Spreading the Gospel of Dance

If anything can bring me back it's So You Think You Can Dance. If you know me you know that I was NOT happy with last season's winner and overall disappointed in the season as a whole (minus Kayla and Kupono's "Addiction" - may it never die!) Needless to say I've been eagerly awaiting the real kickoff to season 6 especially since it's been hyped as the most talented Top 20 yet.

Channing and Phillip - Underwhelming. Neither one of them brought much personality to the dance which is essential for a jive. Mary Murphy was right on - more energy and more sharpness needed.

Ashleigh and Jakob - First off this was pretty weak choreography from Tyce but I forgive him considering the absolutely amazing dance he delivered in last night's show. Basically Ashleigh was just a statue for Jakob's showcase of tricks. She can't kick very high and her pirouettes look like a 5th grader's. Get her out of here! But Jakob, Jakob is a dream. I predict he will be around for a very long time.

Ariana and Peter - I found Ariana's performance unconvincing - something about it just didn't click. Glad to see that Peter does have some versatility. Once again judge's critiques were right on - maybe they've laid off the crack this season.

Noelle and Russell - I love Melanie Lapatin and how she always has to step up when someone gets hurt! Anyone else remember when she was on What Not to Wear years ago? Probs not, but I do! I love Russell but correct me if I'm wrong - Didn't he say in Vegas week that he hadn't had training in other styles?? Then how do you explain "5 years of formal training at Boston Art Academy High School" from his official bio? Something's fishy and I blame Nigel.

Bianca and Victor - While Bianca is definitely the weakest in this pairing she actually did better than I expected. Victor reminds me a lot of Danny from Season 3 - always a good thing. Note on Travis' choreography - love him and some people won't like this but I think he relies a bit too much on tricks for the high points of his dances. Yes there was a story behind it but I don't think it was conveyed enough through the emotion of the dance.

Karen and Kevin - Boy knows how to smize...Tyra would be SO proud! And I love Fox's self promotion using the Glee soundtrack. All in all Karen was hot but the turns and flips were too slow. Also hair stylist - never, EVER put Kevin's hair in a bun again. With those earrings he looked like a smaller version of Ms. Jay Alexander, runway expert. Too much Top Model??

Ellenore and Ryan - Creepy angels....I like it. Just when I thought I was kind of getting over Sonya she reels me back in! Ryan and his fake little Hugh Jackman self really held his own against a contemporary dancer. Ellenore had started to annoy me last night but she's back in my good graces again. No doubt she'll have to face the wrath of Ashleigh backstage after resting her hand dangerously close to the man's goods.

Pauline and Brandon - On first sight these two are an adorable couple and I can't believe Brandon only had a day and a half to learn and clean the dance. Yet again I agree 100% with Mary - what is going on?

Kathryn and Legacy - Love Dave Scott, LOVE the dance! Kathryn was great and Legacy got to show off his skills too. Am I getting a little Courtney and Gev vibe from these two? Maybe too early to tell but thus far I'm a fan! Definitely my favorite dance of the night.

Mollee and Nathan - In case you forgot I've been pimping Nathan from the moment he appeared on our screen almost 6 months ago. I also knew that I recognized Mollee when she first showed up but couldn't quite place her. It all made sense once she explained she danced in all the 3 High School Musical films. So clearly on background alone these two 18 year olds had a lot to live up to. So a couple of the landings from lifts were rough (which the judges failed to mention) but they definitely brought the energy and fun to the piece.

The only real drawback of having a fall season of SYTYCD is the interruption by the World Series. Because of it America will have no say in who stays and goes until the Top 16. This just further feeds into my conspiracy theories about Nigel controlling and orchestrating everything on this show. Case in point - does anyone really believe that Russell would have gone home had Billy Bell still been in the competition? I think not. I'm not really sure who would have - I'll leave that for you to discuss. I don't really think Ariana had much of a chance to stick around even though in my opinion she had the strongest solo. So Brandon and Ariana are the first to leave us on what looks to be a promising season. It's good to have you back SYTYCD, real good.

"Confidence Cohen"

If you can name the show and character the title quote is from you win a prize.


Tonight's episode of Glee was all about confidence - something that grows everytime I watch the show. Though there was a glaring lack of Sue Sylvester, this was another solid showing with possibly the best musical numbers thus far. I must admit I squealed a little bit when Victor Garber showed up as Mr. Schuester's dad. From Titanic to Legally Blonde to Alias the man can do no wrong in my book. The only thing that could have been better would have been if he had sung...maybe next time. Now that we are on episode 3 it's time for the writers to start bringing depth to the characters and hopefully the introduction of the parents is a step in that direction. Similarly thus far the wife has been pretty one-dimensional and hateable. Tonight gave her a bit of redeeming quality as she appreciated that performing made Will himself again. The most revealed character in this episode however was Kurt. I like how they wove in snapshots of his relationship with his father within the snappy dialogue and how he masked his pain with materialism. When he finally came out to Mercedes with that tear in his eye....wonderful.

Now on to the music. First off the Acafellas....brilliant (though I was a big fan of Testostertones as well.) I could listen to Matthew Morrison sing the phonebook but busting out 90's favorites like "Poison" and "I Wanna Sex You Up" is just unfair. The real standouts of the night for me were "Mercy" and "Bust Your Windows." Though the first was an ensemble number it once again showed the ridiculous amount of talent they incorporate in this show. The choreography and dancers were phenomenal AND I think I spotted another SYTYCD alum in Lauren from Season 3. Now I'm a big Jazmin Sullivan fan but I think maybe, just maybe Amber Riley out did her on her own song. Where this girl came from I don't know (her IMDB page doesn't even offer any clues) but if she keeps destroying songs like this I'd bet we'll see an album from her sooner rather than later.

All in all another satisfying episode. Oh and in case you were confused - Dakota Stanley was great but by no means is he any Sparky Polastri

P.S. I wish I had this line when I was teaching...
"I'm going to ask you to smell your armpits. That's the smell of failure and it's stinking up my office."

Some Music, Some TV

"Behind The Music: Lil' Wayne" - It's happening tonight, I believe at 10pm, on VH1. If you've ever seen a Lil' Wayne interview, then you know this is basically required viewing. We're talking about a guy who just made about eleventy billion dollars on tour. At the very least, set your DVR!


Ellen DeGeneres as 4th judge on Idol - Guest judges are still around until after the auditions phase, at which point Ellen will undoubtedly serve as a source of funny sarcasm to counterbalance Simon Cowell's douchy sarcasm. [CNN]

Glee - To the delight of former high school show choir members everywhere (and probably current members, too), Glee had its proper premiere last night. We haven't seen it yet, but expect Audra to write about this show, probably with great joy. And let's be honest, Jane Lynch is good in basically everything she does. Hey, I need a reason to watch it too!

Stephen Colbert Interview in Rolling Stone - So I completely forgot why or how this happened, but I got an issue of Rolling Stone in the mail yesterday. One of their cover stories lists 50 reasons to watch TV, and their #1 reason is Colbert. The magazine has a pretty interesting article about Colbert that delves into some pretty heavy stuff (loss of family, religion, work ethic). Online, you can find a couple of extras, including more interview fodder and a profile that wasn't included with the print article.

Watch This Show!

If you're anything like us grad students your plate is pretty full with television these days. Tonight alone we have to tackle the finale of Dancing with the Stars, 90210's season finale AND the final performance show on Idol. But while all your favorites are winding down, why not try something new? Tonight after American Idol Fox will be premiering the pilot of it's new series Glee. This is an interesting move since another episode won't air until the fall but I think it could be smart. By pulling Idol viewers in the musical component of the show they could have an established fan base by the time it has to compete with other premiering shows come September. If you know me you could probably guess that I would love that show. I mean let's be honest, I was in show choir. But even if you're not so show tune inclined I think this is a show you could enjoy. Why? First off it's brought to you by Ryan Murphy - the man behind Nip/Tuck so you know it's going to be a little bit dark and a lot bit funny. It has a good mix of actors whose faces you'll recognize but not necessarily know their names and unknown Broadway talent. It's not show tunes but the sounds of Amy Winehouse, Journey, Jazmine Sullivan and more. And finally it combines our two favorite things - music and TV. Too often shows that put a different spin on your typical sitcom or dramedy don't get a decent chance to make it. Tune in tonight and see what you think!!