One of the many things I love about St. Louis Tap Festival is the fact that they now have a YouTube account filled with videos from festivals past. The kids in this video? Monique (no last name anywhere that I can find) and Logan Miller both 10 years old at the time. The guy introducing them? Leonard Reed. 'Tis amazing. And just a little bit fun to laugh at.
All of the tap fest videos on YouTube can be found here.
Oh, and if anyone was wondering what Mr. Reed did in his spare time before he became a tap dancer, this might answer some of those questions:
Dance St. Louis recently announced their 2008-2009 "Made In America" season. For those of you not familiar with Dance St. Louis, it is an organization whose mission is to "provide the St. Louis region with the world's best dance and to develop an appreciation of dance as an art form". Every year, they bring some of the best companies in the USA to the St. Louis area to teach workshops, perform, and teach the general public about dance today. This year, they have a killer line up of companies that I can't wait to see.
Among the many groups performing this season are BalletMet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Pilobolus, Hubbard Street Dance, Riverdance, Kansas City Ballet, and many others. Dance St. Louis will also host the second annual Spring To Dance festival, a three night mixed bill program starring companies considered some of the "best of the midwest" this Memorial Day weekend, May 21-23, 2009.
Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer Rocco DiSpirito and Karina Smirnoff Misty May-Treanor and Maksim Chmerkovskiy Maurice Greene and Cheryl Burke Toni Braxton and Alec Mazo Kim Kardashian and Mark Ballas Cody Linley and Julianne Hough Cloris Leachman and Corky Ballas Ted McGinley and Inna Brayer Brooke Burke and Derek Hough Jeffrey Ross and Edyta Sliwinska Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson Susan Lucci and Tony Dovolani
This should be interesting, to say the least. Adding some Hannah Montana guy, Kim Kardashian and Lacey Schwimmer to a show I already dislike certainly guarantees that the only part of this show I'll be watching is guest professional dance performances.
Unfortunately, I'm recycling a post for this event. If anyone has actually been a reader since November 2007 when this was originally published, thank you for sticking with the blog, and sorry you have to read this again (ok, you don't have to...) but I am revising it a little.
Maybe you've thought about taking ballet but never actually done it? Or maybe, your dance team coach/studio owner is requiring you to take ballet for the first time this year? It's a beautiful art form and can benefit all of your dancing (even hip hop). Here's what to expect:
How to Prepare
Here are some questions to think about/consider before your first class:
What is the dress code at the studio that I am going to?
Most dance studios (particularly ballet classes/studios) have a somewhat strict dress code. This could range from a tighter fitting tank top and jazz pants with your hair back and ballet shoes to X brand X style X color leotard, X color (Yes, there are different colors of ballet pink. There's theatrical pink, ballet pink, European pink, light European pink... the list goes on.) X brand tights with/without a backseam, X brand X material X color shoes, hair in a bun using X brand of hairpins and a hairnet.
This all depends on the level of professionalism (NOTE: recreational ballet IS OK) at your dance studio and the level class you are taking.
In a beginner class, or a class without a specific dress code, it's best to wear pink tights and a black leotard with pink ballet slippers (for the ladies) or a tight fitting white t-shirt and black jazz pants with black ballet shoes and white socks (for the men). Usually, warmups (sweater shorts, tight fitting shirts/sweaters, legwarmers, etc.) are acceptable but be prepared for the instructor to ask you to take these off at some point in the class. This is so he/she can see your placement, alignment, and see how/what you are doing with various muscles.
What training does my prospective teacher have?
Biography 1: Madame Ballet Teacher trained at Studio X for most of her life. She studied dance in college and has had X years teaching experience. She is grateful to be teaching at her childhood dance school, Studio X.
Biography 2: Madame Ballet Instructor trained at X School of Classical Ballet. She has performed with X, Y, and Z ballet companies for over X years. She is excited to now be teaching at Studio X.
Biography 3: Madame Ballet Mistress has been on faculty at Studio X for X number of years. She received her training from XXX and has studied pedagogy with ballet instructor, XXX.
From reading these biographies, many new students would be more inclined to try taking a class from the ballet teacher in Biography 2. But, an extensive performing career and company name drops do not necessarily mean that that person would make the best ballet teacher. There can be a HUGE difference between a good dancer and a good teacher. This does not apply to ALL ex-professionals. Ideally, Madame Ballet Mistress or Madame Ballet Teacher would be the better choice for a beginning class. This is because A.) Madame Ballet Teacher knows the studio and its dancers and training method well, and B.) Madame Ballet Mistress also appears to have been on faculty at Studio X for a length of time AND has studied pedagogy, aka: How To Teach Ballet.
Is there a placement class/a class for people of my age and level?
If the student is 3-7 years old, they will have a very small amount of catching up to do to be at the same level as other students your age (I don't suppose many 3-7 year olds are going to read this, though...). There will most probably be a class for a student this age that is the correct level no matter how advanced they are. It will become harder and harder for the student to start dancing as they become older, because if most of the class has taken dance since age 3 (or even 5) and they are now 10, they have been training for 7 years, as opposed to a student who has never danced before.
If you are between the ages of 10 and 13-14, it will be a little more difficult. Usually, this is the age that experienced ballet dancers will start to take a pointe class 1-3 times a week. This means that the teacher has approved the student for training in a special type of shoes that allows the dancer to rise to stand on the very tips of her toes. Dancing on pointe requires at least 3 years of ballet multiple times a week, with very few exceptions. Most studios offer a class for dancers in this age group (sometimes combined with an adult/older teen class) for students who have not trained long enough to progress to pointe work or are beginner students.
It is hardest for students ages 15-Adult to catch up with other dancers the same age's level of technique, strength, and experience. A lot of dancers this age have been trained in ballet since they were young children. But, most good dance studios offer a teen/adult beginner or basic technique class for students in this category and more advanced students that want to take an extra ballet class to focus on brushing up on basic technique.
A placement class is a beginning-intermediate level ballet class to asses the level of new or beginning students before deciding what level class to place the student in.
If you feel like you are not working hard in a class, or that the class is more advanced than you are, inquire with the studio owner or teacher about changing levels. It is important that you work hard and are challenged by the class (ballet is NEVER easy), as it is that you work slowly and carefully on technique and strength, but a too-hard class can inhibit your improvement and ultimately cause injury. Likewise, a class that is not at least somewhat challenging does not provide room for improvement and can lead to boredom in class therefore rendering improvement harder to achieve. When at an advanced level, it can be beneficial for a dancer to take a lower level technique class to really work on refining and clarifying technique.
A note: When choosing a dance studio, if you have never taken a ballet class before, or have not yet trained at least twice a week for at least 3 years, 2 at the very least, and the teacher tries to tell you that you are ready for pointe work, RUN. Fast.
At the Class
The class will probably start with exercises at the barre, a railing running along the wall on at least one side of the room. You will start standing at the barre holding on to it with one or both hands. The instructor will demonstrate and explain an exercise. If you have any questions about what you are about to do, now is the time to ask. Then you will do the exercises to music from an accompanist or a CD/tape/record player.
These include plie,
tendue,
rond de jambe,
and battement
among many other things.
You will learn the basic ballet positions and turnout of the legs. It is important that you don't "force" turnout, or rotate the leg from the ankles/knees instead of the hip. Very few people achieve 180° turnout naturally without years of work and training.
(DISCLAIMER: by including these videos and photos, I am not trying to teach you how to dance ballet. This is extremely dangerous and almost impossible over the Internet.)
It is likely that your teacher will correct your body placement and alignment by manually adjusting you. This is something you will have to become accustomed to over time.
After various exercises to warm up and strengthen the feet, legs, arms, back, and abdomen at the barre, the class will progress to the center floor. You will repeat the exercises you did at the barre, usually in different combinations with different port de bras (arm movement). These exercises include some of the basics mentioned above along with allegro (jumps) and adage (see below).
Usually, the center floor portion of the class will begin with adage or adagio (both mean the same thing, literally: slow; in this case: larger, slower movements using the upper body and arms more as well as the feet. This usually involves slower sustained leg lifts in a more advanced class).
Then the class will practice balances on one and two feet without the support of the barre, and possibly various turns. In a beginner class, these usually include:
chaines [sheh-NAY] turns, and pique turns.
(I couldn't find a video of JUST someone demonstrating this turn so please ignore the instructional aspect of the above)
There are many more advanced turns in ballet such as pirouettes, tours, and fouettes that are not generally taught in beginner classes.
The class will then progress to petite and grand allegro. Allegro, literally meaning quick, refers to a jump. Petite and grand refer to the height and size of the jump.
Example, this is a petit jete
(the second jump in the sequence)
and this is a grand jete.
See the difference?
The class will learn basic allegro at first, usually including changemant [shahnzh-MAHN], echappe [ay-sha-PAY], and glissade [glee-SAD]. Eventually, the class will move on to more advanced jumps as the students advance in technique and strength.
At the end of the class, there will be a reverence, usually a small curtsy or bow, to show that you are grateful for the teacher and/or accompanist and shows respect towards respect them.
3 Ways to Make Sure Your Ballet Teacher Will Like You:
1.) Put effort in to EVERY LITTLE THING you are asked to do. This will make ballet more fun and will help you improve more quickly. There are things that you will always have to think about at all times, like pointing your toes or holding your center, no matter how old or advanced of a dancer you are.
2.) Use all corrections your teacher gives (you specifically, or the entire class) even if you think you are already doing what the correction entails; you may think you are doing something correctly without realizing that you are, in fact, not. This shows the teacher you are paying attention, and, once again helps you improve more quickly.
3.) Thank your teacher before you leave, even if the class already has as a whole. Like the reverence, this shows your respect for your teacher and the time and effort they put in to teaching you ballet. Very, very few teachers ever teach dance solely to make money, and if they do, they are not someone you want to be taking class form. Whether they are the nicest or the meanest teacher, at some point in their life, they were at the same level you are at now, they love to dance and teach for this very reason.
End of your first class. That wasn't too horrible, now was it?
Dance Advantage is hosting a Back to School Teach-A-Thon, a series of posts by various dance bloggers with ideas and tips for students during the "back to school/dance" season.
From what I understand, this will be going on all week, with posts from different blogs featured each day.
This is definitely going to be a great resource for anyone, including myself, going back to dance class after time off this summer, whether you had 2 weeks off or the whole summer.
One company. One year. One one-minute piece of a documentary released each Monday. We have Project 52, the latest on the web from Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. When a year has gone by, you have a 52 minute documentary about Cedar Lake, its dancers, and anything else you would want to know about the company. The series is available as a podcast on iTunes, or in high definition on Vimeo.
It sounds like an interesting concept, especially once all of the segments are released, but it does sort of sound like just a podcast with a little twist. I haven't seen all of the segments yet, but have them waiting on my iPod.
Cedar Lake premieres its latest work, The Copier, tomorrow night. It is a new work by Jill Johnson which "really does take its inspiration from the sound of a photocopy machine". This sounds just weird enough that I would love it. Tickets can be purchased through SmartTix. The company is offering an internet only deal to get one ticket free when one is purchased by entering the code "2FOR1" in the "Discount Code" box on the SmartTix site.
St. Louis Tap Festival now has some of the pictures from this year's workshop posted on its website. Also, the music to Black Orpheus has been posted with the idea that maybe people will remember it and practice it so that next year we can finish the piece.
Freed has recently come out with a new pointe shoe, the Classic Professional. The Freed Classic is a Medium-High profiled (depending on the maker, from what I understand) tapered shoe (can vary by maker, but generally is a tapered/semi-tapered shoe) with a long U vamp, a cloth drawstring, a flat platform, and a strong full length shank.
The Classic Professional has been altered slightly to incorporate a platform that is very slightly pitched forward to flatter the arch and keep the dancer from rolling over, a slightly harder longer-wearing box, an elastic drawstring, and a 3/4 length shank. Freed has said that they designed the shoe using the most common special orders and makers in the Classic model to develop a better shoe. From what I can tell, these shoes are only available through Discount Dance at this point in time. I don't know if they just aren't being sold anywhere else yet, or if they are similar to the NBS Shoe Room's Maple Leaf Freed model in the way that they are a stock shoe that has been modified through a special order by a specific company and is stocked by that company only.
I've heard that the shoes all seem to be "Anchor" makers, and that their fit is similar to that of "Crown" maker Classics. The shoes come in "Anchor", "T", "Crown", and "F" makers.
I can't find much else about these shoes; they are not on the Freed website. When I do, I'll definitely update.
So, since they were already falling apart, I figured it wouldn't hurt to dissect the Gambas. It was frighteningly easy to pull the shank out and the midsole/outsole completely off.
I figured I'd take pictures since I'm considering giving the pieces of my shoe to the studio to show beginning pointe students before they get their first shoes; for some reason I think our ballet teacher would like that. You know, sort of as a "this is what pointe shoes are made of" thing, and sort of as a "here's a scary thing that can happen to your shoes if you have shoe-killing feet like Selly" thing, a combination of educating and scaring them.
The first and second pictures are the midsole/outsole, the top layer of the shank (with the sockliner still stuck to it), and the carbon fibre component of the shank unique to Gambas.
In the third picture, you can see loops of thread hanging off of the midsole. Those were pulled through the "shoe" part of the shoe and then sort of woven/looped around each other. Then there was one more staple in addition to the one that broke/fell out/whatever it did that was also pretty loose.
The fifth picture is, once again, the top shank layer.
The sixth is a closeup of the carbon fibre thing.
The last four pictures are what is left of the shoe itself; basically the toe box and some floppy satin.
I'm actually hoping this was a defective pair since I liked these shoes so much. That is, until they exploded mid-pique.
I'm really really liking the Gamba 93's a lot better than any other shoe I've had recently. Of course, by saying this, I have forced them to do something totally wonky and strange in class tomorrow that will make me hate them. We'll see.
I was totally right. In class on Wednesday, we were doing something totally simple across the floor. Like pique walks with a little developpe through, I think. I hear a loud snap as I step up on pointe. Hmm. That came from my general shoe area, didn't it? Great. I tell my teacher and she glances at my shoes. The whole midsole/outsole part of the shoe sort of popped out of the back of the shoe. I took the shoes off and did the rest of the class in flat shoes.
We later figured out (after some attempts at creative gluing on the almost new shoes; no luck) that the snapping sound was probably a staple/nail popping out of the shank and/or breaking, but that the shank didn't actually break. It just sort of exploded out of the shoe. I'm not happy about this. We ordered another pair of Gamba's today, but if they're weird and fast dying this time (which they probably will be) it's basically gonna have to be Gaynor Mindens for Selly. I'm stuck wearing an old new (had them left over from all the pairs for my summer intensive, I've had them forever, but never worn them) pair of the Russian Pointes which I am hating more and more. Yeah... :(
This is gonna be a short recap. Loved this episode.
T20 is back for the finale. Yuck Susie. Yay Kourtni. Yay Shane Sparks. Very ABDC-esque, very AWESOME routine to Boom by Sin featuring T-Pain. Jessica still isn't back yet, I guess she's still broken. Jamie makes super weird faces in this dance. I do not like him.
Six judges tonight. Mia, Mary, Nigel, Lil' C, Debbie, and Adam. Love these guys.
The movie the winner gets a role in? Step Up 3D. Ugh ugh ugh.
Season journey montage... I think the reason I haven't really cared this season is that all my favorites didn't make it to the T2o. Sigh. This video makes me sort of warm and fuzzy though.
Nigel's favorite routine is Katee and Josh's Bollywood. The look exhausted, but ti's still a fun routine.
Mary's favorite is Courtney and Gev's Rumba. He looks really different. Taller and less creepy.
Then we got a montage of Snuggle Fresh Release Happy Dances and a flash of the winners in the audience.
Next Robert Muraine and Philip Chbeeb battle. I don't particularly enjoy watching this style of dancing, but whatever. Robert wins with votes from all five judges except Mia. This is, apparently, the first televised popping battle.
Adam's favorite dance was Comfort and Twitch's Dave Scott hip hop. I just don't like her. Dave Scott is definitely my favorite of all the hip hop choreographers on SYTYCD, though.
Lil' C's favorite dance was Katee and Joshua's Bleeding Love hip hop. I definitely like some of these dances better when they're just being performed and aren't part of the competition.
Mary and Dmitry do a Samba. Wow. WOW. Yes!
Mia's favorite dance is Katee and Joshua's Pas De Deux choreographed by Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson. Gorgeous. I love these choreographers.
Adam's favorite dance is Courtney and Mark's Sonya Tayeh piece. This is probably my favorite, too.
And Courtney is cut. See, you know that if they dance right before a cut, it will always be teh T4 person that JUST danced. That's just how it works.
I must say, I really really like Nigel's choreography. This was another of my favorites this season. You just can't beat Five Guys Named Moe.
Wade's Cirque number is next. This is "A homage to the rabbits killed by incompetent magicians". It looks like a combination of Cats, Alice In Wonderland, and some freaky drugs. Wade is CRAZY and I less than three him.
Oh my heck! Katee is cut! I totally expected it to be Twitch going right now. Oh well. Didn't we sort of know a guy would win? Apparently, since this is a competition where they mainly compete in couples, the top girl also gets a prize this year, $50,000. You can tell she is COMPLETELY shocked.
Here comes the Debbie Allen tap students. I love how its like 10-13 year olds and then Sarah who is tiny enough to fit in with them and not look out of place... except that she dances so much better than everyone else. Damn! Nigel can TAP. Who expected syncopated wings and single foot pullbacks out of him? Not me!
Mary's next favorite dance was Katee and Josh's Mia piece with the door. I finally figured out that there's a space between the top of the actual door and the door frame. That's how they manage that swing thing when he slams it while she's hanging on to the top. I can't wait to see this on tour.
Debbie's favorite is the Dances for Disabled Daughters (think S3 Dead Daddy Dance. DDD) Viennese Waltz that Jean Marc did for Kherrington and Twitch. I still just don't like this one very much.
Nigel's next favorite routine was Katee and Josh's No Air hip hop. Pretty much every dance on this thing is Katee and Josh. I actually really like this piece now.
Dance of the has-beens is next. Travis needs to close his mouth when he turns. Donyelle got clear braces- and engaged. Alli had a baby. She was really pretty when she was on season 2. Benji's here and a total cornball, but Lacey and Heidi are nowhere to be seen. Ivan, Jaimie, Hok, Dominic, Ryan, Melody, various others from seasons past, and the dancers mentioned above are all in a big number specially choreographed for the finale. Wait, this is the exact same thing they did on Idol Gives Back. It really truly is. Did they really think they fooled us with that one?
Now, its down to the final 2. Who will win,Josh or Twitch? It's a no brainer, people. Josh takes the title, the movie role, and the quarter mil.
Next was Katee's solo and interview. They have to recap all the drama when she told the judges she might not audition a third year if she didn't get through. Her favorite routine was No Air because of its emotion, and because it was her first routine on the show.
The song: Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME solo. She totally didn't ruin this song for me. Both her technique and emotion are SO great every single second of this piece. She needs a tiny bit of work on the whole concept of pointing her feet in all of her extensions, but everything else is freaking amazing.
After the (particularly long) break was Twitch and Katee's Foxtrot choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin.
O...k. This "rivalry" between the guys that suddenly shows up this week? Ridiculous and time-wasting. Get on with the rehearsal segment. They seem to be having a lot of trouble with basic body positioning...
The song: Feeling Good by Michael Buble. I have emotional attachments to this song, so please let it be good. Ok, I guess this is pretty good. I'm usually put to sleep or tears of boredom by this style, and I don't feel that way about this one. It was just missing something. I don't think they pulled off the technique very well at all.
Mandy says: Very romantic and pretty, the overhead press lift was amazing...
Mary says: Twitch is one cool gentleman. It was smooth and controlled... DIthuioewGHouifhbSRGhiorweyirheyijhrgHIEgPIHwOJHT!!! WOOO! *Twitch does James Bond impression*
Nigel says: There's nothing Katee can't do. It was too stiff and "British" at the beginning, bt once they relaxed in to the choreography, it got better. They are spoiling the choreographers by beign able to pick things up easily.
It's Josh's turn for his solo and interview; Cat points out that this is the last solo in the competition... that is if you don't count their solos tomorrow night. Unless they're cutting the solos tomorrow to make room for all the extras...
We're getting the sob story right now. Josh had a semi-cruddy childhood and did work around the studio to be able to take class instead of paying money for class. He auditioned for the show after seeing it last season and loving the entertainment factor. His favorite routine was the Samba with Katee because it was completely out of their elements, but they pulled it off.
The song: Knee Deep by Funkadelic. The first thing he does is run through the audience to dance on the platform that the judges table is on thereby limiting his space and wasting a good deal of his allotted 30 seconds. I actually like him better when he's performing non-hip hop choreography than when he's semi-freestyling in his own style.
Courtney and Josh, Jive choreographed by Jason Gilkinson. This style is happy, energetic, peppy, and requires a lot of stamina.
The song: The Dirty Boogie by The Brian Setzer Orchestra. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME 540!!! This is pretty much amazing. They can both pull off pretty much anything. They seem like they have the style and the technique down, and have really clean partnering and lifts.
Was Josh supposed to fall out of that layout?
Mandy says: Holy Moly! Great fast footwork. Great lifts and teamwork. Great great great.
Mary says: Jive is fast and hard. Both the footwork and connections are super fast. Jason added a loot to this specific routine that made it harder than it needed to be. They pulled it off.
Nigel says: Dancers learn where to "breathe" in a routine. They didn't. They missed the double bounce and the feel of the Jive. It was tired and not brilliant.
T4 Group, Contemporary choreographed by Mia Michaels.
Mia sings in pseudo-Gaelic (I think). She also gives them a speech that was meant to be inspirational. She's better at that when she doesn't try too hard.
They're all wearing kilts. Hmm. The song: Hallelujah by the Vitamin String Quartet.
Yeah. This rocks. It's unfortunate that they used that weird dark grey-ish lighting that the producers really seem to like to use for all the really good routines this season. This looks a little tiny minute bit With Or Without You inspired. Hmm. Awesome. The makeup on the girls is really funky.
That's all I have to say about this. Awesome. Wait, was there supposed to be a huge height difference between those two lifts? Mia, I less than three you. (<3)
Mandy says: She's at a loss for words. It was a magical celebration. It wasn't physical anymore, the dancing came from somewhere else. As a choreographer, she would never put the four of them together for a piece, but they completely melded and it worked.
Mary says: Mia didn't hold back. She could've for the sake of the non-contemporary dancers, but she didn't.Twitch was a total standout in this dance. Everything was right on. Courtney lost it a little bit. Courtney and Josh's lift was at 90 degrees wile Katee ant Twitch got to 180 degrees.
Nigel says: these guys deserve to be here more than Mark or will even though technically, they were better dancers. They inspire and are more versatile.The girls were two beacons of light on stage. It sort of reminded him of the Olympics.They succeeded and didn't show their exhaustion.
Of course, I'm posting this 20 minutes before the results show. Oh, and if anyone cares, I just read something that says Sarah Reich is definitely one of the tappers performing with the Debbie Allen group tonight.
So, tonight was it. The last night of the competition. SYTYCD4 is pretty much over. That is, if you don't count tomorrow night, when we find out who wins. Sorry I didn't live blog it tonight; I got home just in time to microwave a Boca burger for dinner as fast as possible and run to the TV to take notes.
Courtney, Twitch, Katee, and Josh. The T4. This should be awesome. Let's go.
First up is a NappyTabs hip hop for Courtney and Twitch. This one's about a bat poo crazt girlfriend who chases her boyfriend to the clubs and throws a fit. The song: Church by T-Pain. I really like Courtney in hip hop. She pulls it off SO well for a contemporary dancer.
This dance isn't really doing anything for me. I generally find Napoleon and Tabitha's choreography boring and over-dramatic. This sort of fit in with that theme, although the dancers did well with the mediocrity they were given. It wasn't too good, IMO.
Mandy says: Awesome, way to start the evening, great character, Twitch's character portrayal was hysterical.
Nigel says: WOOOOOO! Why do choreographers always give Twitch a deranged girlfriend? The character and musicality were great.
Courtney's solo and interview are next. Her family talks like the Sopranos (she has a lot more of a NJ accent here than I had ever noticed). She knows she's not the best dancer, but she can grow as a person and a dancer and bring something different to the show. She has a boyfriend named Bret... Her favorite routine was the Sonya Tayeh jazz routine she did for the T8.
Her song is They Weren't There by Missy Higgins. I really love her onstage. The song is awesome, her choreography, costume, and everything else rock. She COULD win. I dearly hope that this is her tour solo. My guess is that she tours with NYCDA as an assistant like Jaimie/Sabra/Alison for this season. She seems like the type that would have gone there as a kid.
1-888-836-7601
Wade. Is. Back. WOOT! This time, he's choreographing a contemporary jazz number for Katee and Josh. Of course these two get the good choreography. The song: Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer. This piece was about how love is hard, but is the best thing to fight for in life. It is an open and honest moment after a blowout fight.
Let me say, Wade looks sort of different and a lot creepy. Is it the beard?
I'm a huge fan of only using one camera the entire time and not having 87 different cuts in the middle of the routine. Yeah, lighting designers! I love you, Wade. This routine is AWESOME. Amazing. Great.It's more contemporary ballet-ish than I would've expected, but an awesome blend of flowing lyrical type movement and spazzy jerky crazy Wade-ish stuff. I expected more spazz jazz, less lyrical, but I actually liked this better.
This routine was too short.
Mandy says: Beautiful. It's so nice to have Wade back. Katee was awesome even before the dancing started when she was just standing there breathing. It was beautiful and honest.
Mary says: Beautiful, loves the two of them dancing together. Amazing routine. So happy their characters made it and didn't walk away at the end.
Nigel says: It was great partially because it was stripped down to raw and honest emotion. Fantastic dance. Josh has the uncontrolled control of an untrained dancer. They are two of the best dancers ever on the show.
Courtney and Katee. Broadway. Tyce DiOrio.Meh. Remember SYTYCD2's Hey Big Spender? Not that great. Neither was this, but once again, they did well with what they were given. The song: The Trolley Song. I'm not yet sure of the artist.
Very girly girl, complete with parasols and dresses that look like can can girls meet French maids meet something with a tail. There's not too much to this dance. It's cutsie, its flouncy, its girly, its fun, but other than like one leap, they don't really DO anything. They pulled it off ok though.
Mandy says: Cute and adorable. Very "Old Hollywood". It moved well on stage.
Mary says: Dancing with umbrellas is seriously hard. It looked effortless and they pulled it off.
Nigel says: It's lovely to see the girls dancing as girls. Courtney doesn't finish every step as fully as Katee who has an extra little bit to her dancing.
Twitch's solo/interview.
His name came from dancing all the time in completely inappropriate places. For him, it was either dancing or military to make ends meet without working a 9-5 office job. It caught him by surprise when Kherrington was booted. His favorite dance was the Viennese Waltz that Jean Marc choreographed for/about his disabled daughter. He feels that putting as much in to every routine is what he can do to give back to that art form that has done so much for him.
The song: It Was All In Your Mind by Wade Robson. Twitch is SO much better when he just does his thing and lets his personality show through than when he TRIES too hard to be uirky and then distracts himself from the actual dancing.
1-888-836-7602
So now Josh and Twitch have this routine in a style that they're either calling Russian Trepak or Russian Street Dancing. The choreographer: Yuri Nelzine. The song: Marzipan Dance from The Nutcracker Suite.
Apparently Josh and Twitch have some sort of rivalry going on. I wasn't aware of this. They're "battling it out" in this dance. These choreographers are seriously skeeving me out. I don't know what, but they have some really creepy vibe.
The first thing I get from this dance: ghetto Vaganova. Not good. This... sucks. They're very good at the huge jumps and leaps, but overall, the routine and choreography and style weren't good and were a really bad choice by the producers for the finale. This wasn't up to par with the Dorktastic hip hop or Mia's dueling princes piece.
Josh does freaking awesome 540's for a semi-untrained dancer. No, he does awesome 540's for a professional ballet dancer, which he definitely is not. His a la seconde fouettes were ah-mazing, too.
I don't know if this was the intent of the choreography, but even when they were doing the same steps at relatively the same time, the two dancers were not at all together.
Mandy says: No offense to the girls, but there's nothing better than two men on stage doing crazy stuff. Twitch got stuck with all the floor work. Josh claims that this is because he jumps higher. They have a brief jump off.
Mary says: Fabulous entertainment. This is the first year with two hip hop dancers in the T4. WoihgewWItejhioghnSYIHewilht!!!... WOOOOO!
Nigel says: He was expecting them to be good at this. They're street dancers, this is a street dance. Josh's elevation is amazing. This piece will be spoken about for years.
I am super sore and tired. I have 9 hour days at the studio this week and a mini-show the day after tomorrow. I promise I'll finish writing my recap tomorrow, but I really need the sleep right now. Check back soon for Part 2!
The Pulse is kicking off the new season with a new website, new cities, and new faculty. This year's all-star staff includes Mia Michaels, Brian Freidman, Wade Robson, Tyce Diorio, Shane Sparks, Chris Judd, Dave Scott, and LaurieAnn Gibson.
The cities included in this year's tour are: Las Vegas, NV Chicago, IL Hollywood, FL Nashville, TN Dallas, TX Atlantic City, NJ Atlanta, GA Denver, CO Kansas City, MO Minneapolis, MN Toronto, CAN San Fransisco, CA Phoenix, AZ
You know the drill. If you don't wanna know, don't scroll down.
Twitch/Courtney: Hip Hop by NappyTabs
Katee/Josh: Contemporary Jazz by WADE ROBSON (Yes!!!!!)
Courtney/Katee: Broadway by TyceDiorio
Josh/Twitch: Russian Street Dancing/Trepak by a choreographer possibly named Yuri (I'm thinking this might be akin to Romanian Jumpstyle. Apparently its to the Marzipan Suite from Nutcracker)
Twitch/Katee: Foxtrot by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin
Courtney/Josh: Jive by Jason Gilkison
Group dance: MIA MICHAELS! Woot! (Apparently this is Scottish inspired, manskirts included.)
Other stuffs:
Nigel taps with Debbie Allen academy students.
Mary and Dmitry do a Samba.
A group number with popular contestants from seasons past. (Possibly including Neil; Lauren and Melody (S1) have been confirmed as being in it; I assume Benji and Lacey will make an appearance along with Travis; I'm hoping for Natison and Heidi)
I missed the dance with dancers from past seasons, but this is who I can remember seeing who was in it, as I walked in just after it was finished: Thayne, Jaimie, Ivan, Benji, Melody, Lauren, Dominic, Hok, Chelsea, Kourtni, Gev, Dima, Comfort. There were probably more, but it's 1:00 AM and my brain is fried.
The pop battle between Robert Muraine and Philip Chbeeb is still only theoretical.
The dance cast of Cirque deSoleil'sCriss Angel Believe will perform a number from the show entitled "Homage to the Rabbits" choreographed by Wade Robson.
Mandy Moore is the third judge.
I've heard that Twitch and Josh are the two that collapsed, but that is in no way at all confirmed that I know of.
WHAT? What the bananas is this? I'll admit, I don't obsessively follow all So You Think You Can Dance news after my main source for anything and everything SYTYCD has gone on hiatus, but it seems like that might be something I'd have heard about...? I'm sure they'll talk about what happened and whoever it was on the T4 performance episode, which I will be live blogging this week.
You know what the moral of this, and most other SYTYCD hospitalizations is: DRINK MORE WATER. Take the water bottle in to the studio with you, I'm sure its not that hard. Get a huge one and drink out of it every chance you get.
In other semi-SYTYCD related news, I was able to get better seats in the long run. Sixth row, baybee!
Today was my first of five 9-hour days at the studio this week. We're taking class in a whole bunch of different styles all day long and it is super super fun, but totally exhausting. I didn't like the fact that we had a 2-hour jazz class and only an hour and a half for ballet technique (I think the majority of the class would've rather had an hour for jazz and two and a half for ballet later), but, I sort of liked the jazz class that we had today, which is out of the ordinary with this specific teacher.
I can't wait till regular classes start up again. I'm thinking that since it will presumably be a larger class that is closer to the right level for me and not a completely mixed bag of levels that my Drill Sargent tap teacher, who apparently thinks I should look like I'm a ballet dancer while tapping, might be a little nicer to me. We have new modern teacher and another new teacher that's going to teach pointe once a week... I think, to replace our awesome ballet/modern teacher/choreographer that left right after our spring recital.
Does anyone know if Gelsey Kirkland's autobiography, Dancing on my Grave, is available at any major bookstore? I know its on Amazon, but is it actually out of print, or just not stocked at my local Barnes and Noble? I started reading a borrowed copy while I was away at my ballet intensive last month, but didn't finish it before I left. I really liked it, and now I want to finish it. Oh, and on the topic of books, breaking Dawn sucked. HUGE letdown.
I'm really really liking the Gamba 93's a lot better than any other shoe I've had recently. Of course, by saying this, I have forced them to do something totally wonky and strange in class tomorrow that will make me hate them. We'll see.
And as one last note, a cool video of a Grade 6 Vaganova school class:
I'm the kind of obsessed that buys SYTYCD '08 Tour tickets presale the second they go on sale. I feel sorry for anyone that didn't get the code and buy them today and still want to go; it seems like already, there's not much left that's good.
Oh. My. Lordy. Does that say 3rd row seats to the SYTYCD tour? It does. We shall buy them. *clicks on the Buy Tickets button, chooses shipping method, blah blah blah*.
Confirmation email comes. These seats that we bought? They are not third row. They are not even floor seats. *calls TicketMaster Customer Service*
Apparently, all they can do is cancel our order because presale is online only even though THEY screwed it up.
We did end up keeping the tickets. I mean, they're not BAD, just not 3rd row or anything anywhere near it.
