Lil C -

Is it really the semis already?!

At the top of the program Mary Murphy expresses shock about Janette getting kicked off last week since she “didn’t miss a single step throughout the show,” then urges the audience to vote based on the whole season, not just their favorite performer or performance of the week. Don’t remember hearing a judge say something like that before. Wow, they all really liked Janette (as did I, as everyone knows!).

Then Nigel says he thinks no one is really standing out as a star this season, unlike in seasons past; that’s why people are voting for the choreography and not the dancers. I agree with him to an extent. Generally, there haven’t been any standouts, which is actually making this season kind of boring to me. I do think Evan has stood out a bit, but mainly with his solos, where he kind of takes on a character like Charlie Chaplin, Gene Kelly, etc. But he hasn’t delivered with the duets.

The group routine for the men is choreographed by Sonya Tayeh. I thought, from seeing the three guys in distinction to each other — Ade, Brandon, and Evan, that Ade’s lines and form were much better than the other two. His jumps were higher, his extensions longer, and overall his movement more powerful and precise.

And all of what I just said above: ditto for Kayla on the women’s routine, also choreographed by Sonya.

My favorite solos of the night were by Brandon, Ade and Melissa.

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

Wow, hip hopper Phillip got a lot of applause during the opening solos. Did you guys notice that too?

Guest judge tonight is hip hop choreographer Lil C.

We get to know the dancers more. Evan says his partner Randi has a dog who she treats as a human, talking to him on the phone, etc. Brandi says Evan is an amateur mechanic who built his own car. They’re doing Jive this week, Louis van Amstel choreographing. So, wait, is this a “fun” routine you guys?! How many times did they say that word! It WAS fun. That leap frog he did over her! Those continuous pivot turns (those are hard, they’re hard to do without looking stiff and awkward since you’re so close to your partner but are trying to look free), the jive kicks, that fun lift at the end. They were really having fun out there. And she has a great Latin body. They didn’t really look like a polished pro Latin couple, but, they still did damn good, especially considering they are a Broadway and contemporary dancer. Nigel and Mary are disappointed; I disagree with them.

Ade says Melissa has a sister who’s married to her brother’s something or rather — complicated, slightly incestuous-sounding family situation; Melissa tries to pronounce Ade’s full African name — four words long, the first about 12 letters. He pronounces it in full, then says, see, that’s why I go by Ade. They’re dancing a contemporary routine by Sonya. Well, that was interesting choreographically — it was kind of sexually aggressive, a bit robotic, impish as Cat Deeley said. It had a lot of intricate lifts, a lot of angular movement. What I actually liked about it was how differently they did on some of the side by side moves. There was one point where they both did a simultaneous jump, unconnected, and another where they lay down on their backs and lifted their legs in the air, making interesting shapes, and on both his feet were flexed and hers pointed. I just thought that was so interesting — his movements were more African-looking and hers ballet. It was really a beautiful distinction, I thought.

Caitlin says Jason has an obsession with Michael Jackson, and we see videos of him as a child doing Moonwalks — adorable! Jason says Caitlin does baby voices and has a scream like nails on a chalkboard. They have a hip hop routine

Continue reading “SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, SEASON 5, WEEK 2”