more SYTYCD commentary
Yes, I am writing about that dance/"reality"/competition show, "So You Think You Can Dance." If you have no idea what I am talking about you might consider yourself lucky ;-)
OK, so we are Top Ten, which really the producers should just rename "Top Ten People We Want on Our $$$$$-Making Tour." It is clear they have kept some people who perhaps should have gone home for their audience draw on the tour. Anyhow, before I get any further, let me say this: these are all good dancers, some better than others. The twenty who started were mostly good dancers. Many, many stellar dancers who auditioned didn't make it. That said, some of these dancers are not all that much better (if that) than people I dance in studios with every week or take classes frp, every week--it is really luck of the draw that they are on TV, or more likely, they fill a profile the producers want to fill. I will readily agree that I cannot dance as well as any of the ten onstage tonight...but that doesn't mean I cannot critique what is going on. So onward...
1.) The judges. Again, STFU with your self-congratulatory crap. You are not that special. Yes, this show is popular, but it is by no means the bastion of great 21st century dance you seem to think it is.
2.) Hey, Nigel, your comments about the historical strife in Africa and "the people" coming together to make powerful dance as a result came across as patronizing bullshit from a wealthy, muppet-choregraphing white dude. Add to that your awkward comments about interracial dance partners and you are gunning for a first class ticket on Race Fail 2009: The Summer Tour.
3.) Choreographers: Really, can we be done with the male-female love story. I am so fucking sick of it I could scream. You are supposed to be pros...is this all you can think of? It is BORING!!!! Similarly, all dance doesn't have to have a neatly confined narrative. Whatever happened to thematic dances? Or what about a narrative that isn't instantly transparent to the audience?
4.) Choreographers: Lose the distracting, literal props. Travis, that necklace you used made that dance infinitely more cheesy and trite than it needed to be. It wasn't as bad as that chain 'ol Nappy Tabs used a couple of weeks ago, but it was still bad. Don't be afraid to make your audience think.
5.) Nigel (again), quit commenting on how pretty the "girls" are. We get it. You like traditionally beautiful women 1/3 your age with next to no body fat on them (breasts excepted). Comment on the female contestants' dancing ability and leave it at that. Likewise, making fat-phobic "jokes" about one of the male dancers' was really distasteful and full of fail.
6.) The Viennese Waltz with Evan and Kayla was actually quite nice. Usually not a fan of the dance, but I liked it.
7.) Didn't care for the hip hop with Janette and Ade mostly because I tend to loathe Nappy Tabs' pair choreography. Janette seemed too perky/bouncy as well. Shane Sparks and Dave Scott need to choreograph for the show a whole lot more than they are.
8.) Jeanine and Jason's contemporary was well-danced, and Jason certainly showed tremendous power, but I wasn't a huge fan of the literal male-female love story choreo, complete with a necklace. I did like that both of them did some strong floor work in unison requiring a lot of upper-body strength. The kiss at the end was, again, too literal for me.
9.) Randi and Kupono's Paso Doble was a hot mess. Just not good. And he dropped her at the end. Not good. His leaps continue to be underwhelming.
10.) Melissa and Brandon's "Broadway" (which on the show seems to mean any dance performed to a canonical song from a Broadway show) was much better than most the crap Tyce trots out. They were both strong, though way too clean-looking to be performing anything from "Hair". Also? Tyce maybe should have thought twice before using a song so strongly associated with "40-Year-Old Virgin". It kind of increased the cheese factor.
11.) The solos: I like Jason's a lot. Good modern sensibility and nice choice of music. Brandon's was strong and had good stillness mixed with his power. Ade's was so-so--I saw where he was going with the music but he didn't hit it and it looked off. Evan's was good and cute, even if it is not a style I am drawn too. I do wish he was ease off the comedy once in a while and dare to be taken seriously as a performer sans goofiness. Kupono's was the best I've seen him do, but was just OK. He is not as strong as the others. Melissa's was so-so--she is a nice ballet dancer, but not stunning and her movement tends to be pretty generic. Kayla's was her usual level of meh-tude--she can dance, for sure, but those solos are just not much of anything. Jeanine's was quite nice but her costumes bug. I keep fearing she is going to lose the two scraps of fabric she has pasted onto herself. Randi's was pretty good, but I saw her fall out of turn which is not great. Jeanette's was sassy and strong, but odd in the same way that all solos done my ballroom/social dancers are.
OK, so we are Top Ten, which really the producers should just rename "Top Ten People We Want on Our $$$$$-Making Tour." It is clear they have kept some people who perhaps should have gone home for their audience draw on the tour. Anyhow, before I get any further, let me say this: these are all good dancers, some better than others. The twenty who started were mostly good dancers. Many, many stellar dancers who auditioned didn't make it. That said, some of these dancers are not all that much better (if that) than people I dance in studios with every week or take classes frp, every week--it is really luck of the draw that they are on TV, or more likely, they fill a profile the producers want to fill. I will readily agree that I cannot dance as well as any of the ten onstage tonight...but that doesn't mean I cannot critique what is going on. So onward...
1.) The judges. Again, STFU with your self-congratulatory crap. You are not that special. Yes, this show is popular, but it is by no means the bastion of great 21st century dance you seem to think it is.
2.) Hey, Nigel, your comments about the historical strife in Africa and "the people" coming together to make powerful dance as a result came across as patronizing bullshit from a wealthy, muppet-choregraphing white dude. Add to that your awkward comments about interracial dance partners and you are gunning for a first class ticket on Race Fail 2009: The Summer Tour.
3.) Choreographers: Really, can we be done with the male-female love story. I am so fucking sick of it I could scream. You are supposed to be pros...is this all you can think of? It is BORING!!!! Similarly, all dance doesn't have to have a neatly confined narrative. Whatever happened to thematic dances? Or what about a narrative that isn't instantly transparent to the audience?
4.) Choreographers: Lose the distracting, literal props. Travis, that necklace you used made that dance infinitely more cheesy and trite than it needed to be. It wasn't as bad as that chain 'ol Nappy Tabs used a couple of weeks ago, but it was still bad. Don't be afraid to make your audience think.
5.) Nigel (again), quit commenting on how pretty the "girls" are. We get it. You like traditionally beautiful women 1/3 your age with next to no body fat on them (breasts excepted). Comment on the female contestants' dancing ability and leave it at that. Likewise, making fat-phobic "jokes" about one of the male dancers' was really distasteful and full of fail.
6.) The Viennese Waltz with Evan and Kayla was actually quite nice. Usually not a fan of the dance, but I liked it.
7.) Didn't care for the hip hop with Janette and Ade mostly because I tend to loathe Nappy Tabs' pair choreography. Janette seemed too perky/bouncy as well. Shane Sparks and Dave Scott need to choreograph for the show a whole lot more than they are.
8.) Jeanine and Jason's contemporary was well-danced, and Jason certainly showed tremendous power, but I wasn't a huge fan of the literal male-female love story choreo, complete with a necklace. I did like that both of them did some strong floor work in unison requiring a lot of upper-body strength. The kiss at the end was, again, too literal for me.
9.) Randi and Kupono's Paso Doble was a hot mess. Just not good. And he dropped her at the end. Not good. His leaps continue to be underwhelming.
10.) Melissa and Brandon's "Broadway" (which on the show seems to mean any dance performed to a canonical song from a Broadway show) was much better than most the crap Tyce trots out. They were both strong, though way too clean-looking to be performing anything from "Hair". Also? Tyce maybe should have thought twice before using a song so strongly associated with "40-Year-Old Virgin". It kind of increased the cheese factor.
11.) The solos: I like Jason's a lot. Good modern sensibility and nice choice of music. Brandon's was strong and had good stillness mixed with his power. Ade's was so-so--I saw where he was going with the music but he didn't hit it and it looked off. Evan's was good and cute, even if it is not a style I am drawn too. I do wish he was ease off the comedy once in a while and dare to be taken seriously as a performer sans goofiness. Kupono's was the best I've seen him do, but was just OK. He is not as strong as the others. Melissa's was so-so--she is a nice ballet dancer, but not stunning and her movement tends to be pretty generic. Kayla's was her usual level of meh-tude--she can dance, for sure, but those solos are just not much of anything. Jeanine's was quite nice but her costumes bug. I keep fearing she is going to lose the two scraps of fabric she has pasted onto herself. Randi's was pretty good, but I saw her fall out of turn which is not great. Jeanette's was sassy and strong, but odd in the same way that all solos done my ballroom/social dancers are.