This first studio show is a long, long night of television -- twenty dancers doing ten dances does not go by quickly. And I didn't totally agree with all of the judges' assessments, so I had to go back and rewatch a couple of the dances to see what I'd missed -- man, I'm bushed, and I was just lying there on the couch!
I'm Moved.
- Randi (unitard girl) and Evan Kazprzak (I love the fact that I can just type "evan kzprzk" into google and it immediately tells me what vowels go where): This was by a country mile my favorite dance of the night. In all the prior coverage, Randi came across as young and chipper and not terribly womanly, while Evan was this little asexual Broadway leprechaun. But their dance was the most emotional, romantic, grown-up, even sexy routine of the night -- I had no idea that kind of connection was possible for either one of them. Just wow.
- Ashley (the one who looks like a brunette version of Jayma Mays from Glee/Ugly Betty/Heroes) and Kupono (formerly one seagull amid a flock thereof): We're talking about Ashley and her four auditions and Kupono and his job scrubbing mildew, and all of a sudden POW, it's Wade choreographing without any fanfare, and then there are these two utterly believable ghostly crash test dummies on the screen and it's the magic of Wade all over again. I thought Kupono in particular was astonishing -- the fluidity of his movements was so perfect and he never broke character for an instant. I don't think we can tell from this dance how Ashley and Kupono will do with any other style, but this was really fun to watch.
- Jeanine (who?) and Phillip (the heavily pimped popping wonder) v. Paris (Miss Washington) and Tony (it's my Nigel in a briefcase guy). I would need to go back and rewatch a lot of Tabitha/Napoleon routines from the last couple of seasons to make sure I'm right on this, but I feel pretty strongly that they are not the right choreographers to have on the show for the harder flavors of hip hop. They do great things with the softer side -- Jeanine and Phillip's "no sleep until we talk this thing out" dance was great, and solidly in the vein of good stuff T&N have done before. But the Paris and Tony thing in the Michael Jackson circa 1982 costumes just didn't work, and I don't think it's entirely the dancers' fault. Yes, yes, Tony's stank face was kind of like telling my six-year-old daughter to be more gangsta, but no one ever really knocks T&N "hard" choreography out of the park. That being said, both Phillip and Tony got enough early air time that I'd be surprised if any of this week's hiphoppers were in the bottom three couples.
- Kayla (the girl with the grandparents) and Max (this year's requisite Russian ballroom guy) vs. Karla (who?) and Jonathan (the guy who started dancing after watching Nick Lazzarini win Season One): I disagreed with the judges on the Karla/Jonathan cha cha immediately. It felt very amateur night to me, and Jonathan's constant grin seemed way more boyish than the sexy manly thing he was shooting for. (Plus, note to costumers, I do not want to see male nipples through clothing. Mesh is bad.) Contrast that with the pimp slot samba: I went back to watch this one a second time after the judges prostrated themselves before Max and Kayla, and while I didn't think it rose to the level of either Evan/Randi or Kupono/Ashley in terms of visceral impact, it had the kind of energy and power that I like watching in a Latin dance.
I Liked It Well Enough. Joining Jeanine/Phillip and Kayla/Max here in the second tier are:
- Caitlin (the blonde sister of the other blonde sister) and Jason (that guy who Shankman keeps telling us is the embodiment of SYTYCD): The judges on this show have a serious thing for Bollywood. I think it's partially that it's relatively new to them personally and that they're so damned proud of themselves for bringing Bollywood to the show, but I would be shocked if a Bollywood routine on SYTYCD ever got anything other than rapturous reviews from Nigel et al. And Jason deserved it -- he was fabulous and effortless and looked like he'd been doing it since his Mommy and Me Go to Bollywood class. Caitlin, on the other hand, while she looked positively breathtaking in the costume and the makeup and the jewelry, looked like she was thinking too much. Flex feet, extend fingers, slant head . . . you could practically hear her working through all the different teeny tiny movements in her head. But the smooch at the end with the little flirty look from Caitlin was pretty good, and they ain't going anywhere anytime soon.
- Melissa (elderly naughty ballerina) and Ade (the guy who fortunately didn't dance with the pick in his hair): I'm cheating here, I admit it. Melissa and Ade are in my second tier because the judges told me they were supposed to be. I thought it was pretty . . . but kind of boring. When the judges got all goopy and rhapsodic, I went back and watched it again to see what was so great about it. I see that it was hard, I see that they performed it technically well, I liked the big lift, but it just left me cold. Compared to, say, Evan and Randi, I didn't feel any emotional punch.
I Won't Remember You Tomorrow. This is where we find Paris/Tony's hippity hoppity hip hop and Karla/Jonathan's big smiley my baby loves to do the cha cha cha. Joining them are:
- Janette (dances salsa with her Cuban family) and Brandon (the guy who makes Mary cry but bores Mia and Li'l C): I feel bad about this. They danced their foxtrot reasonably well. But I always feel like the classical ballroom dances are at a huge disadvantage relative to the showier genres performed on the show because they're not as memorable unless they're danced really, really, really well. This was fine, but pulling foxtrot on your first week with a partner just isn't going to win you any new friends. Fortunately for Janette and Brandon, I think a lot of people will remember and gun for Brandon based on his extensive earlier coverage.
- Asuka (Asian ballroom chick) and Vitolio (Haitian guy): This came as a shock to me. Ordinarily, if there's one pick from the hat that is an almost definite crowdpleaser, it's Broadway. And it started off beautifully, with me sitting there goggling at the loveliness of Vitolio's lines. But then the tempo picked up, and the whole thing turned lead-footed. It's a shame, because I think Asuka and Vitolio are both great dancers. But it just never got rolling.
Bottom three couples should be: Asuka/Vitolio, Paris/Tony, and Karla/Jonathan. But I think Tony has a good-sized fan base willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, so I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest Ade and Melissa as a replacement on the "America never understood Will Wingfield" theory.
Just as a reminder for the newer folks, after America picks the bottom three couples, each of the six dancers comprising the bottom three will individually dance for their lives and then the judges huddle in a corner during a commercial break and decide who's going home. Not knowing anything about who some of these dancers are, I can't imagine I'll get a prediction right, but here goes: Jonathan and Karla.
edited 6/11 to add: Lots of folks all around the internet are talking about SYTYCD. Here's a smattering.
- NPR (NPR!) offers eight reasons why you should be watching the show. #7: "Cat Deeley > Ryan Seacrest x 1 million. What do you want? It's math. Can't argue with math."
- Claire Zulkey of the LA Times likes the foxtrot more than I do.
- So does EW's Adam B. Vary.
- Liane Bonin (um, Adam?) over at hitfix thought the Bollywooders were a little overrated but eagerly hopped aboard the hot tamale train for Kayla and Max.
And how did I possibly forget to mention the fabulousness of Mary Murphy's frank explanation of her inability to move her eyebrows?
No comments:
Post a Comment