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rabid1stTucking this under the spoiler cut because there's no sense in prejudging it for others.
Pasha and Kristina (a good partnership--both from ballroom)--they danced the Paso Doble. She looked good out there. And I did find I looked at her from time to time, which with Pasha on the stage, is saying something. He is definitely eye-catching. She did have some troubles with her transitions. You could see her bracing herself right before a move. But the judges loved her to pieces. So, there you go. - VOTED
Allison and Adacheke (another good match for style and body type)--they danced contemporary to Listen To Your Heart and my feeling was that I had seen this entire routine before. It was so generic, nothing new here and no reason to watch it again. The judges felt that Adacheke gave more to this routine emotionally then he did last week, but I am afraid I'm not feeling it. I had to force myself to look away from Allison even to see what he's doing. I do think that there is a valid point to how hard it is to work with a new partner every week...and still show emotion. Some people just don't connect that easily with others. And Adacheke could be one of those people. He lives in his own head, so he really has to work harder than some to reach out to his partner and beyond to the audience.
Commercial Break Has anyone seen that Chik-fil-a ad that has the cows sounding like air raid alarms? I think it is quite clever. Also, they just ran an ad for a show that looks interesting. Something about con men...stolen from Leverage, I suppose...but more soap opera-y.
Lauren and Alex Not a mismatch but not a real winner. They are dancing a Fosse-style Broadway routine. Alex easily draws the eye. He's a spectacular dancer. But he's almost too clean for the style. He doesn't have a popping edge and that draws my eye back to Lauren. I think Nigel hit it right on the head when he mentions Alex' shoulders being high and tight. He was trying to contain the power...by his own admission...he didn't do the sizzle part of it. I do think the judges have this right. Good advice for Alex. He's beautiful, such magnificent point and finish, but he is like the ghost of Fosse rather than the embodiment.
Mark and Ashley (another natural pairing)--and they are dancing jazz. I don't like jazz music very much (Yes, I have been told that jazz is for the sophisticate, the true intellectual, but I still don't like it). I do like jazz dance. I like it much better than contemporary. I think it is because jazz has some form and substance. I am a girl that likes rhythm, as I told![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
keswindhover earlier today. All this random through around of notes or body parts doesn't impress me. Hello, Mia! I am talking to you. Nigel makes the remark that the contemporary was a little strong in this particular routine. Okay...end of rant...back to Mark and Ashley...this was an excellent pairing. I watched them both equally. For the first time in All-Stars I was not distracted by the concept. This was a beautiful, emotionally valid routine and I think they should score well. I might vote for Ashley tonight.
Comfort and Billy (not a natural pairing) and they are going to Krump. And I would say that there is no way Doe-Eyed Billy is ever going to be BUCK. Sorry, Lil' C. Maybe it was because I expected it to be laugh...but Billy finally made me see why the judges are saying Billy can do anything with his body. He really did come up to the point where he was hip-hop. He wasn't quite a krump warrior, as Nigel says. But he was tough enough for Billy Bell. Billy B. Bad! Not whack. Not buck though. And his rebounds were much better than other dancers of his genre have shown. I think the judges were a little too starry eyed over Billy to appreciate how good he was at this. It wasn't KRUMP, sure. But I really thought he was going to look like he was prancing about with over extended jumps and such.
Anya and Robert (another pairing that makes me cringe)--with Argentine Tango. EEK! I really loved Robert last week. But I was bracing for this one to be very bad indeed. Robert is quite masculine, quite dominate. He's very hot indeed. And so he does keep my eye. But I am with Mia on this one, not Nigel. I think Nigel is wrong about this one, wrong because he is noticing the masculine power of Robert. But Robert did look over matched. Mostly because he didn't have the strength in his back and abs for this. His frame was good but I could see him struggling to hold it as the dance unfolded. I do agree that his retractions were very clean and sharp and commanding. And I didn't expect he would have such good footwork (so there I am with Nigel). But his frame was weak. Once you get a male to loosen up his hips and back, it is very hard to put the starch back into him. I didn't agree with Mia that Robert was a kitten and not masculine though, I just think he was struggling to hold his frame. VOTED
Ade and Melinda I don't know that there is a good partner in the All-Stars for Melinda. She's a tapper after all and it's a very particular style. But tonight she did contemporary and she's no worse in it than anyone else. She does have good control of her feet. And I did sort of get weepy over the concept and use of Squander as the song. I'm not a fan of manipulative concepts. I do agree that dress was appalling. I think the entire performance was designed very cleverly by the choreographer and other concept people so that it hid Melinda's shortcomings as a dancer, giving her a better shot at sticking around for a few weeks. She didn't seem to be Mother Earth to me. Nor did I think Ade was much of a mankind representative. But his smoothness paired with her stiffness worked. I think she might get votes. Also, I would like to say that I am glad they are letting the All-Stars stick around for the judging. Because they might have to take a bit of the blame if a routine goes wrong. Of course, so far, it's been mostly praise. But I did like Anya defending Robert, saying he made her look powerful. And I feel she was right about that.
Kathryn and Jose Doing Bollywood. No! Jose was just not keeping up with this. Though, he does shine brightly. I will give that to him and to Adam. He was joyful and happy as he danced and he did throw himself into the process. It's just that he flailed and faltered.
Dominic and Lauren Not a good match at all. Again, I would question if Dominic is ever a good match for someone. Twitch would be so much better for a technical powerhouse like Lauren. Oh, and to make it worse...it is a preachy piece from a new choreographer. But Lauren did show emotion in it. It took her a bit to come out of her shell but she did move me. Good job Lauren. VOTED
Courtney and Kent Everyone looks good with Kent. :grin: I know, I know, Carrie! But I'm a sucker for that shucks ya'll attitude. And he had it going on in the preview/training section. And also, how cute was he as a twitchy youngster? Very cute. But the thing is...Kent is a very powerful dancer. His moves are all finished beautifully and I don't think Courtney ate him for lunch. And I love how Nigel doesn't want any lip from his AllStars. But again, I'm still glad that they are standing up by their partner for the judging. Lauren was more mature than Kent, definitely. But he did okay. I think he just needs to touch a few more ladies. LOL VOTED
So...there we go. I think I will go with women in the bottom again. Since I doubt they will take out these guys. They should take out Jose...but he's just too shiny. :grin:
Rae
waiting for Carrie to explain why I'm wrong.
Pasha and Kristina (a good partnership--both from ballroom)--they danced the Paso Doble. She looked good out there. And I did find I looked at her from time to time, which with Pasha on the stage, is saying something. He is definitely eye-catching. She did have some troubles with her transitions. You could see her bracing herself right before a move. But the judges loved her to pieces. So, there you go. - VOTED
Allison and Adacheke (another good match for style and body type)--they danced contemporary to Listen To Your Heart and my feeling was that I had seen this entire routine before. It was so generic, nothing new here and no reason to watch it again. The judges felt that Adacheke gave more to this routine emotionally then he did last week, but I am afraid I'm not feeling it. I had to force myself to look away from Allison even to see what he's doing. I do think that there is a valid point to how hard it is to work with a new partner every week...and still show emotion. Some people just don't connect that easily with others. And Adacheke could be one of those people. He lives in his own head, so he really has to work harder than some to reach out to his partner and beyond to the audience.
Commercial Break Has anyone seen that Chik-fil-a ad that has the cows sounding like air raid alarms? I think it is quite clever. Also, they just ran an ad for a show that looks interesting. Something about con men...stolen from Leverage, I suppose...but more soap opera-y.
Lauren and Alex Not a mismatch but not a real winner. They are dancing a Fosse-style Broadway routine. Alex easily draws the eye. He's a spectacular dancer. But he's almost too clean for the style. He doesn't have a popping edge and that draws my eye back to Lauren. I think Nigel hit it right on the head when he mentions Alex' shoulders being high and tight. He was trying to contain the power...by his own admission...he didn't do the sizzle part of it. I do think the judges have this right. Good advice for Alex. He's beautiful, such magnificent point and finish, but he is like the ghost of Fosse rather than the embodiment.
Mark and Ashley (another natural pairing)--and they are dancing jazz. I don't like jazz music very much (Yes, I have been told that jazz is for the sophisticate, the true intellectual, but I still don't like it). I do like jazz dance. I like it much better than contemporary. I think it is because jazz has some form and substance. I am a girl that likes rhythm, as I told
keswindhover earlier today. All this random through around of notes or body parts doesn't impress me. Hello, Mia! I am talking to you. Nigel makes the remark that the contemporary was a little strong in this particular routine. Okay...end of rant...back to Mark and Ashley...this was an excellent pairing. I watched them both equally. For the first time in All-Stars I was not distracted by the concept. This was a beautiful, emotionally valid routine and I think they should score well. I might vote for Ashley tonight.Comfort and Billy (not a natural pairing) and they are going to Krump. And I would say that there is no way Doe-Eyed Billy is ever going to be BUCK. Sorry, Lil' C. Maybe it was because I expected it to be laugh...but Billy finally made me see why the judges are saying Billy can do anything with his body. He really did come up to the point where he was hip-hop. He wasn't quite a krump warrior, as Nigel says. But he was tough enough for Billy Bell. Billy B. Bad! Not whack. Not buck though. And his rebounds were much better than other dancers of his genre have shown. I think the judges were a little too starry eyed over Billy to appreciate how good he was at this. It wasn't KRUMP, sure. But I really thought he was going to look like he was prancing about with over extended jumps and such.
Anya and Robert (another pairing that makes me cringe)--with Argentine Tango. EEK! I really loved Robert last week. But I was bracing for this one to be very bad indeed. Robert is quite masculine, quite dominate. He's very hot indeed. And so he does keep my eye. But I am with Mia on this one, not Nigel. I think Nigel is wrong about this one, wrong because he is noticing the masculine power of Robert. But Robert did look over matched. Mostly because he didn't have the strength in his back and abs for this. His frame was good but I could see him struggling to hold it as the dance unfolded. I do agree that his retractions were very clean and sharp and commanding. And I didn't expect he would have such good footwork (so there I am with Nigel). But his frame was weak. Once you get a male to loosen up his hips and back, it is very hard to put the starch back into him. I didn't agree with Mia that Robert was a kitten and not masculine though, I just think he was struggling to hold his frame. VOTED
Ade and Melinda I don't know that there is a good partner in the All-Stars for Melinda. She's a tapper after all and it's a very particular style. But tonight she did contemporary and she's no worse in it than anyone else. She does have good control of her feet. And I did sort of get weepy over the concept and use of Squander as the song. I'm not a fan of manipulative concepts. I do agree that dress was appalling. I think the entire performance was designed very cleverly by the choreographer and other concept people so that it hid Melinda's shortcomings as a dancer, giving her a better shot at sticking around for a few weeks. She didn't seem to be Mother Earth to me. Nor did I think Ade was much of a mankind representative. But his smoothness paired with her stiffness worked. I think she might get votes. Also, I would like to say that I am glad they are letting the All-Stars stick around for the judging. Because they might have to take a bit of the blame if a routine goes wrong. Of course, so far, it's been mostly praise. But I did like Anya defending Robert, saying he made her look powerful. And I feel she was right about that.
Kathryn and Jose Doing Bollywood. No! Jose was just not keeping up with this. Though, he does shine brightly. I will give that to him and to Adam. He was joyful and happy as he danced and he did throw himself into the process. It's just that he flailed and faltered.
Dominic and Lauren Not a good match at all. Again, I would question if Dominic is ever a good match for someone. Twitch would be so much better for a technical powerhouse like Lauren. Oh, and to make it worse...it is a preachy piece from a new choreographer. But Lauren did show emotion in it. It took her a bit to come out of her shell but she did move me. Good job Lauren. VOTED
Courtney and Kent Everyone looks good with Kent. :grin: I know, I know, Carrie! But I'm a sucker for that shucks ya'll attitude. And he had it going on in the preview/training section. And also, how cute was he as a twitchy youngster? Very cute. But the thing is...Kent is a very powerful dancer. His moves are all finished beautifully and I don't think Courtney ate him for lunch. And I love how Nigel doesn't want any lip from his AllStars. But again, I'm still glad that they are standing up by their partner for the judging. Lauren was more mature than Kent, definitely. But he did okay. I think he just needs to touch a few more ladies. LOL VOTED
So...there we go. I think I will go with women in the bottom again. Since I doubt they will take out these guys. They should take out Jose...but he's just too shiny. :grin:
Rae
waiting for Carrie to explain why I'm wrong.
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Date: 2010-06-24 10:05 pm (UTC)However, I did watch the first two dances. I'm not a Cristina fan. I find her dancing awkward and maybe that is because of what you noticed about the transitions, but sometimes I just see the work she puts into the dance, which is something, as a viewer, I never want to see in the dance.
Also I often wonder what it means on this show to be a salsa dancer. Honestly, and not to disparage salsa, but I tend to think salsa dancer, on this show, means not good enough to be considered a latin dancer but also more adaptable to other styles such as contemporary than a latin ballroom dancer generally is. Basically, someone who has a more broad dance education but focuses on ballroom, but is not a specialist anywhere. I think this is what Janette was too.
Anyway, I was not impressed with choreo with her dance or with her performance. I think she is mediocre. Not bad, but not that great either.
As for Adechike, I've developed a theory about him. I think he was included because the show would not do a season minus an African American dancer and Anthony Burrell (the hamstring guy) was too injured to do the show this year. I think this is why we got Alex and Billy and 6 boys because Nigel had said both Alex and Billy would not be on the show - it would only be one of them. I think Billy was their guy (and so popular with fans) and Alex was out - the highly technical contemp spot being filled by Anthony so no need for Alex. But then Anthony was out because of injury and they had to have both the highly technical guy and an African American in two different dancers so we get 6 boys - Adechike not being up to the quality of the other guys but filling the needed racial quota.
That being said, I like Adechike and think he did just fine in very bland choreo two weeks in a row. Choreography that in no way tried to highlight him as a dancer and had him more as support for the female.
Not having seen all the dances but I have a feeling it's still going to be a girl slaughter. Adechike being the only vulnerable male.