Tag: Latin / Ballroom

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THE GIRL NEXT DOOR? NO, MELISSA RYCROFT IS MORE LIKE A GLAMOROUS OLD-TIME HOLLYWOOD STARLET!

Well, I was on a train late last night and missed watching the Dancing With the Stars semis on TV. Now I realize how hard the show makes it for you to catch re-runs. Geesh. Rickey doesn’t have everything posted, so I went to YouTube, and they have most of the competition routines, but the sound quality is crap and subtitles (in, for example, Gilles’s visit to his hometown, Cannes, with the French interviews with his mother and friends) are cut off. And they didn’t have the full episode. The YouTube clips re-direct you to this website, but once there, they just keep making you take these ridiculous quizzes, telling you, eventually the site will be unlocked. Well, it never unlocked for me — instead they redirected me to more and more quiz websites. I hope that site’s not a scam that unleashes some kind of virus or something. Anyway, people beware: don’t try to watch re-runs on watchdancingwithstars.com.

Anyway, I at least saw the routines. I only saw the bio on Gilles. Were there bios on the rest of the competitors? If not, that’s kind of silly, interesting as his little trip to Cannes was.

So, semis consisted of: Mark and Shawn dancing Jive and Argentine Tango; Melissa and Tony Quickstep and Cha Cha; Ty and Chelsie Samba and Viennese Waltz; and Gilles and Cheryl Salsa and Waltz (although one YouTube clip called it a Quickstep).

My favorites were Mark and Shawn’s Argentine Tango and both dances by Melissa and Tony.

Continue reading “THE GIRL NEXT DOOR? NO, MELISSA RYCROFT IS MORE LIKE A GLAMOROUS OLD-TIME HOLLYWOOD STARLET!”

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THE MARK BALLAS SHOW: SEMI-SEMI-FINALS

Sorry, am compelled to call DWTS the Mark Ballas show now, because whenever he dances, it is so all about him. Mark! Can the man ever learn to be the frame? “Oh baby, what’s wrong?” he says to Shawn in practice, before hugging her. Oh Mark — just melt me. But it’s nice to see a pro not beating up on his amateur, unlike Cheryl, who gave Gilles more hard times this week… Anyway, I thought Mark and Shawn’s Quickstep was great fun, but again, was only watching him. The quintessential ham. Seriously, though, he’s an excellent performer, and an excellent dancer… which is rare I think. And I love that half-Texan half-British accent. Shawn seemed to do very well.

Chelsie’s taking over and making it all about her with Ty isn’t as bothersome, I guess, since the woman is supposed to be the picture.

Continue reading “THE MARK BALLAS SHOW: SEMI-SEMI-FINALS”

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Superstars of Dance Finale

Well, I was going to say it didn’t bother me this week as much as last, but then I watched the first 15 minutes (I had a legal seminar tonight and didn’t get home until after the show had already begun, so had to watch the first 15 after the rest). The Flatley number was horrendous. What was up with that girl in the bikini walking around playing Yankee Doodle Dandee with a flute at the beginning? What is this, a boxing match? Soft-core porn? I actually thought this whole show was kind of porn-ish — generally more about flaunting bodies than artistry.

Except for Maria Kochetkova — the Russian ballerina who competed — and WON thankfully! — in the solo category. I think that’s probably why I liked tonight better than last week — she was on, just about the show’s only saving grace. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a ballet fan. I would really have loved to have seen some wonderful ballroom, but, I’m sorry, I’m just not into that Australian couple. I thought the same of their Jive tonight as I did their Samba last week — fast footwork but just lacking in precision and clarity with an overall sloppy look. At least compared to the Latin I’ve seen at the big competitions.

I liked Victor DaSilva and Claudia Sawides  — the South African duo — tonight better than the last time we saw them. The routine was still about the lifts — those exhibitions always are — but this one had a bit more narrative and emotion, passion to it. I felt like they connected better this time than last. I also liked the Argentine couple. Their Tango was very polished with sharp footwork. Lovely! I pretty much agreed with the couples results.

And I agreed with the solo results too, but only because I liked ballet. I’m sure Robert the popper is excellent at that kind of dance style, as was the Indian dancer at classical Indian dance. As I and others have said repeatedly, you just can’t judge these wholly different styles of dance next to each other.

I’m again annoyed at camera guy though. Camera person, I should say — don’t know why I think it’s a guy. S/he kept homing in on the Indian woman’s face and we couldn’t see some of her beautiful hand and foot gestures. You don’t dance with your face! I felt like she must have been going very fast with her feet at one point because of all the applause, and I think I heard the sound of the bells she wore around her ankles, but I’m not sure because the show’s acoustics weren’t so great. I also think I saw Maria Kochetkova do continuous fouettes with some double pirouettes thrown in, and at one point changing feet right in the middle — which is marvelous! But because of the camera panning in and out, then down to her feet, then a faraway shot, etc., I’m not exactly sure if that happened.

Sorry, by the way, to keep calling most of these dancers by their nationalities and dance styles. The show’s website doesn’t seem to have their names, only those of the judges and team leaders.

I didn’t think any of the group routines were anything to write home about, and both the intro to the American team and that silly Yankee Doodle Dandy number by Flatley and crew up front were ridiculously chauvinistic (I mean in a nationalist way). Why the need to celebrate America and proclaim it the nation with no boundaries, encompassing all the world, etc. on a supposedly international show like this? And is anyone surprised that our team, and our country, won the gold? The whole thing was just so corny. When Flately said at the end to his co-host, “I know, I’ve never seen anything like this on television!”, it looked like he was trying hard not to burst out laughing. At least he should have been.

And what happened to Pasha and Anya? Who knows. According to the website, team Russia was supposed to have two soloists from the Bolshoi, one pair of ballroom dancers, and a Cossack team. I saw two pairs of ballroom dancers and one soloist from San Francisco Ballet. But I missed the first night, so I might have missed the “other” Bolshoi soloist? I don’t know; I’m not a huge fan of the show’s website.

I think the idea behind this show is a good one. I like having dancers from a variety of countries dance different styles — some native to their country, some not, giving audiences wide exposure to the art. But there were just so many cheesy, corny, porn-esque moments, the camera work seriously frustrated my ability even to see what I was supposed to be seeing, and the judging was downright ludicrous.

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People are going to hate me for this…

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…

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Crazy Weekend of Ballroom and Books

Busy busy weekend for me.

Today is Dance Times Square’s student in-house competition which I’m not participating in but am covering for Explore Dance.

Ditto for tonight’s Starry Night Winter Showcase, part of Columbia University’s Big Apple DanceSport Challenge, where Slavik Kryklyvyy and Hanna Karttunen will perform! Slavik is my favorite Latin dancer and I haven’t seen him dance in a while now, so am very excited. I’ve never seen Hanna dance Latin before but have seen her amazing exhibitions at Blackpool. So, yes, very excited, to say the least. Also, Arunas Bizokas and Katusha Demidova (America’s top ballroom couple) are dancing Standard.

And, this weekend is the Independent / Small Press Book Fair in midtown, which I hope to slip in and out of today while at Dance Times Square down the street, and attend most of tomorrow.

Also, last night I saw Jose Limon Dance Company‘s Program B, which is their classic Limon program (The Moor’s Pavane (probably his most famous work), The Traitor (excellent excellent), and Suite From a Choreographic Offering (beautifully rich spiritual dance set to gorgeous Bach music). Don’t have time to write about it now, but I highly recommend Program B, showing through December 7th. Here is Philip’s review.

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Annoyingly Unoriginal DWTS Finale

I hate to say it but I was bored. Again. Even for the finale.

Did they honestly waste a half an hour of my time by showing repeats of two earlier-in-the-season dances per couple? Please tell me I was just imagining it, that they really did find something more interesting on which to spend the first third of the show.

And didn’t they rip off Dirty Dancing with that footage of Brooke and Derek learning lifts in water?

And Lance & Lacey’s hip hop was fine I guess if you’re judging it from a ballroom-show perspective, but if you’ve seen America’s Best Dance Crew even once you know how hackneyed and unoriginal most of those moves were.

And how many times have I seen Proud Mary used for a jive?

And those kids’ competitions are getting really yawn-inducing too. The dancers are just so much better in America’s Ballroom Challenge.

It was just a night where I found myself thinking over and over again, how unimaginative, how overused, how boring…

The only thing I can really say I liked (and I know some people — Katrina, my mom 🙂 — are going to kill me) but I really enjoyed watching Lacey in the group Samba. That girl can move. And I like that she’s not an emaciated waif. And I like that she has a strong personality. She’s been out of line a few times (ie: making references to Cloris in a retirement home), but I think she’s realized the words were distasteful as soon as they came out of her mouth. I think it’s more a case of not thinking before you speak and doing it on national TV than really being an unfeeling person.

Anyway, I hope tomorrow night is better.

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DWTS: live blogging the team match

Can they come up with something better than having Kym show Warren how a man (in the form of Nick Kosovitch) dances a Foxtrot? These producers have got to come up with some more entertaining filler here!

Warren & Kym: Oh goodness, can you say tense?! Poor Warren: he did not look at ease at all with that Foxtrot! Until he did that teensy tiny jazzy little barrel turn. Then he seemed to come alive. Unfortunately it was all the way at the very end. He was musical and had the rhythm down and all the footwork was good — even did well on those fast-footed grapevine steps. He had the rise and fall too. It just lacked polish and most definitely character.

Susan & Tony’s Paso: ditto for Susan, except without the musicality. Actually, it was there, mainly because Tony was leading her. Notice how Kym will trust Warren with side-by-side action, not always keeping him in the close handhold. The better dancers can take care of themselves out there. But the weaker ones need to be led a bit more. But Susan is sweet and she’s trying. She didn’t follow through with all of her lines though; it looked like she stopped everything a bit short, going on to the next move before she’d finished the prior one. I noticed it mostly with the little dips. She’d let him take her down, then be pulling herself up before she’d finished her lovely leg line (or what should have been such). It’s something I used to do too all the time, though, particularly when nervous. And the long red and black dress, while gorgeous, was too much for her little body; it engulfed her. I know it’s Paso, but she could have had a short dress and just a light bit of fabric in back for a cape.

Maurice & Cheryl’s Cha Cha: best routine of the night so far. Very rhythmic — rhythm’s just in the man’s body — awesome body rolls and hip swaying and circular hip rolling / almost Samba-like action. And notice all the side-by-side / solo dancing. And he’s a very good partner for her. He was very strong in those dips and stretches; she really threw herself out there and trusted him to hold her. Looked like he had a bit o’ trouble getting through her legs there on that little floor trick toward the end. But who cares; he’s so much fun.

Cody & Edyta’s Viennese Waltz: AHHHHH, I LOVE him! He’s a gawky teen trying hard hard hard to be a polished gentlemanly ballroom dancer and I love him so much for trying so hard and taking this very grown-up competition so seriously! Darling boy! What a cutely serious face he had on, huh! Well, he had that footwork down, and he was moving pretty fast in lots of circular floor patterns, with a partner, often in close handhold — so he did damn well and deserves big kudos for that. His lines need LOTS of work — particularly arms. Keep those fingers together! Eeee!

Lance & Lacey’s Rumba: Well, my very first Latin teacher, the excellent Mr. Kelvin Roche, used to play that song (I think it’s called “Wonderland” right?) for our beginning Jive classes. Because it is a jive — a very slow one, and hence perfect for learning the dance. It wasn’t a rumba at all. It was fun though but I totally agree with Len about the shoes. You wear the shoes with the heels (high for ladies, Cuban 3/4 inch for men) to pitch your foot forward to put your weight on the ball of your foot, so that when you put your heel down, your weight tends to shift at the hip. So, he was flat-footed and hip-less. Which is not rumba. I’ll give him the arms though — those bolero-like above-the-head full sways from the shoulder to the fingertips were lovely. And he followed through with the movement, and had nice, full lines. Best arms of the night.

Brooke & Derek’s Foxtrot: Oh, very nice, very elegant. She looked like a real dancer. Not quite as fun as Maurice, and so my second favorite of the night, though I understand the judges’ giving her three tens. Very beautiful lines — I agree with Carrie Ann on that. Lovely how he carried her across the floor in the splits. It was a very basic routine, but basic Foxtrot is hard, and she kept in proper close frame well, and she had the rise and fall, and just overall looked very glamorous and in character. I love the little kiss-blowing. Nice 40s hairstyle.

Okay, now onto these (new to the show) team matches:

Team Cha Cha (Susan, Lance, and Cody & partners): cute. I mean, so these team comps apparently are basically the three couples dancing one at a time with a tiny bit of team work with formations and synchronization. During the brief bits where they all danced together, I wasn’t sure if they were supposed to be moving in unison each doing the same steps or if each couple was supposed to be doing its own thing. Carrie Ann seemed to think they were supposed to be in unison. Anyway, Susan looked tense, and hence stiff, again — poor Susan, I think her nerves are really getting to her, and whose wouldn’t when you’re basically the one woman dancing alongside Edyta and Lacey! I agree with the judges that Lance and Lacey were best, most on and rhythmical, but I also like Cody’s effort and stage presence.

Team Paso Doble (Brooke, Maurice and Warren & pro partners): this one was much better, clearly the winner, though Len is totally right about it being much easier to keep formation in a slower marching dance than a quicker-paced Cha Cha. Having said that, excellent formations and everyone was perfectly in sync during the group parts. And each couple was amazing — Brooke and Derek’s continuous pivot turns — badass!!! Whoa! That blew me away. The men were good too — Warren looked much more at ease here than in his Foxtrot earlier in the evening. His tough footballer attitude fits much better with the Paso character.

All in all: my favorites of the night are a tie between Brooke and Maurice. I think, unfortunately — because I like her personality a lot — Susan may be going home this week.

You guys, by the time we see the results we will have a new President. Eeeeee, I’m nervously excited…

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I'm So Disgusted … But I'll Get Over It

with this show now. I wouldn’t be at all upset if what had happened last night hadn’t had happened, if Carrie Ann hadn’t said those words. I really think she should apologize, to Cloris and to the public in general, because she really was reprimanding the public for voting the way they did. Assuming the results aren’t rigged… a belief many have expressed. Who knows, maybe they are — it’s very odd that Cloris stays on all this time, then, after the judges decide she should be off, wham she is… especially when you’d expect all her fans to come out and show their support to the max after those nasty statements by the judges.

In any event, this show has really worn on my nerves this season.

I’m sure I’ll get over it though, and will be glued to the TV next week 🙂

Anyway, for ballet people, here is a very short HuffPo piece I did on ABT, trying to gear it a bit to the more ‘political’ crowd.

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"Financially," Tom Bergeron!

Argh, I love how they introduced Lord of the Flies guy, Lord of the Flames, whatever his name is… — Michael Flatley — by announcing he’s grossed over $200 million between Feet of Flames, Lord of the whatever and Celtic Tiger, and is therefore “the most successful dancer in history.” Period. Not “financially, the most successful dancer in history.” Why is this country is so fixated on money? Haven’t we learned anything over the past several months?

Anyway, I just got back from my “representing the mentally ill client” continuing legal education seminar and am just now watching my tape. All I’ve seen is the last hip hop, which was excellent! I think Cloris did better in her solo (or side-by-side duet with Corky) than she’s ever done on the ballroom floor? Seriously — she had a real bad-ass bounce in her step I’ve never seen before. And she had those punches down! And I love Cody — he’s so cute — I love his opening … whatever those noises he made with his mouth close over the mike are called – -mouth noises. Lance blew me away too. Everyone did so well; I can’t believe it. Just shows how hard ballroom is that everyone can rock out with loose hips and bumping and grinding pelvises and then be all unbalanced on a traveling Cha Cha lockstep or side-stepping Samba voltas. Still, hip hop is so flipping hard for me.

Okay, watching the rest now, and blogging as I go…

Oh my gosh, Maurice and Cheryl’s Viennese Waltz was so beautiful! So smooth and dapper and gentlemanly, and fluid and precise footwork, and gorgeous gorgeous posture, and that quick turn, followed by the way he reached out for her. Ooh, Maurice, I’m in love with you this week! What? I can’t believe the judges — are they collectively on drugs?

Aw, Lance’s Jive was cute. Great jive kicks, great speed, cute slide, good precision in the footwork, excellent character. He sold it very well. I wasn’t in love with Lacey’s loud pink shoe bows though.

Wow, Susan’s Mambo really impressed me! It was a very pretty Mambo — maybe not hot sexy mama Mambo, but a pretty one; as Lord guy said, she’s the epitome of “elegance, grace, and beauty.” And he’s right; that’s Susan — she made it her own. Her dress was lovely and the red fire-y skirt really waved and flickered about well. Tony gave her some very fast fancy footwork and she pulled it off wonderfully. Her swivels were lovely and she completely twisted her whole body, which is hard. And really nice ronde de jambe en l’air (or air rondes, as I call them). Good job, Susan!

Well, Brooke’s rumba was lovely, but rumba is just the cruelest dance! It’s so slow and every movement, every hip movement so drawn out, that you can just see every flaw so clearly. Hers was a very lyrical rumba (meaning, straight, ballet-like posture, not a lot of organic hip movement), which is fine. Those were my specialty 🙂 though I was nowhere good as she is! Her toes weren’t pointed enough though and didn’t trace the floor enough — your foot is never really supposed to leave the floor in a rumba – -and her knees were too bent. Her lines were a little off. I know she has a foot injury… Gorgeous dip though, and some lovely stretches. It wasn’t perfect but it was very nice to watch.

I know at least some of you guys are going to hate me for this, but I think Carrie Ann’s comment about Cloris was really unfair. I’m upset that Toni Braxton was kicked off last week too, as I think — and said many times — I thought she was one of the best on the show — but it’s unfair to criticize and basically blame Cloris for still being here when Toni’s off. As if it’s Cloris’s fault?… Cloris is sweet; her Cha Cha was cute — and I think she’s really starting to try now. She obviously has limitations, but at this point I don’t feel like she’s trying to screw up and be a goof; I feel like she’s really trying to do the best she can. And, I linked to that NYTimes article on her last week — I don’t think it’s any small thing that Corky Ballas was in the Times, picture, name and all. The fact that a ballroom legend is in one of the biggest newspapers around… Has ballroom ever been taken so seriously? I mean, this has been a subculture. I feel like Cloris, in her own way, perhaps inadvertently, has kind of done more than any other celebrity on this show to change that… She has to be credited for that at least?

Cody is just so cute. I’m starting to laugh throughout his entire routines now, in a good way! His Samba was nowhere near perfect, but it was really really really good. It wasn’t a typical Samba, but who needs typical all the time? It was a welcome change. He’s such a good partner, such a good support for her. You can tell she’s really comfortable with him, really trusts him the way she throws herself into his arms on those dips and takes him so fast on those pivots. Those pivots (fast turns with partner in close handhold) are hard; it’s very easy to trip all over your partner’s feet. His footwork wasn’t perfect and his hip and pelvic action wasn’t all there, but some of it certainly was. He needs more turnout with his feet. He tries so hard and has such energy, and he’s the biggest improvement on the show. I’m really rooting for him at this point. Poor Julianne; I hope she’s okay. Did she say endometriosis? That’s serious, and she’s young. I mean, not life-threateningly serious, but I’ve heard it’s very painful.

I loved Warren’s rumba too. (I seem to have loved everything this week) He is really very musical — he moved perfectly on the beat — and his footwork was quick and sharp. He did a sliding door, which is an advanced step that is really pretty hard, and his footwork was not only perfect, but really sharp. Amateurs are usually soft and tentative in all Latin dances — and it really shows in the rumba since it’s so slow — but with each step he put his foot down with such decisiveness. He had some checks (where one foot is directly in front of the other, the front leg is straight, the back one bent, and weight is equally distributed) — and they’re kind of hard for amateurs — you can lose your balance easily — and his were pretty smooth. And he was wonderfully in character — soulful, smooth, passionate, strong, virile. Who cares if the technique wasn’t all there? I love it!