SYTYCD - another not review

Posted: Thursday, May 28, 2009 by Travis Cody in
13

Disclaimer: The words you are about to read may resemble a standard review, however don't be fooled. I'm not actually reviewing this program until Top 20.

I have not cued theme music, nor are we live from Hollywood.



The first hour is from Miami. Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy are on the judging panel, along with Tyce Diorio.

You have to be confident in your technique and your talent to dance with your back to the audience. This one gal named Priscilla had that. And even with her back to the judges for a good portion of her audition, she was so stunningly good that she cruised through to Vegas.

There was a ballroom couple that did some great tricks. I thought what dancing they did was ok. They seem to have made it straight through to Vegas on the strength of those tricks.

I liked a young tap dancer named Erik Moore. He showed some ability to move beyond tap as well. Based on his demonstrated versatility, he went straight through to Vegas.

Another montage of contemporary/lyrical excellence, boys and girls, moving straight through to Vegas. And then a young man dancing an ethnic African style, as well as a young widow with a high energy club style. They earned tickets to Vegas by mastering the choreography.

And so 32 moved on to Vegas from Miami, many without much screen time.

Nigel and Mary head to Memphis during the next hour, meeting up with guest judge, dancer and choreographer Lil C. He has actually made Krumping accessible for me. And his notes to the dancers are always well thought out and useful. He also watches attentively, and is rarely rude.

Right off the top, a young man named Marico caught my intention with something I've never seen before. His footwork was outstanding. It's a native Memphis style, and he had performance and personality to go with technically excellent footwork. He went straight through to Vegas.

Kaitlin Kinney...sublime. And she's only had 5 years of ballet training, on top of gymnastics training. And she's had a hip reconstruction. Straight on to Vegas. Oh my.

Another very interesting girl...Anna. She had an unfortunate tendency to throw her head around a bit too much, but other than that she was wonderful. She did the choreography and made it to Vegas.

Evan is back! He made it to top 40 last year before getting cut. He's a fantastic jazz dancer and a great entertainer. He's off to Vegas and I just hope he's worked on some of the other styles, because he is marvelous...yes I used that word because it fits.

Evan's older brother Ryan is also taking a shot. He threw down a tap routine that was heavy on the comedy and solid technically. When you tap with no musical accompaniment, you better be talented because the tapping is the music. He nailed it. Another fantastic entertainer. He communicates the joy of dance. Nigel wanted him to do choreography, but Mary and Lil C said straight to Vegas. I'm looking forward to seeing more from both brothers. I hope they get some screen time.

I didn't catch how many total went to Vegas from Memphis. It was more than 20 but I think less than 30.

There were a few too many "don't put that on tv" moments for my liking. But there was also a lot of talent.

Tune in tonight for auditions from LA and Seattle.

Speaking of LA, I have been decidedly unhappy with the effort of my Lakers throughout these playoffs. They have been inconsistent and seemingly unfocused. I think that when they play like they give a damn, then there isn't a team in this league that can beat them in a 7 game series.

They came with sustained effort last night, and beat Denver to take a 3 games to 2 lead in the Western Conference Finals. Kobe continued to trust his teammates, and they came through. Now we'll see if they can bring the same intensity to game 6 in Denver with a chance to close out the Nuggets and advance to the Finals against either Orlando or Cleveland.

Orlando leads the Eastern Conference Finals 3 games to 1 over the Cavaliers, with a chance to close out tonight in Cleveland.

13 comments:

  1. katherine. says:
    28 May, 2009 00:31

    can you provide those of us uninitiated...the difference between SYTYCD and DWTS...thanks.




    GO LAKERS

  1. Anonymous says:
    28 May, 2009 04:39

    How long does it take for that annoying Mary to become and acquired taste? She is something else. This was a bit better tonight I thought. Again Trav, I don't like the auditions. I like it when they get down to the better ones that have made it. I do like the variety and there are some odd ones out there but yet again, there are some very good ones :)

  1. Marsha says:
    28 May, 2009 04:49

    I see we were impressed by the same dancers.

    I love how this show 'moves on' and doesn't drag out those 'too painful to watch moments' like another show we both watch. And I so love Nigel!

    Last year when I saw Lil C for the first time I had my doubts, but your are right, he's really one of the best judges - very constructive, very helpful! He made a comment to one dancer last year about thier 'heart meeting their talent' that was so touching. And you're right, he made krumping worth watching.

    I have to say that Sonia is my least favorite judge/choreographer. She's a bit hard to watch. Wonder if they will have any new judges this year?

    Let the dancing begin!!

  1. Akelamalu says:
    28 May, 2009 05:05

    Well I can tell you're happy - there's another dance show on! ;)

  1. Anndi says:
    28 May, 2009 05:15

    I don't know what the deal was with the "Tyce blows a gasket or twenty" montage but I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for them to have to endure those people that take away from the real dancers and waste everyone's time.

    I wonder who will come up with the routine that makes my whole season... like Tabitha and Napoleon's "Bleeding Love" performed by the oh so marvelous (because it's the right word) Chelsie and Mark.

    Last night of auditions... thank goodness.

    Loved the brothers... Gene Kelly reincarnated :) (I wanted to marry Gene Kelly as a child... I may have mentioned that before)

  1. Travis Cody says:
    28 May, 2009 06:24

    Katherine: Of course.

    On DWTS, the contestants are celebrities matched with professional partners to learn and dance ballroom and Latin styles for judges' scores and viewer votes. The celebrities are paid, as are the professionals. And there is no "prize" at stake, other than a fabulous mirror ball trophy, satisfaction at having mastered something completely new, the paycheck, and exposure for a B-, C-, or sometimes D-list celebrity to jump start a project or a career.

    SYTYCD is about amateur, and sometimes professional, young dancers looking to get exposure to choreographers and industry insiders in order to work. It allows dancers in any style a chance to audition for the show. The prizes for the winner include a large cash award and an offer to work, and that exposure to choreographers and industry insiders. The top 20 will be matched into boy/girl pairs, and they will dance different choreography across all styles of dance each week for viewer votes. The judges will eliminate 2 dancers each week until top 10, when it will be solely up to viewer votes.

    As good as the dancing often ends up being on DWTS, prepare to be spell bound often on SYTYCD. Choreographers from this show have won Emmy awards for their outstanding dances creations.

    Does that help?

  1. katherine. says:
    28 May, 2009 07:45

    thanks travis...but NO...that doesn't help...now I want to start watching SYTYCD.

    sigh.

  1. Ivanhoe says:
    28 May, 2009 08:28

    I have a same exact feeling about the Cavs. How disapointing! I'm not even sure if I want them to win tonight. Just end my pain & let Magic win ;o)

  1. Charles Gramlich says:
    28 May, 2009 10:25

    I was watching Super bowl reruns.

  1. maryt/theteach says:
    28 May, 2009 14:24

    Thanks Travis, for the Happy Birthday wishes! :)

  1. Southern (in)Sanity says:
    28 May, 2009 20:36

    "King" LeBron and the Cavs are done. They won tonight to make it 3-2, but there's no way they win two in a row. If not for a miracle shot by LeBron in Game 2, it would have been 4-0.

    Hope (for the sake of their fans) that the Lakers don't take the Magic as lightly as it seems the Cavs did.

  1. Vinny "Bond" Marini says:
    29 May, 2009 10:17

    I enjoyed this night of auditions.

    It seems to be shaping up as a good season and LOL at Katherine...SYTYCD is even more special IMHO, because you will see some incredible things done by these people.

  1. Travis Cody says:
    29 May, 2009 17:29

    Thom: It could take years to get used to Mary. I still have some trouble.

    Marsha: This is going to be quite the season. We could have some tough choices for our favorite dancers. I might have to break out the don't make me choose kitty.

    Akelamalu: I am!

    Ann: I have always said that if they stop showing the wackos on tv, they'll stop going to the auditions.

    Katherine: HA! Another convert!

    Ivanhoe: It's not over until one team wins 4 of 7.

    Charles: I love NFL films recaps of Super Bowls.

    Mary: You are most welcome my dear.

    Southern: I'm not looking any further than tonight and hoping my Lakers can close out and not stretch this to a 7th game.

    V: Well said about how special this program is.

Post a Comment