thought their earnestness about making the Top 20 together was actually totally adorable. 

 

Couple other issues: Tattoos. YMMV of course but I'm glad we are now in a time where they don't make the difference as much between getting hired or not. I'm glad that dancers don't have to cover them up in general. It doesn't matter why someone gets them. Mostly though, a beautiful body in motion is generally enhanced for me by a little art ( and especially when the person in question thought about all that when selecting the tattoo). I used to not get gigs ( dance and teaching) because of my tattoos and I'm quite happy that this is no longer the case. 

 

Sexuality in dance: I'm also a pole dancer ( competitively, per formatively and recreationally) and I personally think that beautiful fluid floor work that isn't all about falling out of a pirouette and acro tricks is a missing art..especially floor work that expresses sexuality and not just emo yearning. So I liked Jessica's dance style. She's not 12. It didn't feel faked to me. Its her style and she's comfortable with it, and the control she exhibited in some of the floorwork tricks showed me that she isn't resting on pretty. If she can pull it together for the competition ( and keep her hair out of her face) in some routines that showcase her strength, control and flexibility that will help her out wit the naysayers. I always fear for the "sexy dancers" because they start off praised by the judges, then get pigeonholed into choreography that only showcase that and get turned on before getting eliminated. Yes, I'm still bitter about Natalie from Season Two. 

[NextIteration]

Unpopular opinion, I don't find Marquet's dancing appealing.  I don't like the blonde ballroom girl (everything about her screams fakey-fake and little girl trying to play at being sexy grown-up)

 

I really like Marcquet, I think he reads much older than 18 when he is dancing.  Tanisha is the only ballroom dancer that I'm not warming to either.

 

I'm wondering what the target audience for this show is...I have a theory about his Armen not being cast, and I think that TPTB are trying to aim for a teenage dance-fan.

 

I think that Armen may not have been cast because he is touring with Julianne and Derek Hough?

 

Bridget was annoying with her tearing up all the time and she was super awkward in her solo. They cut Justine for her?!

 

I know right?  Boo!

 

I may be one of the few who actually likes Jessica, but I realize she does come across as trying to be sexy while pretending that she doesn't know why everyone thinks she's sexy.  It's a bit disingenuous, but I attribute at lot of that to the fact that she's eighteen, and at that age not everyone owns their sexuality yet.

 

I like her too, she is 20 not 18, but that is still really young.

 

I have no idea who this is? Is it the one with the sharp nose and asymmetrical bob?

 

Yes.

 

I'm going to try to stay far, far away from Mia discussions this year.  What I will say is that I appreciate her much more as a teacher, motivator and choreographer but am not a fan of her being on the judging panel.

 

eta: @shimarella, I am still bitter about her treatment as well!  And I completely agree with you about the pigeonholing.

Edited June 27, 2014 by NextIteration

[ElleryAnne]

I like her too, she is 20 not 18, but that is still really young.

 

 

You're right.  I was going by the age they show for her from her audition, but those occurred a year ago.

[Canada]

Did anyone see what happened to the guy from Dragon House, the one who was like a mentor to all the other dancers?  I could have sworn that he made it to NotVegas, but I didn't see him.

[tvloserlife]

Okay now I'm just very excited about how many pole dancers there actually are here!

 

My issue with Jessica is less her dancing (because, as I previously mentioned, the technique is there), but more the "people think I dance sexy teehee but I'm not" shtick that she had for her audition and the fact that, as mentioned shimarella mentioned, this will likely get her pigeonholed in choreography.  If she continues to dance beautifully and drops the act I will come around a lot faster.

 

Did anyone see what happened to the guy from Dragon House, the one who was like a mentor to all the other dancers?  I could have sworn that he made it to NotVegas, but I didn't see him.

 

I don't think they ever showed Mr. Strange.  I suspect they avoided it because they already cut Jaja, Silky, and Marie Poppins so it was just going to look skewed against hip hoppers.

[NextIteration]

So... Valerie Rocky the tapper?  Sooo reminds me of a young Ally Sheedy!

[bourbon]

 

I think that Armen may not have been cast because he is touring with Julianne and Derek Hough?

I think they would have said that and shown his segment if that were the reason.  If he was cast and had to turn it down because of Move Live, it wouldn't be the first time someone has turned down a spot in the Top 20 because they got another job.  As I recall, someone did that in S6 and they made dramatic hay of it when Ashley DiLello ended up getting a spot because of it.  I wonder how locked in the dancers are to the tour or why would he try out in the first place?  I had to think he knew he could get out of Move Live if he got SYTYCD.  Considering what he and others have and haven't been saying on twitter about him not being cast, I don't think the tour didn't really play into it.  But who knows.

[Blue Plastic]

I think Jessica Richens is totally this season's Molleeeee.

 

I've really come to the not-so-surprising conclusion that Nigel Lythgoe is a really awful person.  He made comments about how it isn't just about talent, it's about casting, and then on twitter, he defends the fact that there are no women of color in the Top 20 by stating that they picked the Top 20 on talent.  So, which is it?  Cast on talent alone or don't.  But don't be disingenuous about it. Then the fakery of the One Love drama.  He never had any intention of making them pick someone, and had they picked one person, he probably would have cut them all to teach them some lesson about teamwork.  Then calling out Twitch, Mary, and Jessica for giving Marie Poppins one more chance.  As if Nigel hasn't done the same thing 100x, coddling his favorites, berating a contestant only to say they were being spared because Nigel "believes" in them.  Not to mention his general inappropriate pervy-ness.  He makes the show increasingly less fun to watch.

+1 to all of this.  I couldn't have said it any better.  It was all a bunch of crap.  Nigel et al have a lot of nerve acting like they are "teaching lessons" and casting based on talent alone.  They heap disdain on some dancers and then expect respect in return.  They play their little games and the ones who finally make it into the Top 20 are supposed to thank the "jidges" and writhe on the floor from their joy at being given this wonderful opportunity.  Ick.

 

I so wanted Dead Daddy Girl to get cut (can't remember all their names yet).  If she lasts for a few weeks and keeps talking about her dead father, I might pull all my hair out.  Yes it's sad and ordinarily I would feel sorry for her, but stop using it as a crutch and a way to get attention!

 

I was sorry to see Jaja get cut.  I know she wasn't perfect but I would have really liked to see what she would have done if she made it through.

[realdancemom]

Since they didn't really show Justine, Novian, and Silky doing anything wrong, it makes me wonder why they didn't make it and I'm disappointed.  I can see why they cut Trevor in hip-hop because I expected him to be better.  His shoulders were up and he looked like an awkward kid.  I thought Caleb did o.k. even though he could have hit harder.  But he didn't look as bad as Trevor.  Oh well, he wouldn't have made top 20 anyway. 

 

I'm more impressed with the guys as a whole instead of the top 20 girls.  There are way too many females with long brown hair.  I would rather JaJa made it instead of the numerous jazz/contemporary girls that just blend together.  It's really nice to see a female hip-hopper that can hit it hard like the guys.  JaJa wasn't great in other styles.  She looked lumbering in the jazz round.  She posed well and transformed herself in the ballroom round but didn't dance well in that either.  However, I also think Jessica and Malene were terrible in hip-hop and Valerie didn't do that great in the ballroom round either.  I can see why they would take Malene and Valerie since they represent a different style and Malene is really good in ballroom.  I'm eh on Jessica.  I liked her better during her audition because I could see good technique along with the hairography.  Maybe, I would have liked her better if she did a different DFYL solo.  It was the same as her audition solo.

 

I do like Tanisha (blonde ballroom girl) but that's because I know her.  She's a really nice person.  Like Jessica. she is playing the sexy but that's required for Latin ballroom.  I have seen her dance better than what I've seen on TV so far.  I think she's versatile just like Marcquet.

 

I also think dead dad girl is milking it.  Her dancing is mediocre but she has a good story so the producers are using it.  I have to remember that I didn't like Kathryn's crying either but ended up liking her. 

Edited June 27, 2014 by realdancemom

[Mertseger]

 

As a choreographer, she's overrated. She loves her reputation as being tough on the dancers and relishes telling them how hard her routine is going to be. Then you look at something like Dead Daddy Dance and it's literally two people standing around a stage for 90 seconds doing almost no dancing at all.

 

I understand the Mia hate, and I did not like her as a jidge for an entire season, but I have my pet tin-hat theory that the only reason SYTYCD remains on the air is that it is an Emmy machine (the following is clipped from Wikipedia);

 

• 2006: Charles Klapow, Kenny Ortega, Bonnie Story – High School Musical
• 2007: Mia Michaels – So You Think You Can Dance and Wade Robson – So You Think You Can Dance and Rob Marshall, John Deluca – Tony Bennett: An American Classic
• 2008: Wade Robson – So You Think You Can Dance
• 2009: Rob Ashford – 81st Annual Academy Awards - Musicals Are Back and Tyce Diorio – So You Think You Can Dance
• 2010: Mia Michaels – So You Think You Can Dance
• 2011: Mia Michaels – So You Think You Can Dance and Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo – So You Think You Can Dance
• 2012: Joshua Bergasse – Smash
• 2013: Derek Hough – Dancing with the Stars

 

Of course, we'd all rather have Wade around, and, indeed, it's been a couple of years now for the show in general. But a self-important Mia routine that captures the attention of Emmy voters could not hurt the chances for a season 12.

 

Furthermore, I agree with Mia philosophically. Dance is not just about the movement. Katee and Joshua simply walking forward at the beginning of their Mia routine was one of the most arresting moments of the series to date.

Edited June 27, 2014 by Mertseger

[LadyArcadia]

So... Valerie Rocky the tapper?  Sooo reminds me of a young Ally Sheedy!

 

That's it!  I couldn't figure out who she reminded me of.  I wasn't that impressed with her audition. It was too.... child-like.  I'm not sure why she made it; she'll have to grow on me.

[Lemons]

Welcome to the boards, fellow pole dancers.  Though I'll admit I haven't been near a pole in a couple of years.  I really should get back to it.  

 

I may be one of the few who actually likes Jessica, but I realize she does come across as trying to be sexy while pretending that she doesn't know why everyone thinks she's sexy.  It's a bit disingenuous, but I attribute at lot of that to the fact that she's eighteen, and at that age not everyone owns their sexuality yet.  I think she has the makings of a good dancer, though.  And I find her entertaining, hat and all.  

 

Can't wait to see who gets paired up with whom this season!

 

My teen daughter is classically trained but knows how dance "sexy."  And when she does, she knows it.  Jessica acting like she isn't dancing like a PG-rated adult entertainer?  Please.  In what dance class are they teaching these dancers how to arch their backs while rolling on the floor?   And I never want to see that girl attempt hip hop again. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was happy they didn't draw out the callback process this season. I always dislike the "group routine" phase even though I sort of get why they feel it shows them something about the dancers. I think I'd be more interested if like the Canada ( or maybe it was Australia) SYTYCD they would bring back that concept into the show itself by pairing dancers and giving them time to choreograph a duet for the show. Otherwise it just seems like fake boot camp drama. I can't even judge if a group routine was truly crappy because I'm already giving them so many allowances for the amount of time etc.

My problem with the group segment is that this show is So You Think You Can Dance. It's NOT So You Think You Can Choreograph. They're two completely different skill sets. To me, asking dancers to choreograph a routine is like asking a contestant on American Idol to write a song or asking a violin player auditioning for a place in the orchestra to write a symphony. It's not the same skill and it's something you will never be asked to do again if you get past the auditions because they really only want to know if you can learn other people's work and perform it.

The group round here and on AI only serve to produce drama. They want to take a bunch of exhausted/stressed out dancers and force them to come up with something quickly in the hopes that it will cause camera worthy hysterics and fighting.

I know they don't have time to show is every single dancer doing every single routine in each round of Not Vegas but is gladly trade however much time they waste on the group routine to see more from the other rounds.

Edited June 27, 2014 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElleTwoThree]

As for those we can't stand, I am not so much a Mia fan, but I detest Sonya even more.  I just can't stand her!

 

Mia is totally hit or miss for me, some of her routines are among my favourites (particularly group routines, the Alice in Wonderland one comes to mind), some are my very least favourite (with the dead daddy dance being the worst routine I ever saw in SYTYCD... the most cringeworthy routines about dead children that that obese monster from Dance Moms produces is poetry next to the DDD). Her tough act... I don't mind so much. I had tough teachers through my dance career, very eccentric selfobsessed and selfimportant teachers and choreographers. You learn to live with it. When I was accepted into a pretty good school leading to a pretty good company one of my teachers actually said "they must have liked your face, because your dancing is nothing special". The dance world is at times cruel. 

Sonya... I don't love her choreo on the show as I find it very similar (which is normal a lot of choreographers stick with 12 custom moves) and she doesn't stray from her "style" ever. I worked with her once and she is very good as a teacher though. She knows what she wants in a choreo emotionally and she prioritises that, which is nice. She'd rather you changed a step if it went with you feeling the right emotion than to stick to her step. 

 

I can't dance pole (I have noodly arms!) but I have a friend (male) who is the best pole dancer I have ever seen. What he does on a pole is poetry in motion and I I have huge respect for pole dancers, I find it one of the most demanding styles to dance correctly as it requires not just flexibility, musicality and control but crazy strength. Kudos to all of you!

 

I didn't realise that the cast was not diverse this year, but that sucks. The dance world is pretty inclusive (most of the time) and this show casting all white, all "straight" people kind of takes that away a bit. Misrepresents. I quite liked Benji's podcast about being gay and the show, as a gay person myself I really hate Nigel's obsession with the cis-male man and his complete and utter disregard for the gays (there are less lesbian dancers I feel like, as dance draws in gay males moreso than gay girls, though I have never struggled to find other lesbian girls to date in my dance schools either), never a mention of a same sex partner (but plenty of mentions of girlsfriends and wives for the dudes and boyfriends for the gals). All of the choreos are love stories between two straight people, if two boys dance together they are in bullfights or friends or some other bullshit. When two girls dance together they are foxes or housewives. This is 2014, let's get real. Some people are gay, get over it. It doesn't have to be pushed down people's throats but a casual mention of someone's partner or when two boys dance together for it to be a happy love story... that is not really asking for that much, is it?

OK, I am off my soap box. I just wish as a kid that I could have seen two beautiful girls dancing in love on TV and thought "that will be me one day" instead of always seeing hetero couples and thinking "I don't fit in".

[TVSallyS]

Honestly, I am not too upset about Jaja. I thought she was super cute but I generally don't care for the female hip hop dancers. And her contemporary (or was it jazz? I don't remember now) was atrocious and painful to watch. I just don't think her solos would have been enough to keep me interested or make it worth it to me to watch her lumber through everything else. I have never had a female hip hop dancer be a favorite of mine. I guess I don't enjoy watching women do abrupt, hard, aggressive, movement as much as watching the men do it. Perhaps that means I am perpetuating gender stereotypes or who knows what, but I enjoy women performing fluid, graceful, or sexy movement. I guess people respond emotionally to different types of dance and we can't control our reactions - it's just an aesthetic preference, and if that's what I like to watch, I can't talk myself into enjoying something else even if I like the idea of being someone who enjoys watching women break the mold and do Krump or hip hop. It took me awhile to admit to myself I am just not into the female dancers in this style, because I really wanted to be. I respect what Comfort does, but never felt interest in watching her dance.

Edited June 27, 2014 by TVSallyS

[Mya Stone]

@shimarella - man, I still have a huge crush on Natalie! (And Musa. Oh, Musa.) but agreed on her treatment.

[Mozelle]

Welcome to the boards, fellow pole dancers.  Though I'll admit I haven't been near a pole in a couple of years.  I really should get back to it.  

 

I may be one of the few who actually likes Jessica, but I realize she does come across as trying to be sexy while pretending that she doesn't know why everyone thinks she's sexy.  It's a bit disingenuous, but I attribute at lot of that to the fact that she's eighteen, and at that age not everyone owns their sexuality yet.  I think she has the makings of a good dancer, though.  And I find her entertaining, hat and all.  

 

Can't wait to see who gets paired up with whom this season!

 

I like Jessica, too. I also agree that she probably hasn't yet owned the sexuality of her dance yet, which is not to say that she is unaware that she exudes sexuality when she dances, if that makes sense. She hasn't reached a point yet in her dance career where she can say, "Yes, I do dance this way, and I really enjoy dancing that way." I think there may be hesitance on her part because 1) she is still young and 2) a lot of women who make no bones about how sexual they are often get hammered for it.

 

Another dancer that I'm pulling for his Marcquet. Man! He just lights up the stage for me. I loved that in the hip-hop round the one girl thought she'd chosen a hip-hop dancer only to find out he's ballroom. He just knocked out all the style over the audition week.

 

I also like Rudy. I can't help it; I just do. 

 

Who I don't like? The girl who said her father was dancing on stage with her. I can't even remember her name, but I just don't find her captivating at all. Irinia, as tough as she was about all of the dancers, spoke the truth about how..meh...the girl was on stage. She reminds me of this one girl who used to be a member at my gym, which was offering this choreography dance class once a week. It was fairly simple 90 seconds to two minute choreography (given that it was offered at a gym with a national chain), and I could tell after a week that the girl was a trained dancer, just from her lines and whatnot. (Me: I'm a "dancer" in that I do dance one style, but I didn't grow up taking dance classes so everything I've learned, I've learned as an adult in adult dance class. Which is to say, I'm not trained.) Anyway, toward the end of each class, the instructor would separate us into two groups and have group 1 perform the choreography while group 2 watched and vice versa. When this girl and I weren't in the same group, I got to see firsthand just how lackluster and meh her dancing was despite her technique. That's exactly who this girl on the show reminds me of. There's no there there,

Edited June 28, 2014 by Mozelle

[waving feather]

I love Marcquet's smile but I'm not a fan of his ballroom dancing. It's too frantic for me. I generally don't like frantic dancing in any style. What I love about Anya, Pasha and Dimitry is their moves are always smooth and controlled.

Oh yes, S2 Natalie is one of the best contemporary dancers the show had. Even better than Allison imo. Every moves of Natalie's is light airy and strong. But I remembered Mia hated her.