If I Ruled The SYTYCD Universe…

…I would watch only the contemporary couples.

For a blog I do elsewhere, I put myself in the place of one of the judges this year determining which performances would be reprised in the finale. I definitely agreed with including Will & Katee’s Pas de Deux, Mark & Courtney’s Jazz by Sonya Tayeh, and Katee & Josh’s Bollywood routines. Find out what I might’ve replaced the rest with, after the jump.

Good TV is NOT an Oxymoron

Finally, my SYTYCD Finale Recap!

The SYTYCD Finale was damn good TV, and that says a lot coming from a person who considers “good TV” to be an oxymoron.

Like the great talent and entertainment shows of the 60s and 70s–Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson to name just two–SYTYCD is bringing new talent, and a whole new artform, to the TV-viewing audience. An audience that has been dumbed down to the point of catatonia by writers’ strikes; the short-term expediency of inexpensively-made reality TV; and the spineless ass-kissing of Hollywood TV execs who capitulate to advertisers and sponsors and lack the patience and vision to invest in a show as it builds momentum.

The SYTYCD Finale was remarkably entertaining: a spectacle for the eyes, the mind and the heart. And, it was highly respectful of its audience, offering up the best moments of the season as picked by judges so committed to the quality of dance-as-entertainment and to the nurturing of dance talent, that two of them actually got up to perform. Rather than this coming across as shameless self-aggrandizement or an opportunistic tactic to prove or revive their fading credibility (hear that, Randy Jackson? Or you, Paula Abdul?), it was instead a demonstration of their love for dance and their support of this under-rated and under-supported art form.

Some of the most successful elements of the Finale show, plus a continuation of my rant against AI, and my five favourite SYTYCD moments of the Season Four Finale, after the jump.

SYTYCD Finale Performance (08-06-08)

I missed it!! Boo hiss. Work got in the way. Just reviewed the vids up online at www.rickey.org. Kudos to him for getting those up that fast. Have seen just about all with the exception of Mia’s group performance–will come back to that and have more of a performance and artistic merit review by the weekend.

In the meantime, if you want a transcript of judges’ commentary intermingled with some savvy viewers’ responses, check out the SYTYCD Play-By-Play by my friends, the PBP Players, on the American Idol message boards HERE.

My stream-of-consciousness responses to tonight’s key performances, after the jump.

A Wacky Wednesday SYTYCD Finale Spoiler

Site updates! Gotta put a different pic up, ‘coz ole Johnny down there is slightly musty looking.

SYTYCD Finale Performances! Tonight!

I expect you all heard the story that Joshua and Twitch suffered dehydration and were hospitalized on the weekend. All four lost a day of practice as a result. Wonder how that will affect the performances? I’m looking forward to a great show.

Spoilers … after the jump.

UPDATE: Check out SYTYCD: And The Winner Is and SYTYCD Finale Performance 08-06-08 for more info!

What’s Up On Hump Day!

Mid-Week Highlights!

It’s SYTYCD tonight–Top 6! Mark and Courtney are likely in trouble, but let’s see if there’s another upset this week. They will all need to be in top form tonight, and the choreography will make or break them. I hope we get Mandy Moore back. Can’t wait … I’ll try to get my review up quickly this week, but I’m in post-vacation mode at work, and so quite busy. So check in again here frequently (bookmark the site or subscribe to my feed–look up and to the right; it’s the orange box that says “posts”).

I’ve added a daily quotation to the page, and I’m keeping these on a static sub-page called “WoW” (Words of Wisdom) Archive. I’m pulling these from some of my own personal faves that I’ve been collecting for years. You will see lots of Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain, some snark, and many that are inspirational to me about art, culture and the flaws and foibles of human nature. Many of them have a double, or triple, meaning. I like things that can be interpreted multiple ways. Ambiguity. Random juxtaposition. These things, in and of themselves, inspire creativity and lateral thinking.

What I’m reading right now: Blindness, José Saramago. It’s a bit harrowing, but I trust the reviews I’ve read (and the fact that it won a Nobel Prize for Literature). It feels to me very much like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Possibly even bleaker. It has been made into a movie (another one that will be premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival) starring one of my favourite actresses, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Gael Garcia Bernal. I will be doing my darndest to get to see this one and The Secret Life of Bees, also premiering here in September. Ideally, I will have a review of the novel up sometime on the weekend.

And now, for something truly uplifting: After the jump.

SYTYCD Top 8: Props To The Dancers Without Props

Okay, this is going to be a shotgun review for a couple of reasons. The first, I’ve been away. The second, I don’t much have the heart to watch last Thursday’s show–did I miss anything other than the glaringly obvious most important thing, i.e. Will’s elimination? No? I didn’t think so.

As for Wednesday, I was left feeling a little so-so about the whole thing, and it’s probably worthwhile to explore why. Certainly there were some competent performances. But, thinking about the show as a whole, nothing stood out as a dramatic “moment” although I thought there were a couple of instructive misfires, most of which had to do with the improper use of props. Let us begin…

Mia Michaels’ “Ave Maria”

As I wrote in a previous post, the use of the English lyric of Schubert’s Ave Maria was critical in enabling the meaning of Mia Michaels’ SYTYCD Top 5 Girls piece to be ‘heard’ by much of the audience. Even I–long a vociferous opponent of my countrywoman, Celine Dion–was able to overcome my distaste for the treacly chanteuse (like one habituates to a unpleasant smell) and put aside my existential atheism to appreciate the beauty and remarkable artistry of this routine. After the jump, more commentary on Ave Maria, including an attempt to sort out the confusion around the two separate versions (different melodies, different lyrics) in Latin, English and German. There were many choices Michaels could have made but, given her long association with Dion, the choice she did make was not only understandable, but also shrewd. Do I smell an Emmy nomination?

SYTYCD Top 10

This year, I’ve taken an interest in the Fox (cough, cough) reality show (cough, cough) So You Think You Can Dance.

With my love of random juxtaposition, such as that which occurs when high art meets low, I’ve found it to be fully worthy of my eccentric musings. In fact, each show offers something new to learn about dance, music, the creative process and the Nigel Lythgoe-produced, reality TV juggernaut of American Idol and SYTYCD for which I have a morbid fascination-aka-addiction.

This week we had two moments of high-meets-low: Will and Katee’s pas de deux, choreographed by the great contemporary ballet dancer, Desmond Richardson; and Mia Michaels’ routine for the Top 5 Girls set to Ave Maria.

I have newfound respect for this show and its ability to bring dance, music and culture not seen on reality TV—heck, not seen on TV much period—to a mainstream audience.