Handicapping The Choreographers

On July 10, 2009July 10, 2009 By LynnIn TurtleHead4 Comments

You know, driving for six hours in the car one way, and then six hours back, gives you a lot of time to think.

Think about DANCE SHOW, of course!

I know I am crazy insane with this. But here’s a post I wrote during the car ride down, so I figure I may as well type it up and post it. I apologize to those of you who are not reality TV show obsessed. I NEED HELP.

Anyway, in today’s totally obsessive dance show related post, I will handicap the major choreographers on the show. This isn’t to say which ones are the best and which are the worst. Instead, my rankings here indicate how likely it is that a given couple will end up in the bottom three, if they are given a certain choreographer.

1. Mia Michaels. My Mom thinks she’s nutty, but I adore Mia, I think she’s a genius. She’s a master at the SYTYCD format — a strong idea, fully realized in one and a half minutes, and she’s equally amazing when working with a big group or a duo. If you’re a dancer on this show and you score Mia as your choreographer…you’re going to work hard, but you’ll be rewarded with one of the most interesting, memorable, and winning numbers of the night. (See: the Emmy winning park bench routine for Travis and Heidi from Season 2; the legendary door routine for Katee and Twitch from Season 4; this season’s Ode To Derrierre for Evan and Randi.)

2. Tabitha and Napoleon. Sure, they’re a little soft when it comes to true hip-hop, but they’re great at working with the dancers they have been given to highlight their strength. Although their dances might not be as hard-edged as other hip-hop artists, their dances don’t look simple, and like Mia, they usually come up with a killer concept for the short routines. If you have NapTab, you’re golden. (See: Katie and Joshua’s Gulf War number from Season 4; Phillip and Jeanine’s chain routine from this season.)

3. Wade Robson. Wade is probably the most original and brilliant choreographer they have on the show, and all the dancers usually want to work with him. He is fantastic 95% of the time…but then there’s that odd 5%, when he just goes a wee bit too far, and loses relatability. Chances are good though, that a Wade Robson routine will not end up in the bottom three. (See: The Crash Test Dummy number from this season; the Emmy nominated Hummingbird number for Hok and Jamie from Season 3; the newspaper number for Sarah and Jesus from Season 3).

4. Shane Sparks. Regular viewers of this show sorely missed Shane last season when he left for some MTV Crap Dance Crew Something Or Other. His hip-hop routines are so unique, so boom-boom-pow, they look great and have mass appeal. The one thing about Shane, though, is that if you don’t work really, really hard, and find some inner gansta, then you’re in trouble — you absolutely cannot fake your way through one of his routines. So as a dancer, you know you’ve got a great choreographer — but it’s up to you to sell it. (See: The Emmy nominated Transformers routine for Pasha and Lauren in Season 3; the adorable Umbrella number for Ivan and Alison in Season 2.)

5. Jean-Marc Genereaux and his lovely wife, France. I admit it: I love Jean-Marc. He’s the head judge on SYTYCD Canada and he’s so wacky and manic, yet so brilliant. His group routines are my favourites and I think he’s great at working with the dancers he’s been given, and finding clever ideas to make his ballroom routines interesting for the general public. Unfortunately, ballroom will often land you in the bottom three even with a great choreographer and excellent execution, so getting Jean-Marc is no guarantee of top 3. Still, if you draw a ballroom dance, you better hope it comes with Jean-Marc and France. (See: Karla and Vitolio’s quickstep, with the dazzling costume change, from this season; this group number from SYTYCD Canada, which is possibly my favourite dance show performance of all time; Kherington and Twich’s waltz for Jean-Marc’s daughter from last season.)

6. Doriana Sanchez. Used to be disco was a kiss-of-death dance, bottom three for sure. But last season and this, Doriana has kicked it into high gear. She no longer pussyfoots around the dancers and is throwing all kinds of impossible and dangerous stuff at them — with results. The disco numbers from the past two seasons have been dynamic, fast, and chock full of thrilling lifts, all the better to bedazzle the crowd. If you have The Snap, then disco is very close to being a sure thing. (See: Sarah and Neil’s amazing disco number from season 3; Brandon and Janette’s kick-ass high speed dance from this season.)

7. Sonya Tayeh. Sonya’s generally pretty solid, giving her dancers interesting moves to work with an distinctive music and costumes. However, if you can’t get into her characters, it’s all over. You have to be able to strut if you want to rock a Sonya routine. One last thing — her numbers after two seasons are starting to get a little repetitive, too, I find. She needs to step it up if she’s going to dazzle us in the future. (See: Ade and Melissa’s rock number from this season.)

8. Adam Shankman. Adam hasn’t been around as much due to various other movie committments, but he’s still a solid choreographer who creates dynamic and flashy numbers for his dancers. Broadway seems to be one of the harder styles to impress with on the SYTYCD stage, so if you do draw Broadway, your best bet is to land Adam. (See: Donyelle and Benji’s Hairspray number from Season 2.)

9. Tony Meredith and Melanie Lapatin/Louis van Amstel. Ballroom is hard. It’s tough to impress with really original stuff when you have to stick with a strict format and dictated steps. Tony and Melanie are obviously masters of their craft, and they can really bring the sexy. Louis is hip and fun and bouncy. Their big problem is that they aren’t so good at working with the people they get; they do their choreography and expect the dancers to match it. That’s not a failing — you’d expect your dancers to be able to work with your ideas — but at the same time, it sometimes does not do the dancers any favours, and results in a bottom three ranking. (See: Melissa and Ade’s rhumba from this season; Vitolio and Asuka’s waltz from this season).

10. Chroeographer Mandy Moore. I like Mandy, she seems like a really nice lady. I’m hot and cold on her choreography though; sometimes it clicks, but more often, it does not. I think her contemporary stuff is better than her 80s jazz numbers, but either way, if you pull Mandy, then you better hope she’s on instead of off. (See: Sabra and Neil’s awesome office meeting dance from Season 2; Melissa and Ade’s contemporary number from this season.)

11. Brian Friedman. This guy is a weirdo, there’s no doubt. Whereas Wade and Mia do offbeat but charming, Brian does offbeat but offputting. He does keep things interesting and I’m glad he’s on the show, but unfortunately, America will probably not vote for you when Brian is your choreographer. (See: Max and Kayla’s pop jazz routine from this year.)

12. Tyce DiOrio. Maybe I just don’t get the whole Broadway style, but Tyce’s stuff just seems so derivative. Every number is like an ode to an existing, famous musical — only never quite capturing the magic of the original. He’s had a few high moments but in general, if Tyce is the choreographer, I know I’m not going to like it — and neither will America. (See: Alison and Ivan’s contemporary routine from Season 2; Asuka and Vitolio from this season.)

13. Joey Dowling. See all my comments about Tyce above, only TIMES TEN. Joey is terrible — her numbers have no cohesive idea, they are so SO SO copycat, and she just does not inspire her dancers to greatness in any way. Run, dancers, RUN, from the Joey. (See: Evan and Randi from this season.)

14. Lil C. I love, love, love Lil C as a person. He is my favourite guest judge, because he’s so insightful and thoughtful and says clever and cool and witty things. But krump is SO impossible for any dancer who is not Lil C. I think he’s improving at adapting his style for the dancers he has, and last season’s krump with Twitch and Kherington was the closest I’d ever seen to something I could identify as an actual dance, and not a complete mess. There’s no doubt about it — krump is a hard sell. (See: Lauren and Dominic krump from Season 3.)

Edited to add: I left out Dan Karaty! He hasn’t been on this season, has he? Where did he go? Anyway, I like Dan fair enough. I’d say he fits in at about 8b. Here’s his hip-hop for Anya and Danny from Season 3.

Handicapping SYTYCD

On July 7, 2009July 3, 2009 By LynnIn TurtleHead5 Comments

We’re into the top 12 on SYTYCD now, and that means I am officially obsessed.

Last year I fought and fought against it, but I found the only way I could get anything done around here is to vomit all my Dance Show thoughts all over this blog. Clear my head, take out the garbage, so to speak.

So, let’s rank the remaining candidates, shall we?

1. Brandon. Is there nothing he can’t do? So far he’s rocked the hip-hop, ballroom, and disco, and we KNOW he can rock the contemporary. I can easily see him pairing with any of the other women, and his solos are going to be awesome. He’s the frontrunner.

2. Janette. She’s a little firecracker and seems able to handle any style despite having no formal training. She’s got The Snap, which is something all dancers dream of having. She’s lucky to have electric chemistry with Brandon; I hope she can do as well with other partners.

3. Melissa. Every movement of hers is definite. She’s in control of every single body part at all times. I love her facial expressions, too. For some reason, I find her a little reserved from the audience, and I worry about the day she draws hip-hop. Still, she’s been nothing but impressive so far.

4. Ade. What’s with the hairpick, dude? Still, I find Ade to be totally charming and modest. I don’t even know what his native style is, because he was never featured before the top 20, but so far, he’s done great. He’s a good partner for Melissa, but also stands out and draws our attention to him, which is a tough job. I’d love to see him do a solo so I can get a better idea of what his real strengths are.

5. Jeanine. What I love most about Jeanine is her attitude — she’s so positive all the time. Also, she should apparently give up this contemporary crap and become a hip hop dancer, because she ROCKS the hip hop, totally keeping up with Phillip. I mean, when Phillip is on stage, and yet my eye is still drawn to Jeanine, that’s saying something. I can’t wait to see her paired with some other dancers.

6. Kayla. This week was the first time I really saw something special there. She’s obviously flexible and strong, but seemed a little…bland. This week she was awesome during the show, although her solo was not that great, so she continues to be kind of a mixed bag. Still, I think she’ll be a solid performer going forward.

7. Jason. I don’t think Jason gets the credit he deserves — the judges are always fawning all over Caitlin but Jason is clearly the stronger dancer in his couple. He’s strong and interesting, and he does a fairly good job at partnering. Good solos, too.

8. Randi. She’s so cute, and despite her fluffy bubbly personality, she’s able to really get into character onstage. I think she’ll be a great match with any of the male partners, but she needs to work on standing out from the crowd a bit more.

9. Evan. Okay, I love Evan, although he hasn’t been as strong as I thought he would be. I love his personal style, but he wasn’t great at Broadway, and I fear the hip hop. Oh my God, can you even imagine Evan and Randi doing krump? Hee hee. Also, Evan has a great click with Randi but he’s in real trouble when they split up the partners, because of his height. I can’t imagine him partnering Melissa or Kayla. So while he might make the top 10, I don’t think he will win.

10. Phillip. Clearly, there are more skilled and more well rounded dancers. But I ADORE the Chbeeb. ADORE. There’s no question that if the voting were based on personal style alone, he would win. As it is, I’d just love to see him make the top 10. He’ll have to really kick it this week at whatever they give him (my prediction: contemporary) to avoid being eliminated on Thursday.

11. Kupono. I don’t know about Kupono. He’s actually danced really well in his routines, and he’s really well matched with Kayla. Plus, he’d probably make a more versatile partner in the top 10 than Evan or Phillip. But his solos totally suck, and he just doesn’t pop when he’s on stage — I’m always watching Kayla. So he’d be my pick to go home this week.

12. Caitlin. I do not understand why the judges love Caitlin so much. I like her personality, but I really feel that her dancing has not been great. She’s the only dancer right now in the competition that I actively want to see go home. She’s all flashy tricks, but doesn’t have the smoothness of Melissa or the great transitions of Janette. She just doesn’t have The Snap, and I don’t buy it when she tries to get into character. She’s the girl who I think should be voted out this week.

That’s it…sorry for the obsessiveness, but I’m afraid I intend to make this a weekly post. Otherwise, I’ll never get the dishes done!

SYTYCD

On June 19, 2009 By LynnIn TurtleHead8 Comments

Aw, my first So You Think You Can Dance post of the season. I’m all misty-eyed!

Just two spoiler-free comments I feel compelled to make.

First, I hate it when the camera guys get all fancy with the cuts and the angles and whatnot, while I’m trying to watch dancing. Last night’s opening group number was horrible — I absolutely could not follow the action due to the many quick changes of camera angle. Here’s a close up! Here’s a fancy angle shot! Here’s a pan, a full shot, a close up, a pan, a shake!

Calm down, camera dudes. It was a Mia Michaels number, for heaven’s sake. Just point the camera at the stage on a tripod and let us enjoy the full effect.

Second, here is my million dollar idea of the week, free to any TV executives out there. Brothers Evan and Ryan Kasprzak should be given their own variety show, stat! And they should have The Other Brother in there, too.

It’ll be a half-hour program featuring original, entertaining dance numbers (choreographed by Ryan), some guest dancers, some musical guests, and some stupid family-friendly skits. The Other Brother can do whatever he does — poetry readings, magic tricks, juggling, science experiments. Plus, there must be an opening monologue where all three brothers come out and clown around and tell corny vaudevillian jokes.

You’re loving it already, aren’t you?

When I was a kid we used to watch Barbara Mandrell And The Mandrell Sisters, which was a similar variety program. I LOVED that show.

I think The Kasprzak Show could be even cooler.

Think it over, TV execs. You know you want it!