LIVE BLOGGING: SYTYCD 6/11/08

8:00- The Dance Dance has begun.  Cat Deeley is back and rocking one of her signature sparkly dresses. 

8:02- Twitch dominates the introduction.  Susie is already on my shit list.  I can't handle the tacky hair.  Sue me. 

8:04- Dan Karaty kind of looks like he is in his dad's suit.

8:08- My heart is bleeding at the thought of Debbie Allen being absent from the jidjing panel this year.

8:13- First pair is up.  Ravyn and Jamie.  Ravyn needs to avoid pointe shoes.  They don't look broken in.  Will be interesting to see if pointe shoes grace the stage this year. 

8:15-  Jaime claims: "My face wants to pull all over the place," when referencing West Coast swing.  My new favorite phrase. 

8:15- Their routine (by the new hip-hop married duo) feels very stationary.  Then Ravyn pulls Jaime's pants down to reveal his briefs -- the liveliest part of an uneven routine. 

8:17- It is possible that Mary Murphy has a tank of laughing gas under the judging table.  This is news to no one. 

8:20- Susie Rainbow Hair (is it just more or does she just gyrate her hips a lot?) and Marquis are next.  They are doing a waltz.  They seem a bit stiff and uncomfortable on the stage.  First night jitters. Marquis has a very elegant upper body. 

8:23- The routine looks like a very subdued version of Anya and Danny's wonderful waltz from last season.  Having a very difficult time on the lifts.  It is possible that she punctured his penis with her heal.

8:31- Courtney Kourtni (Uma Thurman) the contemporary dancer who moved to LA at sixteen is wearing a lot of different things wrapped around her head.  Her partner is Matt, who went to ABT summer program with me.  They are both VERY tall.  5'9" and 6'3'.  They are working with Mandy Moore (not the pop star) whose work I LOVED last season --  Suspender dance for Pasha last year was fantastic. 

8:33- Dancing to "Tainted Love" could be a recipe for dancer, but Mandy Moore has a flair for the 80's inspired style.  Matt's legs and feet are beautiful.  They are in black leather "Matrix" style.  I love this show because you get to see how much each couple improves from week to week, but everyone seems a bit nervous tonight.  They seemed to get tired right at the beginning of the routine, which was a bit unsuccessful with its "jewel" narrative.  My favorite couple of the night so far, but still no sparks. 

8:38- Coldplay iTunes commercial is fantastic.   Damn Apple for making everything look so cool.   Have the new album, and it's really starting to grow on me.  They always sound similar, but there's a comfort in that.  Gotta love those pulsing strings.  Side note: I must have the new iPhone. 

8:42- Chelsea T. is rocking a sassy bob and a lot of "sports" bras. Her partner is Thayne.  This seems to be the year of strange names, and even stranger spelling of normal names (Kourtni). 

8:44- Tony Meridith and Melanie set a Cha-Cha on them.  Their choreography has been solid throughout the seasons. 

8:45- Deep V-Neck shirt and too many feathers can only mean one thing!  CHA-CHA is back!  The biggest problem with these contestants in general so far is that they have a difficult time filling the less showy moments.   But Chelsea has very nice line and a nice phrasing with accenting her movement.

8:53- Chelsie H., a ballroom dancer, and  contemporary dancer Mark (one of my favorites from audition episodes; great sense of humor in his dancing.  "Bohemian Rhapsody" rocked my socks.) 

8:56- Praise the heavens, Mia Michaels is in the building.  "I thought Mark was going to be better than he is," she says in the pre-performance interview.  Damn.  That means he is probably going to kill it on stage.   

8:57- Biggest wedding dress ever seen on stage at SYTYCD.  Blue lighting makes them both look a bit like emo Smurfs.  Mia's storytelling can become a bit self-important at moments, but there is no denying her power as a choreographer.  As is evidenced by a series of tumbling rolls over one another that seem effortless.  It's a shame the dress is blocking so much of Chelsie's body.  Best of the night so far.

8:58- Mary comments them by saying "If I had a hat, I would take it off to you."  Wouldn't it be amazing if she peeled her face off like Angelica Huston in "The Witches"?

9:01- Kerrington and Twitch are up next.  If there's a contestant arriving to the first performance show on a wave of buzz, it's him. There's such joy to his movement.  Here's hoping as much versatility in other styles as he does with his own technique. 

9:03- They are doing a Tice Diorio Broadway routine to "Too Darn Hot" from "Kiss Me Kate."  Twitchington.  LOVE IT.  Her feathers are molting thirty seconds in.  Bizarre that she is barefoot while wearing a can-can outfit.  They are both very good performers, even though not quite in unison when they need to be.  Twitch does a few leaps that hint there may be problems when it comes to more technical performances.  He has a maturity to his facial performance, not remotely tacky, that seems the most genuine of anyone so far.

9:12- Comfort (here come those names again), who is referred to as "the best female hip-hop dancer on the program" is another dancer coming in with a lot of buzz.  Dancing with Chris, who is a contemporary dancer with "the personality of a tree," according to Nigel. 

9:14-  Doing the jive by Tony Meridith and Melanie (who apparently is the program's "Madonna" with no last name).   Dramatic spotlight battle on either side of the stage to begin.  Comfort has fringe coming out of everywhere imaginable.  She has an ease about her personality on stage that is nice to see.  They are both a bit stiff with some of the partnering work. 

9:16- "You ain't never seen me in a bra and panties and bead!" she exclaims after the performance.  Favorite quote of the night. 

9:18- Fingers crossed that Mary will peal her face off this time. 

9:25- Katee, (emotionally manipulated, broken-away-from-her-best-friend Katee from Vegas) and hip-hop dancer Joshua are up next.  Last time we saw Joshua jump his head went through the ceiling.  Doing a Napoleon and Tabitha (I want to name them Geronimo and Beatrix) hip-hop routine.  Nigel is working the cross promotion of "American Idol" by using "No Air" by Jordin Sparks.

9:27- First ten seconds of the routine include awkward "acting" over a love letter before Katee walks center stage and delivers the night's most exciting moment.  Seems for a moment that it is shielding Joshua's shortcomings, but he begins and it is clear they are driving each other to excel.  Great choreography, has enough angst to give the dancers something "meaty" to dig into, but not so much that it overpowers the dancing.   Both of them pull it out emotionally, but most importantly deliver the most nuanced phrasing.  Filled with great moments of stillness, suddenly broken by a popped ribcage or cocked head.  Katee doesn't look at all like a contemporary dancer posing as a hip-hopper. She nailed it. 

9:37- Jessica King, a contemporary dancer  ("I would love to be able to touch somebody (long pause) through my dance"  Mmm hmmmm Jessica. I've got your number.) and Will (the reason my beloved insane Debbie Allen is off the show this season!) are up doing the Tango. 

9:39- She is dancing with her shoulders attached to her ears.  A few stumbling moments, not grounded.  The nerves are back on stage. 

9:41- Nigel loves it.  He also loved Susie "Mixy Hair."  Nigel is also on my shit list tonight. 

9:42- Mary is overwhelmingly positive tonight.  It is nice to hear her get technical ("Fall away whisk to pivot!"), but claiming there are "The couple to beat" is ridiculous after Katee and Joshua.  My friends and I are questioning whether we were watching the same uneven routine as the one the jidges are raving about. 

9:49- Courtney G. (contemporary dancer) and (B-boy) Nev are doing a Doriana Sanchez (?) Disco routine -- the history of disco on the program is spotty at best...I'm skeptical. 

9:51- Marching down the stairs is a MUST for any disco routine on the program.  ("I DID ENOUGH COKE AT STUDIO 54 TO CHARGE THE DANCE FLOOR!")  Courtney's consecutive turns across the floor seemed a bit loose.  Giant overhead lift upside down in the splits has to be the least flattering lift that is repeatedly done on the program.  Seem to lose energy halfway through.  Should have been an energetic way to end the evening, instead a bit of a whimper.

RECAP:  Katee and Joshua take the night by a mile.  Susie "Mixy Hair" needs to go back to Florida.  What boy will go home? So many of them were forgettable...

Comments

[A Little Tea or Something]

Okay, I'm just asking.... What in hell is a smooth waltz? How is it different from other waltzes?

[Miriam Madry]

K I started watching a few minutes before 8:30 and the only thing I've liked so far was the cold play commercial...

[Miriam Madry]

Not to be a biznatch but i'm sure everyone is nervous, this being the first ep and all!!

[A Little Tea or Something]

Could not take my eyes off Matt's feet. I KNEW Nigel was going to say "personality" a nanosecond before it came out of his mouth, but really, the stick-up-your-butt comment was unfair (and underscores a lack of sophistication on Nigel's part, I think).

The Latin couple were genuinely entertaining....

[Miriam Madry]

Kerrington's facial expressions are just so wonderful to watch. She just looks gorgeous/happy/passionate about it, first thing I noticed about her at her audition.

[A Little Tea or Something]

Not at all a fan of hip-hop (but admit to liking that silly Jordin Sparks song that my teenager HATES), and yet really enjoyed that piece.

Why are the judges (jidges?) so taken with that tango? Didn't do it for me; she has a strange physique with an oddly stocky torso, and that hair....

[A Little Tea or Something]

Quoting Nigel: "The knees weren't tucked in." What does this mean??? Inquiring minds want to know, Nigel....

[A Little Tea or Something]

P.S. My teenager says Mary Murphy makes him want to kill somebody....

[rws]

1) Cat's bogus British has flattened out. She now offers consistent pronunciations of "dance" and "dancing". Over the last 2 years, the AN in "dance" could be articulated as in either "bang" or "tra-la". Smoother this year but not as much fun. Her best was, however, a refernece 2 years to "the lynch time break."
2) Mary Murphy has a mouth like a remora. "Frightening" only begins to tell the story.

[Beckylooo]

Mattie Murphy, will you marry me?