# So you think you can Dance 6/11/2008 and 6/12/2008



## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Format it 10 couples .. Votes cast for couples, not individuals .. Lowest 3 votes (per couple) will Dance for their lives.

Judges will choose the one female and one male dancer who will leave the show on results night.

This format holds true for the first 5 weeks of the competition at which point there will be a Top-10 and new rules 

Vote for your favorites in tonight's group.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Well, I got all caught up and watched this almost live last night. I'd like to share my initial impressions.

Of course, it seemed like going to a family dinner for the first time with a new spouse... everyone else knew each other and had little shorthand gestures or comments that flew right by me. But I think I'll get there. 

I was equally confused and blown away by some styles of dance that I may have never seen before. Let me say right now that maybe I'm a big old coot but I do not understand what crotch grabbing and pulling down your pants have to do with dancing. This was absolutely the lowest point for me. 

I also don't know how long I will be able to take Mary Murphy. Clearly she has solid dance credentials and some broadcast experience, according to wikipedia, but I don't find her appealing, not one bit. Maybe she's an acquired taste. 

I will say that I was absolutely impressed by the level of professionalism on the dance floor. Those people were absolutely astounding and this is only week one!

I hope to get "up to speed" on this show quickly and be able to give you a better review next week.


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## turey22 (Jul 30, 2007)

You forgot a name, MINE!:icon_da: :icon_da: :icon_da: :icon_da: :icon_da: :icon_da:


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> I also don't know how long I will be able to take Mary Murphy. Clearly she has solid dance credentials and some broadcast experience, according to wikipedia, but I don't find her appealing, not one bit. Maybe she's an acquired taste.


I like Mary  .. but I would certainly agree that it's an acquired taste.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> Well, I got all caught up and watched this almost live last night. I'd like to share my initial impressions.


You're better than me  .. I ended up getting stuck in a meeting from 6pm through 10:30pm and didn't even get a chance to watch it yet. We'll try to knock it out before the results show tonight.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Yeah, Mary takes a bit of gettin' used to. I sometimes think she's Nigel's mouthpiece, but I have heard her disagree with him at times. I like that she's sensitive and emotional, but that scream has got to go - er ... right after the Hot Tamale Train, thank-you-very-much.


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## jodyguercio (Aug 16, 2007)

HDG said:


> Yeah, Mary takes a bit of gettin' used to. I sometimes think she's Nigel's mouthpiece, but I have heard her disagree with him at times. I like that she's sensitive and emotional, but that scream has got to go - er ... right after the Hot Tamale Train, thank-you-very-much.


The other thing about Mary that would help (besides duct tape  ) turn her mic off. With all her yelling it overpowers it. Shes loud enough that either of the mics on the side of her could pick her up. Good show though, going to be interesting to see who's where tonight.


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

Mary is most definately an aquired taste. She's annoying as all getout, but in an amusing and fun way, I think.

I'm not a dancer, nor do i play one on TV.. (but I did stay at a Holiday Inn express last night)... so take it for what it's worth.  The majority of my exposure to dance (well, actually ALL of it with the exception of one dance recital for my niece that I attended) has come from this TV show or ones like it!

And despite my complete lack of knowlege, I found myself watching Suzy's waltz saying "Where's the rise and fall. There's supposed to be rise and fall. 
He's doing it, why aren't you".

We're still finishing up watching the show, but so far I agree with Nigel - there isn't really a frontrunner this season. Two years ago, Benji and then last year, his sister Lacy, were fan favorites before the first show ever aired, and they were so good at anything they did that they were clearly among the favorites to win.

I don't see anyone who is CLEARLY a favorite to win.

I also have't seen anyone who is clearly the bottom, either. In years past, especially at the beginning, you had an idea who was going to go. There's no one this season who really irks me either, like Cedric and to some extent Danny did last year (though, I concede Danny was brilliant).

I think based on the early couples, 'Twitchington' is among the top couples. They're both good dancers, and among the best personalities in the competition. Very fun couple, that one.

On a 'coreographer' note.... I typically don't like 'contemporary' dance. When they have to 'dance for their lives' and it's a contemporary routine, I'm generally not real enthused... At yet, I think in every season I've watched, my favorite routine is one coreographed by Mia Michaels... I think she's a brilliant coreographer. I liked her 'wedding' routine today (Chelsea and Mark), and I find myself on the edge of my seat waiting to see what she's going to come up with next.


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

One gripe about the show last night....

I don't know if it was OUR Fox affilliate or something "bigger", but the broadcast was AWFUL.

It kept switching between HD and SD all night long, and when it was on HD, I kept having momentary "blackouts".... well, at least I think the blackouts were in the broadcast... 

It's probably our local affiliate, but it was painful to watch at times.


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## Charise (Jan 25, 2004)

Sharkie_Fan said:


> One gripe about the show last night....
> 
> I don't know if it was OUR Fox affilliate or something "bigger", but the broadcast was AWFUL.
> 
> ...


Be thankful you got to see it at all. Our broadcast was totally black screen for about 40 minutes of the program. After about 30 minutes they finally put up a screen that said they knew the show wasn't reaching us and please don't call them about it. I missed seeing six of the couples. 

That show isn't on fox.com for viewing, and I didn't see anything about a rebroadcast on the local Fox web page.

And, Stuart, I totally agree with you about the depantsing and crotch and butt grabbing. It was the newest choreographers, and I was NOT impressed. I thought the dancers did a good job with the rest of it, but those are the two dancers who are now gone, right? (I skip over lots of the reviews of their dances before they leave, especially this early in the competition when I don't really know the dancers yet.)


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Would someone please explain this Hot Tamale Train thing to me?


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## jodyguercio (Aug 16, 2007)

Stuart Sweet said:


> Would someone please explain this Hot Tamale Train thing to me?


Its a Mary quirk. If she really really likes the dance routine performed, the dancers get a ride on the hot tamale train. Kinda like her comment about the sprinklers not coming on, she was saying it was a hot routine.


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## jodyguercio (Aug 16, 2007)

Sharkie_Fan said:


> On a 'coreographer' note.... I typically don't like 'contemporary' dance. When they have to 'dance for their lives' and it's a contemporary routine, I'm generally not real enthused... At yet, I think in every season I've watched, my favorite routine is one coreographed by Mia Michaels... I think she's a brilliant coreographer. I liked her 'wedding' routine today (Chelsea and Mark), and I find myself on the edge of my seat waiting to see what she's going to come up with next.


Her routines just amaze me. Remember last seasons hummingbird routine with Hawk?

Wade Robson is the other choreographer that I really like too. Last nites opening number was awesome.


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

jodyguercio said:


> Her routines just amaze me. Remember last seasons hummingbird routine with Hawk?
> 
> Wade Robson is the other choreographer that I really like too. Last nites opening number was awesome.


We'll watch last night's show this evening and see what Wade worked out for the group.

It's funny that two years ago I couldn't have named a single "famous" choreographer... now I have favorites!

I think Shane Sparks does some really fun stuff. Mia, obviously, is great.

Not the biggest Tyce Diorio fan. Nor do I care for Doria 'disco queen' Sanchez.

And... Stuart... Mary is just a goofball... that's the hot tamale train. Just her way of telling the dancers that it was "hot, hot, hot"... And if it's hotter than that, there are no words for it just an ear-splitting screech.

My son, who is 4, watched part of the show with us, and he kept waiting for Mary to "get really excited and scream". No one worthy of the scream this week, though... I think he got tired of waiting, because about 1/2 way through the show he went down to the bedroom to watch Tom and Jerry.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

You mean she gets louder and more shrill? Oh boy!


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## jodyguercio (Aug 16, 2007)

Stuart Sweet said:


> You mean she gets louder and more shrill? Oh boy!


At one point last night her mic was off and the brought in a handheld for her; but before it was there, you could hear her clear as a bell through both Nigel and Dan's mikes. Weve gotten to the point with her that we just mute it when she talks. Shrill plus nasaly is just the perfect nails on a chalkboard sound.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Was it just me, or did Mia's last routine have elements in it that we've seen in last season's competition? I remember one or two routines last year where Lacey did one of those flying jumps into the arms of her partner ... and I saw it again this season on the first Mia routine. Almost trademark-ish. I like her a lot ... I hope she's not running into choreographer's block.

Seems the men are stronger at the gate this season than last.

Twitch_ington_ is indeed my favorite couple thus far.

We saw the whole show in HD without any of the HD/SD switching others saw, but they did have studio problems with the mics, camera switching, the lighting and some of the stage blocking. The only positive glitch came when someone cut off Mary's mic. It was as funny as we were thankful.

Stuart is right about the pants/crotch thing... and as Nigel said while bidding the couple goodbye, it looks like many in the viewing audience might have been put off by it and used their votes accordingly.

The Hot Tamale Train got old a long time ago, so did Mary's screeching. Maybe she'll miss one or two episodes this season and give us a break.

I think Napoleon and his wife/partner are a welcomed addition to the choreographer staff. Yeah, they screwed up with the pants and crotch, but I have to think that that was as much a calculated risk on the part of the producers. I'm thinking these two will give Mia a run for her money.


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## Charise (Jan 25, 2004)

HDG said:


> The Hot Tamale Train got old a long time ago, so did Mary's screeching. Maybe she'll miss one or two episodes this season and give us a break.


Sorry to disappoint everyone, but I read earlier that Mary is now a full-time judge and won't even be doing any choreography this season.

She's a much better judge when she actually gives the dancers constructive criticism. I thought she started saying, "You're on the hot tamale train," when she was talking about how hot/sexy the dancing looked. I guess it's more prudent for TV to say that than telling them they looked sexy on stage.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Charise said:


> Sorry to disappoint everyone, but I read earlier that Mary is now a full-time judge and won't even be doing any choreography this season.


Oh, I know that, Charise ... still, I hope she takes a few days off and gives our eardrums a break.

Actually, does anyone recall any dances she choreographed for the show? She's billed as a ballroom expert, but I don't remember seeing anything of hers.


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## Charise (Jan 25, 2004)

HDG said:


> Oh, I know that, Charise ... still, I hope she takes a few days off and gives our eardrums a break.
> 
> Actually, does anyone recall any dances she choreographed for the show? She's billed as a ballroom expert, but I don't remember seeing anything of hers.


Sorry, HDG, I didn't know it was general knowledge that she was only a judge this year. Maybe it was even in the auditions? I skipped a lot of that.

Mary did quite a bit of choreography in Season 2 when Benjy won.

The audience seems to go nuts when she screams, so I doubt she'll stop. I wish she would quit it too, but this show has the best dancers and choreographers (Wade Robson is terrific!!), so she won't keep me from watching.


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

Charise said:


> Sorry, HDG, I didn't know it was general knowledge that she was only a judge this year. Maybe it was even in the auditions? I skipped a lot of that.
> 
> Mary did quite a bit of choreography in Season 2 when Benjy won.
> 
> The audience seems to go nuts when she screams, so I doubt she'll stop. I wish she would quit it too, but this show has the best dancers and choreographers (Wade Robson is terrific!!), so she won't keep me from watching.


I did some google searches, and according to wikipedia (take it with a grain of salt), Mary chorographed 5 routines in season one and 4 in season two and then hasn't done any more.

It's not entirely surprising that her routines aren't that well remembered, though, since they were all ballroom (tango, samba, paso doble, etc, etc). I think because there are so many more 'rules' when it comes to ballroom, it makes it harder to chorograph an 'unforgettable' routine. I know my wife watches the ballroom routines and find's them 'boring' because they seem 'old fashioned'. I can see her point to some extent, though I can appreciate the beauty of the dance, and the lines, and so on.

With the other genre's though, you can push the envelope. Just taking examples from this show, you can say "remember the butterfly routine with Hawk"... "remember Sabra and Neil on the office desk".. With fewer rules, you can go alot of different places... IMHO.

Plus, that was two seasons ago, and I have trouble remembering what happend last week...:lol:


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Charise; Please, no apologies needed. I think it was either mentioned during the auditions or in TV Guide ... it's not important. Either case, she still drives me nuts.  

Sharkie; I love the ballroom pieces. I didn't realize - probably for the reasons you stated - that Mary had been that involved. I remember a lot about last season but not the first two. My wive remembers all of them and still complains that a real winner has yet to be named.  

Anyway, we enjoy the series tremendously in spite of the ocassional shreeks, yells, and runnaway Hot Tamale Trains.


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

HDG said:


> Sharkie; I love the ballroom pieces. I didn't realize - probably for the reasons you stated - that Mary had been that involved. I remember a lot about last season but not the first two. My wive remembers all of them and still complains that a real winner has yet to be named.


I don't love the ballroom, but I can appreciate the 'beauty' of the dance.

We're watching the results show right now, and in critiquing Suzy & ??s Waltz (sorry.. haven't figured everyone out yet and I'm too lazy to look it up because it doesn't matter for this!) Nigel made a good point about their dance. He told them their dance was beautiful but it's hard to garner votes dancing ballroom because it's hard to get your personality across. You can display your technique and your lines and the like, but to the average voting viewer, those things don't mean as much as personality and fun.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

I thought Joshua & Katee were the best in week 1. They conveyed the story beautifully through their dance.


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

I wasn't completely surprised with the couple sent packing last night. I think that their performance hurt them with the judges. I think the "pants episode" would have come across alot better if Will had been wearing something besides a banana hammock. Put on a pair of boxers or a pair of compression shorts, or SOMETHING. The girls all put on little shorts when they know their skirts are going to be flapping in the wind.

Not being a dance afficionado... i was a little confused by the comment about Ravyn going demipoint instead of point. I had to look up what it meant, and I'm not sure why it's such a big deal to switch between the two. Basically he's suggesting, if I understand my dance terms correctly, that if you have the ability to do the most difficult form of a dance, then you should never do anything less. I suppose it'd be a good idea to shoot for the stars in this particular situation, but if a particular piece of choreography is better suited for one style over the other then why shouldn't the dancer dance that style....

That said, I thought of the 3 voted into the bottom, she was probably the one who needed to go... I just found Nigels comments a little odd.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

sigma1914 said:


> I thought Joshua & Katee were the best in week 1. They conveyed the story beautifully through their dance.


As a couple, I totally agree with this .. Chelsea I thought was the best dancer out of everyone individually.

The couple I thought was second was Susie and Marquis .. especially when you think of their background.


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