More Shauna & Cedric

Daemon's TV got a chance to interview Shauna & Cedric.

Shauna:

D: Did you think you were going to go home this week?
S: I don’t know, I mean I never really try to hold things for
granted or anything.

D: Do you wish you had done something different in your routine?
S: No, I mean I feel like things happen for a reason, and I think that I tried everything I could, and that I made everything my all, not once did I hold back.

D: What has this experience brought you?
S: This experience has been amazing. Working with all the choreographers, and giving me a chance to share what I love to do with everyone was great.

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Cedric:

D: Where do you get your inspirations for your moves?
C: Cartoons. If you ask anybody, especially if you ask Danny, because Danny’s my roommate, he’s like “man, dude all you watch is cartoons or the history channel” it’s because, I like reality but sometimes you know, you just want to get away from it so either you go in the past like with history or you look at cartoons, that’s how I look at it. So yeah, I get a lot of my inspiration from cartoons.

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Betcha Can't Watch It Just Once

YouTube user mkwbeanie gets our Excellence in Video Editing Award for this outstanding fanvid from the first three competition episodes of season 3.

Lauren & Neil

Blogger sytycd found a great Lauren & Neil video montage.

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Technique And Personality

John At Theory My Culture dissects how Danny fits into the world of Nigel & Co.:

On another hand, the judges’ critique of Danny says a lot about why ballroom dancers have stayed around so long. The ballroom folks get a real pass on the “dance for your life” segment; we’re pretty convinced, thanks judges!, that they struggle to do solo work, given the central role of “partnering” in ballroom styles. Ballroom is about technique and choreography, sure, but after that is mastered, it is as much about exuberant personality as anything else. (Let’s leave the strange fashion aside for now.) And so the critique of Danny tells us a lot about why ballroom people stick around. If the judges want personality, then ballroom is all about just that personality. The energy, the charisma, etc. Danny’s form has a different relation to expression. It is first about technique - which the write-up in the New York Times obsesses over - and only after about the personal. Even then, the personal sits on the fringes of performance (and therein lies the difference from ballroom).

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Cedric & Shauna Interviews

BuddyTV gets first access each week to the departing contestants. The Cedric interview is up and available in text and audio.

Q. What made you want to try out for the show, were you a fan beforehand?

A. I loved the show, what made me try out for the show, actually was Ivan, like watching Ivan last year. I was just awed by the way he moved, just like, man it was just cool that he was like a hip-hop person who was actually from the Monsters of Hip/Hop, which I'm from, and that he made it so far. That was one reason, the other reason was just the study, just study as many different dance styles without, I know it sounds bad, but without paying for them. Because it can be really expensive to pay for dance everyday, all day long.

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Shauna's interview:

Q. What was the experience for you like dancing with Cedric?

A. It was great, I really love Cedric and I think he's an amazing person as well as an amazing dancer. At times it would get stressful just because of him not really having that experience, but it was fun. I'm really glad I got to work with him. We would stay up really late and just work on it and talk to each other, and I think we really helped each other, it was fun.

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Imagining A Positive Outcome

Jennifer Garam at WriteousChicks has found room in her life for 2 dance shows and she spreads the Danny love:

So I’m asking you judges, what’s wrong with a little arrogance? I mean personally, he doesn’t come off as arrogant to me, but what if he did? He is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. He is doing seriously freakin’ hard things, like leaping through the air in a single bound, and contorting his (gorgeous) body in the name of art!!! Clearly, he is passionate about dancing and works hard, so what’s wrong with knowing he is talented and exceptional and wonderful and fabulous, and further radiating and celebrating that? He is great, so why not rock his greatness? Sure, he could fake humility, but how annoying and obnoxious is that? He was told: “With the kind of technique you have, you dance like you think you know you already won the competition.” Well, why not imagine a positive outcome? Why is it better to imagine and anticipate the worst, that you will lose, fail, that things will not work out for you, that nothing will go your way? Why is that “humble” stance more revered?

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Backstage Report

In her Backstage Report, TVGuide's Deborah Starr Seibel reveals the pain some of our dancers have endured this season, along with this little nugget:

"For two weeks, Jessi was ill," says Lythgoe. "The first week, we got her through it. But the second week she went to the hospital." Lythgoe owns up to the charge that Peralta was sent packing in part because of her health. "I won't speak for the other judges," says Lythgoe, "but for me personally, yes, I did take that into account."

Is there any chance that will satisfy the petitioners?

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Product Placement

EW's Adam B. Vary thinks Hairspray didn't get plugged enough. He also says:

...the only solo I truly liked was Hok's, since he bothered to dance to the music rather than freestyle shapeless, showy movement for 30 seconds. But as Nigel made clear, the solos only played a part — a small part, by the looks of it — in the judges' decision to cut Shauner and Cedric. It's not like we didn't see this coming, exactly, given the breadth and supreme quality of Anyer and Jaimie's performances over the full season thus far. (Not to mention their luck in landing partners who raise their dancing game and lower their propensity to blurt out giggly inanities. Respectively.)

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Shane Comparison

Kivus Tumblelog has posted 2 Shane Sparks creations for comparison, last year's Ivan & Allison umbrella routine, and this week's Dom & Sabra hiphop number.

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Top 14 Elimination Show Recaps

Brett Love at TVSquad:

Ya see, here's my problem with this explanation. Remember way, way back a whole 2 weeks ago? According to the judges, Jesús was given the boot because he was outdanced in the solos. The solos were the thing, right? But not now. Now it's all about the season as a whole. The hell? The thing is, even looking at the season as a whole, I'd still put Shauna ahead of Anya. Lack of growth? Really?

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Spill recaps the show:

We’re saying goodbye to two more dancers tonight, and hopefully one of them is Cedric — talented soloist, mediocre partner. But first, tonight’s group dance. It’s set to You Can’t Stop the Beat from Hairspray, as part of the whole marketing push that landed Adam Shankman on the show as a judge. But — but — they used this song for a dance last year! Repeats are lame! Plus, this Queen Latifah version is definitely not as good as the other one they used. The choreography isn’t that special, either. Thumbs down for Shankman. Where’s Tyce Diorio when you need him? Also, I love how they put Danny in the front of all the group routines. He probably won’t win, but he’s totally the best. Cat’s continuing her weak attire streak in a frilly powder-blue sixties dress and tightly pulled-back hair. We conclude by watching some rehearsal footage of Adam Shankman acting like a crazy person. Sigh, theater people. He’s got some killer splits though.

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People actually wager on the show. Hok and Lacey are given the best odds to win it all.

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Daemon's TV has all the clips and song list.

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Cedric's Best Solo

Shauna At The Dance Hall Of Fame Challenge

Top 14 Results Show West Coast Spoiler

We'll be down to the top 12 after tonight's results show. Losing just about anybody is going to hurt, as it has already this season. Expected to be clearly safe tonight are Pasha & Sara, and Dominic & Sabra. All bets are off after that, though Neil & Lauren polled a surprisingly strong 16% of the vote in our poll.

We already know that the opening group number will be from Hairspray, and will be choreographed by guest judge Adam Shankman.

West Coast spoiler ahead, CLICK TO CONTINUE

Refresh for updates

The girls in poofy skirts and the guys in narrow ties and 60s suits. It was good, High energy.

Judges are introduced, Higel, Mary, and Adam Shankman. We go to a package about the rehearsals for the opening group number.

Hungry jazz face?

First 2 couples, Sabra & Dom, Danny & Anya. One is in the B3.

We get the usual video packages on both couples' performance from last night.

Sabra & Dom are safe!

Danny & Anya in B3.

Nigel: There's something they're (Danny & Anya) not doing.

Adam Shankman: I want to retract the arrogant comment completely.

commercial

Shauna & Cedric, Lacey & Kameron, and Pasha & Sara are up next. One couple will be in the B3.

Lacey & Kameron are safe.

Shauna & Cedric are in the B3.

Pasha & Sara are safe.

Commercial.

The third couple in the bottom 3 will be either Neil & Lauren of Hok & Jaimie.

We're back from commercial. Video packages first.

The final couple in the B3 is Jaimie & Hok.

Neil & Lauren are safe.

Video package about top 14 going to Hairspray premiere.

Kameron does a pretty good Christopher Walken impression.

Adam Shankman's next project is Step-up 2.

Commercial.

We should see Danny or Anya first, then Shauna or Cedric, and then Hok and Jaimie.

We're back.

Anya first.

Latin ballroom style. Good, but not enough.

Danny shirtless.

Ballet mixed with hiphop. It was good.

Shauna dances to The Cranberries. Good!

Cedric is amazing. Does he have any bones in his body?

Commercial. Surprise! It's for the movie Hairspray.

Jaimie & Hok after the break, then Hillary Duff performs before we lose 2 dancers tonight.

We're back. Jaimie first.

Lyrical. Good but not great.

Hok does his thing. Good, but not great.

The judges leave to deliberate.

Hillary Duff is dressed like Jeannie from I Dream Of Jeanie, but she sounds surprisingly good.

Oh, she's lip-syncing. Didn't she learn anything from Fergie's performance?

Commercial.

We'll know in a minute. Our prediction: Cedric and Anya will leave tonight.

We're back. Girls first.

Judges are unanimous on both girls and boys.

Jaimie is safe!

Nigel talks to Anya: Solos aren't strong enough, but she is safe!

Shauna is leaving tonight.

Nigel says there hasn't been enough growth and personality from Shauna.

We love Shauna here at the blog, so this hurts.

Cedric is leaving.

Danny & Hok are safe.

Very little explanation was given, or was needed.

Shauna and Cedric leave us tonight. That's the show. Thanks for joining us.

Shauna Remixed

YouTube user moltanlavafalls has posted a compilation video of season 3 finalist Shauna Noland. Also appearing are Cedric Gardner, Jimmy Arguello, and Kory Amaral. Unfortunately, there are some lyrics some might find offensive, otherwise, it's well done.

Top 14 Poll Results

Our top 14 performance show poll asked: Which couple gave the best performance during the top 14 show? We received 343 votes. Pasha & Sara came in first with 33% of the vote, Dominic & Sabra were a strong second with 25%. Neil & Lauren should be safe tonight as they came in third with 16%. We're a bit surprised that Kameron and Lacey came in fourth with only 10% of the vote, but with Lacey's power-voting fan base, they will most likely be safe. Almost surely in the bottom 3 will be Danny & Anya (9%), Hok & Jaimie (2%), and Cedric & Shauna (2%).

Given all that's happened so far this season, we make no further predictions. It will all come down to how the individuals dance for their lives, and whatever mood Nigel & Co. are in tonight.

Thanks for voting!

Top 16 Judge Interviews

This video has a bit of age on it, but is interesting if you haven't seen it. Debbie Allen, Mary Murphy, and Nigel Lythgoe interviewed after letting Jessi and Jesus go, 2 weeks ago

Blogger At The Taping

Junichi Semitsu, the "official exclusive blogger" for the Dixie Chicks, attended the taping of last night's show. He reports:

As I entered Stage 46 in CBS Television City, I immediately sensed the community and the cult status that this show has engendered. I passed celebrities like Vanessa Williams and Kids in the Hall comedian Scott Thompson, who were obviously big fans. I spotted two of last season’s finalists, Donyelle Jones and Heidi Groskreutz, making the rounds with old friends, while two of this season’s eliminated contestants, Jimmy Arguello and Jesús Solorio, warmly embraced one another. Even two of the contestants' swing-dancing father, Buddy Schwimmer, who has become known for always holding an electronic LED sign while sitting in the audience, is greeted like a national celebrity.

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Stick With Her

We get all kinds of goodies from Beckylooo at TV In The Woods.

On Kameron's performance:

...his major issue is the way he finishes his lines. This might sound a bit hibby dibby but stick with me. The difference between a good dancer and a great dancer is the extension of energy through the end of their lines. Good dancers’ energy stops at their finger tips and toes. Great dancers continue out into space. Watch Kam’s hands and then watch Danny’s. That’s the difference.

On Wade Robson:

Sure, you can unpack his work and find the influences (Fosse for one, who I got into earlier) but it’s not derivative in any way. He stands on the shoulders of those who came before, he doesn’t put on their clothes. I hope Lauren and Neil can build on the momentum he gave them. I enjoyed them tonight.

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Danny & Anya In Jeopardy Tonight?

Adam B. Vary returns to EW.com after a few weeks vacation. After getting a few things off his chest, he recaps last night's show. He's worried for Danny & Anya.

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Best Of The Recaps

Brett Love at TVSquad always entertains with his recaps.

Sabra and Dominic were off to see Shane Sparks for a hip hop routine. It wasn't what I was expecting. I thought Shane would turn Dominic loose with some of the skills he has shown in his solo performances, but he dialed things down and brought them something of an intimate hip hop number. It was different, and I thought it worked very well. I do really enjoy watching the growth of Dominic as a performer, as well as the two of them as a team. They really are great together.

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Kimberly at GirlsTalkinSmack on Neil & Lauren:

As much as I love Wade’s routines, I wish some of them weren’t so obviously his. Does that make sense? I mean, in the beginning of this we got that little poppy/locky, Thriller-esque thing that he’s been doing in so many of his routines recently. I tried SO hard to like this and not be baised against Neil and Lauren (mainly Neil) but….no. They executed it well and they played their parts, maybe a bit too hammy for my taste, but overall it left me feeling meh.

Has anyone ever actually said the word meh?

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Daemon's TV has all the clips.

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Early Recaps

TVGuide community blog:

The show begins immediately with some razzle dazzle in the form of Cat's dress. It's like fireworks threw up on her. Here comes the Top 14 dancers! Pasha! Oh how I've missed you most of all. The guest judge for this week is the director *and* choreographer of the hopefully fun movie Hairspray, Adam Shankman. Today is Nigel's birthday and he tries to defend their choice of booting out Jessi. Whatever.

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Gray at Fame or Famine:

Pasha’s opening was kind of uninspiring…and I gotta say the feminist in me was a bit annoyed by the fact that the women wore revealing, low cut outfits while the guys wore t-shirts and form-hiding clothes. Either both sides should be sexy, or both should be baggy, but come on, let’s not quite so blatantly play the cheesecake card.

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Tapeworthy's Vance:

Okay. I know it's only been 2 weeks since our last new episode of So You Think You Can Dance but it seems like it's been WAY TOO LONG. FOX, don't ever put SYTYCD on a midseason hiatus again. In the meantime, 2 new choreographers join us. Let's hope they are better than the disco botox lady.

Includes all the clips.
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Top 14 Performance Show - Some Quick Thoughts

What does guest judge Adam Shankman have against Chinese and Italian people? Why food, not people? Huh?

Cagney & Lacey...I'm sorry, Kameron & Lacey. I almost forgot he was on stage. I couldn't take my eyes off her. I know it's hard for some of us to warm up to her (I'm still not sure why), but she really is an amazing dancer and performer.

Cedric & Shauna. In this case, I found myself watching Cedric, He acquitted himself quite well, and FWIW, I never thought his foxtrot was THAT bad. I guess there were a couple of glitches, but it was...
CLICK TO CONTINUE

nice to see him get some judge love for a change. I'll have to watch it again to give Shauna a fair appraisal. Their wardrobe matched the dance style well.

Danny & Anya. Didn't Anya look great as a blond? Congratulations to Tyce, it was beautifully choreographed. I thought he used both dancer's strengths well, without beating us over the head that he was doing it. We love Anya here, and hope she's safe tomorrow night. Danny too.

Pasha & Sara. For the first time, we could see Pasha winning this thing. He channeled the best of Benji. We agree with Nigel, it was magic. Sara held her own, more than we had seen before.

Dominic & Sabra. Again, you could fill a laboratory full of beakers and Bunsen burners with all the chemistry goin' on. Go Shane! Go Sabra! Go Dominic!

Hok & Jaimie. Apparently, Jaimie can't do anything, including playing basketball, without doing that high leg thing. Nice job by choreographer Toni Redfern. If Mia Michaels choreographed waltzes, I think it would look something like this. I guess I'm a latent waltz fan. Pasha & Jessi's smooth waltz, and Danny & Anya's Viennese waltz are among my favorite routines of the season. This wasn't quite in that class, but it was enjoyable to watch.

Neil & Lauren. Wade Robson is the couple whisperer, but I'm not sure even he can fix this couple. The music and movement reminded me a bit of Jesus & Sara's Cabaret Hoover, though a bit more pleasant. It seemed more performance than dance. Is that a bad thing? I'm not sure yet.

So You Think You Can Dance - BuddyTV Live Blogged

Oscar Dahl at BuddyTV live-blogged tonight's top 14 performance show.

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So You Think You Can Dance - Top 14 Voting Numbers

Kameron & Lacey 888-836-7601
Cedric and Shauna 888-836-7602
Danny and Anya 888-836-7603
Pasha & Sara 888-836-7604
Dominic & Sabra 888-836-7605
Hok & Jaimie 888-836-7606
Neil & Lauren 888-836-7607

Top 14 Track List

Kameron & Lacey
Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Inner Life

Cedric & Shauna
Flauta y Timbal - Tito Puente

Danny & Anya
Apologize - One Republic

Pasha & Sara
The Rockafeller Skank - Fatboy Slim

Dominic & Sabra
Make It Work - NeYo

Hok & Jaimie
Angel - Sarah McLachlan

Neil & Lauren
Night Of The Dancing Flame - Roisin Murphy

Cat, The Fashion Icon

Here's one fashion blog that loves Cat Deeley. They have a photo of her on the red carpet at last night's Hairspray premiere. We understand that most, if not all of the top 14 were there too. It figures, since Hairspray Director/choreographer Adam Shankman will guest judge tonight's show.

Our real star of the evening, however, has to be Cat Deeley. Since leaving good old Blighty for sunny LA she's been endearing herself to the American public, and with outfits like this one we can see why. The Brummy lady looked stunning in a shimmering gold sequined dress worn with strappy tan sandals, a thick gold bangle and big teardrop earrings. Our love affair with Ms. Deeley continues...

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Danny = Leroy?

In a somewhat annoying and uninformed article, the New York Times' Gia Kourlas compares Danny Tidwell to Leroy from Fame, and takes Nigel Lythgoe to task for some of his opinions:

Even more disturbing is the idea that “So You Think You Can Dance” has emerged as a viable option for real dancers, including Mr. Tidwell, who don’t have to look far to see that career options have been greatly depleted. At its best, the show provides a kind of kicky fun, the good side of cheesy. But it’s also outdated and perpetuates many stereotypes about what constitutes good dance (speed is in, subtlety is out), what language is used to describe it and how training makes boring dancers.

The biggest culprit is the show’s executive producer and judge, Nigel Lythgoe, from his implied homophobic comments (he approves of the way the show’s male performers dance like “dudes”) to his misguided criticism and declarations about what a dancer should be. His obsession with discovering and promoting the show’s “unique dancers” — conceivably someone like Leroy (played in “Fame” by Gene Anthony Ray) — must be driving hard-working dance teachers mad.

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Here's a link to our friend Beckylooo's response.

The Pride Of Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has an editorial about season 3 finalist Cedric Gardner:

In addition to representing Milwaukee in a positive light on a national stage, Gardner has contributed within the community. He was formerly a hip-hop dance instructor at Danceworks and the founder and artistic director of FUEL, a hip-hop performance company.

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Donyelle Jones Update

ATTENTION KANSAS CITY AREA:
Season 2 favorite Donyelle Jones will appear at the Move/Evolve Dance Intensive, July 21/22 in Olathe, Ks. For more infomation, visit Dance Alchemy

Jesus and Jessi Interview Video

If you haven't seen it yet, here's the elimination interview from top 16 week with Jesus Solorio and Jessi Peralta. The biggest surprise to me was learning that the dancers only get 5 hours of rehearsal time for each routine.

SYTYCD vs Idol Judges

MSNBC has an article comparing Nigel, Mary, and company to Simon, Paula, and Randy.

Lythgoe and Murphy are interesting, but don’t stand out among the others in the reality show judging genre. What sets the show apart is that it has been able to make the guest judge format work, something that has eluded its rivals.

Guest judges have been tried before on programs like “American Idol,” but only as an addition to the established faces, and rarely for a positive effect.

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New Choreographers

We found some info on 2 new choreographers we'll be seeing on the show soon. Mild spoiler after the jump.

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Toni Redpath and partner Michael Mead, are 4-time undefeated world ballroom champions. Check out Toni's Wikipedia entry, and Toni & Michael's website, ClassicDancers.com.



Maria Torres article

Maria on Hustle dancing:

Improv In Texas

Another reader-submitted video, this one left us speechless. It's an improv by Travis Wall, Allison Holker, and Teddy Forance to Nellie Furtado's Childhood Dreams. They're joined by Jaimie Goodwin and Nikki Loud. The video was taken by Ivan Koumaev at NYCDA Texas.

Top 14 Performance Show Spoiler

As we've narrowed the field to 7 couples, we only have a 90 minute show Wednesday night. Spoilers after the jump:

Updated

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Lacey & Kameron got the hustle, choreographed by Maria Torres.

Cedric & Shauna, Mambo by Alex DaSilva

Danny & Anya, contemporary by Tyce

Pasha & Sara, West Coast Swing, choreographed by Benji with Heidi

Dominic & Sabra got hiphop with Shane

Hok & Jaime, waltz, Toni Redpath

Neil & Lauren, Jazz with Wade Robson

From The Mailbox

Some readers point out some great videos for us. First, sometime SYTYCD judge/choreographer Brian Friedman dances with season 3 finalist Lauren Gottlieb at Monsters Of HipHop Chicago. I don't know why we haven't seen anything like this from Lauren on the show yet.


Next, a new compilation and some stuff we haven't seen yet from Phillip "PacMan" Chbeeb. We only saw a small fraction of what he can do during the season 3 auditions.


And finally, Phillip battles an amazing kid who goes by the name D-Rock. I'm predicting we'll be seeing D-Rock in the season 12 top 20.


Vote for Phillip's audition at Famecast. It could help him pay for college.

Nick Lazzarini Update

Reality Dancing has an update on season 1 winner Nick Lazzarini.

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B. Free

Former So You think You Can Dance choreographer/judge Brian Friedman puts on his dancing shoes...and tries to sell them to you.

Around The Web

The New York Post has an article titled Save Cedric:

It was all too much for guest judge and famed choreographer Debbie Allen. She offered Gardner a scholarship at her California dance academy on the spot. "It came out of my heart," says Allen, "looking at him and listening to the other judges talking about him. Cedric gives a face to millions of young men across America who see themselves just one way." Allen is referring to street dancers who might not see themselves in a professional dance capacity. "This could open up that box," Allen says.

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BuddyTV takes Fergie to task for her lip-syncing during her top 16 results show performance:

When well-known performers do their thing in front of a live national audience, it is generally accepted that they will actually, you know, sing the songs. Live. Unfortunately, it appears as if Fergie decided that maybe she didn't actually need to sing the chorus of her song. That maybe if she just sang the verses, that would be an acceptable alternative. It's not. As someone who actively dislikes Fergie, I felt completely robbed of a chance to hear her terrible singing and subsequently mock it.

There's a video of the performance included.

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Benji Sauce

Check out Benji's latest post to his MySpace blog. He covers a lot of ground.

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Here's Benji at the 2007 Grand Nationals. It includes a contemporary solo, a style he never had to dance on the show.


Benji and Donyelle doing a goofy version of Too Much Booty at a summer dance camp.