So You Think You Can Dance Season 8

[RickRS]

The start of SYTYCD is this Thursday with the first of the audition rounds.

And for those unaware, Mary is baaaaack...

[anp73ga31]

Love this show! Excited it is coming on now that DWTS is over! Woo hoo! Did ya'll see Mark (can't remember his last name but he was the crazy weird Mark who danced "bleeding love" with Chelsea and "the garden" with Courtney, one of my fav dances) dancing with Lady GaGa on the American Idol finale? Apparently he is now one of her backup dancers.

[RickRS]

I did it again! Titled this thread "Season 9", when it's only season 8. My bad.

After two hours of auditions I can't remember all the stuff, but I loved the show. Started off with a wonderful super fast salsa - "Columbian" style, we're told. The young lady dancing got a ticket to Vega right out of the gate, and the non-completing gent she partnered with impressed the judges to the point they begged him to come back to audition next season.

Next(?) two guys dancing hip-hop did a very impressive number with a bit of humor in it.

And it just rolled on, with a good number of very impressive young dancers. For the ballroom crowd, there was a ballroom latin couple that made Vega. Can't remember her name, but we have a young lady from my town of Fort Walton Beach, FL going to Vega. Her second trip, she went last season, as well, but didn't make the cut and didn't even get any camera time I can remember during Vega week. Maybe this time.

Loved the little bit with the Atlanta Grandma that Nigel invited up as a fourth judge when her grandson was up.

As with all the past auditions, there were some that were just weird; the guy that started the theaterical sobbing after his (not very good) performance.

And some were great but didn't get a ticket because the dancer didn't have any chops outside the one style they did; SF had a very impressive guy dancing a style of hip-hop called "turfing". I watch the auditions rounds just for a change to see these one-dance people, they get their one shot and, man, they're good!

anp73ga31, I don't watch American Idol, so I missed it. Would love to see Mark Kanemura (I cheated and looked his last name up on wiki :)) dance again. Apparently he's very much a part of Gaga's video and stage performances now. Like you, I find his performances just grab hold and I don't think I'll ever forget him dancing "The Garden" from season 4 (three years ago?).

edit: The young lady from my town is Kimalee Piedad. She dances ballet and ballroom and is currently dancing cabaret, which she did in the audition. I'm sure a lot of the ballroom crowd knows of her.

[Terpsichorean Clod]

Fixed title :)

[RickRS]

Fixed title :)
Thanks! I seem to make a habit of doing this. Was it just last season I did the exact same thing? :rolleyes:

[chachachacat]

This show just grabs my heart and my inner dance self!! I always think I like DWTS bcuz all ballroom, but I love this show much more, because it brings all the energy of the totally-committed dancer! Live real dance energy of people who have dedicated their lives to dance. LOVE!!!!

[Pirate Smith]

Wake me when the "Gong Show" is over.... and watch, the Ballroom Dancers will be the first to get voted off.. AGAIN... Oberon

[barrefly]

I did it again! Titled this thread "Season 9", when it's only season 8. My bad.

After two hours of auditions I can't remember all the stuff, but I loved the show. Started off with a wonderful super fast salsa - "Columbian" style, we're told. The young lady dancing got a ticket to Vega right out of the gate, and the non-completing gent she partnered with impressed the judges to the point they begged him to come back to audition next season.

Next(?) two guys dancing hip-hop did a very impressive number with a bit of humor in it.

And it just rolled on, with a good number of very impressive young dancers. For the ballroom crowd, there was a ballroom latin couple that made Vega. Can't remember her name, but we have a young lady from my town of Fort Walton Beach, FL going to Vega. Her second trip, she went last season, as well, but didn't make the cut and didn't even get any camera time I can remember during Vega week. Maybe this time.

Loved the little bit with the Atlanta Grandma that Nigel invited up as a fourth judge when her grandson was up.

As with all the past auditions, there were some that were just weird; the guy that started the theaterical sobbing after his (not very good) performance.

And some were great but didn't get a ticket because the dancer didn't have any chops outside the one style they did; SF had a very impressive guy dancing a style of hip-hop called "turfing". I watch the auditions rounds just for a change to see these one-dance people, they get their one shot and, man, they're good!

anp73ga31, I don't watch American Idol, so I missed it. Would love to see Mark Kanemura (I cheated and looked his last name up on wiki :)) dance again. Apparently he's very much a part of Gaga's video and stage performances now. Like you, I find his performances just grab hold and I don't think I'll ever forget him dancing "The Garden" from season 4 (three years ago?).

edit: The young lady from my town is Kimalee Piedad. She dances ballet and ballroom and is currently dancing cabaret, which she did in the audition. I'm sure a lot of the ballroom crowd knows of her.

The salsa dancers are Giovani and Bianka. (17 and 18 years old) They are from Miami. Giovani won't be eligible until next year, (too young) but I'm hoping that Bianka will make it on the show. P.S....it was Colombian style salsa.

[sambanada]

That was some fast footwork!

[Ray Sison]

Very impressive! :cheers:

[sambanada]

We need a show with Bruno from DWTS and Mary from SYTYCD as judges. Some dramatical judging that would be!

[wooh]

^From your fingers to the devil's ears. Yikes, that's the worst form of torture that could be an unleashed on the innocent public.

[Ray Sison]

We need a show with Bruno from DWTS and Mary from SYTYCD as judges. Some dramatical judging that would be!


Yes, indeed, sambanada! :cheers:

[White Chacha]

All I can say is, "oy!".

[Ray Sison]

All I can say is, "oy!".

LOL! :cheers:

[ballroomdancertoo]

any idea if the chinese ballet guy coming back this season? I forgot his name but not his hiphop routine.

[RickRS]

any idea if the chinese ballet guy coming back this season? I forgot his name but not his hiphop routine.

Can't believe I've forgotten about him. That was Alex Wong, and he really set the stage on fire with his performances until he tore a tendon.

No idea if he will return. Wiki article for Season 7 reported at the time the injury was expected to require surgery and 3 months recuperation. Do you remember if Nigel invited him to return? SYTYCD seems to have a policy of one shot at the Top 20.

[vcolfari]

I think Nigel commented that he views Alex as more of an "all star" than a contestant. Perhaps we will see Alex dance with some of the top 10 dancers at some point.

[Casayoto]

On the episode where Alex left due to his injury, Nigel said he was invited back for next year. I'm hoping he's ready to come back.

I am sooooo disappointed that they brought Mary back. I was just talking to someone last week who flat out said Mary is the reason they don't watch the show.

[NonieS]

she's really annoying... my mother watched the show for a minute once and thought she was annoying so she is pretty special..

[RickRS]

Her appearance on the first audition show from Atlanta was pretty subdue. We really won't know what the "Mary" factor will be for this season until later when one of the Top 20 get on board the hot tamale train :rolleyes:

As to Alex Wong; his injury occurred July 7 last year and the last audition for this season was March 12 in LA and airs this Thursday. Alex have a maximum of 8 months to get the surgery and recoup. Maybe we find out this week if he's back?

[katherinejh]

Iveta. Yes!

[Casayoto]

They may have given Alex a straight ticket to Vegas again like they did last year. That would give him a little more time for recovery.

[RickRS]

The last audition show has come and gone and no Alex Wong. Vega week starts next!

Maybe Nigel's been reading the forum. Last night the show did a bit showing Nigel asking multiple NY contestents if they knew ballroom dance- and multiple negative responses.

[Beto]

I think Nigel commented that he views Alex as more of an "all star" than a contestant. Perhaps we will see Alex dance with some of the top 10 dancers at some point.
Correct. Given that Alex Wong dances with and performs with contestants from other seasons I think it's safe to say that he's not competing on the show anymore. He may be one of the All Stars that come onto the show this season once the Top 20 has been paired down to the Top 10. He recently appeared with the other All Stars on an episode of Ellen.

I am sooooo disappointed that they brought Mary back. I was just talking to someone last week who flat out said Mary is the reason they don't watch the show.
Mary Murphy had cancer surgery for a throat tumor back in January and can't scream. So it may very well be that there will be no screaming from Mary at all this season depending on how her recovery from the surgery goes. Notice that scarf she has around her neck during all of the audition episodes?

http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/so_you_think_you_can_dance/2011_Jan_12_mary_murphy_cancer

[TallTenDancer]

Think you meant LA contestants doing ballroom dance, Rick.

I thought the girl who did the Latin number on Wednesday's show was decent, actually. But this is the first time I've watched SYTYCD, so I have no comparative background ;)

[bia]

I'm rooting for both Iveta and Kimalee for the top 20, or at least for some good airtime from Vegas. Hopefully the fact that they've been there before means that they knew how to prepare for this go-round!

[ajiboyet]

We need a show with Bruno from DWTS and Mary from SYTYCD as judges. Some dramatical judging that would be!

Mayday! Mayhem!!

Edit: Can anyone post a link to the Giovani/Bianka salsa?

[19DancerBabyLin]

Correct. Given that Alex Wong dances with and performs with contestants from other seasons I think it's safe to say that he's not competing on the show anymore. He may be one of the All Stars that come onto the show this season once the Top 20 has been paired down to the Top 10. He recently appeared with the other All Stars on an episode of Ellen.

:( :( :( I wanna see Alex dance as a contestant and not an all star... he deserves more attention. I want him to win!

[barrefly]

Mayday! Mayhem!!

Edit: Can anyone post a link to the Giovani/Bianka salsa?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXky958-Rs0&feature=related

The SYTYCD clip was taken down.

What did you think of Giovani? My daughter is flying out from L.A. tomorrow to Miami to begin training with him on full scholarship at the studio, to prepare for next seasons SYTYCD. (She was also a noncompeting partner the last season, and Nigel loved her.) She will be staying with the studio owner and his wife, and Giovani lives with them too. (as well as a few other dancers I believe.) Gio is about 6 months older than my daughter, and their training is very similar, ...both are extremely diverse dancers. They will be training 8-10 hrs a day, 6 days a week, in all the SYTYCD dances. They will chill on sunday, and the beach is minutes from the house. The only thing I really worry about is hurricane season.

My daughter is very excited, and I am very thankful that the studio owner will be managing her. (She fired me 9 months ago. boohoo).

I hope it works out.

[rbazsz]

The show comes across as being less contrived than DWTS. It's grass roots dancing which unfortunately might not have as much ballroom as most of us would like to see. To be fair though, last season ballroom and even ballet got some airplay.

[Steve Pastor]

Did everyone see the short sequence where Nigel asked (in an edited version) several people what they had trained in, and no one said ballroom, and the judges were somewhat crestfallen?

This show puts a premium on versatility, and people are asked to do many very different styles.

And, I have to say, the early auditions are my favorite part of the show. I think that is because what I see, mostly, are people being praised for their uniqueness. And there are so many people who are just so thrilled to be sent to Vegas. I smile at lot when I see these early episodes.

[barrefly]

Did everyone see the short sequence where Nigel asked (in an edited version) several people what they had trained in, and no one said ballroom, and the judges were somewhat crestfallen?

This show puts a premium on versatility, and people are asked to do many very different styles.

And, I have to say, the early auditions are my favorite part of the show. I think that is because what I see, mostly, are people being praised for their uniqueness. And there are so many people who are just so thrilled to be sent to Vegas. I smile at lot when I see these early episodes.

I was so hoping to see this couple compete this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpiIMopGiUw

They both dance it all and are the best dancers in the country. (IMHO) My daughter wants to compete next year, when she is old enough, but wouldn't stand a chance against Torri and Brennar. The only advantage my daughter has is at lifts, but I don't think the audience is that big on lifts.
I am very surprised that T and B did not go for it this year. (...perhaps more disappointed).

[RickRS]

Maybe Nigel's been reading the forum. Last night the show did a bit showing Nigel asking multiple NY contestents if they knew ballroom dance- and multiple negative responses.
Think you meant LA contestants doing ballroom dance, Rick.
Did everyone see the short sequence where Nigel asked (in an edited version) several people what they had trained in, and no one said ballroom, and the judges were somewhat crestfallen?


TallTenDancer, Steve's referring to the same sequence I was. In a couple of cases in that clip, Nigel asked directly if the contestant did ballroom, and in all the others, he asked what other dances they did while pointing and signalling with his eyes to Mary, the Ballroom Judge, sitting at his right. None of them were BR dancers and it was clear as a bell that Nigel want to hear that there was some BR training in their background. Still you haven't watched before, this is important; when they select the top twenty, the kids get paired up (in earlier season, with each other, last season with a former top twenty contestant returning as a pro) to dances as a couple, with dances that include ballroom latin and standard, as well as jazz, hiphop, Bollywood, swing, etc. Of course, we have the usual complains here that the hiphop, lyrical, and jazz people are butching ballroom when they do it, but they (my opinion, here) are typically lightyears better than the "Stars" on DwtS.

And, I have to say, the early auditions are my favorite part of the show. I think that is because what I see, mostly, are people being praised for their uniqueness. And there are so many people who are just so thrilled to be sent to Vegas. I smile at lot when I see these early episodes.
Love it, as well. And so many really good dancers never get past Vegas, or even get to tryout in Vegas. Glad there was only one, maybe two, spots of bad dance shown in length on the auditions.

A personal note on one of the LA auditions; when Nigel asked the young Japanese dancer (loved her hip-hop, pop-lock dance) if she had heard from her family, it was the day after (March 12) the earthquake struck. Somehow she was capable enough to dance a fun routine, with the joy of dance shining thru, in spite of having no idea if all her relatives were safe.

[Casey]

Here's a link showing the eliminations for the last season of SYTYCD Canada. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_You_Think_You_Can_Dance_Canada_(season_3)
Denys Drozdyuk, who with his partner Antonina Skobina just won the rising star amateur latin at Blackpool, won this season of SYTYCD Canada. Pro 10 dancer Claudia Primeau was 12th in that season. Claudia's partner Francis Lafreniere was 11th on SYTYCD Canada in 2008. This link is to an article protesting his elimination. http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=415578f8-1bfe-4f59-96ed-9cbfef0c8205

[ajiboyet]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXky958-Rs0&feature=related

The SYTYCD clip was taken down.

What did you think of Giovani? My daughter is flying out from L.A. tomorrow to Miami to begin training with him on full scholarship at the studio, to prepare for next seasons SYTYCD. (She was also a noncompeting partner the last season, and Nigel loved her.) She will be staying with the studio owner and his wife, and Giovani lives with them too. (as well as a few other dancers I believe.) Gio is about 6 months older than my daughter, and their training is very similar, ...both are extremely diverse dancers. They will be training 8-10 hrs a day, 6 days a week, in all the SYTYCD dances. They will chill on sunday, and the beach is minutes from the house. The only thing I really worry about is hurricane season.

My daughter is very excited, and I am very thankful that the studio owner will be managing her. (She fired me 9 months ago. boohoo).

I hope it works out.

I was really hoping for the SYTYCD audition. Thanks though...

[barrefly]

I was really hoping for the SYTYCD audition. Thanks though...

I found another clip of their audition. I guess Bianka didn't make it past choreo. Too bad. To get that close, and not make it, must be a real heartbreaker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IDtjxP2MUQ&feature=related

[wooh]

Love love love the sisters.
So glad that they're back to a top 20. So glad they aren't doing the ridiculous showing up at their houses for results.

[rbazsz]

One of the things that struck me about the show is the large percentage of interracial couples. Almost all of them are white-woman-black-man. I'm not at all sure why this is so, but it is sure noticeable.

[anp73ga31]

Love love love the sisters.
So glad that they're back to a top 20. So glad they aren't doing the ridiculous showing up at their houses for results.

I loved the sisters too! And also "the professor" who seemed to stick pretty close to them. Not sure if they all knew each other beforehand or if they just bonded while there and really hit it off....did you catch where he and the one sister said they'd been hoping to be paired together from the get-go? And then he and other sister got to dance and he seemed happy with that too. I liked them. Oh and the hot ballroom dancer in the police uniform (sorry, I forget her name - iveta?) has an amazing body! I wish I had her legs! I'm afraid she's not going to go far in the competition because America seems to like the really young, contemporary types, but I do like her alot.

[SDsalsaguy]

Oh and the hot ballroom dancer in the police uniform (sorry, I forget her name - iveta?) has an amazing body! I wish I had her legs! I'm afraid she's not going to go far in the competition because America seems to like the really young, contemporary types, but I do like her alot.
Iveta Lukosiute -- world 10-dance champion with her partner Gherman Mustuc.

[ChaChaMama]

I haven't had an opportunity to watch SYTYCD yet this season, but would like to.

How far along is the show? Do we learn who the top 20 are tonight, or has that already been announced?

[rbazsz]

A very obvious predilection for young dancers appears throughout the entire show. From the music chosen, to the long and late hours they had to rehearse, this is all stuff for young kids. I understand that professional dancers are generally speaking young but these aren't pros.

[Steve Pastor]

You can catch recent episodes here http://www.fox.com/dance/full-episodes 4 days after they were broadcast.

I forgot to set my vcr (yes, that's right, it still works!) last week and went hunting. The resolution is better via internet than my digital tuner/vcr deal.

[anp73ga31]

I haven't had an opportunity to watch SYTYCD yet this season, but would like to.

How far along is the show? Do we learn who the top 20 are tonight, or has that already been announced?

I think we learn that tonight. They narrowed them way down last night but didn't get to the top 20 yet.

[SDsalsaguy]

I understand that professional dancers are generally speaking young but these aren't pros.
Depends on which style somewhat, and how you define "pro" too. ;)

[ChaChaMama]

I think we learn that tonight. They narrowed them way down last night but didn't get to the top 20 yet.

Thanks! I'm dvring tonight's show so I can get caught up.

[SDsalsaguy]

Iveta has a SYTYCD-specific FB page for those who want to show their support :arrow: D8Iveta (http://www.facebook.com/D8Iveta) :banana:


.

[SDsalsaguy]

From YouTube:

Iveta's Las Vegas Solo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hLZiDCKMw8&feature=autoshare)

Jason Gilkison choreographed routine with Pasha (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwFi6XJqRE8&feature=youtu.be)


.

[rbazsz]

Iveta has a SYTYCD-specific FB page for those who want to show their support :arrow: D8Iveta (http://www.facebook.com/D8Iveta) :banana:


.

She is a true goddess!

[RickRS]

Wednesday's Vega Week show was a whirlwind; a entire multiple day process involving 164(?) dancers stuffed into a 2 hour episode. I think we've had the Vega Week divided into two 2-hour episodes in some of the past seasons.

The pay-off was last night; the Top Twenty and a chance to see them do choreographed group numbers in the style they're best at with the "Meet the Dancers" numbers. Alway a favorite episode of the season for me and don't miss it ChaChaMama; two hours :(, but with 9 dances numbers :banana:

Apparently, Adam Shankman, who wasn't part of last night's show, won't be a permanent judge this season. He has professional conflicts and won't be a part this year. A pity, Adam is my favorite judge. Nigel and Mary hold the two permanent seats, with the third being a guest judge. Mary was getting warmed up for the full "Mary Murphy" experience last night; hot tamale trains were mentioned and Nigel was complaining about his hearing. We all have been warned :roll:

Robin Antin will continue as one of the guest judges. I'm not liking her, she turned me off with the multiple "I could make you into a P**** Cat Doll" comments during auditions. Want to guess that I've alway been unimpressed with the Dolls?

We are again top heavy with contemporary dancers, but there is one tapper, one Broadway dancer, and... ya'll got Iveta! She made for the smallest "group" number among the competitors; herself! ...and Pasha!

[wooh]

Sadly, I'm starting to FF through SYTYCD as fast and much as I used to FF through DWTS during the last seasons that I used to still watch it. I'm tired of Nygel's creepy old man vibe, Mary's screaming about nothing. And I'm tired of them reusing choreographers over and over and over again that put out the same stuff over and over again.

[rbazsz]

Sadly, I'm starting to FF through SYTYCD as fast and much as I used to FF through DWTS during the last seasons that I used to still watch it. I'm tired of Nygel's creepy old man vibe, Mary's screaming about nothing. And I'm tired of them reusing choreographers over and over and over again that put out the same stuff over and over again.

I would not SYTYCD live. Using the FF button is a necessity. The majority of the show has no dancing! It's mostly the contestants crying as the judges tell them whether they pass or go back home. Yes, lots of tears, little dance. Boo, Hoo!

They didn't actually show real dancing into about half way through the second show, which would be after 3 hours of crying and/or jumping up and down with joy. Out of the last hour I would estimate there was maybe 12 minutes of dancing.

[RickRS]

Out of the last hour I would estimate there was maybe 12 minutes of dancing.

Pretty much a given with any of the competition/reality shows (SYTYCD, DwtS, Idol, The Voice). Lots of filler for whatever artform we tuned in to see.

It been a while since I timed it, but DwtS contestants' performances were never more than 1 1/2 minutes, and some just broke 60 seconds. Can't remember if I timed SYTYCD top 20 performances in the past, but I'm convinced they go two minutes or more. So that's 15 minutes max of dance for two hours of DwtS and 20 minutes (maybe more?) for two hours of SYTYCD. So if you don't fast-forward, its a long night, and the judges quirks really start to wear on some viewers.

[White Chacha]

To be fair, 2 hours is really only 1 hr 30-40 by the time you subtract commercials. Wouldn't watch the show without recording it first, or at least letting TiVo have a 45 minute head start at digesting it ;-)

It may be a small amount of dancing but the quality is at least rather higher than we get on DwtS.

[leee]

I just watched Iveta's performance -- Wikipedia sez it was a paso, but there was some cha cha thrown in, too, correct? Btw, how did Iveta make the age cut-off? She was 29 when she tried out for season 6, and here we are, season 8. (I'm not complaining, though.)

[RickRS]

Wasn't the age limit alway 30?

[leee]

It's always been 30, been if she auditioned 2 years ago when she was 29...

[wooh]

Wasn't two seasons ago the ill-fated fall season, immediately after the summer season, which could put her at 29 for that one, 29 still for next summer and 30 for this summer?

[leee]

You know, I used to pretty good at math? You may be onto something there, wooh. Incidentally, do you enjoy being the catchphrase of one of the contestants?

[wooh]

I have inspired a great many. :p

[Beto]

Wasn't two seasons ago the ill-fated fall season, immediately after the summer season, which could put her at 29 for that one, 29 still for next summer and 30 for this summer?
Yes, 2009 brought us Seasons 5 and 6. SYTYCD season 6 did not do well in the ratings and FOX learned its lesson by switching back to the once-a-year-spring-summer format.

You know, I used to pretty good at math? You may be onto something there, wooh. Incidentally, do you enjoy being the catchphrase of one of the contestants?
I have inspired a great many. :p
:D:D

[BrownSkin818]

Checking in. :D

Okay so I'm not a ballroom dancer, but I'm super happy for Iveta. I have to ask you professional ballroom fans how she fared in that piece with Pasha. I hope it's not blasphemous to say, but I wasn't feeling her legs :confused:. In the below video at 1:53, I especially thought her leg movement looked off. Contrast that to season 4's Chelsie who I thought had exxxxxxxxcellent leg movement. But as I understand it, Iveta is a far superior dancer than Chelsie. So why did I not like her legs in that piece? :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11mX6288jxI

[barrefly]

Checking in. :D

Okay so I'm not a ballroom dancer, but I'm super happy for Iveta. I have to ask you professional ballroom fans how she fared in that piece with Pasha. I hope it's not blasphemous to say, but I wasn't feeling her legs :confused:. In the below video at 1:53, I especially thought her leg movement looked off. Contrast that to season 4's Chelsie who I thought had exxxxxxxxcellent leg movement. But as I understand it, Iveta is a far superior dancer than Chelsie. So why did I not like her legs in that piece? :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11mX6288jxI

Disa, You may not know ballroom, but you certainly know dance movement. Missy has trained with younger ballroom instructors, that, in my opinion, move much better than Iveta. As I mentioned in another post, it surprises me that not more of these Russian ballroom dancers try out for the show. I wonder why that is?

[gingerbread]

Iveta did turn 30 last summer. When the judges eliminated her last season, they told her they hoped she would come back the following year. She answered that she would be over the age limit and they said no, she would be fine. That was all live on TV for anyone to hear, and no one apparently objected. In any case, at this moment she is 30, and we should all be very proud to have such a beautiful dancer in the show, the only ballroom dancer to make the top 20. I hope you feel as I do, she is SUCH a nice person, and I hope you all support her with your votes. The ballroom community is small, so even if every one of you voted for her it would not be enough, so please pass the word to friends, etc. I know she would be very grateful. No question it is hard for a ballroom dancer to make it on this show, especially at age 30, but she is dedicated and will give it her all.

Yes, 2009 brought us Seasons 5 and 6. SYTYCD season 6 did not do well in the ratings and FOX learned its lesson by switching back to the once-a-year-spring-summer format.



:D:D

[SDsalsaguy]

Group email I just received from Gherman (Iveta's partner):

Dear Friends,

Im reaching Out to you For help And support!

My Dance Partner , Iveta Lukosiute, is a contestant "On So You Think You Can Dance" season 8 TV program On Fox.

Last week she did an amazing performance With Pasha And group numbers. She had a standing ovation And lots of great comments. However, this week, dancers will be judged. This wednesday everyone will perform In duets And thursday 2 dancers will go Home :-(

Iveta is an amazing dancer And The only one Ballroom dancer on this show. She really needs all Our support!!! Ballroom Dance community is much smaller than hip hop or contemporary, so we need to work super hard to keep her On this competition so she could represent all of us Ballroom dancers! Shes one of The Best Ballroom dancers they have ever had On this show. We have to use this opportunity to show what we Ballroom dancers can do! :-)

Iveta worked really hard to get On this competition, now its Our turn to work hard to keep her In!!! :-)

Im asking you to help me to spread the word out so everyone would vote this wednesday! One person can vote 50 times and it can be done on line too on www.fox.com/dance/.

Also we need to tell people to go and "like" Iveta's Fan Page, we need to make sure she has more fans than other contestants :-) http://www.facebook.com/D8Iveta

Lets all put our power together and lets do whatever its possible, lets create TEAM IVETA!!!!! Lets get everyone involved so she can represent us!!!!

[Casayoto]

A very obvious predilection for young dancers appears throughout the entire show. From the music chosen, to the long and late hours they had to rehearse, this is all stuff for young kids. I understand that professional dancers are generally speaking young but these aren't pros.


The show is very clear(at least since season 2 or 3) that it treats and expects it's dancers to be of a professional level. Non-professionals audition at their own risk, and if they can't deal with the long hours of Vegas, they probably can't deal with the long hours of the show.

As far as Iveta's age, I'm not sure when her birthday is, but as long as you are 30 when you first audition for that season you're fine. She may be 31 by now, but if she was 30 when the New York audition took place, she was legal.

[RickRS]

A very obvious predilection for young dancers appears throughout the entire show. From the music chosen, to the long and late hours they had to rehearse, this is all stuff for young kids. I understand that professional dancers are generally speaking young but these aren't pros.

A lot of them are pros in their dance style. We have had two dancers from ballet companies- a woman in season 5 (?) and Alex Wong in season 7 (he would have been in season 6, but couldn't get a release from the Miami Ballet Company that year). Benji and Lacey Schwimmer were champions in WCS. Travis Walls (season 2) had performed on Broadway as a teen. "Legacy" Perez (season 6) was a professional "B-Boy" and had appeared in two dance movies (including Stomp The Yard) before SYTYCD. Mollee Gray (season 6) was a dancer in 5 movies, including all of the High School Musical films before SYTYCD. I'm sure there's more.

[RickRS]

I just watched Iveta's performance -- Wikipedia sez it was a paso, but there was some cha cha thrown in, too, correct? Btw, how did Iveta make the age cut-off? She was 29 when she tried out for season 6, and here we are, season 8. (I'm not complaining, though.)

As to the age, Robert Taylor, one of the hip hop dancers this year, is reported to have already had a birthday since the auditions and is now 31.

[White Chacha]

Yes, 2009 brought us Seasons 5 and 6. SYTYCD season 6 did not do well in the ratings and FOX learned its lesson by switching back to the once-a-year-spring-summer format.



:D:D

Not to mention that they constantly ran into preemption due to sports games.

[samina]

was so happy to see iveta make it to vegas...haven't seen the vegas show, but i am gathering from reading this thread that she made the top 20, which is so exciting!

the thing about iveta is, though she may be older and more "sophisticated" than the other competitors, she also has such *star* energy. she may be able to "own" the younger set just through her charisma...and perhaps she'll draw into the voting more men who would otherwise not have voted. :cool:

"go iveta!" :)

[samina]

loved iveta's cop dance...the look on nigel's face was priceless.

[RickRS]

The first show in full contest mode has gotten the show hitting its stride. A good start by all; I didn't see anything last night that said "he/she has got to go!"

Guessing, Clarice's and Jess's Broadway to Me And My Baby could suffer from being too much of a "rat-tat-tat-tat" classic Broadway. It was danced well, the choreography went with the song and style, but it goes over as lightweight. They may not excite anyone to vote.

Miranda and Robert "Wooh!" take on the jive was good. Robert may have not been perfect, but the dance was full of energy.

The "dance of death" in the first week?!! The SYTYCD curse may be broken; Iveta and Nick did a great performance with the Quick Step. It was expected of Iveta, but Nick was wonderful and held up his side of the partnership. Could it be that tap is the perfect training for Quick Step? I was impressed with it all. It was my second favorite dance of the night.

My favorite was the Melanie and Marko contemporary performance of Turn to Stone. It have a wonderful mix of speed and stillness that I love to see in dance and Melanie and Marko were great. The makeup to make them appear as marble was actually a little off-putting to me at the start of the dance, but everything else just meshed for a superb routine.

[GJB]

Could it be that tap is the perfect training for Quick Step?

Or maybe Iveta was able to coach him during their practice time.

[samina]

watched "top 20"... wow. am left with the impression these are the best starting dancers yet...at least of any season i have watched. quite blown away. iveta rocked (i was very moved by her performance, ,so happy for her and appreciative of her determination)...as did so many others of them.

i enjoyed the personal backstories very much, as that's part of the show.

looking forward to the season. am so glad the episodes can be caught online after they air.

[Steve Pastor]

No Kidding! I forgot again last night - African dance class!
I will not forget this evening, and will spend time on line later on!

[barrefly]

My favorite was Iveta and the tap dancer doing the quick step. (Will someone please pass me the humble pie.)

[Mengu]

My favorites were the first african jazz piece (which I think set the energy and expectation level nicely), the demon dance, the statues, and the quickstep. But there was nothing that stood out as bad, or embarrassing (other than the queen of screams). Certainly a good first show.

And, go Iveta!

[rbazsz]

was so happy to see iveta make it to vegas...haven't seen the vegas show, but i am gathering from reading this thread that she made the top 20, which is so exciting!

the thing about iveta is, though she may be older and more "sophisticated" than the other competitors, she also has such *star* energy. she may be able to "own" the younger set just through her charisma...and perhaps she'll draw into the voting more men who would otherwise not have voted. :cool:

"go iveta!" :)

I never call in to vote for these shows because that's girl stuff -- BUT, I might make an exception for Iveta!

[Casayoto]

You crack me up RickRS. The Jive and Quickstep were two of the worst in my opinion, althought I knew the ballroom fans would keep Iveta out of danger in week 1. And I think the Broadway piece could have been a lot stronger, but Clarice didn't dance it nearly as well as Jess did.

[NonieS]

Iveta is soooo hot!!! As a straight female, even I must say I shamelessly drool over her... her body is perfect.

[gingerbread]

I hope the ballroom community continues to support Iveta tonight with their votes. She is a magical dancer.

[SDsalsaguy]

I hope the ballroom community continues to support Iveta tonight with their votes. She is a magical dancer.
1-888-836-7604 for Iveta! :D

[Yanou]

Iveta is scheduled to do shows this weekend at Millennium. I'm sure she can handle both!

[rbazsz]

1-888-836-7604 for Iveta! :D

I have tried calling many times over the last 12 hours but the line is always busy. Perhaps the results are rigged against Iveta.

[rbazsz]

Does anyone know a real competition that's sort of like SYTYCD? Perhaps some kind of freestyle comps?

[samina]

I never call in to vote for these shows because that's girl stuff --
what!!!!???

BUT, I might make an exception for Iveta!

well...that's a good cause to help you get over your...block. :cool:

[sambanada]

wonderful show!

[Ray Sison]

wonderful show!

+1 :cheers:

[RickRS]

What? No comments about the vote or Wednesday's dance show? Nothing about Iveta getting the hook?

Way late (burnt out on computers after solid two weeks playing tech writer at my job), but I'm really surprised Jess (the Broadway guy) didn't get voted off. His partnership with Clarice just fell apart when he attempt the lifts in the routine. Apart, they dance beautifully, together, it was a mess. Can't believe Jess avoided the bottom three.

For the rest of the Wednesday performances:

Iveta and Nick did a serviceable Bollywood, but nothing exciting. The first time for Bollywood in Season 4 with Katee and Joshua set the bar and nobody has top it after.

The waltz with Jordan and Tadd was a surprise; Tadd did not look at all like a B-Boy in the dance. I was impressed.

The best for me was the last; Ashley and Chris with a jailhouse Broadway number. That routine was just smoking hot.

[Beto]

What? No comments about the vote or Wednesday's dance show? Nothing about Iveta getting the hook?
Maybe the ballroom dancers here are in denial so they don't want to talk about it? ;)

I still haven't watched last week's performance or results show so I hope to get to that tonight and get caught up.

[chachachacat]

Ok, it sucks that Iveta was cut!

[gingerbread]

I am FURIOUS. I don't understand Nigel's agenda. He doesdn't follow his own rules. The idea that when you are the bottom 3, you dance for your life and the best solo stays. Was Iveta's not the best of the girls' solos? It was fantastic. then Nigel says he wants couples with diversity of styles and he gets rid of the couple with the most diversity,. Unfortunately too, was the bollywood, really hard to score high in that style. I think Iveta brought drama and class, and huge talent to that show, she was a breath of fresh air, and I am yes, as you said, still in denial, hoping they made a mistake.
She is back in New York and a perfect lady, saying how much she enjoyed the experience and wishing she were still there. Nigel is the loser not to have her injecting his show with such style.

[rbazsz]

I am FURIOUS. I don't understand Nigel's agenda. He doesdn't follow his own rules. The idea that when you are the bottom 3, you dance for your life and the best solo stays. Was Iveta's not the best of the girls' solos? It was fantastic. then Nigel says he wants couples with diversity of styles and he gets rid of the couple with the most diversity,. Unfortunately too, was the bollywood, really hard to score high in that style. I think Iveta brought drama and class, and huge talent to that show, she was a breath of fresh air, and I am yes, as you said, still in denial, hoping they made a mistake.
She is back in New York and a perfect lady, saying how much she enjoyed the experience and wishing she were still there. Nigel is the loser not to have her injecting his show with such style.

It does sound like you don't understand the agenda. When they say they want diversity of styles they are talking in politically correct lingo.

Iveta was set up to lose. It's all part of the agenda. Regardless of merit an interracial couple will win this time.

[RickRS]

I can't see why Ryan wasn't cut instead of Iveta. Nigel himself said her dance-for-your-life solo wasn't any good. And then he passes her on the the next round....

[RickRS]

Iveta was set up to lose. It's all part of the agenda. Regardless of merit an interracial couple will win this time.

Why do you think this? What sort of fix has to do with interracial couples?

[RickRS]

Show's starting now, talk later.

[ChaChaMama]

It does sound like you don't understand the agenda. When they say they want diversity of styles they are talking in politically correct lingo.

Iveta was set up to lose. It's all part of the agenda. Regardless of merit an interracial couple will win this time.

:confused::confused::confused: I don't think couples win the show. Individuals do.

[wooh]

It's all part of the agenda. Regardless of merit an interracial couple will win this time.

You know a couple doesn't win, right? It's a person.

[samina]

iveta's bollywood performance was so weak, though, in comparison to the other girls... very soft and lacking charisma, as amazingly charismatic as she is in a ballroom and photo-opp context.

i mean, i adore iveta, her personality & her dancing. but as nigel put it... there are so many female "beasts" competing this year, and there is something very light, delicate and ethereal about iveta. i can understand where they were coming from in letting her go. as much as i wanted to see her stay on... i would love to have seen her stay longer. but this year is the most challenging competition i've seen in any season i've watched. everyone is phenomenal.

i'm reminded by something my former instructor told me, at a national comp: "there is no shame in being beat by excellent dancers."

it is what it is.

[RickRS]

Jess did a complete 180 with his foxtrot. While his prior dance was lousy when he had to do partner work and lifts, last night he didn't have an visible problem with them. True, he didn't have as many lifts, and the last one had Clarice falling unto him from the stairs, but the two were just so smooth together. Excellent routine.

Jordan and Tadd with the NappyTab hip-hop was the one I loved the most. Before this show, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to see a hip-hop routine. There has been so many excellent routines over the seasons I've gotten a real appreciation of what the dance involves and Nappytab's choreography, always great, is the hook that pulled me in. Jordan and Tadd routine look like so much fun; at one point it seem like Tadd danced into his pants. Enjoyed it.

[salsera_alemana]

I LOVE this show! So much great dancing! Especially this season!

I was overjoyed after the first show that nobody was sent home because I agreed that we should have the chance to see more dancing of all contestants. And I was sad to see 4 dancers leave last week. Since 4 had to leave, I agreed with the judges for the most part but could not understand, either, why they kept Ryan and not Iveta.
Agreed, the Bollywood routine was not so exciting, but her solo was great and Ryan's was not so good according to the judges. Oh well...

That said I don't know who could be in the bottom 3 tonight. Like last week, there was no dancer who messed up or was not up to standard.

I loved the samba and foxtrott routines and the Napitabs routine with Jordan and Tadd. I just love Jess and thought their partner routine was very good this week. However, last week I thought that Clarice could not keep up with Jess and that they are not well matched as a couple, not only because she is a little taler than him.

I liked the first routine (Sasha and Alexander) and Marco's and Melanie's routine very much.

As last week, I did not care so much for Ryan's and Ricky's routine, I do not connect with Ryan's dancing, maybe it is her facial expressions, I just can't feel her character in the dances. Also, Miranda and Robert's routine did not do so much for me.

[rbazsz]

Why do you think this? What sort of fix has to do with interracial couples?

Fox producers obviously think interracial couples are fashionable, so they will fix things to make sure that's who wins. It's already caste in stone that a black-male/white-female will win.

Personally I think all of the interracial pairing comes across as very contrived, and it's not necessarily romantic or entertaining. I enjoy dancing with women outside of my race but I don't want to see TV producers discriminate against white men just to prove some kind of point.

Bottom line is that is the American public wants mixed race couples that's what Fox will give them.

[rbazsz]

:confused::confused::confused: I don't think couples win the show. Individuals do.

The public pays attention to the couples and how they dance together -- and the public is ultimately who chooses the winners.

[rbazsz]

The judging on SYTYCD is a complete farce. All they do is to say every dancer is wonderful. There is not even a pretense of critical review. Whatever influence the judges have is closed to public scrutiny.

At least DWTS has a point system so the judges have to be somewhat accountable.

SYTYCD is pure entertainment that used the facade of competition as a prop.

[wooh]

Personally I think all of the interracial pairing comes across as very contrived, and it's not necessarily romantic or entertaining. I enjoy dancing with women outside of my race but I don't want to see TV producers discriminate against white men just to prove some kind of point.


Ahhh, the "white men are discriminated against" card. Now I understand.
You realize that just because white people used to get a water fountain all to themselves, that now having to stand in line with black people for a drink doesn't actually equal "discrimination"? :rolleyes:

[SDsalsaguy]

rbazsz, given that the couples get split up once they reach the top 10 and that it is an individual who wins (not a couple), your comments make no logical sense. Also if you think "race" is real beyond the cultural constructions thereof, I suggest you see the following: RACE - Are We So Different? (http://www.understandingrace.org/home.html)

[samina]

I think the race card is a bunch-a-bunk, either way. However America votes, who cares...you could have a semester long college course intellectualizing why people vote in different ways and times -- it's not so simple to say "oh, they vote for the cute blonds" or "blacks are cool, thus they win". People are going to vote for their faves, regardless of race. And if a power-chica-who-happens-to-be-black happens to win...awesome.

As for the judges, they are choosing for *marketability* -- they can darn well choose however they like from the batch of dancers that are left. It's not the "best" dancer, it's the one that is most charismatic, entertaining, and likely to draw and maintain a following when the show is over. They want entertainers & moneymakers. And they make no pretence about it -- that's their purpose.

[Casayoto]

You're not really making any sense rbazsz. Couples don't win. Individuals win. It would be impossible for them to fix it for an interracial couple to win. Now, they do have clear agendas about who they want to win, and they push that as hard as they can every year, but a couple can't win the show.

As far as the actual show, it's gotten to the point that I forgot it was on this week. The choreography is getting less exciting, they take the edge off of hip hop, and the basics out of ballroom so that everything is easier for the Contemporary dancers to do. Then they cut everyone who isn't a Contemporary/Jazz dancer. Nigel even referred to the Foxtrot as a Broadway piece when he was reviewing Jess last night. Every piece is the best piece they've ever seen, and then when three of those pieces are in the bottom, they claim they're surprised because of how good those couples did. If everybody was perfect, who did you think would be in the bottom? Glaring problems in every routine, and the only critique anyone can make is, "I love you, you're a beast." Ugh. Keep on cutting the interesting dancers guys, and keep the generic interchangeable contemporary people. That will help your crashing ratings...

[leee]

Fox producers obviously think interracial couples are fashionable, so they will fix things to make sure that's who wins. It's already caste in stone that a black-male/white-female will win.

Personally I think all of the interracial pairing comes across as very contrived, and it's not necessarily romantic or entertaining. I enjoy dancing with women outside of my race but I don't want to see TV producers discriminate against white men just to prove some kind of point.

Bottom line is that is the American public wants mixed race couples that's what Fox will give them.

Considering that the top 20 had four black guys and two black girls (i.e. there must needs be a mixed-race couple), I'm not sure you thought out your point all the way through.

[duffypratt]

You're not really making any sense rbazsz. Couples don't win. Individuals win. It would be impossible for them to fix it for an interracial couple to win. Now, they do have clear agendas about who they want to win, and they push that as hard as they can every year, but a couple can't win the show.

As far as the actual show, it's gotten to the point that I forgot it was on this week. The choreography is getting less exciting, they take the edge off of hip hop, and the basics out of ballroom so that everything is easier for the Contemporary dancers to do. Then they cut everyone who isn't a Contemporary/Jazz dancer. Nigel even referred to the Foxtrot as a Broadway piece when he was reviewing Jess last night. Every piece is the best piece they've ever seen, and then when three of those pieces are in the bottom, they claim they're surprised because of how good those couples did. If everybody was perfect, who did you think would be in the bottom? Glaring problems in every routine, and the only critique anyone can make is, "I love you, you're a beast." Ugh. Keep on cutting the interesting dancers guys, and keep the generic interchangeable contemporary people. That will help your crashing ratings...

I think you have it exactly right. The public continually puts the ballroom, broadway and unusual style dances (African Jazz, Stepping, etc...) into the bottom three. Thus, it seems pretty clear that the public is more likely to vote for either contemporary or hip-hop numbers, but especially contemporary. The judges then tend to favor the contemporary dancers when it comes to elimination.

I may be wrong, but I think this season there were 7 people who fit outside the contemporary/jazz classification: 1 Ballroom, 1 Tap, 1 Broadway, 4 Hip Hop. That means only one of the 10 women was outside the show's mainstream, and she's gone. And the first male eliminations have gotten rid of three of the six men who don't fit the mold.

[latingal]

When speaking of the types of dancers eliminated, I think you must consider that Ballroom, Tap, Broadway and Hip Hop might have technique so specific to their styles that the skills they learn do not "cross pollinate" as easily as say a contemporary dancer, who's training consists of learning to control and direct their bodies in whatever mode needed.

A contemporary or classically trained dancer may be able to fake ballroom, hip hop or broadway or whatever fairly well. But a ballroom dancer or hip hop dancer (etc.) may not have had the chance to develop the skills to do a hard core contemporary routine (extreme extensions, split jumps, etc.) in their normal training.

[dancelvr]

As far as the actual show, it's gotten to the point that I forgot it was on this week. The choreography is getting less exciting, they take the edge off of hip hop, and the basics out of ballroom so that everything is easier for the Contemporary dancers to do. Then they cut everyone who isn't a Contemporary/Jazz dancer. Nigel even referred to the Foxtrot as a Broadway piece when he was reviewing Jess last night. Every piece is the best piece they've ever seen, and then when three of those pieces are in the bottom, they claim they're surprised because of how good those couples did. If everybody was perfect, who did you think would be in the bottom? Glaring problems in every routine, and the only critique anyone can make is, "I love you, you're a beast." Ugh. Keep on cutting the interesting dancers guys, and keep the generic interchangeable contemporary people. That will help your crashing ratings...


Agree. Am not excited about this season at all. And ,so sick of the watered down ballroom. *humph*

[Steve Pastor]

So, I'm curious...

I like this season, especially because we geet to see the dancers dance with each other, instead of with "all stars" for a while.

I hear a "fair" amount of criticism, but no one is getting blasted. Lil C wanted the dancers to use their entire bodies more in hip hop. So, in that case (the wake up in bed routine), it was the dancers who "watered down" the movement.

Here's a question.

Those of you who are not happy with the "ballroom dances" (Nygel is the producer, and clearly stated that the one routine was broadway with some fox trot rather than simply a fox trot routine)....

What other dance styles have you done, or do you do now?

I've done hop hop, jazz, line dancing, and am now doing African. So seeing the movement that has been done so far is very interesting to me. "Ballroom" doesn't do much for me, although I do partner dances, too.

So, hey, ya'll, are you much into other dances than "ballroom"?

[dancelvr]

I'm not speaking of watered-down movement, but more so, watered-down choreography.

I don't do anything other than partner dancing. It's not that I wouldn't like to try, but I have physical limitations these days. My interest is ballroom. I enjoy watching other styles if the choreography is interesting, and it is well done.

One of my problems is that I got sucked into SYTYDC during season 2, by watching Benji Schwimmer, and I got completely spoiled. Not since has there been a dancer on this show with so much personality, showmanship, AND versatility. So.....eh. (My instructor agrees with me on this.)

I'll probably keep watching, if for no other reason than the hope of seeing a good ballroom routine some night.

[Casayoto]

latingal, I agree that contemporary dancers are usually more cross trained than ballroom or hip hop dancers.(Most tap or broadway dancers have probably done a crap load of ballet and/or jazz, so I won't agree with you on that) The problem is that they make all of the styles closer to contemporary. It's easy for a contemporary dancer to fake a Rumba on the show, because there's hardly any rumba to it. It's all poses, and spins, and very little body action or real ballroom style partnering. They give them a quickstep with 4 measures in closed position(which look awful), and the rest is basically swing or flips. They have them waltz in bare feet instead of heels and, once again, remove all the closed position work. There is also very little difference between their "lyrical hip hop", and what can be called pop-jazz. They need to keep the choreography closer to the style they claim it is so that the contemporary dancers weaknesses can be exposed the same way that the ballroom and hip hop dancers are exposed. I also don't think a true contemporary routine needs the extremes of movements that they insist on throwing into every piece. The wheelchair dance this week was beautiful, and had no jumps, no spins, no extensions, just good dancing. Tricks should enhance a piece, not take it over.

[dancelvr]

latingal, I agree that contemporary dancers are usually more cross trained than ballroom or hip hop dancers.(Most tap or broadway dancers have probably done a crap load of ballet and/or jazz, so I won't agree with you on that) The problem is that they make all of the styles closer to contemporary. It's easy for a contemporary dancer to fake a Rumba on the show, because there's hardly any rumba to it. It's all poses, and spins, and very little body action or real ballroom style partnering. They give them a quickstep with 4 measures in closed position(which look awful), and the rest is basically swing or flips. They have them waltz in bare feet instead of heels and, once again, remove all the closed position work. There is also very little difference between their "lyrical hip hop", and what can be called pop-jazz. They need to keep the choreography closer to the style they claim it is so that the contemporary dancers weaknesses can be exposed the same way that the ballroom and hip hop dancers are exposed. I also don't think a true contemporary routine needs the extremes of movements that they insist on throwing into every piece. The wheelchair dance this week was beautiful, and had no jumps, no spins, no extensions, just good dancing. Tricks should enhance a piece, not take it over.


Exactly.

[duffypratt]

When speaking of the types of dancers eliminated, I think you must consider that Ballroom, Tap, Broadway and Hip Hop might have technique so specific to their styles that the skills they learn do not "cross pollinate" as easily as say a contemporary dancer, who's training consists of learning to control and direct their bodies in whatever mode needed.

A contemporary or classically trained dancer may be able to fake ballroom, hip hop or broadway or whatever fairly well. But a ballroom dancer or hip hop dancer (etc.) may not have had the chance to develop the skills to do a hard core contemporary routine (extreme extensions, split jumps, etc.) in their normal training.

What you say makes perfect sense, but I don't think its true. I took a look at the results in all seasons where the dancers danced as couples, and where they only did one routine per show. First, if what you said were true, you would expect people to get exposed in contemporary dance, and get eliminated as a result. But in these shows (Basically from top 20 to top 10), not one dancer ever got eliminated after doing a contemporary dance. Moreover Contemporary dance was the category that was most likely to see a dancer safe.

Here are the results, listing bottom 3, total, and percentage chance of being bottom three.

Contemporary 5/28 - 18%
Latin/Swing 19/61 - 31%
Broadway 5/15 - 33%
Bollywood 1/3 - 33%
Jazz - 12/29 - 41%
Smooth Ballroom - 14/34 - 41%
Hip Hop 21/47 - 44%
African Jazz - 1/2 - 50%

The statistics don't show people getting knocked out in the early rounds because they can't do contemporary. Instead, it looks like the public is most likely to vote off couples doing Hip Hop routines, followed by Smooth Ballroom and Jazz.

The judges then save the contemporary dancers. I think this is probably a smart move by the producers' part. The public seems to like contemporary best, so it's probably a good ratings move to keep on the contemporary dancers, and as Caseyto pointed out, to skew the other routines towards contemporary.

I just wish they didn't make such a big deal about pretending otherwise.

[rbazsz]

Considering that the top 20 had four black guys and two black girls (i.e. there must needs be a mixed-race couple), I'm not sure you thought out your point all the way through.

You would think with so many blacks in the top 20 there would have been a black-man/black-woman couple. So, why wasn't there?

Of course the obvious answer is that it was random chance there wasn't an all black couple. :nope:

[rbazsz]

Here are the results, listing bottom 3, total, and percentage chance of being bottom three.

Contemporary 5/28 - 18%
Latin/Swing 19/61 - 31%
Broadway 5/15 - 33%
Bollywood 1/3 - 33%
Jazz - 12/29 - 41%
Smooth Ballroom - 14/34 - 41%
Hip Hop 21/47 - 44%
African Jazz - 1/2 - 50%

'

Fascinating statistics. Where did you get them?

[White Chacha]

I wonder how ballroom would fare if there were people who could actually do it, and they got to partner each other. My office mate, who's not a dancer, definitely sees and appreciates the difference between DwtS "stars" dancing, and what actual ballroom dancers do.

[duffypratt]

'

Fascinating statistics. Where did you get them?

There is a wikipedia entry for each season of SYTYCD. It has lots of raw information, including which number was performed, what style, the choreographer, the performers, and the placement, for every dance in each episode. I took that raw information and made a running list by styles, and whether the performance hit the bottom three. Latin/Swing encompassed many different styles, from Cha Cha, Samba, etc... to Lindy Hop, Hustle, West Coast Swing.

The style classification is pretty rough. Nigel recently called a routine Broadway even though it was classified as Foxtrot. Conversely, last week they had a "Broadway" number on which, to my eyes, looked more like a swing routine (or what typically passes for swing on this show and DWTS).

[latingal]

They need to keep the choreography closer to the style they claim it is so that the contemporary dancers weaknesses can be exposed the same way that the ballroom and hip hop dancers are exposed. I also don't think a true contemporary routine needs the extremes of movements that they insist on throwing into every piece.

agreed, especially this season I believe they've watered down the ballroom type routines. in previous seasons they kept more of the basic steps and characteristics in the ballroom routines so you could see more of the lack of training in these styles. but in my opinion it easier to "fake" a ballroom type routine than "fake" a hard core contemporary routine because the contemporary routine requires things from the body that a ballroom dancer's body isn't required to develop.

and as far as a contemporary routine not needing extreme movements, that is totally true. however, it is up to the choreographers in contemporary what to choreograph, are they going to take it easy on the ballroom dancers? perhaps, perhaps not. and even then...when you see the solos, what will be more impressive to the tv audience? soaring leaps and great extensions that a classically trained dancer will inevitably include? or a well done batachata?

don't get me wrong, I appreciate both styles because I've done both....

[latingal]

and duffypratt...good points, however I think we are talking slightly on different subjects. I'm just pointing out that the skill sets of the dancers may be an issue, not the style of the dance which gets you eliminated.

[leee]

You would think with so many blacks in the top 20 there would have been a black-man/black-woman couple. So, why wasn't there?

Of course the obvious answer is that it was random chance there wasn't an all black couple. :nope:

Why weren't there? Because doing the math, you'd realize that there's only an 8% chance of your preferred pairing happening on a random basis with the given demographics of this cast.

[White Chacha]

During the season which brought us Pasha and Anya, were they ever paired during the competition?

[Beto]

During the season which brought us Pasha and Anya, were they ever paired during the competition?
They were not. They only auditioned together. Anya was eliminated in week 5 and Pasha in week 8. The conspiracy theorist in me might say that it was producer manipulation to not allow two world class ballroom dancers with years of partner work history between them to compete as a couple on the show. Even if they got a dance style outside of ballroom their teamwork and history together as partners may have been seen as an unfair advantage by the producers.

[duffypratt]

Why weren't there? Because doing the math, you'd realize that there's only an 8% chance of your preferred pairing happening on a random basis with the given demographics of this cast.

I'm not sure, but I think your math is off. If you randomly selected one couple out of the demographic, there is an 8% chance that that couple would be all black.

But that's not the odd's you are trying to calculate. The problem is much more complicated, and I'm not sure how you do the math on it. It's actually a fairly involved problem in conditional probability. Suppose the first pair is picked, and it is all white. Then you have 9 couples left, and the odds of getting an all black couple on the second draw is 8/81, or just under 10%. I'm not sure what the final odds are, but since the odds of getting an all black couple is 8% on the first draw, that means the odds of getting an all black couple over the course of all ten draws must be greater than 8%. Giving my understanding of how weird these kinds of probabilities get, I would not be at all surprised if the actual probability of ending up with an all black couple was greater than 50%.

[Casayoto]

Probability aside, it seems pretty obvious that they would try not to pair up a black couple to start the show. There's no conspiracy about it. They're just trying to diversify the looks and skills of all the couples. They wouldn't put two ballroom dancers, or two hip hop dancers together. They think about the height of the partners, thus Nick and Iveta this year, and Brandon and Jeannette a couple years ago. Once they start eliminating people, they've always been gun shy about splitting partners if they can help it. Of course there are exceptions, but they like keeping partners together if they can.

[rbazsz]

They were not. They only auditioned together. Anya was eliminated in week 5 and Pasha in week 8. The conspiracy theorist in me might say that it was producer manipulation to not allow two world class ballroom dancers with years of partner work history between them to compete as a couple on the show. Even if they got a dance style outside of ballroom their teamwork and history together as partners may have been seen as an unfair advantage by the producers.

Since the producers want to reduce the chance that a same-race would win, it makes sense that they would dump Pasha and Anya. Your anti-ballroom theory would give them one more reason.

[rbazsz]

Probability aside, it seems pretty obvious that they would try not to pair up a black couple to start the show. There's no conspiracy about it. They're just trying to diversify the looks and skills of all the couples.

In my original post I explained that the producers are trying to game the show. If you prefer to use the term "diversify" go for it, but remember that diversification can result in deliberate discrimination.

[Casayoto]

rbazsz, you continue to make no sense. Listen carefully...A couple can not win the show. The winner is an individual. There is no way for them to fix it so that a mixed race couple wins, or an all white couple loses.

I am no defender of the BS that Nigel is responsible for, but how else should they do it? Should the pairings be only black people with black people, and asian people with asian people? Put all the white people together? Oh, wait, we have Russian white people, and Midwest white people. Our we allowed to put them together, or would that be pushing our agenda of an inter-continental couple winning?

[Steve Pastor]

Recently read an interesting article about how for most people facts have little influence on previously, and deeply, held beliefs.

[samina]

caught up with the latest episodes...was surprised with the judge's pix, thought chris & ashley would be going home, was disappointed to see mirando go...she grew on me.

can't get enuf of jess, though...what charisma, so smooth.

[duffypratt]

Another week, and the bottom three included the two ballroom type dances that were on the program: Waltz and Salsa. Again the dancers of contemporary programs ended up safe. And again, given the choice, the judges decided to get rid of a hip hop guy, instead of canning a contemporary dancer. (Also, they decided to keep couples together again.)

[RickRS]

Wednesday's show has some good stuff and I enjoy the performances.

Melanie and Marko's jazz number was great inspite of the weird outfit Melanie worn.

Contemporary dancers Sasha and Alexander's hip-hop disappointed the judges, but I still liked it. Sasha was dancing hip-hop better than Alexander. I think what the judges were missing was the "swagger" expected in the dance, and Sasha had a little more of it than Alex.

Jordan and Tadd got smooth waltz, making it the second time they did waltz, having done what I felt was a very good viennese waltz two weeks ago. I'm impress with Tadd. This guy is from the hip-hop community and he's holding his own in dances way, way outside his style.

Contemporary Ashley and hip-hopper Chris did salsa and disappointed the judges. It wasn't that good, but it wasn't a mess. Chris, the weak link in the team for this dance, was doing his best. If he had been on DwtS as a contestant, he would have been in the '9' class. But more is expected here, so Thursday they got eliminated.

Enjoyed Ryan and Ricky's jazz dance to 'Fashion'. I thought Ricky was rocking the "zombie-Zoolander' vibe even better than Ryan.

Last up was Caitlynn and Mitchell with a Mandy Moore contemporary number. The performance was great with the dance seeming to soar above the floor. That dance was a real workout with tons of lifts and leaps. No doubt in my mind when Cat brought them out for the result announcement on Thursday's show they were safe.

The second guest judge, Carmen Electra, didn't show Thursday and nothing was said about that. What was up? I'm assuming that the celebrity judge input was part of the judging, and past guests Megan Mullally, Debbie Reynolds, and Kristin Chenoweth (4th judge with Lil' C) had something to do with the selection. Why didn't Carmen show?

And a reminder of this show's setup; Travis Wall was quoted (from the link Beto provided about a new reality show King of Dance) saying he spent 4 and a half hours working with the dancers as a choreographer for each SYTYCD number. That total, people! I've heard that before, and I have no doubt the dancers work way more than that getting the performance ready, but 4 1/2 hours is all the coaching these dancers get from the choreographer.

[dancelvr]

Nothing too exciting for me this week. Although, the smooth waltz routine had fantastic choreography. Would love to see that routine done by a high level ballroom couple.

[dancelvr]

They were not. They only auditioned together. Anya was eliminated in week 5 and Pasha in week 8. The conspiracy theorist in me might say that it was producer manipulation to not allow two world class ballroom dancers with years of partner work history between them to compete as a couple on the show. Even if they got a dance style outside of ballroom their teamwork and history together as partners may have been seen as an unfair advantage by the producers.


I can see that if you look back to Season 2, and remember when Benji and Heidi were paired together. Those two had years of partnering with each other. And, they smoked everyone with their Mambo and Broadway routines. However, with the preponderance of contemporary dancers on the show, some get paired together pretty much every week. That would be impossible to avoid. If there were more ballroom contestants, we might be treated to an actual ballroom routine once in a while. Maybe next season?

[White Chacha]

I thought the vwaltz from two weeks ago was conspicuous in it's total lack of any closed work. I thought this past Wednesday's waltz was rough, lacked fluidity, and that the couple were well served by the fog obscuring any view of their feet. I was disappointed. There were other routines I enjoyed this past week.

[SQ_F05]

I thought the vwaltz from two weeks ago was conspicuous in it's total lack of any closed work. I thought this past Wednesday's waltz was rough, lacked fluidity, and that the couple were well served by the fog obscuring any view of their feet. I was disappointed. There were other routines I enjoyed this past week.

I agree about Wednesday's waltz routine, although the man looked better than the woman.

[lacubs]

i think chelsie hightower can only do next week show, so if her get by next week i don't know what going do, but DWTS is not playing nice with this

[samina]

interestingly...the top 12 were all interviewed on which has been their hardest dance so far, and nearly all of them cited a ballroom dance. :)

[leee]

interestingly...the top 12 were all interviewed on which has been their hardest dance so far, and nearly all of them cited a ballroom dance. :)

Interesting -- do you have a link?
Really interested to see what Sasha can do now with partners who aren't Alexander.

[samina]

Interesting -- do you have a link?
Really interested to see what Sasha can do now with partners who aren't Alexander.

http://www.fox.com/dance/videos/1057585732001/g-series-top-12

[leee]

"Make sure to show the Gatorade, you guys." (Thanks, samina!)

[BrownSkin818]

i've been awol and missed the last 3 weeks. just now got caught up. this thread has certainly had some odd tangents.

anywho, i was initially miffed by the number of contemporary dancers chosen this season. though i absolutely love contemporary, i wanted to see more diversity in the dance backgrounds. well it's totally taken its toll on me. seems i'm no longer moved by the contemp solos. i just watched the last dance-for-your-lives and all the contemps felt like repetitive and gratuitous leg extensions, leaps & spins. they dont seem to be doing much dancing. i didnt really think that about the contemp ppl in previous seasons. so either S8 is lacking or i'm just contemporaried OUT.

funny thing is, my eyes brightened a bit to see sasha's solo b/c i thought... here's a chick who can do all the used-and-abused stuff, but she's taken a different approach. i totally liked and appreciated her solo! but then nigel goes and pans her for it. :/ i feel like im in the contemporary twilight zone.

other misc thoughts, then ill shutup until i can be current (this week!) with the talks...
-they panned chris scott good for that uganda (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeZcMlG8QSI) piece. i was embarrassed for him. they may want to reserve him for group pieces only. ive been underwhelmed with his couples numbers.
-that guest judge jesse tyler ferguson was hilarious, good fit.
-also LOVED sonyah as a judge, moreso than nigel even.
-that salsa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tc8KyKnCuE) the other week hurt my heart. of their 7 hours of rehearsal, they must have spent 5 on tricks, and 2 learning the actual dance. :/
-good riddance to ryan. they took too long to boot her. ashley too.
-how ADORABLE was it that jordan was so uncomfortable with the bed routine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JctvhQ4e8s)?? in the cutest and most apologetic kid voice she says... "im sorry i cant relate to strange ppl waking up in my bed! i sleep with pillow pets!" ROFL!!

oye! on with it....
my favorite gals: melanie, sasha, and jordan
favorite guys: ? i like them all except mitchell. he turned me off back in week 1 when he shared his partner choice reaction, saying that the most important question was whether or not his partner would be pretty. so he goes to pick the name *drum roll & results* YAY! she's pretty! :? really?? i havent been able to get into him since.

[BrownSkin818]

love this new format! we get a whole new batch of all stars next week?? SWEEEEEEET!

my thoughts....

marko & chelsea. samba w/ jason G.
sorry marko, i didnt see you at all. im such a huge chelsea fan. :oops:

jordan & brandon. contemp w/ dwight & desmond.
this was all sorts of sick. nice to see a piece not need a story for a change. jordan did very well, but... i couldnt help but think that some of the other girls would have done even better. still thoroughly enjoyed it.

tadd & comfort. hip hop w/ chuck maldonado.
i never liked comfort. never saw why they pegged her as the best female hip hopper to have been on the show. hated the song choice. hated the routine. hated the wardrobe. tadd did what he what he could but when everything else is a bust.... :rolleyes:.

mitchell & melody. broadway w/ tyce.
sooooo unfortunate melody had to come back under a tyce piece. a lot of the current followers missed S1, so to have their representative come out to a sucky routine... :(. im not a mitchell fan so "whatever" on him. i love that the guest judge pretty much panned tyce, lol.

caitlynn & pasha. arg tango w/ miriam & leonardo.
i didnt get why the judges liked this so much. i thought her legs were horrible. she was too far apart from him pretty much the entire time.

sasha & twitch. hip hop w/ c. scott.
c. scott delivered on a couples routine just when i'd panned him earlier for falling short with that. this was the highlight of the night and maybe my favorite routine of the season. dont know why mary didnt put sasha on the hot tamale train. sasha was so waiting for it too, lol. i LOVE how twitch gave sasha props in the pre-package, saying he'd have to bring it in order to dance with her. *thumbs up*

jess & kathryn. contemp w/ stacy tookey.
jess did well but this didn't particularly move me.

melanie & pasha. v waltz w/ jason G.
pretty good. i was a bit distracted by melanie's hand positioning, but it was nice and flowy besides that.

ricky & allison. jazz w/ tyce.
love again how the all-star gave props to the contestant. loved this routine and my first thought as i realized it was good was.... "dang tyce, FINALLY!" lol. very strong showing for ricky. that one armed lift where he pulled her dead weight off the floor by her thigh was ridiculous.

clarice & robert. bollywood w/ nakul.
very well choreographed. very well performed. just wish clarice had had a different all-star. weird vibe with them.


other thoughts....
neil patrick harris may have just earned a recurring judge spot. A+ analysis from him.

[RickRS]

I missed commenting on the previous week completely, but just one comment (well, two actually):

What weirdly bad luck for Alex Wong! Injured during auditions for another show the week before he would have likely been the star to see on SYTYCD?! I've never heard any other details beyond what Nigel provided, so if anyone has better information, please share.

I loved the humor that Jesse Tyler Ferguson infused into the judges comments last week. And so far, the season's guest judges have been, for the most part, a good addition to the show's format.

[RickRS]

love this new format! we get a whole new batch of all stars next week?? SWEEEEEEET!

But no Chelsea, Pasha, or Twitch next week...:(


marko & chelsea. samba w/ jason G.
sorry marko, i didnt see you at all. im such a huge chelsea fan. :oops:
Chelsea just smoked that number! The danger of dancing with an All-Star: you may be totally ignored.

tadd & comfort. hip hop w/ chuck maldonado.
i never liked comfort. never saw why they pegged her as the best female hip hopper to have been on the show. hated the song choice. hated the routine. hated the wardrobe. tadd did what he what he could but when everything else is a bust.... :rolleyes:.
And it's not like two guys dancing hip hop is so awkward (think ballroom, or any couple dance). I can't think of another female hip hop that got into the top ten, or even top twenty, but maybe if there was one she will get a call to be an All-Star in an upcoming week and maybe she'll click with the producers and replace Comfort.

mitchell & melody. broadway w/ tyce.
sooooo unfortunate melody had to come back under a tyce piece. a lot of the current followers missed S1, so to have their representative come out to a sucky routine... :(. im not a mitchell fan so "whatever" on him. i love that the guest judge pretty much panned tyce, lol.
Yeah, but Neil didn't break the SYTYCD Commandment to speak no evil of the choreographer. The viewer may not have recognized what Neil "wasn't feeling" included Tyce.

sasha & twitch. hip hop w/ c. scott.
c. scott delivered on a couples routine just when i'd panned him earlier for falling short with that. this was the highlight of the night and maybe my favorite routine of the season. dont know why mary didnt put sasha on the hot tamale train. sasha was so waiting for it too, lol. i LOVE how twitch gave sasha props in the pre-package, saying he'd have to bring it in order to dance with her. *thumbs up*
And this is the positive thing about dancing with an All-Star - finally getting a partner that allows the contentant to just explode on stage with a unbelievably excellent proformance. And love that move where Sasha rose partway up from the floor as Twitch slid under her, caught her neck, and then pushed her upright. The trust that required between the two to pull that off!

ricky & allison. jazz w/ tyce.
love again how the all-star gave props to the contestant. loved this routine and my first thought as i realized it was good was.... "dang tyce, FINALLY!" lol. very strong showing for ricky. that one armed lift where he pulled her dead weight off the floor by her thigh was ridiculous.
Tyce's broadway stuff hasn't had any zing lately and then this comes seemly out of nowhere. Kudos to Ricky; the guy is just a bubbly type personality but he was channeling the darkness of Mark Kanemura's performances from season 4 in this number.

other thoughts....
neil patrick harris may have just earned a recurring judge spot. A+ analysis from him.
I'm still loving Jesse Tyler Ferguson, but I would like to see either of these two again.

[samina]

i am a bit behind with the season... just watched sasha's paso with alexander and am BLOWN AWAY by sasha! holy cow...

for a non-ballroom dancer, that is the best paso i've seen, the best *male* version and by a woman. couldn't take my eyes off her... good for her! she's extremely charismatic. i hope she goes far...

[Prestigious]

i think chelsie hightower can only do next week show, so if her get by next week i don't know what going do, but DWTS is not playing nice with this

Chelsie said that she was only able to do one show, due to a conflict with her DWTS contract. She said that she was extremely grateful that they allowed her to do that much. Whether she is just saying that or they really did go out of their way to make it happen, i don't know, but it definitely was great seeing her back!

love this new format! we get a whole new batch of all stars next week?? SWEEEEEEET!

my thoughts....

marko & chelsea. samba w/ jason G.
sorry marko, i didnt see you at all. im such a huge chelsea fan. :oops:


I have to agree... even when i watched it back on YouTube (well, that was the only way i could watch it seeing as I am in Australia), i found it hard to focus on what he was doing. I did notice that his Volta's weren't as sharp as they could have been, and his bachacadas were mostly done in the leg, however he had very admirable hip action. It was quite well done.

I did notice Chelsie called Jason Gilkison "Gilkinson" in the package... just a trivial thing :tongue:

[Steve Pastor]

caitlynn & pasha. arg tango w/ miriam & leonardo.
i didnt get why the judges liked this so much. i thought her legs were horrible. she was too far apart from him pretty much the entire time.

Because it's Tango and it's HOT!
Us ATers have known for a long time that the judges don't know much about AT, although they do have the names for the "moves".

I really liked the choice of music here. I KNOW that song from somewhere. Maybe it was in the sound track of one of the tango films? To me it was classic Argentine Tango. Hope we hear more of that.

[dancelvr]

Only two comments...

The AT routine was ok, but yeah....she was too far from her partner most of the time, and the feet and legs were lacking.

The VW....*sigh* Are we EVER going to see a real VW on this show? Still waiting for that.

I'll add that I'm becoming bored with contemporary style dance. I really wish the judges would balance the field with more varied dancers. Like, for the top 20...lets say...5 contemporary, 5 ballroom, 5 broadway/jazz, and 5 hip-hop/krump/b-boy(girl)...or something like that. It would make the show more interesting IMHO.

[White Chacha]

...The VW....*sigh* Are we EVER going to see a real VW on this show? Still waiting for that.
...

It was nice, but agreed that it lacked in VW-ness. And, once again, a total lack of any closed work. Props for the shadow turns, and the seamlessness of the lifts.

[duffypratt]

Only two comments...

The AT routine was ok, but yeah....she was too far from her partner most of the time, and the feet and legs were lacking.

The VW....*sigh* Are we EVER going to see a real VW on this show? Still waiting for that.

I'll add that I'm becoming bored with contemporary style dance. I really wish the judges would balance the field with more varied dancers. Like, for the top 20...lets say...5 contemporary, 5 ballroom, 5 broadway/jazz, and 5 hip-hop/krump/b-boy(girl)...or something like that. It would make the show more interesting IMHO.

I tend to agree with you, but it's pretty clear that the audience likes contemporary dance. This season, there have been 12 contemporary performances, and only one of them landed in the bottom (this week's dance by Jordan). By contrast, there have been 14 ballroom or latin dances, and 7 of those wound up in the bottom. That's pretty telling, and this season, if you got lucky enough to draw a Bollywood program, it's a ticket directly off the show. If the audience favors contemporary dance, then it makes sense for the producers to load the show up with dancers who are good at it.

[bia]

I tend to agree with you, but it's pretty clear that the audience likes contemporary dance. This season, there have been 12 contemporary performances, and only one of them landed in the bottom (this week's dance by Jordan). By contrast, there have been 14 ballroom or latin dances, and 7 of those wound up in the bottom. That's pretty telling, and this season, if you got lucky enough to draw a Bollywood program, it's a ticket directly off the show. If the audience favors contemporary dance, then it makes sense for the producers to load the show up with dancers who are good at it.
And if the show is loaded up with dancers who are specialists in contemporary dance, then it makes sense that the contemporary routines are at a higher level, and (therefore?) more popular with the audience. And around in circles we go. I can't personally speak to this season, though; after watching all the others starting with season 2, I got bored early this year and stopped watching.

[duffypratt]

And if the show is loaded up with dancers who are specialists in contemporary dance, then it makes sense that the contemporary routines are at a higher level, and (therefore?) more popular with the audience. And around in circles we go. I can't personally speak to this season, though; after watching all the others starting with season 2, I got bored early this year and stopped watching.

In general, I think I agree with this. But it looks like the non-contemporary dancers tend to be safe when they dance contemporary as well. When you put the non hip-hop dancers in a hip-hop routine, there is a good chance it will end up in the bottom three. Same goes for non-Broadway and non-Jazz. Those all are dangerous draws. But contemporary tends to be safe for everyone.

I've only looked at these results a little bit. I bet you the show's producers are very, very familiar with how different things fare with the audience. Not only that, but they know more, since they have access to the raw numbers and we only get to see the bottom 3 or 4.

[dancelvr]

I'm thinking the last few posts are correct, in that the public prefers contemporary dance...and, that is unfortunate. Ah well. The more contemporary the show becomes, the less I will watch. I'm down to recording it, fast forwarding through everything I don't want to see, and skipping the results show altogether. Bummer.

[Casayoto]

I'm wondering if the public doesn't prefer contemporary dancing as much as they prefer good choreography. Maybe if the ballroom routines weren't watered down ballroom/contemporary hybrids, they would do better. The waltz last week just looked to me like a halfway decent contemporary piece. There were only 2 measures of actual waltz in it.

[NonieS]

I have completely lost interest in this season.... I remember being enthralled by the Danny/Neil/Pasha/Sabra/etc season, and cannot for the life of me care about this season in any way shape or form. I think that there has just been a lack of performances that really moved me. They have all been rather generic, and the dancers seem generic... I have trouble keeping them apart and remembering who they are, with the exception of a select few.

Plus the fact that I want to punch my eyeballs every time they do a "ballroom" or "latin" routine isn't helping any.

I haven't watched the most recent episodes... I got bored after the second live week, so have only caught snippets whenever I walk in while my roommates are watching. From the looks of things, I haven't missed much.

[NonieS]

As much as I say I would love seeing actual ballroom on the show, the flip side of things is that contemporary dancers would have trouble learning actual ballroom technique since it is so different from any of their other training. Watching them do a basic bronze routine would be boring, and watching them flail their way through an actual complicated syllabus or open routine would be excruciating... so the only way we can make this not overtly awful for the general public is to have them fudge through a mostly contemporary routine with some terribly executed ballroom steps thrown in as an afterthought. Imagine the whole routine like those two steps they do in closed hold?? The ballroom dances would probably be more of a death sentence than they are already, sadly. Even a non-dancer would know it was not right.


Then again, if we actually had a diverse mix of dancers on this show instead of just contemporary, we could actually see quality ballroom, hip hop, maybe even some tap routines that could accurately portray these styles they way they are meant to be performed. OMG imagine that!!! :rolleyes:

[Ithink]

I am loving this season but I do love contemporary routines, especially the ones by Travis Wall and Mandy Moore (I also wish Wade Robson still choreographed for it!). I think I watch for the choreography and the quality of the dancing. I do NOT watch this to see good ballroom dancing; if I did, I'd be sorely disappointed. When a couple gets a ballroom-ish numbers, what I care about is still the quality of movement, much less than ballroom technique. Because, clearly, you cannot pick up ballroom tehcnique of a dance in one week - it's impossible.

Those of you who are disappointed with this season: do you watch DWTS? Because, to me, that dancing is absolutely atrocious to watch. I refuse to watch that show because the quality sucks 95% of the time. And it's also sad to me to watch the once-good pros get worse and worse as they dance down to their "star students" season after season.

SYTYCD is where it's at for me for dance reality shows. Yeah, those kids can't do a closed position in VW, but what they can do is so mindblowingly beautiful, I don't even care...

[RickRS]

SYTYCD is where it's at for me for dance reality shows. Yeah, those kids can't do a closed position in VW, but what they can do is so mindblowingly beautiful, I don't even care...
:applause:

I'm in complete agreement.

[Casayoto]

I think up to this point, it has been their weakest season.(Tied with the Russell season, 6?) I'm not really sure what you're loving about it, but everyone has their own opinion.

[NonieS]

agreed with Casayoto... I have nothing against SYTYCD in general... I have enjoyed *almost* every second of the past seasons. I love the awesome choreography and watching the dancers develop. I have even enjoyed the ballroom performances...and in no way, shape, or form do I expect the non-ballroom people to learn quality technique.

That being said, I feel that this season has had a lot of generic dancers and performances and is just not exciting. I wish there were more diversity among the contestants so that I could actually tell them apart, and watch them do their own styles.. that way I can get a technically sound ballroom or hip hop routine, done by people who know what they are doing. Now I have a lot of contemporary people that I cannot keep straight doing routines that have mostly been unremarkable. Even the contemporary routines have not held up to the standard of seasons past.


and no, I do not watch DWTS... I get bored with that show as well.

[Prestigious]

I have completely lost interest in this season.... I remember being enthralled by the Danny/Neil/Pasha/Sabra/etc season, and cannot for the life of me care about this season in any way shape or form. I think that there has just been a lack of performances that really moved me. They have all been rather generic, and the dancers seem generic... I have trouble keeping them apart and remembering who they are, with the exception of a select few.


Well, there were 4 Ballroom dancers in season 3, compared to only 1 (who was eliminated in the first week) in season 8.

I also noticed quite a few hybrid dancers in S3, whereas S8 seems to have next to none.

Makes you think huh.

[White Chacha]

Are there fewer stellar routines this season? Maybe. Does that make the ones which are stellar and well performed any less pleasurable to see? Not in the least. Hey, I know how to use the fast forward button on my dvr. If something is torturous, I just zip on by.

I usually find at least a couple of routines each night that I enjoy. Compare that to buying a ballroom music CD where you might be lucky to have one really good track! But don't get me started there ;-)

[ajiboyet]

Those of you who are disappointed with this season: do you watch DWTS? Because, to me, that dancing is absolutely atrocious to watch. I refuse to watch that show because the quality sucks 95% of the time. And it's also sad to me to watch the once-good pros get worse and worse as they dance down to their "star students" season after season.

SYTYCD is where it's at for me for dance reality shows. Yeah, those kids can't do a closed position in VW, but what they can do is so mindblowingly beautiful, I don't even care...

I beg to disagree.

Once you take out the SYTYCD contestants who have had ballroom training, like Iveta or Lacey or Dmitry Chaplin, then ALL of the ballroom on SYTYCD is atrocious, to use your word. But the top players on DWTS who have had less dance training than the top non-ballroom players on SYTYCD perform better ballroom numbers. Jennifer Grey or Nicole Scherzinger, I think, are good examples.

[dancelvr]

I beg to disagree.

Once you take out the SYTYCD contestants who have had ballroom training, like Iveta or Lacey or Dmitry Chaplin, then ALL of the ballroom on SYTYCD is atrocious, to use your word. But the top players on DWTS who have had less dance training than the top non-ballroom players on SYTYCD perform better ballroom numbers. Jennifer Grey or Nicole Scherzinger, I think, are good examples.


I agree.

[gingerbread]

It will be nice to see Iveta again on the finale. me pick to win: Sasha

[chachachacat]

I agree - SASHA!

[White Chacha]

I love Sasha, but she's on high energy all the time. My pick is for Melanie. I think there's light and shade with her.

[leee]

I'm rooting for Sasha, mostly because she is an interracial couple which is fashionable, but mostly because her HH with Twitch is on my very short-list of favorite routines in the show's run.

[Casayoto]

...She is an interracial couple??? Are we back on this impossibility again? Especially when you reference her dancing with Twitch in the same post.

[wooh]

Sasha's such an amazing dancer, apparently she has both a black woman and a white man inside her.:rolleyes:

[NonieS]

...She is an interracial couple??? Are we back on this impossibility again? Especially when you reference her dancing with Twitch in the same post.


:uplaugh:

wow, I always knew she was talented... I didn't realize just how talented she really is.

[RickRS]

All four finalists are great dancers and anyone of them could be the winner. If I was betting for the winner, I would pick Melanie, she has been consitantly great over the season.

I do feel that it all going to depend on what dance they wind up doing and what the choreographer dreams up.

[leee]

...She is an interracial couple??? Are we back on this impossibility again? Especially when you reference her dancing with Twitch in the same post.

Alas, sarcasm often fails to translate over the intern--- oh wait, there's a sarcasm smiley available now? :rolleyes:

[Casayoto]

Yep. Looks like I totally missed the sarcasm on that one...

fyi, Sasha is my vote, unless something on the finale changes my mind to Melanie.

[wooh]

Melanie is not an interracial couple. Thus, she will not win.

[NonieS]

Alas, sarcasm often fails to translate over the intern--- oh wait, there's a sarcasm smiley available now? :rolleyes:


I missed your sarcasm too... my apologies :oops: Sarcasm is tricky in writing... I wish there was a punctuation mark you could put at the end of a sentence that would denote it as sarcasm... like a sarc mark.

[NonieS]

I am all about interracial couples... Sasha FTW.

[White Chacha]

I missed your sarcasm too... my apologies :oops: Sarcasm is tricky in writing... I wish there was a punctuation mark you could put at the end of a sentence that would denote it as sarcasm... like a sarc mark.

I think that's what ;-) is for. That's a smile with a wink, as in `I mean that to be funny, not literal'.

[NonieS]

I think that's what ;-) is for. That's a smile with a wink, as in `I mean that to be funny, not literal'.


I mean a non-emoticon.... a punctuation mark. Like a period or an exclamation point... of course emoticons are useful for a variety of things but not everyone thinks to use them or likes using them... I often forget about them. And of course there are instances where I would feel inappropriate using an emoticon.

[TinyDancer109]

Rooting for Melanie here! she is unquestionably superior to sasha IMO both in style execution and technique.

[nikkitta]

Those two extra "judges" were completely useless. What is up with the constant butt-kissing of the choreographers and utter lack of dancer critique? I was expecting incredible dancing last night, and it was mostly "eh". Disco? Blech, choppy, uninspired. Cha? Horrendous technique, slow, dull. Nigel saying at the end to the two remaining guys that a girl is going to win? Tacky and unnecessary. My only thought on that is, similar to what happens on DWTS, sympathy votes are garnered by overly praising one competitor while beating down another.

[duffypratt]

Melanie had some of the most impressive moments of the season, but probably also had the easiest run. Only twice was she really pushed far out of her basic style, First, on the hip hop routine in the second to last week. She didn't do well on it. Then this week she lacked almost all of the flair and feeling that makes a disco dance palatable.

Sasha is not as great doing the things that Melanie does, but I think she's more versatile than Melanie. I'm not sure how that cuts.

On the solo routines, throughout the season, my favorites have been Tadd and Melanie. Tadd's routines have been creative, made great use of the stage as a stage. They have been different one from the other, and they are almost always fun. Melanie doesn't make the same use of the stage, but her solo performances have been creative and not all the same. This week, she did a thing where she walked on the topsides of her toes, while going into a backbend, that made me wince just to watch it. But she did it beautifully.

I'd be happiest if Tadd won. He was the most consistent on stuff that was way out of his niche (even if his Cha Cha sucked). And as an asian beat boy, he's interracial all by himself... But I expect it to be Melanie. She's been the most consistently pumped, and I bet that's partially because the producers know what's coming.

[Steve Pastor]

Seemed to me that Nigel, and Mary, too, dealt out a good portion of critical comments last night.
The extra "judges"? There were a few times where you had to listen to what they didn't say. Think of Lil C evaluating Melanie's hip hop in an earlier performance.
Travis was pretty harsh at times when he sat in, but then he's been there and has a lot of cred to work with.
I think of most of the guest judges as being there for "color commentary" and such.

[jennyisdancing]

Melanie had some of the most impressive moments of the season, but probably also had the easiest run. Only twice was she really pushed far out of her basic style, First, on the hip hop routine in the second to last week. She didn't do well on it. Then this week she lacked almost all of the flair and feeling that makes a disco dance palatable.

Sasha is not as great doing the things that Melanie does, but I think she's more versatile than Melanie. I'm not sure how that cuts.

On the solo routines, throughout the season, my favorites have been Tadd and Melanie. Tadd's routines have been creative, made great use of the stage as a stage. They have been different one from the other, and they are almost always fun. Melanie doesn't make the same use of the stage, but her solo performances have been creative and not all the same. This week, she did a thing where she walked on the topsides of her toes, while going into a backbend, that made me wince just to watch it. But she did it beautifully.

I'd be happiest if Tadd won. He was the most consistent on stuff that was way out of his niche (even if his Cha Cha sucked). And as an asian beat boy, he's interracial all by himself... But I expect it to be Melanie. She's been the most consistently pumped, and I bet that's partially because the producers know what's coming.

I preferred Sasha slightly over Melanie. There's just something about Melanie that seems slightly "heavy" in the appearance of her dancing. Maybe it's because she has a muscular, gymnastic type of body that projects a lot of power despite her small size. Sasha is very powerful too, but she seems more able to appear light and effortless when that's called for.

[nikkitta]

Yes, Mary and Nigel had legitimate critical comments last night. I wonder if Katie Holmes and that other guy (?*mindblank*) would have changed their tune about the lackluster Cha routine if Cat had Mary speak first instead. NPH, Lady Gaga, that Modern Family guy, and a few others had some worthwhile commentary this season, but often it seems like useless filler from people seeking free publicity or something.

There were some really great dancing moments in tonight's finale though, maybe because the pressure is off? I correctly predicted the order of the top 4, but any one of them was deserving of the title.

[leee]

And as an asian beat boy, he's interracial all by himself...

hahah. Love how "interracial" has become a "thing" on this thread.

I was really rooting for Sasha, but when I heard that the winner had pulled 47% of the vote, I knew it was Melanie -- Sasha seems to be more divisive on the internet, some people love her, some people hate her.

NPH, Lady Gaga, that Modern Family guy, and a few others had some worthwhile commentary this season, but often it seems like useless filler from people seeking free publicity or something.

Christina Applegate actually proved to be my favorite celebrity judge. Had less than zero expectations for her, but ended up less than threeing her.

[Casayoto]

NPH was my favorite by far. He totally called Tyce out for his crappy routine, and spoke his mind. I've found a couple of the guest judges more useful than Nigel and Mary. Of course, some of them were worthless. *cough**Katie Holmes**cough*

[jennyisdancing]

NPH was my favorite by far. He totally called Tyce out for his crappy routine, and spoke his mind. I've found a couple of the guest judges more useful than Nigel and Mary. Of course, some of them were worthless. *cough**Katie Holmes**cough*

Yeah, seriously. :)

Well, I just have to vent now. I read an interview (http://realitytv.about.com/od/soyouthinkyoucandance/a/Travis-Wall-Says-Melanie-Moore-Is-A-League-Above-Other-Dancers.htm) with Travis Wall and I was disappointed in his attitude. He goes on about how Melanie was the "best dancer", not just the "favorite" dancer, which is the title they use on the show, and how the "best" dancers through the seasons have been the contemporary ones such as Melanie, Alison, etc.

And he says of Season Two (in which he was runner-up):

We always knew Benji would win--from his story to the way the judges always praised him--all the contestants knew that would happen. So the goal was to just make the finale.
...most judges/choreographers should have been objective to me during Season Two because many knew who I was before I became a contestant.

Don't get me wrong - I love his dancing and his choreography. But I get the feeling that some of the contemporary dancers seem to have a certain sense of entitlement when it comes to winning this show - as if their particular style and form of training is superior. It's just poor sportsmanship IMO.

Melanie herself sounds very humble, though. She said she was most proud of her Argentine Tango routine with Marko because she realized how tough it was to develop that strong connection with a partner. Maybe Travis could learn something from that approach. Melanie didn't win because of being the best technical dancer; she won because she took her abilities and connected it with her emotions and the audience.

The funny thing is, I never even knew about the world of contemporary dance competitions before SYTYCD. It seems to be a little universe all its own. I stopped in a dance studio to check out their class offerings and they told me that they changed the name of a dance class from "modern" (the term I'm familiar with) to "contemporary" just so the SYTYCD-watchers would want to sign up. :p

[rbazsz]

Those two extra "judges" were completely useless. What is up with the constant butt-kissing of the choreographers and utter lack of dancer critique? I was expecting incredible dancing last night, and it was mostly "eh". Disco? Blech, choppy, uninspired. Cha? Horrendous technique, slow, dull. Nigel saying at the end to the two remaining guys that a girl is going to win? Tacky and unnecessary. My only thought on that is, similar to what happens on DWTS, sympathy votes are garnered by overly praising one competitor while beating down another.

The last two weeks of dancing were dull to ridiculous -- perhaps because they pushed too hard to make left wing political points.

The chattering judges should be completely eliminated or called something else because about the only thing they ever say is" "you are the best dancer that has ever lived on the planet Earth."

[Casayoto]

Wow. You really do see whatever you want wherever you look, don't you? Left wing political points? What the heck are you even talking about.

Oh, and by the way...


Regardless of merit an interracial couple will win this time.


Which two sexes and races did Melanie represent?

[leee]

Wait, he has a point:


Marko and Melanie contemporary = card check
Clarice and Jess Broadway = collective bargaining
Miranda and Robert Jive = progressive taxation
Missy and Wadi Jazz = campaign finance reform
Iveta and Nick = separation of church and state

I must have been blind to have missed those the first time. And that's just week one!

[leee]

OK, real question. Pasha mainly competes/competed in Latin, yes? But on the show, he's being used in ballroom and Argentine as well; I assume that most pros have non-trivial training in smooth/standard AND Latin/rhythm, but do they regularly have Argentine in their repertoire? And if not, then is someone like Pasha approximating or creating a facsimile of it when he's called to perform an Argentine?

[White Chacha]

It's almost certain that if Pasha started dancing in his birth country, he'd have trained initially in 10-dance. As for the AT, he didn't choreograph it but he certainly has the partnering skills to pull it off.

Add to it that most of us aren't finely tuned enough in what the right look would be for AT to notice if it's drastically off, and you have a plausible performance. I mean, I couldn't tell you how correct Melanie looks when she's asked to do hip hop, but I wince at the smooth numbers because I my eye is well trained in what that style should look like.

[Steve Pastor]

Pasha and Lauren season 7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E81hcQQRm5s\

is someone like Pasha approximating or creating a facsimile of it when he's called to perform an Argentine?

What you see there is tango for the stage aka Tango Fantasia, etc.
Are he and Lauren doing "real" stage tango? Sure. But there is very little Argentine Tango there.

What we would have to see would be a routine that asked him to do something more than a bag o tricks to make an informed judgement. And even then, "Argentine Tango" is not standardized by any means.

There was another "AT" routine this season. Anyone have a link to it? Good music. Two new choreographers (I think.) Is it that they don't give the dancers more common AT stuff rather than lifts and tricks, or is it that the dancers don't quite get it and they HAVE to give them lifts and tricks?

I think most of us who have been around have realized that complaining won't change anything.

I couldn't tell you how correct Melanie looks when she's asked to do hip hop

I'll go with Lil C's unspoken critic about how hip hop should reflect the experience of the people who created it (or something to that effect).

But then we had a season with "lyrical hip hop" as a replacement for, say krumping, and African Jazz rather than straight up African dance, etc. No Lindy Hop or West Coast Swing or Bop. Rather, we got repeated servings of the made in England ballroom "Jive".

Still like the show, but wish it would get down more.