Fame or Famine

Just came across “Blogging So You Think You Can Dance – A Thinking Fan’s Blog“, and I’m impressed with their views and resources (can’t wait to read the full interview with Faina (le sigh)). I don’t necessarily think I agree with this bit about Pasha, though:
…we can’t blame the show’s producers/judges for seeing fit to eliminate a contestant who has jeopardized production on two consecutive weeks, for whatever reason. It really isn’t fair to Pasha either, never knowing who he will actually be dancing with that week.
Fact is, any finalists are going to have to switch partners pretty soon anyway. …read more

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Don’t get me wrong. I think Cedric is remarkably talented. I’m glad he got the offer from Debbie Allen to go to her school, to be a part of it, I think it’s noble that when he had his ass handed to him by the judges wednesday night, he tried to turn it into a lesson for other dancers to have more diversity in their training.
But this is a competition. And the fact is, his was absolutely the worst dance Wednesday night, in spite of Mia Michael’s genius. He definitely should have been in the bottom three, if we were …read more

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This is my favorite moment from last night. Not because I like drama, not because of the dance, even (honestly, Pasha annoys me a little). No, it’s because Melanie reminds us that you don’t have to look like a GAP ad to be an incredible dancer:

For a really good explanation of why this was a significant moment, watch this. (Thanks, Lavalady!)

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Tonight we watch SYTYCD with Megan (I won’t print her nickname, since this is a family blog), a burlesque dancer with Foxy Veronica’s Peach Pies.
DEBBIE ALLEN? (swoon). We’re going to have some actual intelligence tonight! So glad she made the comment about training…and the camaraderie of dancing. "Oh, honeychile, the hair comes off too!" She’s so great! I just wish they’d replaced Mary Murphy instead of Mia. Sorry, but I do not like her.
OK, the ambition in life thing seems like it’s….I dunno. A Miss America pageant?
Sarah and Jesus (Krump) NICE pirouette in the beginning. Megan and I both …read more

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Last night I watched “An American in Paris” with my daughter, and in the beginning there is a cute little number in a French cafe about “Waltzes by Strauss.” I confess, I didn’t like the music much (never been one for male cabaret singers) but the dancing was sweet and funny and of course virtuosic.
And at the end, as the people in the cafe were all spinning into their final poses, I saw Gene Kelly’s hat get knocked off by the arm of the matron next to him. The look on his face spoke volumes – recognition of the problem, …read more

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Ok, so this is going to be a two parter: first, go and read this article in Salon, which talks about passion (one of my top three words) and the way that the passion of the dancers is infectious, even for sour old curmudgeons like myself. Plus, it’s cleverly written:

"Because when you know, deep down inside, that you’re just as passionate as the next person, only then can you appreciate passion in others. Then, when people make deeply irritating statements like "I live for my art," or "Having children made me fully human — before that I was more like …read more

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I guess that the place the Stars go after they dance is…another reality show.

"Dancing with the Stars alum Joey Fatone will be hosting NBC’s new summer reality show, The Singing Bee, the network announced today. The show debuts July 10."

Somehow, this does not fill me with confidence. I didn’t much enjoy his parts of Dancing with the Stars, and I really don’t see "Singing Bee" as being much of a success. They’re trying too hard, really, to make the arts…well, easy to swallow.
I think we need to give people credit. Things don’t have to be easy to be good; sometimes …read more

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I’ve mentioned the talented Shan in this blog once or twice before, because her blog is a source of endless delights and several times has provided me with content for this blog.
I’m happy to say this time she, herself, is the content. She recently posted a short video of a performance where she experienced a costume malfunction, and while she is (like every artist, present company included) overly self-critical, I think she doesn’t give herself enough credit for the graceful way she dealt with this:
 
And for yet another view of her talent, from a bit of a different angle:

And I’m …read more

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Words cannot express  my disappointment at last night’s results for So You Think You Can Dance. Really, they can’t – the message I texted my friend was a quote, in fact, from Mary, reading "GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
But, meanwhile, to comfort myself, and I’m sure you, from the loss of (sob) Faina, here is a reminder that the great dancers are not all on your TV…some are in the tiny clubs, and they are dancing their hearts out, too.

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jaimie & Hok: I really loved this dance. It was hot, energetic, they had chemistry, though I’m beginning to feel like the guys are stealing the girls’ thunder just in flamboyancy. That being said, not that I’m an expert, but I didn’t even realize it was a samba until after it was done. In retrospect I can see the elements, including the bump, and the arms swinging over head (I hated that stop-start motion, btw) but it seemed more like a dance with samba elements than a samba with creative contsructions.
Sabra & Dominic: Well, it’s contemporary…but I wasn’t really …read more

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