|
September
11, 2005
And if you love to dance, here's hoping you've been taking
the time to watch "So
You Think You Can Dance".
The format is great -- where a male and female are randomly chosen to
partner dance with each other; and then they randomly choose a type
of partner dance and have to learn choreography from a top professional,
perform it in front of a live audience. It's interesting to see how
the choreographer molds the piece to suit the stengths and weaknesses
of each couple, and will give them difficult tricks to perform during
their routine if they can handle it -- dips, lifts and/or flips are
included in almost every performance.
The dance formats range from all types of dance you might see in a concert,
video or movie, such as pop, disco, ballroom, lyrical jazz, hip hop
and salsa. The last few weeks no one has chosen salsa, but it's interesting
to see how versatile the dancers are, their chemistry together, if they
have it, how technical they are and if they know how to perform.
The judges comment on each performance after their routine and it's
interesting to see how well they critique their technique and performance
style; and how it compares to your own knowledge and expertise.
Then the worst two or three couples are picked and they have to do a
solo dance by themselves so that the audience can do a phone poll for
their favourites. The lowest scoring male and female of that segment
are eliminated the following week and then the format starts again.
It's interesting to see how the dancers get eliminated as sometimes
it's the luck of the draw if you've got a bad partner who cannot adapt
to the technique of a particular style of dance.
Also, it's interesting to see that if you're not an all-round
dancer, you will eventually be eliminated.
If I am to guess who will be in the final two -- for the men, I think
Blake and Nick due to their technical training and the fact they seem
to be able to pick up other dances and perform it almost as well. Although
I also enjoy watching Jamile and Ryan as they are street dancers; and
have shown some versatility, but they are not as consistent.
For the females, it's a tougher choice, as they have great style and
need to be a good follower. I don't think I can narrow it down to two
as these four girls impress me each week with their adaptability --
Ashle, Kamilah, Melissa and Melody. But after reflection of their overall
performance each week, Ashle and Kamilah may be the strongest as they
get very little criticism each week by the judges and are very consistent
in their technique and performance.
Every week, there's new updated features on the Fox website, and they
even have a page with all the songs the dancers used in their performances.
So for those of you who have been emailing me about the salsa songs,
click
here!
August 18, 2005
So You Think You Can Dance?
OR maybe it should really be called... "So You Think You
Have Ego..." two weeks ago.
If you love to dance, then hopefully you're taking the time each week
to watch the new Fox reality dance show each Wednesday night at 8 pm.
What I love about watching reality shows or documentaries is you really
get a chance to see some of the trials and tribulations of what a dancer
goes through under pressure, and what it takes to be a really great
dancer. It's not just about your own abilities to teach yourself how
to dance (if you brag you don't have formal training), but if you want
to be the best; you need to learn or train in all styles of dancing.
Or just have so much talent that you can pick up anything a choreographer
throws at you -- whether it's hip hop, jazz or partner dancing.
And then there's dance ego... and there was plenty of it that night.
The worst was Blake who actually had the nerve to say on national TV
that he was a better instructor/dancer than one of his choreographers,
plus the same choreographer was just "jealous". And then didn't
think of the consequences that would come back to him, which in this
case was the choreographers all viewing this segment of the tape and
they were all obviously turned off by his attitude. If he didn't have
the potential he did, he definitely would have been voted off. A perfect
reminder for those with egos in the dance scene that it is a small world
and don't expect that what you say about someone doesn't get back to
them. Echoing the point I've always made about treating others the way
you want to be treated, and you'll be amazed as I have been at what's
coming atcha from around the corner...
Last night, the real competition started when the remaining 16 dancers.
Each male dancer drew a female to partner with, who in turn picked a
dance style (mambo, hip hop, lyrical or jive) and had to learn a new
routine with a choreographer. This goes back to ego in dancing, where
dancers of one dance style always think that's the only dance style
or the best way to dance.
What I love about watching this show, is that if you're truly a talented
dancer; with some training and practice, you could dance almost any
dance style and make it look good.
What was also interesting to watch were some of the following lessons
I've learned from dancing with partners, Salsa Team Canada and watching
all types of dance performances; and having the choreographers echo
alot of what I've learned over the years:
1. Whether someone trained in the style of hip hop or jazz could switch
to a partner dance and make it look easy; and vice versa.
2. Do they have showmanship? If you watch the couples, what makes a
great show is bringing the audience into your performance. If you noticed,
some couples were so intent on getting the moves right, they forgot
to look at the audience. It also showed us that they still hadn't had
enough practice and/or weren't as comfortable with the routine.
3. Whether the couple had any chemistry together to pull off the routine.
It was interesting to see who could dance well together and connect
-- some couples pulled it off as if they were training together regularly,
some were both technically strong, some couples had connection and some
did not; or had no chemistry together so their routine just looked boring.
4. How much technique each dancer has and/or the ability to communicate
their love of the dance live while performing. Hands down last night,
Blake's level of technical difficulty, the emotion he showed in his
lyrical dance and how beautifully he executed the pirouettes blew me
away.
5. How dance instructors or dancers should not always assume that if
you're a great dance instructor, you'll also be a great dancer or performer
-- that's not always the case; and this show has proven this point over
the past 4 weeks.
6. How you can never stop training or learning from all styles of dance.
There's nothing wrong with loving only one style or type of dance, but
if you truly want to be an all-round dancer -- it takes alot of dedication,
practice and humility.
There are some other pointers that some of the choreographers have made
over the past few weeks, but I can't think of them right now. August
has been a non-stop busy month; so I've been out and about, but unfortunately
have not had alot of time to do alot of writing.
But if you've missed out on the shows, you can still find dance clips
each week on the Fox
website, along with dancer bios, photo gallery and so on...
So
You Think You Can Dance?
July 13, 2005
Here's your chance to watch a 2 hour sneak-peak of the new "So
You Think You Can Dance" Reality TV Show next Wednesday, July
20th, on CFTO Cable 8 Toronto from 8-10 pm.
As I did some surfing, I found an article
that talks about the type of dancing they will be showing which includes
salsa, jive, hip-hop and krumping. Alex de Silva of
LA will be a featured salsa choreographer.
And here are some clips I found on the net:
Video
Preview 1
Other Clips,
incl. Salsa
Hollywood
Choreographers
Alex
Da Silva is skilled in Mambo, Salsa, Argentine Tango and Swing
dancing. Da Silva is the 2002 and 2005 World Salsa Champion and has
worked with Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, Puff Daddy and Enrique Iglesias.
He has choreographed commercials for Burger King and Coca-Cola.
Brian
Friedman has choreographed some of the top performers of our
time, including Britney Spears, Hilary Duff, Pink, Beyonce and Mya.
Friedman has also had the opportunity to work with 'N SYNC, Prince and
Usher.
Dan
Karaty, after making his Broadway debut in "Footloose,"
began dancing with Britney Spears and has appeared on the "MTV
Awards" and THE BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS. Karaty has also choreographed
videos and tours for Jessica Simpson, Kylie Minogue, 'N SYNC and Spears.
Mia
Michaels is the choreographer for Celine Dion's "A New
Day" show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and has created routines
for a cast of 50 dancers, as well as for Celine Dion. Michaels has worked
with artists such as Madonna, Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan and Prince.
She is the founder, artistic director and choreographer for the critically
acclaimed New York-based dance company RAW and has held faculty positions
at the Alvin Ailey Dance Company and the International Dance Festival
of Italy.
Mary
Murphy serves as a national dance judge, technical dance teacher,
competitive dancer and founder of the Champion Ballroom Academy in San
Diego, CA. Murphy and her partner were the Austrian National Champions
in 1990 and '91 and performed together in the World Cup Final. She has
coached Mary Steenburgen, Donnie Wahlberg, Julia Roberts, Dennis Quaid,
Lorenzo Lamas and Ted Danson for various roles. She continues to train
champion dancers in her studio and co-organizes two national dance competitions:
the San Diego Dancesport Championships and the Holiday Dance Classic
in Las Vegas.
SO
YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE was created by Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe
and comes from 19 TV Ltd. and dick clark productions. It is executive-produced
by Simon Fuller, Nigel Lythgoe and Allen Shapiro.
|
