So You Think You Can Dance Season Finale

So, first we go through a re-cap of the season – some of the silly try-outs, the judges’ harsh criticisms of certain contestants, Alex’s injury, all the tears, Adechicke’s becoming emotional over being able to dance a routine choreographed by Desmond Richardson, etc. etc.

Okay, first on, Kent and Lauren do a Bollywood routine by Nakul dev Mahajan. Well, that was really high energy and Kent definitely delivered on that, as well as really camping it up. That was a lot of fun. But what I felt was lacking was his styling. He didn’t pay much attention to his hands, to the shapes he was making and so it didn’t have that complete Bollywood look to me. And Lauren DID do all of that. At the end, he had perfect shaping with the hands. I just wish he’d have had that throughout. Also, those spins – both single-footed and on the knees – didn’t quite look that polished. Judges loved him though, had no criticisms whatsoever.

Next are Lauren and Twitch dancing a Tabitha Napoleon hip hop. Cute concept! They’re both politicians starting out behind podiums and then they come out from behind and have their little battle. As for the dancing, I thought he outshone her.

Continue reading “So You Think You Can Dance Season Finale”

So You Think You Can Dance: Is the Show’s New Format to Blame for the Loss of Viewers?

Someone at The Daily Beast sent me this post and I thought I’d pass it on to you guys. The author, Andy Dehnart, provides statistics saying the show has lost a good deal of viewers this season and argues that it’s the new (and constantly changing) format that’s to blame. What do you guys think? I personally think it’s just that the dancers aren’t as spectacular as in seasons past, particularly in ballroom and hip hop. There were too many contemporary dancers this season, and once Alex was out and then Billy knocked off, I thought it got boring. I mean, I’ll definitely watch tonight and tomorrow night since they’re the season finale, but I don’t think I’m going to invest my time in future seasons if I feel this bored by them early on again. Anyway, what did you guys think of this season?

Pretty Kitty I Fell For Yesterday

I totally fell in love with this kitten yesterday who I saw up for adoption on my street corner. I’d thought since she’s longhaired, her fur would activate my allergies like crazy, but then I came home and read that that’s not necessarily true and that in fact Siberian cats (which I think she was, at least in part) are hypoallergenic. So that wouldn’t have been a problem. But since my other cat died, and I’m currently cat-less, they wouldn’t let me take only one; I had to adopt two. And now is such a not-so-good-time for me since I will likely be moving, perhaps far away. I should probably wait till I’m settled. Plus, I’m still not completely over the pain of losing my other cat. Which is ridiculous, since she died several years ago now…

Oh, but I’m still really kicking myself. She was so pretty. I’m sure she’ll easily get adopted by someone else. Look at that face!

MELANIE LAPATIN AND BENJI SCHWIMMER STAR IN "LEADING LADIES"

 

So excited! I’ve been hearing about this ballroom-based movie Melanie LaPatin has a role in for a while now and it’s finally being released. It stars SYTYCD season three winner Benji Schwimmer as well.

Here’s the synopsis:

“Nothing matters more to the Campari family than ballroom dancing. When star daughter Tasi reveals she’s pregnant, larger-than-life stage mom Sheri reluctantly turns to her other daughter, Toni, to win the upcoming dance competition. But Toni’s a little distracted since she’s fallen madly in love with Mona. Now Toni is under pressure to pull it together, train for the dance, and find the courage to publicly declare her exciting new love. Packed with astounding dance sequences and an infectious pop soundtrack, Leading Ladies is alternately outrageous and touching, and sure to please everyone from film buffs to dance lovers to Hairspray fans.”

So far it’s hit several film festivals, and if you’re in New York, it’ll be showing at BAM on August 29th. There will also be a pre-showing Q&A with directors Erika Randall Beahm and Daniel Beahm. It’s at 7 p.m.

Visit BAM’s website for more details on the August 29th showing. And here’s the movie’s site for updates on when it’ll premiere nationwide.

Melanie is a natural actress, and this sounds like the perfect role for her (I’ve often imagined her in the Patti LuPone Gypsy role). And will be fun to see Benji on the big screen too. I can’t wait :)

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE SEMI-FINAL

So, Tyce Diorio guest judges tonight, in addition to the regular three. But the judges’ opinions no longer matter this week; it’s all up to the voting public.

First on is a Tyce Diorio Broadway number to Guys and Dolls involving all four finalists. I thought this was pretty fun though it didn’t really blow me away. Lauren stood out the most to me; she had really beautiful form throughout and danced with a lot of spark, as usual. Kent’s backflips were a trip. The other two were fine.

First on competitions-wise is Lauren dancing an Argentine tango with Pasha. I thought this was really beautiful. More beautiful and romantic than steamy, but I loved it. I thought her leg lines were gorgeous, I loved how she danced on her toes, on releve, throughout, I love how almost balletic it looked. I love balletic-looking Argentine tangos. I think it’s the most ballet-like of the ballroom dances, and I feel like she understood that and drew that out, via her contemporary training. I totally agree with what Tyce said, about how the silences here were golden and she really drew those out. Mia tells her she just became a woman and she laughs. Mia then says she’d just become a woman until she giggled. Don’t the judges say so and so has become a man / woman every week? I think she was laughing because of that. Imo.

Next is Adechicke dancing African jazz with Lauren.

Continue reading “SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE SEMI-FINAL”

GALLIM DANCE UPCOMING AT THE JOYCE

 

 

 

From August 9th through 14th, Gallim Dance (photographed above), which I highly recommend, will be performing at the Joyce Theater. I recently saw them rehearse the program they’ll be performing, Wonderland, and I loved it. Young artistic director and choreographer Andrea Miller has studied dance in Israel with Ohad Naharin and has danced with his excellent company, Batsheva, and it shows. This is the kind of modern dance I most love: high energy, full of meaning, thought-provoking, and that really has something to say.

Gallim will be sharing that bill with Camille A. Brown, who’s choreographed for Alvin Ailey and Urban Bush Women and whose work I really like.

Alternating nights with them are two other female choreographers and their companies – Monica Bill Barnes and Kate Weare. I’ve found their work by turns clever, funny, and provocative, and I recommend them as well.

The Gallim / Brown bill is August 9, 11, 13, and 14th, and the Barnes / Weare is August 10, 12, and 14th. Go here for more info.

JENNIFER BELLE REHEARSED PROFESSIONAL LAUGHERS AT DANCE NEW AMSTERDAM

Ha, I love it when my two favorite subjects – dance and lit – collide! A favorite author of mine (ever since her Going Down days), Jennifer Belle, publicized her latest book by hiring actresses to read it in public places throughout New York and laugh hysterically while doing so. She happened to audition the actresses at Dance New Amsterdam, the large studio in lower Manhattan that’s a favorite of small dance companies for inexpensive rehearsal space and that’s recently been in danger of closing due to lack of funds. Anyway, read the rest of the rather amusing story here.

BRIEF BLOGGING BREAK

Hey you guys, I just wanted to let you know I’m in the process of re-modeling my website a bit. I should have the new site up very soon – I’m hoping the beginning of next week. At this time any new posts here are not automatically going to transfer over which means I’ll have to manually add everything. So, I probably won’t be posting again until the new site is up.

Thank you SO much to everyone who is being so wonderfully supportive of my book, by the way. The Kindle version is still on the Amazon top 100 list and is still at this time at number 1 on the legal fiction and anxiety disorders lists. I’m more thrilled than I could ever express. I’m just so happy people (well over 1,000 now!) are reading it.

Anyway, will be back soon! In the meantime, happy first international dance day everyone!

PLEASE PLEASE!

Hey you guys! I have the hugest favor to ask 🙂

So my novel in e-book form has been climbing the Amazon best-seller charts, winning awards and getting good reviews. I’ve been told that if it continues with this success that there’s a chance I could get picked up by a good publishing company, which is my dream beyond dreams! So, I’m just asking you all to spread the word! It’s about a young Manhattan attorney with an anxiety disorder called Globus Hystericus, and it’s comical in places, but also very serious. Reviewers have found it both entertaining and thought-provoking. People who like books about lawyers, women’s fiction, or books about anxiety disorders seem to be liking it the most. It’s currently 99 cents in e-book form and is $14.99 in the paperback version. But since the e-book version is doing so well and people seem not to mind taking a chance on a new author at that price, I’m trying to get the word out about that one. So if you know anyone who reads e-books (the Kindle version is downloadable onto any e-reader as well as a PC or Mac) and likes the kind of fiction mentioned above, please let them know!

Thank you so much you guys!