Tuesday, August 5, 2008

OMGOSH! Everybody runs to the hospital… Twitch and Josh get injured doing the Russian; Mary gets injured doing the Samba (well, not really, she just

tripped down a stair)… I’m sorry for them… but it is good for the ratings! Here’s your complete spoiled spoiler for the final week of So You Think You Can Dance, Season 4. Expect great stuff, including Wade!

Ok. So, as most of you probably already know, Stephen (Twitch) Boss and Josh Allen were rushed by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center during the weekend after collapsing at the rehearsals. The two competitors, who will face off against Katee Shean and Courtney Galiano this week as So You Think You Can Dance crowns America’s “Favorite” Dancer, were treated for dehydration. According to our sources, the guys collapsed while rehearsing a “Russian Street Dance.” WTH is that? I know about Russian Character Dance, but I have never heard of Russian “street dance”… but sounds like something that Josh may be pretty good at, I think, with lots of lips, kicks and Grand Jetés. I think they had this is mind all along (I’m not saying conspiracy here, however, just in case you thought so…) since Nigel mentioned something about Russian steps during Katee and Josh’s Bollywood number (don’t you guys remember that?) and there was something about Russian dance that Josh said during his original audition, but I don’t recall what it was…
Anyway, keeping up with the injuries, word of Boss and Allen's hospitalization came on the heels (no pun intended) of news that SYTYCD jidge Mary Murphy suffered a “first-degree” ankle sprain (honestly, I don’t know what a “first-degree” means in this context, but I’m just telling it as I’m being told…). It happened Sunday at the taping of the Teen Choice Awards in L.A., when “she tripped down a short stair a few inches from the Jonas Brothers (insert screaming teenagers here!!!!!) as they were walking in front of the stage at the Gibson Amphitheater,” the source explains. “She was treated by medics (appropriate wording for SYTYCD, I must say…), her ankle was wrapped, and she was wheeled out in a wheelchair as the show was ending.”
But don’t worry. Everybody is feeling fine, and the show was taped last night (Monday August 4) as usual. Twitch was there, Joshua was there, as well as Courtney and Katee. Furthermore, Mary was feeling well enough to do the Samba! Yes, surprise surprise, Mary did the Samba with none other than Nigel! Can you imagine? Well, not really. But she did the Samba indeed, with Dmitry!!! (insert teenagers screaming here!!!) which people say was actually really good. As I understand, however, this is going to be shown on Thursday, for the grand finale. They also pre-taped the Jonas Brothers (insert teenagers screaming here!!!!) for the finale.
Ok, let me tell you about who will be dancing what with whom by who. Really, if you don’t like spoilers, please do not keep on reading!
Mandy Moore is the guest jidge. Cat is wearing a dark gold, Herve Leger-esque dress and black gladiator heels (I can’t wait to see this one!). Mary is in a dress that can only be described as a spider-web.
Twitch and Courtney had Hip Hop by Napoleon and Tabitha. It was not a lyrical Hip Hop but more of a hard-hitting Hip Hop (although people say that it wasn’t as hard-hitting or as exciting as Mark/Comfort’s). The story was about a jealous girlfriend seeing her guy in a club, and giving him a "beat-down.” Courtney was (fake) kicking/hitting/punching him a lot. Isn’t that a great message for the young crowd watching this show? (insert teenagers screaming here!!!!!).
Josh and Katee had a lyrical by Wade Robson (yayyy!!!) to John Mayer (yayyyyy!). People who saw it says that it was a very emotive piece. Wade said it was about how love is “hard work.” They were a couple going through making up after a big fight. They say it was very beautiful, and they filmed it with just one shot with one steady cam and one single light in a continuous, round shot. It should look cool on TV. There was a lot of floor work and partner work, including this memorable bit where Josh kisses Katee's elbow.
Next they taped Courtney and Katee’s Broadway by Tyce. They say it was done to The Trolley Song from “Meet Me in St. Louis,” but it was an instrumental only version. My sources say that it was kind of a waste to have this routine for these two contemporary dancers. They say it wasn’t very exciting. Anyway, they danced with white lace parasols. The story behind it was that they had to hurry to catch this trolley. Their costumes were pretty bad. A viewer described them as “lots of roses and wickety wack, like a cross between a shepherdess and a flamenco dancer.” They both wore the same costume, in different colors: Katee in pink & Courtney in yellow. They were supposed to evoke period costumes (“Meet Me in St. Louis” is that movie with Judy Garland that was part of a side plot in the Sex and The City movie… just if you were wondering…) but it was like only the upper half of the dress…
Josh and Twitch had Russian Character Dance –people were talking about “Russian Street Dancing” originally, but it was actually the traditional Russian dance from the Nutcracker Suite. The choreographer’s name is Yuri (nobody has been able to write a last name for him through the grapevine). They wore kind of traditional Russian costumes, white shirt with blue trim and blue pants (Josh) and white shirt with red trim and red pants (Twitch). They say that it was an incredibly athletic routine. Structured as a battle between the 2 guys, with lots of jumps, leaps, etc., you name it. People say that it was like they were competing with each other. Remember, this was the dance that send them to the hospital! Twitch did a lot of the floor work. Josh did a lot of jumps and incredibly high grand jetés, plus turns. They got a standing O! Apparently, people felt sorry for the girls after the Josh-Twitch dance. I guess one of these two will be the winner on Thursday.
Twitch & Katee had a foxtrot by Tony & Melanie to “Feeling Good” by Michael Bublé. He was in a tuxedo and she was in a light blue dress with lots of fringes. They say it was pretty good. Twitch's technique seems to have improved; his frame and posture were better than in the past. He also did some heavy lifting, including a full press over the shoulder in the middle of one lift that the jidges went crazy for. The jidges loved it for the most part. Mary told Katee that she could walk into the US Ballroom Championships in September because she is so good.
The last partner dance was Josh & Courtney's jive by Jason (Glikman?). People say this was very weird, especially because they were not even in ballroom shoes! They were wearing sneakers (Courtney wore some sort of boot-sneaker). Josh was in jeans, a white shirt and a burgundy leather jacket. There were lots of footwork problems and the lines were a little off. They had some really cool lifts at the end, however. However, Nigel pretty much paned the number by saying that the technique wasn't really there. Mandy (yes, she was the guest judge) said they lost energy, which surprised her. Mary went on and on about how difficult it was. They then filmed Mia's Top 4 group routine (for Thursday, I think) and apparently it was a little weird. It has been described as a Scottish-inspired number. The dancers were wearing kilts, guys were shirtless (insert teenagers-and Mary!-screaming here!!!!), girls have contrasting tartan vests and kilts. Mia said that the dance was celebratory of their time on the show. The song was an instrumental, with lots of bagpipes. They had some good lifts, and emotion as it comes with a Mia routine. It was VERY athletic and quirky, lot of isolations and jerking and rebounding, as well as lots of jumps and partner work. There was this one lift that the judges commented on where the girls were in a kind of handstand on the guys shoulders and Katee (w/ Josh) was more vertical and Courtney (w/ Twitch) was more horizontal and the guys were running across the stage. The judges said that Katee did better, got more height in the lift, but my sources who were at the taping say that it looked like if it had been choreographed that way! I guess we have to pay attention to this on Wednesday, but probably we’ll never know… Mia didn’t say anything after the judges’ critique….
They all did solos next. They did them out of order but here's the real order:
1. Courtney: through a song by Missy Higgings. She was in a low back yellow dress. Did what she normally does. Most people liked it a lot!
2. Twitch: Apparently very good. No “T” shirt, but a “T” shirt used as a rag. Lots of popping and hand movements; more than we’ve seen from him before. Great musicality and sense of humor. Apparently, he got another standing O.
3. Katee: Solo to Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap, a quintessentially Katee solo. She wore this patterned silk handkerchief dress. If you usually like them, you'll probably like this one.
4. Josh: Sources say he was AWESOME!! He started off on the stage, then ran off the stage and jumped onto the judge's platform and started dancing. Lots of playing to the audience and to the judges; he did several sections of booty shaking and ended in a split. He got a standing O after it.
For the finale (Thursday) they also taped the dance with dancers from past seasons. The following dancers are reported to be in it: Thayne, Jaime, Ivan (insert teenagers screaming here!!!!!), Benji (more screaming!!!!), Melody, Lauren, Dominic, Hok (even more screaming!!!!!!!!!!), Chelsie, Kourtni, Gev, Dmitry, and Comfort (of course, we couldn’t live without her!!!!!!).
In the afternoon, they also taped Nigel doing a tap number with the Debbie Allen Dancers. Nigel certainly comes with satisfaction guaranteed! You guys wanted tap, Nigel gives you tap!!! The tap routine was to Boogie Wonderland mix with some other songs. Started with a group of little dancers, and then Nigel comes in and does a sort of battle type thing with them. They all waddle off like penguins….


Source: idolfoums.com
Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, August 2, 2008

SYTYCD’s Top 4: I’m not saying it is a conspiracy… but they are not your typical anybody…

Who are you going to believe, us or your lying eyes?
- Nigel and team producers of SYTYCD

If you are a SYTYCD viewer, you’ve probably felt manipulated by the show’s producers in more than one occasion. And the problem is not that the producers make their own decisions on what they think best serves the entertainment value of the show. No, I have no problem with that. The problem is that they do it, and at the same time they try to hide it and insist on pretending that the show is all clean and fair and only based on the audience decisions… oh, and random luck. Say, for example, the couples’ pairings and dance style choices. Do you really think they could be just random? Who else but Will and Katee could have danced Desmond Richardson’s “Pas de Deux”? So, why insist in making us believe that Will and Katee just picked that one out of the common hat?

The same goes for who’s who and who knows whom. A big deal was made of Debbie Allen’s stepping down from the judges table when Will Wingfield, her “protégé,” made it into the top ten. At the same time, the show has made an effort at hiding the fact that Twitch was a dancer in the movie Hairspray, as well as one of the finalists in Wade Robson’s MTV dance show (The Wade Robson’s Project); that Katee Shean trained with Mandy Moore and Mia Michaels, and that Joshua Allen did many summer intensives at the Debbie Allen Institute. I understand, the dance universe is a very small one and many people go to workshops and master classes with famous instructors such as Debbie Allen, Mia and Mandy Moore. I am not saying that they should be disqualified, or that Mia, Mandy or anybody else should not be able to judge. You would have to disqualify almost every potential contestant if you apply such strict standards. I see that point and agree with it.

The problem I have with the whole thing is the show’s efforts at hiding these facts and erasing them out of the contestants’ “official” bios. And I have a problem with Nigel’s fake insistence on presenting Twitch and Josh as untrained street dancers, as well as his efforts at creating a fake illusion of total fairness. That’s my problem with the whole thing!

Let’s see what SYTYCD didn’t want you to know about the finalists:

Stephen “Twitch” Boss (25). His official SYTYCD’s bio just presented him as a Freestyle dancer from Montgomery, AL. It did mention as a career highlight that he performed “Thriller” with Wade Robson on “The Wade Robson Project” in 2003, but it forgot to mention many “small” details such as:

Here's Stephen (Twitch) Boss as he looked for The Wade Robson Project


  • Twitch was also credited as the main character (dancer) in a short movie who won a student Emmy in 2005. A tango movie called Mora, by the Gotan project (a group of amazing tango professionals).

  • Twitch has stated in interviews that he has had formal dance training. His bio for The Wade Robson Project stated that he started his dance training at 16, continuing after high school at Chapman University’s dance department. Twitch is listed as current faculty at South County Dance studio in Orange County (formerly South County Classical Ballet School www.southcountyclassicalballet.com), where Katee also teaches. Yes, Katee and Twitch knew each other and worked together before the show.

    Katee Shean (20). Fox’s official bio for Katee labels her as a contemporary dancer from San Jose, CA. It states that Katee graduated from Pioneer High School and is currently attending Chapman University, majoring in dance and leadership. It also mentions that she trained at the Teen (Team) Dance Company and Atlas School of Dance. But Katee isn’t just a college student majoring in dance.
  • She has been pursuing a professional career in modeling, acting and dancing in LA. She has been featured many times as a dancer in the hit LA show “Paris by Night.” She is with DDO Artists/Liquid Talent, a major Los Angeles talent agency.

Here is an excerpt from Star Telegram, June 10 2008 interview:
How did you get started with dance? I would always dance, since I've been little. I would go to school and dance and get in trouble and get sent to the Principal's office. Then I'd dance in there. They didn't mind my dancing but they were trying to say, "Can you tone it down a little?"
That's pretty hilarious. How'd you move from the Principal's office to more structured dancing? My teacher, it was in the third grade, she took me to the Debbie Allen Institute workshop. She gave me a piece of paper and said, "If you take this home to your mom and get it signed and bring it back, I'll give you a piece of candy." I didn't know what it was, but I really wanted a piece of candy, so I made my mom sign it.
What was that workshop like? It attracts serious dancers. The first day, it was an audition. I'd never had dance training, and most of the kids had had dance training. I made it. My first time being on stage was amazing. When I heard everyone screaming for me, I thought, "This is it. I could live on stage." From then, every year she (Debbie Allen) did a Texas intensive, I would go. I always got a month scholarship. I'd train like that. We didn't have a lot of money for classes, so everywhere I could get a scholarship for, that's what I would do. Just try and learn everything and be a sponge.
The judges seem to have attitude about hip-hop dancers, like they're shocked if those dancers are able to keep up with the choreography. Did you experience that? Yeah. When we come into the competition, they don't say, "What all can you do?" They say, "What is your niche, what do you do best?" So I'm going to put "hip-hop/popper." I'm not going to put lyrical, jazz because that's not my forte. It was cool, though, to be able to show that I could do other things. I like challenges, too.
You got sick elevation on that jump you did during the audition rounds, and you look like a football player. Do you play other sports? Yeah, I do. I was a running back, and I was starting on varsity. I ran track, and I broke the record as a freshman in high school. I was really into sports. My coaches would pull me in one direction and my teachers would pull me in another direction. But even when I was running track, I would always love to sing and dance, and then would I would play football, I would catch myself singing and dancing
Source: http://startelegram.typepad.com/pop_cultural_district/2008/06/fort-worth-nati.html

Courtney Galiano (19) seems to be pretty authentic! As stated in her SYTYCD’s bio, she is a Contemporary dancer from Commack, NY. Though she specializes in Contemporary, Galiano also loves to dance Hip-Hop. Well, actually, in her NY Knicks’ cheerleader bio blurb when asked if she has had any formal dance training she says that she has taken training in the styles of lyrical, tap, jazz, ballet and hip hop. But I don’t blame her for wanting to lower down expectations and just stating contemporary as her niche. Her bio also stated that she appeared in the music video for Kat De Luna’s “Whine Up” and that seems to be her only professional credit so far, as well as being a dancer for the New York Knicks (http://kcd.nyknicks.com/ ). She has been an instructor at Northeast Dance Academy in Commack (http://nedanceacademt.com/document/64076) and was scheduled to teach at Broadway Dance Center this Fall (those plans have probably changed now, with the Tour and all).

Ok. They are accomplished and that’s great. Good for them! Now, why hide it?


Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)