Summertime is here. That means three things: flip flops, sunshine, and my being glued to the TV every week for SYTYCD. This season brings back the Top 20 and, from the looks of it, hopefully some much-needed ballroom into the family! Tonight's episode highlighted the auditions in Utah (audition site for Chelsie Hightower of SYTYCD4 and DWTS fame, and Ashleigh & Ryan DiLello), but the producers decided to save the ballroom fun for New York City.
I was honestly a bit ambivalent about Kristen Dobson, the Latin dancer with the yellow fringey dress, and beyond some technical quibbles, I couldn't put my finger on it, until Mary pointed it out - that overhead leg extension that was plopped right in the middle of the cha cha and followed promptly by a well-placed "Why would you do that?" from Nigel. Yes, it's an impressive move, but definitely more appropriate for rumba, instead of the cheeky, flirty, fast-paced cha cha. Still, a solid showing of ballroom talent, and the return of S6's Green Mile cut Iveta. Here's to hoping ballroom is well-represented in Season 8! I mean, really, Nigel. A single salsa girl amongst the Top 11 of S7 doesn't count, especially when you have EIGHT contemporary/ballet dancers.
See Kristen's video here!
Now that I got the ballroom out of the way, a special shout out to my fellow Jersey boy and thespian, Jess LeProtto. Favorite audition of the NIGHT for me, no matter how hard the judges came down on him. Classy music, astounding technique, knows how to work an audience. Broadway represent! So glad he made it through to Vegas. Hope he makes it all the way to the Top 20! See the video here.
Who were your favorites? What did you think of the ridiculous time-wasting Ringo Starr bit? Do you think our NYC dancers made us proud?
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ReplyDeleteOkay. So I actually really liked Kristen's audition. She was solid for only dancing for 3 years. I understand why she did the leg lift- to show off that she's flexible, which is necessary if you want to go far in the competition. So I didn't mind it so much. But yes she could've demonstrated her flexibility with a different move more suitable for cha. And actually the split was more than sufficient for just that.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I did not like Jess. The judges nailed it. He even said himself- he has trouble smiling. He needs to open up to the audience. Mack the knife is such a happy song, be happy! His style was reminiscent of Evan (season 5) except in a weird way, he is the complete opposite of Evan. Jess tried to sell his audition with the dancing, Evan sold his with personality. And Evan placed 2nd. What we need is someone with Evan's personality and Jess's technique. Jess is gonna have to work a little harder and be a little warmer if he's gonna win my heart.
Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention the 3 years thing! That was ASTOUNDING when I heard that (and gave me hope that I could be there someday!). I mean, it wasn't a *bad* audition by any stretch of the imagination. She's a fantastic dancer. I just think my reactions to Kristen and Jess were switched with yours haha Though agreed, Evan's personality + Jess' technique = the perfect SYTYCD competitor.
ReplyDeleteFYI here is Evan's audition:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IedmeAzWiFU
I wish you could like things on Blogspot.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, Kristen's audition was just weird. I feel like her dancing just in general was kind of mediocre. Like the routine difficulty-wise was pretty hard and speed-wise as well, on top of which she held herself together quite well considering balance and sharpness, but something was just completely off with her dancing and she just didn't seem connected to the dance at all, like it just didn't seem that she was in the dance, but more like in la la land.
ReplyDeleteIvana, you helped me figure out what was so off-putting to me about her audition - Her. Facial. Expression. Doesn't. Change. It seemed like she was just going through the motions (however delightful and difficult those motions were) and froze her face into a smile.
ReplyDelete