SYTYCD Finale

Well I for one will be happy to not have to hear Cat Deely say "jidges" anymore. Everytime she did I wanted to scream and/or throw things. No critiques, just my thoughts.

I'm so happy they brought the clogger back, he's awesome. One sidenote: I HATE the camera work. It's spinning around all the time and doesn't really allow you to see all the parts of the dances like you should. It annoys the hell out of me. Thankfully I'll get to see the entire dances at the tour. (2nd row baby!)

Ummmm, what the hell did they do to Sara's hair? Not my favourite disco number, but I loved it. It had Sara in it, how could I not?

I love the Samba, I'm so glad they did it again. WOAH! Lacey got cut first? I didn't see that coming. GO Danny GO! Again Samba is really hard and they pulled it off wonderfully.

UGH. Pussycat Dolls. More dancing would be about a billion times better then this crap. What an insipid song, and if you have to try that hard to project sexy, maybe you should try a little thing called Confidence with a dash of self respect.

WOOOO SARA AND PASHA's WCS! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Benji's a good choreographer. They are two of my favourite dancers and the routine is so playful and delightful. I love it.

Oh Anya, mmmmm I loved seeing the Fox Trot again.

I'm so glad that they did that wonderful Jazz routine with Sara and Jesus. I was also secretly hoping to see it again, it is definitely one of my favourite dances of the competition.

Sabra and Danny are the top 2! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
I'm kind of sad Neil's cut now, because I think that means that we won't see the good/bad jazz(?) routine. :( (I hope they do it on tour)

The whole Cat and Nigel dance thing: blech.

Good job Sabra. Obviously I would have preferred Danny, but Sabra is a good dancer. I cannot wait to see him on tour and in the future, because there is no doubt in my mind that he will be a very successful dancer. Congrats Sabra, Danny you still dance like an angel and love you.

(Oh and Tony, I remember you saying that Danny would never make it because he has the personality of a -tip. Well, 2nd place isn't such a bad place to be. ;)

SYTYCD Top 4

It's here, the last show (although IIRC they will be performing their favourite routines from the season tommorrow, which will be awesome and I really hope Neil chooses the good/bad routine with Lauren as I love it).

Solos:
Lacey's solo was the best solo I've seen from her all competition. It finally made me see why she should be here, but with her earlier solos I couldn't really understand why she was still here. Though this is the point where you need to have a solid solo. (01)

Neil (OHHHHH! His favourite is the good/bad jazz routine!! I bet we see it tommorrow *SQUEE*) I never realised how beautiful and perfect his feet are. They are always in such a fine point. Beautiful. (02)

Danny (WOOOOOOOO) Again, say it with me, Danny dances like an angel. His turns, his leaps, they all look effortless and with great lines and form. Like Mary said, I will never get tired of watching him dance. Amazing. He is the best dancer of the final 4, but I know that doesn't mean he'll win. But no matter what he will have an amazing career as a dancer and I look forward to seeing him dance many times in the future. (03)

Sabra is such a powerful dancer. She really dances so large, it feels like there's no limit to it. I would not be disappointed at all if she beat Danny and won. She is definitely a strong dancer that is someone who is just as good as Danny, but in a different way. Her presence is overwhelming, in a good way, and Danny's dancing is pure bliss. They are the strongest dancers right now IMHO, but in two completely different ways. But that's the fun of art, two things can be equally as good and be very different from one another. (04)

Partners/Group
Broadway (all):
I love Broadway. It's always such a pleasure to watch. The split leaps that Neil and Danny did were amazing. They make it look so effortless. It truly is a showcase of amazing dancers right now, they all had great technique and danced fabulously together.

Hip hop (Sabra and Neil):
I wasn't that into the choreography (sorry Shane). Neil didn't look sexy, he was making some funny faces, it definitely cracked me up. Neil did look very stiff and he seemed to be holding something back or lacking something. His stiffness of movement made some of their movements out of sync with each other. It definitely seemed too happy and not the sexy that Shane was going for.

Viennese Waltz (Danny and Lacey):
There should have been more rise in Lacey's waltz steps. Other then that it was very fluid and dreamlike in quality as the Viennese Waltz should be.

Jazz (?) (Sabra and Lacey):
Cute choreography. I liked the nuzzling. I agree with the judges that it didn't really showcase what they are capable of. I too am at a loss for what to say about the dancers.

Contemporary (Danny and Neil):
I wanna watch it again! AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN!!! It was explosive, tense, and they had such great characters and played them well. They handled the physicality of the piece amazingly, and Danny's moves looked so amazing.

LINDY HOP!!!!! (Lacey and Neil):
All I can say is this dance is something I've been doing for well over a decade and will therefore be watching very closely. I don't trust them to get the true lindy hop, but we'll see. I want a good swing out or it's not lindy hop.

WEAK. Very little lindy hopping going on, and on the swing outs I did she Lacey did not move her hips enough. Their charleston was off, you they were not matched up at all in the timing of them. It definitely did not have the right energy for me, and the judges obviously don't know what good lindy hop should look like. Though it is not entirely their fault as that was so obviously a ballroomers take on lindy. Also those aren't the hardest lindy flips. For real good lindyhopping look at this. (BTW I've danced with Todd, he's amazing).

I guess I must be boring because I wasn't entertained.

Cha Cha (Sabra and Danny):
I love the way Danny uses his body, especially his hips in this number. They had some wonderful turns. Like mary said, there were some parts that were technically were flawed, but really I was more impressed by the magic that they created on the stage.

SYTYCD eliminations

(live blogging)

I still don't get crumping. Maybe I'm just a dance snob, maybe I just don't like the whole bs "lookit me I'm so tough" persona, but whatever it is, I don't care. I think it's not really dancing and kinda stupid.

Sabra kicked ass in her solo, as did Neil (who incidentally I wouldn't have danced for if I had remembered to vote). Beautiful. Now I don't want to lose any of the guys now. I still think Lacey is the weakest link for the women, but I know better then that, and her solo could have been much MUCH better. (I didn't like her solo from Thursday either.)

1st woman safe:
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

1st man safe:
(please please be pasha or danny...they're all so good, but they are my favourites. I would be disappointed, but not terribly so, because Neil kicked ass on Thursday)
DANNY!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2nd woman safe:
please be sabra, please be sabra, please be sabra.
YAY! (Though I think Lauren should be there too)

2nd man safe:
Neil. Awwwwww Pasha. I'm so sad, I will miss the hell out of you. I wanted a ballroomer (other then Lacey) to be in the finale. I love Pasha. I kind of thought Danny may be off, I never thought Pasha would be.

Looking forward to the finale. I hope they get to pick their favourite dances from the year again, because Neil and Lauren's good/bad dance was AWESOME

SYTYCD Top 6

I missed the first solo, I was pleasantly engaged.

Solos
Pasha: He had some good moves in there, but I felt that this was his weakest solo to date. Now I love Pasha, but it's a good thing people aren't voting on solos alone, because he has done much better and I'm afraid the other solos are going to outshine him, unless Lacey gives a piss poor solo like she did last week.

Lauren: Her solo was very moving. I felt she told her story really well, and I was entranced and moved by it.

Neil: I just realised how hard it is to critique the solos because at this point they are all doing wonderfully.

Lacey: Well her solo was better this week then it was last week, but compared to the other solos.....

Danny: He has amazing control in his dancing. He makes everything seem so effortless. Again he dances how angels dance. Beautiful. He definitely has my vote, he just shows how beautiful the art of dancing is. Beautiful.

Lauren and Danny
Contemporary:
It was awesome. They are both amazing contemporary dancers. They move so gracefully across the stage and their lifts and throws and Lauren's recoveries from them were so beautiful and seamless.
Disco:
That was a fun and upbeat. They were pulling off really hard moves.

Sabra and Neil
Jazz:
Wooo. They had great moves and terrific lines. They worked so well together. I'm really impressed with the partner dancing so far.
Paso Doble: Waiting to see if they'll pull this off. It's a really hard dance to do. LOVED the ending. Neil really had the character of the dance down pat.

Pasha and Lacey:
Smooth Waltz:
He moves so well, his frame and lines were gorgeous. There was great passion and Lacey's extension needed some work, she should have sharp lines at this point in the competition.

Sorry for being so brief in everything, but there's stupid drama that's distracting me.

SYTYCD Top 10

I'm live blogging this, by the way. Cuts down on wasting trees (well, recycled former tree products, anyway.) Even though I'm not posting it until after the show.

All right, I missed the first solo and the first partner dance.

Solos:
I'm still voting for Sara and Pasha, because I think it's kind of unfair that their solo is not in their style, while it obviously is for other people. I can't really say much because I didn't know they were all doing the same solo (I eventually caught on) and was confused as to why Sara and Pasha chose that as their solos, and spent the whole time going, whaaaaaaaa? (It dawned on me halfway through Pasha's solo that I was watching the exact same thing.)

Lauren KILLED that solo, but then she is a contemporary dancer. I mean it, her movement, her lines, the crispness of her performance. If people don't vote for her then America is stupider then I thought (we've all ready seen that it's stupid by past voting patterns).

Sabra did very well too, but, again, she's a contemporary dancer.

Kameron was passionate, but that didn't make up for the quality of his movements, which felt very rough, especially in comparison to the other dancers, and definitely apparent when they're all doing the same solos. It was not up memorable especially seeing as that's his genre. There have been some great contemporary male dancers that have been let go. He's only still here because of Lacey, I'm sure. It makes me sad to see him in his element, especially because his first contemporary dance was beautiful and moving. Sad that we had to say goodbye to others, but then I kept hoping that he and Lacey would be in the bottom three because I thought that he deserved to go home. Sad, because I like him. But then again, it was better then his partner dance by light years.

Lacey: Pretty good. Nothing much to say.

Danny: What can I say, he's what angels would dance like if their were angels. I could watch him dance for hours and hours and hours. He's amazing. I'd call him a gift from god if I believed in god. He's definitely a gift to dance, no doubt about that. Wow. I'm swooning over his dancing. I want to marry it (not him, the dancing) and have lots of beautiful dancelets. *sigh*

Partners:
I MISSED PASHA!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

Sabra and Kameron:
I agree with the judges. Sabra looked extraordinary. Beautiful lines and extension, really feeling the music and moving with it. Kameron, what I said about his solo still applies.

Lacey and Danny:
Yes, the samba is the hardest latin dance, because while most latin dances have the same type of hip, foot, and leg action, with one knee bent at a time, some samba moves have that, but they also have moves and steps where you are bending both knees. (I can get more detailed, but this is boiling it down a lot for non-samba dancers.)

Jaimie and Dominic:
First I need to say I LOVE the choreography. Brilliant, blody brilliant. I want to be in something Toni choreographs with every fibre of my being now. Unfortunately the judges were right. Jaimie had good lines, but the technique was not there at all. It was a beautiful routine, badly executed. I wish it wasn't the case. Sadly I have to agree with the judges that Dominic looked like a characture of a dancer. :(

Sara and Neil:
Damn, that flip. Disco is perfect for them. Seriously. Crisp, great lines and extension. They hit everything well. Funny and really entertaining. Makes me want to vote for Neil.

Update tommorrow for the results show.

SYTYCD

No post last week due to a lack of computer, and no post this week because I myself will be at a dance workshop rehearsing a West Coast Swing routine and Samba. I may do one late if I am so inclined (I'm obviously going to tape it). But I can't promise anything.

(And oww are my feet sore from dancing in heels...stupid ballroom and their stupid heels. I still giggle whenever we do 'ballroom arms' like we were doing today in the Rumba. If you watch so you think you can dance you know what I'm talking about and we just don't do that in lindyhop. People were looking at me because I was giggling about all the arm and wrist circles I have to do. They're just silly silly silly.)

Venting a little for a second:
We randomly chose partners for the performance and I got someone who has NO rhythm, tried to take my arm off with a turn, dances like he weighs a ton and can't count the music. Thank god it's a routine because I had to lead myself into the turns or else we wouldn't be in sync with the rest of the dancers. I've thought about ditching the performance, but that would just be evil. Maybe we can practice afterwards tommorrow and before the session thursday night. Oh lucky me.

This bird has better rhythm then my partner. And I have to dance with this oaf IN FRONT OF OTHER PEOPLE!! As long as he doesn't succeed in breaking my arm first.

Moving on/Random Bullets

Car Troubles
SO my darling '94 Toyota Pickup died on a trip up to Vancouver. My 4 month old radiator neck snapped off causing the radiator fluid to spew out which totally destroyed the engine. I love that truck so much, I've been around the country several times and put my futon mattress in the back to make those cross country trips possible. It holds so many memories and it's so strange to have a new car that runs so silently and is not a truck. I mean, my new 99 Subaru Forester is a good car, but it's so fancy compared to Truckie. And I entered the adult world of making car payments every month. I will be paying for the next 5 years. Wooo. Her name's Audrey. It's just weird b/c my truck was one of a kind and everyone around here has a subaru w/lots of Foresters. Pooo. I got an IWW window cling and a Cubs sticker on the window, but I'm hesitant to put any more stickers on, for now.

School
My lab may be cancelled this summer, fingers crossed that it doesn't because I need the money. We didn't get the grant for writing the new labs this summer, so I don't have that job either, but hopefully we'll get the grant this fall. The labs need a lot more work, and I'm not just saying that because I'll get paid to work on them. Classes start on Tuesday. I'm taking Multivariate Calculus (which I put off way too long...I elected to take the harder non-calculus courses first) and Limits and Infinite Series, which is kind of scary as we don't have a textbook. It'll be weird to go back to 200-level classes after a year of 300-level. I passed Discrete, which makes me soooo happy, and I aced Advanced Linear Algebra. WOO WOO.

Dance dance dance
Preparing for the competition in October, and the performance on the 20th I got some practice heels and new performance shoes. Stupid ballroom competition means that I must wear heels. F*$%ing hell.

Practice shoes because I can't even walk in heels:


Performance shoes:

Mmmmmm, shiny and red. I'm in love.