SYTYCD Audition Report

Our friend Angelica writes:

Some auditon info... :)

Ok, so I did not audition in Dallas today but my best friend did and here is the info she shared with me!

She got there at about 5:30 and waited in line for some hours. Cat was there and interviewed her and her friend she went with for about 5 minutes. When they finally got inside they had about an hour to warm up. They then went into the auditorium and found out all the info for auditions. The judge told them he has a special guest and it was someone that did not make it through the first time he auditioned and guess who walked in...TRAVIS! He was there and gave some advice and the dancers asked some questions. For Travis lovers... he was sporting a mohawk and wearing a Superman shirt:) They then split off into groups and got their numbers and whatnot. My friend was in the first group to audition and each group consists of ten people. The dancers split up--- 5 on one side of the room and 5 on the other. They face each other and the music starts. They played a contemporary song and had the dancers free style. Then they played a hip hop song and the dancers are asked to freestyle again. The judge and Travis get together and pick 2 people----one good and one bad. Those 2 people go back tomorrow and audition for Nigel and the others! That's about all she told me.. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Thanks Angelica! From what I'm hearing, we can expect to see a lot of Travis this season.

Lacey Interviews

We have 2 recent interviews with Lacey Schwimmer, one text, one audio.

ShimmyOnline talked to her about, amongst other things, her recent knee surgery:

Shimmy: How is your knee healing? Is this your first major dance-related injury?

Lacey: FIRST? Noway! I have torn and strained muscles all my life, part of a dancers world if you ask me! But this is the first time I have ever had surgery. My knee is healing well, I have 4 small scars, but since I've been pushing my knee to the max, I have tendonitis in the patella. (the cap) Painful ,but working through it.

Shimmy: Have you begun training again?

Lacey: I just started retraining my center of balance ,which has gotten the best of me. Its really frustrating to know that you cant do things the way you used to. Although, my therapist is saying i am already stronger than before my injury!

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This one is probably more for the hardcore teen crowd. The web-based Emilio Show interviewed Lacey with call-ins from fans.

LINK

Jaimie And Sabra At NYCDA

Jaimie Goodwin and Sabra Johnson soloing at NYCDA Lansing.

Season 4 Audition News

Auditions for season 4 begin today in Dallas. Fox has posted an update to the audition schedule, including locations and a change in the Salt Lake City dates.

Judge/choreographer Dan Karaty has advice for auditioners.

SYTYCD News Roundup

Does Nigel Lythgoe have a dance skeleton in his closet? It would seem so.

LINK


Blogger Evie took a master class from Mia Michaels at Broadway Dance Center and writes about it:

Mia brought up some really great concepts during the master class. During the warm-up, she had us move in two different ways: "Bony," which seemed to be like moving from your joints and very rapid and free, and "Muscle-y," which seemed to be like using resistance in your muscles. She also talked about how taking dance class is an opportunity to get inside of the person teaching or choreographing. Mia said that the class was an opportunity for us to explore her and to experiment with moving in new ways. Mia also talked about how dancing is about making smart choices with your body and the movements you make - she said that making smart choices is especially important with improv and matching your improv movement style to the tone of the piece.

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Shimmy had pretty much the same reaction to the misnamed Dance War as I did:

The vocals, aside from maybe 3 people, are horrendous. The dancing... wow. It's not even that the contestants were weak but the choreography is weak too.

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So You Think You Can Dance Around The World

This is Maciej Florek, known as Gleba, winner of the first season of You Can Dance Poland.

America's Best Dance Crew

Here's the press release for MTV's upcoming Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew. My hope for this show is that we see some quality choreography.

UPDATE: Click here for updated coverage of the show.

MTV BRINGS THE STREET TO THE STAGE WITH PREMIERE OF "RANDY JACKSON PRESENTS: AMERICA'S BEST DANCE CREW" THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7 AT 10:00 P.M. ET/PT

Live Casting Showdown on Saturday, January 26 at 2 p.m. ET/PT To Reveal Top Eight Dance Crews To Compete Weekly

Mario Lopez to Host, JC Chasez and Shane Sparks to Judge and America to Decide

Santa Monica, CA MTV rocks the floor with the new competitive group dance series "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" beginning Thursday, February 7 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Mario Lopez ("Dancing with the Stars") will host the exhilarating weekly series, and giving their feedback each week to the dance crews will be judges JC Chasez (N*Sync) and choreographer Shane Sparks ("You Got Served"). With exclusive content on-air, online, on demand and on mobile, viewers will have the opportunity to learn more about the individual dancers in each crew and how to copy some of their intricate moves.

Following a nationwide search in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, MTV and executive producer Randy Jackson welcome 12 of the very best dance crews to the stage during a LIVE two-hour casting event on Saturday, January 26 at 2:00 p.m. ET/tape delayed PT. However, with dreams on the line, crews need to impress the panel of judges, as only the elite eight will move on to compete each week.

CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

"Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" promises to be one of the most visual and inspiring performance competition shows to ever hit television. It is the first dance competition series for dance crews rather than individual dancers. The top hip-hop crews from around the country will battle it out on the stage floor for dance supremacy, a cash prize and touring contract.

Shot on location in Los Angeles, each dance crew of five to seven members will rehearse and demonstrate their most innovative choreography and skills as their intimate life stories and personal drama unfold within the show. Every performance themed episode will tap into the crews' emotion, spirit and inspiration from recreating dance music videos seen recently on MTV, to using dance to tell the story of a favorite feature film, to paying homage to the classic grooves of the past.

Viewers from around the country will vote for their favorite crews via text messaging, phone and online (http://dancecrew.mtv.com). The two weakest teams as determined by voting will enter the battle zone to show their best moves for the judges and the chance to advance to the next round. One crew will be eliminated each week, ultimately revealing the nation's best dance crew.

Cranking up the funk, MTV.com gives viewers an inside look into "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" with photos and bios on all the crews, judges and hosts at http://dancecrew.mtv.com. Plus, step-by-step instructions will be posted so that one can learn the dance moves seen performed by the crews. After the episode premieres on-air, the voting polls will immediately open online for people to show their support for their favorite crew. In addition, viewers can discuss on the official Dance Crew blog what they thought about the performances and the crews and whether or not the weakest team did indeed deserve to leave. MTV.com also will offer full episodes online to view.

Verizon FiOS TV will be the only MTV On Demand provider to make the series available to its subscribers after the episode premieres on-air. Additionally, beginning January 24 for two weeks, Verizon FiOS TV will offer bonus dance instructional video segments as well as features on dance trends hosted by MTV News correspondent and hip-hop icon Sway.

Partnering with various distributors, MTV Mobile will make available dance instructional segments, audition highlights and full episodes, after they air on linear. Cast bios and episode guides may be viewed at http://wap.mtv.com.

"Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" is executive produced by "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson, Rob Lee (Bayonne Entertainment), Hip Hop International's Howard Schwartz and Karen Schwartz (the creators of the USA & World Hip Hop Dance Championships), Harriet Sternberg (Dream Merchant 21) and Joel Gallen (Tenth Planet Productions). David Auerbach and Brooke Karzen are the executives overseeing the project for Warner Horizon Television ("The Bachelor;" "The Search For The Next Pussycat Doll"). Drew Tappon and Lauren Dolgen are the executives overseeing the project for MTV.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 100 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming servicesMTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKDS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 95 properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

Wade Choreographs Ballet

Congratulations to Wade Robson! He has been commissioned to choreograph his first ballet piece for the San Francisco Ballet's 75th Anniversary Diamond Gala Celebration. Here's the press release:

San Francisco, CA (Billboard Publicity Wire/PRWEB ) January 15, 2008 -- Wade Robson, 25-year-old Emmy Award-winning choreographer whose work has dazzled audiences of Fox Network's "So You Think You Can Dance" and ABC's "Dancing with the Stars, " will premiere his first work for a ballet company at San Francisco Ballet's 75th Anniversary Gala performance on January 23.

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Robson, who appeared as both a popular choreographer and judge for Seasons 2 and 3 of the hit show "So You Think You Can Dance," has been commissioned by San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson, to create his first ballet as part of the opening-night gala program that will officially kickoff the 75th season of America's oldest professional ballet company. Robson's wife and artistic collaborator, Amanda, co-created the concept and is designing the costumes.

What It's Like To Be Me
Robson, who was dancing in Michael Jackson videos before he turned 10, was teaching dance at the age of 12 and has since directed music videos, commercials, award shows and world tours for recording artists such as Britney Spears, NSYNC, Usher, Mya, and Pink.

Born in Brisbane, Australia, Robson and his family moved to the U.S. when he was nine to pursue a career in entertainment. At age 16, he came to the attention of Britney Spears and was soon choreographing her 1999 world tour. In further collaborations with Spears, he wrote, directed, remixed music, directed video segments, and co-designed sets for her award show performances and world tours that culminated in an HBO special.

In addition to his talents as a director and choreographer, Robson has proven himself as a prolific songwriter. He co-wrote and produced "What It's Like To Be Me" from the multi-platinum Spears album and four songs from NSYNC's multi-platinum album, Celebrity, including the Grammy- nominated single "Gone." Robson's next project is that of choreographer for the new Cirque du Soleil production starring Criss Angel at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.

About San Francisco Ballet
As America's oldest professional ballet company, San Francisco Ballet has enjoyed a long and rich tradition of artistic "firsts" since its founding in 1933, including performing the first American productions of Swan Lake and Nutcracker, as well as the first 20th-century American Coppélia. San Francisco Ballet is one of the three largest ballet companies in the United States. Guided in its early years by American dance pioneers and brothers Lew, William, and Harold Christensen, San Francisco Ballet currently presents more than 100 performances annually, both locally and internationally. Under the direction of Helgi Tomasson for more than two decades, the Company has achieved an international reputation as one of the preeminent ballet companies in the world. In 2005, San Francisco Ballet won the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award, its first, in the category of "Outstanding Achievement in Dance," for its 2004 London tour. In 2006, San Francisco Ballet was the first non-European company elected "Company of the Year" in Dance Europe magazine's annual readers' poll. In 2008, San Francisco Ballet celebrates its 75th anniversary.

For more information
For more information about San Francisco Ballet's upcoming 75th Anniversary Season, please visit the San Francisco Ballet website. For ticket information, call 415.865.2000.

PacMan In Music Video

Phillip "PacMan" Chbeeb appears in the music video for Loverush UK! & Shelley Harland's Different World.

Sara At Entyce

Thanks to our friend Corrismatic, aka Toasty.

Pasha & Anya At Entyce

SYTYCD News Roundup

TravisWall-Online has a 3 part interview with Travis.

LINK to part 1
LINK to part 2
LINK to part 3



Ashlee Nino blogs about her experience performing in Times Square on New Years Eve.

...after receiving our credentials we headed through the mob of "anxious ball dropping watchers" and arrived safely in our dressing room at the ABC building. We were kind of rushed through a taped rehearsal on the roof top of the building....I think that's when it finally hit me....omg I'm in New York for the first time and I'm performing in front of millions on a roof top in Times Square. I'm so lucky! The rehearsal didn't go so well... Neither Christina or I were wearing the correct wardrobe...I still had my tacky credentials hanging from my neck and the stage was so small, we had to rechoreograph a lot of the routine in about 3 minutes (literally). We were both praying that none of this taped rehearsal would be aired!
Luckily it wasn't! At 10pm we headed back to the roof top and performed live....it was a hit!
Right after we stepped off stage we were released to go about our own business and enjoy the few hours left in 2007. Some of the band headed back to the hotel, others to different parties but Christina and I decided to stay in times square (I mean c'mon I had to watch the ball drop too!)

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Jesús Solorio is looking for dancers for the music video for his song Beautiful Dancer.

LINK



Shane Sparks hypes the live dance classes available at DigitalDancers.com.




Shane will be one of the judges on MTV's Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew, which will air a special casting episode on Jan. 26 at 2PM ET.

SOURCE



Want to watch a reality show about Nigel Lythgoe and fellow Idol/SYTYCD producer Ken Warwick's experiences buying and operating a vineyard? No, I didn't think so, but having worked in the wine industry, I found Corkscrewed: The Wrath of Grapes fascinating. There are also plenty of juicy behind-the-scenes insights into the Idol machine, like when Nigel sees a horse at a vineyard and says to Warwick "Did you see that long face? It looks like Cowell when he isn't recognized in a restaurant". Warwick points to Nigel and says "Or him".

LINK to all episodes.



PopRepublic.TV has an interview with the 3 So You Think You Can Dance Australia judges: Matt Lee, Bonnie Lythgoe, and Jason Coleman. It starts on page 13 of the magazine.

LINK directly to PDF.