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Friday, August 11, 2006
3:00 am
41 Comments
Oh, NO. This week on So You Think You Can Dance, we’re back to the bad, fugly PromCat. Blinding sparkly silver tinfoil dress, matching giant sparkly bracelets, and enormous, poofy hair. I knew last week’s gorgeosity couldn’t last. Our top four dance on in, and they’ve all decided to give Cat a run for her money in the fug department. Donyelle is wearing jeans and an assortment of brown burlap rags. She flashes us her stomach, which is really ill-advised. I mean, I don’t do that, and there’s a reason. Hint: It’s the SAME reason.
The rest of them are no better. Benji has on a T-shirt that is way too pink and flowery, layered over a long-sleeved white collared item. Heidi is in by far the best shape, clothing-wise, but she is nonetheless wearing a bright green sack. And Travis has decided to dress up as a pretend biker. He has, yes, a black vest with random zippers and/or buckles, and big black shit-kickin’ boots, and even some spiffy black wristbands. But you know he’s going nowhere near an actual bike, because his boots are flapping open in the breeze, and he’s wearing manpris. Seriously, y’all, this is a bad clothes day for everyone. Maybe they’re trying to confuse us all before the vote.
Return of PromCat.
Cat tells us that tonight each contestant will dance solo, and also, they’ll all dance with each other. And yes, I’m going to get my wish about the all-guy and all-girl pairings. (I wasn’t surprised by this, because a tuned-in commenter tipped me off after last week’s post, but I’m still delighted.) Then Cat blows my mind by telling me that we aren’t going to find out the winner until next Wednesday. Whoa – why is it taking them a week to tabulate the votes? Are they bringing in UN election observers to make sure there’s no coup d’état? Sure, I’m happy not to do two recaps in one week, but this seems like an awfully long time to attempt to sustain America’s interest.
Cat introduces the judges. Now, this is the very last performance show, so you’d think they’d bring out their all-star judges, the crème de la crème. Instead, they have Nigel, Mary, and a guy who, I’d like to remind everyone, once wore this:
Yes, it’s Brian Friedman, the second-biggest jackass I’ve ever seen on this show – second only to a certain someone known as James “Jaymz” Tuaileva. Luckily, we don’t waste any time talking to the judges. We also don’t see the contestants drawing styles out of that omnipresent hat. Instead, we plunge right into rehearsals of Heidi and Travis’s disco routine.
I think I’m solidly on the record with my feelings about disco routines. I used to instinctively love them, but the wiser among you presaged my current way of thinking, which is that the dancing doesn’t tend to actually be very good. On the other hand, I still love the costumes, and sometimes the music. BUT. Holler if you think Heidi was born to disco. Okay, now holler if you think Travis was born to disco. (Crickets chirping.) So this could be interesting. The choreographer is that scary Elvira lady, Doriana Sanchez. She says that the routines are extra-short this week, so this one will have to explode out of the box. Wow, she’s right – if I’m counting correctly, we’re going to have ten dances in one hour-long show. And little do I know that there is plenty of filler ahead, as well. No wonder Cat hustled us right into rehearsal.
The clothes do not disappoint. Heidi is in sparkly fuchsia, kind of like a figure-skating dress. Travis has the awesome purple shirt, white vest, and white pants combo. He opens up with a pirouette with his arms in perfect ballet position overhead – yeah, that’s not very disco, Trav. Anyway, they execute all of their disco moves, but they don’t have any soul. Heidi has that fake open-mouthed frozen grin that she gets sometimes. They’re technically strong but I don’t think they feel it.
This is disco?
Nigel tells Cat that she looks like a disco ball. That’s fairly accurate. He calls Heidi the best girl partner in the competition, and Travis is like, “True that.” Nigel thought the dance was a great start to the evening. Mary loved the song, BUT – and here she does a lame-o fake out about how she loved the dance even more. Brian Friedman also loved it; he throws in one highly technical criticism about something that Travis could have done on the lifts that would supposedly have made it even better, but he says he really believed that they were in the disco era. Wow, that is so opposite of how I felt. As usual, you should assume I know nothing, but I am actually happy to be 180 degrees opposed to Brian Friedman.
Benji and Donyelle are dancing a Viennese waltz choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereux. Hee – I like him. He has a freaky red-haired Goth lady assistant today. Oddly, it turns out that I like this dance, even though I usually find the waltzes on this show boring, and even though it’s set to that horrible, painful “I’ll Be” song. I’ve never been firmly on the Benji-Donyelle love train – I like them both more as individuals than I do in their supposedly magical pairing. But I think they do great on this waltz. I admit it, I like almost anything Benji does, because he brings so much personality, but they both have pretty leg extensions and all that stuff.
Nigel says that their lack of classical training showed; their arm positioning was wrong. He didn’t like the style of their legs, which was my favorite thing about the dance. He says that this routine wasn’t worthy of being on the finale. Mary was also disappointed; she thinks they should have improved a lot, since this was their second Viennese waltz. Ack! I thought they did improve; I remember not liking their first one. Brian agrees that it wasn’t smooth enough. Possibly that’s why I liked it, because they pepped it up a little. Brian says that their faces were great, and they both need to bring it in their next numbers.
Cat tells us that after the break, we will see the pairing of Travis and Benji, whom Benji then calls “Tranji.” Aaaaah – I hate those dumb couple names, but this one just might stick. (By the way, I think this whole “smushed-together couple names” trend started with daytime soap fans. Am I right about this? That was where I saw it first, and after a few years it trickled UP to the tabloids and then People and Us Weekly. “Bennifer” was the first real breakthrough; “Brangelina” took it to a whole new level. If I am correct, then this is one of the only times in my life that daytime soaps have been on the cutting edge of something, instead of copying everything after it has already fallen out of style. Just a little academic curiosity.)
After the commercial, Cat announces that even more cities have been added to the tour. I wanna go to the tour at least twice, y’all. I think I have some sort of brain fever. Cat then makes time in this wall-to-wall action-packed hour to deliver a lengthy plug for the movie Step Up. Well, I guess this answers my extremely naïve question from last week about whether Step Up had some financial affiliation with Fox or this show. We see that the Final Four got to go to the premiere in a limo. Supposedly, Heidi’s dress ripped in the limo, and Travis fixed it with safety pins. Post-fixing, the dress looks all punk and cool. Hm – smells like a setup to me. Travis says that the movie is about a hip-hop dancer meeting a ballet dancer; it’s like Donyelle meeting him. Okay, this goes on longer, but I’m not going to plug this movie anymore for them. Go see it, don’t go see it, whatever. I will say that I kind of wanted to see it before this pimpomercial, and now I want to see it a lot less. Good job, Fox.
Mmm-hmm – totally improvised limo dress repair.
Finally we get Heidi’s solo. She does one of her signature Latin routines, and this time, she has a big, plumey tail. It’s excellent, but it is the SAME solo she’s been doing over and over, right down to the dramatic fall to the stage at the end. Apparently, there’s no time for judges’ comments, which makes me even more resentful of the seventeen hours we spent talking about Step Up.
Look out – she might lift that thing up and spray.
We jump right into Benji and Travis’s rehearsal footage. And – and – and – they’re wearing matching “TRANJI” hats. Guys! Why are you wearing sparkly hats that are thisclose to saying “TRANNY” on them? I mean, there’s being comfortable with yourself, and then there’s taping a “Kick Me” sign to your forehead. Literally to your forehead in this case. The choreographer is Shane Sparks. So I guess I’m not going to get my heartfelt wish after all, which was to see these guys dance ballroom together. (That’s what I want from the girls, too, and I bet I’m not going to get that either.) The guys romp around and play like adorable six-year-olds. Travis points to the camera and says, “Girls, you got what you want. You have a Tranji finale.” Yup, “tranjifinale” sounds like the name of some exotic venereal disease. Sorry, but it does.
Boys, I can’t help you if you won’t help yourselves.
The costumes for this dance are hilarious. Benji and Travis are dressed as nerdy English schoolboys – shorts, knee socks, Oxfords, giant nerd glasses, knapsacks, and caps. And then … oh my God. First they ditch the knapsacks; then they perform some extreme pelvic thrusts of a kind that I didn’t realize they were capable of. Travis starts his pelvis cranking first. Not sure if they were supposed to be in sync or not. Then they dump the glasses; then they unbutton their shirts, take them off, and molest them Chippendales-style. (No, they’re not topless; they’re just wearing T-shirts now.) Then, for a few seconds, they do a very standard Shane Sparks unison hip-hop routine. Then they start to lift and flip each other, and Benji spends some time with his head in Travis’s crotch. They tease us with glimpses of stomach; they shake their booties at vibration speeds. The very end is masterful; a school bell rings, and they run into each other, bounce, and both collapse onto the stage.
WOW. That did not disappoint. For one thing, it was kind of steamy; I thought network standards were going to dictate that these same-sex dances be completely neutered, but I was wrong. But it wasn’t just the novelty “Tranji” factor that made this number so awesome. It had speed, variety, power, characterization – this was Shane Sparks on top of his game. And the very best thing about guys dancing together is the fact that they can both lift each other. This is the main reason why I think it’s sad that they don’t have all-male pairs skating. Good for Shane for capitalizing on this.
The guys put their dorky hats and backpacks back on for the judging, which is cute. Nigel says that he loved the concept, partly because the “nerd” personas meant that they didn’t have to dance well or be in unison. He says that when they pulled their shirts up, he was afraid they’d both have nipple rings. Huh? So far, I’m totally lost. Then he says, “Bring back Dmitry.” He wraps it all up by saying, “Well done, great fun.” Hm – interesting. Nigel always responds way too personally to any sexual content in the dances; the vibe I get is that this one made him uncomfortable. Shut up, Nigel.
Mary loved it, and she thought that they were well-synchronized. Then she completely loses her marbles and starts talking to her own hand, asking it for confirmation that Benji and Travis are “completely deserving.” The hand apparently answers yes, because Mary and her hand let out a duo scream. Benji does some highly elevated jumps of celebration, and Cat points out, correctly, that “everyone’s gone mad.” Brian screams too, and then he and Mary scream at each other. Cat drops her microphone in mock disgust. Yeah, everybody is loose and having a good time right now; it’s fun to watch. Brian says that the guys were “dorktastic.” He loved the transitions, and he thinks Travis and Benji make a great team. Well, how about that – Brian and I are finally on the same page. Watch out for pigs flying into your windshield today. Incidentally, this right now is the most that I have ever liked Travis. More boy-boy dancing!
Next up is Donyelle’s solo. She does an earthy contemporary/jazz thing, very fast-moving. Thanks to the commenter who reminded me that jazz is, in fact, one of Donyelle’s specialties. Anyway, this solo was okay, and I am still a fan of the way that she does something different every time (*cough* Heidi *cough*).
Travis solos next, after commercial. His solo might actually be new and fresh and different, but he always has that same crap music, and it totally turns me off. This time, the song is called “Something Corporate” by Konstantine. Can that really be correct? The lyrics we hear are all, “I miss you, I miss you.” How can the song be called “Something Corporate”? Anyway, I hate it. Travis rocks harder than usual. He does a good job. I just can’t help but resent him for making my ears bleed week after week. Oh, and I hate not getting judges’ comments on the solos. Screw you, Step Up.
Tyce DiOrio choreographs the girls’ Broadway routine. We see Heidi shaking her boobs, for the second time tonight. Well, that was two times too many. We see almost no rehearsal footage. The dance is to “Big Spender,” from Sweet Charity. The outfits are totally sexy, but I think it would have been a lot better if they had just put Heidi in the same thing Donyelle is wearing. Exposing Heidi’s whole midriff while covering Donyelle’s, when they’re otherwise dressed identically – it’s just way too distracting. Especially since they’re dressed in black and Heidi’s midriff is pretty pale – it makes the two of them not match, and then you start to think about why, and it’s all bad news. Anyway, the dance is good, but it’s nothing special. The two of them just dance next to each other – they don’t really partner each other the way that Benji and Travis did.
For shame, wardrobe people.
Nigel says that he didn’t like this routine, in comparison to a lot of Tyce’s past great Broadway routines. This one was very simplistic. That’s true; they really didn’t do much. He tells the girls that he knows the choreography is not on them, but whenever you’re faced with simple choreography, you have to bring it to another level yourself, and they didn’t do that. Mary says they did “a great job with what they were given.” Ow – Tyce is really taking it on the chin. Brian says that they did their choreography correctly, but they didn’t succeed in being larger-than-life as performers. Tyce looks pissed off.
You had a bad day….
Benji does his solo. It’s his same old deal – Brian Setzer Orchestra; tie; legs moving at the speed of light. At the end, he flings himself backward off the stage; the crowd catches him and pushes him back up. No, THAT wasn’t rehearsed at all – yeesh. I wish Benji would do something different in his solos. He does so many different styles with such panache when they’re assigned. Oh well.
After the commercial, Donyelle and Travis dance contemporary. Yay – it’s Mia! She says that this piece is going to be “blues contemporary.” Donyelle says what I’m thinking when she asks what the heck that is. Apparently, the theme of the routine is “looking lazy.” Mia and Travis both claim that this is much harder than it sounds. I disagree – see, I’m doing it right now.
They have good music – Ray Charles singing “Georgia On My Mind.” The dance starts with them lying on the ground, looking up at the “stars.” Then they get up and this dance is just – drunken. I don’t know how else to describe it. They’re flailing around with big goofy grins on their faces; they’re dressed like dirt farmers; Donyelle has her hair in stupid pigtails. They stagger and flop, and I guess this is what Mia meant about it being difficult to look lazy. I see her point, but I stand by my assessment that they just look drunk. I don’t like this routine. This is Mia being interesting at the expense of being entertaining – she tried something weird, and a lot of times she hits the jackpot, but this time her vision just didn’t work.
Convince me that these people aren’t stumbling their way home from the bar.
Nigel says that the routine didn’t jump out and grab him; it was relaxing. He goes on like he’s going to slam them, and then he says that they were both great, and it was beautiful. He loved it. Mary agrees; they were captivating and made her want to have a mint julep and a Georgia peach. She seems to be claiming that this dance reminded her of being in the actual geographical state of Georgia. Um, I don’t see how, but okay. Brian says it was like watching a moving painting; it was art. That’s actually a good description. I definitely felt like I was watching something interesting and new, but for me, it didn’t cohere. Not every interesting idea turns out to be a good idea; it was worth a first try, but would not be worth a second try. Just my 2 cents.
Heidi and Benji are dancing salsa. Well, that seems like a bit of an advantage. Alex Da Silva says that they had the dance nailed within the first half-hour, and the rest of the rehearsal time was spent just improving it. We see a snippet of Benji borrowing Alex’s car as payment on some sort of bet. It’s a very fancy-looking car, but please, show, stop pimping Benji. We already love him and he’s going to win. Don’t make us hate him now, please.
If this number isn’t a total showstopper, it will be very surprising. Pressure! How come no one on this show ever actually cracks under the pressure and falls or drops his partner? I am suspicious that this does happen and is edited out. I personally think the show would be better with the occasional wipeout. Anyway, the dance. Well, it’s pretty great, but it doesn’t blow me away the way I wanted it to. First of all, Heidi is wearing no pants, and I am distracted by her shockingly skinny legs. Second, there is that cousin “ick” factor. Third, the dance showcases their control and unison, but it’s not actually a very fast dance, which is what I thought we’d get with these two.
Nigel says that they’re the two best partners and are sensational together; he loved their footwork, their lifts, everything. He guesses that Benji’s jacket, which has a guitar sequined onto the back, is Alex’s; Benji confirms that it’s an Alex Da Silva original. Mary says that she has to “hop on the Love Boat” too; the dance was terrific. Brian deadpans, “Will you guys do this at my next birthday party?” He wants them to jump out of a cake. Yeah, he loved it too. Sigh. I mean, it was good, but I enjoyed both of Benji’s other partner routines tonight more than I did this one.
There’s another commercial and then we get a special bonus group dance, choreographed by Wade Robson. We even get rehearsal footage of this. Wade says that this is a pop routine, and the plot is that they’re supermodels. Benji does a disgusting, gross, horrible move where he alternately distends his stomach and sucks it waaaaay in. Wade makes them pretend that a photographer is telling them to be “animalistic,” which is one of those words that you all of a sudden hear all the time. Basically, this dance is ripping off Zoolander. No objections here.
The song is “SexyBack.” We start with Travis sashaying down an imaginary catwalk in giant shades. Next comes Heidi in a fringy little black thing and ridiculous leopard boots/legwarmers. Donyelle and Benji are both in suits; they don’t look as exotic. I’m disappointed in the dance itself – it’s basically just another “Thriller” zombie dance. I mean, those are always fun, but this one was hyped up as something different, and I didn’t see it.
Well-dressed zombies, certainly, but zombies nonetheless.
Nigel gushes about the last three dances of the night – the group one and the last two partner dances. He says that all four contestants deserve to be there. Nigel shouts out Zoolander, too. Mary says that all four of them were really tight, but Travis stood out. Brian says the same thing, but even more strongly; he says Travis stole it. All of the judges seem to have loved the “couture” theme of the dance, which I didn’t see at all, except for when they first walked out.
Cat recaps absolutely everything. It takes roughly ninety hours. She says we have at least two hours to vote. Is that it? I thought with the results being delayed for a week, we might have a few days to vote, but I guess not. She gut-punches me good when she says that next week’s results show will be two hours long. TWO HOURS of RESULTS? How is that even possible? Luckily, we’re getting two special guests – Fergie and Ciara. Oh, my. Let the games begin.
41 Comments
Great recap! Loved the Tranji dance and Heidi & Benji’s dance. I liked Travis and Donnyelle’s dance, but I was embarrassed for Donnyelle that they dressed her like a pickaninny. Very disturbing – it seemed sort of racist. Also, I really hated how the judges were all but giving the win to Travis on a silver platter. I agree that Travis would be the best dancer to be in Cirque de Celine for a year, but the contest is supposed to be about who is America’s favorite dancer, not who can best back up a crazy Canadian singer.
Benji and Travis should of kissed after their routine. It was lovely. I bet all the ‘girls’ loved it.
Travis would fit in better to the Psycho Dion Vegas show, but I think Benji will win based on popularity. Heidi does the same dance over and over, and Donyelle doesn’t have a chance.
Travis should win, but won’t.
KH
I was waiting for Brian Friedman to have an orgasm watching Tranji perform together. All he really said was “I love watching you two dance” – what he really meant was, “Get naked and ride each other and I’ll choreograph”
For more highlights and thoughts:
http://www.flipkicksandnightbellows.blogspot.com
KH – I too was laughing at how the “girls” got what they wanted.
Saying that – as a girl – viva la Tranji!! I am so over the combo names too but I loved them together so much. I wish they could both win.
CAT!!!! Why, why can’t you just wear your hair normal? And one word – SPANX. 99.9% of women would need them with the dresses you wear and even though you have a fabulous body, you need them too. Hit Nordy’s before next week, kay?
Amanda, last year, during the finale they had all the top 10 perform again and even had people who didn’t make the top 10 perform. So maybe that 12 year old tap dancer who lost to Ryan will perform. It was fun – it’s still saved on my DVR. (I can’t believe I just admitted that)
Travis did his solo dance to a song called “Konstantine” by a band called Something Corporate. So I guess they were singing about missing a dude named Konstantine.
I think Travis is the best dancer, but he’s not as charming as Benji, who is like the Clay Aiken of the dance world. After a few lackluster weeks, Donyelle finally danced with energy and enthusiasm again – I hope that means her toe is better. I thought Heidi looked prettier than we’ve ever seen her before.
I don’t know if I can sit through all the B.S. of the last show–those producers certainly know how to stretch a few minutes’ entertainment into hours.
I agree with Strock9–Travis is deserving, but Benji will win.
Flipkicks, whoever you are, you crack me up. I checked out your blog and although it seemed a bit mean-spirited, you have said everything I have been thinking during this whole competition. ESPECIALLY about Mia–she has really let her dyke-self go. I also agree 100% with your comments about Natalie.
“Tranji.” Not good. Not good at all. My first thought was “Oh no, it sounds like “tranny.” And then they kept saying it! Honestly.
I love Benji to death and I want him to win simply for the win. But I would hate to see him subjected to the Cirque de Canuck.
During the “Big Spender” number with Heidi and Donyelle, I was so completely distracted by their bizarro white eyelashes that I didn’t really even see their routine. They were really obvious on Donyelle and I was totally hypnotized by them for the first half of the dance, then I spent the last half of the dance trying to see if Heidi was also wearing them. She was, in fact, wearing them, but they were almost camoflauged against her Casper-The-Ghost-white skin. I would have liked to skip back and re-watch the dance, but I knew that I would just focus on those horrible eyelashes again if I did.
JayhawkAnne — I had the same reaction. I don’t know what Donyelle did to piss off the wardrobe people, but damn they’ve been going out of their way to make her look bad.
I love both Benji and Travis, but am leaning a bit more towards T. He still looks so shocked and incredulous whenever he gets compliments.
You mentioned couple names coming from the soap world. Actually, one other thing that daytime soaps were on the cutting edge of: snarky Internet recaps. I was reading soap recaps on
Usenet in 1992.
Donyelle’s solo was a repeat of her original audition in L.A. I think she changed it a bit but it was the same music.
One thing I kept wondering is, how long did the studio audience have to wait between numbers? Heidi’s Farrah-hair was the same for dancein & disco, but other than that, the hair and makeup changes were pretty aggressive between numbers.
And I prefer ‘Benvis’ to ‘Tranji.’
That last number had plenty of couture. Didn’t you see them scramble for the spotlight, and the lame photo-flashes at the end? (eyeroll)
Step Up is released by Touchstone/Hollywood Pictures which does not belong to News Corp, the big wigs who own Fox, so all the promos for the movie on the show are really confusing to me. I bet Fox is kicking themselves for not having a dance movie though, because I was working for them while they were promoting X-Men 3 and shat themselves to get the X-Men on American Idol as much as they could.
Wade Robson + SexyBack + Top 4 + Couture + Thriller hands = pure ART. I nearly had a heart attack of JOY!!
Amanda, I love how you stubbornly disagree with 90% of the judges comments.
I’m sure the Step Up people just paid a massive fee for the promos. It’s currently a 17% on the rotten tomatometer…not good. (But you KNOW I’ll netflix it anyway.)
I go with Trav for the win, that preteen crowd was all over him, and that’s who votes…
Does anyone else think it’s funny that Travis (who is gay) is more masculine than Benji (who is straight)?
Great recap!!
I was missing Natalie and Allison during some of the routines… I thought the contemporary piece with Travis would’ve ROCKED with Natalie in it. And the girl dance? Last year, the two top girls were fabulous contemporary dancers, so their dance together was something out of this world – choreographed by Mia, of course. It was so incredible, I really felt like this year’s top two girls were undeserving of their spots in the finale. Maybe as a lyrical dance choreographer I’m biased, but they keep telling us this competition’s about versatility, and here we have a top 4 who doesn’t have a single dancer who can truly dance ballroom, contemporary AND hip hop, whereas last year 3/4 of the dancers could do all 3 styles plus disco and broadway flawlessly.
Tranji’s dance? BEST EFFING THING EVER. I was going INSANE, it was the hottest, dorkiest thing EVER!!! And Wade’s number at the end? I loved loved love it, and yes, some moves were quite similar to the zombie dance, but the performance style was different as well as the personality of the dance, so it was still completely original to me.
Next week’s final should be amazing, the top 20 will perform a couple of dances and I believe they might bring back some dancers from before (which they did last year for a man who got slammed by Nigel during auditions for being too feminine).
Oh a little side note – FYI, Donyelle’s solo was the same number she did for her audition. It was a good decision on her part, because that audition is what made so many people fall in love with her in the first place (before Benjelle) and it was a good thing, it reminded people that she was quite a dancer (I honestly believe it’s all because of her toe, I’ve read a couple of interviews, and apparently although they’re all injured, she’s really got one that affects her entire balance, as dancers do tend to use their feet no matter what…
I feel sorry for her, I think she really would’ve been able to stand out as a frontrunner deserving to be in the finale if it weren’t for that injury.
Ick. I am SOOO sick of all those stupid dance movies coming out. I mean, first there was “Save the Last Dance”, then “The Company”, and “Shall We Dance” (although that’s about ballroom, so I guess it’s different), “Honey”, “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights”, You Got Served” then that one with Antonio Banderas about ballroom dancing, and he’s helping kids who “everybody else has given up on”. And now “Step Up”, which looks like the lamest of them all. STOP MAKING DANCE MOVIES!!! JUST STOP IT!! And cheerleading/gymnastic movies too, since they’re the same type of thing. After Bring It On, it was OVER!!! ARGH!!!
Whew. Anyway, I really hope that Travis wins. He is just so cute, and even though it is about being America’s Favorite Dancer, I still think that people should take into account what the prize is. Sure, Benji is good, but Travis is so much better suited for that Cirque de Soleil-esque style. I love them both though, so I don’t care either way. I don’t really think that Donyelle and Heidi have a shot. Heidi maybe more than Donyelle, but the boys are going to take the vast majority of the votes. Can’t wait until next week!
~Georgia~
P.S. Why does everyone hate Celine Dion so much? I love her. She’s a great performer, and she has an amazing voice. Yeah, okay, it’s kind of weird that her husband is about double her age, but what else does everyone not like about her? Did I miss something?
1) Cat looked like a contestant in the Miss Rancho Cucamonga pageant.
2) The weird thing about Tranji/Tranny is that there are some pictures floating around the internet that might be Travis in drag (including a thong). And, his “alter ego” might be named Tracy. It’s just a rumor, though.
3) I, too, loved the Waltz and not the disco, even though my favorite couple is Heidi and Travis (Havis? Travidi? FYI, I’ve heard Benji/Heidi referred to as “Bendi.” Classic.) The disco was a little bit of a mess b/c Travis’ transitions were a little clumsy. Heidi Almighty, OTOH, was fab.
4) I got my tickets for the tour today. The presale password was “nigel.” I kid you not.
5) The Tranji Hip Hop? My favorite SYTYCD hip hop performance ever, both seasons. I loved it so much that I can’t articulate it. I hope there’s a Tranji dance on the tour.
6) Donyelle = my least favorite. She just does nothing for me. I never got on board the Benjelle love boat. And, I adore Benji whether he’s with her or not.
7) I did not get the contemporary at all. Like flaveh, I was expecting something like the Ashle/Melody contemporary routine from last year. That was probably the best SYTYCD performance ever, at least as far as I’m concerned.
8) Everything Wade choreographs (other than that Afro-pop thing) looks like a combination of Thriller/Britney Spears/NSYNC. The last number was cute and entertaining, but not much more than that.
9) I am going to miss these recaps after next week!
RUNit – don’t you mean that Benji is “straight”. I don’t know who he’s kidding – the screaming girls in the audience? Seriously, are they screaming for his talent? Or do they think they’ll be able to “change” him?
But I think it’s great that there were so many gay boys in the top 10 this year!
Go Travis – though I don’t like his hair — guess he’s going for the gay punk look…
I really enjoyed the Travis Benji dance and the group dance at the end.
The rest… just meh.
I hope Benji wins…. actually I don’t care who wins.
“4) I got my tickets for the tour today. The presale password was “nigel.” I kid you not.”
LOL!! I love it! Where are you seeing the tour K_d_l?
“LOL!! I love it! Where are you seeing the tour K_d_l?”
In Oakland, CA. I’m hoping Too Short will make an appearance.
Did you get tickets? Are they even coming to your city? I know a lot of places got left off the list.
Flaveh, I love your insightful comments. Are you going to see them on tour?
They are coming to DC, thank God. The big question is whether to see them here or meet m sister (also a big fan – don’t really know anyone in DC who would go with me) to see them in NYC.
A sorority sister of mine is a dancer in NYC. In fact, she lives in Mia Michael’s old apartment! (No surprise, Mia wrote poetry all over the walls.) Anyway, I’m thinking maybe, just maybe, if we see it in NYC, she can hook us up with some good tickets or even going backstage or something. Anyone in the area like to join us?
Did anyone else notice that Mary wore the same ugly green & lace dress at the Step Up premiere and on the show? does she only have one red carpet dress?
i think Benji must be the winner since he appeals to both “the boys” and the girls. although i think they are trying to trick us into thinking it’s Travis.
augustburns2…..how many of the top dancers are gay?
“Did anyone else notice that Mary wore the same ugly green & lace dress at the Step Up premiere and on the show? does she only have one red carpet dress?”
Not that I’m sticking up for Mary (that dress was fugly), I read somewhere that they actually went to the premiere right after the taping of the show (which is on Monday). Then they edited the footage back in. That didn’t make sense to me, but I looked and the premiere was, indeed, on Monday night. Celebrity arrivals were at 6 p.m. So, Mary must have left right after the show. Travis and Benji’s suits at the premiere looked an awful lot like their costumes in the group number, too.
Georgiababe, blasphemy on two counts in that post! (And you forgot Center Stage.)
I knew I forgot one…I just could not remember the name of that movie, for the life of me…
And what exactly are my two counts of blasphemy? I’m guessing that Celine Dion is involved in one of them
~Georgia~
By the way, is Benji really gay? I could have sworn I heard somewhere that he was really depressed after his girlfriend dumped him, which is why he was so happy to be in the top twenty. If he is gay, then that’s very disappointing…not because he’s gay of course, but because that means that he’s off the market
And P.S. being a male dancer does not automatically make you gay. Professional male dancers are strong as oxes: they have to lift 90-100 lb women all the time, usually over their heads, and doing plies for 12 hours a day gives you damn good thighs, plus you have to have extreme ab muscles to do lots of perfect pirouettes..Baryshnikov can/could do 14 in a row, and he is/was ripped! (I’m using / and past tense because I’m not sure how old he is now and I don’t think that he dances anymore)
~Georgia~
^^georgiababe, they did mention in an article in US Magazine a few weeks back that Benji was depressed about his gf dumping him, and that he was “looking for a wifey” (his words, supposedly).
Oh, and as soon as I saw the move where Benji’s face is in Travis’s crotch, I thought “They are definitely having a screencap of this on TVGasm.
“tranny” was the most homoerotic thing i’ve seen since the four horsemen. sheesh.
Come on now guys. Get it right.
Travis is gay.
Benji is just Mormon.
Amanda, your recaps make me laugh out loud, for real! Great job, girl! Your captions are huh-larious & I really enjoy your commentary.
I think Brian Freedman must read you, too — did you notice how much he toned it down this time? Maybe you have helped him see the error of his ways. You’re changing the world, Amanda, one fashion disaster at at time…
Speaking of fashion disasters I could not agree more about the wardrobe during the girl-girl dance — really, we all could have lived without Heidi’s midriff. We really could.
And I just haven’t found words yet to cope with the CATastrophe that is our hostess’ hair & wardrobe. Instead of that skating dress they put Heidi in for the 70′s number, they should have just lent her Cat’s wraparound nylon hideosity that she wore a few weeks back. When someone is that pretty, it really shouldn’t have to be so hard.
On to scheduling: I, too, was shocked by the whole one week to results delay. I kept hitting the arrows on my VCR (yes, some of us still use those) to figure out if SYTYCD was BEFORE or AFTER the random hour of Friends that I was pretty sure I didn’t program the machine to tape. Slowly, understanding dawned.
As for Benji’s head in Travis’ crotch… if I’m not mistaken, Benji had his head in everyone’s crotch this week, except for Donyelle’s (since the producers are hell bent on completely asexualizing her). Didn’t he even enter the rehearsal room with his cousin sitting on his shoulders with her pooter in his face? It’s an awful lot of information to have about one’s cousin, that’s for sure.
So, who else in the competition is gay? I was thinking Ryan… anyone else confirmed? And did Travis actually come out on the show, or are we all just not stupid? VotaIdiota (#32) thanks for helping people out about Benji — it’s often hard to tell the difference.
Last thing — I loved your analysis of the history of the blended name, Amanda… I was thinking back to when I actually watched soaps 20 years ago… it couldn’t have been done then. Think about it. Luke and Laura: put ‘em together and you get Luke. Or Laura. I suppose you could have stretched and gotten Lura, or Luka. Or Lauke. But it just really wouldn’t have worked. Anyway, it should be stopped, and definitely should never have been allowed to reach the Tranji stage.
Amanda, your recaps make me laugh out loud, for real! Great job, girl! Your captions are huh-larious & I really enjoy your commentary.
I think Brian Freedman must read you, too — did you notice how much he toned it down this time? Maybe you have helped him see the error of his ways. You’re changing the world, Amanda, one fashion disaster at at time…
Speaking of fashion disasters I could not agree more about the wardrobe during the girl-girl dance — really, we all could have lived without Heidi’s midriff. We really could.
And I just haven’t found words yet to cope with the CATastrophe that is our hostess’ hair & wardrobe. Instead of that skating dress they put Heidi in for the 70′s number, they should have just lent her Cat’s wraparound nylon hideosity that she wore a few weeks back. When someone is that pretty, it really shouldn’t have to be so hard.
On to scheduling: I, too, was shocked by the whole one week to results delay. I kept hitting the arrows on my VCR (yes, some of us still use those) to figure out if SYTYCD was BEFORE or AFTER the random hour of Friends that I was pretty sure I didn’t program the machine to tape. Slowly, understanding dawned.
As for Benji’s head in Travis’ crotch… if I’m not mistaken, Benji had his head in everyone’s crotch this week, except for Donyelle’s (since the producers are hell bent on completely asexualizing her). Didn’t he even enter the rehearsal room with his cousin sitting on his shoulders with her pooter in his face? It’s an awful lot of information to have about one’s cousin, that’s for sure.
So, who else in the competition is gay? I was thinking Ryan… anyone else confirmed? And did Travis actually come out on the show, or are we all just not stupid? VotaIdiota (#32) thanks for helping people out about Benji — it’s often hard to tell the difference.
Last thing — I loved your analysis of the history of the blended name, Amanda… I was thinking back to when I actually watched soaps 20 years ago… it couldn’t have been done then. Think about it. Luke and Laura: put ‘em together and you get Luke. Or Laura. I suppose you could have stretched and gotten Lura, or Luka. Or Lauke. But it just really wouldn’t have worked. Anyway, it should be stopped, and definitely should never have been allowed to reach the Tranji stage.
Sorry for the double posting… oops
“It’s an awful lot of information to have about one’s cousin, that’s for sure.”
LOL!
I love these recaps. I was thrilled with the episode – I love Tranji!But, I found the disco totally boring and the contemporary piece totally boring. I did love Heidi and Benji’s salsa, though…
Meanwhile, I completely agree. The combo name totally originated from soap fans. Not as far back as 20 years but for the past 12 that I’ve been watching I have definitely heard multi names for couples – on Days they have Lumi (Lucas and Sami), Shelle (Shawn and Belle), Bope (Bo and Hope), Shimi (Shawn and Mimi), Phelle (Philip and Belle)… the list goes on. Passions has Shuis (Luis and Sheridan). That might be Passions only one… Maybe it is just NBC soaps. But it definitely has been going on for years!
Sadly I know too much about Passions. There are:
Shuis, Lancy, TherEthan, Therox, Foah ad nauseum….
As for the dancing, last season’s finale was by far superior. I am still not over the fact that Heidi made it to the finale. I like Donyelle, but it should have probably been a Natalie/Allison (or Nalisson if you prefer) finale. The guys were right on though….
I just don’t understand why anyone likes Donyelle. Really, I thought Allan proved that fat people can’t hang in this show last season. Really. Lieutenant Dan leaps better than her.
Although I’ll admit that Travis has grown on me since the beginning of the competition, I’m still holding that wildly inappropriate comment about krump and King Kong against him. Also, almost (if not) all of his ballroom routines have been trashed by the judges. His hip hop is barely adequate. I will concede that he’s a great contemporary dancer, though.
Benji? Eh. Ho hum. I’d hump him, but I wouldn’t vote for him.
That leaves Heidi, easily the best overall dancer on the show. I can’t recall a single one of her routines receving more than mild criticism (her hip hop was “too sharp, looked like cheerleading” – that’s all I remember). She’s got my vote every week.
I prefer Bevis to Tranji….
I’d just like to say, although I’m sure it’s been said, that while I’m sick of Travis as well, I don’t think I’d wish the wrath of Mia and Celine Dion on any of the other dancers… I think he’s the only one that would WANT that.
I’m partial to Heidi, but I dunno
I’m torn like Natalie Imbruglia…