Sorry I’ve been so out of it again with blogging, you guys — I can’t believe how many little errors there are in my book to correct… So stressful!

Anyway, I managed to watch DWTS last night. Thing is, I’m really so not into it; even if I wasn’t busy with my book, I’m so not into blogging about the show this season. I think Mya is overall the best contestant on the show right now, and so she probably deserves to win. But she just doesn’t do that much for me. I liked both her Quickstep and 70s Samba last night — I thought her Quickstep was actually pretty basic and technique-focused so I’m not sure why Len didn’t like it, and the Samba was fun — a lot of people dance Samba to disco music since it’s so hard to find good authentic Samba music around here.

I think overall I like Aaron the most though, even though he’s not as good as Mya. Still, he’s getting less and less fun, for some reason, as the season goes on. His over-the-top-ness is not enough to compel me to watch the show anymore. I liked but didn’t love his 90s Latin routine last night — wait, was it  Jive? I don’t even remember? But I was annoyed with Karina that she didn’t let him do his fun boy-band moves. Why did she cut him off like that — I think it would have been hilarious. And what is with everyone getting sick? (Both Karina and Aaron had the flu at various points this week apparently…)

I thought all the Standard routines were pretty bland last night. I thought Donny’s Viennese Waltz was the best, mainly because Kym was so beautifully fluid. But during the Latin round, his 80s Paso wasn’t all that interesting. The costumes and music (I used to love Spin Me ‘Round) were far more fun and flashy than the actual dancing.

And I feel the same way about Kelly as I do Aaron. I liked watching her learn and grow early on but now it seems she’s stagnating and it’s not that interesting anymore. I thought her 60s Jive was cute and I love that Louis, unlike Karina, let her put her own Monkees-esque moves in.

I feel like Joanna really dances like a paper doll. She has no grounding, no weight, no strength or firmness in her body. You need that for ballroom, even for the Standard dances. You need that for any kind of dance. You need that to do fouettes and pirouettes in ballet. Not that I don’t dance exactly like that — that was always my problem: I looked emaciated and completely substanceless. I used to think it was just about being thin, but it’s not. There are very thin dancers who are very rooted and have a great deal of strength in their bodies. She’s a really really pretty paper doll, but a paper doll nonetheless and I can’t for the life of me understand why the judges fawn over her so.

I know, as Katrina had commented earlier, that seasons may collide, but I still so want Yankees to be on the show.  Come on, A-Rod can dance with Smirnoff and Derek with … Lacey maybe. The World Series was the most exciting thing to happen since Roberto Bolle (look look, new pic from Weber book!) came to town. I’ve been a bit bored and depressed since it ended…

One more thing about the Yankees: they had a little dance segment at the City Hall celebration — did anyone watch it? The dancers were teenaged schoolgirls, apparently, from Staten Island, called the LA Dancers — something like that. They were okay, but you know… Why don’t they have a real dancer, like Ashley Bouder? I think she’d be perfect — she’s cute and extremely athletic and would be very attractive to the average baseball fan. And she’s a NYCBallet dancer… Come on! Next year…

Photo of Bouder by Gene Schiavone, taken from Bailarinas; photos of A-Rod and Jeter taken from here and here respectively.

It could have been because I’ve had a crazy last few days — computer crashing, iphone dropping calls like mad, internet access intermittent, possessed cursor on computer I’m momentarily using, and now serious fights with upstairs Godzilla and her monster mother — we’ll call her Grendel or Mother Grendel rather – it ALL happens at once! Anyway, I watched DWTS last night but I honestly can’t remember much — just too much on my mind. 

Generally, I just can’t stand the Paso Dobles done on these group shows. I love the Spanish dance elements — the flamenco taps and the matador posturing and the cape and all — but I can’t stand it “modernized” and danced to pop music. People just go too crazy with it and it doesn’t make any sense.

Still, my two favorite moments of last night’s show (besides the costumes and wigs used in the group Hustle) were Kelly and Louis’s Paso to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” and Michael and Anna’s more traditional version of the dance (thank you Anna Demidova!) What I liked about Kelly and Louis though was mainly Louis’s eyes. They were done up to look like Ozzy (of the y 80s of course, not now) along with the hair. He was once so serious (Louis that is) and he looks like he’s having a lot of fun with dance these days, so good for him. He really makes me laugh. The dance though — she tried hard and he of course is excellent at everything he does, but you could tell she kept wanting to jump up and down and pound her fist into the air, mosh-pit-like. And who wouldn’t — “Crazy Train” is not Paso music! I understood why Louis chose it — and Ozzy in the audience looked like he was about to burst into tears of pride (what is happening to the world?)- but still. 

And I loved Michael’s attempts to attain correct Paso posture by placing a nickel between his butt cheeks (at Anna’s suggestion). And I agree with Len that it worked! It is a really odd posture — pushing your hips so forward like that and standing up so straight from the waist down but then with kind of rounded shoulders. It seems so unnatural — like you’re ultra aware of your shaping – unlike with the other Latin dances. And it ended up being Michael’s best dance.

I wasn’t that impressed with much else. I thought Mark’s Paso was strong and his movements sharp but something didn’t look quite right, and I’m not sure what it was. He looked too dainty or delicate or something even though he was trying hard not to. And did Lacey blow out of a cannon or something? What was that entrance about?

Oh — I also really liked Karina and Aaron’s Argentine  Tango. Really nice choreography and really intricate hooks with those legs. And complicated lifts with her legs wrapped every which way around his.

I thought it was rather funny when Joanna tripped in her A.T. I honestly thought it was Maks’s fault (who she danced with since Derek’s sick with flu, as is Mark Ballas — what’s up with those two?) Anyway, they recoverd nicely (Joanna and Maks that is) and seemed to score okay. In fact, I actually thought she did better after the flub. Her legs straightened and she had nicer lines and a really gorgeous ronde en l’air — whereas the first one was bent-kneed and rather blah.

Louie and Chelsie had some cute lifts but I think someone else needs to choreograph for them. Judges loved it but I think she’s not giving him  enough to do and he ends up being more like her escort around the dance floor than a dancing partner.

And Mya’s A.T. was really gorgeous, expectedly. I honestly can’t remember the other two blondes or much of Donny’s though I remember thinking Donny’s was decent. 

I’m sorry I’m so out of it you guys! No sleep in quite some time! What did you guys think?

Judges seemed to like everyone; I have no idea who’s going home tonight.

I’ve never really learned any of these dances (other than some Charleston in Lindy Hop class) so I’m not sure if I can judge them properly, but I’ll try.

Chuck and Anna’s Two-Step: I thought he did well at some of it– particularly when he kicked in back and slapped opposite hand to opposite foot — but other than that, it seemed like he was walking most of the time, while she was giving her steps more flair. Social dancing is basically walking with attitude but much of his performance here was just walking.

Mark and Melissa’s Charlie Chaplinesque Charleston was absolute brilliance. Wow. That was her best dance by far. Her steps were so perfect, her little bounce spot-on, her character acting perfect, and even the lifts were marvelous. Often non-pro female dancers’ difficulty with the lifts stems from not being able to hold yourself properly in the air, not having the correct shaping (since you don’t realize how hard it is to maintain proper shape with no floor beneath you), but her shapes up there were excellent. I’m so impressed!

Natalie and Alec’s Bolero: Well, given their angst-filled practice it went a lot better than I was expecting.

Continue reading ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS BRINGS ON THE NEW DANCES: LAMBADA, TWO-STEP, CHARLESTON AND BOLERO’

No, I shouldn’t say that. Not after tonight, when Bruno actually behaved for once! Baz was sweet. And young! He must have been 20 when Strictly Ballroom came out?… I’m glad that movie’s mention received the most cheers by the audience. Makes me feel like viewers really do respect ballroom; like this show’s not all about celebrity.

Anyway, I thought all of the dancers did a little better tonight than last week; some — like Melissa — were greatly improved. I think my favorites overall were still Donny Osmond and Kym — he’s just too much fun and so cute! He had all that fast footwork in the Jive so down, from the tricks, the flicks, the kicks, the slides, the character — all of it.

Other favorites were Mark and Lacey’s Quickstep — wow, he can really dance: that high jete in sync, that leapfrog over her head, the runs, the footwork. Very polished, and very athletic. I didn’t expect that from a chef…

I also liked Mya and Dmitry’s Jive. I think she is a natural. She did those turns like a pro

Continue reading ‘BAZ LUHRMANN SHOULD REPLACE BRUNO ON DWTS’

Haha! Okay, well after spending much of my evening at the melodramatic (but riveting) Tosca (it was the Metropolitan’s Opera’s opening night gala, with the premiere of a new production of Puccini’s Tosca, by Met newcomer Luc Bondy), it was nice to come home to this rather goofy corny fun – -which is what social dancing mainly is after all! I don’t want to speak too soon, but, to be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to this season since the last few have been rather blah, but I think with last night’s show, we’re back on track. Lots of characters, some riotously funny, some endearingly sweet, some good dancers, others not so good but serious and hard-working.

For me, the top two (last night was only the men; women compete tonight) were Donny Osmond and, unbelievably, Tom DeLay. I thought DeLay was a natural with the Cha Cha, UNBELIEVABLY! He really nailed it — that slide on the knees, all the faux guitar playing, those awesome New Yorkers, all that hip swaying! The only thing that wasn’t really there were the pelvic rolls. I also thought he was very elegant and polished with the Viennese Waltz and was surprised the judges were hard on him — particularly since none of the guys were that good with VW (except for Aaron). Partner Cheryl seemed annoyed with him in practice though. Well, just so she knows, a lot of people who don’t normally watch this show are watching because of him, so if I were her, I’d snap out of it. She’s been rather short-tempered with her partners lately…

Donny was a total natural – -he nailed both the Foxtrot and the Salsa, which is rare — doing well in both styles of dance I mean. Yeah, I know he has dance training (he “danced as an embryo” I think he said), but still. It’s gonna be a lot o fun watching him dance the season away. And whoa, how much better is he than his sister?!

I also liked Mark (pictured above, with Lacey), the Iron Chef, the martial arts guy. (Sorry, I don’t have all of their last names down yet; too much going on right now in my life; will know them by next week!) I thought his Cha Cha was very good — far from perfect (and he’s doing the dreaded pigeon toes) but he has a natural rhythm and sufficiently loose hips and he clearly knows how to have fun out there and put on a show. But what was he on about with the “man —”? Len accused him of being too martial artsy but having good hips and then he remarked that he’s hiding parts of his body right now, or parts of his dancing, and intends to bring on the “man –” I really thought he said “man moves,” but then Lacey had a rather bemused look on her face and then everyone who quoted him afterward seemed to be saying “man boobs.” Why did he say he was bringing out his “man boobs”? Anyway, quite the character, that one — obviously. I didn’t think his Viennese Waltz was as great — that flexed-footed ronde en l’air almost made me spit out my wine. No flexed feet in rondes en l’air Mark unless you’re trying to be the doll in the Nutcracker.

Okay, I know he’s not popular with the judges, but I totally liked Ashley Hamilton. I think I liked him so because, hello, he was actually a gentleman! I expected a skanky lascivious womanizing perve like his father but no! A total dapper, polished gent! How does a womanizing skank not raise another man to be a womanizing skank? Maybe it’s rebellion — rebellion against one’s parents can take different forms. Hmm. Anyway, I also thought he really looked like Sebastien Marcovici (who we know is not a womanizing skank because Janie would never have any such crap).

(photo of Sebasiten from NYCB website)

Anyway, yeah, Hamilton’s not a natural mover and he has his work cut out for him but I like his personality. I find him endearing and he has a good dance body and I think he can do it if he tries hard. I want him to stay on the show for a while.

Oh poor Chuck, the boxer. Can you say “stiff”? He was seriously nervous during both dances but especially during his first, the Foxtrot. I think he was concentrating very hard, but he needs to loosen up and kind of not think so much.

I thought Aaron (singer, actor) looked stiff as well during his Cha Cha. But he was much better in the Viennese Waltz. Much more polished and very surprisingly smooth. Only thing that wasn’t quite right was it looked like he was literally running at points — particularly during a continuous turn in close handhold. He needs to make it look more like he’s gliding not literally running around in a circle. He didn’t score any points with me when we first met him and he said he was happy Karina’s his teacher because she’s pretty and he wants that. Yeah, that’s definitely what’s important in an instructor.

I thought Louie was so cute! (“I’m small — I’m 5′5, 5′6 on a good day…”) I agree with Len that it’s clear he has no dance training but that he took it very seriously and respected the dance form, trying hard to do all the footwork properly (and nearly succeeding) and be a proper partner. He and Chelsie Hightower looked good together.

And, finally Michael, the footballer who used to be with the Dallas Cowboys, and is Jerry Rice’s former teammate. Cute how he’s all into play competing with Jerry, telling us he just wants to get better scores than Jerry in each of his dances. And he remembers exactly what Jerry got from his first Cha Cha. But it’s clearly all in fun. He’s another one with an endearing personality who I like and want to stay on for a while. He’s not a natural dancer — he’s lacking in grace and polish and form, but he’s got an innate sense of rhythm and he’s used to moving and I think he has the ability to do well. He had some good triple chas in that Cha Cha which I think shows when he really gets going, when he really gets into a groove, he can make it work.

Len annoyed me, for the first time ever I think, or one of the first times. He kept harping on everyone for not doing standard ballroom — Donny’s Foxtrot was too “razz-ma-tazz,” Mark’s was too kung-fu, etc. Well, we know, but it’s only the first week — let the dancers have a first dance that’s not totally out of their territory. And that was totally out of line for him to criticize Louie’s shaggy haircut as not being “ballroom enough.” One’s personal hair style has nothing to do with one’s dance ability and Len should know that. It seemed like he really wanted to put everyone into a box and make them conform to his own non-dance standards. Dance is about freedom of expression. I know he was sort of kidding, but he came across as an old fuddy duddy.

I think of the men Chuck, Ashley and Michael are going to be in the bottom. What do you guys think?

Here’s the big dance number on tonight’s Emmys, choreographed by So You Think You Can Dance’s Tabitha and Napoleon, performed in part by Maks Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff from Dancing With the Stars. Nice to integrate the two main TV dance shows in this way. But, ah, where have I seen that costume before, Karina?…

Medarethinks Yulia moved that fringe a bit better. Although of course she had more time to dance. I do sometimes wonder if Karina were still competing today whether she’d beat Yulia.

Apropos of the currently underway U.S. Open, which is captivating the attentions of many New Yorkers right now, I thought I’d mention that Martina Hingis, former tennis champ, is a contestant on this upcoming season of Strictly Come Dancing, the British (and original) version of our Dancing With the Stars.

She’ll be partnered by Matthew Cutler, that show’s last season pro winner and a former Blackpool champ. Here are a couple of videos of Cutler, in the first demonstrating a samba with his former pro partner Nicole Cutler, and the second some vintage clips (or at least they seem vintage now) of the Latin Blackpool championship from about 7 years ago. At various points you can spy 10-year-long reigning champs Bryan Watson and Carmen, as well as DWTS’s Karina Smirnoff and my love Slavik Kryklyvyy. At about the 2:40 mark, the camera focuses on them.

Kind of fun to watch these older comps. You can see how much Latin competition dancing has really changed just in the past several years (seems so much faster now, and costumes skimpier…)

Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC beginning on September 18th.

Karina Smirnoff talks about two books she’s currently working on with Galley Cat’s Jeff Rivera.

I remember several years ago — maybe five now — sitting in another, much smaller theater on Broadway watching a Dance Times Square teacher / student showcase and nearly falling out of my chair during the all-pro part when my teacher, Pasha (Kovalev), and his partner, Anya (Garnis), danced a West Coast Swing-turned Jive to Tina Turner’s Proud Mary. They also danced a Samba and, if I remember correctly a Rumba and though I’d started lessons with him, it was the first time I saw him dance with her. It was one of those performances where you feel kind of sick afterward because you don’t have a DVD or any kind of recording and you fear you’ll never see dance like that again. I also remember thinking how they should really be on Broadway. I mean, real Broadway, like in a regular theater.

So this is, to make a massive understatement, Surreal!

Several of my friends from Dance Times Square and I went to the Longacre Theater tonight to see our friends made their Broadway debuts in Jason Gilkison’s Burn the Floor. Of course we had to go to the (insanely packed) stage door afterward.

Pasha’s about to give me a hug here I guess I repaid him by flashing my camera right in his face. Oh the endlessly annoying paparazzi…

How gorgeous is Anya?! Posing with my friend Steve and his wife, Ina.

They took over the roles of Maks Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff and of course they were radiant. I think they worked better with the show size-wise because of that small stage (which Maks was too large for — I love him, but he made it look all the more crowded up there).

If you didn’t read it, see my earlier review of the show here.

I think the dancers got used to the small floor; everything went much more smoothly. My favorite parts remain the extended Swing / Jive section that ends the first half and the two Rumbas in the second half (Peta Murgatroyd’s classic, dance-hall Rumba, and the more contemporary, sensual, half-dressed Rumba by the leads — although I noticed Pasha and Anya wore more clothes in that number than Maks & Karina did ). But … I also like the Tango- turned dual Paso Dobles in the second half. Okay, I like the whole second half (mainly devoted to Latin).

In my earlier review, I don’t think I mentioned Sasha Farber as one of the dancers who most stood out to me. He’s a character dancer, kind of like Craig Salstein, and he has a rather fun part early on during a Jive where he’s trying hard to get the girl and gets carted off, kicking madly, by two men. He’s lively, actorly, and can really move quite fast. And Murgatroyd, which I wrote about in the earlier review, captivated me again, with her long limbs and gorgeous balletic lines. I mean, I really liked everyone; it’s hard even to single people out.

Here is Peta Murgatroyd exiting the stage door, on a bike! Actually, almost all of the dancers were on them. Apparently the show’s producers or someone from the company had given them the bikes so they could get around town more easily. Peta was popular with autograph-seekers too.

Ooh, wonderful night. I miss them…

Oh and this seems to be making headlines.

The Walter Kerr Theater across the street from the Longacre is advertising the show as well. See the arrow in the sign on the right side of the street. It’s pointing across the street. It’s the first time a Broadway theater has ever advertised for another show!

Photo by Joan Marcus, from NYPost.

So this is your last week to see Dancing With the Stars stars Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff perform in Jason Gilkison’s Broadway ballroom extravaganza, Burn the Floor.

The show’s really good. It gets off to a bit of a slow start (and I saw it when it was still in previews so maybe now they’ve even worked out those few early kinks), but mid-way through the first act I knew I wasn’t going to want it to end. There’s no through story-line (thankfully — I haven’t yet seen a ballroom show with one that really works); rather it’s a set of Latin and Standard dance routines, some performed with ensemble, some in duos and trios. There’s more Latin than Standard, owing to the small size of the floor.

I never thought until I saw this production how hard it can be to put a dance show on a stage meant for plays. It’s so hard for the poor dancers to really get around and move freely, and that’s my one real problem with the show. They’ve got a band with two huge sets of drums that takes up the entire back half of the stage, which they don’t even really need because much of the music is recorded; the only live players are a couple of drummers and a violinist (along with some singers, who of course don’t stand in one place). In my opinion, if the theater has no orchestra pit, then they should have erected a stage above the floor for the band, like in Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out.

Anyway, that aside, they still manage to get a couple Viennese Waltzes and Foxtrots and Quicksteps in there. I do think the Cha Chas and Rumbas and Jives work best though. My favorite part of the first act is the extended Swing section, titled “Things That Swing.” Extremely fast-footed, with lightning fast flicks of the feet and difficult-looking, detailed footwork, the dancers really excel in Jive. I remember from the video too, years old now and with an entirely different set of dancers and choreography – thinking how I liked the Jive the best. Maybe Jive and Swing are simply most entertaining, the Big Band music of the thirties and the fifties so upbeat and recognizable and sentimental, maybe with their flair and tempo their power is the most translatable to the stage and screen, or maybe Gilkison (who’s an former ballroom champ and has choreographed for SYTYCD) just excels at choreographing those dances. But for whatever reason, they always stand out to me as the most entertaining in his shows.

Maks and Karina dance throughout, but they have a gorgeous Rumba duet in the second act that is really one of the high points of the show. They’re both barefoot and he’s shirtless and she’s dressed in a bra and underwear with open shirt and it’s really passionate and sensual. But also, Karina is one of the greatest Latin dancers in the world right now (she and her former partner Slavik Kryklyvyy were U.S. national champs and ranked second in the world the last time they competed together) and because the dance is so slow and she’s wearing so little you can really see the subtle movements she makes in her hips and pelvis and torso. A simple, basic hip twist she did was breathtaking. It’s really worth going just to see her.

And to see Maks as well!  The man is a total hoot, actually. He and his former partner, Elena Grinenko (who’s also been on DWTS) were ranked very high the last time they competed together as well, but more than just a technically good dancer, he’s just a lot of fun to watch – kind of in the same way someone like Vaidotas Skimelis is, or in the ballet world, Marcelo Gomes. He’s a huge man and he just eats up the stage (especially this one) with his body alone, but he’s got so much personality and character and charm. Even just watching him interact with Karina and watching him concentrate — you can see it on his face, in his eyes! You can see how much he’s trying to be a good partner and make her look good and it’s just so incredibly endearing!! I honestly fell in love with his dancer persona like never before watching this show.

Seeing him also reminded of my friend, Sharon. He was one of her favorites on DWTS. I think I will always think of her whenever I see one of these dancers.

The other real standout in the show was Peta Murgatroyd. Well, there were several dancers I really liked — Kevin Clifton, Gordana Grandosek, Giselle Peacock — but Murgatroyd stood out because I could tell right away she had a great deal of ballet training and that, along with her height and long limbs and flexibility just gave her really gorgeous lines. She kept doing these mouthwatering arabesques.

Murgatroyd’s the blonde woman in the middle in this photo by Sara Krulwich, from the NYTimes.

The whole time I couldn’t help comparing the show to those put on by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin (who are my friends). Theirs are much smaller in scope, showing for only one night and mainly highlighting their studio’s (Dance Times Square) students, along with the pro dances who currently teach or have taught at the studio. Lately, they’ve been branching out and getting some of the stars from So You Think You Can Dance (which of course they choreograph for) to perform. But to me the most intense numbers that just make me nearly fall out of my seat are by Pasha & Anya (Kovalev and Garnis, also my friends), and top U.S. Latin pair Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manusova. I kept wondering what Burn the Floor would look like with one of those couples.

So I was just a bit ecstatic to find out the the former are to take over the Maks & Karina roles beginning August 18th I simply CAN’T WAIT!!!

It’s just been announced that Pasha & Anya (from So You Think You Can Dance of course!) will join the Burn the Floor Broadway cast as the star dancers, replacing Maks Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff, who depart the show August 16th. Pasha & Anya will begin August 18th.

Woo hoo! So excited for them!

I really think they’re going to make this show. (My review of the Maks / Karina cast is coming very soon — likely later today). I think Pasha and Anya are the quintessential Latin ballroom performers. Karina’s technically probably the best female Latin dancer in the world right now (imo, with the arguable exception of Joanna Leunis, or Yulia Zagoruychenko) and Karina & Maks are worth seeing in the show for that reason alone. But Anya’s a true diva like no other and she and Pasha really know how to melt you into a giant puddle, right there on your seat… I’m not kidding, they are to die for.

I don’t know which cast to recommend now… I recommend them both!

(Full disclosure of course: for newish readers to this blog, I am friends with Pasha; he is my former instructor).

Photo by Mary Ann Moy, of TAKE Dance Company in Footsteps in the Snow.

A few things to do this week and next if you’re suffering post-ballet season boredom:

This Thursday evening, TAKE Dance Company, a small modern company I like, founded by former Paul Taylor dancer Takehiro Ueyama, opens at Dance Theater Workshop in Chelsea. I’ve seen some of the works on the program before (and saw parts of Footsteps, which they’re premiering, in rehearsal). I’ve always found his work mesmerizing and I’m excited to see Footsteps in full. They show through August 2. Go here for details and to see a video; also visit Oberon who has been covering the company’s rehearsals.

This Friday night, Rioult, Pascal Rioult’s wonderful little modern dance company, is performing at Central Park’s Summerstage along with Germaul Barnes’s Viewsic Expressions. Two of my favorite dances of Rioult’s, his sexy version of Les Noces and his gorgeous Views of the Fleeting World, are on the program.

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday evenings and Sunday afternoon, Merce Cunningham Dance Company are to perform a collection of Cunningham’s work, past and present, in Rockefeller Park as part of the River to River Festival. Those performances will of course be all the more momentous (and heartbreaking) in light of the choreographer’s recent death.

Finally, Burn the Floor, the ballroom show by Jason Gilkison (of So You Think You Can Dance fame, and a former Australian ballroom champion) officially opens on Broadway next Tuesday. It’s in previews right now. I saw it last night and loved it (review coming soon). It’s great fun; makes you want to dance home I’m tempted to say it’s worth it just to see Peta Murgatroyd — WHOA. She’s a ballerina-turned Latin dancer and she just combines the best of everything… Try to go to a performance prior to August 16th so you can see Maks Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff in the cast as well. Maks is an absolute hoot to watch live!

(photo above by Tracy Martin, taken from Broadway World)

Or Garden, I should say…

A brief note from Eleanor regarding today’s final series of Congress lectures:

“Best lecture today by far was by Riccardo and Yulia. They did Paso, which I’m usually not a big fan of, but it was incredible. Also enjoyed Jukka and Sirpa — they actually spoke about stuff that was appropriate to my level of dancing! Just saw Karina Smirnoff eating dinner and was quite starstruck, which is quite unusual for me! Xx Eleanor”

I can imagine Riccardo and Yulia were great — they’re both very personable and they give quite entertaining lectures as well as, obviously, great demos. Jukka Haapalainen and Sirpa Suutari are former world Latin champions from Finland. They give good lectures as well. They are trying to take ballroom to the proscenium stage and have choreographed and performed a Latin version of Bodas de Sangre, based on the Federico Garcia Lorca play, which I desperately want to see someday (to my knowledge it’s only shown in Finland).

And interesting that Karina is there! I didn’t see her the past two years. Now that she and Maks are engaged, she may be there to support his little brother Valentin, assuming he is competing this year.

Anyway, Amateur Rising Star Latin was today; the next few days will consist of the Under 21s, the over 35s, and Rising Star pros. Wednesday is the next big day — the pro Latin. By the way, if you’re so inclined, you can check continuously updated comp results and follow Tweets here.

The Blackpool Dance Festival has begun and for the first time in four years I’m missing it. So sad. I felt like I needed to save on expenses this year with the recession and all, and I was disappointed that my favorite, Slavik Kryklyvyy, likely wouldn’t be competing again, and I was aggravated with the predictability of last year’s results and figured I’m going to get frustrated all over again. So, I decided to take a year off.

But, thankfully, two wonderful young ladies from England, Eleanor and Becca, who I met from this blog, are going to do some little write-ups on the goings on later this week. They are fans of Sergey Surkov and Melia, so they’re rather perfect for this blog In fact, today, they are modeling in the Chrisanne ballgown show in the pavilion, along with Melia!

(Here’s a picture I took in the past of the runway)

Chrisanne boutique in the pavilion.

I’ll also be keeping up via Dance Beat.

Today and tomorrow are the increasingly popular daytime Congress lectures on things like technique, performance quality dancing, and ballroom dance history by the top pros of today and yesterday, and tonight is the ridiculously exciting but somewhat goofy country team competition. The two most important nights of the week will be Wednesday and Friday, Wednesday being the Pro Latin and Friday the Pro Standard. I’ll be rooting for Sergey and Melia of course, along with the top U.S. couples Riccardo Cocchi and Yulia Zagoruychenko in Latin, Katusha Demidova and Arunas Bizokas in Standard.

Standard champion Mirko Gozzoli from Italy giving a Congress lecture,

after giving a demo of mouthwatering splended perfection with partner Alessia Betti.

Former champs the charmingly funny Luca Baricchi, with his partner Lorraine, doing the same.

American team’s elegant team comp intro from two years ago.

And last year’s. Still not sure where we were going with that what goes on in the teepee theme…

I’m excited though to be in NY for all of ballet season, for the first time in a long time this year. Between ABT and NYCB I don’t think I’ve missed a day of ballet in the past week.

But, still, it’s always nice to go away. Some of my favorite pics from the past:

(an unusually warm May day in the northern sea-side town)

Riccardo Cocchi rocking it out with his former partner, Joanne.

Karina Smirnoff when she last competed.

Sergey and Melia the first time I saw them dance and the first time they placed in the finals. Kind of funny, it looks a bit like he’s spanking her here

On the train ride from Manchester to  Blackpool. Sheep! I know, why do Americans always take such pictures? It’s like we don’t have any such animals here…

Curry dinner from Taka Dance’s Japanese restaurant, which they set up in the base of the Winter Garden for the duration of the festival.

Slavik with Elena Khvorova, last time I saw Slavik compete.

Max and Yulia’s advert page in the program the year they made the top six.

The nearby beach. Pretty but cold.

Cheesy, Vegas-y “Eiffel Tower” that houses a lot of casinos and pinball machines, along with pseudo-Vegas-type shows.

Day trip to Liverpool, in between Latin and Standard finals.

The always happening Ruskin Hotel where people like Maks Chmerkovskiy can often be found.

Arunas and Katusha in last year’s finals.

Okay, at the very beginning you saw a clip of someone (I think it was Denise from last week) doing a crazy Jitterbug aerial (Jitterbug is a form of Lindy, or East Coast Swing). That is how people are fracturing tibia, etc. — not doing straight ballroom! I know Jewel was injured early on, but I’m sure they were practicing everything that was to come just to give the competitors an introduction. I don’t really know how I feel about the inclusion of these dances with rather difficult lifts and tricks in a show like this, where the vast majority of contestants are well into adulthood and have little dance and / or athletic training. We’ll see how this week’s dances go…

Kym Johnson and David Alan Grier Lindy Hop: Cute. That’s all I can really say though.

Continue reading ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS WEEK 3: LINDY HOP AND ARGENTINE TANGO’

Maks and Denise’s Samba: Okay that was awful. Sorry but it was. She was hopping and running and skipping and doing just about everything but Samba. It is the hardest of the Latin dances — Len’s right, but still. I agree with Bruno that it wasn’t so hot, but don’t know if I’d call if flat as a “waffle”. And I agree with Carrie Ann– how frightened and stiff did she look?! During those Samba rolls, it looked like he was pulling her on top of him, then pushing himself onto her. Like she was the cat being forced to dance with Pepe le Peu. Interesting choreography from Maks — the one-legged hops, the waving his chest toward hers, flirtatiously. Extremely corny having him come to practice dressed as a Carmen Miranda-esque sambista to get her to stop being so serious. And don’t tell adults to feel and not think, Maks! Can’t be done. You learn by feeling as a child, as an adult you have to think; you’ve lived too much of your life by using your brain by then.

Chuck and Julianne’s Foxtrot: That was pretty good. Fairly suave, though he looked a bit of a goof on those side by sides in the middle. A little too much on his toes, I think was what it was. And it was pigeon-toed at that. He just looked a little Pee Wee Herman-ish. But overall, very sophisticated and he looked fairly comfortable in the close hand-hold. Yeah, Carrie Ann just said on the grapevine it looked like he hunched over a bit — maybe that’s what made it Pee Wee-like to me. He’s better at Standard than Latin.

Continue reading ‘Dancing With the Stars, Week Two: Samba and Foxtrot’

Sorry this post is late! I went out with friends to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day last night and stayed out a bit later than planned Happy belated St. Patrick’s Day, everyone.

So, DWTS had its first dance-off last night. Belinda Carlisle and Jonathan Roberts and Steve Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff were the bottom two and thus required to dance. Both did their Monday-night routines: Belinda and Jonathan the Salsa and Steve and Karina the Quickstep. And I think both received the same actual scored: 17 — although the judges were much more kind to Steve and Karina than Belinda and Jonathan. I thought Belinda was cute, but she still didn’t get the hip action right (of course, you’re not going to be able to get something like that down perfectly overnight — literally overnight) in that it still didn’t come from the floor, working through the foot, and the shoulders and back muscles weren’t involved. So she was “shaking it” like the judges said, but not properly. And I agreed with them that Steve did improve. Somehow he looked more at ease and was more smooth.

I’m sad to see Belinda go because I think she could have improved but I’m glad Steve stayed. There’s something sweet and sympathetic about him that makes me want to root for him and I think he’s trying very hard, seems like he’s having fun out there, and he has a good attitude about the whole thing. He seems to have a strong sense of self and isn’t going to let the competition-nature of the show get to him.

I like that they’re now doing a dance-off. So the couple still has a chance to redeem itself and possibly keep itself from being booted. So going into that results show they probably don’t feel so powerless. But, I guess unlike with So You Think You Can Dance, here the judges’ votes are still only counting for half of that final vote instead of the whole. So, I guess depending on how many audience votes they received the night before, they may or may not still have a chance.

Beyond that, I liked Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, liked that group dance — Julianne Hough is such a performer, she really shines out there — but didn’t care for the Macy’s Hall of Fame dance. That routine looked kind of chaotic to me. And, with Cameron Mathison picking up Bruno’s “dry cleaning” — a pile of thongs — and then the female contestants comparing how many times they’d been centerfolds, I feel like this show sometimes has the tendency to turn into a goofy Benny Hill sketch. I think that’s the person I’m thinking of — that British comedian from the 70s who’d make the corny sexual jokes that were so taboo-breaking to the British audiences back then but that now you just want to roll your eyes at and think “how ridiculously immature”…

Steve-O’s injured, but they’re going to wait until later to let us know what that means.

Holly Madison and Dmitry Chaplin Quickstep: Well, she’s cute. It looked a lot like he was kind of pulling her around the floor and she was just hopping without really having the steps down pat. But she hasn’t had as much training as the rest, so there’s that to consider. I agree with Len that her frame was part of the problem — she didn’t have a firm center and that’s why it looked like he wasn’t leading, but dragging her. I don’t think she’ll get kicked off first. I think she can improve.

David Allen Grier and Kym Johnson’s Salsa: Uh, it was okay. I mean, it’s so hard to judge amateurs learning to dance in adulthood. He looked uncomfortable — I mean with the dance form, with the rhythm and speed. But he looked like he was having fun, which is part of the battle. Hmmm, he might be first to go tomorrow night, depending on how audiences feel.

Denise Richards and Maks Chmerkovskiy’s Quickstep:

Continue reading ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS, SEASON EIGHT, WEEK TWO’

Yay, tonight is here! I’m ridiculously excited, even though I wasn’t in love with last season. So, have decided to live blog. Upstairs Godzilla unfortunately just came home and is whacking her tail all about, crashing into walls, thundering down on my ceiling / her floor. She must be excited about the show too.

Oh well; I’ve turned on the closed-captioning.

Shawn Johnson trips on her way down the stairs during introductions. Doesn’t fall or anything. Kind of funny.

Continue reading ‘LIVE BLOGGING DANCING WITH THE STARS SEASON EIGHT PREMIERE’

So, the pairings have been announced:

Former NFL player Lawrence Taylor with Edyta Sliwinska;

Sex & City actor Gilles Marini with Cheryl Burke;

Rapper Lil’ Kim with Derek Hough;

Actress Denise Richards with Maksim Chmerkovskiy;

Pop star Belinda Carlisle with Jonathan Roberts (aw, that’ll be sweet);

Continue reading ‘Dancing With the Stars Season 8 Pairings’

By posing questions like, “how old am I?” And, “who am I?”

Karina Smirnoff, Blackpool 2006, photo by Tonya Plank

Regarding the first: apparently 10 years old, as I just became ridiculously giddy on Facebook’s pronouncement: “Tonya is now friends with Karina Smirnoff.” My longtime Latin ballroom IDOL

Regarding second question:  one of my new FB friends asked me, “Hey, what’s up with all this Miami City Ballet stuff? Are you a dance critic?” (My status updates lately have been about going to see Miami City Ballet, where I spent the past two days).

So, hmmm. I honestly don’t know. Do bloggers = amateur (or in some cases pro) critics in this new media world? I guess it depends on the blogger and how s/he defines him/herself.  I guess I want to be taken seriously as someone who gives her honest opinions and assessments of things and certainly don’t want to be seen as a lackey to any dance company, but I also try to make my connection with dance personal in a way that a newspaper critic really can’t. Ie: writing in a bit of a persona, calling dancers I really like by their first names, etc. Makes it more interesting albeit less “objective” I think.

I also want to try to avoid being too hard on an artist. I have been and it’s really upset a couple of them. As someone who’s really trying to segue from a career in law to a career as a writer — and especially a writer of fiction — I can relate to and have a deep respect for how difficult the artistic process is and how much you are really putting yourself out there when you subject yourself to public scrutiny. But then again, we all need to have thick skin if we are doing that. And writers do have to keep in mind that our readers are relying on us for our honest opinions; we’re not writing for the artists but for other dance-goers. I do make a distinction between creators who it seems are primarily interested in entertaining and maximizing profit above all else. That’s why I don’t feel badly about being harsh on the TV show producers

Oscar Wilde says a critic is a kind of artist.

So, I basically didn’t answer my the second question at all… Anyway, any other thoughts on the roles of blogger vs. critic in the age of new media, or on critic as artist?

People are going to hate me for this…

Originally uploaded by swan lake samba girl via mobile.

T-Mobile

On a scale of one to ten, Hanna is a ten, Slavik a 20000. In other words, no match. No match at all. I’m seriously depressed.

Update:Â Now that I’m home, I’m re-thinking this. I just think my expectations were so high for a Slavik and Hanna Karttunen partnership because I’ve found her so mesmerizing in her exhibitions. I just felt like her Latin wasn’t all there. Maybe she just had a bad night. Maybe she wasn’t feeling well. Or maybe good women just tend to suffocate under the weight of great male partners. But why? I think when a woman is dancing with a great man — one who’s both uber-charismatic and technically excellent with mind-boggling speed and precision of movement — she really needs to find herself, to bring out her artistry. We’re never going to be as good as the men in the athletic department, so we need to excel in other ways. I think I remember Melia saying something like that during her and Sergey’s Blackpool Congress lecture — she had to work hard to find her own “voice” to keep from getting lost under Sergey’s strength.

I just felt like even though she has great flexibility and has lovely extensions, etc., Hanna was really just all but invisible tonight.

On the other hand, Slavik! Slavik had people screaming. This girl next to me moaned loudly in ecstasy when he started to play with his suspenders, and she got so embarrassed her head practically ended up in my lap, but how much could I relate I realized this is actually the first time I’ve ever actually seen him perform live. I’ve only ever seen him compete before. He is a performer beyond any other I’ve ever seen — and I mean any — ballet (Marcelo Gomes, Angel Corella), modern, flamenco (Joaquin Cortes) — I mean everyone and every kind of dance included. It’s quite impossible to exaggerate the man’s performance ability.

And, among other things, I really don’t see how it’s humanly possible for anyone’s pelvis to move as fast as that man’s does…

And then, at one point he took the microphone and gave a little speech. Said he lived and worked in New York for a few years, back when he was competing for the United States (with Karina Smirnoff) — everyone cheered like nuts — and that New York and the U.S. in general occupied a special place in his heart, it’s “part of my soul.” A bunch of people went “ooooooh, aaaaawww,” and he looked out and smiled and said something that made people nearly fling themselves to the floor. I wish I could have heard what he said — his Russian accent is pretty strong.

Anyway, more thoughts on this later. It’s been a long day and I’m tired…

(photo by Roman Stetsyk, taken from here)

Yesterday I went to see a play about choreographer George Balanchine (which I’ll post about as soon as I have time; I have about 10,000 things to write about and that’s really not much of an exaggeration). My ballroom friend, Mika, came with me, which was wonderful because I hadn’t seen her in a while and needed to get caught up on all the ballroom gossip She’s just returned from Internationals, held at Royal Albert Hall in London — so jealous; I really wanted to go to that this year. Anyway, we were chatting about the Latin results and she noted that Slavik Kryklyvyy (one of my two favorite Latin dancers; the other, Sergey Surkov, was unfortunately injured and couldn’t compete), was there watching but still didn’t compete with his newish partner, Hanna Karttunen. Word had it that he got cold feet; didn’t feel up to it. He did the same in May at Blackpool, though. He wandered through the crowd, watching, with a forlorn expression that nearly made me cry, live competitions and videos vendors were showing of past competitions that included him and Karina Smirnoff. Funny, my friend even saw him stretching at one point, before competitors were called onto the floor. As if he were competing. People kept coming up to him and asking for photos, asking him if he would be dancing, and he just kept repeating, “Not this year, sorry,” sounding sadder each time.

Last year when he and Elena Khvorova (who’s now dancing with Andrej Skufca — the couple placed third at Albert Hall — for people who are interested) were a new couple, he did the same thing. But that year, they came to US Nationals and tried out their new partnership in the open to the world category. So, I thought he and Hanna might do the same this year, but they didn’t.

I hope he gets up the nerve to compete soon because people, for one thing, MISS HIM (unless google analytics is lying to me, he’s consistently been the way most new readers have found this blog. And, to my knowledge he’s never been on any of the TV shows, so his fame comes just from his spectacular work on the ballroom floor) and, for another, are getting worried judges are going to start being dismissive, forgetting about him, making a comeback harder. And real-life ballroom judges, lord knows, unlike their TV counterparts, are completely immune from public opinion.

Anyway, happily, he doesn’t seem to have an issue with showdancing. Here’s a video of him and Hanna — video quality is not the best, but if you know ballroom, and if you know him, you can tell they look in great form. Also, commenter Shim alerted me that they are to dance at Columbia University’s Big Apple Dancesport Challenge, on December 6th! I just hope that’s not restricted to Columbia students…

Here’s a little thing I wrote for HuffPo on this week’s DWTS. It’s not really what I wrote here though, a run-down of the show, but is more focused on how food and dance just don’t go together, sadly…

Grrrr. So mad. Cristian should not have been the first to go; it should have been Jason. Injury or not, Cristian was all-around better, had greater improvement throughout the season, and had a more fun dance persona. Football players have so many fans… As much as I like Jason personality-wise, I feel like there’s no real competition now; Kristi has it hands down.

Am I weird for not having heard of Usher before?

Steve Guttenberg is such a little cutie.

I’m glad Priscilla and Louis did their Tango — that was my favorite dance of theirs.

Shannon was pretty good, but of course she did Standard. Wow, I can’t believe how out of breath she was!

And now that I’m watching Mario and Karina I’m reminded of what some TV commentator whose name I can’t now remember said, “this isn’t a pure dance competition or it would be on PBS; this is in large part a popularity contest.” If it was a pure competition, of course, he’d be in the finals. I still can’t believe he was kicked off so early.

The Rocky music is cracking me up.

Very very very cool of Jason to say, “I hope dancing makes me a better football player.”

Carrie Ann’s right — that was his best performance of the season.

Oh but then he kind of ruins it by saying, “well, I’m still a tough football player,” to all the “oh you’re so elegant” remarks.

Len says to Jason, “Kristi may be the judges’ winner, but you’re the People’s winner.” What does that mean? Who’s it going to be???

I’m honestly really nervous… and I don’t even care who wins.

So, it is Kristi! She breaks the curse!

I did say at the beginning of the season I thought she was the best contestant EVER on the show, so it’s right that she won. Still doesn’t mean I’m in love with Mark Ballas though… maybe he’ll grow on me in coming seasons…

Aw, it’s not on again until September??

I don’t have a lot of time to write since I have a bizillion and a half things to do before Blackpool (which I leave for in two days!), so I’ll be brief. I thought DWTS’s season finale was the best ever. The remaining three are all really good, far better than prior contestants, and they have their own cute strengths.

Cristian has definitely improved the most, of these three and of any contestant ever, I think. He’s 1000% improved from the way he was dancing at the beginning of the season and that is what this show is about — a normal person / non-dancer learning to dance well. At the beginning of the show I remember his limbs looking like spaghetti, totally out of control, no shaping or definition to his upper body, and he was dancing Latin too far up on his toes, had no grounding, and it just didn’t look right. Now all that is nearly gone. His hips are now near perfect, he’s much more weighted, his arms are not flailing out of control, and he has much better definition throughout his body. He’s still not a pro male dancer, but he’s just about the closest thing to a pro without being one, especially for someone who started out so poorly. I’m just so proud of him I feel like HE won the opening number, not Kristi. And I don’t care if his freestyle lifts were not as fancy as Jason’s; not only did he do extremely well with them, but they were lovely and complemented the choreography and music. Why does he need to raise her above his head just for the sake of showing he can? An overhead lift wouldn’t have added anything to their routine; it would have been out of place in fact since the music was kind of fluid and fast. I just can’t stop smiling whenever Cristian is on the floor.

And, regarding his injury: I know, people say it’s wrong that he’s still dancing, but, honestly, right or wrong, I know many professionals who dance with an injury so they can finish out the season, then have their surgery. And many pro ballroom dancers will dance with an injury if they’ve made a commitment to their student, to do a competition or a student showcase. I’m not saying it’s right, but I feel like in a way his problem is pretty typical and shows what a lot of dancers go through and the risks they take.

I love Jason, but as much as I love his personality both on the dance floor and in the practice segments, he doesn’t do equally well at Standard and Latin the way Cristian does. That’s another huge plus for Cristian — it’s very hard to do well at both. I really liked his freestyle though. Edyta choreographed something perfect for him. Like Carrie Ann said, who knew Jason could be funky like that! It was like a downplayed hip hop and it looked perfect on him.

And, hehehe, he is a ballerino! Those breathtaking overhead lifts were something right out of Petipa! I love it! Soon he’ll be as obsessed with ballet as he is with ballroom! But I think, not being a man and never lifting someone over my head like that, the lifts he did were actually harder than ballet lifts where the danseur carries the ballerina across the floor, because Edyta had him turning in place repeatedly at the same time. That’s damn hard because not only are you lifting, you’re making yourself sickly dizzy by spinning. I know as the girl getting myself into a lift, maintaining a position in the air and then getting spun around like that, you just want to throw up when you land; they’re incredibly hard. So, major kudos to him.

I love Kristi and she was once my idol. I don’t know, I feel like I’m not as impressed with her as I was at the beginning of the show. She’s nearly flawless, but she is not without flaws, and now for some reason I just want to compare her to someone like Karina Smirnoff, and she comes up lacking. It’s well-known by now that she knows how to dance and I think I’m probably just being too hard on her because I want perfection. Her legs don’t come together perfectly in Cha Cha, her lines in her upside-down split lifts were not as perfect as Juliana’s, and she doesn’t have the polish and the perfect technique the pro dancers do and that seems to be all I can focus on. Maybe it’s that Mark is such a show-off and he’s outdancing her. When I heard him talking about trying to do a back flip during practice sessions, I thought, WHY, WHY do you have to go and do something like that! But when I saw it, it wasn’t so bad since he lifted her so many times and made her look great and she had a lot of tricks herself. So, it was even, not like it was all about him. She is the best; it’s just that I relate more to the other two because they’re normal people like me who learned throughout the show to dance ballroom wonderfully…

On a very related note, the Dance Times Square showcase last night was so much fun, I can’t even begin to describe. It’s like seeing a DWTS show live, except with far more student performers of all ages, of all shapes and sizes, of all levels of dance ability, all doing their best. And those are combined with all pro showcases of course. They’re the best studio for putting on these kinds of things for their students.

It was really packed this time. In addition to all the regulars, and the students’ friends and family, there were many many more — either who came to see Pasha & Anya or who were from media outlets. I know there were people from Entertainment Tonight there and Tony mentioned a couple of other news shows too that I can’t remember. There were also talent agents there.

And Sabra and Cameron from So You Think You Can Dance were there! They sat right behind me and Sabra laughed hysterically at Tony and Melanie’s opening jokes and then SCREAMED with applause throughout. She cracked me up. If you’re ever performing you WANT her in the audience!

I sat in the press section toward the front, next to one of the ET crew and he was remarking throughout how amazing he thought this was. And his remarks were genuine. I truly don’t think he’d ever seen anything like it before. You’re sitting down there, the press people are all serious and make you a bundle of nerves even if you are just writing about the event yourself and not performing in it, and then the people up in the balcony (the regulars and friends and family) are up there screaming, wildly cheering on the dancers, calling out their names, making the dancers even laugh at times. And the press people are aghast. “I can’t believe this! This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen!” ET guy said.

When a couple of senior amateurs danced a cute little Mambo (this is rare; it’s almost always one pro dancing with one amateur), and they were cute, but obviously didn’t do any spectuacular tricks or quick-footed dancing, the audience all started clapping along with the music and cheering for them. The audience made their own fun time, in other words, by really getting into it.

And Elaine. Whenever she was onstage, Elaine stole the show. I know her and can tell she was nervous at the beginning of her first routine. She stumbled a bit and nearly tripped Jacob, her partner, and someone shouted from the balcony, “Dont hurt him, Elaine!” She laughed and it really calmed her nerves. Completely cracked ET guy up. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said for the umpteenth time. Elaine’s so cute and she’s a really good dancer for not learning until well into adulthood and then having the limitations of age. Jacob did several lifts with her — ET guy went nuts — and in one routine she did a series of chaine turns (two-footed traveling turns done in a line) practically all the way across the floor. “Unbelievable, simply unbelievable!” ET guy shouted.

(Elaine is on the right, Claire on the left — I’ll talk about her in a minute. This is on our Dance Times Square outing to see the SYTYCD tour).

I don’t have time to go into all of the routines, but my favorites were Susan Washburn (a longtime student there) and Michael Choi’s hilarious “Sex Bomb” (all the routines by the way were medleys — the music consisted of one song but with different musical artists’ interpretations — one slower and more dramatic, one sped up, one hip-hop-y, etc. So, there would be several dance styles within one song — Cha Cha, disco-y Hustle, a slower Rumba or Bolero, etc. — It was really a clever idea for a showcase — Melanie’s of course. At the beginning, Melanie addressed the crowd, explained the theme of the evening, then said, “I know, this is a rather ingenious idea right? I mean, it’s usually me who comes up with the themes of the showcases, but this time I have to say it was … oh, hehe, it was me again,” she said with a faux blush. The crowd was hysterical). Anyway, of the student showcases, I also loved everything David Johnson was in — he’s an older man, and his schtick was to be so taken with his young female pro that he kind of followed her around aimlessly, trying hard to imitate her and be the perfect partner. It was cute and he acted it all so well, the audience was just screaming in applause. I liked a sultry sexy tango cha cha, etc. by Krysta Gonzales, who you can tell has dance background, and Nazarie Salcedo’s infectious smile makes everything she does a delight to watch. I liked so many though, I just don’t have time to go into them!

Claire Gaines (in the picture above) also performed with her teacher, Jacob Jason. She was also in “Gotta Dance” (she is the one with the mike in the second picture here) and she brought her team of NetSationals with her! They did a little swing / hip hop and the crowd ROARED!

Of course Pasha & Anya performed! They did three routines, which made me very happy — I thought they’d only do one at the very end, but they danced throughout. Their first was a gorgeous medley danced to “Indissoluble.” I don’t even know how to describe it. It was by turns sexy, romantic, bone-chillingly intense, passionate, heated. The dance style was based on Rumba and had some Samba (my favorite part was a series of Samba rolls, but with their faces cheek to cheek, so it looked far more sultry and passionate than normal Samba rolls) and even some Tango, but it really was not ballroom. It was more contemporary. It was just beautiful Dance. It was like something I’ve never seen from them and I was really proud of them for pushing themselves and trying something new, outside regular ballroom. It really could have been in a big dance gala, like when you see those tango companies perform in the 21st Century Stars of Ballet galas or something. It made me think ballroom can and will take new directions and become a real performance art.

They also did a gorgeous Paso that took my breath away. Pasha and his cape And they ended with a beautiful Rumba in which Anya wore her black Blackpool dress from the year they placed second in Rising Star. My favorite dress of hers, EVER… (middle and right pictures here)

Maybe it was just the lights, but she seems to be wearing her hair lighter now, which I like. Now, it’s a light brown. I think dirty blonde is her natural color (and my favorite for her); she’d dyed it for SYTYCD. She also seems to have got a light, wavy perm. Pasha looks the same

It’s always beyond wonderful to see them again, but I always get so sad, and I left the theater feeling like I was going to cry. I don’t know why.

Oh one more thing, Karen and Matt Hauer, another pro couple who compete in the American Rhythm section at national competitions, performed a few numbers. Karen completely blew me away. She has grown by leaps and bounds in the past couple of years since I first saw her dance. Her movement is so fierce, so fluid, so amazing. Her upper body isolations, which you can really see in the slower dances, the way she rounds her shoulders, contracts her rib cage, you can trace the muscular ripple from her shoulders all the way down to her hips centimeter by centimeter. And she’s dancing with such passion, such intensity. She honestly reminded me of Karina Smirnoff. I was just enthralled.

Here are a couple of pictures I took of them at earlier competitions:

Okay, I have talked too long. I’m never going to be ready for Blackpool!

I really liked Marissa this week. I agree with Len that her opening Tango was her best dance yet. She had fantastic, sharp lines, perfect frame, never lost connection, lovely Argentine hooks, and great character — it was passionate with, as Bruno said, “a hint of disdain.” Carrie Ann said she’s what this competition is all about and I agree with her — she’s improved greatly, she’s working hard, pushing her own boundaries, testing her limits, really getting into it and making it her own while remaining true to the dance style. As for her rumba: I love the song “Cuando Cuando Cuando” It wasn’t as good as her tango; she didn’t do hips, but at this point, I’m no longer expecting them — from anyone. Even though her technique was far from perfect and the moves were mostly basic, I thought she gave her routine great character — there was a lovely romance to it and it was sexy in parts. I love the ending full dip, especially when she dropped her head down all the way to the floor. Dramatic but beautiful!

Poor Cristian. I hope he’s okay. I could tell something was off though from the beginning of his Samba. He seemed confused throughout; I thought he might have forgotten his steps, but as it turns out, he’d hurt himself. I wonder how. He must have caught her weird or had too firm a hand-hold, because it’s more common to pull a leg muscle in a dance like that. Anyway, his Viennese Waltz was nice, but I agree with the judges that it was a little too lacking in control. But I thought it was pretty and romantic. I loved the ending where he spun her around, then let her go, then returned to her. I wonder if that’s where he hurt his arm, in that trick…

I didn’t like Kristi’s use of the umbrella in the opening of her Viennese Waltz. Too gimmicky and it detracted from the dancing. It was too much about that umbrella. Funny, but I thought her continuous chaine turns were gorgeous. I thought it was supposed to look out of control at the end, that she was supposed to kind of swoon, falling into his arms. I thought it was intentional! But the judges thought the chaines were messy and the “falling” into the dip was a mistake. And then, unlike the judges, I didn’t like her Cha Cha. It was cute, but I felt like it wasn’t enough about the legs, like Cha Chas usually are. She looked like she was trying too hard with the hips, shaking her butt, shaking her shoulders. I thought it lacked control and precision. But the judges felt completely the opposite, so it’s probably just me…

Mario’s Mambo was excellent, his Foxtrot not so much so, although it was fine. As Len said (I find myself agreeing with Len a lot), he’s not the most “elegant” dancer and the ballroom needs more definition and muscle control, but he’s still so much fun and he gives it everything he has and he really tries. It looked like they missed a hand-catch at one point, but they fixed it pretty quickly, so very professional. You could tell the pressure was on from being in the bottom two last week. His mambo will probably be enough to keep him from getting the boot this week. He really connected with the music, his flicks were good, his basic was perfect, great hip action — he’s got that down. What did Bruno say — “the devil was in your hips”? Only thing, he’s too turned in at points with his feet, which, for balletomane in me takes away substantially from the line — sorry I can’t help it! — but I’m trying hard to get over it Another great Karina costume.

I’m glad Shannon apologized for last week. I feel like the judges were a lot easier on her this week because of it though. Her mambo was cute, and her dress was gorgeous — she really looked beautiful! — but the dance didn’t look right to me at all. It looked like Paulina Poritzkova’s mambo from last season. She was bouncing too much. Her long limbs are a disadvantage for that dance in particular. And the running up and taunting the judges gimmicks at the end of routines are getting tired. Her tango was very nice though. She’s far better at ballroom than Latin — no hips to contend with for one thing, and Standard tends to look better on people who are tall and thin. Her footwork was good and solid, clean swift kicks and hooks, and Derek’s choreography was creative. I like that she slapped him and kept trying to take his hat; I loved the dramatic ending dip. She was like a silent film starlet, as Bruno said.

Jason had probably the two most different dances this week: the light, sprinty Quickstep and the heavy, drama-laden Paso. His legs weren’t straight in his opening splits jumps and it was noticeable and threw off the line to me. I know people like tricks, but dancers need to understand that you have to be careful about the line you’re making; it’s not just about doing something “big”. But the rest of the Quickstep was nice — he was light on his feet, the runs and little jumps were good, his lock-steps were clean and polished, and I liked the little Charleston Edyta put in at the end — cute! It looked like he was having a lot of fun, which is kind of the whole point for amateurs. The football theme — for him at least — of his Paso Doble was fun. I didn’t understand what role she had though — cheerleader? Opposite team member, but female? I just prefer straight Spanish-themed Paso; anytime someone tries to do something more original with it, it just doesn’t seem to work to me. But I love Jason. I love his enthusiasm, his diligence, and, mostly, I love his lack of pompous assery! He said something along the lines of how he can’t believe how ballroom has taken over his life; this is all he does, and he loves it — now he can’t stop! I definitely know the feeling… It does take over your life, it really does.

Oh, I almost forgot: I was alerted to Edyta’s newly revamped website with message board. It can be found here.

After Len said this of Cristian, Carrie Ann said of Mario and Karina, “that was better than good sex!” — this show is getting out of control… and the other judges are stealing Bruno’s one-liners!

My two thoughts up front: Whoa Cristian! And Kristi was born with clubbed feet???

I thought Jason was excellent at Hip Hop — excellent! I thought wow, he’s really improving. But then when it came to the Cha Cha, it was fine and cute but nowhere near as good as that Hip Hop. It just shows you how hard ballroom dancing is — especially Latin with all that hip action. It’s hard! Jason’s so cute with his self-deprecation. That face he made when Len told him he wanted to see him actually dance more. Then, the “I suck.” Aw!

The Shannon and Derek at the beach so she could ‘get in the mood’ was almost as corny as Cristian and Cheryl’s visit to the sea lion shrink. But I thought Shannon did much better this week. The hips were screwed up during the traditional Latin opening out steps, but she has a ballet body — tall and thin and few curves, and if he gives her more balletic moves — like that gorgeous slow ronde de jambe en l’air in the beginning and that beautiful stretch near the end– she’ll do much better and the lack of hip action won’t be so noticeable.

Poor Marlee! I actually didn’t think the whole thing looked forced, only parts. The worst was the pelvic rolls with him standing behind her. They may not have been connected at the start because she seemed off on the rolls at the beginning, and until she caught up with him, she looked uncomfortable. And that can be a really rather funny (in a bad way) move to look uncomfortable with! But I thought the shoulder shakes were much better — she really seemed at ease with those and really let loose. I thought the basic mambo steps were fine; the hip action wasn’t quite there, but I disagree with the judges that they looked stiff. It is really hard not to be able to connect with the music in this most rhythmic, musical of all ballroom dances. I was hoping she’d be able to connect through other means than simply her partner — maybe floor vibrations she could feel through her feet? Maybe she should have been barefoot? Sorry, I’m just remembering Helen Keller’s telling an audience she could hear their applause through the floor… Anyway, I feel for Marlee and I hope she can re-gain momentum for next week. The judges were too harsh. Fabian was most pleasing though, no?!

“You can just call me Frederico Astaire.” Cristian is so cute. He was wonderful this week. I couldn’t believe it. The water actually helped him this time — the swimming was a good idea on Cheryl’s part. The water slowed those crazy, out of control arms way down. He was, as Bruno said, the perfect dashing gentleman, the way he glided over that floor. His footwork was excellent, not a step out of place, even on those fast intricate grapevines in the beginning, his partnering was perfect, his posture and lines were even good. I do agree with Len — he’d better not be in the bottom tomorrow night!

Wow, I get ridiculously dizzy too; I wish my teacher would have sent me to an aerial spinning class like Tony did Marissa. It looks like they helped. Maybe I’ll look into one. Seriously. Marissa looked really good tonight. She did a couple of lovely arabesques and the ending floor sweep was beautiful.

Kristi was perfect, as always. She really is a pro out there — not even like a pro, but a real pro. Mark is so lucky because he can choreograph the exact same kind of routine he’d do for himself and a professional partner; he doesn’t really need to search for specific strengths to highlight and weaknesses to hide. That was I think the first Jive ever on this show to be danced at full speed, and he gave her some really intricate, complicated footwork. She’s really the best, by far, no competition. But a commenter on one of my Huffington Post pieces said the fact that she was so perfect up front, that she had dance background, ruins it for her. If someone you can connect to because they, like you, are not a star from the get-go, and they can, with practice, be made into a dancer, that makes it possible for you to as well. Kristi is already basically a pro, so it’s not fun to watch her try and struggle the same as the average person would. It’s an interesting perspective on the show.

Mario’s routine was near perfect, but I kind of agree with Len that it was a bit too much about the sex and not enough about the dancing. Before Len made that comment, I had thought, hmmm, very sexy rhumba, but he’s not really doing a whole lot of moving. I don’t think I would have used the same words as Len though — strumpet and gigolo? Eeeh.

The group routine: those were the funniest practice lifts I think I’ve ever seen. I’m surprised Derek didn’t get hurt on that rotating cartwheel. I actually took lessons with Christian Perry, the guy who’s teaching these group dances. He taught at my first studio DanceSport, so it’s always so funny to see him on TV. I think I actually preferred the practice sessions to the actual performance though. All the lifts were the same and it seemed there was more unstylized jumping about than actual dance steps; it was more fun watching them all try to learn.

I thought the only good routine on tonight’s Dancing With the Stars was Mario and Karina’s. Ironic because my two favorite dances are rhumba and samba … or, perhaps maybe that’s why I always dislike the weeks devoted to those dances. Somehow Karina was able to teach Mario how to perform the hip and undulating pelvic movements properly, in a way none of the other pros were able to convey to their celebrities. Oh, and, I LOVED the music — “A Tisket a Tasket”! The first time I saw Karina dance (and wanted so badly to be her), she danced a Samba with her former partner, Slavik Kryklyyvy, to that song. Here it is on YouTube.

My second favorite was Marissa, although I wouldn’t really say her movement was Samba; it was more just fun all-out groving. There were no pelvic contractions and expansions at all — the rolling movement that gives the dance that seductively intriguing snaky feel. She said during practice to her Samba was all about shaking your booty, and it’s not. If she saw it that way, then no wonder she looked all wrong. She was cute and her dancing was a lot of sassy fun; it just looked more like something you’d see in a club.

Marlee had the same problem — no pelvic rotations, though she looked cute and gave her routine a lot of pizazz. It just wasn’t Samba.

Priscilla, Jason, and Cristian all tried to move their hips, but didn’t understand that the hips need to be connected to the lats (back muscles). It’s the lats that push down on the hips that make the hips move. If you just move the hip without first moving the lat, it looks like you’re just shaking your butt. It looks superficial and silly. One of my ballroom friends, Juana, once told me that rhumba emanates from the slaves. The quintessential rhumba walks that people now see as being so sexy, actually evolved from the movement one makes while trying to carry a heavy load atop one’s head. Think about it — you’d take a step, then the load would bear down on your shoulder, the weight would ripple down to your hip, the hip would settle into its socket, and you’d move on, taking another step and setting the movement in motion anew. After she told me this, I envisioned myself as such a woman, carrying heavy bottles of water atop her shoulders, and unbelievably it worked so much better than my teacher shouting, “foot, lat, hip, foot lat, hip” over and over again.

Anyway, Kristi and Shannon didn’t even try to move their hips. Shannon complained she had none to move. I used to use the same excuse (see my blog’s tag line), but now that I’ve seen plenty of tall, thin women (Joanna Leunis) do rhumba quite well, I know it’s just that — an excuse. Kristi did a lovely lyrical routine — and she’s definitely a natural and beautiful mover — but I felt that it wasn’t really rhumba without the hips — it was a nice theatrical dance you might see on Broadway, but not Latin ballroom.

Depressed! What did you guys think?

Ooh dear, poor Julianne…

I am absolutely stunned by Marlee Matlin’s Jive. I can’t believe it. Fabian must have taught her some kind of counting method to keep them in sync because at the beginning he wasn’t leading her; she was dancing around him, and she still ended perfectly on beat. Perfectly. He simply jutted out his hip and she began. Well, her counting skills are excellent, that’s all I can say. Her kicks weren’t that high, but it’s hard when you’re starting dance as an adult, to have that kind of flexibility. Anyway, awesome.

Strange thing, though: I recently finished reading “Schuyler’s Monster,” (which I wrote a bit about here) about a little girl with a brain abnormality that prevents her from being able to speak. Because the same disorder prevents her from having fine motor skills, such as are needed to make some of the more intricate sign language hand formations, Schuyler learns to “talk” through a computer-type device, where she types words and a voice speaks them. Rob Rummel-Hudson, Schuyler’s father, remarked in the beginning that the voice in her first computer — a male one, just didn’t “look” like a little girl. With her next, more sophisticated computer, he made sure the sound of the voice could be controlled, so they’d have different choices. They finally got a “little girl sounding” little girl. It just reminds me of that when I hear Marlee’s translator speaking! I keep thinking, wait, who’s that, she doesn’t sound like that!

Steve and Anna’s tango: eh. I’m not a Standard dancer, but Tango is getting boring; there’s only so much you can do with it. It’s a dance that really inherently lacks creativity, I think. But I’m not a Standard person. Anyway, this was pretty basic – that little sequence where he rattled her shoulders about was cute — the rest typical. But, now that I’m listening to the judges, yeah, he did well with it, he really did. I guess if I’m bored it means there was nothing noticeably out of line in the dance. Gimmicky though to have Jonathan practicing with Steve in Anna’s sickness-induced absense. The supposed funniness of two big guys dancing a sexy dance together, oh no that’s never been done before… Still all my problems are either with the producers’ or the tango itself; Steve’s still adorable.

Wow, Cristian just blew me away with his jive. Those jive kicks — and Cheryl put in a lot — are damn hard, especially for a beginner. He did them nearly perfectly. And he got some good height on those side kicks. Cute routine; a bit too many sliding through the legs tricks though. Also, I hated that little Sea World excursion. This is what I dislike about shows like this — the phoniness. He needs to learn how to relax and let loose, so she takes him to visit her “friend,” a sea lion. Through the ocean creature, he learns to let loose and have fun with dance, as the lion flaps about on the wet cement, and, miraculously, Cristian does well.

Oh gawd with that Karina / Mario tango. Actually, I felt the opposite as I did of Anna / Steve’s tango. This was weirdly kind of cool because it was so bizarre, and I disagree with Len and his “bitter disappointment.” I always like the Argentine hooks / ganchos. I really couldn’t take my eyes of Karina with that getup though, and kept wondering what she was thinking until I realized she’s supposed to be a prostitute and he her savior. Her dark knight of a savior. But what an odd musical interpretation by the band too, right? Creepy. But I still prefer creepy and weird to typical and boring.

Derek was adorable. Shannon’s jive was okay. She’s tall and skinny and jive is difficult for people with that body type. The judges are eating her up though, so I guess I missed something. I thought it lacked polish, finish on some of the moves. It looked like she was struggling to keep up at points and ended up having to rush some of the steps, which goes along with the height issues. The kick-boxing thing in practice: made more sense than the Sea World and man on man tango. It seemed like a understandable way for her to learn jive kicks.

Oh excellent tango, Julianne!! Bravo! Loved the 50s theme, loved the costumes — his frilly shirt, her dress, her hair — Adam shut up about the gay guys in costumes! Those gay guys — and Julianne — just made your routine! Shut up! I loved the ochos (stylized forward criss-cross steps) over his outstretched leg, the promenade runs, the ending deep dip. This was a classic interpretation of Standard and Argentine and it suited him remarkably well. Julianne is a genius choreographer. Adam needs to stay on because she is the show’s greatest artist. Bruno’s imitation of Len with his “seVEN” was cute. Bruno’s growing on me, which is kind of scary. Wait, what did Adam just say??: “My mom always told me in order to find out about Argentine tango and prostitution and pimps, just go to a Mormon.” No comment.

“Tony’s a fabulous dancer, but he cannot tell a joke,” says Marissa, laughing like the typical sweet girl at the corny but cute guy. Tony is a goof and his jokes are silly. But they’re from the heart, which makes him lovable. Wow, sweet jive. I think this is Marissa’s best performance! I love the ending gaze upward — very Hairspray. Again, I totally disagree with the judges. “It was like a jive on cruise control.” Bruno DOES come up with his lines beforehand. He does! The turns were really good — some of the best American spins I’ve seen; she knows how to spot. Understandably, Marissa sounds like she’s about to cry though upon hearing the judges’ remarks. I don’t get their nastiness either, Marissa! I thought she was really cute.

Wow, another great classic from Louis for Priscilla. This Tango was almost entirely Argentine. I loved the handhold, I loved the forward ochos, I loved how they both developped up their legs, his slightly higher than hers, and how he then snaked it around hers into tricky sexy gancho. She’s dancing beautifully. She kind of reminds me of Jackie Kennedy; royalty. And he treats her with such respect. He and Julianna are the show’s two genius choreographers.

“One thing I’ve learned in football: when you don’t know something, you should keep your mouth shut and your ears open.” I love Jason. Edyta slowed down his jive substantially — it was a very slow, almost west coast swingy jive, which was smart because he seemed to be having some problems with the intricate footwork and keeping up with the kicks. He’s very large — again, it’s a hard dance for someone so tall. Interestingly, he did well with the toe / heel swivels though. But the routine had flavor and personality and charm and bits of cute choreography — like the shadow swivels — and he tries hard and is really respectful of her.

Hehe, how funny was that when the announcer developed a sudden case of laryngitis!? Is that bad of me to laugh? I’m sure it’s not serious…

Did they just say Alvin Ailey was going to be on tomorrow night? I’d heard they were going to be on the show at some time in the near future, but didn’t know it was so soon?! You guys, I’m so excited — now everyone can see my favorite dance company, not just NYers!! Woo hoo!

See, Tom Bergeron’s talking again; it wasn’t serious.

Okay, well in contrast to most of the other Tangos we saw tonight, Kristi and Mark’s was a real Standard ballroom tango, as opposed to Argentine. I prefer Argentine, but this was a pretty perfect Standard, at least technique-wise. Very precise. I do agree with the judges on this one: while it was technically excellent, the emotion was one-dimensional. It bored me, though I love Kristi. That’s a real ballroom hairdo too.

So, who do you guys think it’s going to be tomorrow night? I’m afraid it might be Marissa, though I think she’s a blast.