Wednesday, June 10, 2009

IT'S HERE! SYTYCD Top 20!


Based on auditions, here is what I think before we start -

Early Favorites: Brandon, Evan, Melissa, Phillip, Tony, Randi (go Utah!)

Bugging me: Asuka. Don't know why. I think it is because she is freakishly skinny. The rest haven't registered on my radar yet. I'm interested to see the dances tonight.

I love Cat.

I also love Adam Shankman. Glad he's on the panel tonight. And brilliant to cast SYTYCD dancers in your new movie "Step Up 3D". :) By mentioning Twitch, Joshua, and Katee, you pretty much guaranteed that my BFF Dana and I will be there opening night.

Ok - Let's dance. (Sorry. You've got that Lady Gaga song stuck in your head now don't you?)

Jeanine & Phillip - Hip Hop ("Mad" by Ne-yo, Tabitha & Napoleon choreography)
High hopes for this! Fun one to start with. That was very, very cute. Jeanine really did a good job matching up with Phillip's skill and energy. Love that Tabitha & Napoleon incorporated some of Phillip's style into the choreography. Great compliment to Phillip from Adam about being a good partner - not many hip hop dancers make that transition very well. Mary - no more "gangster" hand gestures when we talk. Thanks.

Asuka & Vitolio - Broadway ("Hot Honey Rag" from Chicago, Tyce Diorio choreography & Lauren assisting)
I don't love this. Maybe because I have a really strong association with the music from the musical and I don't like the silent movie story Tyce laid on top of it. Good job with the steps, but no connection between the two of them for me. Adam is always very positive with the kids. I agree with Mary and Nigel though.

Karla & Jonathan - Cha Cha ("Poker Face" by Lady Gaga, Tony Meredith choreography)
Karla is adorable. I love a Broadway dancer. And that little Jonathan looks like he's 18. Just as cute as can be. They did a good job with that. Usually the first ballroom routine of the season is a bit dreadful, but that was great. Oh, Mary. TMI on the cha cha being rough. Thanks.

Randi & Evan - Jazz ("I Only Have Eyes For You" by Jamie Cullum, Tyce Diorio choreography)
Two of my favorites are dancing together!? Fab-u-lous! (They imported the rythym retarded audience from AI - stop swaying, people. They're supposed to dance, not you.) That was a great routine. I don't usually love it when Tyce does jazz, but that was very nice. They danced it very well, lovely extension from both of them - but, wow. They are short. Most dancers look short standing next to Cat, but they are little pocket people. Hilarious - I just typed that, and Cat talked about putting them in her pocket. I love you Cat. Let's vote for them, shall we? 1-888-TEMPO-04

Paris & Tony - Hip Hop ("Let the Beat Rock" by Black Eyed Peas, Tabitha & Napoleon again! Hurray!)
We learn Paris was in a car accident, Tony is our athlete turned dancer. I didn't love that routine. Not sure if it was the choreography or their personalities not bringing it to life as much as they could have. Adam is so good at giving specific feedback. That rebound comment he made about their hits was right on. Mary's right too - good doesn't cut it on this show anymore. I was just thinking that - usually there are a couple routines that are just awful. Glaringly awful. That doesn't happen now. The forgettable people are the ones that go home. Even if they danced well.

Caitlin & Jason - Bollywood ("Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire. How did I know? Totally missed the choreographer's name - Nikul? Not even going to attempt the last name.)
I love Caitlin. Forgot about her at the beginning when I mentioned audition favorites. She's adorable. That handstand was amazing. They're both doing well - especially Jason, from what I can tell - but I'm pretty sure their arms are supposed to be exactly the same. What do I know? It's fun to watch them and they have great energy. The costumes are stunning. Let's vote for them too. 1-888-TEMPO-06.

Jeanette & Brandon - Foxtrot ("Come Fly With Me" by Michael Buble, Louis Van Amstel choreography - DWTS crossover!)
I don't love her from the auditions. I wish Brandon was dancing with someone I like more. Foxtrot is not my favorite style, but they seem to be doing well. The choreography is very nice. Their lines and frame look good from the miniscule amount I know about ballroom. Adam loves it. Mary admits to botox treatment - she is crazy. Not Paula crazy, fun crazy. Holy cow.

Wade Robson routine after the break!!! YES!!!

Ashley & Kupono - Jazz ("Felt Mountain" by Goldfrapp, Wade Robson choreography)
Crash test dummies? I love Wade. He picks (or composes) amazing music, he helps design the costumes, he does the lighting. He's fabulous. That was a fun piece. Very conceptual, obviously. They danced beautifully in terms of technique and they really performed well. I liked it. I know some people won't, but like Nigel said, you'll remember it and talk about it.

Melissa & Ade - Contemporary ("Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx, Mandy Moore choreography)
This could be hit or miss. Her jazz is usually more consistently cool for me. I don't always love the contemporary stuff she does. I do like this one. Beautiful, beautiful lift in the middle where she twisted all around him. Great lifts throughout, actually. Loved the wind machine, loved her hair. Loved it. Her technique is fantastic. Great feet. We'll vote for them as well. 1-888-TEMPO-09.

I love the Glee commercials. I've stopped for both of them. Can't wait for it to start in the fall.

Kayla & Max - Samba ("Jum Bah Day" by House of Gypsies, Louis Van Amstel choreography)
Based on the rehearsals, this is going to be awesome. Plus, they got the last spot of the evening. And this music rocks. One of the things I really don't like about DWTS is the poor singers that have to sing contemporary music with a big band playing for them. It's awful and it drives me crazy. On SYTYCD, they use such great recordings. Love it. Buying this song. Max is fabulous. Kayla is doing a great job. Fun, fun, fun. The ballroom was really great tonight. I'm kind of surprised. I usually dread the ballroom stuff the first couple of weeks. Adam loves it. Mary's turn. Here comes the crazy. Love that Nigel put the earphones on. Our first big Hot Tamale Train of the season. The only downside of that whole thing? Kayla's extensions by the end of the judges comments. They don't quite blend. She's got thin hair. I'm just sayin'... We're still voting for them though 1-888-TEMPO-10.

Wow. Great first night.

Based completely on forgetability - not on skill - here are my bottom 3.
Asuka & Vitolio
Karla & Jonathan
Paris & Tony

Who did you like?

10 comments:

Miranda J said...

Completely agree with you! Loved Philip, Caitlin, Randi, Kayla and Max! This season is off to a GREAT start. Keep up the awesome commentary.

scooping it up said...

yes yes yes. yes. SO with you. Those were my bottom three as well. Staci's run down: I think Ashley and Kupono got lucky with a number that fit them. I'm curious as to how he'll hold up. i think he might suffer with Mark comparisons the whole season. Tony is freaking adorable but was disappointing. Kayla was good but her feet were not *that* great and steps not that tight. did anyone else feel like the camera angles on their routine sucked? I wanted to see it more straight on, the angles didn't allow for proper critique. That number would have gone differently for her if Max her not her partner I think. LOVE Jason. I think Philip will stay in the show too long because he's popular but give him a texas two step or heaven forbid a Paso Doble and I will barf. Jonathan was just not good. Ok, I am done. This year is fantastic. I really like a lot of the dancers. This will be fun!! Count me in for the Step Up movie. I love watching Josh dance.

Stacie said...

WAAAAAAHHH! I think I watched the whole show with permagrin. I just love this show! I couldn't agree more on the forgettable ones. The ones I LOVED were Jeanine & Phillip, Randi & Evan, Janette & Brandon, and Melissa & Ade. I really liked the couple others you mentioned, too. I HATE that we have to see anyone go at this point after just one dance! And I laughed out loud forever at Mary's botox admission. That was the funniest thing to me!!

Loving your updates as always!

Unknown said...

Jonathan is like the David Archuleta of this competition, without the crazy talent. I think he is a couple of years too early.

Caitlin's handstand was the crazy chain! That was super amazing. Props to her, not one of my favs, but geez, did you see her flex her feet and hold the position. Wow!

Great recap. You said everything I was thinking.

Unknown said...

One more thing...

I love Mary! She used to make me crazy, now I love her. YES, I DO!

Macy said...

Thanks, everyone! Keep it coming. Annie - I wondered what you thought of the Bollywood routine. And Mary doesn't make me as crazy as she used to either. I think she's hilarious most of the time. Unlike Paula, who is just cringe inducing most of the time.

Dana said...

BFF is here and ready to report:

Totally standing in line (will there be one?) for the Step Up 3. Note to self - watch Step Up 1 and 2 before we go.

I was seriously impressed that I liked all the dancers and am sad to agree with the couples going home based on forgetability (that's totally not a word). I really like Asaka (is that her name) and am sad she and her partner did not connect with eachother and the audience more. I liked the choreogrpahy, just not the execution. Loved the crash dummies and thought they executed extremely well. I liked Paris and was disapointed in her cute partner. Too much to talk about, we'll have to catch up in person... FRIDAY!

merrit and I think there is way too much coincidence that the hip-hoppers got their style as well as Max and ballroom . We think they assigned them for the first show so they would be good.

Unknown said...

Back to comment again on the bollywood number.

I think they did the best they could do.

Like with any of the genre numbers, sometimes you wish you could see the professsionals do it.

But, again, Caitlin pulling off the handstand was crazy good.

Can't wait to see the results.

I think Asuka and Vitolio are in trouble. The kids that get the numbers with popular music definitely have an advantage.

Molly said...

I agreed with you on pretty much everything. I hated the Chicago number for many reasons...all of which you mentioned. Was I the only one comparing the Bollywood number to Katee and Joshua's last year? I thought this one was great, but not in comparison to last year. Except the handstand was great! I can't take Mary's screams. I have to fast forward until I see her stop screaming, and then I can listen to what she has to say which I almost always agree with. J and I decided that we think she's maybe not crazy, she's just kooky. Kooky.

Emily said...

I think you are smart, and I agree with you. My only complaint about the Bollywood number (if I am remembering it right) were the blue hot pants underneath her crotch shot skirt. I have a hard time with crotch shots.

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