Failure

I had such good intentions for my a super awesome dance blog.

But I have failed.

I have tried so hard to keep up.

But pretty soon, watching my FAVORITE show became a chore knowing that I had to blog.

I really love dance and I really love giving my opinion.

Maybe I can just sporadically blog, eh? I am not sure who reads this anywho...and was made mainly to remind myself of all the routines.

Let me just say that the show that aired on 6/29 had Kristin Chenoweth as a guess judge and I ADORE her. It also had TWO dances that I LOVED and got chills for the first time....danced by my favorites Ryan and Ricky and then Jordan and Tadd.

Elminated on 6/30 were Miranda and Robert. I am not in that "sad" phase about people leaving, yet. Clarice and Jess better be the next to leave, is all I hope for now.

Top 20 dance AGAIN 6/22/11

I am so grateful that each dancer gets 4 routines to dance before they are kicked off! Tonight's guest was Debbie Reynolds.

Here are my thoughts on the performances tonight.

First up was Ryan and Ricky dancing to a jazz dance by Mandy Moore. I love when I know the song they are dancing to...and I knew this song (Addicted to Love)! This solified my adoration from Ryan-she was totally awesome! I love her power and control.

Next... Kaitlynn and Mitchell with a contemporary dance by Stacey Tucci. They had two chairs, it was awesome*-I wish I knew the Adele song they danced to. Their dance was so powerful-he punched her in the nose and gave her a bloody nose...but they KEPT going. *at this moment I am thinking-how are they going to narrow these dancers down...Mitchell was injured last week so he didn't get to dance last week and he probably would have been sent home last week if not for this second chance.

Thirdly...Missy and Wadi doing a Cha-Cha by Jean-Marc Genereux to Cannibal by Ke$ha. Jean-Marc said it was the hardest dance he has ever done for the show. I thought they were lacking a little bit of energy. The judges were a little harsh on Wadi (and worse than that-he didn't take the feedback very well). They may be in the bottom, as he as not as good in this style as the other b-boys in their different styles.

Fourth...Iveta and Nick. I am just gonna say it-she isn't my favorite...I don't think she was good enough to be in the top 10. They did Bollywood...which is not a style I have ever really liked. Maybe because it is always to Indian music. I like Nick so I really wanted it to be good, but, eh, not bad.

Fifth...Miranda AND Robert..they got Napoleon and Tabita's Hip Hop (LOVE THEM!). They danced to a Busta Rhymes song-that I didn't know but LIKED. I thought MIRANDA was awesome...dare I say equal to if not BETTER than Robert at Hip Hop. I really liked them this week, so I hope they stay around!

Sixly..Clarice and Jess...(I still think he is annoying-his secret was that he draws stick figure orchestra's and he over the top says "Ohno you DIDNT"). They did a Jazz routine by Stacey Tucci. They were good...I think they might be in the bottom too...on HIS personality-not really fair to Clarice.

Next...Jordan and Tadd. They got the Vianese Waltz by Jean-Marc Genereux. My FAVORITE couple and let me just say that TADD KILLED IT! He had SOO much technique for a B-Boyer-I was blown away! I thought for a minute he was a Contemporary Dancer NOT a Breaker! They did awesome but I worry about their safety as a lot of the Ballroom dances are not fan favorites.

Seventh couple was Melanie and Marko dancing to a Jazz piece by Mandy Moore. They did really well..and man, Melanie is unreal! Her leg extensions are simply amazing. He kept pu with her pretty well...I think he is a Contemporary dancer..so I guess he should have. The judges loved them.

Second to last was Sasha and Alexander...another Tabitha and Napoleon Hip Hop. She is really good!! Look out for Sasha for sure. I thought he was just a bit stiff...but I did love his front flip over her. The judges loved Sasha and they were all in tears. Hmmm.

FINALLY...Ashley and Chris....dancing to a Spencer Liff Broadway dance. I didn't know the song but I think it was my favorite dance. They danced with these bars and I loved the creativity with the bars. Chris must have had to have lots of strength for some of the tricks he was doing.

I will post shortly, the results, because I freakin' can't wait!

Results from Week One

Last week's results show was jam packed. There was a bottom 3 BUT there was NO elimination! That is the first time that they have EVER done that! There will be 2 going home this week, another first. I am VERY glad that they are giving the dancers so many chances, so that way the right ones stay. In the past I have been upset about the dancers that get sent home first.

Looking forward to the show tonight! I will post about it tomorrow!!!

TOTALLY off topic...but have you seen the preview for the new FOOTLOOSE movie! Oh, I can't wait!

Let's GET this STARTED SYTYCD!

On June 9th, So You Think You Can Dance introduced the top 20. They also said that when they get to the top 10, they will bring back some ALL-STARS! COOL!

I won't go too much into the introduction, but I have to just state that my early favorites are: Chris the Hip-Hopper and Jordan the Jazz dancer, Nick the tapper (yes a tapper!), Marko a Contemporary dancer and Ryan, another Contemporary dancer. Each dancer performed in their own style, then in either an all girls or an all boys routine-both amazing! THEN there was a TOP 20 GROUP routine! I love that everyone gets to dance so many times before any eliminations. It is gonna be competitive this year, everyone is so good!

Three judges tonight: Nigel, Mary, and (surprise...Megan Muhlally)...she was a dancer-little did I know.

The first performance was Tadd and Jordan dancing a Sean Cheesman African Jazz routine. I normally don't like this style because of the music (shallow, I know), but this song wasn't too bad. Jordan was pretty powerful but she lost a little bit of steam as she went on. Tadd, I think could have been a little stronger and more full-out. The routine was decent, but not super memorable. The judges seemed to like it.

#2 Contemporary dance choreographed by Travis Wall (I LOVE HIM), danced by Sasha and Alexander. (kind of unfair-2 Contemporary dancers dancing IN THEIR style). I expected them to be good because of this, but then I was preparing to be dissappointed because I was expecting them to be soo good and actually it was pretty good. I believed her emotion, but not his as much... She was awesome, very good. The judges agreed with my comments.

#3 Clarice and Jess dancing a Tyce Diorio Broadway. Not my favorite style, either. Another music thing, I guess. Another sort of un-fair advantage since Jess is a Broadway dancer and not everyone is a cheeseball. This style just seems over the top and disingenious-like fake-ish. I had never heard this Liza Minnelli song. Another non-memorable one for me. The judges loved it, ugh.

#4 Ryan (a girl, by the way) and Ricky..dancing to a Christopher Scott Lyrical Hip Hop routine. Christopher Scott is sort of new to the show but I LOVE his work so far. It was to a new version of "Aint no Sunshine"...love that song. Ryan was a funky little white girl, I was plesantly suprised! I could really see the emotion out of her. Ricky was pretty decent too! This is the first dance that I watched 3 times. (I warned you that I was a dance nerd).

#5 Caitlynn and Mitchell dancing a Sonya Tayek Jazz routine. Mitchell got hurt at the last minute-so Robert (from last season filled in). She did great especially for having a partner change at the last minute. She nailed Sonya's routine and style! It was an A+ from the judges.

#6 Miranda and Robert doing the jive from Jason Gilkinson. I think that ballroom is so hard for "normal" dancers. I think the two of them did a really good job. They were given characters, a nerd and a sexy girl, which helped. The audience and the judges seemed to really like it too.

#7 Missy and Wadi doing a Jazz dance by Sean Cheesman. It was interesting...it was to a Lady Gaga song, that I have heard before-I think. There were some great moments and there was some points that were out of sync. The end, where Wadi was doing some of that Parkour-tumbling and flipping stuff. However, I think to hang in this year, I think it ALL has to be perfect.

#8 Melanie and Marko with another Travis Wall (sigh) Contemporary dance (another 2 that got the same style as they are). I liked how they were very much in sync. They were statues, and that was neat. This Marko guy (a great call of mine as an early favorite) did really well! This dance made Mary cry. Hmm.

#9 Chris (an early fave) and Ashley dancing to a Christopher Scott-Hip Hop. Okay, the story was a bit weird, like a boyfriend and girlfriend cheating on each other. Despite that he was SOOO good and she struggled to keep up with him a bit. They both were good to keep up with the characters. The judges had all good things to say.

#10 Iveta and Nick (probably matched together for height)...they got ballroom-her speciality, by Jason Gilkinson. I am not a ballroom expert...but I thought it was fun and he looked like he knew what he was doing.

I guess that my favorite was the Lyrical Hip-Hop and my least favorite was either the Broadway or the African Jazz routine, even though one of my favorite girls was in it. I have no idea who will be eliminated. Usually at this stage there is someone that I am MAD about them being in the top-but not the case here!!

To hold you over

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ6zr6kCPj8

This video is #1 a great FUN song to get you out of any "funk" you may be in, aka, losing your dog and listening to sad songs over and over.

#2 it has some SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and AMERICA'S BEST DANCE CREW alums in it. Almost all the spotlighted people. Awesome.

The real SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE competition started on Wednesday and I am DYING to watch it and comment on it. You know I HAVE to be going through something when I wait TWO days to watch MY MOST FAVORITE SHOW EVER!!!! I want to be in the right frame of mind and have the time to savor each dance in due time.

Until then, hopefully this video will hold you over. Oh yeah.

So YoU ThInK yOu CaN DaNCe

Oh yeah oh yeah it is back on!
Thursday May 26th was the first set of 2 audition cities! I can already tell that the talent is going to be EVEN more amazing this year!

Tonight was the UTAH auditions. Utah is such a HUGE dancing state and tonights episode really highlighted the amazing dancers here! I also LOVE that the show began with host Cat Deeley mentioning ALL the dancers over the past year that made it into the finals, including: Cheslea, Brandon, Gev, married couple-Ashleigh and Ryan, ummm Alison (love her!) and even Season 3 Winner-Sabra!!!

There were SOO many great dancers in Utah it was soo hard to pick out my favorite! It was a little crazy to see the girl who says that her dad is the real Ringo Starr from the Beatles. Between that and the huge jerk that is currently on the Bachelorette, everyone is gonna think that all people from Utah are all NUTSO.

New York Auditions were the second part of the show and there was a lot more diversity in this city, obviously! There was someone doing a style of dance called "whacking"...that involved lots of fast arm movements and then slow stops. Interesting. There seemed to be a lot sent through to the next round.

Tomorrow is the final auditions.....

The show gets better from here as they go to Las Vegas and work to stand out in a crowd. I start to pick out my favorites then.

The best is when they get to the finals...I can't wait for that!!!

I am not as good at this as I thought....

Maybe if updating my blog was my job I could be better at it....after all, I do spend nearly 10 hours a day there, ugh!

I realize that I haven't dance-blogged since 4/21/11 and I have felt slightly overwhelmed trying to catch up on everything-especially considering that there are 2 dance shows...plus another show "Dance Scene" that I really wanted to blog about as well (one of my SYTYCD alums is on that show!).

SO....instead of trying to catch up. I will just start fresh. I am not sure if anyone out there is dissapointed, I hope not. I have to actually GO and WATCH these shows and that could take me some time. LOL. I have 5 fresh "Dancing With The Stars" episodes and I am THRILLED.

I have been on vacation. Saturday I spent the day doing laundry and unpacking my RV....I worked Sunday morning and now it is 7 pm and I am just uploading my gazillion pictures and catching up on all my DVR'd shows. Heavenly. So, speaking of heaven, please forgive me for my lapse in blogging. I PROMISE when it gets to my FAVORITE later this month (So You Think You Can Dance), I will not skip a beat. Until I can get BACK in step, blogfully yours, Rachel.

America's Best Dance Crew 4/21/11

Black Eyed Peas. I LOVE the Black Eyed Peas!!!

First up were the little kids..."Iconic Boys" dancing to "Just Can't Get Enough". I was SOOO impressed with them! I had to watch this dance like 20 times. Even my kids liked it. Who woulda thought that they woulda had my favorite dance of the night. The little chubby kid doing the robot was definitely the highlight.

Next it was "Phunk Phenonmenon" dancing to "Don't Stop the Party" I really liked their super slow then super fast choreography. I love their energy and humor.

Then it was "I AM ME" dancing to "Meet me Half-way" I loved their intricate moves and the part where they made like a Transformer car.

Then it was "Street Kingdom" dancing to "Immabe". I thought this music would fit their Crump style perfectly, but I was a little dissapointed in them, I thought they coulda been amazing and it felt a bit short of that. The judges seemed to agree with them.

Next it was "787 Crew" dancing to "Boom Boom Pow". This was my second favorite performance of the night, they did this optical illusion where it looked like a guy teleported. I love how they are latin and that naturally means they can move their hips, plus the energy was high and the flips were GREAT!

Then it was "Instant Noodles" dancing to "My Humps". I think their dance was WAY tooeasy. I was WAY mad that they made it past the first week. I just don't think they are unique engough. URGH!!!!

The bottom two were "Footworkingz" and "Request" and I was MAD they don't deserve to be in the bottom.

"Footworkingz" dancing to "I've Gotta Feeling". They jump so high and have so much energy!! It is like they float, or glide. Love them.

Finally it was "Request" dancing to "I've had the time of my life". I loved these girls too! They had unique moves.

I was SOOOOOO mad that "Request" got eliminated because it TOTALLY shoulda been "Instant Noodles"!!! This season is super tough and I hope that the best crews survive the next week.

Dancing with the Stars Results 4/19/11

The encore dance was Chelsea and Romeo, YUP, I agree best dance of the competition night.

The special guest was Toby Keith. He was singing "Shoulda Been A Cowboy". I haven't heard the song in years, but I still knew EVERY word by heart. Maks and Lacey were dancing with the Troop. I like when the main dancers dance with them. Maks and Lacey made a little boo-boo on one of their tricks, but they recovered nicely. It was a little weird to see ballroom dancing to Country music....hmmm..

They did this little behind the scenes with Mike Catherwood and it had me rolling on the ground laughing. Especially scenes of Maks.

There was a guest dance performance, I LOVED it. I THINK that one of my SYTCD dancers were in this routine, but I couldn't tell for sure.

There was another Toby Keith performance with a dance by Jonathon Roberts and Anna..they are husband and wife and I love to watch them dance together...it was very graceful, so romantic.

The bottom two were: Petra and Chris. I thought it was gonna be Chris, but nope-it was Petra. It was a bit of a shocker.

Dancing With The Stars 4/18/11

Man! This Dance Blog is hard to keep up on!
*Forgive me if I am a bit behind, it was a busy week with my son's birthday and Easter and all*

Tonight was Dancing With The Stars 1000's dance! WOAH! It was "Americana" night. Hmmm.

First to perform was Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff (who in unrelated news was in Playboy this month...SHOCKER!) Ralph joked that he was from New York, Karina is from Russia and they are doing a Brazillian Samba to "Sweet Home Alabama" LOL. Karina really worked on his hip action, but the ballroom dances are really better suited for him. It was a bit frenzied for me..but there were some good moments-like his Samba rolls and the little line dancing moments. Their score: 22

Next...Chris and Cheryl. They danced to America the Beautiful. Chris was in some military attire. I can't help but notice how short Chris is. The dance was okay, a bit boring in my opinion. Their score: 26 (I can't believe they beat Ralph)!

Next...Petra and Dimitry. Dancing to Viva Las Vegas. She seems like such a nice person! They must have increased the budget this year, the sets and backgrounds were so fancy this week, and the last few weeks actually! I think she has improved a lot and I just love to watch Dimitry dance..their score: 22

Next...Romeo and Chelsie..dancing to "New York, New York"...I think his dance was my favorite of the week. He reminded me of Gregory Hines a little bit! Plus the song reminds me of a dance I did when I was on the Crimson Line. Their score: 26

Next...Hines and Kim...I liked his military outfit better, although Kym's outfit didn't really match the dance. They danced to "Proud to be an American". It was very good. I am beginning to think this season is very good, it is going to be very tight. Their score: 27

Next...Kirstie and Maks. I was worried about what might go wrong this week....luckily nothing did. The package before the dance was GREAT. John Travolta came to visit Kirstie and Maks, I was LAUGHING! They danced to "American Woman". Maks was shirtless and wearing leather pants, WOAH!!! I wish that I could do this dance with Maks!!! He SOOO thinks that he is HOTT and he is right, LOL! Their score: 23

Next...Kendra and Louis. Their package showed Kendra being hurt from her criticism, I loved how Louis talked to her, he "coached" her with care, with honesty. She did SOO much better this week with her energy, you could tell she was having fun. Their dance was the 1000th dance! They had a huge celebration for it, woah. Their score: 22

Finally..Chelsea and Mark. Samba to "Party in the USA"...I don't know what it was, but I didn't like this dance...maybe it was the low-cut pants. I just think Chelsea was a bit awkward in this style. Their score: 26

My hubby will be happy to hear this, I am not saving this episode on my DVR, I didn't really LOVE any of the dances...but everyone is really good and I couldn't pick who was the one to go....

America's Best Dance Crew 4/14/11

This week was Ke$ha and I LOVE her music so I was excited for these dances as I am sure I know most of her music.

The opening was another group routine to "We are who we are" and I once again loved to see the way the routines melted into each other..it is a great intro to seeing the crews for the first time. I wonder who choreographed these openers. I think it might be Napoleon and Tabitha. LOVE IT.

First up....Footworkingz dancing to "TIK TOK". I loved the energy of this group, I love how there is one girl, she tore it up. The speed and pace was amazing. I loved how they changed formations quickly and efficiently!

Then...787 Crew to "Blow", one of my new favorite songs of hers. Sad story, at Dress Rehearsals one of their members broke thier leg, so at the last moment they had to change their routine!! They had so many tricks, but I love to see things that not just any Joe Blow can do.

Then...Iconic Boyz and they really are BOYS! Like maybe 10 years old. That is a first on ABDC! They could dance really well and there was even a chubby boy and he shook it like the rest of them. I was pleasantly surprised.

Then there were these pole dancing girls. They were trying to show that it is dancing, not stripperish. I don't know why it is so sexy looking-but it is, even though they tried not too. They danced to "Sleezy" and I have never heard that song. Mario swung on the pole-okay not so sexy, but funny.

Then...Instant Noodles. They danced to "Dirty Picture" which is another song I haven't heard. Personally I think their moves were a little easy...a little slow and basic. They did have some B Boy moves, but there wasn't much creative..except for their little sign that they do to symbolize themselves.

Okay so this show the judges pick who goes home...and they picked Jagged. I was way surprised!! I was looking forward to seeing what the pole dancers could do. Instant Noodles was a little safe and boring in my opinion. I don't like it when I am dissapointed. Grrr. Okay, I am excited for the REAL competition to begin.

Dancing with The Stars Results 4/12/11

Starting off with crazy violinist and crazy hair and the pros dancing to "Walk This Way"...a little weird, a little cool. This time Violinist was in Leather pants, okay then.

Encore dance was Mark and Chelsea. It should have been Ralph and Karina.

Then there was a weird segment with the judge Len Goodman, looking like Patton and yelling at the Stars as if they were in bootcamp, military scrubs on and all. The Stars did their best acting job as if they were really scared and getting yelled at. I was partly entertained and only slightly annoyed. Hey, the show really tries.

Jennifer Hudson came and sang. I have loved her ever since she was on American Idol. Karina and Louis danced...they are so AWESOME! I don't even know the song she sang and I still loved it! I so wished I had Karina's body. SERIOUSLY!!

Then there was this performance of some star ballerinas. I know I am a dancer and all and I should LOVE classical ballet...but I don't. Especially to classical music. They are uber talented and all, but sorry...boring. It was maybe patterned off the black swan thing, I don't know, I was a little over it.

Then Jennifer Hudson sang (yeah) to a song I know "Feeling Good" I think is what it was called (yeah) AND extra surprise....Ashleigh and Ryan from SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE 2 seasons ago WOO HOOOO!!!! I loved them and it was great to see them again. They are from Utah and the first married couple on the show, (yeah yeah yeah) put THEM on the Troop!

The bottom two, was Sugar Ray and Chelsea..and I was thinking..there was NO WAY that Chelsea was going home. Sugar Ray was very sweet, almost made me cry!!! They called him the heart, and he really was. There is honestly no one that I DONT like, that I don't feel deserves to be there. It is a great season.

Dancing With the Stars 4/11/11

When I heard it was Classical Music Night I thought "Oh, no..it will be SNOOZER"...but I have to say, I was presently surprised. They had a huge symphony plus a hot violinist named David Garrett with long pony-tailed hair that he kept violining out of his pony tail, perhaps on purpose.

First up was the "Dance Troop" doing the Paso Doble which was good..but again I gotta say, I don't LIKE it when I don't know either of the dancers. BUT it was better this time...not sure if it was because of the dance, the music, the fire, the violinist OR if I am just starting to get to know the "troop".

Then the competition began with Romeo and Chelsea doing The Paso Doble (and I wish they would say the name of the song they danced to-because I don't know the name and it always bugs me if I don't know the name of the song and the artist, not just on this show, in everyday life). Let me just start out by saying Romeo has some nice abs. I liked his energy and aggression in the dance and I liked the SONG, whatever it was. Their score 23

Next: Kendra and Louis doing the Vianese Waltz. Oh Yikes! Poor Kendra. You could tell that she was super nervous and it was just not as good as it could have been. There was an Opera Singer and call me low class but I just don't like Opera, I mean it is talent and all-but boring to me. Their score 18 (OUCH)!

Next: Sugar Ray and Anna dancing to the Nutcracker Suite...awww! (and bonus for me, I knew THAT song!) They showed Sugar Ray taking Ballet classes! How precious! He looked like he was having so much and you could tell he was trying soo hard. Their score 21-his highest score yet.

Next: Dimitry and Petra. They danced to a song I've heard a lot...can't think of the name, grrr. It was a good dance, probably the best I have seen of her. Dimitry was awesome...I wonder if this is his speciality. Their score 23.

Then it was the Dance Troop again (boo). And the Opera singer (boo again-sorry, I feel SOO rude). And speaking of boo...am I a bad blogger if I have a dance blog and it isn't fancy, and I don't have pictures, and clips, etc? Eh, maybe no one reads this and maybe this is just for me to give my opinions and to remember the seasons.

Next: Ralph and Karina doing the Waltz. They critiqued his hands in previous weeks, well his fingers really and he REALLY worked on them and it REALLY showed. I think they danced to the theme from Romeo and Juliet and I enjoyed the story and the romanticism! I liked his suit with the coat tails. Their dance was great, the best of the night for me. They also told him to work on his connection with her and he did that as well! I like someone who takes feedback well (I am a "Coach" at work, can ya tell?). I loved the judges comments-and I always love it when Bruon gets all animated. Their score PS: 25 Their highest score. I still can't get over how YOUNG he looks. I just had to say it AGAIN.

Next: Hines and Kym doing the Paso Doble..I didn't know the song. But I liked the power and the fierceness they brought to the dance. Again, so powerful that pony tailed guy's hair was a flyin'. I do have to say though, this season is getting tough with the competition. I also need to say that Carrie Ann is always a sucker for the "Stars" that are basketball/football players. He generally seems like a nice guy. Their score: 25 (tied for #1). The audience boo'd the score.

Next: Chelsea and Mark and the Vianese Waltz. Okay, the music was from Harry Potter and I have only ever seen the FIRST Harry Potter but I still knew the music. I was like "Um, how is THIS classical?" but oh well, it was entertaining. I always like Mark's choreography. THIS time he used the technical elements while still keeping it young and fresh. The judges loved it, and ranted and raved about it. It was good, but not first place worthy...but they scored 26 and they were the top of the night.

Next: Chris and Cheryl dancing the Paso Doble. They danced to a well known song, but I feel like an idiot not knowing the name. It was a very powerful dance and a well suited song for the dance. He is impressing me and I am starting to worry he may overtake some of my favorites! Is it weird that he is so short, I assumed all those wrestlers are tall. Well, their score was 23 (and I am totally worried about my little Kendra now!)

Next: Maks and Kirstie dancing the Waltz, I was looking forward to Kirstie's comeback. In the package it showed her having a previous injury and I started to worry about my favorites!!! Then they started out great (even though it was to some crazy Opera singing that I swear was on some Lindor Truffle commercial). Then her SHOE CAME OFF! BUT like the pro that she is, she quickly got it on and finished the dance. Can I just say that Maks is just so darn cute. I never drool after any guy, but his little tooshy is just so cute, I can't help it. Their score = 22 (PS, I am starting to think that she may be on some medication) Bravo to her for showing some belly, I wonder if that outfit was Maks idea. I can't help but wonder what "accident" may happen next week.

Overall there wasn't a dance that I just LOVED, that I watched over and over. Hopefully as the competition goes on, those dances will come.

America's Best Dance Crew Season 6

Week of Lil Wayne:
I had no idea that the season was even starting! Thank goodness my DVR was set to record all new episodes! What a nice surprise!

The show started with half the crews performing. First up was a huge group routine. I don't know who choreographed it-but I LOVED it! I always like to see a bunch of really good dancers combine. I liked how each crew's entrance and exit sort of melted into each other.

Another nice dance surprise was that this year's new judge, is Dominic from So You Think You Can Dance AND from America's Best Dance Crew season 2. He joins Lil Mama and JC Chasez who have been around since season 1. I do miss Shane Sparks..where did he go? He was an original judge and choreographer from So You Think You Can Dance. I wonder if he will be on that show more. I hope so!

First up, was I AM ME from Texas. ANOTHER surprise, another So You Think You Can Dance Alum-Phillip!!! They specialize in something called Brain Banging which is creating pictures and illusions within their crew. That was different but very cool. I like how this crew was diverse!

Next was Phunk Phenomenon from Boston Mass. I always love the backstory. This group is made up of 3 brothers who are dancing in memory of their recently deceased father-sweet. I like how there is one girl in the group. She held her own with the dudes. They were pretty hard hitting and in sync. There was a part where one guy threw himself across the stage landing on his belly-WOAH. They called him LeBron because he looked like LeBron James.

Then there were some girls called Request from New Zealand. They call their dance Poly-swag. They were pretty good even though they had crazy loud clothes on. I wonder how the girls will hold up against the boys. So, ths group is from New Zealand..but isn't this AMERICAS BEST DANCE CREW? I will see how that plays out.

Next there was Eclectic Gentlemen from Hollywood, or really from all over America joined together. I really don't know too many Lil Wayne songs...and they danced to one I didn't know. Their dance was good..another sharp, hard hitting routine.

Finally there was Street Kingdom. They are a CRUMP Crew which is a very large and exaggerated high energy type of hip hop. AND I think they were my favorite. I am a little shocked to say that. The judges seemed to like them a lot-they got a standing ovation.

I like the way the show does eliminations. This week, the judges eliminated one crew and it was Eclectic Gentleman. It was a little shocking as ALL the crews were really awesome. I think it is going to be a tough season! I CAN'T WAIT!! When this season is over, it might be time for SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE! MY FAVORITE. This will do for now.

Dancing With The Stars 4/5/11

The results show started with the ENCORE performance of Hines and Kym's SAMBA again.

I like the results shows because of the pros dancing.

One Republic was there and Dimitry and Lacey danced to their song, I loved it and am so proud of my So You Think You Can Dance Dancers! They did so good!!!! I loved the musciality!

They had to show Maks and Kirstie the fall and ask their comments. How embarassing!

They showed clips of the Stars with their video cameras, funny.

Selena Gomez was there singing and Mark and Chelsea danced during her song. I love to watch Mark full out he has so much energy and Chelsea is just amazing too! So much better having THESE PROS dance! Loved it!

One Republic performed again with the Dance Troop and blah-not as exciting. They aren't as synchronized as I would like to see.

Bottom 2 were Chris and Cheryl and Wendy and Tony. It was a no-brainer of course WENDY was gonna go home. I wonder who will be next.....

Dancing With the Stars Week 3 4/4/11

Personal Story Week.

The show opened with the "Dancing With The Stars" Dance Troop. I still am undecided about this. I hate it in a way because I don't know any of these people...but they are great dancers..so I sorta like it.

These professional dancers make me miss my dancers body. I spent age 15-20 dancing for 2+ hours a day and it is such a good workout..I miss my toned legs. They've been gone for a while. ANYWAY.

Dance 1 = Wendy and Tony = Quickstep
Her story was about her fight to be successful in media. I appreciate her story and I admire anyone with determination. I didn't know the song she danced to (which always makes me think LESS of the dance for some reason). This may have been their best dance..but it still feels SOO low energy. I love Tony..but it just looks so easy for him, like he is walking or going in slow motion and he is so much better than that. Their score = 15 OUCH! PS>..I loved it when Wendy told Tony that he "made a great choreograph". Never heard a verb made into a noun like that.

They said that Carrie Ann got engaged on national TV...so I had to get to the bottom of it. She got engaged on Regis and Kelly to her boyfriend Jesse Stone-I don't know what he does for a living but he is handsoome and she seems happy.

Dance 2 = Chelsea and Mark = Cha Cha
Her story was about this boyfriend in a band who wrote this song for her. Another song I have never heard. I don't know how I would feel dancing to a song where my name repeated over and over...and hmmm..and some of the other lyrics "isn't it time we got down?" UM, NO it isn't time for anyone to be getting down with that young girl! The dance was okay...she was a bit chaotic and her weakness showed a bit...maybe I take back my previous statements about her being a previous dancer. Their score = 23 (too high in my opinion)

Dance 3 = Chris and Cheryl = Rumba
His story was a super sweet story about his mom who has passed on. The big wrestler was near tears, aww! His song was "Let it Be", finally a song I know. He told everyone his real name is Chris Urban, hmm, who knew! This guy is impressing me with his dancing though..and maybe he is the dark horse of the competition. Their score = 21

Dance 4 = Kendra and Louis = Rumba
Her story was about her story about meeting her husband and how his fans were ashamed of her and how it made her really sad. Her little boy was shown and he is so cute with his curly hair. Another song that I don't know..but I liked the words. I loved Kendra's outfit and I think she did awesome in this dance-Louis threw some hard choreography at her and she did it. Their score = 23

Dance 5 = Romeo and Chelsea = Rumba
His story was about the loss of his two young cousins-it was nice to see his vulnerable side. It was sorta funny to see him throw a fit about his shoes, like his dad did in season 2. I knew this song..."I'll be there", extra points for that. His dance was good, much better than the 20 that the judges gave them.

Dance 6 = Hines and Kym = Samba
His story about his mom and all that she did for him, another great story. He is Korean which was interesting to find out. She was in the audience so that was sweet. His song...Earth Wind and Fire's "World of Fantasy", that is more like it! He has great rhythm and had great hip action. Their score = 25 DESERVED!

Dance 7 = Petra and Dimitry = Waltz
Another great story about her going back to help Tsunami victims, she danced to Josh Grobin's "You Raise Me Up"..appropriate! She is much more suited to the more elegant ballroom dances. It is also nice to see Dimitry being elegant and not trying to be all sexy-like and without a shirt on (for a change). Their score = 25 SHOCKER!

Dance 8 = Sugar Ray and Anna = Paso Doble
His story was about beating the odds. His song choice "My Perogative" (I hope that I am spelling that right) interesting choice, but okay...I love Bobby Brown. It is funny that Anna had to encourage him to be intimidating because as a boxer he should be good at that, right?! I thought he brought it tonight, though. To me the issue is POSTURE, STILL! He seemed happy with his performance. I loved at the start of the dance, they had the boxer announcer there-I am sure the guys is famous but I don't know his name. He said "lets get ready to Rumba...and then Tom stepped in and then he said "Paso", TOO FUNNY! Their score = 20

My two favorites last.
Dance 9 = Kirstie and Maks = Rumba
WOAH about her story...she lost her mom in a car accident just after getting her big break in Hollywood. Her choice "Over the Rainbow" can't go wrong with that...UNLESS your PARTNER DROPS YOU! Yes, the most talked about moment, Maks hurt his leg and dropped her at the start of the dance! BRAVO to her for getting up and doing on...and she trusted him not to drop her again. I was glad that Maks was not seriously hurt and you could tell that he felt really bad about it. Their score = 21 I think it shoulda been higher

Dance 10 = Ralph and Karina = Rumba (lots of Rumba's tonight)
His story was about the song "Stay Gold" and how it was the theme song of "The Outsiders" and it is his wedding song. Man-his wedding pictures he looks like a little boy-hard to believe that he has been married for 24 years. I have seen the Outsiders a bunch of times, but don't remember the song. He did great, we've come to expect that. I wonder if Rumba was Karina's speciality because she had some wonderful moves. Their score = 21 (uh oh) But seriously I want to know his formula for staying so youthful looking.

There wasn't a dance that I just LOVED, so I won't be keeping this on my DVR.

Results show next!

Can I just say I miss the HOUGH siblings, please come back!

Dancing With the Stars Results Week One

Before the actual results show there was an hour long review of their dances where they recapped the scores of each couple and showed BOTH dances. This may be nice for anyone who missed both weeks or for those who hate the packages before the dances. Personally I love the packages. BUT I did like this readers digest version because I can save this 1 hours show on my DVR and delete the two other two hour shows!! WOOT WOOT for that!

My favorite is still Chelsea and Mark's jive! The only dance that I have watched multipile times.

The results show usually starts with the professionals doing a dance. I always love these because the pros can really show their stuff (not dumbed down for their celeb partners). This one was choreographed by Maks...love it! There were some faces I didn't recognixe though...and they mentioned a Dancing With The Stars Troop...some young professionals. I am not sure what they will do..perform every week? I will take that, it is just new so I don't know what to think. Their peformances on the results show was great. I love to watch the normal professionals so I hope that is not being sacrificed. One of their performances was choreographed by Jason Gilkenson-I have seen his work on So You Think You Can Dance-he is Australian and really good.

They usually have a singer come and perform and this week it was Chris Brown. OH MAN! What an awesome show! He is a great performer! WOAH! What a great dancer-I didn't even care that he was lip syncing (is that how you spell that?). My ULTIMATE dream job would be to be a backup dancer. It would be so fun. If course, I am too old, too chunky, and not talented enough for that job..but I said DREAM job.

The bottom two were: Sugar Ray and Anna and Mike and Lacey. I am sad for Lacey, it is always the hardest to go first. He was a gracious and funny loser. I loved his little farewell dance, he's got guts.

I can't wait for the next show, it gets better week after week!

Dancing With The Stars Week 2

So, I like this year how everyone gets to dance 2 dances before the first elimination. Here is how week 2 went.

Dance 1: Sugar Ray and Anna: Jive
This dance was much more suited to Sugar Ray as it is fast and posture doesn't matter as much. Anna was also able to put some of his boxing moves in there and we saw that he could really move! You could tell that he was having fun. I love Anna in her red bob wig. Carrie Ann had some good feedback for them. PS..she is so pretty and has such a great figure! Week 2 score: 17 Combined both week score:34

Dance 2: Kendra and Louis: Quickstep
I love Kendra, she is so funny, so real, so down to earth (and that is how I like my pretty girls-not stuck up at all). She got emotional and showed some insecurities in the segment before her dancing. I think that when they show the package about telling how hard they had it always makes me think they will dance bad and then I am always surprised by how polished the actual routine is. Kendra was worried about being elegant and I think she was very elegant-she didn't rely on her sexiness and I liked that. Louis is a great choreographer-I love to watch him dance! Holly was there supporting her and that made me happy. Len used the word "Chesticles" for boobs, which had me cracking up! Week 2 score: 19 Combined both week score: 37

Dance 3: Chelsea and Mark: Jive
By far my most favorite dance!!! Probably because it wasn't as "ballroomy" and was more dancey like I like. That is why the judges HATED IT! OH so unfair!! It was so high energy, I liked the awkwardness of itThere was jive elements in it so I don't know why they upset about it. Again I have to say that this girl is WAY TOO GOOD to have no dance training. Len had another great phrase "sticky wicket", who knows what that means. Week 2 score: 18 Combined both week score: 39 I hope America votes for them!!

Dance 4: Chris and Cheryl: Quickstep
Cheryl is a great teacher and maybe that is why she has won the trophy so many times. Crazy to hear Chris say that Cheryl was harder than any of his wrestling coaches..woah! I always love during training when they whip out the training bar for their ballroom frame. I was curious to see how he would do in the elegant style. AND I was pleasantly surprised! Maybe athletes have an advantage because they have good stamina. He was also thrilled with his performance as was his family in the crowd. Gotta love Bruno's comment about his big bum. Week 2 score: 23Combined both week score: 42

Dance 5: Petra and Dimitry: Jive
I am not sure if I have ever seen Dimitry jive and it made me wonder what his specialiity is-because they all pretty much have one and they have to learn a lot of the other styles. The dance was okay for me, I didn't love it-I didn't hate it. She is pretty and has long legs but I agree with the judges..she needs a bit more technique. Week 2 score: 18 Combined both week score: 36

Dance 6: Kirstie and Maks (sigh): Quickstep
I love to watch them practice. He usually gets angry with his partners-but there is a new Maks who laughs more! Again she is charismatic and had some awesome advice about being happy with your weight. I can relate, as one who has NEVER been happy with my weight. Her comments made me laugh. Her plan is to lose 5 pounds a week-oooh sign ME up! Their dance was good-she moves so well for being not at her ideal weight and WHAT WAS THAT KISS AT THE END OF THE DANCE! OH MY! I loved that! The judges loved the dance. They told Brooke that the kiss was spontaneous..AWW! I woulda kissed him if I had the chance too! Yessire! Week 2 score: 20 Combined both week score: 43 Which puts them in 3rd place, which is RIGHT where I want them to be. If you are the leader right off the bat it can be scary and hard to keep it there...but if you are near the top you have room to move up. GO MAKS!

Dance 7: Mike and Lacey: Jive
He gave Lacey flowers during practive as an apology, aww sweet! Mike is a nice guy and he is cute and has a good figure but dancing is just not his strong suit. He had some great energy and I was impressed with his kicks and flicks...but he is just a bit stiff. I feel bad for him and Lacey did her best! Dr. Drew was in the audience (his co-host on Loveline). He got great comments from the judges. Week 2 score: 17 Combined both week score: 30 (yikes he might not make it past this week)He was the lowest...and probably deservedly so, sadly.

Dance 8: Romeo and Chelsea: Quickstep
They danced to "You're the One that I Want". I did a dance to this in High School, memories. I had mixed feelings about their dance. There were moments when it was very nice and some moments that felt stiff with bad posture. Len said "best dance of the night", um, I wouldn't say that. He had some nice stuff to say and (unlike his father) he seemed very humble. Their score: 23 Combined both week score: 42

Dance 9: Wendy and Tony: Quickstep
In the package she talks about her boobs making it harder to dance and I can relate because I struggled with that in high school, people say you shouldn't complain-but too much of a good thing is just TOO MUCH. It is painful-so I feel for her. She keep saying that she is going to show her personality and show some engergy and this week WAS better but it still not as great as I think she can be. I hope if she sticks around she can bring out the energy or she may be the next to go. She sort of looks like a drag queen..which isn't necessarily bad (I love the drag queens on RuPaul's Drag Race) she is just a big girl. Their score: 17 Combined both week score: 31

Dance 10: Ralph and Karina: Jive
In the package he brought in his 2 teenage kids...he still just looks too young for that! Oh and his son is named Daniel (I have to guess that is after his character in Karate Kid, precious!). Again I was super impressed by him! Who is this guy? He is going to be a serious contender for the championship!!! I wonder what he does in his normal life work-out wise. Len was a bit hard on his criticism. Their score: 21 Combined both week score: 45 They are the leaders! WOO HOO!

Dance 11: Hines and Kym: Quickstep
It was funny to see Hines teach Kym (who is from Australia) some slang. They danced to "Part Time Lover", which I love, even though it is about infidelity. He impressed me this week again. He needs to point his toes, but he had high energy, high performance factory and he was genuinely smiling the whole time! I am so glad that Kym has a good partner this year! Carrie Ann gets all googly over the jocks, and that bugs me JUST a bit....because I think she gives them a bit more credit than they deserve. Their score: 23 Combined both week score: 44

I am going to watch the DVR for the results show right now, I SHOULD go to bed, but I want to see who got eliminated. AGAIN, thumbs up on the two chances to dance!

Dancing With the Stars Week One

I have been feeling deprived of dance so I was glad that Dancing with the Stars is back on! Sorry for the delay...I don't seem to have much free time lately.

Dance 1: Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas: Foxtrot
First of all I have NO idea who this chick is. I guess she is on the Disney Channel, but she must not be on anything that Lauren watches. She is drop dead gorgeous and has a very nice figure and she is young = all plusses! She sorta reminds me of Kellie Pickler. She said that she has never danced and I call bull crap on that..she is way too good to never have danced. It was a good way to start the show. I always love Mark's choreography. Their score = 21

Dance 2: Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani: Cha Cha
I have never seen Wendy's talk show but I do see her being made fun of regularly on "The Soup". She has humungo boobs with probably makes it hard to dance. It was a little weird to see her wipe her tears with her hair...um eww. On her show she seems to have a ton of energy..but she was a littl lackluster in the energy department. I had expected a lot more from her. The judges had the same thoughts. I love Tony though, he is such a nice guy and he really tries to use his Star's strengths. I would love to see him win one of these days...it probably won't be with Wendy though-SORRY TONY! Their score = 14

Dance 3: Hines Ward and Kym Johnston: Cha Cha
What kind of name is "Hines"? I wonder if he got teased as a kid. I don't follow sports so I didn't know this guy..but I always love it when a jock dances. He seems like a nice guy. I was impressed by him though, the guy had some rythym and he actually seemed to be having fun. I like Kym a lot too, and I am glad that she won with Donny Osmond-she definitely deserved it! They got decent reviews from the judges. I always love it when Bruno stands up and dances, and I love Len's reaction to his dancing-covering his face. Too funny! Their score = 21

Dance 4: Petra Nemcova and Dimitry Chaplin: Foxtrot
Another Star that I wasn't familiar with...but I always love one of my "So You Think You Can Dance Alums" GO DIMITRY so I was hoping she would be good. He always has awesome choreography. They are both Russian I think so I hope to hear them speak Russian to each other. I felt for her story about her being a Tsunami survivor-she seems very nice and is tall and beautiful and looks very nice with Dimitry. She seems graceful but is lacking a little bit of power. Their score = 18

Dance 5: Romeo and Chelsea Hightower: Cha Cha
Okay, I never knew that he was gonna be on Season 2 and that his dad had filled out for him. Chelsea is another SYTYCD alum and I LOVE HER! He is trusting her so that is good. I am happy that she actually got a good dancer-maybe she will win it this year!! He will just need to extend his movements, improve his posture-open up his chest and he could be a contender because he has the performance factor-much better than his father and his infamous "2"s. Did they kiss at the end? WHAT? I always wonder if there is romance between the competitors!Their score = 19

Dance 6: Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskay: Foxtrot
He is obviously a boxing legend..it was interesting to see him struggle so much with dance. He was trying soo hard and was being so hard on himself. I thought he would be getting it a little bit better than he was. He is another one that needs to put his shoulders down and open it up a little bit. He seemed to enjoy it and I always love that. He had lots of energy and I love that too. Bruno called him a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle...that made me laugh. Their score = 17

Dance 7: Kendra Wilksonson and Louis Van Amstel: Cha Cha
I love Kendra-she so cute and has such a cute figure and OH HOW I love her laugh. It is funny how she thinks of herself as a tomboy yet she can be so sexy. I laughed when Louis told her she should be a stripper and she said she used to be. I really like Louis-he is another one that is deserving of the mirrorball trophy! I loved their song. She is very sexy-I just think she needs a bit bigger movements and little bit more control but she is a great performer and you could tell she was having fun. I think she has a ton of potential and I can't wait to see how far she will go. Her ex-boyfriend, Hef was there, that was a bit weird. Their score = 18

Dance 8: Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff: Foxtrot
The Karate Kid! He still looks the same! Hard to believe that the movie came out 28 years ago! Matt and I were both shocked that he said he was almost 50! I kept thinking about the movie the Outsiders and all the cool guys in that movie. I like Karina and had hoped that her and Maks' relationship woulda worked out. I couldn't believe how good he was!!!! I think that was the shocker of the night! He was SOO graceful! I don't know what he does to stay in such good shape-whatever it is, I think it helped him! WOO HOO! I like Karina and she has gotten some pretty sketchy partners..she may actually have a chance with Ralph. Yippee. Their scores = 24 Karina was jumping up and down she was so excited!

Dance 9: Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke: Cha Cha
I don't think that there has ever been a male wrestler on the show. I wasn't expecting much. He was much better than I thought. Cheryl although a multiple winner, is not my favorite dancer. I know that she has gone through a lot in her life-she just sorta bugs me...she thinks she is hot stuff. She is a good dancer and all and she does well with whatever partner she gets, and I think she usually gets a good partner. He had a lot of fun. Their scores = 19

Dance 10: Steve Catherwood and Lacey Schwimmer: Foxtrot
Okay, I don't really know this dude either-but he seems funny and cute. Lacey is one of my favorites from So You Think You Can Dance (but girlfriend needs to color her hair-I don't know what sort of look she is going for). She always has great choreography and it was good this time...he is just really bad. He gets an A for effort...but his lines were not quite right. I am a little worried about her this round with this guy, I wish she woulda gotten Chris Jericho-she would have had a better chance! Their score = 13 YIKES!

Dance 11: Kirstie Alley and Makism Chmerkovski: Cha Cha
I was so excited to see her. She is seriously FUNNY and very charismatic. I can't believe that she is 60. Maksim was actually being funny TOO and oh boy he is so cute I LOVE to watch him dance and shake his cute butt and hips especially doing the Cha Cha...oh my! And here is another suprise...SHE IS A GOOD DANCER and a GREAT PERFORMER! Maks has never won the trophy although he should have with Mel B. He may have a fighting chance! I can't wait to see what she will do. Cheering in the audience was Brandi (his last season's partner) and Kelley Preston! Their score = 23 and Maks was way excited. She is so pretty..she reminds me of my friend Jami..pretty eyes, pretty hair and high eyebrows.


My first impressions:
* No "Houghs" this year. BOO. That makes me sad. But I am happy to have 3 SYTYCD alums and cute Maks too.
* I do like how the Stars get two weeks of dancing efore they are eliminated, that way everyone gets a fair chance.
* Kristie Alley, Ralph Macchio, and Kendra are my first show favorites

More blogging to come, when I get a sec.

Glee March 15 2011

Is it just me...or did I spot Lauren and Comfort from So You Think You Can Dance on this episode of Glee?! On Sue Sylvester's team..... I couldn't get too good of a peek..but maybe. Anyone else see it?

*PS...so great to FINALLY see Curt get his first kiss!*

Dancer Sighting

Okay, so maybe I am weird.

Every dance routine in a movie or on TV I always watch to see if I recognize anyone. Not people I know personally because that would be CRAZY. I watch to see if I recognize any former dancer from any of my "dance shows". Actually, I am successful a lot of the time!!! This will be a new recurring post in my dance blog.

I recorded the Grammy's...and I haven't watched ALL of it...but I did catch Lady Ga Ga's performance. First of all, she is AMAZING!!!! One of her primary dancers from pretty much the beginning was Mark from So You Think You Can Dance. He was on this most recent season of ALL STARS and I wondered if he would lose his "Ga Ga" gig by doing so...but much to my pleasure he was dancing with her in on the Grammy's!! YIPPEE!! For the record you can spot him in the Alejandro video and in the Telephone video. His quirky style fits her choreography perfectly.

On a side note, Ga Ga is coming to town, and I really really really want to go but the tickets are so expensive and Matt won't let me buy tickets due to my swelling Credit Card debt. BOO.

Live to Dance Finale

Sorry I am so late posting this. I have worked the day shift since November so you would think that I would be used to it-but I have been so tired lately and haven't even had much time to sit down!!

I did catch the Finale and was excited to see the winner.

The show started with an AWESOME collaborative dance with all six of the finalists. This dance was AWESOME!! I watched it like 5 times, okay maybe only twice...but it was worth the rewind. It was choreographed by Paula Abdul...and that lady has still GOT it!

Then the show dwindled the final six into a final three. Then the Final Three got to dance one more time...sounds exciting..til I found out who the final three were...GRRR. It was D'Angelo and Amanda AND Kendall Glover AND White Tree Fine Art! What the French Toast! I was so upset. My last place choice in every ranking has always been White Tree Fine Art!!! (Needless to say I wasn't happy with their performance). I was so dissappointed to not get to see another dance from Twitch or The Vibe. I did enjoy D'Angelo and Amanda's performance-I thought it was their best one yet-it was so fun. Kendall did a repeat performance-I was kinda sad not to see a new routine from her. At this point I am TOTALLY cheering for D'Angelo and Amanda. AND.....

THEY WON!!!! I was happy..they get to split the prize money. I liked Kendall and all but I thought that it would be cool if the money was split in two instead of just given to one person. Is that a weird reason to be cheering the winner!! Just kidding, I really was impressed with both acts, but loved D'Angelo and Amanda too. SOO cute!

On a side note-the show decided to give the Chi-Town's Finest Breakers a new car, it was so sweet! They had once lived in their car and they give back to their community-so I thought that was very nice.

Gee whiz, what am I gonna do now?! I've got to wait for the next dance show...not sure when that will be... Well, I haven't had much time to watch TV anyway. LOL.

Live to Dance Semifinals

Tonights episode was the best one yet. The series has been so short, hard to believe they will be announcing a winner next week. I welcome any dance show, so overall it has been a welcome surprise. I wonder when MTV will start showing "America's Best Dance Crew" again, I sure hope they do.

Onto tonight's show:

Kendall Glover was America's vote from last week. Woo-hoo!

First to dance was TWITCH..with another great dance and my vote for the win. I didn't vote so if they lose I will feel super guilty. I love their quirky moves, I love that there is one dude with a bunch of girls. They were so powerful, so sharp, so awesome!!!

Next was White Tree Fine Art. They are good, but I guess I am a bit un-impressed. Their little love story was sweet. They are talented, but not up to par in my opinion. Travis said that they made good "lines" and that is what I always watch in dance-but it wasn't enough this time for me.

Then it was The Vibe-38 strong. They were great-but I have to say this was my least favorite performance. It was a bit busy for me, and I would have enjoyed (as the judges said-some peaks and valleys).

And then it was Kendall's turn. I loved her musicality, she is UBER-talented. She was a bit chaotic too...like she had to pack all of her tricks in, and some subtle slow, intentional calmness would have made it perfect. Have I mentioned that she dances a lot like Lauren from So You Think You Can Dance? They are both from Phoenix so I wonder if they had the same teacher.

5th to dance was Dance Town Chaos. The judges loved them, gave them a standing ovation-I am not sure if I agree. They were good and I liked the concept of the dance BUT they were not very synchronized. There was one dancer that was spotlighted and it would have been okay for a few seconds but it was almost distracting-I wish that they would have rotated the spotlight. They were good and I appreciate their uniqueness, however.

Finally it was D'Angelo and Amanda. They were AWESOME this time, I am amazed of their talent and of how young they are! They were better tonight than I have ever seen. Her leaps and legs were just unbelievable. They have such cute little chemistry-they are even funny during their interviews.

I believe that voting will be super tight, I can't wait to see who wins. My friend Stephanie from work, may not agree with me (she has a niece who is on The Vibe)...but my ranking would be: Twitch, D'Angelo and Amanda, Kendall Glover, The Vibe, Dance Town Chaos, and then White Tree Fine Art. We will see if I get it right.

Missing So You Think You Can Dance

So I mentioned in my last post that I am trying to get my DVR down in my "So You Think You Can Dance" folder. Currently it is 49 episodes, yup I got one more deleted. I mentioned that Season 6 was my least favorite. It made me start to think, if I had to rank the seasons of my favorite show, just HOW would I rank them. After much thought here is my opinion:

#7-Season 6. The standouts of this season to me were Jakob and Eleanor. This was also the first time a married couple was on the show (from Utah even!). At first I wasn't excited but I came to really love Ashleigh, she impressed me soo much and didn't make one wrong step on the show. I actually think she (or Jakob) should have won-but Russell the crumper is truly awesome in his own style (I just don't believe he should have won-sorry!).

#6-Season 1. 2005 this season started it all and I loved it. I was even able to buy this season on DVD on E-bay, not quite sure if that was legal, but it is too late now. The reason this season is #6 for me is that because the show was so new, the talent wasn't as great as it currently is. There were very few choreographers (I still loved it) but I am guessing the budget was quite small so there episodes that the same dance was used my different couples. I am thinking too that the costume budget was not very large, if it even existed at all. Lastly, because it was a new season, the show only came on once a week, so it lacks the "elimination" show and group performance that all the other seasons have. I am FOREVER in love with Blake, Nick, Melodie and Ashlee and I look for them STILL on any TV and movie dance number.

#5-Season 2. Hard to say this when my ultimate favorite contestant was on this season-Travis Wall. I did enjoy this season and how it blossomed in its sophomore year. I loved the new dances, the new choreographers, the improved talent and the group routines. ALSO my favorite all-time group routine was "Ramalama" by my all-time favorite choreographer Wade Robson. I was emotionally connected to this season and I was sooo angry when Alison (from Utah) was eliminated. I also am STILL quite angry that Benji won this season, it TOTALLY should have been Travis. They changed the tag-line this year too. It is no longer "America's Best Dancer" but "America's Favorite Dancer"..(because duh it WOULD have been Travis). There were some a-ma-zing dances this season and I believe the first Emmy win with the "bench routine".

#4 Season 3. The first female winner-Sabra (from Utah!) Utah has great dance talent, I am so proud of that. I loved the contestants this season. Lauren, Neil, Hok, Danny (Travis's black brother-no kidding!) Lacey (who went onto Dancing with the Stars), and OH DOMINIC another one of my favorites! Also a little known fact-One Republic's "Apologize" was debuted on this season and it became a HUGE hit. I loved that routine! I also loved Lacey and Kameron's Disco and the sweet hip-hop dance with Sabra and Dominic.

#3 Season 4. "4 real" as they always said. Lots of great new choreographers this season-Tabitha & Napoleon AND Sonja Tayek. SO many great routines. "American Boy" (although I am alone in this sentiment). "Bleeding Love" and the hip-hop military routine. Great dancers this season..I loved Joshua, Katie (my alltime favorite female dancer), Twitch, Mark (who is now a dancer for Lady Ga-Ga), Chelsea (from Utah who went onto Dancing with the Stars), and Karrington. This was the first season that I went to the tour. We had such a blast seeing all the dances in person. I have seen all the routines a gazillion times. My favorites never get old.

#2 Season 7. This was really super hard to decide. It was a little bit of a controversial season because they brought old favorites back as "All Stars" and each contestant traded styles and All-Stars every week. Some people didn't care for that-but I really thought it elevated each of the contestants. Also, I felt like it was the most "fair" because it judged JUST the one dancer not the combo. It was great to see my old favorites on the show again, the tour was so awesome. I believe that Kent and Lauren had a little romance and I LOVED their many kisses. There were only 11 contestants this season-and like I said I loved Lauren who won the show, I also loved Kent who had so much energy, enthusiasm, and talent-yet he was so humble (and um he SHOULD have won the show-sorry Lauren). I enjoyed Billy Bell as well. I am super glad that I have this season on my DVR-every episode is a treat that I snack on contstantly.

#1 Season 5. Like I said this was hard to decide...BUT I just LOVED this season. The last season before they moved onto the new set. I do miss the stair case very much! This season may also be sentimental because it also co-incides with the beginning of my most successful run at work as well, and I met my really good friend at this time, Beth. Good old 2009. SOO many great dances that begin my "49" episode collection!! I loved the group routine to "I know you want me". There was the best disco dance ever "Lovin is my Game", the "butt" dance, the "vampire" dance, the "Theives" (thanks Wade). Loved loved Mia's piece this year "Addiction"-BRILLIANCE! Loved Brandon, Ade, Jason, Jeanine, Jeanette, Kupono, Kayla (my 2nd favorite girl EVER!)-oh I adore her and SHE should have won SERIOUSLY! ALSO...this season marked Travis's FIRST choreographed piece-"The Necklace" I get chills EVERY time! I am glad Jason stuck around long enough to dance this one and I believe this is what helped Jeanine WIN...well that AND the fact that being paired with Phillip helped her get through to at least the half-way point. No one can forget the "Breast Cancer" routine either. It was hit after hit this season. There was also an added treat near the end "Top 3" girls and "Top 3" boys dances. We went to see the tour again and even though I was SUPER sick, Matt came with me and commented on how athletic these dancers were. It meant a lot to me that he was taking an interest in my dancing show. :)

I realize that I may be writing these things down JUST for me, but I have wanted to write these thoughts for sooo long. I don't journal anymore-so this is my chance. I may not be a dancer anymore, but now I live to watch dances. Perhaps I live THROUGH the dances. I can't wait for the summer and for the return of my passion. If someone understands dance-they understand me. Misty if you are reading, I hope that you give this show a chance, I know you HATE reality TV..but this is SOO different, SOO awesome, SOO special.

Semifinals Round 3

Okay I am SUPER happy to announce that TWITCH was chosen to move on from last week's show. WOO HOO!

Let me tell you about the 6 that danced this week:

*Dance Town Chaos...all male, been dancing together for 9 years. They were great tonight! They are athletic and sharp and strong. They got 3 stars and they were the judges picks to move on.

*Jill and Jacob...who were an early favorite of mine, however, tonight's performance was not as special to me as their first routine, the judges shared my sentiment. They did not seem to take any feedback very well and I believe that will hurt their votes.

* Roosevelt Anderson-I happened to like his performance this week much better than his orginal dance. The judges told him they wanted more "bone-breaking" and less gliding-but I like the gliding and was happy there was less "bone-breaking" (I don't care for it).

*Tap Sounds Underground. As I stated before, I am not a huge tap fan. Love dance but tap just does not do it for me-not sure why. And for me-I guess it is weird to have two tappers dance together, especially two dudes. Maybe I prefer one at a time. I mean these guys are great tappers and are talented...just my least favorite. Sorry.

*Shore Thing. Another multi-aged group. I loved their Zombie dance from earlier-but this "clown/nightmare/dream" was just not as special for me.

*Kendal Glover. She is truly amazing! Even Lauren commented with a "WOW" watching her dance. She dances like an 18 year old, not like the pre-teen that she is. I hope that America votes her through.

Next week should be interesting! I can't wait to see it.

On a side note. My favoritest show ever is "So You Think You Can Dance" and I have the last three seasons on the DVR. 50 episodes! Matt knows that I love it so he doesn't bug me too much about deleting them because I do watch them over and over. I try to trim it down, but I can't let them go. I am in the process of writing in my notebook the date and dance so that when I am in certain moods I can que up the favorites. I finished season 5 which I LOVED and am on to season 6...which was my least favorite. Seasons 5 and 7 have multiple dances per episodes that I love, but season 6 only has pretty much just one dance per episode that I like. It is killing me to save a whole 2 hour episode for just one dance, but oh well. Watching Season 6on Sunday is also responsible for getting that Imogen Heap song "Aha!" in my head this whole week!
See it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnREi2y_V10

It is by my favorite choreographer EVER, Wade Robson. Love it. Misty, watch it twice and let me know what you think. I don't know Imogen Heap but am tempted to listen to some of her music after the few pieces I have heard.

My all-time favorite Wade piece is from season two, check this out too! LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPzcsdlOB7g

Let me know your thoughts!

Semi-Finals Week TWO

To start out with-I found out who moved on from last week's show..."Vibe"..good! I am glad. America voted in D'Angelo and Amanda...once again I am glad.

This week's show was shown, at least at my house, in it's entirety. It was a great show!

*First Up was Jalen-the young breaker, he was SOO adorable. I just love his energy and his positive attitude. He just made me smile the whole time.

*Dance In Flight-an older (meaning closer to MY age) couple doing what I would call ballroom with acrobatics. This was my first time seeing them-there were some awesome moments but also some low moments-like when the woman was almost dropped. The ex-dancer in me also couldn't help but notice how the lady's knees were bent a lot of the time when it shoulda been straight.

*Twitch-OH I loved it! SOOOOO gooood. CHILLS is all I can say. They were fast paced, precise. I loved the quirky movements. The judges loved them tooo!

*Dushaunt-reminds me of a young Usher. Very nice.

*Dax and Sarah-Lindy Hoppers. My first view of them and they were good. I was quite impressed with their synchronicity. Did anyone see this? I was a little distracted by her outfit, I just don't know what was up with the garter belt thingy visible under her dress.

*White Tree Fine Art-(I was still a little mad that they were the ones voted to this weeks show) BUT their routine this week was much better than last weeks and they did spotlight the hubby a little bit more which was nice.

OKAY...so this is the dissapointing part. This week I DID see the end of the show. The judges got to send one act through which in my opinion SHOULD have been TWITCH and with America's vote cute little Jalen would go through to the next round. UNFORTUNATELY my heart was broken a bit as White Tree Fine Art got sent through. This means that no way will Twitch and Jalen BOTH be able to go to the next round. Does anyone else share my sentiment?

*PS..Misty-I am not on hulu so I don't know if this show is on it....but some of the routines may be found on youtube.

Semifinals Week One (DARN DVR)

I was so excited to watch the Semifinals of "Live to Dance".

When I FINALLY got in my PJs, laid my clothes out for the next day, I got all comfy on the couch ready to watch..BUT...the President was speaking for nearly 30 minutes of the show!!! They showed the first half...BUT my DVR cut off the last half...BOO!

SO..here is what I did catch:

1) They announced the 18th act-"White Tree Fine Art"-shocker and a bit disspointment as it was my last place choice. Well-I am looking forward to seeing what they can do next week.

2) The first act was "The Vibe" TOTALLY awesome this week! They sure do make Utah proud-(unlike crazy Bachelor contestants-ugh!). Well they had awesome music, a great pace, they were creative, sharp, very polished. I loved it. They got three stars from the judges-woot woot!

3) "Jittin Genius". I have never heard of the style called "Jittin"...but I enjoyed it. The style seems very lightfooted and effortless, I appreciate that. He danced to "I can Transform ya" and that song just reminds me of "Russell" from "So You Think You Can Dance". But it was still good and he also got 4 stars. For some reason I seem to enjoy performances that have more than one person in them, just sayin'.

4) "Chi-Town's Finest Breakers". These kids are freakin' adorable and pretty darn talented-BUT in my opinion, they are a little out of their league. The littlest girl-"Precious Moments" was the cutest little thing ever..awww. BUT the judges only gave the group one star.

5) "Austen Acevedo". They finally gave us the background on this kid as he was really not shown at all the first episode. Okay you want to talk TALENT-this kid has it! He just started dancing a year ago! He practices in his garage all day and night. AMAZING...but his performance I felt was a little Jam packed-which came across a bit spastic. The judges didn't give him any stars-but I feel like ONE DAY he may just BE his own STAR.

6) "Bev and Hap". They just make me happy. They revealed on this episode that they are NOT dating contrary to my belief. Kinda made me a little sad-I wanted them to be a cute couple dancing away. They both are such in great shape! They did a tap routine to hip hop music. It was so cute! AND that is when my DVR stopped. BOO. I don't even know how many stars they got.

The judges will be sending ONE act on and America votes on the NEXT act. I don't even know who was chosen. I really hope it was the Vibe, I felt they deserved it.

Please share your opinions if you are reading this.

Until next time.

To Hype up the Top 18 who are still living to dance

Okay, Wednesday's episode of "Live to Dance" was, I believe, to hype up the next show on Wednesday January 12th....well, I guess that is what is to be expected on a new show.

It was sort of a recap of the show that aired on Tuesday, highlighting again most of the acts shown on that night.

So far the top 18 are:
The ones I spoke about last post,(which I will probably refer to parenthesis for ease of memory):
1-Vibe (the group from UT)
2-Jalen (cute kid with his dad)
3-Bev and Hap (cute old hipsters)
4-Shore Thing (Zombies young and older)
5-Jill and Jacob (teenagers in love with clashing styles)
6-Dushant (young hip-hopper)...(who I believe is better than....
7-Roosevelt (the bone breaker hip-hopper)
8-D'Angelo and Amanda (the AMAZING ballroomers)
9-Twitch (the one boy group-my fave so far)
10-Chi Town's Finest (cool family of 5 siblings)
11-Kendall Glover (the best 6th grade dancer I've ever seen)


Ones that I saw on the last episode but I didn't blog about
12-Tap Sounds Down Under (I am just NOT that into Tap)

Ones that I don't even remember seeing (that just doesn't seem fair, now does it?)
13-Dance In Flight (a couple-maybe ballroomers?)
14-Jittin' Genius (another hip-hopper-I think)
15-Dance Town Chaos (interesting mix of ball-room/fighting/gymnastics)
16-Austin Acevedo (This pre-teen boy was AMAZING! Why didn't they show him!)
17-Dax and Sarah (???)

Then they did this thing where for the Semi-Finals...they couldn't decide between 3 groups to get the last spot (dun, dun, dun)....So they are letting AMERICA vote to see who gets the last spot by getting to let them perform tonight:
Theatrix (whom I WANTED to see last time-but didn't get to see last time-they did a clever dance to Footloose-that might have been more creative than technical-but I did enjoy their "Tutting"
White Tree Fine Art (a ballet husband and wife-they were great together-and made great lines-even though I am not huge on ballet-the wife was a bit more technical than the hubby)
AND Inside the Box- (I really like this huge group-they were fast, creative, sharp, and very much synchronized!!)
**You can guess who I am pulling for!**

Didn't make it:
Solid gold
And who knows what happened to Supatrix? Eh...I hate when I have unanswered questions!

I am excited to see Wednesdays episode. A fellow co-worker at Discover Card has a niece that dances at "Vibe"...so it will be great to cheer along for the home team. I am never a big fan of the "audition" process, I like when the REAL competition starts. WOo hOo!

The Vibe:

Twitch:

Live to Dance (and to talk about it)!!

So, this is something I have wanted to do for a long time. Start a new blog to talk about DANCE. Anything and Everything DANCE....why?

#1) I love to give my opinions

#2) I have an English Degree and spent most of my college life WRITING.

#3) I love everything about dance-currently ALL of the dancing shows, and dance IN entertainment.



This is a way and a place to combine all the above. It was a New Years Resolution-so here I am!

I am not sure who may read this-it may just be for me...but I hope to start a dialogue.



Okay...so post #1 is about the new show "Live to Dance". I have always LOVED Paula Abdul and have been inspired by her dancing. In 6th grade I even did a lip-sync/dance with Amanda Harding to "Opposite's Attract". I was Scat Cat-it was great. I only wish we had it on video! ANYWAY-she was great on American Idol but I know that she used to be a Laker Girl and that dancing is a HUGE passion of hers (more so than singing-I believe). I even have a workout tape by her "Shut up and Dance"-I love it. SO, I was super excited to watch her new show.



The premise of the show sorta combines "So You Think You Can Dance"/"Americas Best Dance Crew"/"American Idol"/and "America's Got Talent". That being said, it is a bit different than most dance shows. The biggest thing for me is that there is no age limit. Most dance shows that I follow have young people who are aged 18-30. They have the usual 3 judges. Joining Abdul is Kimberly Wyatt-a Pussycat Doll and Travis Payne-a choreographer for Michael Jackson for over 15 years.

One thing that I enjoyed about this show, over other competition reality shows in the audition phase is that there was very minimal of the typical "clueless that they are horrible and way out of their league" acts! Bravo to that! Also-there was none of the "comments that are so rude that the contestants cry" business. Another Bravo! There was some nice, non-personal, critques that I found refreshing. I believe you can be honest and kind and it was great to see some of that. I look forward to seeing further rounds of this show. Here are some of my brief thoughts:

*Opening up with 8 year old Jalen and his dad almost made me cry. I love how the dad was trying to be so supportive. I love how the kid had no formal training yet was doing some pretty difficult B-Boy Tricks.

*You also have to applaud 83 year old Bev and 68 year old Hap. Those hipsters could really shake it. Bev had a fit little body. They made me smile..AND they got through to the next round.

*Jill and Jacob had a sweet little love story and a sweet little love story dance! I liked how their dance combined contemporary and hip-hop.

*Dushawnt was a great young hip-hopper as well.

*I wish they woulda showed more of the group "SupaTrix". There were some great acts that were passed along that they didn't show and I wished they would have. I know it is a 2 hour show-but darn it.

*Utah was well represented on the January 4th show with a team from Lindon UT. Utah is in a class of it's own in the dance world. I am always proud of that.

*I had a blast from the past with "Beyond Gold" made up of ex-Solid Gold dancers. I was such a fan as a kid, I wanted to be a Solid Gold Dancer when I was a kid. I had the rolling head-hair flip down perfect! They got passed along after a changed vote-although I agreed with the judges as they held back a little-I hope they bring it going forward.

*"Shore Thing" with a group of kids in varying ages had a Zombie theme. I loved it!

*C Bunny was a deaf girl who had some great moves, they didn't pass her on, but she was humble and appreciative and also inspiring.

*Roosevelt did a style of hip-hop called "bone breaking". It isn't my favorite style-I like to enjoy performances not cringe in pain. Suprising to me-they passed him on.

*"Chi-Town's Finest Breakers" showed a family of 5 kids, boys and girls. I adored them! I loved their breaking names...especially the youngest girl " B-Girl Precious Moments". Their story about struggling and sleeping in their cars was touching as well. I will be cheering them on for sure.

*My two favorites were #1 "Twitch". I was totally captivated by this group of girls and the solo man. It was amazing! Another favorite was (I think) 2 eleven year olds-D'Angelo and Amanda. They were also incredible ball-room dancers. To be THAT good THAT young is just unbelievable.

The next episode is this Wednesday at 7 pm on (in Utah) Channel 2.

Please leave a comment if you read this, I love the feedback!