I'm sorry, I thought the 1 hr SYTYCD special thing was tomorrow night. I got home and it was DVR'd for me. So, here are my thoughts.
First, thank goodness they've finally gotten a new intro. I was getting tired of the same thing for the past 3 seasons. Very nice. I kind of want a remix of the intro song now.
Another note: If they bring Paula Abdul like Nigel intimates, I will not watch that show. I just don't think I could take Paula Abdul and Mary Murphy in one sitting.
Group dance: I thought it was a strong first group number. The choreography wasn't outstanding for me, but it was fun. Ashley stood out for me (in a bad way) amongst the rest and the tap guy they said had an attitude in LA looked a little weak to me too. The lighting at the end was too dark and I couldn't see the end of the number. I guess that's going to be an issue they're carrying over from last season.
Hip Hop: That was pretty good from Napoleon and Tabitha. I think that was better than any of the numbers they did last season. Some cool partner work.
Contemporary (Tyce): Mediocre choreography. It looked like two duets thrown together on one stage. Not my fav. But, what did I expect from Tired Tyce? Not much. Dancers were good though. I don't know that any of them stood out as my favorites though. I have liked Channing all along so I was glad she did well in this number. She has a quiet strength that I like.
Tap: Yay for tap on SYTYCD! But, what the heck happened at the beginning??? Were they not out there for the beginning of the dance? The choreographer was pretty boring and they had no stamina. I thought it was pretty terrible. Whoever did the sound had a bad mix of the tap mics and the song too. That was not the way to bring tap to the show for me.
Jazz Dance: I hated the costumes, but I thought the dance itself was really cute. I loved the jazz hands (and I never love jazz hands). All the girls did well I thought.
Contemporary (Mandy Moore): I liked it. There were some nice unique transitions to highlight the individual dancers and some new lifts. Loved the last synchronized section. Pretty!
Ballroom- ballroom with three people was just awkward. It just didn't make sense and the dancers seemed confused too. It wasn't my fav.
On to the individual dancers:
Favs!
Pauline Mata (jazz)- I like her alot; she's got nice lines and spunk
Channing Cooke (contemporary)- pretty dancer; I think she'll grow as the competition goes along
Jakob Karr (contemporary) -may be a little feminine for me, but was good tonight
Victor Smalley (contemporary)- Where was he in auditions? Nice power
Noelle Marsh (contemporary)- nice lines and good musicality
Eleanor Scott (jazz)- Cute; I like her
Okay
Russell Ferguson (krump)- He's got spunk
Nate Trasoras (contemporary)- he's good, but something about his lines is bugging me, but I can't figure it out yet- he has a nice presence though
Ariana Debose (contemporary)- nice, but she didn't stand out for me
Mollee Gray (jazz)- she was better for me than she was in auditions. She annoyed me in LA, so until I see more, she'll stay in okay.
Kathryn McCormick (contemporary)- nice lines, was off the music though
Legacy (B Boy)- Good b boy, but I think he'll have trouble in any other style based on auditions
Kevin Hunt (hip hop)- eh
Peter Sabasino- okay, had decent power
Ashley Di Lello (ballroom)-She wasn't as bad as she was in auditions. I'll give her another shot.
What Were They Thinking
Bianca Revels- haven't made up my mind about her; but so far she seems a little spastic
Phillip Attmore- those facial expressions are terrible; something's off about him
Karen Hauer (ballroom)-her lines were not good
Ryan Di Lello (ballroom)-boring
I thought the show was totally weird. I don't think I was ready for all of these changes. I like the new stage however I find it extremely distracting with all the LCD shows that go on in the background. Having to watch more than 2 dancers at a time, plus that was just too much. I can't believe that Billy Bell is gone - he was actually one of my favorites. I wasn't really a fan of any of the numbers last night. And yes, the stage was much too dark for most of the show. Hopefully it will be better tonight!
ReplyDeleteI think I need to start watching this show.
ReplyDeleteSheeps,
ReplyDeleteI didn't notice the LCD things for some reason. But, I'm sure I'll notice them now. I agree that I didn't love this new showcase kind of show as the kick-off. I think the only reason they did it was to give the tappers a little extra help since they'll never get to do their own style. But, I'm a little sad that they're apparently not making people do that as a genre. The tappers are going to have to learn ballroom, so why can't the ballroom dancers have to learn tap. I think it's unfair. It's not like tap is some weird thing people can't pick up.
Manda-Lu, I think you'll like it since you're dance savvy. As I said in the last blog, the best choreographer is leaving, which makes me sad. Hopefully, she'll come back though towards the end of the season (that's what I keep hearing).