Results with encores

Posted: Friday, June 12, 2009 by Travis Cody in
9

And cue music! Welcome to...



Before we get to some encores, my pal Thom has some questions. This is his first season to watch the show, and he asks...

Do they stay with the same pairing until the top 10? They do. But that can depend on eliminations. A guy and a gal will be eliminated each week based on viewer votes and then judges' selection, but they may not necessarily be partners. If pairs get split up by the results, then the two remaining partners will pair up.

And when they get to the top 10 do they dance individually? At Top 10, they'll still dance in pairs but the partnerships will be random each week. After results night, the remaining dancers will choose a partner and dance style at random. However, each individual dancer will have his or her own phone number and we will vote for our favorite dancer rather than our favorite pair. One guy and one gal will still be eliminated each week, but it will solely be the dancers with the lowest number of votes. Judges will no longer have a say in who stays and who goes. Results will proceed that way until Final 4, and then it'll be one winner.



Does someone have a muzzle I can borrow for a judge named Mary? Believe me, I do understand that Ms Murphy can be annoying. But it comes from passion about dance and about these dancers. Try not to let Mary's exuberance distract you too much. The dancers love it and it's like a merit badge first to make her scream, and then to be given a ticket on the Hot Tamale Train.



Is that the American Idol set? According to what I can find, SYTYCD is taped at CBS Studios but not on the same stage as American Idol. Also, SYTYCD doesn't "graduate" to a bigger stage or different theatre during it's run. Everything from the first Top 20 show to the season finale when we learn who we've chosen as America's Favorite dancer is taped on the same stage.

Thanks for the questions Thom!

Let's have some encores, shall we? Our Top 20 gave us some wonderful dances Wednesday night. Here are links to the ones I enjoyed the most.

The Jazz dance from Randi and Evan, choreographed by Tyce Diorio, was a bit of a surprise for me. Evan is my early favorite, but I didn't expect his strength as a partner. And I just didn't know much about Randi. Click here.

I called Caitlin's movement sublime after watching her audition. Jason is another dancer I just don't know much about. Together they were outstanding in a Bollywood dance choreographed by Nakul dev Mahajan. Click here.

Wade Robson made a dance that could very easily have been something silly and just too weird. But in the hands of Ashley and Kupono, it was magic. Click here.

Dance of the night honors go to Melissa and Ade in a Mandy Moore piece. They made the movement look so effortless, and the dance was simply stunning. Click here.

OK...results!

Results shows being with the group number. We get Hip Hop choreographed by Shane Sparks. Excellent!

This show gets right to results. Kayla and Maks are safe. Randi and Evan are safe. Phillip and Jeanine are safe. Caitlin and Jason are safe. Melissa and Ade are safe. Ashley and Kupono are safe. Janette and Brandon are safe.

Paris and Tony, Asuka and Vitolio, Karla and Jonathan are in the bottom 3 couples and will dance solos for the judges to stay in the competition.

Guest dancers, Miriam and Leonardo, offer a professional Tango. Cat said their names too fast and I didn't catch the last names. Sorry about that. The dance was wonderful.

Here we go with solos:

Paris - ok
Tony - ok
Asuka - good
Vitolio - good
Karla - lovely
Jonathan - limited

Now the judges go and discuss to decide who stays and who doesn't.

Musical guest is rapper Sean Kingston...meh. Just not my kind of music.

The judges have made their decisions. Here we go.

First the girls. Nigel announces that the decision is unanimous here. He tells Karla that she was very good, and advises her to be careful about not just dancing steps. She is safe. Nigel says they tried to take everything into account and not just recent dances. He admits that they try to cast to represent as many genres of dance as possible. In the end, the judges select Asuka's personality, charm, and ballroom skill over Paris, who is another contemporary dancer in a field of very strong female contemporary dancers.

And now the guys. Nigel says again this is unanimous. He tells the guys that none of them danced well enough to stay in the competition very long. He says that Vitolio needs to bring the personality and he will stay in the competition. Nigel says that both Tony and Jonathan didn't measure up in their own styles the other night. The decision is for Jonathan to stay, so Tony is out.

It's tough to be the first cut. Paris is a victim of not being as talented as so many other gals who dance in her style. It doesn't mean she isn't good, just that she's not as good as some of the others who are great. And Tony may have gotten by on charm, with a bit of smoke and mirror thrown in. He did not dance well in a hip hop routine, and his solo was average.

Best of luck to both Paris and Tony.

Tune in next week.


What has happened Kobe's "finish"? He's missed more shots and made more mistakes late in the last two games than I've ever seen, and I've been watching him a long time. So Derek Fisher took the shot to tie the game at 87-87, with 4.6 seconds to play. Orlando couldn't score at the buzzer and game 4 goes to overtime.

Gotta give the Magic credit. They have swarmed Kobe late and made him work hard for everything. That's got to be wearing him down. And they had him boxed in a tight double team late in the OT. He spun, got his elbows up high, and nailed Jameer Nelson in the jaw.

No whistle.

It was a clear foul, but the refs either didn't see it or decided to let it go. Kobe passed to D-Fish for the wide open 3 and Fish nailed it to put the Lakers up 3 with about 30 seconds to play.

Then the Lakers played defense and the Magic missed a 3 point shot. The rebound was tipped out. Pau Gasol tracked it down for the dunk and a 5 point lead with 21.6 to play. The Magic missed another shot, the Lakers controlled the rebound, and LA wins 99-91 to take a commanding 3 games to 1 lead.

Lest there be a suggestion of officiating favoritism at the no call on Kobe's elbow, I'll just point out that Orlando shot 37 free throws to the Lakers 20. LA only missed 5 of those shots while the Magic missed 15. And, Orlando turned the ball over 19 times. The Lakers? Only 8 turnovers in the game.

That's no excuse...Kobe clearly fouled and it wasn't called. Sometimes it happens. Everything else was pretty much even in terms of stats. But the Lakers kept focused on the goal and showed that they are a physically and mentally tough team. And Orlando showed that they couldn't get it done 2 nights in a row.

And despite Kobe's late struggles against double teams, he scored 32 points with 8 assists and 7 rebounds to keep the Lakers in the game while they struggled with foul trouble. Trevor Ariza added 16 points, including some critical buckets to key a 30 point 3rd quarter to get the Lakers back in the game after they trailed by 12.

So now the Lakers have a chance to close it out on Sunday in game 5 from Orlando.

Go Lakers!

9 comments:

  1. Anonymous says:

    Trav...thank you so much...it all now makes sense to me...FINALLY...and my mom called and told me after it aired (she's in Nevada and I had already known the results from online) how the voting goes cuz we talked about this and I said Trav left a comment and said about they go out as a couple in less one of the partners gets voted off...that didn't make any sense to me and then my mom told me about the judges vote. So now it makes sense. I understand you take on Mary. I really do and it makes sense that those kids yearn for that...I see that now...she is just so annoying. You know I'm very loud but nothing like her. I'm going to keep the faith about what everyone says about her and just try and tune her out...unless a muzzle shows up in the mail LOL. I for one am glad that Tony is out. I didn't like him and was sorta shocked he made it in the top 20...it's a good thing that ballet boy that was under contract wasn't released or I don't think he would have made it. Paris, I think because of being paired with him, got a bum rap with the voting public and again with the judges just because she was paired with him. They were my least favorite. I loved that tango couple.

    Congrats to your Lakers. 3 down 1 to go. Was a great game today. Orlando blew it...I was sorta shocked.

    Again my friend, thanks to you and your sister...Hope you and Pam had a wonderful 3rd year anniversary :)

  1. Unknown says:

    All of this reminds me of my ballroom dancing class in college. I learned a lot, but the most significant learning was NOT were combat boots when trying to waltz.

  1. Early in the competition, if your partner is eliminated, that is NOT good news for you. Tony and Paris were probably the weak links early, and there were better dancers in the same genre. I wasn't that surprised to see this couple eliminated. Still, the dancing was excellent from top to bottom. See ya next Wednesday night.

  1. Anndi says:

    Shane Sparks choreographed a great number. Wow!

    I am all SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE about Evan and Randi going through and Phillip :). That first grouping made me nervous because I couldn't fathom any of those couples being in the bottom three.

    Morgen asked me as the show was starting who I thought was going. I hate making that prediction because I like to think that solos can change preconceived notions the judges might have. But Tony stood out for me because of he fell short in his own style. I waited till the solos for the ladies although I was fairly certain Asuke would be safe.

    It's funny... Tony probably had all the personality in that couple. I do hope Paris continues to work at it.

    I would hate to be in the judge's position. I really would.

    I told you yesterday how wonderful it is when we get to experience the show with new viewers. Sheer joy :)

    I think this show's formula is quite special and it was so interesting to hear from Nigel how they DO try and balance the group with the dancers from varied backgrounds, taking their personalities into account... because it DOES count when you're looking for an entertainer. Tony was their hope for another Twitch.

    Chicklet watched wide-eyed during the tango. "Mommy, they're professionals!" *smile*
    Musical guest... meh... exactly.

    Thom, I think Alex Wong not being let out of his contract with the Miami Ballet was the other heartbreaking moment for me in the final top 20 picks show... the first being having to say goodbye (for now) to Ryan Kasprzak. Alex would have blown quite a few other dancers out of the water, I suspect.

    I couldn't have been blessed with a better big brother than Travis had my parents actually given me one :)

  1. Marsha says:

    Tony's exit wasn't a surprise to me, he struggled to get into the top 20 to begin with. And unless Jonathan picks it up, he's likely to be next.

    I'm with Anndi, I was disappointed that Alex couldn't get out of his contract....when he does, he WILL be back.

    I can't help but wonder it Ryan won't turn up as choreographer of one of the dances later on.....it could happen!!

    Favorites so far: Jason, Kayla, Caitlin, Kapono, and Phillip (of course).

  1. Anndi says:

    Marsha, Ryan has announced today that he is currently auditioning for season 6. :)

    SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

    This will prevent him from doing any work for the show... God forbid Evan lands in the bottom three, I'm sure he'll choreograph for his lil bro.

  1. Thom: Just let me know if you have any more questions. I'm glad you're enjoying it!

    Nick: Only if you have really graceful feet!

    Driller: I was a little surprised they didn't save Tony for one more week. But when you struggle in your own style, that puts you in a pretty big hole.

    Ann: I agree about Alex. He was taking a big chance with his contract. I hope he has been able to go back to the company and dedicate himself to his craft.

    Marsha: Ryan likely won't be able to choreograph this season...he's auditioning for season 6! So until that is resolved we won't see him working. But I suspect he will choreograph for the show at some point in the future.

    Ann: I'll be they've already made some fantastic solos just in case. Plus Evan will need them eventually if he makes it deep into the competition. Gotta plan ahead!

  1. Cheesy says:

    OMG OMG have you seen the new show coming out?? "Dance Your Ass Off"

    Woo hooo

    http://www.examiner.com/x-10203-Sacramento-PlusSize-Fashion-Examiner~y2009m6d12-Dance-Your-Ass-Off-to-Oxygens-new-reality-weight-loss-competition

  1. Linda says:

    Thank you so much for the answers to Thom's questions, Travis, and I'm doing my best to not find Ms. Murphy too over the top (though, trust me, it's hard!).

    I actually watched both Weds and Thurs this week (very unusual for me) and agreed with the judges' decisions as to who should stay and who should go. I don't know that much about dance other than that I like what I like and I give all of these people major props for being able to do what they do well enough to get into the Top 20 to begin with! There's a lot of good competition there. The only thing I didn't agree with was that the Tango didn't rate higher as I thought they did a fantastic job with a very tough dance ... the one I didn't like was the "Crash Test Dummies" dance. Ugh. But then again, that's me being old-fashioned I guess!