IM ON UR HOT TAMALE TRAIN BEIN CHAUFFEURED BY LOSS, or So You Think You Can Dance 5 (starts May 21)

Time for a new one, for to anticipate the new season!

Also, I heard that a certain ilxor auditioned -- I wonder if they'll post...

The auditioning did not happen. Was supposed to be today, but after being hung over all yesterday, my attitude was like fuck it. :(

disappointed in u

booooooooo

WE ARE SHAMING YOU TO GO GO GO it would give you a ready-made backstory.

So, my ex-coworker who went to auditions said that she had to stand outside in the rain for 3 hours, then spent another 2 hours sat down in a hall where they weren't aloud to talk, use cell phones, stand or even WARM UP, before doing a 30-second improvisation before the producers to music of the producers' choice. A lot of the people who were picked to move on were people who totally sucked and were picked as "comedy relief". Only one tap dancer was picked anyway.

So basically, I'm glad I didn't go.

I cannot find my velvet bowler hat festooned with purple glitter and feathers. My eye makeup is all awry. These shiny silver hot pants are cutting into my thighs something fierce. And you expect me to dance?! U crazy.

Will the Rev redeem himself?

You probably could've stood out at the Seattle auditions, mang.

The auditions were mostly good. Seems like a lot of people who were last minute cuts at Vegas last year came back. I'm guessing Natalie and Brandon are going right through to top 20, as a "reward" for waiting the additional year after being the final 2 cuts last year.

I liked the use of the 17-year-old guy as pretty much a promo for next season. Thanks for the plug, So You Think You Can Dance (DANCE Dance dance dance)

Is it just me or was Natalie worse this year than last?

So sad that Natalie didn't make it. And that she didn't even get to dance for her life! I really liked her.

that azn ballet dude is tpk wish theyd shown more of him and less of the goofy bros. feelin the tall crybaby dude tho. but it seems like all the girls they focused on got cut except that jaime pressly lookin blonde chick who im guessin is gonna be cut tomorrow n.e.way

The dark-haired salsa girl is going to make it; she's one of the few from last year to make it back to the end this year.

Asian ballet dude apparently has/had contract issues that prevented him from being on the show.

Picking only one of the goofy bros is strike me as being blatantly unfair, kind of like picking between Katie and Natalie last year struck me as being blatantly unfair (btw Natalie's elimination? I saw it coming but it was pretty unfair, esp. since they bent over backwards to give the just-okay-dawg white popper multiple second chances; also wtf why do they hate tap dancers so much although yes Bianca stank at the contemporary routine).

I'd think including both Broadway brothers would be redundant, I didn't see too much difference between them. Asian ballet guy (Alex?) was pretty great and I hope he comes back.

Caitlin looks like she will be an emotional wreck a la Brooke White. The ballroom dancers (Janette, Asuka, Maksim) seem pretty good this year too.

Also major laughs at Lil' C saying "the buck stops here."

why was that episode a full hour? and we didnt even get to see like half the top 20? lol @ my predictive powers tho

Picking only one of the goofy bros is strike me as being blatantly unfair

If they'd both gone through, though, they would have split the vote for those who like goofy old-school masculine dance types, and we wouldn't have gotten as many weeks with either, and that would have made me sad, because ... well, especially with the older one, I liked the injection into this show of a short, muscly, hairy, sweaty, balding, testosteroney man dancing in the last style really designed to flatter stocky, masculine, hairy-backed types of men. (Okay that's not entirely true but you know what I mean.)

I totally loled at "the buck stops here" for sure -- I'm not even sure that was intentional

yah it seems really obv why theyd only need one of those dudes and also kind of obv that theyd pick the less bald one even if he is a little frogfaced.

mostly disappointed that there arent more hip hop dancers

Baldo would've totally worked better for the show -- he's the bro who can actually string together new sentences.

looking forward to when mia michaels gets to choreograph brandon and he does exactly what she wants and she still hates him

was totally pulling for asuka's partner ricky btw, he never got featured really in the vegas week stuff but if you watched him in the background while they were showing tony bellissimo and dems he was pretty strong...plus i just hated the way they treated him at the audition

So maybe I'm in "SQUEEE" mode but... I though that eight of those performances were fantastic...?

eight of those performances were fantastic

Which two disappointed you?

I thought the weakest performers were Jonathan (who will probably stick around based on cuteness) and Tony (ditto?). Asuka and Vitolio got stuck with the worst choreography, but Asuka was still hot stuff; Vitolio not so much.
Best for me were Ade and Melissa, Evan (with Randi along for the ride), Jason and Caitlin, and Kupono and Ashley. Kupono's dancing and personality remind me of Mark Kanemura (who I ultimately felt had limited range and technique).

General comments about this show:

I'm almost always impressed by the quality of the choreography, and I almost always find the improvised solos dull and predictable in comparison.

And on a more confessional note, I tend to find the boys much more memorable and distinctive than the girls each season. I assume this is only because I'm a gay man.

Asuka and Vitolio were hit with the Tyce Stick Of Doom and, as a result, sucked. The other low performance was Paris & Tony, although I'd be surprised if either of them went home due to the WAU HOTT factor (especially her, and especially considering she outdanced him in his own style; if the public doesn't go for them, he's likely to get a pass since they always give the "needs improvement" dancer one freebie). The other bottom three performance (IMO) should be Jonathan & Karla.

Your top 4 and my top 4 are the same; I also was a big fan of Brandon & Janette and Max & Kayla.

thread title = genius

i've been meaning to chime in on this for weeks, somehow haven't gotten a chance til now.

with like maybe 2 exceptions, a solid top 20 this year, huh?

i cant believe u guyz know names already!

wade robson routine was best i think altho nothing 2 match the triplets of belville one other than that they all kind of faded a little. oh hip hop to ne-yo was rad as well. HATED the bollywood routine tho

lol @ judges self-congratulations thnk the light 4 >>

I am still absorbing names, due to referring to half of them by nickname; e.g. I guess people like him but I cannot help thinking of that one tall guy as Cannon Fodder for the early rounds. (NB I also have an irrational hatred of the boyband-looking kid who seems to think he's all smooth and sexy and keeps winking and generally impersonating LL Cool J.)

I see now why certain judges thought Brandon was offputtingly cocky -- I mean geez, look at the move he chose for the intro! Also after last night I like Ashley a lot; before, I kept wondering what it was about her face that seemed so strangely non-dancer-like, but then even as a dummy she used her face really interestingly, and something about that is fascinating me. Max & Kayla seem like they're going to wind up a power couple right up until Max starts seeming like a burden. And Paris doing hip-hop seemed better than any of the styles she's actually meant to be strong in!

Boyband-looking kid hasn't even yet grown adult-sized nipples, he needs to chill out with being smooth

Don't be fooled, I'm googling heavily! The only names I remembered going into the episode were Phillip, Brandon, Max, Kupono and Asuka; I didn't remember the names of half of the dancers I remembered seeing during the auditions (Evan, Janette, Kayla, Caitlin, Jason, Tony).

Which one is "boyband-looking kid"?

btw: woah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXph1yLyHdM

if the boyband dude is tony - one of the few names i remember! - then yah hes kind of off-putting but so clearly pretty i think hell stick around

Boyband due is Jonathan.

For your reference:
http://pnauert.googlepages.com/sytycd.jpg

due->dude

website indicates boyband kid is Jonathan, and Tony is the one I think of as "Cannon Fodder"

btw if Kayla's grandfather was crying over her routine with Max, I'm guessing part of it might have been for different reasons than at the audition

oh yeah, HIM

I want him and Karla gone; I thought their dance sucked and, unlike Vitolio and Asuka, they weren't hamstring by horrifying choreography.

ps: holy shit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z4rdaW9y5A

I'm so looking forward to the "Anticipate TWITCH IN 3-D" thread

haha yes!

btw, the lift at the end of this is WTF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMJuyMsXAXo

no1 is stopping u go ahead and start it xpost

that mandy moore routine was pretty good and i def vibe the ballerina chick good couple. okay boyband = jonathon = see thru shirt = gross okay getting the hang of this

I don't mean to dwell on this but his nipples are like the size of his pupils, and I choose to pretend this means he has not yet reached maturity and should not wink at anyone

btw I hated this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkhAjO7FJyk

I admit I was lolling at Mary going "you guys sucked but it was fun"

Man, I was talking about Mary's botoxiness all night before she joked about it -- she screams all the time because she has no other available mode of expression from her head region, right? (Also possibly because she clearly loads up on drinks for the dance nights.)

hah yah her making that botox joke almost made up for the sheer unwatchableness of the rest of the judging altho usually the clubby insanity of the show and cat deeley are basically the greatest

I am forever on the lookout for an eligible bachelor named Mr. Bobber for Cat Deeley to wind up married to

i guess this is the place to say that while i have huge respect for everything mia michaels has accomplished in her career, i'd never, ever want to meet her - just strikes me as awholly unlikable person in a way, like, no other judges on reality shows seem to be. but maybe all dance/choreography people are like this?

er how about all of the other judges on the show; none of them seem to have the Gobi Desert in their vaginas

Weird, I always find Mia one of the more likable among them. (Or at least I'd probably rather have dinner with her than any of the others apart from probably Sonja or Shankman.)

Come on, Lil C!

ololo its terrible but i laughed so hard when on the vegas show she told everyone she was a cutter. who would have guess that emo shit she listens to

"girl, i will cut you"

^^ it might have been while watching that that I decided I wanted to open a dog grooming place called "We Will Cut a Bitch"

Lil C is fine and all, and I dig the way he'll come just up to the verge of misusing words but then they always work -- but he's kinda just professional, I don't get much sense of his personality. (Which is totally fine.) Also some questionable shirt/tie choices

When Lil C said "The buck stops here for you," he became a self-parody.

ololo its terrible but i laughed so hard when on the vegas show she told everyone she was a cutter.

Oh man lol I went to exactly the same place.

(fwiw I wkiw Mia but c'mon, she's been on some tubobitchery this year)

fwiw I thnk U R otm w/r/t ths yr., ya

oic ^_^

the thing btw mia and lil c and mary over brandon was ~*intense*~ and strange 2 me because on these shows u always think that shit is staged for drama but none them strike me as particularly good actors and it felt so reel

Mia is a hateful person, she makes my skin crawl every time she opens her mouth (Tyce is nearly as bad in the meanness department). I don't understand why everyone kisses her ass, she's a middle aged woman who never stopped being a bratty teenager.

I also don't get the obsession with Contemporary dance - what Frank Zappa once referred to as the "wrist-to-the-forehead school of dance" - the emotion of it all gets really repetitive after the millionth time. Why is this the favored type of dancing?

Tyce is a useless waste of space. hate hate hate hate hate

My local Fox station is preemting tonight's show to track a hail storm 2 counties away! Very pissed!

So they went back to the show for long enough to see who got sent to the bottom 3, but that was it. So who got sent home?

tall pretty dude tony and his partner um interchangeable dark-haired contemp dancer

lol @ sean kingston now and all time

Okay, this is the couple I thought should go home but I totally thought the judges/producers would keep them because of the pretty factor.

I am pretty fucking pleased with this show right about now!

Lil C is fine and all, and I dig the way he'll come just up to the verge of misusing words but then they always work -- but he's kinda just professional, I don't get much sense of his personality.

Have you seen his Twitter? It will... disabuse you. http://twitter.com/kingofkrump

I think I am the only person this side of Tasty Oreo who liked Oscar and Cornholio's Broadway.

okay looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool

interchangeable dark-haired contemp dancer with Reese Witherspoon's chin

CANNON FODDER lives up to his name!

Pretty great performance show, and I was ok with the eliminations too.

I think Tyce's jazz stuff is pretty cool, but his broadway routines are more miss than hit.

The West Side Story thing he did in Vegas is the only Broadway routine he's done that wasn't a dick.

yeah I kinda wish there were more good Broadway on this show -- Broadway that isn't ridiculously mannered and over-costumed and irritating -- especially with Evan around (NB I think maybe Randi should be thanking god every morning for getting hitched to that train)

like that's basically why the West Side Story thing was good, right, because it was just good natural Broadway stuff and not really mannered or camped-up

I was so supremely pissed off with him last year for that incredibly stupid-ass routine he did for Will and Katie to "Sit Down" that had them prancing around a rowboat like dicks; it really was a testament to what good dancers they were that it came off as halfway palatable and not wholly birthed from Satan's campy meatus

btw there was total self-congratulation in that whole bit about "where else are you going to see this Robson test-dummy routine" -- and also, conversely, I think they go on and on about stuff like that being "weird" just to be reassuring to the TV audience -- but to be honest it's really true: it really is sorta something to have even 3 minutes of network prime time devoted to people doing choreography like that to a Goldfrapp song.

(I was really psyched, too, by the sense that the audience had reacted well to Sonya's stuff last season, and the feeling that they were running with that -- especially when it's early on and there are a lot of couples, anything interesting or super-aestheticized is a really welcome break)

haha oh man I remember liking the rowboat thing but I was a hardcore Joshua/Katee stan at the point (like everyone else)

Joshua/Katee pretty much proved they could do anything thrown at them last year; I remember that they were the highlight for me every week, I almost didn't care what most other dancers were doing.

Yes yes but this was WILL/Katee, after the pairs were broken up and they started shuffling groupings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UC4UnpCczw&feature=related

This routine is a dick.

I mean srsly, compare that full-on atrocity to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJijgVwT7DQ&feature=related

PLZ GO AWAY, TYCE DIORIO, YOU ARE HORRIBLE

oh RIGHT

It is true, though, that the dance pool gets stronger and stronger every year, partially because dancers who want to do the show know what's up with it and come more prepared and partially because, for some, the audition process has been like a dance boot camp they go to every year for several years to become better, more versatile dancers; the first season, I stopped watching after Ryan went home and only tuned in for the finale because I didn't care about anyone else still on other than Nick and Melody, whereas last year I wanted everyone in the top 12 to win and this year I'm rooting for 16 of them.

have we taken a moment to snicker at sean kingston yet?

haha I missed Sean Kingston because I was on the phone with my brother, hopefully it hasn't been deleted from the DVR yet

I had never previously seen Sean Kingston before and was delighted by his "I'm the fourth Fat Boy" look; umm kinda less delighted by his performance

"hey, sean? if you're touring this summer (or anytime soon) you may wanna follow the example of your backup dancers and hit the gym/stairmaster a few times"

seriously, dude was totally outta breath and was painful to watch because i was worried about him

i thought it was at least a little funny that they did that stupid segment about how much the dancers sweat in rehearsal and then seeing him basically drowning in it

I think most of the Tyce broadway I've liked were the group routines: "Mein Herr", "Cell Block Tango", and the Lion King one. Also, Kherington/Twitch "Too Damn Hot" from last year.

Wade's number was pretty awesome, but with all the whiteness and Goldfrapp as the soundtrack I got a Bjork-esque snow pixies vibes instead of two crash test dummies.

Modifying your manipulation of movement!

Lil C should write a book of aphorisms.

He said there was a certain "divinity" to Evan's movements, which I think was the first time one of his 25-cent word choices has slipped across the line to seeming totally wrong to me. Then later he totally got sonned by some ballroom dancers on national television. That was possibly my favorite part of this one, apart from the commercial for "More to Love" and Kayla starting to look like she's just waiting in boredom for the last few weeks.

I have started to like Ashley a lot, btw, for no particular reason. Also Jason. (And Ade, but I think he's sort of a given for a while.)

Brian Friedman, ick. Brought back memories of his horrible/similar Ashlee/Dimitri toy doll dance. 400% more makeup than required. The jive was pretty awesome though.

Loved that Ashley danced to Coco Rosie, and would've rather seen either of the other two girls go instead of her.

Stacey Tookey is a slightly unfortunate name.

plz plz plz for the love of God send Jason home tonight

also: still pissed that they kept Caitlin over Ashley

Also, Brandon/Jeanette, Ade/Melissa and Evan/Randi appear to be many steps ahead of the other couples.

I was very impressed by Brandon's ability to do a convincing job with hip-hop.

The Ade/Melissa number was hot!

Someone plz explain why they continue to use Tyce, unless he's just kept around as a culling tool.

I think Nigel mentioned the thing that was weirding me out, which was: why are you choreographing to a number from Singing in the Rain while using a couch in a very similar manner to a different number from Singing the Rain? It was like watching one of those commercials where they can't license the song they want, so they commission a generic imitation of it.

why are you choreographing to a number from Singing in the Rain while using a couch in a very similar manner to a different number from Singing the Rain?

this, and most other questions, can be answered with "because Tyce is a dick".

Unsurprised by Brandon killing it on hip-hop, btw: the two main attributes that always stick out to people about him are cockiness and strength, so I'd have expected him to be convincing (even if I didn't expect he'd be that used to popping and locking)

Man: Mia routines are always so good

xpost - Tyce's dance aesthetic is curiously similar to his facial-hair aesthetic

I was really not expecting Ade and Melissa to actually have sex on stage, tho.

^^ that was the first time on this show I've been watching something and thought "this is literally pretty hot"

(dude needs to lose the pick, though, this isn't So You Think You're ?uestlove)

loooooooooooooooooooool

It was a little unfair for Randi and Evan, because their number was supposed to be sexy as well and it was in a lecherous, comical way, but not in a "holy shit, those two are literally about to start fucking in front of America" way.

Kayla and Kupono should have been paired together from the beginning IMO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ6XH6I1-AU

I mean, GOOD GOD

missed the show last nite : (

i know its not the point of that clip but major lolz @ brandon bein like "oh if i wasnt a dancer id be bringing the magical gift of light to stage and scrn. id make the whole world twinkle" and then his partner bein like "id be a commercial loan officer"

also on the real that damn dress jesus

I know it's unfair, but I got really frustrated with all the contestants who said that if they weren't dancers they'd be.... something really similar to a dancer.

I'm much more impressed by the ones who want to be accountants or astro-physicists or lolmusic critics or whatever.

I mean, let's use some imagination people!

Jeanette wanting to be a loan officer had me in tears

the best part of it was they put her in a sleeveless ruffled blouse and glasses and sat her @ at desk w/ a calculator from the 80s and a pencil in order to illustrate "loan officer" for the ppl @ home. idk but seein her punching in random #s on that calculator ... dying.

the dramatization was hilarious, but I was kinda on her side for being like "oh y'all want to make jewelry and model and shit? sorry, I actually have a boring real job plan I'm working on getting accredited for"

I also want to note that like 50% of them had dream careers that there are already other, similar reality shows for, and I think some sort of exchange program should be set up so we can see Kayla on Top Model and Kupono on Project Runway and then like Joanie and Leanne dancing

I was kinda on her side for being like "oh y'all want to make jewelry and model and shit? sorry, I actually have a boring real job plan I'm working on getting accredited for"

i was totally on her side! tryna say it only seemed more hilarious in contrast to the way brandon couched his lighting tech ambitions in the most artsy way possible - she was so adult about it!

sorry, I'm still imagining Joanie dancing

so mandy moore is basically hero for consistently using classic 80s jamz in her routines

It's totally her shtick, but it works.

Ade is really standing out for me, he seems like final four material. Janine seems like she would be more awesome if she had a more versatile partner.

Toni Basil is probably my least favorite judge, I can not stand the tone of her voice AT ALL. And it wouldn't kill her to learn at least one of the dancer's names.

She just calls them "Street," I think.

Karla did NOT look happy about being partnered with Vitolio after losing Jonathan.

I still love the last time Toni came on and eviscerated practically every couple; good quality television!

I was really not surprised by who went home, although I really do think the judges are massively overrating Caitlin.

Caitlin, on top of being, charitably, a middle-of-the-road dancer on the show, is also dull TV.

I can't believe they squashed the burgeoning Asuka/Vitolio love tryst like that! Also it was really heartbreaking when she was trying to keep from bawling her eyes out and hesitantly saying that Vitolio basically was the absolute best thing about the show for her.

And him bawling his eyes out while draping his arms around the shoulder of an increasingly-dubious Karla!

HOORAY, boy-band is gone; now would be an excellent time to strike while the iron's hot and fulfill his dream of being a singer by starting an actual boyband (with tumbling) while AutoTune's still acceptable

xpost - yeah, those two sure did seem to connect on something

It's like all of the onstage sex happening with Ade and Melissa was actually occurring backstage with Asuka and Vitolio.

haha Dan it's not like I don't follow you, but I'm worried you're enjoying this show a bit too much

lol

I worry myself sometimes!

"sleeveless ruffled blouse"

god, that fashion needs to be expunged from the earth forever

last night had me steaming mad - asuka/vitolio got screwed by america, totally

Didn't Asuka say something last week to the effect that her chemistry problem with Vitolio was that wasn't attracted to him? Ha. She was so stiff in that Mandy Moore routine though, I don't think she would do well in future weeks. It's too bad, because her audition was pretty awesome.

I am just mad that Jonathan didn't get booted last week because Max did not deserve to go home at all.

It's a little unfair that Phillip has this massive fan base from last year; he's likely going to be immune from the bottom 3 unless he actually falls on his face or drops Janine during a routine.

Dan, my money's on Phillip being gone really, really soon - he's no Twitch, in terms of adaptability or charisma.

(and i LIKE the guy)

yeah, but I don't mind Phillip getting some extra weeks, given that this year's crop is not exactly strong on the hip-hop

if Asuka or Vitolio had gone home last week I'd have said they got screwed with the sorts of routines that don't get votes; this week they had one that gave them room to look good, and they ... didn't look all that great. I'd been kinda counting on Asuka being the traditional "ballroom woman goes home early" slot

I think in a fairer world, Phillip is out in the next 2 weeks. We'll see; I kind of hope I'm wrong (although not too much because even though Max shouldn't have gone I would not have kept anyone who's still on the show over him; in fact, I think I'd bounce Vitolio before Phillip).

that one dude - john i guess - had an evil face and he scared me. glad 2 see he was gone. less happy about the azn chick but ballroom dancers they have it tuff. also she wasnt really that good.

The only ballroom/Latin person left is Jeanette, right?

How did Twitch, who obviously struggled w/ a lot of his routines, become the exemplar of a pan-generically versatile hip hopper? Especially when, you know, JOSHUA?

Perhaps because Phillip and Twitch seem to have the same potential story arc. Both initially were seen as a one trick pony, both missed the cut in Vegas once, and both came back the next year after taking classes in other styles to make the show.

tonight is gonna be ROUGH, because none of the remaining couples had an out-and-out BAD routine.

good lord, I thought the benefit of sending Jonathan home was that he would GO HOME

His small nipples will be with you for the rest of your life.

i want to watch ade and melissa actually fuck

i really liked the chain dance to santigold

nick are you actually HI DERE

part of me thinks hey, they are a fly and lovable couple but let's not get crazy here

another part of me thinks, okay, I guess if you send me a link to a video of that, I would click it

don't mentally mess with Melissa's relationship, though, that would be way awkward to get divorced from a guy who's still your own brother-in-law

"don't mentally mess with Melissa's relationship, though, that would be way awkward to get divorced from a guy who's still your own brother-in-law"

that whole "married to twins" thing creeps me out, but then, twins and triplets and such just creep me out anyway, always have

ok so i have to catch up on this thread but i'm finally caught up on the show. i am worried that they are overusing sonya. i liked her piece this week, but when they showed her for the rehearsal part i was already like 'ugh again already?'

also, i really love vitolio and i don't know why but he's gonna be gone soon and it makes me sad.

usually like ade a lot but this week i wasn't really feeling his ballet.

karla should go away, even though i think this is one of the best quick steps ever on the show.

and also yeah i wish bald bro woulda made it instead of this really, really boring guy. hopefully he goes soon and then next year the great story can be his brother making it where he failed, which is only fair anyway since his brother is responsible for his moves.

The expected two went home tonight, although I think Jason/Caitlin got the mercy vote for that alien piece, which felt like it was weird for weird's sake.

Love love Jeanine.

wtf happened to kelly clarkson

yeah sheesh

sigh i knew vitolio was gonna go but a;lsdkgj poor guy :(
both his and kipono's solos were shit, btw.

do they start swapping partners when they get down to 10 yeah?

Yes, unrepentant swinging each week once they reach top 10.

More needs to be said about Desmond Richardson and Patricia Hachey's performance, like, woah.

Thank goodness they aren't wearing out the dancers as much this year. Last season at this time they were already doing 2 dances per couple.

Desmond & Patricia were/are clearly awesome. And quite a striking androgynous couple. That's the type of performance I'd pay to see.

yeah i saw his co do some freaking amazing shit with bk philharmonic a few years ago. this is another reason i'm sad that orchestra is going under - they actually committed to multidisciplinary work that allowed companies like complexions to be seen by non-traditional audiences. gah.

also why no tribute to pina bausch this week, jerks?

not really paying attn but did mia really do a piece abt chris brown????

i wish this show would staff more hip hop dancers because srsly that was pretty weak some real jr. high stuff from the two dwarves. liked pretty much everything else

leeee, when you're recapping, can you please make fun of the confused blonde girl in the audience when tyce was raving about brandon/jeanette's tango? she made me lol.

also mia's kayla/kipono thing was kind of woah for me. and i haven't been affected by a mia piece in ages.

also wow what a soft spot for janean as underdog <3 <3

i wish this show would staff more hip hop dancers because srsly that was pretty weak some real jr. high stuff from the two dwarves. l

^^, and LOL!

i wish they'd been worse!
but yeah, disappointing hip hop this season!!!!

Well, they only took 2 hip-hop dancers and then booted one of them the first week of the show!

(I kinda don't see why the chain routine ended up in the bottom 3, tho)

(also I haven't seen the performances from yesterday yet but it's amazing how much I've begun to dislike Evan, so hearing he did poorly is making me happy)

Really started digging Janean this week, yeah.

I like Evan and like watching him, but yes, I think this was the week where things suddenly hit that point where "I like you a lot" is no longer sufficient, and you want people gone unless they're going to be actively impressive every time they're up there -- he can go home well-liked, you know? Kinda worried for Ade on this front, actually, because so far he's mostly just receded and helped his partner look great, so I don't know how much sense there is out there of him, himself, being able to do good things.

So I have this theory that may be right or wrong, and it is that while Kayla is clearly a terrific dancer, every time, in different styles, she keeps winding up in the bottom because voters don't like her (in that particular way that people don't like skinny, pretty blonde girls who do not seem super-friendly and therefore you don't empathize with them and are also pretty sure they think they're better than you). This is just a theory.

(Growing enjoyment of Janette, too! Also enjoyed Brandon talking about something being "sexy" and this realization that he comes off pretty asexual; he is sort of an intense interior dude and the first sexual activity he brought to mind involved him standing in front of a mirror alternately admiring himself and yelling at himself to be better at things)

I think that theory is OTM, except that the thing with Kayla is that she does come across as super-sweet but she unfortunately looks exactly like the archetype Hollywood has created for the preening megabitch, causing people to react negatively against an image that isn't actually in sync with how she behaves and performs on the show.

kipono is so sensitive!
lol!

i don't know, i guess bc i saw kayla's audition feature w/ the grandparents etc, i don't feel like she's bitchy at all... i was mad at nigel for commenting about her hair cause i thought her facial expression during that dance was great and also she doesn't decide on the hair styling, the producers/stylists do! so blame nigel!?! what.

kinda pissed that they screwed over janine with russian and ballroom, though!
also yeah, first time i've seen any personality from janette and wow, she's funny.
finally: this may be the first year i like the girls better?

xpost - Well, her personality is also ... there is nothing wrong with it, but she's not exactly open/fun/goofy like some of the other women, which is too bad for her, because she'd probably be in a better position if she seemed less serious or more "approachable"

yeah, definitely not calling her "bitchy" or anything, but also not a type that cries out for voters to relate to or support, almost especially since she's visibly great and acknowledged as such

I feel like I've been watching a different Jeanette from you guys because I've always loved her! (Then again, I loved her last year and was super-psyched to see her back.) Don't know what she did last night though, so maybe massive lolz are waiting for me on my DVR.

she just rocked a tango, basically

I've liked her plenty all along, I'm just getting increasingly convinced that it's because she's long-term awesome and not a fluke. (I will admit to having a prejudice on this show where I expect dancers from Miami with ballroom/salsa backgrounds to not last long, so maybe I was just being wary or something.)

I was kind of furious last year that they took Susie over her.

there was that first lift where it looked like she just flew across and i was kind of O_O!!!!

i don't remember her from last year.

ive always liked jeanette but that career segment basically made hers for the rest of the show tbf - she seems like the only real bro outta all the contestants

the wade piece at the end was killer too. lots of good choreography last nite i think maybe my favorite so far with the pasha and anya one and MORE 80Z JAMZ mandy moore and the waltz and the disco which is was retarded but good.

ha i thought yall were talking about caitlin and not kayla because cait is the one the seems like total mean girl archetype - also not that great a dancer imo

oh yeah i can't stand caitlin!

i was pissed she got in and not her sister, too.

they keep picking the wrong siblings.

Caitlin is mediocre at best and needs to GO.

I'd rank the girls like this (based on how much I like them, not based on last night's performance which I haven't seen yet):

Melissa
Jeanette
Janine/Kayla
Randi
a dead rabbit teeming with maggots
Caitlin

I'd rank the guys:

Ade
Brandon
Phillip
Kupono
Jason
Evan

xpost to tza - i think they picked her cause she was older and prettier - if they took her sister less chance shed come back next year? but the sister is yung blud probably comes back next year. i get the impression this show is better @ managing their potential talent than half of mlb

Well, they only took 2 hip-hop dancers and then booted one of them the first week of the show!

this is true but it feels like in past years - esp S2 and S3 - that the non hip hop dancers could at least front a little w/ it. @ this point tab + nap are just putting 2gether routines that involve "walking around oddly" and vaguely synchronized hand waving. and they still arent that tight u_u

also it cant be sd enough mandy moore knows what a JAM is ^_^

I wanted Caitlin gone in week 2; Ashley should still be on the show, dammit!

yeah i miss ashley :(

Kupono invariably does a good job in routines but all of his solos just make me miss Mark.

the solos all suck another downside of having so many stupid contemp dancers

yeah they are really weak.

I like Philip's thing okay but generally speaking Brandon is the one good hip-hop dancer on this season, isn't he?

I'm pretty satisfied with the top ten, but I really can't tell how the individual votes are going to swing next week. I think only Brandon and Jeanette are safe picks at the moment.

Loved how all the judges/Cat all were teasing Tyce about his random orange juice metaphor. Also a little surprised Nigel nearly came right out and said that the judges have already made up their mind about who they want to keep before the Thursday show starts.

lol @ nigel's thinly veiled 'sony are bastards' speech

kinda surprised that kayla's been in the bottom 3 - i think she's super sweet, and when she dances it's really really fuckin INTENSE

I am not fond of theorizing conspiracies, but it seems the show is intent this season on keeping hip hop dancers as far from the final four as possible.

lol i didn't think it was so thinly veiled! more like putting on a lot of pressure for them to have a "change of heart" in the matter.

i'm glad caitlin is gone, but i kind of wish jason'd gotten ditched, too. i get why philip went, though (mad props to his music choice! so perfectly suited for his style!!!!). ade's solo was awesome, too.

evan SO needed to be gone last night

I think maybe one reason for knocking out Philip might be the switch to things being all votes from here on out -- I don't really know how much Philip's "following" affects the votes, but it'd be a problem for them if he kept surviving on fan-love despite not being good at other styles, right?

BTW holy moly, I said this:

kinda worried for Ade on this front, actually, because so far he's mostly just receded and helped his partner look great, so I don't know how much sense there is out there of him, himself, being able to do good things

... and then he SERIOUSLY put such questions to rest with that solo! Which is actually really, really good timing to suddenly break out your first solo and be surprisingly awesome with it -- i.e., at a point where we might be starting to feel used to or even bored with what other people can do.

i would guess philip's fans wouldn't affect votes that much if they kept ending up in the bottom 3 every week.

also who the hell are all these people voting for randi/evan? ughhhhhh

Evan be likable, sorry

no, evan be an idiot.

his schtick is tired.

haha wait until the start of next season, his brother's the schticky one!

but he's less cutesy!

and more talented

like, it's a good thing evan hasn't had to solo bc his brother's not there to tell him what to do. i'm scared at what he'd come up with.

I think maybe we are defining "schtick" differently -- I consider a whoopee-cushion tap routine to be "schtick" and Evan to actually non-schtickily be whatever he is (i.e., a slightly dopey Midwestern kid who's not an all-around super-strong dancer but is fun to watch where he's comfortable and therefore people vote for him because it's somehow charming to have a slightly dopey-looking Michigander who doesn't much look like a dancer dance pretty charmingly in a style not often seen as much, etc.)

I do think his brother would have been better, though, and may have suffered this time from some notion that Evan was more televisable

the thing is, i don't think he dances charmingly in his own style. his broadway was kind of lackluster.

I liked this routine of his:

http://www.hbshows.com/images/droopy3.jpg

lol

I have a soft spot for him, mainly because I'm happy to finally see someone on this show who loves Gene Kelly as much as I do.

it's a good thing evan hasn't had to solo bc his brother's not there to tell him what to do

Srsly, he could've used his brother to help him speak on camera.

THSNK YOU FINALLY SOMEONE SANE ENTERS THREAD

also ftr re schticks i think it's ok to have schtick during auditions, esp if you are doing something like tap/broadway, as long as you don't depend on that for the rest of the competition (see guy who pulled out pics of nigel's face not being able to do anything else. i don't think that was the case with ev's bro).

I just watched this week's shows

holy shit, Ade

my thoughts re: this week:

a) <3 kayla
b) brandon's solo: what?! dude is totally trying to cop ade's moves to get votes
c) probably nappytabs best routine of the season. janette! what a cutie!
c1) lol @ debbie allen "i missed the libretto"
d) jason and jeanine: i loved philip but having jeanine dance with someone who can let her shine like this is amazing. i still think jason is weird. also i didn't watch whatever season travis was on so i don't know anything about him but debbie allen talking about his mom = nepotism?????
e) evan's solo made me think more cutely about rufus
f) kayla's solo = i love her, but getting a little desperate with the solo? usually i reserve the term "frenetic" for jason but she gets it this week
g) randi and kipono: despite what judges said, i thought the choreography sucked, the music sucked, and fuck the producers for making her wear that wig
h) ade, much as i love him, did a solo that had absolutely nothing to do with the music he chose. ;_;
i) jason: first time i liked his solo! maybe because he matched the music (which was great, btw)
j) melissa and brandon's routine was... not so broadway? held up by nigel's comment that twila tharp did the og chore... she was... not broadway either... even though it was a broadway show. cheaters. really great contemporary routine, though, tasty.
k) i can't read this note... "nigel re [something] statement: you are a dick"... can't remember what this was about (yes, i took notes. this is the first time i've ever done this with a tv show!!!)
l) something about wow evan's the only white guy and nigel being ehhhh but i don't remember what
m) i don't want to renumber but i remember being offended at the beginning when they got all gaga over that bollywood. ok guys, we get it. you do things that are not "standard". ok. move on now. your bollywood routines suck.

fin.

yeah - the self-congrats 10 times an episode kinda needs to stop

tza basically otm

totally did not get ade's solo and THAT music - weird!

But Ade could dance to the phone book.

ade's solo was basically ade's previous solo at a 90-degree angle

that does not mean I did not greatly enjoy it

for the time being I'm just super-curious to see what the all-voting format is going to turn up tonight, especially because I have these totally subjective mental senses of who the public "likes" (e.g., Evan is liked & Kayla is not?) and they may or may not be completely, psychotically wrong

that was dope as fukkkkkkkkk imo

oh olol it was a w.rob still i think the best routines have been some of the opening elim show ones. i feel ppl on getting annoyed by the judges talking about how n/l they are on some bollywood shit (lame routine btw) but when cat starts talking abt emmy noms im just grinning away cuz w/her its just this unhateable pep squad shit 2 CUET

something about wow evan's the only white guy and nigel being ehhhh but i don't remember what

haha whats funny is that he didnt really stand out for being the only wite guy but for being like a half sec out of sync :-/

also i didn't watch whatever season travis was on so i don't know anything about him but debbie allen talking about his mom = nepotism

enh iirc she wasnt a judge or even involved with the show during his season - think she got involved because travis did really well in his season rather than the other way around and theyve "always" given past dancers work when they could

Travis' mother ran the studio where Danny and Jaimie came from, I believe the judges often praised her for cultivating such talent, etc.

I actually enjoyed the Bollywood tonight more than I have any of the previous routine. And while I've loved the choreo for both Pasos, I feel both couples underperformed them.

Also, 4 dances from last year were nominated for Emmys this year (Bleeding Love, the Adam & Eve dance, Twitch/Katee's "Door Routine", and that thing Dmitry choreographed)

jason and jeanine: i loved philip but having jeanine dance with someone who can let her shine like this is amazing.

Sort of a moot point, cuz if Chbeeb had made it to the top 10, he probably wouldn't have been paired with Jeanine again.

Should we expect Evan to mount a charge of the White Brigade into the final four?

This episode was maddening. Lots of swearing going on in this living room.

Ellen DeGeneres -- delightful. Ellen DeGeneres with Mary Murphy laughing in the background -- painful.

Tasty Oreo + "this piece is about breast cancer = me banging my head against the wall. (Best part of this: My boyfriend murmuring "Did Mia's dad die of breast cancer?" just before her tearful commentary. And then she found a way to mention her dad!) Pieces that elicit tears from the judges are the worst.

Kayla. Is. Boring. All legs, no personality. (Is that what it takes to be a Broadway star?) Maybe the most solid evidence of this was her portrayal of a "seductress." She couldn't tempt a sex addict. Zombie dance was the first thing she's been even remotely interesting in so far.

New pop jazz choreographer is the suck. It was like backup-dancer choreography: hardly any interaction between the two, just synchronized, synchronized, synchronized.

That "Heartless" cover. VOMIT.

Still love Jeanette, Jeanine and Ade. Melissa's pretty okay too. Wish they didn't have to keep the genders equal. What a weak year for dudes.

nothing makes wry, vaguely amusing jokes horribly grating like some1 laughing 2 hard @ them

chick w/ bangs is the only one i really like. and yah leee i think evan is gonna wite guy into the finals

I think I'm the only Evan defender here and I'm ready for him to go home. Sick of those "whoa! hey! aw, gee!" faces he pulls during his solos.

lool @ everyone being like "u ugly! but u make it work for u!" thats pretty rough

is it just me or does janette have semi-cankles

Shut yer dirty lyin' mouth.

evan is starting to remind me of phillip - great at his own style, meh at other stuff.

"lool @ everyone being like "u ugly! but u make it work for u!" thats pretty rough"

lol especially because nigel was correct that not even being able to act a LITTLE BIT means evan's lucky to still be on this show

see ya, evan, unless america's vision-impaired, and i say this as someone trying hard to overcome his dislike of jason!

I would like to mention that I have spent this whole season realizing that Cat Deely is REALLY GOOD at TV-hosting! Amazingly good! What with the clever asides and the tactful segues out of awkward moments and, last night, making an offhand Cole Porter joke. "Evando" aside, she's really slyly clever.

it took u this long to figure that out? shes infarad - its pretty rad that someone can be that cheerful and charming w/o seeming kind of smarmy or fake but shes just a consummate bro

^^^ I thought this was glaringly obvious from the very first moment she appeared on camera.

I forgot about the "You're the Top" joke! Yeah, love her and all her outfits and the occasional updo that makes it look like she chopped off her hair.

NO

Forgive a guy for increasingly realizing she's a cut above just being a regular-good host!

Janette going is kinda lame but at least she is survived here by three dancers who are all really good, so it's not, you know, patently ridiculous; whereas if Evan makes it through next week he will have become sort of the Sanjaya of So You Think You Can Dance.

(I am glad to see that Brandon gets votes for being a great dancer even though, as far as I can tell, he's not a big "personality" draw.)

I guess he might already sorta be the Sanjaya of the show, but at least he has not yet outlasted anyone I wasn't figuring needed to be going soonish anyhow, no matter the order

Janette 6/10/2009 -- 7/23/2009

Ugh Katie Holmes. Was that a highlight for even one viewer? Was it just a way of indulging her in exchange for having her name and possibly her money behind the new charity?

katie holmes was awful!!!!!!

and i miss kupono!

forgot how much i liked that hummingbird piece from a few years back... but it kind of pales in comparison to some more recent stuff. glad to see the show's choreographers growing, though, in addition to the dancers getting better every year (which is glaringly obvious when you compare them to previous seasons' dancers).

anyway my friend told me there was some big thing and i guess she meant the breast cancer piece which, honestly, did not affect me, but i guess i'm not allowed to say that ot her bc her mom died of breast cancer.

katie holmes was not a highlight for this viewer!

The highlight of the Katie Holmes thing was getting to see Mark, Joshua, etc. again and thinking, "Dudes from last season were so much better."

I hope Janette becomes an brilliant accountant and swindles Kayla out of her undeserved Broadway riches.

"an"? eh.

I love Janette and am sorry to see her go, but I won't begrudge Kayla any Broadway riches. Besides, it's hard to get enthusiastic about a future in which Janette has pursued accounting rather than a fulltime career as a dancer.

Well, yeah, but every dancer needs something to fall back on once their knees give out.

I think pretty much as of this week on the female side there was nobody I could consider undeserving in any way -- they're all really great -- so it's difficult to single out anyone in particular as the one who should have gone first. Umm I will feel that way about the male dancers umm if Evan goes home next week. It's weird: I really thought it'd be possible to tell from results who was well-liked, and that it'd stay consistent, but I have no firm grasp at all on what to expect. (All I know is that if Evan outlasts Brandon in particular I will be mega-pissed that "adorableness" could cover up such a huge technical gulf.) (Whereas if Ade outlasts Brandon partly due to charisma that will be fine with me.)

"should have gone first" as in "how are you still here when Janette got cut"

Also BTW re: Evan there was something about his face last night that made me wonder if he himself is starting to feel a little weird about how far he's gotten on loveability votes -- if he lasts another week surely he will feel bad about it!

I think pretty much as of this week on the female side there was nobody I could consider undeserving in any way -- they're all really great -- so it's difficult to single out anyone in particular as the one who should have gone first.

theyre all pretty talented i guess - but i enjoyed watching jeanette a fair bit more than the oldster ballet chick or the other one w/ dark hair. this suxxxxx

lol @ evan btw

I've missed two weeks (have them on DVR) but Melissa is like one of the greatest dancers to ever be on this show IMO.

i mean - and i always feel pretty retarded evaluating this - i think shes probably a really, really good dancer on a technical lvl but im just not into her "performance" which is like a gift someones forced on u ur not sure u want but they keep insisting u take like theyre doing u a favor idk shes showy and closed off @ the same time

i'm over melissa
xpost

So You Think You Cancer!

Melissa brings the hipster toons, so she's got that going for her. I mean, seriously, Lamb? I can't hate on anyone for that, even if it's What Sound?

Right now, my last, greatest hope is that Evan wins this thing, and as he's being crowned, he rips off his face to reveal that he is really Janette underneath, because, you know, short?

And:

the dancers getting better every year (which is glaringly obvious when you compare them to previous seasons' dancers).

Yes x one jillion. I really wish that people would quit with the "back in the day" nostalgiaism.

Hearted seeing W♥de in the zombie dance -- I kept imagining him as Boss Zombie lolol.

right? it was like if they were vampires and he was their 'maker'.

I would choose last year's top six over this year's in a heartbeat.

Sometimes I feel like last season had better dancers, but then I try to think of all the forgotten folks from the earlier weeks, and I don't know anymore. (Sorry, Thayne.)

NB Kherington was looking substantially hipper in the audience last night, I didn't even recognize her at first

jamie looked a lot fitter, too, no?

I wish I'd gotten a better glance at Ivan. I wonder if he still looks like he's 12.

ah, thayne! the wife and i were just talking about him the other day but couldn't remember his name. poor sap! he never stood a chance.

Melissa brings the hipster toons, so she's got that going for her.

Ade possibly wins, though, for doing a dubstep solo

Just bumping/prepping for the evening

I was on vacation last week and I'm just catching up with the surprising Janette elimination. I really thought she was going to win this, or at least be voted the top girl. But I guess the cancer dance threw a monkeywrench in all the voting (not to mention Mia saying "you're my favorite" probably made people think she was safe).

Group routines = so awesome this year

I agree the dancers/choreographers are getting better each season, but the Season 3 top 20 is still probably my favorite group overall.

list of observations so far:
1) booby buckteeth is really letting it all hang out during the intro
2) kat deeley clowning lil c = funny
3) pretty sure sonya tayeh eats human flesh
4) if evan makes it into the finale over brandon or ade, i will officially be mad.
5) tought booby buckteeth and ade were way better than the judges did.
6) kayla's kicking is getting about as tired as evan's "whoa there" looks.
7) lil c looks tired.
8) if it's napoleon and tabatha, then of course there's going to be some dumb, obvious prop.

Sonya killing it tonight!

god i am so over melissa and evan. i fear jeanine will get the boot this week but i think that SUCKS.

Evan needs to go now. I've been sick of him for weeks now.

I'm now convinced that Brandon deserves to win the whole thing. Any other outcome really wouldn't make sense. Evan is awful, Ade is good but too scattershot. The 3 girls are all good, but none of them are great.

pretty sure Janine and Melissa are great

I really hope not, I think she's got much more musicality, stage presence, and (tv) personality than Melissa and Kayla, which should count for something in a competitive reality show. M+K have sort of skated by without doing any hip-hop or gritty routines - where Jeanine has done great being light hearted (Broadway w/philip), emotional (contemporary w/jason), and rather fierce (last night's hip hop, and perhaps that "battlefield" piece last week).

I think Evan might aw-shucks his way to winning the whole thing. And I think he might be starting to feel a little guilty about it.

xpost to tehresa

- completely agree about Evan-guilt, which seemed to surface somewhere on his face during last week's results
- Jeanine can really bring the sultry when she wants to, and often seems like the cleverest of the bunch
- haha she doesn't have buck teeth, she just has the mouth/smile/teeth of someone twice her size
- I think Melissa's great, but could stand to see her go; kinda inherent to ballerinadom that you're unlikely to really smash anything toward the end of a non-ballet dance contest
- I feel like there was a possible post-Janette effect toward the end of the judges really talking up Brandon and Kayla to protect them?
- was briefly confused by Nigel referring to Louis van Amstel as a "Latin-American choreographer" -- I mean I parsed it after a second, but in the meantime I was like "wtf, this guy seems more Dutch than a Holstein on a bicycle"

did anyone else think it was really unfair that the judges never comment after solos but this week nigel butted in about brandon's? isn't thursday night the night for solo commentary?

haha they know he has to survive on acknowledged skill and not people just liking him

my prediction is that ade and melissa are going home tonight. i think ade and brandon might split the black vote, but also that brandon and evan might split the short vote, so it's kind of a wash in the end. that said, evan will get the aw shucks vote, and brandon will get the nude solo vote, leaving ade out in the cold. for the girls, kayla will be able to ride the wave that started after her and brandon's disco routine, and booby buckteeth will make it through (especially after 1/2 of her nickname was acknowledged as a "talent" by nigel last night) because if there's one thing america loves in any sort of finale, it's swingin' cans. melissa has a six pack (which involves cans in an oblique way), but that won't be enough to put her over the top.

Ytth you are killing me with your analyses!

he's such a know-it-all

he can't even DANCE

last night, after ade and booby buckteeth did their dance, i told justine that - in a totally non-gay way - i thought i might even rather have sex with ade than with b.b.

l'il c confirmed that this isn't weird when he started salivating over how ade had a "dirty groove," which is just a hip hoppy way to say that ade is a sexy man.

this is scary. i'm scared now.

me too.

ok i cannot STAND lil c's commentary

brandon & kayla's disco fucking killed me, all day today i've been replaying in my head the thing where he had her up on his shoulders and they're both working their arms and pumping their chests at the same time...way back at the start i worried that brandon - technically impressive as he is - wouldn't be able to kick loose and silly some shit up, boy was i wrong about that!

also wkiw sonya tayeh for all time

i would prefer to lose both evan and ade tonight than any of the girls

Lol yes re lil c! My friend texted me as she watched, 'lil c sounds like he's high.' Also looool @ cat making fun of him!

See, wtf? I thought only mouthbreathers got steamed at C. It's like viewers see him throwing down a gauntlet in their faces. Sure he rambled and synaesthetized during his critiques, but why take it so personally, as some kind of affront, esp. when he's sitting next to the worst human in the world? Mr. C pities such fools.

if there's one thing america loves in any sort of finale, it's swingin' cans

Which is why Jessica King was final four material last season? (Then again, "rib injury.")

rather fierce (last night's hip hop [...]).

WAHT? Boxfeet? WAHT?

xp i've never seen any other season of this show, and was being cheeky more than making sound analysis with the cans comment [/leee seeing through my bs]

it's ok i love me some cans!
leee i'm not steamed at c, per se. it's more *eyeroll* at his shtick, which has gotten a bit tired and goes on too long.

but yes i would listen to him ramble for 20 min if it meant never having to hear mm scream or say YES YOU DID!

i fucking HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE the sound of mary's voice/scream/laugh

it was noticeable a couple times last night that mary hadn't tanned her arm pit commensurately with the rest of her body, and so there was this weird, kind of bluish flash every time she raised her arms above her head.

WAHT? Boxfeet? WAHT

Facial expression wise, not so much feetwise.

also i hated it in that package when someone was going on about how many different facial expressions evan has when imo it is the same one all the damn time!

Lil C does not ramble, he is is just ... aphoristic! I think if any of you find it challenging to listen to him, then you need to take his advice and befriend some of the characteristics of the challenge. That is good advice all around. If anyone is starting a religion and needs someone to phrase ideas in a way that feels rich enough for people to really pore over and extract different varieties of wisdom for, I suggest hiring Lil C as a copywriter.

I mean honestly, I can only find a sorta-transcript out there, but I kinda liked this:

Being out of your comfort zone represents unfamiliarity and darkness. Faced with certain challenges, you have to befriend the characteristics of the challenge. You have to go and see the music, meaning you have to see with your ears. And then there is no darkness. And I saw no darkness with this routine. A lot of dancers forget there's a pocket in music, and you have to get within those instruments...

Yeah, I liked that too, but I can see zoning out on what he said if I had just performed to the point of exhuastion on national TV. Lil C should do a book of krump zen sayings or something - "see with your ears" is totally an eastern aphorism. Next time he could mention how true, honest dancing can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Choreographers can be likened to a finger. The choreographer can point to the moon's location, but the choreographer is not the moon.

Should we expect Evan to mount a charge of the White Brigade into the final four?

I don't believe of all my expectations and predictions, this is the one that came true. (Well, I pegged Brando as final four too.)

Ughhhhhhh

at least melisser's gone

dancing with evan has become the kiss of death.

oh, Americapaws

if evan wins this thing i'll seriously have to consider suicide or moving to canada

also: last night's program mostly served to demonstrate how last year's group (and those masked dudes from america's best dance crew) are all so much more amazing than this year's crop

seriously, this is some archuleta/kris allen grandmas-creamin' BS

Glad Nigel was able to spare 5 seconds to mention Merce Cunningham. I was hoping they even bring one of his dancers to perform on the results show but that's was probably a pipe dream.

*would bring

the show began with a sad-clown Evan waving bye-bye; I should have stopped there and pretended it was a result

Only 6 weeks 'til Season 6.

six blissful Kasprzak-free weeks before they're back?

People have called Ryan Kasprzak better in technique/choreography, but since Evan has gotten so far, I wonder he would still seem fresh and bring something new to the table in season 6 if he makes it. I definitely felt the difference between siblings Lacey and Benji, and Stanislav/Faina didn't make it far enough to really warrant a comparison.

yeah my guess is better brother won't make it very far cause it took enough to get people psyched about boring brother.

I think if Ryan shows credible examples of the same style without shrugging his shoulders every three seconds, he will win over the people who want to see Evan mutilated by tap shoes.

Michael, you mean that Lacey felt like Schwimmer overload? She definitely had a disadvantage following up her bro who was an enormous personality and probably a better dancer in his style than she is (though she's more versatile I think), which probably magnified any of her shortcomings. But Ameriker didn't seem to mind, certainly not afraid of sibling reprise, since we had back-to-back finales repped by a Schwimmer.

Biggest difference between the Kasprzaks -- at least from a TV standpoint -- is that Baldo Kasprzak seems a lot more outgoing than Aww Shucks Kasprzak and thus likelier speak in multiple sentences at a time. Normally I'd say his telegenic personality would count for a lot among the voting public, but then we're talking about viewers who didn't connect with Janette.

Not only is S6 around the corner, new ABDC starts in a couple weeks. It's like some TV god decreed that not a week will pass without a dance reality program on the air.

i am ok with that, really

I kind of wonder if America was punishing Mia by not voting for Janette.

haha Ryan can serve as a referendum on whether people liked Evan for his dancing or just that quality I can only describe as "virginal"

yes! i think evan is actually getting a lot of votes on the 'aw shucks' factor, which makes me, aw shucks, really fucking sad!

I am not up-to-date with this week but I do think Evan did a more than credible job last week, certainly better than Ade's cha-cha.

(Ade and Melissa were kind of in another world with that cancer dance, though. Wow. My wife bawled through the whole thing.)

oh man, I typed this earlier but I guess I didn't post it: basically my hope here is that the finale will include the kind of demanding head-to-head guys-only routine that will make it near-impossible for anyone to vote for Evan in good conscience. (though I guess it doesn't matter as much in the finale.)

btw I know I'm a week behind but did anyone else lol at bitchy Mia Michaels riding so hard for bitchy LaurieAnn MyAssGotFiredOnMakingTheBand?

they usually do incude a top 2 guys head to head (remember that dueling princes one?). but i don't think it matters. they're gonna have to hope that ade's and melissa's voters defect to brandon or someone else bc i think if any of them go to evan, he will win.

another thing, i loved kayla but now i'm bored by her. if she could only do choreography and never her own solos, i'd like her better. her solos are just... lame.

who?
xpost

She did Jeanine and Brandon's combat war routine and totally got in Jeanine's grill during rehearsals.

The thing about Evan is that he guarantees that I'm going to vote for Brandon no matter what either of them do next week.

yeah, but i think the flip side to that is that none of evan's current voters are gonna defect.

i can't vote.
i feel like a convicted felon or something.

I actually can't tell about Brandon's votership versus Evan's -- he was only ever on the bottom of anything once, right? Hard to remember. I was sort of hoping that vote totals for women turn out to be much higher than voting for guys, but based on previous-season turnouts I guess there's no reason to imagine that.

basically if Evan wins I think they should just cancel the show

btw is that one bigger lady in the audience Kayla's mom?

grandma?
didn't she have a weird sob story?

well the grandparents who raised her were there for most of it -- they were sorta appropriately vague about what was up with her mother -- and now lately there's been a woman in a big black shirt as the Kayla's-family go-to, so...

cool, Kayla's mom likes Big Black

Re: Schwimmers - To me, I felt Lacey was different enough from Benji that it didn't matter so much that they were siblings.

their different sexes probably didn't hurt that

kayla is the tallest person in the final 4

i want to say she's my favorite except she danced to that fucking fray song

thing is, evan is a pretty great dancer, but his face is just terrible

Surprised Ellen didn't call him out on taking "performance enhancing mugs." (cue heavy laughter from the rest of the judges)

@ this point whoever wins we all lose imo

i want to say she's my favorite except she danced to that fucking fray song

Is this better, nza?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-IKuruGQ28

In the event that someone manages to interview (or, at least, ask one question) to judges, Cat, the final four dancers, what questions would you like to have asked?

ask them if they can get tyce fired. i watched the performance show yesterday and was struck again by how terrible his routines are. the going to the chapel one was ridic so formless and pointless. and it didnt really make sense given the context ~~ shouldnt it have been urgent and tense? bah he sux

that IS a great question.

also pls to ask: why won't you make anyone dance real hip hop???

Beatrix, judging from the crowd reaction, I'd say find a nice length of rope/I hear Vancouver is nice in the fall.

Hah, Steve Reich.

Bombastic finale, but pretty awesome. Yes, Evan was "thrown under a bus" by the judges & routines, and the showcase Paso Doble piece was given to the two dancers who'd most likely excel at it, but I still have no idea how this is going to go down. Kayla showing personality too? What the.

Jeanine's pirouette where she gradually slows down and stops on a dime = incredible

the evan chant had me a little nervous that white blightning is going to take it all.

Jeanine's pirouette where she gradually slows down and stops on a dime = incredible

Holy fuck yes.

The main thing I took away from the finale was how much more they wanted Ade there instead of Evan.

FINGERS CROSSED - voted about 20 times for B and maybe 10 times for J

oh, who am i kidding, that wasn't enough to keep Evan from walking off with that thing

i love the underhanded/talking-outta-side-of-mouth way all the judges were like "EVAN U POPULAR LOL"

It's too bad* Adam Shenkman is too busy to be a full-time judge on this show because he is much more coherent than Mary and about a bazillion times less annoying.

* - lol not really, congrats on yr successful career Adam

I couldn't count the number of times the judges gave Evan some vague compliment and then mentioned that his partner was awesome. It's like they are afraid of saying too much bad about Evan, lest America underdog him into first place. It doesn't matter, I think he'll win anyway, judging by the enormous crowd support for him at the show. But I thought he was clearly outmatched by everyone he danced with yesterday, just like the last few weeks.

I thought Evan did really well last week!

Evan's a good dancer, and excellent in Broadway stuff. I just think he's not at the same level as the others have been for the past few weeks. I take it back though, you're right, he wasn't outmatched by Melissa last week.

I really liked Evan in both of the Sonya routines from the past two weeks.

I'm wondering if Wade phoned in his very un-Wade-esque cheerleader piece, as a consolation to the 4 dancers who had so many routines to learn in the past few days for both finale nights.

Probably, especially since they weren't actually getting critiqued on it unlike the previous 4 seasons.

http://illwiththecomposition.blogspot.com/2009/08/ill-type-profiling-evan-kasprzak-cant.html

ha that is awesome (if a little harsh on Evan, because really it's not his fault that his dance-style sort of hinges on him moving in slow-motion)

Jeanine's pirouette where she gradually slows down and stops on a dime = incredible

I think this was what fully sealed me in her favor; prior to that I'd just been generally anti-Evan and not really thought through the rest of them a lot.

There was actually one moment where Evan could have done something that would have gotten my vote, and that was if, when asked "what's the nastiest thing you've ever done," he would have reached deep down to the nastiness inside and said, e.g., "Janette."

Yeah, that would have totally lost my vote because it would have dragged someone else into it. Had he said "Mary, I thought that was just between us..." I would have cheered.

BEST RESULTS EVER

Met Janette.

were you applying for a loan?

So happy for Jeanine.

I hope the choreographers aren't burned out of ideas with this fast season turnaround. Some more fresh faces would be nice.

Dan's revision of Evan's chance to be nasty is, yes, much better, though I'd still have wanted him to do it in as assholish a way as possible, just for a change

btw coming in second on this thing kinda sucks, huh? you get no moment :(

no, you don't, do you? you're an afterthought. i really felt for brandon, there. i actually was rooting for him to sweep it.

last year it was kinda different, because twitch kinda lucked into the top 2 and joshua deserved to win. but j and b were evenly matched.

really, katee and joshua shoulda been the last pair standing last year. but i've beaten that point to death. (and i say this as a big Twitch fan)

Have to admit, I didn't see a Jeanine win coming, in fact, I thought it would come down to Brandon vs. Evan. When Evan got the boot, I figured Brandon would definitely win.

Interesting thing about last season: they loved Katee so much that they came up with some bonus prize for her. I think Brandon maybe deserved something similar.

I was trying to remember this last night -- didn't they sort of break up last season's finale in such a way that Katee could be awarded as, like, "top girl?"

I'm guessing money is tight nowadays, and they are giving away another quarter-million in a few months for Season 6. It was convenient that Katee finished 3rd ahead of Courtney and were able to give her a consolation prize.

I was glad Jeanine was able to make a little acceptance speech, I remember the past couple years the finale ran overtime and we barely got a minute past the confetti falling before the credits had finished.

awwwww i feel so happy for jeanine!
i've been carrying a little flame for her for a while but i never thought she would win!