When Fantasia Goes Blank...

I found this on Youtube. It is from SYTYCA Australia:


I do not know the full situation, the history of the show or of the dancers, but it appears to me that these are very talented dancers with limited knowledge of AT. In this clip the couple became lost in their choreography and the lead was roasted for it. That doesn't seem very fair to me if they just don't know tango.

Anybody here watch SYTYCA Australia? Do you have any more information about this?

Poor kids. I've been there (but not in a competition): everything is going so well that you get completely caught up in it and lost and the next thing you know you feel like you've been pushed out of an airplane without a parachute.

I don't think the judges were mean, though. They all felt bad for the couple too. The final judge was a bit harsh but truthful. If I were voting I'd vote for the couple based on the great performance they were giving before it all fell apart (unless this is something that seems to happen to them every time).

Laura said:

I don't think the judges were mean, though. They all felt bad for the couple too. The final judge was a bit harsh but truthful.

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Their obvious lack of AT knowledge aside, the tricks and (most) adornos were fun. As for the final judge's comments, I disagree with it being [completely] truhtful. Partnership dancing is a parntership activity. Yes, it is the man's position to direct the dance, but it is also the lady's position to do her part when called for. In a comp many years ago, a couple were dancing a perfect Int'l Waltz; chasse, natural spin turn, double back lock, outside change, oversway.... After the spin turn, the lead (incidentally, the pro of the pro/am) blanked...completely, and whispered, "I don't know where the he// I am...when the am immediately took over, and led the double lock. That was all that I...I mean...they...I mean...(ahem)...anyway, ...needed to regain control, and continue to palce 2e in the Waltz.

Laura said:

Poor kids. I've been there (but not in a competition): everything is going so well that you get completely caught up in it and lost and the next thing you know you feel like you've been pushed out of an airplane without a parachute.

I don't think the judges were mean, though. They all felt bad for the couple too. The final judge was a bit harsh but truthful. If I were voting I'd vote for the couple based on the great performance they were giving before it all fell apart (unless this is something that seems to happen to them every time).

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J.D. and Rhiannon don't have a history of falling apart. Yes, they were in the bottom after week 18 (performance show #2) but that was Australia's doing and I had thought that the routine they had performed went well for the most part. They've both gotten decent-to-great reviews for their 2 previous routines (with most of the praise going towards Rhiannon as she's the stronger dancer at this point with the choreo that they've been given) so this was the first time that things did not go well for them while performing. I'm about to watch the Top 16 results show to see what happened and who gets sent home.

Thank you Beto! Please let me know how things turned out.

Me said:

Thank you Beto! Please let me know how things turned out.

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Either the viewers at home loved the routine up till the halfway mark or they felt sympathy for J.D. and Rhiannon. Both were safe on the results show (last Monday) and, for the first time, a team (Marko & Stephanie) was knocked off of the show leaving the existing couples intact and with their same partners.

Well it's good to know they didn't go home over it. Thank you for the update!

I swear, this "show tango = Argentine tango" thing is starting to get on my nerves. It concerns me that the general public could avoid tango because it is presented as "complicated" and "highly sexually charged."

P.S. Beto are you able to see this show on television? I've been picking bits from Youtube and enjoying them but would like to watch more. There was this swing piece (sort of a punk rock thing billed as Jive) that was crazy and fun to watch!

Me said:

Well it's good to know they didn't go home over it. Thank you for the update!

I swear, this "show tango = Argentine tango" thing is starting to get on my nerves. It concerns me that the general public could avoid tango because it is presented as "complicated" and "highly sexually charged."

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I've heard this complaint before from tangueros. We salseros are upset as well by the SYTYCD-presentations of salsa (both the US and Aussie versions) and they're not being authentic. Plus they fail to capture the soul of the dance style.

Me said:

P.S. Beto are you able to see this show on television? I've been picking bits from Youtube and enjoying them but would like to watch more. There was this swing piece (sort of a punk rock thing billed as Jive) that was crazy and fun to watch!

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Not at all and I try to avoid the YouTube clips. It requires a bit of patience but I wait until the full episodes are uploaded to the BitTorrent sites. Then using Google to search by episode number, and uTorrent to grab the episodes, I download them and watch them from start to finish.

Beto that is amazing! I haven't heard of this before... I am going to go do some downloading.

Me said:

Beto that is amazing! I haven't heard of this before... I am going to go do some downloading.

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Alrighty. Let me know if you need any help.