Very exciting!!! So You Think You Can Dance premiered tonight, yes tonight! I LOVE this show. If you're not familiar with the phenomenon that's earned it's own acronym, SYTYCD....here's the skinny. It's American Idol for dancers....3 judges, weekly competition, America votes, someone goes home. There seems to be more crying and jumping on this show when the judges critique the song....er, dance. AI is hosted by Ryan Seacrest and he does a great job....but he's no tall drink o' water like SYTYCD's hostess Cat Deely!
I'm not alone in my affection for this show. So a few of us bloggers (Christina, Courtney, Megan, Renee, and myself) are going to rotate a blog review each week. Get it? The Sisterhood of the Traveling Dance??? It all makes sense now, right? I guess I pulled the short straw having to post the inaugural review. So much pressure! Feel free to leave your opinions and comments each week...this dance card is big enough for all of us!
Tonight's premier began with auditions in Brooklyn, New York and Denver, Colorado. I have to say that I was pleased this time that there were far more GOOD dancers featured than ridiculously embarrassing "dancers". I feel badly for these unfortunate souls who have no one who loves them....at least not enough to tell them NOT to audition. These are the people that were probably told once at their sister's wedding that they were a good dancer by others who were so drunk they thought it would be funny to freak the mother of the bride. They should not audition. If your "formal" training consists of watching videos on MTV, you should not audition. Is this news to anyone? Apparently it is.
Ahhh I digress. Tonight's show featured the 2 regular judges, Nigel and Mary. Nigel cracks me up with his shaggy, kinda feathered hair and his attempts to be "down" by saying things like "stank face" and "you brought it" with his thick British accent. He does know his dance though, and he tells the truth! Did anyone else see when he imitated one dancer by pointing to his crotch and yelling "Why would you do that?" Gold! Then there's Mary. At least 3 sound techs per season are approved for workers compensation from her screaming soooo loudly. In New York she looked like she just got off her pirate ship and forgot to change out of her puffy shirt, while in Denver the rodeo barely ended before she had to be at the convention center. She, too, though knows her dancing! In New York, Nigel and Mary were joined by Tabitha and Napoleon, a married, hip hop dancing duo. They are too cute for words...I love how she looks at her husband as he's talking. In Denver, Nigel and Mary were joined by Sonya Tay....who is so cool she snaps her fingers instead of clapping!
As for the competitors...the ones to watch, I think are Gabby (she was the first to audition and is a carni, too!), Peter the Italian tap dancer, Chimizie the super cool hip hop guy and Natalie and Brandon who both almost made it into the top 20 last year. Ooooh, don't forget Kayla who was brought to the audition by her very proud grandparents!
How weird were the "mutation" dancers, Storyboard and Hobgoblin? How does one know that they can bend like that? I kinda liked it. I'm going to get me some Schmean. I also enjoyed the umbrella dancer guy... the umbrella worked. Some props that didn't work were light sabers, a mannequin, endless leg warmers, and too much see through mesh. I give credit to Tiffany who auditioned in spite of her horrendously debilitating long hair....er, I mean spinal dysplaysia.
Let me know what you think. Tune in next week for a review of the Miami and Memphis auditions!
*** I realize that STILL have not posted about Trey's first birthday. I swear that we did celebrate it. My computer won't let me upload or download or sideload pictures right now. Be patient!****
14 comments:
Alright, I'm going to start watching SYTYCD...just so I know what I'm reading about when I visit the Sisterhood....
Now someone please FB me the time and channel.
Thank you.
Patiently waiting for birthday pics.
I just wrote a long comment and it was erased...now I have to make the kids lunch. I'll redo it later!
yay sisterhood! i was awaiting last night's episode with the anticipation like it was Christmas morning! It didn't disappoint as always...
loved all of the ones you mentioned above (first girl was definitely impressive), and was moved to tears while watching the girl suffering from her spinal issues. amazing and beautiful and should be an inspiration to all. thought the boy swimmer/dancer brothers were adorable even though they didn't make it thru. and just absolutely LOVED natalie and brandon who almost made it last time. such talent there, such strength and grace.
i think there seemed to be a lot of amazing dancers that they didn't show (just clips) and sonya was hysterical the way she reacted to them (snaps!)... :)
soooo excited they are bringing another season in during the fall!!!! wahoo!!!!
oh, and rachel, you were hilarious the way you described the judges!! all so true by the way!!
Ok, so I think Renee and I had similar thoughts- I loved seeing Natalie and Brandon back again this year. I really remember them from last year and from their tryouts I liked Natalie better than Katie! Of course I grew to LOVE Katie!
I also was hoping the brother who popped/locked with his bro (renee mentioned) would make it - he seemed like a sweetie. I was glad that at least one half of the latin dance couple who did the crazy spin made it through.
Nigel cracks me up - he is so not PC and just says what he thinks. I "follow" him on Twitter and apparently he is getting some flack b/c of his comments to the two male ballroom dancers. But he says what he thinks and doesn't mince words. Also, when those guys fell Matt and I laughed so hard. We had to rewind it and watch it again. And then again when my mom came in too see what was so funny.
I also loved Sonya's enthusiasm for the dancers. As a choreographer she must be around amazing dancers on a regular basis, but she still get excited about the beauty and talent that she saw in the dancers trying out.
I'm sure I had more to say in my previous post. I really hope this one makes it through...
Great job on the recap Rachel!
I would imagine that a group as open as this would not discriminate againt a brother posting a comment.
I too like (ok... maybe love) SYTYCD. To make it more masculine, I liken the show and dancing to what I did when I was full time studying Aikido. The control that those really good dancers have over their bodies is amazing! I like it because I liked having the same control over my own body, even though my art hurt people, it was still an art like dancing.
I agree with all the posts above, but I want to add my 2 cents on one area. I think that Sonya is a passionate dancer and choreographer, but I also think that she bats for the other team. Natalie's dance was great but so was Brandon's. Sonya's reaction to the ladies was WAY stronger than her reaction to the boys. I'm not judging, just an observation. Do you agree or disagree? (Matt?)
Great job Rachel! I'm looking forward to the rest of the posts!
I will let Sonya bat for the other team...that's how cool she is. If the guys are adding in their 2cents, do you think that Sonya is attractive in her own freakish way? I think she's so beautiful.
Anyhow, how could I have forgotten the male ballroom dance partners? Thanks for reminding me, Megan! I did see that Nigel is getting a ton of flack from the gay community for his remarks about Mr. Gay and Mr. Hasn't Admitted It Yet. But on the message boards that I saw, all the comments were in support of Nigel and basically telling the leaders of GLAAD (?) to get over themselves.
What do you think?
Plus...be better dancers if you're going to pull a stunt like that.
yeah, most of the stuff I saw seemed to think that GLAAD was blowing things way out of proportion and Nigel was expressing his opinion and he should be allowed to do that. like i said, i'll keep you posted on any twitter updates..
also, dustin, you may be right about sonya, her reactions were biased towards women - doesn't change my love for her, just like rachel said! she's not as jaded as some of the other judges.
also, where is courtney? the founding sister?
and matt loves this show too, maybe i can get him to chime in...
I'm here I'm here! I was traveling (literally...not like sisterhood style) so I didn't get to watch until yesterday. Great recap Rach. I agree with everyone so far. Mary's outfits were ridiculous, I loved that they showed mostly good dancers instead of train wrecks, Sonya is ladies-biased (but GORGEOUS). I too loved the brothers, even though they didn't make it through, and I think the last two dancers in Denver (who were cut last year) are by far the best! And TabithER and Napolean (that's what Cat calls them!) are two of my favs. They really want to support the dancers, and do their best to build people up (even when they're not good).
All in all though, it wasn't the best episode I've ever seen....but audition weeks are never my fav. I like to meet the dancers, but I want the competition to start! I am excited for next week though- we'll see how many times they use phrases like "the south brings the HEAT!".
Sorry Rachel (and the other ladies) but Sonya does not do it for me. I think she is totally BA and really talented and spirited. She has a beauty that is hard to describe. Kind of like a piece of art that you look at and say, "Wow, that's really cool, but not for me." I'd totally hang out with her though! I'll send her a text and see if she wants to hang out. Did you invite her to Trey's birthday party?
Hey! I tried to invite a lot of people to Trey's party...but no one wanted to listen!
Okay....late to the party, but adding in my thoughts.
The 2 brothers who were from a family of 800 were a little creepy. They touched eachother way to much for my comfort level. Nonetheless, sad to see the one bro didn't make the cut.
And the 2 male dancers- funny and also creepy. I thought the judges assessment was spot on with these 2. One should play the female part and the other should be the guy. that's how dancing ballroom is supposed to go... among other things. Cat had THE best comment as they went to commercial on them... wish I could remember it. SOmething like "so as we leave this day of auditions behind, M.... (can't remember his name) has yet to come out and Misha is..." Obviously not what she said, but it was alluding to the fact that the guy who said he was straight wasn't as straight as he professed to be!
Hands down Natalie and Brandon rocked it out. They saved the best for last. Also loved umbrella guy.
I'm going to have to take notes next time though. There's so much I miss!
Sonya- cool, but the floral shirt? what gives?
Mary- these were auditions, not a rodeo. I mean, fringe?
Nigel- love the flat-mate comment and other British words that you sprinkle throughout the show (gosh, I love all things British- even the crazy 70's hair).
and there you have my thoughts- 2 nights this week!
didn't get to watch last week, but will be a faithful watcher and commenter in the future. i (heart) SYTYCD...
erin - so glad you're here, i meant to email you and remind you to be checking in! you guys should go back and watch the clip on my blog (link) - it's a fun few minutes!
Post a Comment