SYTYCD
I was seriously struggling to stay awake as I watched SYTYCD last night, but things that made an impression through my befuddled haze:
-so sad that Billy Bell isn't able to participate in the season! I was really looking forward to seeing more of him. I hope he makes a full recovery from whatever is ailing him.
-Jakob is pretty amazing. Hopefully Ashleigh will get booted soon and he can get a good partner. That routine seemed to consist mostly of him being spectacular and her posing, blah.
-I wanted to love the enamoured robots, but the judges' comments were pretty spot on about the lack of chemistry and the disparity in styles being distracting. I wish better dancers had done the routine, or that it came later in the season when couples have made connections. Adam Shankman's Lil' C impersonation was funny.
-Even though he ended up in the bottom two, I thought Russell was smashing in his foxtrot. I understand what the judges were saying about his technical issues, but I think the great thing about him as a dancer (and the quality that makes him a *dancer*) is that he isn't afraid to try to fake it with elegance and emotion. If he hadn't been so completely in character and so graceful in those extensions, maybe I would have seen the flaws in technique more clearly, but he masked those flaws well. Also, I think he had a harder challenge in being partnered with a real professional with many years of experience, as opposed to another young dancer who might not know any more about foxtrot than he does; that could only highlight his technical issues. I'm not sure I agree that he should have been in the bottom two, but it meant we got to see him solo, so all's well that ends well.
-Bianca and Victor's contemporary piece was really moving. I said about a minute before Nigel did that it was funny that the best connection between dancers was seen in a piece all about a lack of connection. Bianca's feet were really awkward, though.
-Karen really impressed me; granted she got to dance in her own style, but still, she's strong and I think will be a real competitor. Kevin did well enough, mostly keeping out of her way. His discussion about his modeling was interesting. I'm so glad Adam Shankman is a judge this season, he is a funny, funny man. Not a hip man, indeed.
-I liked the movement quality in Sonya's good angel, bad angel piece. I'm not entirely convinced by Ryan. Obviously his physique is impressive but he has struck me as one of those overmuscled people whose muscles don't actually do things besides lift weights. I'd like to see him do something more lyrical and less physical, to get more of a sense for him. Ellenore is rather full of herself, that wasn't one of the best pieces ever, but I liked the way she threw herself into it.
-totally slept through Kathryn and Legacy's hip hop, and Brandon and Pauline's waltz. Oh well.
-woke up again for disco. Mollee is strangely well suited for it, I think. She can kind of work that 1970s Goldie Hawn angel in a den of iniquity thing. It was okay but not all that memorable.
No argument from me on the male result, and it really was a bit inevitable anyway. And I have no real opinion on the female result, as I didn't really see Pauline anyway.
I guess my early favorites would be Russell, Jakob, Karen and maybe Ellenore. Maybe Kevin too. At the end of writing all this, though, I'm still feeling sad that Billy Bell won't be there.
Thanks to everybody who answered my iPod questions yesterday. I've been really happy with my Creative Zen Sleek, but 20gb is just not remotely enough for me, and it seems like iPods really have the high capacity market sewn up. Plus there's so many more options for accessories, and the DJ at the Middle East uses a rig with iPod-only docking stations on it. I'm gradually talking myself into the recently re-released Classic with 120gb. I have to admit that the option of having it engraved if I buy it through Apple is pretty appealing.
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